Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there — including the moms who also took up the role of dad and want to steal an extra holiday for themselves. If you’re spending the day at home, we have a few movie and TV streaming recommendations for you (on Netflix), no matter what kind of dad you are. Sit back, relax, an celebrate the one you love with a full day of streaming.
For the dad who has a “gym” in the garage: From the New York Times:
If Antoine Fuqua’s new film, Southpaw, were a boxer, if would be a lot like its hero, a light heavyweight named Billy Hope. Played with downcast eyes and rock-hard abs by Jake Gyllenhaal, Billy is a bleeder and a brawler, an earnest, inarticulate guy with a ferocious punch and not much in the way of grace. In case his last name isn’t a broad enough hint, you might take a moment to read his tattoos. “Fighter” and “Father” are scrawled along his sinewy forearms. His back says “Fear No Man.” Only ironically, and late in the game, do the words “Great White” precede his name.
Trevor Noah: Afraid of the Dark
For the dad who skewers Trump from his recliner. From Decider:
It’s the same wide-eyed amazement and amusement he has brought to The Daily Show for the past year-and-a-half as a foreigner with fresh eyes on American politics and TV journalism. . . . We’d all be better off, he notes even earlier in the hour, by getting out of our comfort zones quite literally, and exploring the world around us. “If there’s one thing you won’t waste your money on, it’s traveling,” Noah says. “Travel the world. See another place. Discover a different point of view. Traveling is the antidote to ignorance. That’s so true! It changes your mind, your perspective, how you believe, what you believe.”
For the dad who dropped a lot of acid in the ’60s/’70s. From Indiewire:
Giving a whole new meaning to the idea of Doctors Without Borders, Doctor Strange is a superhero movie that often feels as though it’s been shot through a kaleidoscope — it’s hollow, hypnotic, and every twist of the tube reflects a beautiful new dimension of infinite possibilities. Unapologetically folding the likes of The Matrix and Inception into the fabric of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sinister director Scott Derrickson reaches into the mirror dimension (whatever the hell that is) and retrieves the year’s most (only?) visually dazzling blockbuster.
For the dad who isn’t afraid to admit that Ryan Gosling is a good-looking guy. From RogerEbert.com:
Shaking up the cinematic doldrums of early spring, here comes The Place Beyond the Pines, a self-confident, self-aware, almost cocky piece of filmmaking from the immensely gifted Derek Cianfrance. It is an epic film centered on pivotal moments in the lives of working-class and fringe-society types who wake up every morning and go to bed each night with the same question hanging over their heads: how are they going to make ends meet? Few if any leading men in Hollywood have hotter careers right now than Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper, but The Place Beyond the Pines is anything but a slick, dual-star vehicle. An outstanding supporting cast and an immensely talented creative team join Cooper and Gosling to put together a film that touches greatness.
For the dad who wants to be shot into space when he dies. From Blu-ray.com:
Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, an often stunning update of Carl Sagan’s iconic Cosmic: A Personal Voyage, makes it abundantly clear that the universe is awash in miracles and the unexpected, but perhaps not even a rocket scientist (a type often credited with inherent genius) could have predicted that the name of Seth MacFarlane would be among the Executive Producers. Even more astounding is the fact that MacFarlane evidently was instrumental in getting a bunch of important Sagan papers and notebooks to the Library of Congress, as is detailed in one of the supplements appending this appealing new Blu-ray set. As MacFarlane jokes with Sagan’s widow Ann Druyan at the Library of Congress celebration, maybe this helps to make up for all the “fart jokes” he’s told on television. The participation of MacFarlane of course ultimately makes little difference to the quality of deGrasse’s efforts, for it’s the amiable astrophysicist, the sort of guy who can demolish Jon Stewart in one fell swoop by telling him that The Daily Show’s opening graphic features the Earth spinning in the wrong direction, who set the tone and tenor of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. And it’s here that Sagan’s long shadow finds a contemporary companion.
For the dad who tells weird jokes that only you understand and can’t survive without black coffee. From The Digital Fix:
Twin Peaks was the brainchild of Mark Frost, writer of Hill Street Blues and the wild and weird David Lynch – a man who has a knack for putting his subconscious onto the screen. TP made its way onto our TV sets in the early 90s and was pretty much an overnight sensation trailblazing the way for the likes of the X-files and consorts. Sadly TP was probably a little too avant-garde (and still seems to be) and was cancelled after its second season.
For the dad who always knows which family members have cancer and who is getting divorced. From Chicago Reader:
Goldthwait is developing from a brilliant bad-taste comedian (he wrote, directed and starred in the cult favorite Shakes the Clown, about a grievously alcoholic birthday clown) into a comic filmmaker with real ideas. Perverse sexual adventures may figure prominently in Sleeping Dogs Lie and World’s Greatest Dad, but Goldthwait never goes for the easy laugh. What gives both movies their edge is his honest recognition of his characters’ needs, no matter how dark. Honesty in turn becomes a major thematic concern, though in each movie Goldthwait arrives at a radically different morality. In Sleeping Dogs Lie, the protagonist begins with an outsize regard for the truth and eventually learns the ethical value of deception. In the more conventional World’s Greatest Dad, the protagonist constructs a gigantic lie that gives him everything he wants in life except his self-respect.
For the dad who collects vinyl. From Billboard:
The appropriately titled documentary I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, which chronicles the crazy busy life of DJ/producer Steve Aoki, [offers] a firsthand look into his world. . . . The film, which shows Aoki as both a superstar on stage and a family man at home in Japan, was three years in the making and filmed during the production of Aoki’s well received Neon Future. And while it follows the rollercoaster that is his career, it also offers insight into the loving yet rocky relationship he has with his father, founder of the restaurant chain Benihana. The story comes full circle with the aid of interviews from family members as well as industry insiders and DJs such as Diplo, Tiesto, will.i.am, and many more.
For the dad who is too foul-mouthed to invite around polite company. From AV Club:
Despite that rather direct start, this is not a special full of explicitly political material. No references are made to Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, as the show tends to focus on Louis CK’s philosophy more than his concrete views. And it’s a decidedly bleak philosophy. He discusses suicide with remarkable candor, noting that when he tells his therapist that he hasn’t had suicidal thoughts, it’s only because of how they might react if he had responded in the affirmative, a point that could resonate with anyone unsure about exactly how much to reveal in a therapy session. Furthermore, he mentions that he’s felt depressed just from looking inside people’s cars, wondering how much worse it must be for the people actually stuck driving them.