Jessica Chastain stars as an assassin in director Tate Taylor's Ava.Courtesy of VVS
Even though movie theatres are finally reopening across Canada, there is comfort in knowing that, thanks to streaming and video-on-demand, we can all program our own double (or triple, or quadruple) bills at home. Here are this week’s best new bets.
Ava, VOD A disclaimer: I have yet to watch this new Jessica Chastain thriller, as review copies were not being made available to press. (Which is often the surest sign of trouble.) But I still have high-low trashy hopes for this action movie, which features Chastain as an assassin betrayed by her shady employers, as is wont to happen to contract killers. Plus, it co-stars Colin Farrell, John Malkovich and Geena Davis. This all points to director Tate Taylor’s film being an interesting kind of mess, rather than a boring one. Fingers (and high-calibre assault rifles) crossed.
Jean of the Joneses, which debuted as TIFF four years ago, is available on Crave.Courtesy of Search Engine Films.
Jean of the Joneses, Crave Canadian Stella Meghie scored some well-deserved headlines the other week when it was announced that she would be directing the forthcoming Whitney Houston biopic. Before we all start listening to The Bodyguard soundtrack on repeat, though, let’s revisit her early work, such as this Woody Allen-esque comedy starring Taylour Paige and Sherri Sheppard, now available to stream four years after its Toronto International Film Festival debut.
Julia Garner stars in Kitty Green's The Assistant, which saw a theatrical release earlier this year.Ty Johnson/Bleecker Street
The Assistant, Crave with HBO One of the few art-house movies to score an actual theatrical release this year, thanks to its early-spring release just before the pandemic hit, Kitty Green’s The Assistant is a slow-burn masterpiece of micro-aggression. Focusing on an assistant (Ozark’s Julia Garner) working for a Harvey Weinstein-like boss/ogre, The Assistant makes the film world look like a waking nightmare. But Green is careful to underline just how toxic most cubicle-based industries can be, all while creating an atmosphere of intense anxiety. Maybe save this one for when you’re feeling nostalgic for the office; it’ll cure you of that delusion mighty quick.
Florence Pugh gave a breakthrough performance in 2016's Lady Macbeth.Handout
Lady Macbeth, Kanopy Before Florence Pugh became 2019′s most talked-about actress thanks to her trifecta of Little Women, Midsommar and Fighting with My Family (all right, maybe the latter film didn’t set the world on fire...), she made her real breakthrough in this 2016 historical drama. While director William Oldroyd doesn’t pull off too many new tricks here, Pugh absolutely owns the screen.
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Barry Hertz