TV & Streaming

e erotic Tom Cruise classic on Net ix now

AN icon in the action lm genre, Tom Cruise is celebrated for his daring nature and ability to perform his own stunts. With his largerthan-life performances and enigmatic persona, the actor has made the last few decades of his career memorable with some brilliant blockbusters that cement his legacy.

From high-strung action lms to dark, complex psychological dramas with acclaimed auteurs, Cruise’s boyish charm and proli c acting skills have helped him traverse a wide variety of genres.

Synonymous with the Mission: Impossible lm franchise, which is one of the highest-grossing lm franchises of all time, Cruise is well-known for other lms, including Knight And Day, Jack Reacher, Jerry Maguire, War Of e Worlds, Minority Report, Edge Of Tomorrow, Collateral, A Few Good Men, Risky Business, Top Gun among dozens of others.

Of the various lms in his career, and among the multiple lmmakers he has worked with, Cruise’s best collaborations remain with his then-wife Nicole Kidman and the legendary auteur Stanley Kubrick in the lm Eyes Wide Shut.

Kubrick always wanted to make a sex comedy with a “wide and sombre streak” and ended up making this lm that abounds in bizarre sequences. After much persuasion, he convinced thencouple Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise to star as the lead actors in this lm. Always a perfectionist, Kubrick even convinced them not to take up any other project till they nished shooting the lm.

Based on Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella, Traumnovelle, it seems like an erotic fever dream that plays out like a sensual and surreal odyssey of sex, tumultuous marriages, nudity and obsession against a burgeoning landscape of jealousy and insecurities.

It stars Cruise as William Harford, a doctor in New York City, and Kidman as his wife, Alice. ey attend an opulent Christmas party, after which they discuss their sexual fetishes and fantasies.

Soon, William is drawn to bizarre orgies where, despite being masked, he is recognised. is poses a signi cant threat to him and his family, who cannot escape it no matter how hard they try.

Watch Eyes Wide Shut on Net ix now.

Eternals a Marvel hit for Disney +

THE Disney+ streaming service has been steadily establishing itself as a powerhouse since its launch in 2019. It didn’t take long for originals and new additions on Disney’s service to start standing toe-to-toe (and sometimes beating) the likes of lms over at Net ix. New Pixar and Marvel Studios movies have been especially successful once added to Disney+, a trend that has continued with the latest MCU instalment.

Streaming ratings for February once again dominated by Disney+. Encanto is the biggest streaming hit of the month, racking up 1.5 billion streaming minutes during that span. In third place, behind Amazon’s Hotel Transylvania sequel and ahead of all Net ix titles, is Marvel’s Eternals.

Eternals was added to the Disney+ streaming roster in January and instantly made an impact. While it couldn’t catch Encanto, Eternals was streamed for a total of 557 million that rst week, not far behind Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (595 million minutes). ere was a much bigger gap between Eternals and the biggest Net ix lm on the list. Brazen, released in January, was streamed for 374 million minutes, nearly 200 million behind Eternals.

Eternals will probably stick around in the streaming Top 10 for a couple of weeks, but it will be a while before Marvel Studios has another new lm on Disney+. Spider-Man: No Way Home wasn’t released by Disney and Marvel, so it doesn’t follow the same streaming path as its MCU counterparts. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the next feature lm from Marvel Studios, which will end up on Disney+ 45 days after its theatrical debut in May.

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to watch right now on Netflix

An Aaron Sorkin drama based on a true story? e Trial of the Chicago 7 lives up to its pedigree, following the real-life trial of a group of anti-Vietnam War protestors charged with conspiracy to incite riots. With a stellar ensemble cast, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, e Trial of the Chicago 7 is both topical and full of compelling theatrical energy.

is sports drama from 2019 marked the second occasion director Steven Soderbergh used an iPhone to shoot a feature lm (the rst was 2018’s Unsane). High Flying Bird tells the story of a sports agent facing the chop unless he pulls o a company-saving plan in 72 hours. Capturing the high tensions of professional sports through a unique shooting style, High Flying Bird is a fascinating piece put together with expert direction, editing and performances.

A movie about divorce might not sound like the best viewing experience, but Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story is a journey you’ll want to take. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver give two of the best performances of their careers as Nicole and Charlie, a couple who embark on the emotionally and logistically complicated legal processes involved in prying a partnership apart. Painted with an emotional complexity that includes poignantly funny moments along with the painful ones, this is happy-sad at its best.

Set primarily in Vatican City, this biographical drama follows Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the aftermath of the Vatican leaks scandal. It’s as fascinating as it sounds. e Two Popes carves up a slice of real-life drama with a rst-class two-hander featuring Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins.

Alfonso Cuaron’s semi-autobiographical snapshot of the Colonia Roma neighbourhood of Mexico City tells a small story with staggering prowess. Let Cuaron steer you through the ups and downs of a live-in housekeeper of a middle-class family. His lens captures intricately beautiful scenes in an album that quietly envelopes you with wonder and grace.