An endearing musical, a spine-chilling horror piece, and some lighthearted rom-com, this weekend watchlist has all the feels you need for your next binge.
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You’ve just survived the second week of the year and ticked off a box on your resolutions list that probably includes “staying alive mid-January.” Also, it’s another time for you to take your much-deserved pause from the drowning sea of reality. So, let us indulge your weekends by yet another cool weekend watchlist to save you in your entertainment needs. Now scroll through, gather your family and friends, and ready your VPNs for that much-needed movie night.
Matilda the Musical
Looking for something that the entire family will enjoy? Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel Matilda has been adapted to a movie, a multiple Tony award-winning musical, and now, Netflix has made an equally wonderful adaptation of the musical titled Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical. It follows a young girl who discovers that she has extraordinary powers and courageously helps others change their lives and carve their own destinies against all odds, neglectful parents and a tyrannical headmistress included. Alisha Weir stars as the sharp and daring Matilda while Emma Thompson is the domineering Miss Trunchbull. Revel in Matilda the Musical’s enchanting story and melody as it now streams on Netflix.
Cha Cha Real Smooth
If you need some lighthearted dramedy that will leave you overcome with the feels, then Apple TV+’s Cha Cha Real Smooth is just the right watch. This Sundance-winning indie darling stars the film director and writer, Cooper Raiff, as twentysomething Andrew who’s fresh out of college and with no clear direction forward. Finally getting a job as a party starter at bar mitzvahs, Andrew strikes a unique friendship with a young mother named Domino (Dakota Johnson) and her teenage daughter—an unlikely relationship that will forever change his life. Cha Cha Real Smooth is an exquisitely charming offering that you’ll never forget.
Nanny
The first horror film to win the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival last year, Nanny follows Aisha, an undocumented immigrant who leaves his son in Senegal to work as a nanny for a rich couple in New York. But her American Dream that she’s painstakingly reaching for gets upended as a violent presence invades both her dreams and reality, just in time for his son’s arrival. Nanny is a kind of film that mesmerizes as it makes your bones shiver. Don’t miss it on Amazon Prime Video.
The Menu
After Triangle of Sadness, another black comedy piece that interrogates themes such as class politics and elitism is The Menu. Only this time, it looks at it from a gastronomic lens. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult as a couple who goes to an exclusive restaurant at an isolated island for a one-of-a-kind lavish dinner prepared by a top chef (Ralph Fiennes), The Menu is filled with appetizing surprises and savory black humor that will surely confuse your guts in a disturbingly flavorful way. Go now and view The Menu on Disney+.
Decision to Leave
A tale of crime, mystery, passionate love told in strikingly sensual visuals, Decision To Leave centers on seasoned detective Hae-Joon (Park Hae-il) who investigates a mystifying death of a man at a mountain peak only to get caught in a web of deception and desire, as he falls for the dead man’s wife Seo Rae (Tang Wei), who becomes the prime suspect. A stunning comeback from South Korean auteur Park Chan-Wook, Decision To Leave garnered a best direction nod at its premiere in Cannes Film Festival last year and has now been shortlisted at the Oscars in the best international film category. Catch it now on MUBI.
The Banshees of Inisherin
Winning three accolades from the recently concluded Golden Globe Awards (including best comedy and best screenplay), The Banshees of Inisherin is an Irish tragicomedy that puts a darkly refreshing spin on the meaning of friendship. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson reunite as Pádraic and Colm whose lifelong amity is at risk of falling apart after the latter decides to end it all of a sudden. Directed by Academy Award-winning Martin McDonagh, Banshees culminates in (quite literally) a bloody and fiery finale which shows how your once good old friends can be your fiercest foes.
Deleter
For the lovers of the horror genre, Mikhail Red’s newest offering Deleter has all the jumpscares you need for your weekend watch. It follows the life of an online content moderator who after getting desensitized to her ultra-violent job gets haunted by her troubled past and terrorized by a mysterious and maleficent presence. Nadine Lustre won the best actress trophy at the MMFF for her lead role in a film that, while proving to be divisive among viewers, is one of the highest-grossing movies in the film festival. Gather your friends and family and go see Deleter in cinemas near you.
2 Cool 2 Be Forgotten
Film Development Council of the Philippines’ (FDCP) revamped streaming platform JuanFlix is also a well of cinematic gems where you can easily find a great local film to add to your weekend watchlist. One of them is Petersen Vargas’ dreamy coming-of-age tale, 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten. Set in the 90s in Pampanga, it follows the life of a friendless high school achiever Felix (Khalil Ramos) whose life gets turned upside down by the arrival of half-American brothers Magnus and Maxim and their curiously dark ambitions. 2 Cool 2 Be Forgotten first premiered at the Cinema One Originals Film Festival in 2016 where it nabbed three awards including best picture.
Pauwi Na
Also on JuanFlix is the internationally acclaimed drama Pauwi Na by Paolo Villaluna. Based on a true story, Pauwi Na follows a dysfunctional family of five who travels thousands of miles from Manila to Leyte via their humble pedicab. Featuring a star-studded and tour de force ensemble that includes Bembol Roco, Cherry Pie Picache, Meryll Soriano, Jerald Napoles, Chai Fonacier, and Jess Mendoza, this tragicomic masterpiece will leave you laughing and crying your hearts out at the same time.
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