Lost Daughter an Olivia Colman showcase and The Bachelor comes out: 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.

The Lost Daughter

This intense film is getting humongous Oscar buzz, and absolutely swept the Gotham Awards last month.

A wonderful, disquieting independent feature, it follows a woman in her forties haunted by the mistakes she made in raising her now-grown children.

She lounges on the beach during a solo vacation, but the respite and tranquility she seeks is interrupted when she sees a young mother who echoes a younger version of herself.

Haunted by her past, Leda is forced to reconcile who she is now with the choices she made – right and wrong – that led to her station in life.

Based on the Elena Ferrante novel and adapted with a screenplay by first-time director Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter is an intricate work.

Olivia Colman shines as Leda, and she’s joined by a mesmerizing, sympathetic Dakota Johnson. With Jessie Buckley and Ed Harris also turning in complex performances, this Golden Globe-nominated film is not to be missed.

4/5 Stars

North Country

While roles in The Old Guard, Fast and The Furious, Mad Max and Atomic Blonde have solidified her as an action star, Charlize Theron is also an incredible dramatic actress.

An Oscar winner for playing serial killer Aileen Wuornos, Theron received her second Oscar nomination for her role here as a woman facing abuse working as a miner.

Though it’s a fictional account, it follows the first major successful sexual harassment case in the U.S., Jenson Vs. Eveleth Mines, back in 1984.

It is a deeply disturbing, difficult film, but Theron brings it home here again in a fantastic turn. It’s also the first time I was impressed by Jeremy Renner, Sean Bean, Woody Harrelson and Richard Jenkins here.

But in a film about women’s rights dominated by men, Theron, Frances McDormand and Sissy Spacek steal this one.

It will be hard to keep your eyes dry through this captivating piece of cinema.

4/5 Stars

Falling Down

This 90s gem slipped by me until last year, but I had a newfound respect for Michael Douglas after that viewing.

It’s a film that begins normally enough – we view a working stiff, middle-class and drowning in the malaise of his life.

But as he becomes more and more discontent with the world around him and the people in it, he takes matters into his own hands.

He becomes violent and pushes back, with a disturbing air of confidence and verve. Douglas’s portrayal of protagonist D-Fens is flawless.

An anti-hero for the ages, Douglas does a fantastic job, and with Robert Duvall and Barbara Hershey aboard, there is plenty of talent to spare.

Late director Joel Schumacher was one of my favourites for blockbuster entertainment – and from The Client & Phone Booth to Tigerland and this one, he was always interesting, even when he missed the mark.

Falling Down was, in my opinion, one of his best, and emblematic of just how good he could be with the right script.

4/5 Stars

Last Christmas

For those of you missing the holiday season as much as I am, let this one transport you back to December, if only for 90 minutes.

A quirky little Christmas love story based on the George Michael song, it follows Kate, a woman who just can’t seem to catch a break. She wishes she could be a singer, but she’s constantly fumbling auditions.

Feeling hopeless, however, she meets happy-go-lucky Tom, and things begin to change as they fall for each other.

Punctuated by a marvellous, totally weird script from British actress Emma Thompson and gleeful direction from Paul Feig, this one is better than you’ll ever expect.

Game Of Thrones alum Emilia Clarke and Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding are both adorable, and Michelle Yeoh is absolutely hilarious as Clarke’s boss.

I think you’ll really, really enjoy this one, and it took me totally by surprise.

4/5 Stars

Coming Out Colton

For the last two years, the public image of ex-NFL star and former Bachelor star Colton Underwood has taken an absolute drubbing.

A year or so after a media circus and scandal surrounding putting a tracker on his ex’s car – and the restraining order that followed – Underwood announced a secret during a sit-down interview with Robin Roberts.

Underwood has been living a lie for 29 years, and is gay. While many were happy the uber-Catholic personality could live his life outside the closet, questions about his character and actions definitely remained.

While Coming Out Colton doesn’t fully explain – nor sidestep – his past actions, it does present a window into his world as he comes out and seeks support and guidance from his family, his church, his former teammates and friends.

As a part of the LGBTQ2S+, it was nice to see someone trying to live authentically, and the scenes where he talked sex and relationships with out, gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy were adorable.

It’s not a bad series, but frankly, here’s to hoping Underwood opens up even more for season two.

3.5/5 Stars

Jordan Parker’s weekly film reviews can be found on his blog, Parker & The Picture Shows.