Wesley Snipes on the run and a John Cusack rom-com classic: This week’s best and biggest on Netflix

By Jordan Parker

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

Serendipity

I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but there’s something about the whimsical, love-conquers-all nature of this movie that has always appealed to me.

The flick came out when I was 11, and for 19 years I’ve watched it every single Christmas, without fail.

When Jon and Sara meet by chance in a department store, they’re both seeing other people. They enjoy one night talking and laughing, and Sara leaves them meeting again up to fate.

The two search for each other for years, tempting fate to bring them back together. And on the eve of Jon’s wedding, he goes in one final search for Sara.

John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale are, in a word, adorable. They have huge chemistry and the movie works because of their affable charm.

A huge part of the proceedings is Jeremy Piven, who proves he can be likeable in a role as Jon’s best friend. His pre-Entourage role shows a softer side, and he’s truly hilarious here. As is Eugene Levy, in a lovely cameo.

This is one for the your collection, and an absolute favourite of mine.

4.5/5 Stars

Friday Night Lights

This is the film that inspired the classic television series, and it’s a distinct portrait of a small, football town with nothing else going for it.

For many, football is a pastime and something to be passionate about, but in the town of Odessa, Texas, the high school Permian High Panthers’ Friday night games equate to church on Sunday.

You go, you cheer your team on, and you live and die by their successes and failures. No one in this town realizes the pressure they’re putting on 17-year-old kids, and no one cares.

Billy Bob Thornton leads the cast, which features key performances from young actors Lucas Black, Garrett Hedlund, Derek Luke, and Jay Hernandez. Key to the film, though, is a surprisingly intense performance from country superstar Tim McGraw. You’ll hardly believe it’s him.

Director Peter Berg’s dark, intricate look at this culture is a magnetic film, and one that still hits me hard.

4/5 Stars

Vice

This snarky, snappy film about Vice-President Dick Cheney’s rise to power is an intense, hilarious little flick.

Writer-director Adam McKay – best known for Step Brothers, Talladega Nights and other Will Ferrell comedies – further matures with this gargantuan effort.

It follows Cheney from his college years all the way through to working as VP to George W. Bush and 9/11.

Christian Bale is larger-than-life and incredible as Cheney, and Amy Adams is anchoring as his doting wife. Steve Carell adds comedic relief as Donald Rumsfeld, and Sam Rockwell is spot-on as George W. Bush.

It’s a razor-sharp satire and condemnation of the Bush era, and it’s truly incredible filmmaking.

4/5 Stars

Moxie

This girl-power Netflix original is a heck of a lot more than the sum of its parts. If you think you have it figured out by the title, think again.

Amy Poehler directs this bad-ass, sassy little gem about a 16-year-old girl who challenges the toxic masculinity and sexist behaviour of her male classmates at her high school.

She takes inspiration from her mother’s feminist roots and begins a zine that tears the school apart.

Hadley Robinson really comes into her own here, and young actors and actresses Sabrina Haskett, Lauren Tsai, Alycia Pascual-Pena, and Nico Hiraga are fantastic. It’s even interesting to see young Patrick Schwarzenegger take out a more villainous, heinous role.

This is a movie that will make you uncomfortable in all the best ways, and it’s so necessary right now.

3.5/5 Stars

U.S. Marshals

While this semi-sequel doesn’t quite stand up to the Oscar pedigree of The Fugitive, it has enough action and intrigue to warrant a recommendation nonetheless.

Tommy Lee Jones once again stars as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard, who with his team is assigned to track down a double-murder suspect named Sheridan.

Jones is thunderous and boisterous in this great role, and he’s joined by young Wesley Snipes as Sheridan and Robert Downey Jr. as Royce, and FBI agent sent along to babysit.

The performances and script are top-notch, and the movie clicks along a break-neck pace.

The supporting cast, including LaTanya Richardson Jackson and personal favourite Joe Pantoliano, are also fantastic.

This is a great old-school actioner for a rainy Sunday, and it’s got some standout sequences to boot.

4/5 Stars

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

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