The Streaming Genie
By Jacob Skubish
Submit a message below to tell me how you’re feeling, what you’re in the mood for, and what streaming services you have. I’ll respond with a movie recommendation, and I’ll never give you the same movie twice. A running list of all the (anonymous) messages and recommendations are below.
Recent Recommendations
Message: I would like a movie that is going to make me laugh a whole bundle during these sad indoor times.
Response: We could all use a laugh right now. Cedar Rapids, streaming on HBO, is a comedy I really love. Ed Helms and John C. Reilly are hilarious, and it’s a really heartfelt story.
Message: Nothing with zombies or the apocalypse. I like heist-y movies like Ocean's 11, 13, 8 and the Italian Job. I really liked Knives Out last year. In the MCU, I liked Ragnarok, the Ant Mans, and the Tom Holland Spidermans - so I like quippy and snarky, I guess. Also a sucker for a rom com, as Crazy Rich Asians and Notting Hill are in my top 10.
Response: You should watch In a World…, streaming on HBO. It’s a comedy about the world of voiceover actors, with a little bit of romance sprinkled in as well. Lake Bell, the star, writer, and director, is a true talent who I wish would make more things as excellent as this.
Message: I need some peace, my house feels too cramped and chaotic. The last few movies I watched and really enjoyed were The Royal Tenenbaums, Shawshank Redemption, and Ratatouille. I like visually pretty movies, and interesting characters.
Response: You have truly excellent taste! Three of my all-time favorite movies right there. I’d recommend Frances Ha, streaming on Netflix, because Greta Gerwig’s performance brings me such joy. Since you also mentioned in your message you’re not opposed to renting a movie, I’d toss in a recommendation for Paddington, which is just one of the the most wholesome, insightful movies released in the 2010s.
Message: Looking for a quarantine date movie. Something lighthearted that you don't have to pay toooooooo much attention to, but also demonstrates that I am a *~cultured~* lady. Maybe something in the vein of The Truman Show? Nothing too violent or sad please!
Response: This respondent is clearly familiar with my penchant for violence and sadness. But I’m here to give the people what they want. I’m going to go with Logan Lucky, streaming on Amazon Prime. A light heist movie that just keeps chugging along and that you could skip five scenes from and be just fine.
Message: I love romances, romantic comedies, indie movies and dramas. I lust for a good coming of age story. I love to laugh and to cry. I hate horror, don't love action movies, and am ambivalent about animated films. Some of my favorites are "It's Kind of a Funny Story," "Hunt for the Wilderpeople, "Book Smart," "Moonrise Kingdom," and "Call Me By Your Name".
Response: One of my absolute favorite indie rom-coms is Submarine, streaming on Amazon Prime. It’s like a British Moonrise Kingdom, with a killer original soundtrack from Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner.
Message: I love a movie that keeps me thinking for a while after its over. Social commentary, psychological thriller etc. Great patient dialogue is always a plus too. Not a huge horror fan.
Response: I’d watch Enemy, streaming on Netflix. An unnerving doppelgänger thriller that will have you Googling what its ending means as soon as it’s over.
Message: i’m just very bored and lonely rn. using movies to replace human interaction
Response: Very understandable that you’re feeling bored and lonely, and thank you for limiting human interaction! So important that everyone does that right now, and thankfully we have movies to pass the time. I’m going to recommend Support the Girls, streaming on Hulu, which is a lovely comedy that really believes in the power of human connection, and has a genuine belief in the goodness of people.
Message: I am looking for a movie that is a thinker. The kind of movie that you almost need to watch a second time.
Response: Watch The One I Love, streaming on Netflix. It’s a sci-fi/rom-com that I knew I wanted to watch again as soon as I finished it to try to see what I’d missed.
Message: SUPRISE ME hehe
Response: A real challenge! Let’s go with Love & Mercy, streaming on Hulu. It’s about Brian Wilson, front man for The Beach Boys, and tells the story both in the 60s as the band is making “Pet Sounds” and in present day as he struggles with mental illness. Paul Dano and John Cusack, playing the two versions of Wilson, are both incredible.
Message: I want a light-hearted comedy that includes a swine
Response: You can stream the 1973 animated version of Charlotte’s Web on Amazon Prime!
Message: I like good movies like Stalker, Chungking Express, and Power Rangers.
Response: Wow, truly an incredible mix of films here. Trolling? Unclear. But since it seems like you have a penchant for pop and for the bizarre … I’ll recommend Adaptation, streaming on the Criterion Channel, which takes us inside the inner workings of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s brain and features an outlandish double performance by Nicholas Cage.
Message: I love a coming of age, a juicy doc, a gorgeous indie film, a heartfelt comedy, an 80s/90s classic. Almost anything besides horror, stupid humor or action :)
Response: I’ll combine some of these categories to give you an indie documentary/coming of age story: The Wolfpack, streaming on Hulu. The twist: confined to their apartment for their entire lives by an overbearing father, these six brothers have learned everything they know about life from recreating their favorite movies. It’s wild stuff.
