Do you feel like you’re drowning … but you haven’t even left your couch? Welcome to the Great Content Overload Era. To help you navigate the choppy digital waves, here are The Globe’s best bets for weekend streaming.
Is That Black Enough For You?!? (Netflix)
Elvis Mitchell in Is That Black Enough For You?!?Hannah Kozak/Netflix/Netflix
The list of film critics turned filmmakers is short: James Agee, Paul Schrader, Rod Lurie, and we can of course count François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard (Roger Ebert also wrote the script for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls). Joining this list now is Elvis Mitchell, former New York Times film critic who makes his documentary debut with Is That Black Enough for You?!?. The Netflix production traces the history of Black American cinema, with a focus on the 1960s and 70s, when representation exploded thanks to the likes of Gordon Parks and Melvin Van Peebles. The energetic and personal doc should ensure that Mitchell stays on the other side of the game from here on in.
Bros (on-demand, including Apple TV, Google Play, Cineplex Store)
Luke Macfarlane, left, and Billy Eichner in a scene from Bros.Nicole Rivelli/The Associated Press
We can talk all day (or, more likely, tweet all day) about why Bros failed at the box office. Are straight audiences to blame for not showing up for this queer rom-com? Or did Universal Pictures badly market the Billy Eichner vehicle, emphasizing its history rather than its comedy? Whatever the answer, now is the time to discover director Nicholas Stoller’s genuinely hilarious movie, which offers a wealth of knock-’em-dead jokes and super-charming lead performances from Eichner and Canadian Luke Macfarlane.
The Bob’s Burgers Movie (Crave)
Bob Belcher (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin), Linda Belcher (voiced by John Roberts), Louise Belcher (voiced by Kristen Schaal), Gene Belcher (voiced by Eugene Mirman), and Tina Belcher (voiced by Dan Mintz) in The Bob's Burger Movie.Courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
While this feature-length spin on the long-running Fox prime-time cartoon is designed for long-time fans – complete with narrative callbacks, recurring side characters, and more retail signage puns to fill Bob’s burger-of-the-day chalkboard from here till eterni-brie – there is enough gentle comedy, clever music and emotionally effective beats to welcome complete newbies, too. The animation is slicker, the original-songs budget more generous (the movie is, like the series, half-comedy and half-musical), and the guest stars are plentiful.
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (Netflix)
Saad Siddiqui as Hector in episode 'The Viewing' of Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities.Ken Woroner/Netflix
Not every episode in this horror anthology series works – in fact, I’d say that 75 per cent of the segments are completely interchangeable and disposable. But if you are in the mood for a supremely atmospheric hour of high style and gross gags, then Episode 7 (”The Viewing”) by Panos Cosmatos is a must-see. Set in the 1970s, the tale focuses on a group of disparate experts (including a Stephen King-like horror novelist and a mentalist modelled after Uri Geller) who are summoned by a wealthy industrialist (Peter Weller in pure B-movie king mode) to see … something. Enjoy the synth-heavy ride, and then ignore the rest of the episodes and seek out Cosmatos’s equally wild Nicolas Cage thriller Mandy.
In Bruges (Prime Video)
Colin Farrell, right, and Brendan Gleeson in a scene from In Bruges.Jaap Buitendijk/The Associated Press
If you spent last weekend at the theatre enjoying The Banshees of Inisherin, then spend this weekend indoors watching the first collaboration between director Martin McDonagh and leading men Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Released in 2008 and since becoming a cult favourite, In Bruges casts the two warring fellas of Inisherin as hitmen sent to the title city in order to complete a mission that goes not exactly as planned. Just as sharp and sardonic as McDonagh’s current art-house hit, In Bruges is a dark delight.