Revisit Halloween before the sequel and a Jim Carrey classic: This week’s best and biggest on Netflix

Check out Jordan Parker's 'The week's best and biggest on Netflix every Friday on HalifaxToday.ca.

Honey Boy

Although the film is now marred in controversy due to the actions and alleged indiscretions of star-writer Shia LaBeouf, it's also a sympathetic, incredible portrayal.

Director Alma Har'el infuses the film with huge emotion, and it's clear from the beginning this is a personal film for LaBeouf.

The writer-actor stars in an autobiographical film where he casts himself as his own father, with young Noah Jupe playing a child LaBeouf.

It looks at the struggles the star had as a child to deal with childhood fame, his abusive father and his own mental health.

LeBeouf is Oscar-worthy, and Lucas Hedges and Noah Jupe are incredible. It's a splendidly-acted drama that you won't be able to get out of your head.

4/5 Stars

30 Days of Night

I've held the assertion for more than a decade that this movie is an absolutely unsung horror hit, one that many unjustly missed.

The 2007 vampire thriller follows an Alaskan town that goes dark for an entire month and is attacked by vampires in that intervening time.

Director David Slade — who also made atmospheric, tense drama Hard Candy — creates incredible set pieces and a chilling film.

I think the best part is this cast is so game for B-movie material: Josh Hartnett and Melissa George are our stars, but it's the supporting performances from Danny Huston, Mark Boone Junior and a terrifying Ben Foster that make this one worthwhile.

It's a horrific little film that will keep you on the edge of your seat and an underutilized Halloween marathon pick.

4.5/5 Stars

Bruce Almighty

Jim Carrey is an absolute Canadian treasure and a modern master of physical comedy.

Director Tom Shadyac — who's done Ace Ventura, Liar Liar and this one — has experience with allowing his star to let loose, and it works for them.

With this one, Shadyac manages to both ground the emotional aspects of this material and give Carrey enough rope to make it interesting.

A man who is consistently complaining about God's plan for him is given the powers to be God himself and faces the enormity of responsibility that comes with that. Sound silly? It absolutely is, but this film has a moral compass that also makes it compelling.

Carrey is incredible while Jennifer Aniston, Morgan Freeman and a scene-stealing Steve Carell are hilarious here.

This is a go-to movie to make me smile, and it's Carrey at the top of his game.

3.5/5 Stars

Knocked Up

Ah, the frat comedy. Knocked Up was the film that launched 1,000 of them.

This was writer-director Judd Apatow's big break, and the release of this and Superbad catapulted names like Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen into the A-list stratosphere.

This sweet-raunchy blend follows an aimless partier, Ben, who has a one-night-stand with anchor Alison. When she realizes she's pregnant, the two polar opposites are linked for life.

Ben is forced to begin to grow up and Alison begins to realize she may need to lighten up the slightest bit. They soon realize they might just be perfect for each other.

Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl are perfectly cast here, but their chemistry is actually eclipsed by the performances by the ensemble.

Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel and Jonah Hill are all incredible here, and the cameos aplenty are so worth it.

It hasn't aged entirely well nearly 15 years on, but Knocked Up remains a landscape-changing film for the ages.

4/5 Stars

Halloween (2018)

By the time this reinvention came, the most popular franchise in horror history was on life support.

With a remake, a string of bad sequels and decades of disappointment, fans were at their wits' end.

But Halloween erases everything in the canon but the original and brings us to Laurie Strode, decades later, who still waits for her final showdown with Michael Myers.

Director David Gordon Green — whose resume includes Pineapple Express — directs a taut, thrilling sequel that got a whole lot right. It manages to course-correct the franchise.

The paranoia and fear embodied here are intense, and this movie plays to the nostalgia factor so well.

Jamie Lee Curtis is back and amazing, and Judy Greer, Will Patton and Andi Matichak are fantastic additions.

For anyone who loved the original and thought the franchise deserved better, here's your revisionist history with a bloody twist.

4/5 Stars

Jordan Parker's weekly film reviews can be found on his blog, Parker & The Picture Shows.