Month: February 2021

Last Updated: February 23rd

“Thriller” is kind of a catch-all term for movies that bleed into multiple genres. It can describe films rich with drama, action, crime, and quite possibly horror. That’s why its Netflix category is such a hodgepodge of entries, varying in tone, subject matter, and quality. A good thriller, though, is going to be suspenseful for any number of reasons. An unstoppable killer. An unsolvable mystery. A gripping world that draws viewers into it. A sympathetic character fighting for survival. Something that can keep an audience on the edge of its seats. And based on that, here are the 10 best thrillers on Netflix right now.
Related: The Best Horror Movies On Netflix Right Now

10. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Run Time: 158 min | IMDb: 7.8/10

Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara star in this muted crime thriller from David Fincher based on a best-selling series of books. Mara plays a gifted young hacker with a dark past who teams up with Craig’s journalist to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy woman from a prominent family 40 years earlier.

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9. Blue Ruin (2013)

Run Time: 90 min | IMDb: 7.1/10

Macon Blair stars in this crime thriller about a man who returns to his hometown to carry out an act of vengeance and discovers he’s in over his head. Blair plays Dwight Evans, a vagabond who learns his parents’ murderer is being released from prison and returns home to kill him. He succeeds but ends up starting a blood feud with the guy’s family that doesn’t end how you expect.

8. Nightcrawler (2014)

Run Time: 117 min | IMDb: 7.9/10

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this truly bonkers crime thriller from Dan Gilroy about a con-man who muscles his way into L.A.’s crime journalism scene and very quickly becomes the star of his own reporting. Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) is a petty thief who stumbles his way into the stringer profession — photojournalists who chase crime scenes to sell the footage to local TV stations. As Lou begins to record more exciting crimes, demand for his work grows and he starts staging scenes, obstructing police investigations, and inserting himself in high-speed chases to get the best shot. It’s a twisted, depressing look at the ethics of journalism and the consequences of consumerism, and Gyllenhaal has never been better.

7. The Invitation (2016)

Run Time: 100 min | IMDb: 6.7/10

After back-to-back big studio bombs, Karyn Kusama returned to her scrappy indie roots with this contained, brilliantly suspenseful study of the darkness that can arise when people don’t allow themselves to feel. The Invitation isn’t a perfect film, but Kusama does a lot with the scant resources she had to play with here, and you have to appreciate her willingness to tackle grief so directly in a genre that tends to have little time for genuine human emotion.

6. The Invisible Guest (2016)

Run Time: 106 min | IMDb: 8.1/10

This Spanish crime thriller follows a successful businessman framed for the murder of his married lover. A seemingly straightforward plot, until a car accident, a dead body, fake witnesses, and a family out for revenge is thrown into the mix. Mario Casas stars as the man in question, a young husband and father with a bright future who takes part in a terrible crime and is forced to pay for it in the most twisted of ways. You won’t figure this thing out until the end, we guarantee it.

5. The Killing Of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Run Time: 121 min | IMDb: 7/10

Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos has quickly earned a reputation for delivering highly-stylized dramas, filled with eccentric characters played by more-than-capable actors looking to reinvent and redefine their careers — and he doesn’t change that with this thriller that’s part horror, part mystery. Colin Farrell plays a charismatic surgeon who, along with his wife Anna (Nicole Kidman), must make a terrible sacrifice when a young boy he’s committed to helping begins displaying some sinister behavior. To say anything more would spoil some plot twists that you’ll definitely enjoy.

4. Good Time (2017)

Run Time: 101 min | IMDb: 7.3/10

This gritty crime drama hailing from the Safdie brothers transforms star Robert Pattinson into a bleach-blonde sh*t-stirrer from Queens desperate to break his developmentally disabled brother out of prison. Pattinson plays Connie, a street hustler and bank robber with grand plans to break out of his urban hood while Benny Safdie plays his brother Nick, who gets roped into his schemes. When Nick is sent to Ryker’s Island for a job gone wrong, Connie goes on a downward spiral to get him back. Pattinson’s manic energy carries this thing and there’s plenty of police run-ins, shootouts, and heists (however botched) to keep the adrenaline pumping.

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3. Burning (2018)

Run Time: 148 min | IMDb: 7.6/10

Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun stars this psychological thriller from South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong. Yeun plays Ben, a rich millennial with a mysterious job who connects with a woman named Shin Hae-mi on a trip to Africa. The two journey back home together where Ben meets Shin’s friend/lover Lee Jong-su. The three hang-out regularly, with Lee growing more jealous of Ben’s wealth and privilege while he’s forced to manage his father’s farm when his dad goes to prison. But it’s when Shin disappears, and Lee suspects Ben’s involvement, that things really go off the rails.

