Lester’s Eight Independent Movie Recommendations I Know You Did Not See That Are Really Good

Lester’s Eight Independent Movie Recommendations I Know You Did Not See That Are Really Good

“KILLING THEM SOFTLY” - R 2012 ‧ Crime/Drama ‧ 1h 37m - When rival crook Johnny Amato (Vincent Curatola) hatches a plan to rob a card game run by mob lackey Markie (Ray Liotta), he picks a low-rent thug named Frankie (Scoot McNairy) to do the job. Frankie picks a less-than-ideal partner (Ben Mendelsohn) to help him, but despite their combined incompetence, they manage to make off with the mob's money. In retaliation, Markie's bosses hire Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt), a mob enforcer, to eradicate those responsible. NETFLIX

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDyaNnrgdp4

“WINTER’S BONE” -  R 2010 ‧ Drama/Drama ‧ 1h 40m - Faced with an unresponsive mother and a criminal father, Ozark teenager Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) does what she can to manage the household and take care of her two younger siblings. Informed by the sheriff (Garret Dillahunt) that their father put their home up for bond and then disappeared, Ree sets out on a dangerous quest to find him. Her entire family's fate now in her hands, Ree challenges her outlaw kin's code of silence and risks her life to learn her father's fate. HULU

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE_X2pDRXyY

“FROZEN RIVER” – R 2008 ‧ Drama/Crime ‧ 1h 37m - After her husband deserts her, working-class mother Ray Eddy (Melissa Leo) is in great need of money to find a home. Lured by the possibility of easy cash, Ray joins Lila (Misty Upham) a widowed Mohawk who earns a living by smuggling immigrants from Canada to the U.S. across the St. Lawrence. NETFLIX

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5pPQdLN4mg

“JUNEBUG” - 2005 ‧ Drama/Comedy-drama ‧ 1h 47m - On the way to meet with an independent artist in the South, newlywed art dealer Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) is convinced by her husband, George (Alessandro Nivola), that they should stop to meet his family in North Carolina. Madeleine's affluent lifestyle clashes with the family, but she befriends George's wide-eyed and pregnant sister-in-law, Ashley (Amy Adams), who is nearing her due date. Through the family, Madeleine gains greater insight into George's character. NETFLIX

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUj7k7Ypb60

“EVERYTHING MUST GO” - R 2010 ‧ Drama/Comedy-drama ‧ 1h 37m - Long time salesman Nick Halsey (Will Ferrell) has seen better days. No longer at the top of his game, Nick, an alcoholic, loses his job for showing up drunk one too many times. On the same day, he finds that his wife has dumped him -- and his possessions -- on the front lawn of their home. Facing the fact that his life is collapsing around him, Nick holds a giant yard sale that turns into a unique survival strategy. Based on a short story by Raymond Carver. NETFLIX

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZC-s2oNLT0

“THE RED VOILIN” -  R 1998 ‧ Drama/Music ‧ 2h 20m – Mostly English – Some Subtitles – MY PERSONAL TOP 10 OF ALL TIME - The intricate history of a beautiful antique violin is traced from its creation in Cremona, Italy, in 1681, where a legendary violin maker (Carlo Cecchi) paints it with his dead wife's blood to keep her memory alive, to an auction house in modern-day Montreal, where it draws the eye of an expert appraiser (Samuel L. Jackson). Over the years between, the violin travels through four different countries, where it has a profound impact on all those who own it. NETFLIX

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3feDUcDRNAg

“LOCKE” - 2013 ‧ Drama/Road ‧ 1h 25m - A man's (Tom Hardy) life unravels after he leaves a construction site at a critical time and drives to London to be present for the birth of a child conceived during a one-night stand. NETFLIX

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_METW96TAFw

“SHORT TERM 12” - R 2013 ‧ Drama/Indie film ‧ 1h 37m - Calm and competent, Grace (Brie Larson) is a young counsellor at a California care unit for at-risk teens. However, her cool facade begins to crack in the pressure cooker atmosphere as she and some of the unruly residents are reminded of past and present abuses. NETFLIX

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhS6tvSb0UQ

Lester’s Quarantine Viewing Recommendations

Lester’s Quarantine Viewing Recommendations

“BETTER THINGS” – FX Network - Family Comedy - Season 4 Currently on FX  - Seasons 1 - 3 on Hulu - `Better Things' is the story of Sam Fox, a single mother and working actor with no filter trying to raise her three daughters -- Max, Frankie, and Duke -- in Los Angeles. She also looks out for her mother, Phil, an English ex-patriate with questionable faculties who lives across the street. Whether she's struggling to keep her daughters close or trying to push one of them out of the nest, Sam approaches every challenge with fierce love, raw honesty, and humor. At the end of the day, Sam's just trying to earn a living, navigate her daughters' changing lives, survive her family, have fun with a friend or two, and also -- just maybe -- squeeze in some private time.

“WESTWORLD” – Science Fiction Drama - Season 3 Currently on HBO – Must see previous episodes in sequence to understand - Westworld isn't your typical amusement park. Intended for rich vacationers, the futuristic park -- which is looked after by robotic "hosts" -- allows its visitors to live out their fantasies through artificial consciousness. No matter how illicit the fantasy may be, there are no consequences for the park's guests, allowing for any wish to be indulged. "Westworld" -- which is based on the 1973 Michael Crichton movie of the same name -- features an all-star cast that includes Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins and Golden Globe winner Ed Harris. Based on the 1973 landmark film.

