Stuck inside? Don’t know what to watch/read/play/listen to? ComingSoon.net has got you covered. In this week’s CS Recommends our staff gives you solid tips on the best media to consume during your downtime, including Mad Max: Fury Road & more. Check out our picks below!
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MAX EVRY’S RECOMMEND: A Thousand Clowns
Kino Lorber just recently put out a terrific Blu-ray of this classic 1965 comedy based on Herb Gardner’s play. The film stars Robards (who originated the role on broadway) as Murray Burns, an eccentric who quit his job writing for children’s television to live a life of iconoclastic freedom. Unfortunately Child Welfare investigates his bohemian lifestyle and deems him an unsuitable caretaker to his 11-year-old nephew, forcing him to choose between the life he loves and the child he cares for.
Although a success at the time (Martin Balsam won an Oscar, and the film was nominated 3 more times including Best Picture), A Thousand Clowns is largely forgotten now. It’s too bad, because this is a potent and funny feel-good flick with great performances all around, particularly noted director Gene Saks (The Odd Couple) as the Krusty the Clown-esque Leo “Chuckles the Chipmunk” Herman. This movie is breezy and whip smart, and a wonderful pick-me-up worth picking up.
KYLIE HEMMERT’S RECOMMEND: Mad Max: Fury Road
George Miller’s six-time Oscar-winning post-apocalyptic epic is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, and it’s hard to believe there are people out there who have still never experienced it! Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, and Nicholas Hoult give performances of a lifetime in one of the most chaotically raw, pedal-to-the-metal, spellbinding action-thrillers in movie history. Fury Road was a game-changer with few (if any, some would argue) in the genre able to top its breathtaking action and visually-stunning storytelling. The film is far more than a big-budget spectacle, though. The carefully controlled madness centers on a visceral narrative that never misses a beat as the blend of unique and traumatized characters drive the story forward, navigating a fantastical and horrifying landscape in a desperate search for a safer homeland. With a confirmed prequel on the way, now is the perfect time to witness Miller at his best and to see why Mad Max: Fury Road is still at the top of its game.
GRANT HERMANNS’ RECOMMEND: Kyle Kinane: I Liked His Old Stuff Better
While diving into a complex and thought-provoking book or film may be just what the mind needs during these challenging times for some, a good belly laugh is also a wonderful distraction from the perils of the world and while the realm of stand-up comedy has plenty of viable and hilarious options to choose from, one of the best is undoubtedly Kyle Kinane’s 2015 special I Liked His Old Stuff Better. Filmed at the historic 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia, Kinane’s second special for Comedy Central sees the comic weave through grim-yet-hilarious anecdotes and observations that proves to be endlessly hilarious across its 65-minute runtime and is one easy enough to rewatch frequently.
MAGGIE DELA PAZ’S RECOMMEND: Frequency
Starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, Frequency is a sci-fi drama thriller film which follows the story of police detective John Sullivan, who on the eve of his father’s 30th death anniversary has somehow found a way to communicate with him back in 1969 through an old ham radio. This once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon is due to the occurrence of the aurora borealis which allowed John and his father Frank to have back-and-forth conversations despite being in different time periods. However, as they try to take the opportunity to change the past, they soon discover that their actions have also made life-altering consequences to John’s present time as his father’s survival led to new unsolved deaths of women which includes his beloved mother. Now, they must use their connection to prevent the new deaths from happening and catch the Nightingale serial killer once and for all.
This 2000 film is definitely an underrated sci-fi drama classic which made a huge impression on me when I saw it for the first time through an HBO rerun. I was very young when I’ve first watched it that’s why I didn’t remembered the film’s title at that time. Then, it took me years before I finally rediscovered this gem again and it is still one of my favorite movies of all time. What I like the most about Frequency’s non-linear storyline is that it can be suspenseful and heartwarming at the same time. Although there are some plot holes with its time-bending part of the story, the film still effectively delivers its message about familial longing.
So, if you’re a fan of time-travel movies or crime dramas with a twist, I highly-recommend you to check out Frequency!
JEFF AMES’ RECOMMEND: Minority Report
As thrillers go, you can’t do much better than Steven Spielberg’s masterful Minority Report. I caught the film on Netflix recently and was amazed at how well the film holds up. Not just from a production standpoint, though the special effects, production design and remarkable score by John Williams all deserve praise, but as a warning to our time. This flick predated social media by several years and yet, with its inauspicious jabs at consumerism and sheer disregard for all thing related to privacy — at one point, in the film’s best sequence, robotic spiders intrude upon an apartment full of people who forgo arguments, sexual activities, and other private matters to endure a forced-retinal scan — Spielberg paints a bleak future occupied by dull-eyed, impassive individuals who sidestep moral obligation for the sake of personal interests.
Plus, it’s a damned good Tom Cruise film.
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