Billy Donoso
Weymouth MA
Hi! I'm Billy and I'm an Editorial Intern here on Telescope. I'm studying film at Williams College and try my hand at screenwriting and filmmaking on the side. Some of my favorite films on the site are Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later", Alex Garland's "Ex Machina", and Andrei Tarkovsky's "Solaris."
Osama
In Afghanistan, a teenaged girl dresses as a boy so she can work to support her mother and grandmother.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Afghanistan, Ireland, Japan • 2003
- Director Siddiq Barmak
- Cast Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati, Zubaida Sahar, Mohammad Nadir Khwaja, Khwaja Nader
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, fuboTV, Epix Amazon Channel, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV
Run Lola Run
(Lola rennt)
Every second of every day, you're faced with a decision that can change your life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 1998
- Director Tom Tykwer
- Cast Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri, Armin Rohde, Joachim Król
- Genre Action, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
I'm in love with 'Run Lola Run.' It's a bizarre love that is so hard to explain, but what it comes down to is that Tykwer is so incredibly confident and in control with this movie that harnesses so many tools of cinema to their fullest. It is a thrillride, and the techno soundtrack is enough to make me feel like a Formula One driver when I blast it while driving down highways. The use of animation as a figural and literal dividing line between realities is as clever as it is charming, in all of its elementary-school drawing glory. The central conflict is melodramatic beyond perhaps anything I've ever seen before, and yet it is balanced by moments of unmatched groundedness. Lola's father first telling her that he never really raised her and abandoned both her and her lunatic mother was heartbreaking in how utterly subversive it is. Up until that point, it functions as an escapist thriller with glimpses of postmodernism in the form of snapshots into side characters' lives. This bank interaction embodies a kind of dramatic realism that multiple other scenes fit cleanly into as well: the pillow talks between Manni and Lola. They, too, are emotional fulcrums that balance out the thrill of the race against time and fate. They are brief interrogations into the concept of love rather than expressions of love, and frankly, we as the audience need that! Lola and Manni are so romantically obsessed with each other in the majority of the action of the movie that it would feel extremely over-exaggerated if there weren't any scenes that give them a basis to feel this strongly for each other. It is extremely welcome to see the laid-back, cigar-hazed, crimson glazed conversations in the bed where Tykwer takes a few minutes to explore and question if their pure emotional attachment stems from something real, from a purely rational angle. I think that gets at the kind of bizarre love I feel for this movie. As far as the pendulum swings towards thrilling cinematic pleasure we take from our characters' seemingly infinite capability and power, it also swings in the other direction towards cerebral and intellectually honest reflections of the limits of cinema and the limits of our characters. It engages my sense of curiosity just as much as it engages my primal craving of cinematic energy, which is no easy feat at all.
Jojo Rabbit
It takes the friendship with a young girl to change this boy's mind about the tyrannical leader of his country.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, United States • 2019
- Director Taika Waititi
- Cast Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, Taika Waititi, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson
- Genre Comedy, War, Drama
- Available on fuboTV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, FXNow
Okja
A young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend — a massive animal named Okja.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea, United States • 2017
- Director Bong Joon Ho
- Cast Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Ahn Seo-hyun, Byun Hee-bong, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins
- Genre Action, Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
The Death of Stalin
In the Kremlin, no one can hear you scheme.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, France, Belgium • 2017
- Director Armando Iannucci
- Cast Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Olga Kurylenko
- Genre Comedy, History
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
Liza, the Fox-Fairy
(Liza, a rókatündér)
DJ? Play the least romantic song you've got!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hungary • 2015
- Director Ujj Mészáros Károly
- Cast Mónika Balsai, David Sakurai, Bede Fazekas Szabolcs, Schmied Zoltán, Gábor Reviczky
- Genre Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel
Shoplifters
(万引き家族)
Sometimes it's better to choose your own family.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2018
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cast Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka, Jyo Kairi, Miyu Sasaki, Kirin Kiki
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Peacock Premium, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, DistroTV, Hoopla
28 Days Later
His fear began when he woke up alone. His terror began when he realised he wasn't.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2002
- Director Danny Boyle
- Cast Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston, Noah Huntley
- Genre Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Snowpiercer
In 2031, the passengers aboard the Snowpiercer are the only survivors on Earth.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea, Czech Republic • 2013
- Director Bong Joon-ho
- Cast Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Ed Harris, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell
- Genre Action, Science Fiction, Drama
- Available on MGM Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Plex, Plex Channel
Wittgenstein
If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Japan • 1993
- Director Derek Jarman
- Cast Clancy Chassay, Karl Johnson, Michael Gough, Tilda Swinton, Kevin Collins, Nabil Shaban
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Kanopy
Ex Machina
After winning a contest to spend a week with the CEO of his company, coder Caleb is given the opportunity of a lifetime
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2015
- Director Alex Garland
- Cast Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac, Sonoya Mizuno, Corey Johnson, Claire Selby
- Genre Drama, Science Fiction
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand, Kanopy
The Square
How much inhumanity does it take before you access your humanity?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, Germany, France • 2017
- Director Ruben Östlund
- Cast Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West, Terry Notary, Christopher Læssø, Lise Stephenson Engström
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, FlixFling, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Freevee, DistroTV, Hoopla
Shaun of the Dead
"Dawn of the Dead" gets a satirical update with this 30-something loser.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, France • 2004
- Director Edgar Wright
- Cast Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Nick Frost, Dylan Moran, Bill Nighy
- Genre Horror, Comedy
- Available on Starz, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Train to Busan
(부산행)
Martial law is declared when a mysterious viral outbreak pushes Korea into a state of emergency.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2016
- Director Yeon Sang-ho
- Cast Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Jung Yu-mi, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee, Kim Soo-an
- Genre Action, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Kocowa, Hi-YAH, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Rakuten Viki, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Solaris
(Солярис)
A psychologist must keep his mind intact as he navigates a space station full of strange visions.