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2. Uncut Gems (2019)

Run Time: 101 min | IMDb: 7.5/10

Now, audiences can absorb — from the comfort of their own living rooms — the full gravitational effect of Adam Sandler in the most intense performance of his career. The Sandman arguably got robbed of an Oscar nod for his turn in Josh and Benny Safdie’s electrifying crime thriller that accelerates tension to a fever pitch. He’s superb as a charismatic New York City jeweler who grows increasingly desperate while walking a tight-wire amid relentlessly threatening adversaries, and keep your eyes open for a supporting turn from the always great LaKeith Stanfield.

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1. The Departed (2006)

Run Time: 151 min | IMDb: 8.5/10

Leonard DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and Alec Baldwin star in this crime thriller from Martin Scorsese about an undercover cop and a mole in the police department who attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in Boston. DiCaprio plays the good guy (or as close as) with Billy, a disturbed officer playing the part of a criminal to get close to Nicholson’s kingpin, Frank. Damon plays the rat, Sullivan, who serves as a police officer on the force, but really works for Frank. The two unknowingly thwart each other at every turn, playing a thrilling game of cat and mouse before their secrets eventually come out.

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Recent Changes Through February 2021:
Removed: It Comes At Night, The Interview, Green Room, Fargo, The Silence Of The Lamb, Drive, Zodiac
Added: The Departed, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Elizabeth Olsen was already an acclaimed actress before the MCU tapped her to play Scarlet Witch, but she’s achieved a whole other level of fame with WandaVision, the spin-off Disney+ show that’s been bending minds and ignoring Marvel tropes for almost two months. Speaking of blown minds, the show has caused a lot of people to learn something new: The actress is the younger sister of Full House alumni Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Of course, that’s something a lot of people already knew.

BuzzFeed picked up the latest TIL trend, in which it was news that Elizabeth — who first caught attention with the indie drama Martha Marcy May Marlene — was related to one of the modern age’s most famous twins. The younger Olsen has gone in a much different direction than her sisters, which may have caused the confusion.

That being said, it’s not like this wasn’t common knowledge. For every person whose jaw dropped at learning this factoid, there was another person who couldn’t believe they didn’t already know the truth.

In fact, it’s pretty obvious, no?

Of those who weren’t aware, at least one wondered if this was something they were doomed to keep forgetting, only to “learn” about it over and over again.

Apparently those that didn’t know weren’t die hard Mary-Kate and Ashley fans. If so, they would know they gave Elizabeth her big break, granting her her first role in their 1994 TV movie How the West Was Fun, in which she played “Girl in Car.” She even appeared in a 1995 episode of Full House, when she was only 6. Olsen wound up studying acting, including a stint at the Moscow Art Theatre. There she gained the chops you see every week on WandaVision, in which she’s called on to do a different type of sitcom acting in each episode. Although with that, she probably got some help from her older sisters.

(Via BuzzFeed)

Anthony Edwards is slowly but surely turning into one of the most entertaining players in the NBA. On the court, Edwards is growing into life in the league as a potentially devastating scorer for the Minnesota Timberwolves, as the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft is capable of producing some big offensive nights and highlights that cause jaws to drop.

Off of it, Edwards is a wonderful personality, and any time he gets in front of cameras, his loose, carefree attitude will inevitably shine through in one way or another. The latest example of this came on Tuesday evening before the Minnesota Timberwolves took on the Milwaukee Bucks. Edwards met with the media prior to the tip and, upon getting a question from an Irish reporter, lit up over their accent.

“Where you from, Jim?” Edwards asks. After being told Ireland, he began smiling from ear to ear.

“I like your accent,” Edwards said. “It’s tough. I wanna learn how to talk like that. But, ask your question again, I was too much listening to your accent.”

There are plenty of athletes who do everything they can to be as bland and boring as possible for one reason or another. Anthony Edwards is not one of those athletes, and for that reason, he rules.

The 2021 NBA All-Star Game’s reserves were announced on Tuesday night, and for the most part, the list of 14 players who will come off the bench in Atlanta next month is pretty justifiable. One rather noteworthy player was unable to make it into the reserves, though, and someone who is going to captain the game decided to show them some love in the aftermath.

LeBron James took to Twitter following the news that Devin Booker was not named an All-Star for the second time in his career. In an attempt to shower him with some praise, James called Booker “the most disrespected player in our league.”

Ironically enough, there’s a chance that Booker gets in because one of James’ teammates, Anthony Davis, has been dealing with some injury issues and Booker makes a ton of sense as a reserve. But Booker is a guy who oftentimes gets a ton of love from other players for his ability to score and play make for the Suns, and James is joining a chorus of dudes who pay their respects to Booker’s game.

Booker wasn’t the only guy who got some love from James, as he also identified his second most disrespected guy in the NBA: Portland Trail Blazers maestro Damian Lillard.

