Screens

Where: In theatres
What: Movie, 135 mins.
When: Now
Genre: Drama
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: If The Taste of Things were a meal, it would be a deconstructed dish. Not burdened by a propulsive narrative, it’s a languorous celebration of food, patience and barely-requited romance. Director Tran Anh Hùng (The Scent of Green Papaya), winner of the 2023 Cannes Best Director prize for the film, has decided neither a story nor a romance can be rushed — just like a meal, they need time to simmer. Words are hardly spoken and there’s almost no music, just the sounds of cooking in the first 30 minutes of the film as the actors  (and the audience) are consumed by the process of making a classic French meal in a glorious country kitchen of French gourmand, Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel), “The Napoleon of culinary arts.”

Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) works under Dodin and wields quiet command in the kitchen while mentoring adolescent Violette (Galatea Bellugi). Binoche and Magimel were once married in real life, but Bouffant’s attempts to wed Eugene have been routinely rejected by her; instead, she’s satisfied to allow him into her bedroom the nights of her choosing.

While many classic food films, including Babette’s Feast, Tampopo and Big Night, are all singularly focused on a pending meal at the centre of the film, The Taste of Things (and the relationship depicted in it) is more about the process, more about the trip than the destination. Among other things, the film captures the selfless joy of cooking for others while it quietly tells a love story as subtle as a perfectly seasoned sauce.

Where: Disney+
What: Movie, 109 mins.
When: Now
Genre: Drama
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Laura Linney is characteristically stunning as Kristine, a mother struggling to support a teenage son, Max, who suffers from terminal cancer. Meanwhile, Nico Parker is a revelation as the 17-year-old daughter, Doris, who deals with classic teenage issues while navigating her brother’s pending death and her mother’s chaotic attempts to cope. This movie’s not as depressing as it sounds, in part because of the great performance from Woody Harrelson as Paul, a kind of bedraggled hippie life coach savant who befriends Doris. Paul is actually picketing outside the hospice where Max has been taken, protesting the refusal to supply life support to Terri Schiavo, also in the hospice, a real-life case that challenged and set U.S. legal precedents in the 2000s. It’s a semi-autobiographical story based on the life of actor-turned-writer-director Laura Chinn, who cared for her own terminally ill brother at home and then a hospice. Suncoast masterfully explores challenging themes, including who deserves to live with the writer’s own history informing a complex exploration of the issues.

Where: Prime Video
What: Movie, 180 mins.
When: Now
Genre: Drama
Rating: NNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-nomination-grabbing biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer finally hits streaming, months after its Barbenheimer partner, Barbie. It’s a complex, dead-serious if underwhelming, historical saga based on American Prometheus, the sprawling biography of Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Cillian Murphy provides what will be an Oscar-winning performance without sufficiently exploring the guilt of creating the deadliest weapon ever. Read the full review.

Where: Disney+
What: Movie, 103 mins.
When: Now
Genre: Comedy
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: New Zealand superstar writer/director Taika Waititi brings a new look to the underdog-makes-good stories pioneered by Bad News Bears, Cool Runnings and, even more recently, Ted Lasso. Like Lasso, this is a soccer story, but Michael Fassbender as the down-on-his-luck American coach forced to try to help an inept team from American Samoa, plays it more like Walter Matthau (Bad News Bears) than Lasso. Refreshing to have a story told from an Indigenous perspective, with lots of marvelling at the habits of “white people.” Will Arnett is great as the dickish American rooting against the “good guys.”

Where: Paramount+
What: Series, 29 seasons, 25 mins.
When: Now
Genre: Comedy
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Canadians searching for the new season of The Daily Show, no longer available through CTV, can find it on Paramount+ one day after it has run on Comedy Central in the U.S. Jon Stewart has returned for a weekly hosting gig for the run-up to the November election in the U.S. He’s on Mondays in the States, Tuesdays here as TDS airs new shows Tuesday to Friday in Canada rather than Monday to Thursday of the past. TDS news team members will host the other nights. Jordan Klepper did an amazing job in week one and continues to make a strong case for himself as a permanent host.

Where: Prime Video
What: Movie, 103 mins.
When: Now
Genre: Music
Rating: NN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Jennifer Lopez brings massive production values to this one-hour “ad” for her upcoming album of the same name. Apparently, auditioning for a role as the new Sarah Connor in the next inevitable Terminator sequel in many scenes, J-Lo has packed a disconnected narrative with awesome effects running “parallel” and largely unconnected to the songs she sings. There’s a lot of “because she can” quality to the massive resources inexplicably deployed here. Dream sequences, fantasy scenes and meddling gods all serve as cover for the flimsy shards of a story here, but who needs a story for a glorified music video? Some great celebrity cameos — no news that she’s got cool friends — in a throwaway piece of over-acted fluff that will be fun for mega J-Lo fans.

Where: In theatres
What: Movie, 104 mins.
When: Now
Genre: Historical drama
Rating: NNNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: An uplifting and authentic, big-budget look at a tumultuous time in Bob Marley’s life 1976 – 1978 as he survived an assassination attempt and was about to have his biggest commercial success. Marley gets the biopic he deserves with this film created with the support of his family that still manages to paint a full picture. It’s worth seeing for the concert performance and recording session scenes alone. Read the full review.

Where: AppleTV+
What: Series, 10 episodes, 55 mins.
When: New episodes Wednesdays
Genre: Historical drama
Rating: NNNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Fashion and fascism come together in this riveting look at Paris during and after the Nazi occupation and how it impacted the careers of haute heroes Christian Dior and Coco Chanel. Juliette Binoche is superb as Chanel in a complex and compelling tale that asks tough questions about what one will do to survive under appalling conditions — with no easy answers. Read the full review.

Where: Crave
What: Series, Season 4, six episodes, 55 mins.
When: Sun. Feb. 18
Genre: Drama
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: If you’ve been watching True Detective: Night Country, you probably don’t need us to tell you that this Sunday night, the edgy, irresistible series wraps up its best season since the 2014 debut of the anthology series. Creepy and compelling with superb performances, especially from leads Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, don’t miss taking a trip into the spooky, icy dark world that breathes new life into a fading franchise. The final episode packs a satisfying, unforgettable punch. Read the full review.