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HOLLYWOOD PICK 1:
The greater the distance, the greater the intimacy. In Alejandro Agresti’s The Lake House (2006), a remake of the South Korean film Il Mare, Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves star as two strangers who live in the same modernist home two years apart, but correspond through a time-defying mailbox. The chemistry between Bullock and Reeves (reuniting 12 years after Speed) is exquisite, especially during the iconic scene in which they dance to Paul McCartney’s “This Never Happened Before.” Netflix.
INDIE PICK 1:
For nearly three decades, Terrence Malick labored over Voyage of Time (2016), his dreamlike documentary about the history of life on Earth. The currently streaming 46-minute version is a rapturous, Brad Pitt-narrated journey from the Big Bang to the present; if you dig it, we recommend the extended edition (available on DVD and Blu-ray), which features more contemporary scenes and the voice of Cate Blanchett. Mubi.
HOLLYWOOD PICK 2:
Today, Tony Gilroy is best known for rescuing Rogue One and executive producing its new prequel series, Andor. But in the late aughts, movie buffs knew him as the director of suave and soulful thrillers like Michael Clayton (2007), which stars George Clooney as an unscrupulous legal fixer whose conscience is rekindled by a colleague’s mental breakdown. An Oscar-winning Tilda Swinton co-stars as Karen Crowder, a ruthless rival lawyer who tends to perspire when she orders an assassination. HBO Max.
INDIE PICK 2:
In 2013, Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi) directed Brie Larson, Rami Malek, LaKeith Stanfield and Kaitlyn Dever in Short Term 12, an emotionally lacerating (and profoundly moving) drama set in a group home for teens. The movie may have been a nexus for future stars, but you won’t think about that as you watch. Every performance is pure, unvarnished truth; it’s as if Cretton just happened to turn on a camera as life unfolded in all its horrible, beautiful glory. Free on Amazon Prime, Peacock, Tubi and Vudu.