By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of 4 TV magazines. Author of TV Dot Com.
Yesterday we published an article on three new shows on Netflix that you would be wise to skip despite the amount of attention they are receiving. We certainly don’t want to leave the impression that Netflix’s lineup is anything less than stellar so today we are praising four films that have been added recently to the streamer’s lineup. If you haven’t seen them, find a few hours to indulge. And if you have seen them, they are all eminently rewatchable.
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X (2022)
Mia Goth stars as a young woman named Maxine who travels with her director/boyfriend in the 1970s to a remote Texas farm to make a “skin” film. Once there, Maxine and her fellow “performers” begin noticing some strange behavior from the elderly couple who lives on the farm. And before you can yell cut, there is some real cutting going on. This modern take on the slasher genre from director Ti West is a brilliant piece of cinema with remarkable performances from Goth in dual roles (Maxine and the bloody-thirsty farm matron) and Jenna Ortega as a production hand. You’ll squeal, laugh and occasionally jump under the couch as West works his magic. The director followed up X with the arguably superior Pearl, a prequel to X, with Goth playing the elderly woman as a young adult. (Martin Scorsese calls Pearl “mesmerizing” and, as usual, he is right.) And later this year, there will be a third in the trilogy called Maxxxine with Goth’s actress character in LA in the 1980s. Go Goth. Go West, young film goers. This is exciting movie-making in the works. (Note: Pearl is now available on Paramount Plus With Showtime.)
Training Day (2001)
Denzel Washington is a force of nature in this Antoine Fuqua-directed movie about a young cop (Ethan Hawke) partnered with a corrupt veteran detective (Washington) on the seedy side of Los Angeles. Washington’s magnetism dominates the screen playing the detective who believes the ends justify the means (particularly when the ends include some grafted cash). Hawke is also effective as the newbie looking to climb the ladder without losing his soul in the process. A powerful film from beginning to end.
The Equalizer 3 (2023)
We’re back with Denzel and Antoine for this likely final installment in The Equalizer series. Washington plays Robert McCall, a former CIA agent who strives to shed a life of guilty feelings by doing good for strangers. Of course, the good includes killing every bad guy in sight, but hey, as Training Day’s Denzel taught us, the ends can justify the means. The third in the Equalizer trilogy touches heartstrings, too, with Dakota Fanning playing a young CIA agent who’s mysteriously lured into McCall’s new world set in Mob-controlled southern Italy. Fanning and Washington were lovely together in 2004’s Man on Fire and it’s great to see the two reunited on screen with a great payoff at the end.
Moneyball (2011)
Brad Pitt stars as Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane who uses modern analytics to assemble a playoff team on a shoestring budget. Based on Michael Lewis’ book, the movie glosses over some of the real reasons why the A’s made it to the playoffs (the team had one of the best trio of starters in the game: Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder) but Pitt wins the day with a real movie star performance. You root for him from beginning to end as he schools the old school crowd.
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The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
