A cat documentary and an underrated J. Lo classic: This week’s best and biggest on Netflix

Check out Jordan Parker’s ‘The week’s best and biggest on Netflix’ every Friday on CityNews Halifax

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Check out Jordan Parker’s ‘The week’s best and biggest on Netflix’ every Friday on CityNews Halifax.

Day Shift

If I had to pick a movie in the last 10 years I can almost guarantee will become a cult classic, I’d pick Day Shift.

Perhaps this flick will turn out to be severely underappreciated – even by me – and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it made great midnight movie fare.

As it stands, Day Shift is presently a good-not-great action-comedy with some very, very awesome moments.

It’s a vampire movie that follows Bud, a vampire hunter who sells their teeth on the black market to make a living. He poses as a pool cleaner as a cover, and does all he can to provide for his daughter.

But the secrets he’s kept from his family have ruined his marriage and left much of his life in disarray.

Director J.J. Knight – a stunt coordinator for three decades on everything from Blade to John Wick – is adept at action sequences, and it shows.

He also gets more out of stars Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco, Natasha Liu Bordizzo,

and Karla Souza than you’d expect.

But it’s Snoop Dogg in a short-but-showy supporting role that makes this one stand out.

Not everything in this one lands, but it sure is a heck of a lot of fun.

3.5/5 Stars

Homefront

This is a movie I’ve always really enjoyed returning to, even if it isn’t life-changing cinema.

Something about Jason Statham absolutely kicking butt delivers in Homefront in a way I’m not used to.

It’s a dark film about a former DEA agent who moves to a quiet town, only to realize he’s entangled with a meth druglord.

Written by Sylvester Stallone, it’s a starring vehicle for Statham that shows his considerable talent, and gives off a Walking Tall vibe.

Statham, a villainous James Franco, Kate Bosworth, and the always-welcome Winona Ryder make up a really good title cast.

But the background and supporting players like Clancy Brown, Omar Benson Miller and Frank Grillo are also worth notice.

Of Statham’s action vehicles, this is definitely one of the better bets, and a solid thrill-ride.

4/5 Stars

An Unfinished Life

Sometimes a really great movie is just a victim of circumstance.

In the case of drama An Unfinished Life, the media fervour around the flop of Jennifer Lopez vehicle Gigli and her high-profile break-up with Ben Affleck took all the attention off this beautiful work.

It seems full-circle then, that now Lopez and Affleck are reconciled and recently married, just in time for this gem to hit Netflix.

This movie follows an abused woman who takes off to a small town with her young daughter. She flees her relationship and heads to her former father-in-law’s home, years after her ex has passed away.

Resentments and past trauma mark their strained relationship, and they must reconcile their past before they can find new beginnings.

The performances make this movie – from Lopez and Robert Redford to Morgan Freeman, Josh Lucas, and a young, menacing Damian Lewis.

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom – The Cider House Rules and Chocolat – this is an evocative endeavour that deserves a chance now.

4/5 Stars

Long Story Short

I’m a sucker for a great romantic comedy, and Long Story Short was among the most surprising I’ve seen in the genre in a long time.

It follows Teddy, a loving, charismatic man who just can’t seem to prioritize his life. Constantly leaving important tasks until he has more time, he’s losing out on living.

But when he wakes up the morning after his wedding, his life is turned upside down. Every few minutes, he’s transported a year further into his life.

A cautionary tale about wasting your precious moments, Long Story Short is also remarkably funny.

Rafe Spall and Zahra Newman are fabulous here, and it’s so nice to see comedian Ronny Chieng take a supporting role with depth.

Written and directed by Josh Lawson, a star of the recent Mortal Kombat remake, it’s a well-plotted endeavour with plenty of heart.

4/5 Stars

Inside The Mind Of A Cat

I should first reveal that I am a huge lover of cats, and my little pal Ozzie has been spoiled for more than a decade.

Oz and I sat together on the sofa and were both fully captivated by this documentary about the personalities and quirks of felines.

Cat experts examine cats and find out their intelligence levels and just how much emotion they exhibit. It’s an extraordinary, often funny little film.

Dispelling the myths about cats and looking into all their quirky, adorable habits is the centrepiece of this winning documentary.

4/5 Stars

https://youtu.be/5g7JFbsz9vg