Festive film and TV fun.
Storm Desmond may have passed over the weekend and I’m certain that plenty of Irish people spent the weekend in a happy state of ‘Netflix and chill’. Like you needed an excuse!
One of the joys of the festive season is getting to watch all the great films and TV shows that are on offer and Netflix have a few treats in store. Here’s our pick of the bunch.
A Very Murray Christmas
You can’t celebrate the holiday season without Bill Murray and while Scrooged remains a Christmas classic, his new collaboration with Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola will leave you feeling just as merry.
The story is very loose as Bill Murray worries that no one will show up to his T.V. special due to a terrible snow-storm in New York City. What happens next is appearances from some of the biggest names in music and movies as Chris Rock, George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Amy Poehler, Jenny Lewis, Phoenix and more all drop by.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJP3db3R014
How I Met Your Mother: Seasons 1-8
Christmas might be about to get a little bit more legen…wait for it…dary as the smash-hit sitcom is now available to stream.
We all know the premise, a father recounts to his children, through a series of flashbacks, the journey he and his four best friends took leading up to him meeting their mother but this show is all about Barney. There’s no better time to ‘suit up’.
Push
Paul McGuigan is a director who’s films always manage to find a very devoted but niche audience, Lucky Number Slevin, Wicker Park and Gangster No 1 are all his, but he’s probably more famous for directing some of the best episodes of Sherlock that you’ll see.
Push revolves around two young Americans with special abilities who must race against the clock to find a girl in Hong Kong before a shadowy government organization called Division does. It’s definitely worth a watch.
What Happens in Vegas
With lots of Irish people will be travelling to Vegas for Conor McGregor’s fight, why not take a brief glimpse at the inevitable debauchery and fun that they’ll likely get into.
I’m not sure if any of the Irish men will end up marrying Cameron Diaz like Ashton Kutcher does in this rom-com but there’s enough laughs here to keep everyone happy.
Precious
On the more serious side of things, this Oscar winning film about an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is a harrowing and powerful watch.
Gabourey Sidibe turns in one of the best performances that you’ll see in recent years.
Still Alice
This film about a linguistics professor and her family who find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease was beloved by critics last year but very few people managed to see it in the cinema. Now’s your chance.
Julianne Moore is one of those actors that’s always reliable and this is arguably her best performance, she won the Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe.
Men in Black III
Will Smith has reigned supreme at the top of the box-office for the best part of two decades and he’s back in the role that helped turn him into a superstar. This time around, Agent J travels in time to M.I.B.’s early days in 1969 to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K and changing history.
You know what to expect – crazy aliens, wild stunts and sharp one-liners.
Ridiculous 6
Adam Sandler is the very definition of ‘acting marmite’ because while he has his detractors, there are plenty of other people who love his goofy shtick and this Netflix exclusive will definitely please them.
The plot revolves around an outlaw who was raised by Native Americans only to discover that he has five half-brothers; together the men go on a mission to find their wayward, deadbeat dad.
Sandler is back working with Frank Coraci, he directed him in The Wedding Singer, Click and The Waterboy, and the eclectic cast is very strong. Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Nick Nolte, Will Forte, Taylor Lautner, Danny Trejo and Luke Wilson all feature in this spoof western.
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