Remi’s Streaming Recommendations for this Past Month

Welcome to Corona Confessions - a series written by CJLO community members. Join us on the journey as we recommend anything from healthy home-dweller habits to late night jams. Here’s resident movie expert Remi’s top recommendations for films and TV series that released in the month of May.

A new month of staying around the house and staying safe during the state of quarantine brings the prospects of new television series and movies to stream. Sure, the weather seems to be getting better and there is an itch to go outside while practicing social distancing. Here are some series and movies that were added to streaming platforms this past month that I can’t wait to see during quarantine.

Award Winning films/Underrated Gems and the Critically-Panned

Maybe you want to revisit some of the past academy award-winning films. Crave/HBO sees the addition of Joker (May 22nd) and the grand prize-winner Parasite (May 29th). But what about those underrated gems that went overlooked by the academy but were credited by the critics? Netflix sees Uncut Gems join the party alongside top contenders The Irishman and Marriage Story. Amazon Prime sees Hustlers alongside The Lighthouse, The Farewell, Midsommar and Rocketman that were all mostly unnoticed by the Academy, but well-received by the critics.

The film that I am looking forward to streaming that was critically panned by the critics would be the book adaptation of The Goldfinch (Crave/HBO) from director John Crowley (Brooklyn). The cast list alone includes Nicole Kidman, Ansel Elgort, Jeffery Wright, Luke Wilson, Sarah Paulson and Finn Wolfhard, making it at least worth viewing once. The film is praised as a result of Crowley’s artistic vision and, even though this might not be the best film of 2019, it has been on my watchlist ever since I finished the book.

Back for a Second Season of Laughs

Season 1 of Ramy was one of the best series that I have watched since living in the streaming age under quarantine. I haven’t seen an original comedy in a while that was as fresh and as original since Kidding or Master of None. For a comedy series, the show does not shy away from topical issues including religion, politics, and self-identity. Season 2 of the series from Emmy award-winning show creator Ramy Youssef arrives  May 29th on Starz (Add-on Subscription with Prime or Crave). This new season sees Ramy as he navigates his politically-divided New Jersey neighbourhood and he finds a new Muslim community while embracing a deeper commitment to his faith.

Nothing Like Some Good Standup

If you’re looking for standup this month, look no further than Netflix. Firstly, they have Jerry Seinfeld with his original standup 23 Hours to Kill on May 5th. Watch this while you can, because this may be the last of Seinfeld material for a while as Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee might have hit a cul de sac. May 19th sees the premiere of Patton Oswalt’s I Love Everything. Oswalt is the type of comedian where I can put on one of his comedy albums and the jokes never get old for me.

Another Book Adaptation

I like to read the book before the adaptation, don’t get me wrong on that. Little was known about the adaptation of Wally Lamb’s novel I Know This Much is True. The story revolves around two identical twin brothers and the secrets their mother took to her grave about their real father. This seems like one of the best cast ensembles for a mini series that I have seen in a while, with Mark Ruffalo playing both brothers. Maybe the most notable aspect of this drama is that it is being directed by Derek Cianfrance, who I consider one of the best directors of modern family dramas in the past decade.

 Back to the Musical Roots of Jazz in a Drama

Possibly one of the series that I can’t wait to see would be the Netflix original The Eddy from creator Jack Throne sees Damien Chazelle as the producer of the series and director for the first two episodes. This musical drama miniseries sees a jazz club owner (Andre Holland) in Paris struggling to run his live music venue. Expect some more love and adoration for the jazz genre in this series as previously seen in Chazelle’s La La Land, showcasing the beauty in this particular music scene that is still thriving.

Bonus Writer’s Note

Finally life under quarantine has me revisiting some video games. To prepare for The Last Of Us 2 I am currently replaying The Last of Us Remastered on the PlayStation 4. This is one of the best games of the past decade besides the Rockstar series of releases, or even the other Naughty Dog releases including Uncharted 3 and 4. Given its storyline about a group of survivors of a pandemic that must protect a high value target in order to find a cure, I think it’s quite fitting during these crazy times. I can’t wait to see how Joel and Ellie’s bond continue to grow in the next instalment, due out this June as hopefully another monumental achievement for Sony and Naughty Dog.

Remi is the host of At The Movies which features everything new and noteworthy in the world of cinema. The show goes live every Tuesday at 8:00 AM.