Netflix Friday - Volume 72

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Batman Begins (2005)
After training with his mentor (Liam Neeson), Batman (Christian Bale) begins his fight to free crime-ridden Gotham City from corruption.
 

Drama: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
Through the innocent eyes of Bruno (Asa Butterfield), the eight-year-old son of the commandant (David Thewlis) at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.
 

Comedy: Ted 2 (2015)
Newlywed couple Ted (Seth MacFarlane) and Tami-Lynn want to have a baby, but in order to qualify to be a parent, Ted will have to prove he’s a person in a court of law.
 

Animation: Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
 

Romance: He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)
This Baltimore-set movie of interconnecting story arcs deals with the challenges of reading or misreading human behavior.
 

Horror: Dead of Night (1945)
Architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality. The guests at the country house encourage him to stay as they take turns telling supernatural tales.
 

Science Fiction: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Fearing that the actions of Superman (Henry Cavill) are left unchecked, Batman (Ben Affleck) takes on the Man of Steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs.
 

Crime: Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster (Robert De Niro) returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
 

Thriller: Double Jeopardy (1999)
A woman (Ashley Judd) framed for her husband’s (Bruce Greenwood) murder suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can’t be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.
 

Documentary: Untold: Crime and Penalties (2021)
They were the bad boys of hockey – a team bought by a man with mob ties, run by his 17-year-old son, and with a rep for being as violent as they were good the story of the Danbury Trashers.
 

Family: Paddington (2014)
A young Peruvian bear (Ben Wishaw) travels to London in search for a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.

Five to Watch - Movies with Unlikely Friendships

With “Green Book” now in theaters and it being nominated for a lot of big awards, it’s time for me to take a look at those film about friendship. Not just any friendships, but unlikely friendships. People you wouldn’t expect to become friends in the first place. Here are five films I think are not as well-known or deserve more attention, that focus on an unlikely friendship. And I think you should definitely give them a shot.

Warm Bodies
“Warm Bodies” takes the done and redone zombie apocalypse plot in a comical and innovative new direction. Creating an endearing and empathic look at a zombie’s inner monologue. “Warm Bodies” doesn’t only focus on the lingering emotional capacity of zombies, but also on the healing power of love. The film follows a growing relationship between zombie R and Julie, as well as the friendship between R and fellow zombie M. These two relationships are practically the definition of unlikely.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
It’s a British historical-drama, based on the novel of the same name. This Holocaust drama, explores the horrific realities of a World War !! extermination camp from the point of view of two 8-year-old boys. One of the boys is a son of the camp’s Nazi commandant and the other is a Jewish inmate. The forbidden friendship shared between a young Jewish inmate and the son of a commandant surely has its consequences, terrifyingly so as a matter of fact. But through the eyes of innocent, unrealized children such a taboo relationship doesn’t seem so strange anymore. In fact, it seems exceedingly natural and appropriate.

Lost in Translation
The film revolves about a recent college graduate and an aging actor, who develop an unorthodox relationship after a chance meeting in a Tokyo hotel. In spite of a rather dramatic age difference, the two find themselves facing similar struggles, both philosophically and emotionally. Bob and Charlotte are both in unhappy marriages, attempting to cope with the lack of intimacy and compassion that the both deal with from their significant others. But their relationship isn’t only unique due to their similarities, the connection they share resonates with many and stays with you long after the film reaches a close.

Gran Torino
Sometimes a friendship needs to overcome a more serious barrier, such as the bigotry of racism of Walt Kowalski in “Gran Torino”. In the film, as Kowalski’s neighborhood changes her becomes more bitter and insular, until someone threatens the only thing he has left to care about: his car. When his shy teenage neighbor Thao is pressured into trying to steal the car by a local gang, Kowalski steps in, making him the reluctant hero of the neighborhood. When Thao’s family force him to make up for the attempted robbery by working for Kowalski, it sets into motion an unlikely friendship that will change both their lives.

Due Date
Up-tight architect Peter Highman and aspiring actor Ethan end up having to travel cross-country together after the pair of them are kicked off their plane and placed on a no-fly list. Two mismatched guys forced to go on a road trip together, it sounds so simple, yet it is delightful. Ethan might be just the friend that Peter needs in his life.