Stream Guide: A Ghost Story & Original Sin (January 12th, 2018)

January 12, 2018 / Leave a Comment

A GHOST STORY

David Lowery’s directorial debut put Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara together in a modern day Western titled “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” which also starred Ben Foster in a supporting role, and now Lowery, Affleck, and Mara have teamed again for a take on the after-life, with “A Ghost Story.” Affleck plays a husband that passes away but returns as a ghost to watch his wife, Mara, in the house that they shared.

The rest of the list is somewhat slim pickings with “47 Meters Down,” a shark thriller starring Mandy Moore, and “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie” both placed on the list because they were some of the bigger titles this week and they were released last year, not necessarily because I want to see them or recommend them. “Original Sin” lands high on the list, an erotic period piece starring Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas, who wed and devolve into an obsession with one another. This was arguably during Jolie’s heyday. In another couple oriented movie, “Revolutionary Road” sees Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet paired up, as a couple in the 1950s looking to escape the mundane lives they’ve made for themselves. This film was nominated for three Academy Awards including one for Michael Shannon’s very supporting role in the film. No stranger to the Academy Awards was 1962 film “Lawrence Of Arabia,” which was nominated for 10 Oscars and went on to win seven of those including Best Picture that year and Best Director for David Lean. Missing his Academy Award nomination at the time, Jared Leto played a very convincing Mark David Chapman, the man who assassinated John Lennon, for which he put on 67 pounds to play the role. Leto would later win his Oscar for his supporting role in “Dallas Buyers Club.” You shouldn’t need a reason to see “The Conjuring,” but if you do, it is now streaming on Netflix as we wait for the third installment to finally be completed and released to us. There’s really no topping the first film, however, which sees paranormal investigating couple the Warrens helping a family when they find out their house is most definitely haunted. “Chuck,” which tells what is apparently the real life story to which “Rocky” was based on stars Liev Shreiber as the title character, a former boxer, with the supporting cast consisting of his wife Naomi Watts, Elisabeth Moss, Michael Rappaport, and Ron Perlman. And finally, one of Robin Williams’ more serious roles in “The Night Listener” saw him play a late-night radio show host who has a correspondence with a young boy, to who he ends up on the path of discovering the truth behind the boy.