The Weekend Watchlist, 5/23: Leaving streaming in May
Ditch the algorithm and watch these great movies this weekend instead
Happy Friday, PV Guide readers! I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you.
Every Friday, I’m recommending a few great things to watch that the algorithm might not be pushing at you right now, with a focus on variety, so every reader can find something they’re interested in. The Weekend Watchlist will always be 100% free.
I’m on a short vacation this weekend, but that doesn’t stop the weekly recs. This time around, we’re focusing on some great titles leaving their current streaming spots at the end of the month. Some will still be streaming elsewhere, but it’s a good reason to talk about them anyway. At first glance, these movies might all seem like they’re for the same kind of movie watcher, but there’s a lot of poignancy hidden under these seemingly “macho” stories: about the way our world works, and about making real connections across made-up divisions.
What I’m watching this weekend: Ambitiously: Guy Ritchie’s new movie Fountain of Youth on Apple TV and more of Hacks season four. More honestly: Probably a lot of Food Network. Idk guys, I’m on vacation.
This week’s recs
The Insider
If you like: Corporate thrillers, unbelievable true stories, Michael Clayton
Watch at: Criterion (leaving May 31), Hulu
Watch trailer here
I watched The Insider for the first time last year, and it absolutely blew me away – it’s now my favorite Michael Mann movie (a very high bar! Love that guy). It tells the true story of tobacco whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) and the dogged efforts of 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) to protect his source and get the important story to air.
The Insider is an all-time great corporate thriller buoyed by terrific performances, but it’s also extremely relevant to modern events – Bergman faced a lot of downward pressure from his bosses at CBS, who didn’t want him to run the story. With what’s been going on with 60 Minutes lately and the general collapse of American media and society at the behest of the rich and powerful, The Insider hits harder than ever. It’s also a powerful reminder of the impact just a few committed people can have to make the world a better place, even if the people responsible for the crimes of the tobacco industry never really paid for it.
Joint Security Area
If you like: Murder mysteries, political thrillers, deep feelings, Park Chan-wook
Watch at: Criterion Channel (leaving May 31), Arrow, free with ads on Tubi, free with a library card on Kanopy
Watch trailer here
Park Chan-wook is in the very top tier of my list of favorite living filmmakers. When I was first getting into movies in college, I wrote a whole paper on the use of labor tools for violence in his Vengeance trilogy. All of his movies (and shows! His adaptation of The Little Drummer Girl is sublime) are exciting and moving, but my favorite is the one that put him on the map: Joint Security Area.
Set in the demilitarized zone dividing North and South Korea, Joint Security Area follows an investigation by a Swiss Army major into the murder of two North Korean soldiers. The story is told gradually and non-linearly, bringing into focus a complicated and impossible friendship formed amidst the ever-present nonsense of borders and bureaucracy. It was a career-making movie for Park, but also for leads Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun, who both deliver terrific performances in a movie that manages to be equal parts entertaining and tragic.
Den of Thieves
If you like: Bank robbery movies, dirtbag characters, action-focused crime thrillers
Watch at: Netflix (Leaving May 31), AMC+
Watch trailer here
A down-and-dirty LA heist thriller that is often lovingly described as “dirtbag Heat,” Den of Thieves stars a Pepto Bismol-chugging Gerard Butler as a piece-of-shit cop chasing a group of highly skilled bank robbers. It’s a part of an exciting new wave of crime thrillers that focus on veterans using their military skills to make money in a society that would rather not think about them (Michael Bay’s Ambulance is another standout here), and it’s leaving Netflix this month.
The sequel, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, is also on Netflix and is worth mentioning because it’s good counter-programming for the new Mission: Impossible movie, for those that aren’t regularly venturing to theaters. While the first movie takes strong influences from Michael Mann crime thrillers, the second stylistically functions more like a European spy thriller, and both rule in their own fun ways. Bonus reading: While I was at Polygon, I interviewed writer-director Christian Gudegast about Pantera’s standout car chase and his future plans for the franchise.
A bonus Gerard Butler rec: Kandahar is also leaving Hulu at the end of the month. It’s an underrated spy thriller where Butler plays a CIA operative who has to suddenly flee Afghanistan with his interpreter (the excellent Navid Negahban) when their cover is blown.
Bonus bonus rec: With a new Guy Ritchie out this week, it’s a good time to watch some of his greatest hits. I highly recommend two of his recent underrated bangers, the Jason Statham action vehicle Wrath of Man (free with ads on Tubi) and The Covenant (Prime Video, and almost the exact same plot as Kandahar). They get listed here because if you like Den of Thieves, you’re probably going to be into these movies, too – we prioritize a variety of recs here at PV Guide. 🙏