If you’re tired of endlessly scrolling through a buffet of viewing options without a trusty recommendation, you’ve come to the right place! Each week I list a handful of titles I’ve enjoyed to help you shake up your weekly streaming routine.

What Happened to Monday (Sci-fi Thriller)

Netflix

[image error]Let’s pretend this recommendation has an invisible asterisk next to it. Why? Well, I’m not recommending it on the grounds that it’s necessarily good; rather that it’s a unique viewing experience, both in spite of its shortcomings and (in a perverse way) because of them. The movie opens on a montage that sets up its dystopian vision of the future: mass overpopulation has led to a one-child policy. Siblings are strictly forbidden. The jackboots enforcing this draconian measure – the Child Allocation Bureau – routinely round up siblings for cryopreservation, assuring distressed family that their kin will be released in “better days ahead.” That arrangement doesn’t really work for Terrence Settman (Willem Dafoe), whose daughter perishes giving birth to septuplets. So, naturally, he names his seven granddaughters after the days of the week and teaches them how to share and coordinate a single identity. If you’re already skeptical about a cast of characters with names like Saturday and Thursday, you should be – the movie never quite overcomes the gimmick. That said, What Happened to Monday has an ace in the hole: Noomi Rapace. I’m not sure if “underrated” is the right word to describe her career, but she doesn’t get the kind of exposure or acclaim I think she deserves. Despite a mostly one-dimensional script, Rapace renders each sister in a distinct, compelling performance. Not only that, each sister’s persona is well-suited to her assigned day of the week: Saturday is a party girl, Sunday is “the believer,” Monday’s kind of a bitch, and so on. This is no mere Parent Trap split-screening, however – Rapace carries the entire film through seven separate roles occupying the screen together in various combinations. It’s worth seeing this movie to witness this spectacle alone, and it’s a good thing because you’ve already seen everything else in better movies. Brutalist architecture at the totalitarian HQ? Check. Nick-of-time “hacking” courtesy of someone sporting glasses, beanie, and standard-issue slacker sweater? Check. Nondescript henchman supervising the hunt for fugitive protagonists? Double-check. Again, Rapace’s septuple tour-de-force is the only unqualified positive here. The rest of the movie is entertaining…albeit jarring, tonally confused, and self-contradictory. It’s a weird ride, to say the least, but it’s got all the makings of a cult classic and – as previously mentioned – SEVEN NOOMI RAPACES.

Peep Show (Comedy)

Amazon Prime

[image error]This is one of my all-time favorite shows. I’ve seen every episode at least once, and a few upwards of ten times. The premise borders on contrived: a pair of single guys – slacker Jeremy (Robert Webb) and tightwad Mark (David Mitchell) – slogging through daily life in the UK. Peep Show sets itself apart, however, with two specialties. First, everything is shot from point-of-view; second, Mark and Jeremy’s self-absorbed inner monologue narrates the proceedings. I won’t lie, it’s a bit of an acquired taste…so the sooner you start acquiring it, the better! Peep Show thrives on its characters’ insecurities and dysfunctions; in that sense, I’m tempted to compare it to Seinfeld or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. There’s a shared focus on unlikable characters stumbling into absurd capers, often with a heavy dose of macabre humor. Peep Show elaborates on this formula, though, with characteristic Britishness – that singular admixture of self-deprecating wit, dry commentary on the general pointlessness of life, and sometimes just plain silliness. Fear not, the Mitchell & Webb duo know when and where to inject the necessary pathos to maintain proper balance. Peep Show is one of those views that doesn’t exactly soar right away; its effects are cumulative. Still, it’s one of the smarter things you can watch involving the mundane crises of middle-class white guys in the UK. More importantly, it’s hilarious.

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (Documentary)

HBO

[image error]This doc has already had its time in the sun. It collected a few awards (and nominations) a couple of years back, but it’s no less potent for its absence from the current viral circuit. Going in, I thought I knew a lot about Scientology; I’d seen the South Park episode(s), watched a few interviews with former members, read up on L. Ron Hubbard. I was still floored by what I learned in Going Clear, and I expect you will be as well. Now, the chronicling of flagrant human rights abuses is reason enough to watch this riveting documentary – but it also operates on a more general level. I’ve long been fascinated with the study of religion, but its Achilles heel is that so much crucial development occurred centuries or even millennia ago. With Scientology, however, we have a modern case study in how a religion is born, how it evolves, and what lengths its willing to go to secure its interests. Not only that, but in this particular case study the specifics beliefs are so outlandish they strain the credulity of the most devout believer. Consequently, Going Clear crystallizes a recurring theme in the present cultural and political climate: all too often, people simply do not make sense. Of course, the truth of this revelation is that it’s been a recurring theme for our species as long as we can remember. Nevertheless, Going Clear is a timely reminder that the right combination of wish-thinking, brainwashing, charismatic leadership, and money can be downright lethal.