Looking for something to watch this weekend? Don’t fancy paying an extra £20 to watch Mulan? Well, don’t worry Screen One has you covered. Just open up Netflix and try one of these three choices. Something for everyone.
Parenthood (1989) Dir: Ron Howard
The late 80’s Steve Martin was at the top of the comedy movie mountain. He was coming off the back of Roxanne, Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and to end the decade he starred in this ensemble piece from then rising director, ‘the kid from Happy Days’ Ron Howard. Featuring Joaquin Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Dianne Wiest, Mary Steenburgen, Rick Moranis, Martha Plimpton, Tom Hulce and Jason Robards it was an incredible collection of actors and performers in what is a beautifully funny and heartwarming view of family. The lives, the loves, the squabbles and Steve Martin is the epicentre of the chaos that revolves around him. A role that he would magnify a few years later in Father of the Bride I & II. A must watch.
Darkman (1990) Dir: Sam Raimi
Back before Sam Raimi launched Spiderman onto a unsuspecting audience and before Liam Neeson had a particular set of skills, Raimi created Darkman, a brutally violent superhero movie as he couldn’t get the rights to The Shadow. So if you’re looking for something a bit different from your usual Marvel or DC glossy fare then this is a sure fire hit. In fact it’s still one of the best superhero films made currently.
The Prince Of Egypt (1998) Dir/s: Brenda Chapman, Simon Wells, Steve Hickner
Again, another alternative to the usual from it’s genre, Steven Spielberg and his Dreamworks Studio released an all new musical version of the story of Moses from the bible (Which just before the pandemic hit was about to hit the West End stage too). Featuring another all star (Voice) cast including Ralph Fiennes as Moses, Val Kilmer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Patrick Stewart, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Martin Short & Steve Martin (Him again). With an incredible parting of the Nile scene and massive chart topper with “When You Believe” from Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, it was a massive commerical success. But, while it’s not been mentioned much over the past decade in light of cleaner CGi animation, this is another one of those family classics that is worth another watch or for some of the younger ones, maybe for the first time.