“KILLING EVE” – BBC & AMC - Drama – Some Dark Comedic Tones – Season 3 Starts April 12^th – Must see previous episodes in sequence to understand - Eve's life as a spy is not adding up to what she had hoped it would be when she started. She is a bored, very smart, MI5 security officer who is very desk-bound. Villanelle is a very talented killer, mercurial in mood, who clings to the luxuries of her job. Eve and Villanelle go head to head in a fierce game of cat and mouse, each woman equally obsessed with the other as Eve is tasked with hunting down the psychopathic assassin.

“ALI WONG” – NEFLIX – Alexandra Wong is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She is noted for her Netflix stand-up specials Baby Cobra and Hard Knock Wife, both of which received critical acclaim.

“DAVE CHAPELLE” – NETFLIX – Needs no selling, he sells himself.

"THE LAST DANCE" - ESPN 10 Part Documentary -  Starts Sunday April 19 - The Last Dance is a 2020 sports documentary miniseries focusing on the 1997–98 Chicago Bulls. The series will feature film from a crew that had all-access pass to the Bulls during the National Basketball Association season

“ANTHONY JESELNIK”  His 2 Netflix one hour specials had me in stitches. With his “Fire in the Maternity Ward” and Thoughts and Prayers” Anthony Jeselnik gets right to it. There’s no opening sequence or introduction. We’re presented with a no political correct approach as one of the most measured disciplined hilarious standup comedians. Whereas some comics race to the punchline, he’ll repeat parts of the setup to punch up the tension.

“OZARK – NEFLIX – Season 3 now available – Created by Bill Dubuque ("The Accountant," "The Judge"), this drama series stars Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde, a financial planner who relocates his family from Chicago to a summer resort community in the Ozarks. With wife Wendy and their two kids in tow, Marty is on the move after a money-laundering scheme goes wrong, forcing him to pay off a substantial debt to a Mexican drug lord in order to keep his family safe. While the Byrdes' fate hangs in the balance, the dire circumstances force the fractured family to reconnect.

“RUN” – HBO – Romantic Comedy -  April 12^th - Ruby Richardson walks away from her ordinary life in the suburbs to revisit her past with her college boyfriend, Billy Johnson. The two made a pact 17 years earlier: If either one of them texted the word "RUN" and the other replied with the same, they would drop everything and meet in Grand Central Station and travel across America together. Merritt Wever as Ruby Richardson, a woman looking to reinvent herself and Domhnall Gleeson as Billy Johnson, a successful life guru.

“THE GOOD FIGHT” – Subscription CBS Access -  Season 4 will premiere with two new episodes on Monday, April 9 and April 16. The series will then return from a one-week hiatus with additional episodes on April 30. - Must see previous episodes in sequence to understand. The series follows Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart, as she loses her employment after an enormous financial scam destroys the reputation of her goddaughter Maia (Rose Leslie) and Diane's savings, leading them to join Lucca Quinn (Cush Jumbo) at one of Chicago's preeminent law firms.

“AFTERLIFE”   Season 2 - April 24 – Netflix - Golden Globe winner Ricky Gervais stars in the comedy series, which he also writes and directs. Tony had a perfect life -- until his wife Lisa died. After that tragic event, the formerly nice guy changed. After contemplating taking his life, Tony decides he would rather live long enough to punish the world by saying and doing whatever he likes. He thinks of it as a superpower -- not caring about himself or anybody else -- but it ends up being trickier than he envisioned when his friends and family try to save the nice guy that they used to know.

“BETTER CALL SAUL” – AMC Season 5 finale – April 20 - He wasn't always Saul Goodman, ace attorney for chemist-turned-meth dealer Walter White. Six years before he begins to represent Albuquerque's most notorious criminal, Goodman is Jimmy McGill, a small-time attorney hustling to make a name for himself. He's a forceful champion for his low-income clients, an underdog whose morals and ambitions often clash. Jimmy works with private eye Mike Ehrmantraut, a former Philadelphia cop and recent transplant to the Southwest. Mike has a specialized skill set -- he's a "fixer" of sticky situations -- that Jimmy soon learns to appreciate.

AVAILABLE NOW

FX “FARGO” Season 1 – 3 – Now on Hulu - Brilliant  - Occasionally Violent - Some of the best acting and writing ever assembled.

NETFLIX “PEAKY BINDERS”- Seasons 1 - 5 – Gritty – Violent Based on true story of UK Organized Crime 1900’s.

NETFLIX “GODLESS” – Multiple Emmy nominated and winning western drama.

HBO  “CHERNOBYL – Gripping – brilliant true story – great acting and writing.

FX “THE AMERICANS” – Now on HULU – A compelling drama for 6 straight seasons about Russian spies living in America during the 1980s.

STARZ - "LUTHER" - Seasons 1 - 5  A British crime drama television series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther and Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan. Luther is a brilliant but emotionally impulsive detective who is tormented by the dark side of humanity while hunting down murderers. Once the self-destructive detective knows the killer's identity, it becomes a psychological duel between predator and prey.

HBO "MCMILLIONS" - 10 part documentary - McMillions is a miniseries about the McDonald's Monopoly game scam that occurred between 1989 and 2001, perpetrated by Jerry Jacobson, who was in charge of security for the agency that ran the promotion, and several accomplices.