Friends,
This week’s newsflash grew from a few paragraphs to a full-length article and warranted its own e-mail. So exceptionally, we’ll send it as a separate letter tomorrow, Saturday, November 9th.
If it feels like a dedicated newsflash e-mail is one-too-many or if you have any other feedback, please don’t hesitate to let me know. You can always reach me directly at bilal@agoodmovietowatch.com.
OUR TOP MOVIE OF THE WEEK
In Order of Disappearance
This movie is pretty much in every regard a Norwegian Kill Bill. It’s a dark gory comedy where, naturally, the substitute for Uma Thurman doing damage is an emotionless Stellan Skarsgård.
After his son is killed by a drug gang, Skarsgård’s character, fresh off a win of a “citizen of the year” award, embarks on a ruthless journey to track and kill the murderers. This takes place in one of the most remote areas in Norway, where the main character works as a snowplow driver. You guessed it, some people will get snowplowed.
Seems familiar? That’s because this year it was turned into a horribly sub-par American movie called Cold Pursuit, with, ugh, Liam Neeson.
📰 Variety: “It's an incredibly satisfying role in which to encounter Skarsgard, who fashions himself as the human equivalent of his unstoppable snowplow, confronting even the most seemingly insurmountable obstacles head-on.”
📺 on Netflix U.S. and select other geographies; 🍅 rating: 86%
OUR TOP TV SHOW OF THE WEEK
The Devil Next Door
New on Netflix this week.
In Cleaveland, a quiet man and exemplary immigrant working a welding job at Ford gets recognized by Holocaust survivors as a gas chamber operator and ruthless Nazi called Ivan The Terrible.
This true-crime mini-series follows his story as he gets deported for trial in Israel. This is one of those shows that ask a simple question but have complex answers. The man in question, John Demjanjuk, claims his innocence and together with his lawyers label the case as a mistaken identity.
A warning: in the first episode especially, there are many graphic Holaucost videos and photos. Not for children or the faint of heart.
📰 Jerusalem Post: “The trial was the leading news story in Israel for nearly a year and the series reminds us how crazy it got …. It's a complicated saga where people took their positions early on and never wavered. The series walks a fine line between the two camps and is quite successful in presenting all points of view.”
📺 On Netflix everywhere; 🍅 rating: 100%
Readers’ top picks
The Young Offenders on Netflix, an Irish comedy about two crazy kids who go on an adventure to salvage bags of lost cocaine, is the most popular movie this week.
Modern Love on Amazon Prime is our readers’ favorite TV show. It’s based on a New York Times column by the same name, recounting stories of love, both romantic and otherwise, in New York.
New titles worth your time
If you missed our Wednesday e-mail, The End of the F***ing World returned for season two this week.
Late-night host Seth Meyers premiered a stand-up special this week called Lobby Baby. It has a button you can click to skip the Trump jokes!
The Great British Baking Show: Holidays comes back for season two today. I follow over 150 critics on Twitter, amongst whom only 2 or 3 are British. This week my feed has consisted almost entirely of excitement from those critics about the bake-off. All to say, if you’re a fan of the series, this one comes highly recommended.
Big documentary entry on Amazon Prime today, they premiere their film called One Child Nation. It’s about a filmmaker who, after becoming a mother herself, explores the history and implications of China’s one-child policy - called in the movie a “devastating social experiment”.
Great titles that will soon expire
An excellent French drama titled Standing Tall leaves Netflix this Monday, November 11th. It’s about a young troubled kid who a social worker and a judge try relentlessly to save from himself. Won more awards in France than can be counted.
The meh Law Abiding Citizen leaves Amazon Prime this Wednesday, November 13th.
The Newsflash: coming tomorrow
That’s it for this week, I hope there is something in there for you.
The newsflash will be in your inbox tomorrow and the next edition will go out on Friday, November 15th.
Until then,
Bilal Zou, founder [bilal@agoodmovietowatch.com]