Watch at Home: On the Basis of "Destroyer"
Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 3:37PM by Nathaniel R
Links go to our reviews or interviews
New Blu-Ray / DVDs
• Mirai - an Oscar nominated beauty from
• The Mule -Clint Eastwood's 37th (!!!) feature
• On the Basis of Sex -Failed Oscar bait
• Vice - Inexplicably successful Oscar bait but not-so successful in theaters. It was the second lowest grosser among the Best Pictures globally (only Roma behind it) and second least well reviewed (only Bohemian Rhapsody behind it).
• Welcome to Marwen - Robert Zemeckis crash and burned with this visual fx curiousity about a man who deals with trauma by creating dolls of his war experience. It grossed just $12.7 globally...
Also new/newish: A Dog's Way Home, Holmes & Watson, and the Transformers spinoff with Hailee Steinfeld called Bumblebee, which won surprisingly good reviews. Did you know that the latter was directed by the CEO of animation studio Laika? Now you do...
It's the first live-action feature from Travis Knight who debuted as a director with Kubo and the Two Strings.
iTunes 99¢ Weekly Deal
• The Front Runner -if you're curious about Hugh Jackman's failed Oscar bid last season. Director Jason Reitman seems to struggle when he ventures away from Diablo Cody screenplays, doesn't he?
• Three Identical Strangers -Why do you suppose this very very popular doc didn't snag the Oscar nomination last year?
• The Wife -After 8 weeks on DVD and 34 weeks in theaters (it's still in a three theaters in the US -- haha!) Glenn Close's amazing Oscar-nominated performance is now heavily discounted if you were a hold out. See what all the fuss was about.
Sadly iTunes is skimping on old movies and classics this week for their special deals. Boo!
New to Streaming
- How old are you? 23? 24?
- What the fuck do you care?
- She's 16. Ever heard of statutory rape?
• Destroyer (Hulu) Nicole Kidman is a shell of a police detective in this death spiral of a movie. This is a underrated film. There's a lot going on in Karyn Kusama's feature, beyond Kidman's haunted work. Holding out hope that it gets reevaluated down the line like Birth did (though, we're not claiming it's in that ballpark!). Best Actress last year was SO INSANE. In most years, Kidman would've made my top five but she was all the way down at number 10, despite admiration for her star turn. We were so blessed to have so much great actressing to choose from last year.
• A Quiet Place (Prime/Hulu)
• Native Son (HBO)
• Unicorn Store (Netflix) just reviewed!
ICYMI - What's streaming in April overview
Which of these titles will you be watching and which are you eager to discuss?
Reader Comments (7)
I really enjoyed The Mule and though Clint and Dianne Wiest were very affecting in it.
Sorry Nat but Kidman is really straining to be authentic in Destroyer,she obviously is miscast and gets lost in this nasty film and the awful make up.
On the basis of Sex could never compete with the wildly popular documentary,that's why it failed.
I"m sorry, but in what world is the unorthodox and gutsy agitprop of "Vice" anything resembling "Oscar bait?" Dislike the movie all you want, but this is an in erroneous application of that term and you're better than that!
I feel like I have to watch Destroyer again -- I think KK is such a talented director (The Invitation is just killer) and I wanted to like it so much, but I hattttttttted it and I thought Kidman (who I'm also a devotee of) was straight up awful. I feel like I had to be wrong?
Destroyer is trash. You wouldn't give it a second thought if Nic didn't headline.
Oh, I am DEFINITELY giving Destroyer a look. I thought I'd have to wait a couple more weeks for the blu-ray, so this is excellent news.
I saw Destroyer, and it was different than I thought it would be. I had the impression it would be depressing, grim, a hard sit.
I found it melancholic and heart-breaking.
I was particularly impressed by the kindness and gentleness that the director and actress showed towards the lead character.
Kidman created a many layered character, not layers slapped on with a trowel, but gossamer thin layers applied with great delicacy.
Since this isn’t apparently the way I’m supposed to read this movie, I think it will have a long life, as others continue to read it wrong and see different things in it.
The movie is a good movie.