5 Movies You May Have Missed That Are Worth Streaming Ahead of Sundance and the Oscars – Comedies and Serious Docs Beckon

I have been reviewing films at the Sundance Film Festival for 15 years (10 of those years). PaperCity). While many of the films that premiere each January in the Utah mountain town of Park City become box office hits (remember that). A real pain, CODA And Manchester by the sea), others will either not be acquired until the end of the year or will go straight to video without much fanfare.

A slow, cold January is the perfect time to discover movies you may have missed that are now streaming. Of the 25 films I saw at Sundance last year, two dramas and three documentaries stood out as my favorites. With this year’s Sundance Film Festival (January 23-February 2) and the Oscars (March 2) just around the corner, we’re taking a look back at some can’t-miss films that are worth checking out. to stream at home.

killer

With Richard Linklater Killer, Glen Powell plays Gary Johnson, a mild-mannered teacher who moonlights as a fake police assassin, which became a huge Netflix hit after a brief theatrical run. Things go wrong when Johnson falls in love with a woman who is planning to hit her husband. Lots taken from a Texas Monthly article Proud Houston native Linklater directed and wrote the film. This film is pure escapism with lots of laughter, romance and a pinch of suspense. Powell, who was a co-author killerreceived his first Golden Glove nomination for the film in a year in which he became a megastar.

If you haven’t seen it yet, killer is still streaming on Netflix.

Thelma

Thelma tells the story of a 93-year-old grandmother who loses $10,000 to a scammer. With the help of a friend, she is determined to track down and recover what was stolen from her. With veteran actress June Squibb in the first leading role of her 70-year career and actor Richard Roundtree in his final role, these two zigzag through Los Angeles in a lighthearted comedy that tackles age stereotypes, autonomy and vulnerability with humor and tenderness explains.

This outstanding film is also entertaining for the whole family.

Thelma is streaming on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV

While the independent film sector and the Sundance Film Festival have not fully recovered since COVID, documentaries remain one of Sundance’s biggest draws. Documentaries, with the exception of music documentaries by artists such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, rarely achieved box office success and most never made it to theaters. So a positive reaction at Sundance is as good a barometer as any Oscar-worthy documentary.

Even though films that focus on a single person aren’t exactly popular with the academy, there are always ones that tug at your heartstrings or show you a different side of someone. Previous documentaries of this type include those about Mitt Romney, Carole King and Taylor Swift.

Superman

This year was one of the most critically acclaimed celebrity documentaries Super/Man: The Christopher Reeves Story. Although this film follows the celebrity documentary format, it still has an emotional impact, underpinned by powerful interviews with Reeves’ children, friends and his close friend Robin Williams. Christopher Reeve was an unknown actor straight out of drama school until he was cast as Superman.

He quickly became famous, but was paralyzed in a horse-riding accident at the age of 42. This documentary is much more than the story of actor Christopher Reeve. It’s the story of how one man responds to an unimaginable tragedy and becomes the true hero behind the cape as a crusader for the disabled.

Super/Man is streaming on Max, Apple TV and YouTube TV.

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is a film that might go unnoticed had it not been received at Sundance, where it won the coveted Audience Award for International Documentary. Ibelin is a young Norwegian with a progressive muscle degenerative disease that left him confined to his home and ultimately took his life at the age of 25.

As his parents mourned him and the isolated, sad life he led, they received messages from online friends around the world, opening their eyes to the vibrant friendships he had built through the gaming community. His online community knew nothing about his illness. The inspiring documentary tells the story of Ibelin’s life in the online gaming community and the impact he had. It also explores the deeper questions of intimacy and friendship without physical contact.

Ibelin is a deeply powerful and moving film that you will thank me for recommending. I’m assuming it’s on the short list of Oscar nominees.

“The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” is streaming on Netflix.

daughters

daughters It’s about four girls ages five to 15 who prepare for a daddy daughter dance with their incarcerated fathers as part of an innovative fatherhood and rehabilitation program at a Washington, D.C., prison. I have to admit that when I read the film’s synopsis, I feared that it would be a hopeless story about the many problems inherent in the prison system.

Instead, the preparation for the dance brought healing and forgiveness to the girls and showed what it meant to the fathers to be loved and missed. daughters is such a powerful and ultimately positive documentary – a tearjerker in the best sense. As a footnote, not all fathers who participated in this program returned to prison. And that’s the point of the film, which won the coveted Festival Favorite Award and the Audience Award for US Documentaries and is on most critics’ shortlist for an Oscar nomination.

Daughters is streaming on Netflix.

Author’s note: Jane Howze is managing director of The Alexander Groupa national staffing company headquartered in Houston. She has been covering the Sundance Film Festival for 15 years.