5. Valley Uprising
Right in the middle of the counterculture era, a group of brave, young individuals proclaimed to dedicate their lives to rock climbing. Set in Yosemite National Park, Valley Uprising tells the story of these young pioneers, who paved the way for the next generation of alpinists. But don’t think you need to be a climbing enthusiast to enjoy this unique historical account. The directors masterfully utilize both vintage footage and digitally-animated archival
photography to keep you on the edge of your seat, while incorporating a host of enlightening interviews with climbing legends such as Yvon Chouinard, Royal Robbins, Lynn Hill, and John Long. Many contemporary climbers, such as Dean Potter and Alex Honnold, also make an appearance. With fingers of steel, these scofflaws transformed climbing from a “fringe activity” to the respected sport it is today.
+INSTANT QUEUE
4. Zoolander
Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor, Will Ferrell, and Jerry Stiller all start in the star-studded film about a dimwitted male model who finds a iconic fashion mogul to be behind an assassination plot to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia. The film is saturated with notable cameos from everyone from David Bowie to Donald Trump, with memorable one liners — i.e. “Hansel, so hot right now” — that perfectly compliment the cast and the film’s surreal take on fashion.
2. Spotlight
There are plenty of films about journalism, most of which are highly romanticized, but Spotlight is one of the few that gets it right. Based on the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into child abuse in the Catholic Church, the film follows the principle members of the Globe’s Spotlight team as they delve into allegations against various priests in Boston. The team in question is a group of distinct personalities played by an all-star cast, including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams. There is no flashy direction nor pyrotechnics here; director Tom McCarthy keeps things simple, focusing on the grim work of the investigators as they move forward inch by inch, connecting the various tiny pieces they need to craft their story.
+BROWSE
1. The Fundamentals of Caring
Netflix is quickly become a tour de force on multiple fronts. Not only does the company now produce its own content, but quietly been snatching up distribution rights to an array of lesser-known indie films that have been floating around the film festival circuit. The Fundamentals of Caring is just one of the standouts. The film is based on Jonathon Evison’s novel of a similar name, and as such, it follows a grieving caregiver (Paul Rudd) and the disabled boy he cares for (Craig Roberts), as they embark on an impromptu road trip to see some of America’s, ahem, finer landmarks. The resulting film effortlessly takes the surrogate father-son bonding at its core and infuses it with wit, charm, and more sarcasm than Matthew Perry in Friends — which is a good thing.
+BROWSE