Message: Some of my favorite movies: Beasts of the Southern Wild, I am Mother, How to Train Your Dragon, Star Wars: Rogue One, Wreck it Ralph, The Florida Project.
I love fantasy stuff and some sci fi, things that are sad, etc. A lot of what I really like in a movie is deep character exploration, less so interested in the details of the plot and more about understanding the depth of the people involved.
Response: I haven’t seen I Am Mother, so looking forward to checking that out. As far as sad/introspective sci-fi, a couple recommendations for you. First is Ex Machina, streaming on Netflix. A slow-building, chilling take on our lack of control over AI technology. If you’ve already seen that, I’ll suggest Under the Skin, also streaming on Netflix, as a backup. It’s a movie I have mixed feelings about, but it is visually and tonally unlike anything else.
Message: We are running out of movies we both want to watch. We both just want a good distraction from everything right now, whether that’s a comedy or a drama or anything else. I think his ideal choice would be a classic comedy or drama that he’s somehow never seen before, but it has an amazing cast and lots of iconic moments. My ideal choice would be a newly released drama/thriller with a big plot twist at the end. Those are really specific, but you get the idea.
Response: Those are very different requests, so I will give one of each! For a classic comedy, watch The Apartment, streaming on Amazon Prime. Best Picture-winning comedy from 1960 about a man who lets executives at his company use his apartment for their affairs. For a recent thriller, I’d recommend Unsane, also streaming on Amazon Prime. It’s about a woman who gets committed to a mental institution against her will, even though she doesn’t need to be … or does she? Hope you are staying safe, my friends <3
Message: Here are some of my favourite movies of all time. Maybe that will give you an idea of what I like? Thanks for doing this! It’s super cool!
1. Good Will Hunting
2. The Departed
3. 1917
4. Django Unchained
5. No Country For Old Men
6. Shutter Island
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
8. The Shawshank Redemption
9. The Dark Knight
I’ll leave the deciding to you! I’m in for anything.
Response: Thanks for the message! An excellent list of favorite films. It’s an action-packed list, which is why I’m recommending Good Time, streaming on Netflix. The movie kicks off with a heist gone wrong and finds our criminal hero on the run from police for the rest of the movie. It’s tense the whole time, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
Message: I want a movie that has a lot of gangsters, has me on the edge of my toes, and a cop tryna bust them all. Basically movies like the departed
Response: Not exactly a gangster movie, but: if you want nonstop action and a cop trying to track down a criminal, look no further than The Fugitive, streaming on Hulu. Harrison Ford is on the run for a crime he didn’t commit, and this movie just never lets up.
Message: I’m looking for a new space Opera- Star Wars, Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy type setting.
Response: Hmmm…not a ton of great Space Opera options on Netflix. Jupiter Ascending fits the description; it’s not a good movie, really, but it is so bad that it’s kind of fun. As an alternative, I’d suggest you watch Moon. It’s mostly a one-man show and not as big a production as it sounds like you’re looking for, but it’s an inventive sci-fi movie set in outer space.
Message: Quarantine got me feeling all the feels all at once, hence I’m dying for a dram-rom-com, or just any of those genres on their own. I’d love to watch something you think is a staple or a hidden gem.
Response: Definitely a great time to catch up on rom-coms. I’ll give you a staple and a hidden gem. Some Like It Hot, streaming on Amazon Prime, features one of the all-time great comedy performances from Marilyn Monroe. And Plus One, on Hulu, came out just last year and is a ridiculously underseen movie about two friends doing the will they, won’t they dance.
Message: Hi! I’ve been really into coming of age, love, and feel good movies. I would love a movie that just makes me feel happy about being alive. Something that will make me think and feel joyous. Kind of “Little Miss Sunshine” vibes if possible. Thanks so much!
Response: One movie that always makes me feel good is The Kings of Summer, available on Amazon Prime. The movie follows a group of friends who decide to run away from home for the summer and live in the woods. The friendships are endearing and I’m always smiling through the whole movie. Plus, there are some hilarious side performances from Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, and Kumail Nanjiani.
Message: Dear Streaming Genie,
When I was growing up, I loved watching Turner Classic Movies with my grandparents. It probably had something to do with the blanket “nest” they would make me, but I’ve always found movies from the 40s and 50s incredibly comforting, whether everything gets sorted out in the end (It’s A Wonderful Life) or they keep me on the edge of my seat (To Catch A Thief) or they end in heartbreak (Casablanca). I like suspense and intrigue more than action movies. I love trains. I’d prefer a non-musical recommendation, but only because I think I have a good sense of what musicals are out there. Even though I have it memorized, Bringing Up Baby (not quite the 40s) makes me laugh so hard I cry.
Thank you!
Response: I still trade movie recommendations with my grandma to this day; she’s the one who got me to watch Hitchcock gems like Dial M for Murder and Rear Window. You already seem like a seasoned film-watcher of this era, but hopefully you haven’t already seen Sunset Boulevard. It’s available on Amazon Prime and follows a screenwriter’s strange relationship with a washed up movie star. One of the many great films from the legendary Billy Wilder.