New Spike Lee Joint, HBO Max Among June's Streaming Recommendations

by Julian Spivey

HBO Max – Now
On May 27 HBO Max debuted with a large library of movies and television shows (including HBO’s entire library) and a better classic film library than all of the other streaming services combined. When the streamer debuted a few days ago we published THIS preview giving viewers an idea of all it has to offer.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood – Hulu – Now
One of my favorite films of 2019 was Marielle Heller’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” a fictionalized version of journalist Tom Junod’s 1998 profile of Mister Rogers for Esquire. Tom Hanks received an Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Fred Rogers that is just a complete joy to watch. Matthew Rhys’ lead performance as journalist Lloyd Vogel, who’s struggling in his career and as a new father with father issues of his own, is also very strong. If you’re looking for something heartwarming right now, this is it. 

Hannibal – Netflix – June 5
One of the most underrated and greatest network television series of the last decade was Bryan Fuller’s version of “Hannibal” that aired for three seasons on NBC from 2013-2015. This version of “Hannibal” is a prequel to “Silence of the Lambs” and features Hannibal Lecter (an amazing Mads Mikkelsen) as a forensic psychiatrist and part-time cannibalistic serial killer who helps FBI profiler Will Graham (an equally amazing Hugh Dancy) solve crimes of psychopathic murderers. I felt the first two seasons of the series were quite a bit better than its final season, which wasn’t really intended to be its final but did get a decently wrapped up ending), but definitely recommend this little seen when it was on television drama now that it’s available on Netflix. 

Knives Out – Amazon Prime – June 12
Another of my favorite movie releases of 2019 was the superb whodunnit “Knives Out” from writer-director Rian Johnson. “Knives Out” put a nice new spin on the whodunnit mystery genre after the patriarch of a snobbish family mysteriously dies and a master detective is brought in to solve the case. Daniel Craig plays the master detective Benoit Blanc, a Southern gentleman, and he should’ve received an Oscar nomination for his wonderful performance. Craig may be best known for James Bond (and with good reason – he might be the best Bond ever), but my two favorite performances from his are as unique Southerners in this and as the aptly named explosives expert Joe Bang in Steven Soderbergh’s excellent 2017 film “Logan Lucky” (also on Amazon Prime and also recommended). The supporting cast of “Knives Out” is incredibly strong, especially Ana de Armas as the family patriarch’s nurse and confidant. 

Da 5 Bloods – Netflix – June 12
It feels like this country could really use a new Spike Lee joint right about now … lucky for us there’s one coming out next week. Lee has bypassed the American cinema to bring his newest film “Da 5 Bloods” to Netflix. The film premieres Friday, June 12 and sees four African-American Vietnam veterans (played by Delroy Lindo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Norm Lewis and Clark Peters) return to Vietnam decades later in search of the remains of their fallen leader (played by Chadwick Boseman) and the promise of buried treasure.  The trailer was released last month and this one looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun.