June 2024’s Best Streaming Titles: Oppenheimer, Office Space, The Bear, The Lego Movie, Paddington, Rush Hour

In this hilarious parody/homage to classic blaxploitation films, Black Dynamite (Michael Jai White) is the baddest mofo in the hood. But in order to defeat The Man who killed his brother, the dealers pumping heroin into the streets, and the fiendish Dr. Wu’s kung fu treachery, Black Dynamite will have to unleash his full martial arts fury… and show the ladies some love, too.

In this neo-noir from Rian Johnson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a high school student attempting to solve the murder of his ex-girlfriend, which soon draws him into the seamy underbelly of his California suburb. Utilizing the same sort of hard-boiled dialog you’d see in a Dashiell Hammett story, Brick makes for a really interesting viewing experience anchored by Gordon-Levitt’s lead performance.

This Steven Spielberg movie about a group of people whose chance encounters with extraterrestrials cause them to leave their lives behind for some unknown quest is a sci-fi classic, if ever there was one. And it still holds up after more than 40 years, thanks to its sense of awe and wonder, which culminates in an iconic scene where the aliens and humans finally learn to communicate with each other.

Hackers is completely unrealistic in its depiction of computers and technology. And yet, it’s one of the best computer movies ever made because of its over-the-top sense of style and joyful, anarchistic idealism. (I highly recommend reading this oral history of the film’s genesis and production.) Yeah, I can nitpick and mock its depiction of hacking and how computer networks and interfaces work. But secretly, I totally wish all of that stuff really did work (and look) like it does in Hackers.

In this harrowing adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel, a hunter discovers a bunch of drug money and decides to keep it — which puts him in the sights of a psychotic hitman (Javier Bardem, in a chilling performance). Meanwhile, the only one who might save him is an aging, world-weary sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones, also giving a fantastic performance). No Country for Old Men may not have the quirky humor that the Coen Brothers are best known for — O Brother, Where Art Thou? this most certainly is not — but its depiction of human evil and darkness is captivating and provocative in its own right (read my review).

Once of 2023’s biggest movies, Oppenheimer tells the story of America’s race to build the atomic bomb led by the brilliant physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy in an Oscar-winning performance). But the film is as much about Oppenheimer’s fall from grace and post-WW2 controversies, including his past communist ties. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer also stars Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, and Kenneth Branagh.

Set before the events of the Star Wars movies, during the “High Republic” republic era, The Acolyte follows a Jedi investigating a series of crimes, only to uncover a grander conspiracy. The Acolyte stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae (one of South Korea’s most acclaimed actors), Manny Jacinto, and The Matrix’s Carrie-Anne Moss.

Featuring Will Ferrell in the part he was born to play, Anchorman takes us back to the halcyon days of the ’70s, when well-coiffed newscasters ruled the airwaves and told us what we needed to know. Chief among these men is Ron Burgundy, whose reign is threatened when a woman becomes his co-anchor.

When it was released in 1999, Fight Club generated no small amount of controversy due to its dark, seemingly nihilistic plot about a couple of guys (Edward Norton, Brad Pitt) who start an underground fight club that eventually grows into an anarchist cell. But all of the hullabaloo over the film’s darkness and violence overlooked the fact that it also made some valid points about the hollowness of consumerism and materialism (read my review). Since then, Fight Club’s reputation has grown, with some critics calling it a defining movie of the late 20th century.

When it comes to over-the-top, special effects-filled, big screen spectacle, it doesn’t get much better than Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day. Yes, Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum taking on an alien invasion may require you to suspend your disbelief higher and longer than you’d like to, especially if you’re concerned about, say, the science of the movie’s events. But if you do, you’re in for a whole lot of explosion-filled, world-saving, alien-busting fun.

Peter Gibbons seems to have it made with his cushy job. But the office environment is stifling and his overbearing boss, Bill Lumbergh, drives him nuts. After a hypnosis session goes wrong, Peter finds himself seeing life in a new way — which includes openly rebelling against his office drone lifestyle. Though a box office failure, the film has achieved a cult status over the years. Anyone who has ever sat through a boring meeting, had to come in on the weekends, or dealt with malfunctioning office equipment can relate to Office Space’s humorous absurdities.

The series about a Chicago restaurant and its scrappy, passionate staff has become one of the big hits of the recent TV season. Season three finds the staff of The Bear, led by chef Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), trying to ensure their restaurant’s success while struggling with their individual problems, traumas, and relationships. The Bear’s third season was filmed back-to-back with its fourth.

Ang Lee’s martial arts epic was a huge success when it appeared in 2000, winning numerous awards (including four Oscars) and becoming the most successful foreign film in American box office history. With its dramatic storyline, sweeping cinematography, evocative score, and graceful combat, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon proved that martial arts films could be more than cheesy action comedies, and ushered in a wave of artsy martial arts films including Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and The Promise.

After the owner of the America’s largest renaissance festival announces his retirement, a power struggle ensues between the three people clamoring for his throne. This three-part documentary series looks to be all kinds of ridiculous, in the vein of Netflix’s Tiger King.

For their feature film debut, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele — of Key & Peele fame — star in this tale of a man who will do anything to get his beloved kitten back, even if that means infiltrating a violent gang or taking on some legendary assassins. As you might expect from Key and Peele, Keanu is hilarious, turning plenty of gangster movie tropes on their head with the help of a cast that includes Tiffany Haddish, Method Man, Luis Guzmán, Will Forte, and of course, Keanu Reeves.

The original Dune may be a train wreck, but it’s a fascinating train wreck. Just start with the fact that it was directed by the one and only David Lynch, who was so disappointed by the final film that he’s completely disowned it. However, parts of it still hold up pretty well (Kyle MacLachlan’s performance, the production design) and the film has since developed a considerable cult following.

