The intense Stranger Things and a crocodile terror: 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.

Stranger Things

Stranger Things may be wrapping up next month, but I’m just now getting into this incredible show.

The central conceit follows young boy Will, who goes missing. Supernatural forces are believed to be the cause in the small town of Hawkins.

Will’s friends, mother and a wily sheriff try to find him. This sci-fi show is one of the better Netflix originals.

Starring Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown and the rest of a fantastic ensemble, this is a truly astounding cast.

The nostalgic 80s-themed treat is miles better you’d ever expect.

4.5/5 Stars

Rogue

This monster movie is a really cool low-budget endeavour from the mid-2000s, and was unfairly ignored at the time.

It follows a journalist who goes face-to-face with a crocodile in Australia, and must fight to survive on a mud island.

The cast is eclectic, and includes Michael Vartan, Radha Mitchell, and pre-Avatar Sam Worthington.

Writer-director Greg McLean – known for flicks like Wolf Creek and Jungle – creates an impressive creature feature that is sure to entertain and frighten.

I return to this one every few years, and it’s always good for a scary, delightful time at home.

4/5 Stars

Den Of Thieves

Sometimes you just need a good old-fashioned shoot-‘em-up, and that’s exactly what you’ll get with this one.

The heist movie follows a unit of the L.A. Sheriff’s Department and a bank robbery crew who clash. The crew is attempting to pull off an insane heist on the Federal Reserve Bank, and there’s one rogue agent in particular trying to stop them.

The cast is pretty stellar, and includes Gerard Butler, 50 Cent, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Pablo Schreiber.

Writer-director Christian Gudegast – who wrote A Man Apart and Gerard Butler sequel London Has Fallen – creates a taut thriller.

It was a hugely surprising action entry, and a movie that fires on every cylinder,

4/5 Stars

Labor Day

This is a curious film to behold, and one I wasn’t a fan of at all when I first saw it. But over time, I have to say, it’s definitely grown on me.

It follows Adele – a single, struggling mother – who opens her home to a wounded man one day.

She and her son Henry soon realize the police are searching for him, and their houseguest Frank is an escaped convict. The time together soon forces them to learn hard truths about him.

Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin are both fantastic here, and are joined by young actor Gattlin Griffith, Clark Gregg, J.K. Simmons and Tobey Maguire.

Writer-director Jason Reitman may have made one of his weaker entries here, but there are still delights to behold.

3.5/5 Stars

Appaloosa

I love a good old-fashioned western, and this indie is a perfect little genre picture worth investing in.

It follows two men hired by police in a small town to restore order. A rancher is accused of killing three lawmen, and they’re tasked with driving him out.

But a young widow soon drives a wedge between the two men, in a move that could break their once-strong bond.

Ed Harris co-writes, directs and stars as Virgil Cole, and he’s joined by Viggo Mortensen and Renee Zellweger. To top it off, Jeremy Irons is the big bad in this one.

It’s a great flick, and one I had no idea existed until about two weeks ago. The cast elevates the material in a truly meaningful way.

4/5 Stars