Netflix is ready to break free this weekend by adding a slew of compelling new movies that are worth your attention.
To compete with Antoine Fuqua’s controversial, critically panned film Michael, the streamer just added Bohemian Rhapsody, a rousing musical biography featuring Rami Malek in an Oscar-winning performance.
There’s no denying the dramatic power of Denial, a courtroom drama starring Rachel Weisz about Holocaust deniers in academia. Trust us, it’s more exciting than it sounds.
Last but not least, the survival thriller Everest features an all-star cast trying to survive one of Earth’s most beautiful — and deadliest — natural wonders, Mount Everest.
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (2018)While the Michael Jackson biopic is moonwalking in theaters this weekend, you can stay at home and watch the rise of a Queen — the English rock band, that is, not an actual monarch. And with all due respect to Brian May and the others, there’d be no Queen as we now know them without Freddy Mercury (Rami Malek), the lead singer with the incredible four-octave vocal range.
Bohemian Rhapsody is most interesting when it focuses on Mercury, from his humble origins as an airport employee in 1970 to a global rock star in the late ‘70s and 1980s. The film faithfully reproduces Queen’s memorable performances on the Top of the Pops TV show playing “Killer Queen” and their iconic Live Aid set at Wembley Stadium in 1985. Armed with a set of false teeth and a closet full of wigs, Malek becomes Mercury convincingly, even if it never goes really beyond a very good impersonation. The movie, which grossed almost a billion dollars worldwide, works best for boomers looking to relive their youth and any fan of stadium rock wanting to bang their heads and play some air guitar.
Bohemian Rhapsody is streaming on Netflix.
‘Denial’ (2016)Deborah Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz) is a respected American scholar who specializes in Holocaust studies. Her professional reputation is called into question when she’s sued by a British writer, David Irving (Timothy Spall), for defamation. She claims he’s a holocaust denier, while he asserts that he sees the Holocaust from the German point of view. Deborah must defend her assertion in the British courts, which requires a high burden of proof from the defendant to be successful. As she organizes her legal team, Deborah realizes there’s more at stake than her reputation — she’s defending the truth about what actually happened during the Holocaust as well.
Denial is a sensational courtroom drama that’s sadly more relevant than ever. In this era of fake news and rising antisemitism, the Holocaust is frequently called into question by those who want to advance a hateful and deeply anti-Semitic point of view. Weisz has one of her best roles ever as a real-life scholar who knows the gravity of her court case and what could happen if she loses. Equally good is Tom Wilkinson as her lawyer, who knows the best way to win the case is to be as cold and logical as possible.
Denial is streaming on Netflix.
‘Everest’ (2015)
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Mount Everest is the ultimate landmark to conquer for most rock climbers, which is why two rival expeditions, Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness, attempt to scale it despite terrible weather conditions. Reaching the summit is no problem, but the two groups experience numerous problems while descending. When a blizzard hits, several climbers become stranded and are unable to move. With no help coming, their supplies running out and the air barely breathable, the remaining climbers have to band together to save their teammates.
Based on an amazing true story, Everest is so true-to-life that you might experience some vertigo as well as some phantom frostbite. It’s a visceral experience that puts you right with these actors portraying real-life people faced with a life-and-death situation — stay to help and risk their lives or leave the wounded to face certain doom. With a star-studded cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley and Josh Brolin, the most memorable thing about the picture is Everest itself — beautiful, imposing and not to be messed with.
Everest is streaming on Netflix.
