Saturday Night Movie Recommendations with Abe

Welcome back to a weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. I'm going to be providing a handy guide to a few choice movies currently playing in theatres as well as several films newly released on DVD and Netflix. I invite you to add in your thoughts on any films I haven’t seen in the comments below.

Now Playing in Theatres

It missed out on a Golden Globe nomination, but Cold War is still pretty much guaranteed to be an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film and likely the strongest challenger to “Roma.” Fans of director Pawel Pawlikowski’s previous film, “Ida won’t be disappointed. I liked his newer film more even if it’s still moderately miserable and melodramatic. If Beale Street Could Talk, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Favourite, Green Book, and Widows.

New to DVD

One of my favorite films from Tribeca, All About Nina, didn’t earn its star Mary Elizabeth Winstead any accolades for her superb turn as a stand-up comedian. It’s one of my top films of the year and should be widely seen. In a Relationship, another underappreciated Tribeca selection, features fantastic performances and a great modern-day love story. It didn’t make the Best Documentary Oscar shortlist, but Michael Moore’s latest film, Fahrenheit 11/9, is well worth a watch, especially for anyone feeling politically frustrated at the moment. Previous picks include: Colette, Juliet, Naked, Blindspotting, The New Romantic, Never Goin’ Back and The Miseducation of Cameron Post.

Now on Netflix Instant Streaming

A handful of films from the past two decades are now available. The journalism thriller Kill the Messenger, starring Jeremy Renner, is a solid choice. The 2002 Oscar winner The Pianist still holds up as one of the most affecting Holocaust movies ever made. It didn’t get much attention aside from Maggie Smith’s lead performance, but I enjoyed 2012’s Quartet quite a bit. Another 2012 film that received considerably more attention is Silver Linings Playbook, which I liked even though it’s relatively overrated. One Day features an inventive premise that works somewhat well and great performances from Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. Though I’d recommend the fourth and fifth entries of the series best, the original 2001 The Fast and the Furious has its merits, while its immediate Vin Diesel-free sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious, isn’t quite as strong. And don't miss previous releases like Roma and Breath.