I’ll admit, I had very low expectations for The Lego Movie when it was originally announced. But I need not have worried: The Lego Movie turned out to be way more delightful, inventive, and affecting than I could’ve expected. When a lowly Lego guy named Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt) finds himself in possession of a powerful relic, he’s drawn into a conflict between freedom fighters and an evil overlord that will completely change his view of the world. The Lego Movie also features the voice talents of Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie, Will Ferrell, and Morgan Freeman (to name a few).

When a young woman agrees to meet her boyfriend’s family, she’s shocked to discover that they are extremely wealthy. Her own modest background immediately puts her at odds with them, especially her boyfriend’s stern mother, who’s concerned that she’s just a gold digger. Starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, and Michelle Yeoh as the family matriarch, Crazy Rich Asians was one of 2018’s most critically and commercially successful films.

Glen Powell has become Hollywood’s latest breakout star thanks to his performances in Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You, and Hit Man looks to continue his streak. Directed by Richard Linklater, the dark comedy stars Powell as a professor who moonlights has a hit man for the local police department, and finds himself falling for a woman who seeks to hire his services. The film has been a critical smash since premiering on the festival circuit.

Young Billy Elliot dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer — something that’s easier said than done in a working class family in ’80s England. Billy Elliot was a smash success upon its release in 2000, and was eventually adapted into a Broadway musical.

Matt Damon stars in this thriller based on Robert Ludlum’s 1980 novel about a man who awakens with no memory but soon finds himself the target of the American intelligence community. Luckily, he possesses a set of deadly skills that will come in very handy. Also starring Run Lola Run’s Franka Potente, The Bourne Identity helped kick off the Bourne franchise, which delivered some of the best action/thriller films of the 2000s.

After hearing about the brutal murder of a Kansas family, acclaimed author Truman Capote becomes fascinated by the story, and insists on traveling to Kansas to document it for his next book (which would eventually become In Cold Blood). The late Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a bravura performance as Capote, portraying the author as a charming and talented man who is not above using manipulation to achieve his own selfish goals for fame.

As an adaptation of the long-running Hellblazer comic, Constantine ticked off fans by casting Keanu Reeves as the cynical British sorcerer/occult expert/con-man John Constantine and transplanting him to California. But once you get past that (not to mention the film’s muddled plot and theology), Constantine can still be a fun Hollywood-level “B” movie. The plot: when Constantine agrees to help a detective (Rachel Weisz) solve the mystery of her sister’s suicide, they’re both drawn into the long-running conflict between Heaven and Hell. Cue the special effects, gross demons, and Reeves’ inimitable watchability.

On paper, John Wick’s premise is pretty silly: a retired assassin returns to a life of violence to avenge his dead puppy in spectacularly bloody fashion. But of course, there’s a lot more to it than that. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the film boasts some of the best action filmmaking of the last ten years and a sense of style that’s only enhanced by Keanu Reeve’s dedication and intensity. John Wick spawned three sequels, each more outrageous than the last, and a truly fascinating mythology.

Wong Kar-wai’s follow-up to 2000’s In the Mood for Love took nearly four years to make, due to the director’s (infamous) perfectionism and exacting style. Told in non-linear fashion, it follows a heartbroken writer’s (Tony Leung) various attempts to get over the loss of his one true love. Weaving elements of sci-fi in with Wong Kar-wai’s noted visual style and languid storytelling, 2046 isn’t the easiest film to get into, but it makes for a truly unique and dream-like cinematic experience (read my review).

An incredibly gut-wrenching depiction of how racism and hatred corrupts, American History X stars Edward Norton as a former neo-Nazi who, upon leaving jail, attempts to prevent his younger brother from making the same mistakes he did. Director Tony Kaye disowned American History X due to studio tinkering but there’s no denying the film’s power, especially Norton’s performance.

If you’re looking for the ultimate over-the-top ’80s action flick, then you’d be hard-pressed to find a better candidate than Commando. Directed by Mark L. Lester, Arnold Schwarzenegger is at his musclebound ’80s-est as Colonel John Matrix, a retired Green Beret who’s forced back into action after mercenaries kidnap his young daughter (Alyssa Milano). Commando is utterly ridiculous as Matrix tears through wave after mercenary wave with machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, and gardening tools.

John Cusack stars as a rumpled and cynical record store owner who decides to try and make sense of his failed relationships by seeking out his old partners. Based on Nick Hornby’s novel of the same name, High Fidelity is filled with music in-jokes, especially when Cusack spars with his employees, and specifically, Jack Black’s extremely annoying Barry Judd.

Coming after the brilliance that was Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown seemed pretty reserved, even underwhelming. Tarantino’s adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch is arguably his most understated film, but it features the absolutely dynamite pairing of Robert Forster as a world weary bail bondsman and blaxploitation queen Pam Grier as the titular stewardess who sets out to double-cross a violent gun runner.

A modern adaptation of Michael Bond’s stories about a marmalade-loving bear who travels from “darkest Peru” to live with the Brown family in England might seem a bit odd. But the truth is, Paddington is an absolute delight of movie. Starring Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, and Ben Whishaw as Paddington’s voice, it’s full of good-natured, big-hearted fun as the lovable bear gets into all sorts of adventures while trying to avoid capture by an unhinged taxidermist (Nicole Kidman). The film received widespread critical acclaim, winning “Best Feature” at the British Academy Children’s Awards.

On paper, the combination of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker seems terrible, or at the very least, terribly annoying. But in Rush Hour, the two became a surprisingly effective comedic duo as they race to save the kidnapped daughter of a Chinese dignitary with a combination of fast talking and martial arts mayhem.