Great films streaming this week:
The Report (2019) – SBS On Demand, Prime Video, Stan
- Director: Scott Z. Burns
- Cast: Adam Driver, Annette Bening
- Genre: Drama/Political Thriller
- Runtime: 119 min
Synopsis: A Senate staffer uncovers the CIA’s post-9/11 torture program, battling politics and secrecy to get the truth out.
Why watch it? The Report is tense, revealing drama that’s anchored by Adam Driver’s precision performance.
Black Dog (2024) – Apple TV+
- Director: Guan Hu
- Cast: Eddie Peng, Tong Liya
- Genre: Drama
- Runtime: 129 min
Synopsis: A man returning from prison in a near-deserted Chinese town forms an unlikely bond with a stray dog.
Why watch it? Black Dog, released just last year, is a quiet, tender meditation on loneliness and belonging, with stunning cinematography. Plus, there’s a dog.
Tomboy (2011) – 7 plus
- Director: Céline Sciamma
- Cast: Zoé Héran, Malonn Lévana
- Genre: Drama
- Runtime: 82 min
Synopsis: Laure, a French ten-year-old, explores their gender identity and adopts the name Mikäel during a transformative summer in a new neighbourhood.
Why watch it? This is a groundbreaking tale about genderqueer expression, and Sciamma’s empathetic eye makes it a deeply resonant and tender work.
Trash Humpers (2010) – AMC+, Shudder, Brollie, Hoopla
- Director: Harmony Korine
- Genre: Experimental/Dark Comedy
- Runtime: 78 min
Synopsis: A disturbing found-footage-style descent into the bizarre lives of a group of masked misfits known as the trash humpers.
Why watch it? Gleefully abrasive and utterly unpolished, Trash Humpers is Harmony Korine at his most chaotic and provocative.
Vengeance is Mine (1979) – Tubi
- Director: Shohei Imamura
- Cast: Ken Ogata, Rentarō Mikuni
- Genre: Crime/Thriller
- Runtime: 140 min
Synopsis: This is the true-crime-inspired tale of a remorseless conman and killer, charting his crimes and eventual capture.
Why watch it? While it’s very difficult watch, Vengeance is Mine should nonetheless be watched for its chilling, unflinching portrait of amorality from one of Japan’s cinematic masters.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Edition (2001–2003) – HBO Max
- Director: Peter Jackson
- Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen
- Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
- Runtime: 11h 22 min total
Synopsis: What is says on the tin. This is Tolkien’s fantasy epic brought to life by Peter Jackson across three films, now as long as they can be.
Why watch it? Simply put, the Extended Editions are the definitive way to experience The Lord of the Rings. Shut the doors, hide your phone, and get stuck into it!
Double Indemnity (1944) – Foxtel Now, HBO Max
- Director: Billy Wilder
- Cast: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck
- Genre: Film Noir/Crime
- Runtime: 107 min
Synopsis: A slick insurance man falls for a femme fatale in a plot for murder and money – before it all unravels.
Why watch it? Double Indemnity is basically the blueprint for noir, with razor-sharp dialogue and iconic performances from MacMurray and the impeccably-dressed Stanwyck.
A Better Tomorrow (1986) – Plex
- Director: John Woo
- Cast: Ti Lung, Chow Yun-fat
- Genre: Action/Crime
- Runtime: 95 min
Synopsis: Two brothers – one a criminal, the other a cop – struggle with loyalty and honour in Hong Kong’s underworld.
Why watch it? A Better Tomorrow is a genre-defining action drama that launched the heroic bloodshed movement, leading to films like Hard Boiled and City on Fire.
ScreenHub: A better tomorrow? Chinese studios are using AI to ‘improve’ classic kung fu movies
In Vitro (2024) – Stan
- Director: Tom McKeith, Will Howarth
- Cast: Talia Zucker, Ashley Zukerman,
- Genre: Sci-Fi/Drama
- Runtime: 88 min
Synopsis: On an isolated cattle farm, a couple experimenting with biotechnology have their lives upended when they discover a disturbing presence on their property.
Why watch it? Here’s our review by Stephen Russell to convince you:
‘Australia has a proud tradition of ecologically motivated action thriller and horror movies, and In Vitro adroitly splices the bones of these genres with the creeping menace of a domestic violence drama. Zuckerman, so charismatic if cocky in Succession, plays chilly as a failing businessman in an austere film that unsettles through its suggested imbalance in the central relationship.’
Read: In Vitro, SFF review: ecological thriller meets domestic drama down under
The Buriti Flower (2024) – SBS On Demand
- Director: João Salaviza, Renée Nader Messora
- Genre: Drama
- Runtime: 125 min
Synopsis: Set in Brazil’s Cerrado region, the Indigenous Krahô people confront displacement and environmental destruction.
Why watch it? Lyrical and politically urgent, The Buriti Flower blends lived experience with a quiet, observational style, resulting in a must-see documentary.
