Tired of scrolling through streaming platforms looking for something to watch? Let us help! In this month’s What’s WWAC Watching? we’re bringing you our favourite recommendations for films and TV shows, including All of Us Strangers, Showgirls, True Detective: Night Country, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and Julian Sands’ oeuvre.
Louis Skye: I finally got around to watching All of Us Strangers now that it’s streaming. I didn’t actually know what to expect from the film; all I knew was that it was a lot of people’s top pick for 2023 and that the Oscars snubbed it pretty badly. Watching the film, I realised early on that this story was going to make me cry. And, hoo boy, did it make me cry! On the surface, it’s a simple story: a lonely man makes an unexpected connection with his neighbour, which gives him the impetus to return to his childhood home. But this film is so much more than that! It’s about what home means to a person, dealing with loneliness, understanding profound loss, being queer, accepting one’s life and what’s in it, and what isn’t. It’s also in many ways about embracing one’s sexuality and celebrating it. All of Us Strangers was beautiful to watch, heart-breaking, yet tinged with hope. The performances were astounding–Andrew Scott will make you cry, if it’s the last thing he does. I don’t usually care about Oscars snubs but this one annoyed me. Clearly, nobody at the Academy understood this film.
Masha Zhdanova: Probably going to sound horribly young here, but I just watched Showgirls (1995) for the first time with my girlfriend yesterday and I had no idea there was homoeroticism in it? Why didn’t anyone tell me the showgirls kissed?! I don’t think I have much to add to the critical discussion around this movie that’s older than me, but it was a fun watch for the most part! Except for the graphically violent rape scene that I don’t think needed to be as long as it was. That was rough. But otherwise, fun Saturday night viewing, and I especially enjoyed the complicated and layered relationship going on between Cristal and Nomi.
Paulina Przystupa: I’m slowly making my way through True Detective: Night Country and it is captivating. As an FYI, it’s not an easy watch and I’d list many trigger warnings for the show if I was doing a full review. It’s a police procedural/murder mystery on the surface but, like the other True Detective seasons, it’s more than detectives figuring out whodunit. Night Country ties horror elements, sci-fi references, and messy human drama into a story that investigates how a group of scientists at a remote outpost in Northern Alaska died and how their deaths relate to that of an Indigenous woman murdered in the same town six years previously. I’m drawn to how the show integrates the complex problems that come from living in resource-extraction-focused remote communities into the investigation. Such towns and places weave the needs of existing Indigenous communities, employees of huge capitalist ventures (like miners and scientists), the families of such workers, and the folks who provide other logistical support (like police and teachers) into a volatile yet familiar tapestry. I’ve not finished the season yet, so there’s still more for me to uncover as I see more of the Night Country.
Emily Lauer: I’ve been watching Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur on Disney+! It’s got a lot going for it, with Lunella’s family, friendships, and love of the Lower East Side all prominent. The animation style is fun to look at and the kid-friendly camp is cranked up high, to Powerpuff Girls level at least. For instance, an announcer-voice voice-over comes in to explain the new villains while they’re shown in silhouette. Perhaps the biggest draw is the fantastic music, which so far has been at least as good as the music in Phineas and Ferb, previously the reigning champion of my Disney animated show music affections.
Since Disney+ got rid of its party watch feature, I’m watching this with some buddies through the very technologically advanced method of pressing PLAY at the same time while we have iMessage open to the group chat in another window. It’s working fine. We have noticed, however, that so far in the series, Moon Girl has been solving a lot of problems she created herself. That’s important, but I think it’s also important to show that kids have to deal with a lot of problems they DIDN’T cause, too. Perhaps that is a focus that will shift in the episodes we haven’t gotten to, yet!
Lisa Fernandes: I have chosen to spend my 2024 having lots of feelings about the late, great Julian Sands, which means my mind is all over the place. Watch A Room with a View and you won’t be let down, obviously but he popped up in so many little gems like Tale of a Vampire (1992) and Crazy In Love (1992), both of which have been tragically ignored by the mainstream.
Of course, some things haven’t aged well — 24, I’m looking at you. But taking a deep dive into his filmography has brought me great joy and great pleasure over the winter. Need a starting point? Try the short film The Escape, an utterly devastating meditation on love, sacrifice, time and death.