Lillard was named a reserve, but he was not named one of the game’s 10 starters. James is not the first player to recognize Lillard in the aftermath of that, as Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks said that he believed Lillard should have started the game over him.

On March 1 legendary activist, singer, and actor Harry Belafonte will celebrate his 94th birthday. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a fundraising event through his organization Gathering For Justice will be held on February 28 to commemorate the big day, featuring a healthy collection of celebrity friends and fans. Among the names on the guest list are Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jay-Z, the latter who will accept the Gatekeeper Of Truth Award.

Belafonte’s event is sponsored by philanthropist and investor Robert F. Smith and his wife, Hope. There will also be performances, video tributes, and testimonials by civil rights and racial justice leaders, artists, athletes, and more. In addition to Jay-Z and Miranda, viewers can also catch appearances from Common, Danny Glover, Alfre Woodard, Chuck D, Bernie and Jane Sanders, Stacey Abrams, Aloe Blacc, Tamika D. Mallory, Rev. Al Sharpton, Tiffany Haddish, Usher, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and more.

Belafonte founded the organization in 2005 after learning of a 5-year-old Black girl who was cuffed and arrested in a Florida classroom for being unruly. Altogether, their goal is to build a movement to end child incarceration while working to irradicate racial inequities.

The virtual event will be held on 2/28 at 7 PM EST. You can read more information about it here.

Each year, there are at least two full rounds of discourse with regard to the NBA All-Star selections. First, the starters are announced, leading to the inevitable discussion about which players didn’t quite make the five-man cut in both conferences. This year, most of the focus was on Damian Lillard falling short in the West, even with exactly zero suspense about his ultimate inclusion on the Western Conference roster when the reserves emerged. To that end, Tuesday’s reveal of the All-Star reserves in both conferences is usually the far more animated conversation and, in 2021, that is likely to continue.

As something of a disclaimer, the 24 player selected (12 on each side) are all quite good at basketball, even if beauty is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. In fact, there are several “snubs” this time around, and six seem to stand out above the rest, even with many more on the periphery.

Honorable mentions

• Domantas Sabonis, Malcom Brogdon and Myles Turner
• Gordon Hayward
• Fred VanVleet
• DeMar DeRozan
• Tobias Harris

Khris Middleton

This is the most stunning omission, at least for me. Middleton has always been underrated, but it was jarring to see him fall short. After all, Milwaukee still has the second-best net rating in the NBA, and Middleton is averaging 21/6/6 on 51/43/90 shooting. Yes, he isn’t flashy and the Bucks aren’t winning at quite the clip as they did last season, but Middleton is definitively one of the 12 best players in the East.

Trae Young

There was some discussion about Young being on the outside looking in, and his exclusion wasn’t as surprising as Middleton. With that said, Young was a starter in the East last season and, in short, he is better this season. His defense has been better (even if not good), the Hawks are better overall (and much better when he’s on the floor than when he’s off), and Young’s overall shooting efficiency is the best it has ever been. Perhaps this is indicative of some blowback about his foul drawing, or maybe the East field is just more crowded, particularly at the guard spot where James Harden will suddenly occupy a spot annually. Regardless, Young has a real case to be bothered by this omission, particularly when comparing his profile head-to-head with a few of the reserves.

Mike Conley

Maybe it was the fact that Conley missed a handful of games in recent days. Maybe it was the relative lack of counting stats. Maybe it was that both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell made the cut. It still would’ve been awesome to see Conley get the nod for the first time. It is worth noting that, in the West, there will almost certainly be an injury replacement for Anthony Davis, and perhaps Adam Silver will tab Conley to give the Jazz a third rep and bring things full circle. For now, he’s a snub.

Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler

Adebayo was a pretty surprising omission, especially when compared to Nikola Vucevic. Adebayo is averaging 19.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and an impressive 5.5 assists per game, all with tremendous defense and versatility. Still, it is at least possible that Adebayo and Butler “split the vote” for a Miami team that has underachieved in the standings this season. The case against Butler is almost definitely tied to missing double-digit games but, on a per-game basis, he’s been tremendous yet again.

Devin Booker

Chris Paul, not Booker, will represent the Suns in the All-Star Game, and that isn’t completely egregious. Paul always drives winning, and he’s made a big impact on Phoenix. It is more than appropriate to include Booker on any “snub” list, though, as he is averaging 24.7 points per game on 50/38/85 shooting and leading one of the better teams in the West. He, like Conley, figures to be at the top of the reserve selection pool in the West should Davis not play as expected, so it’s possible the Suns get their starting backcourt both in the game.

We’re nearly a year into the pandemic, and what a year it has been. We’ve gone through the struggles of shutdowns, the trauma of mass death, the seemingly fleeting “We’re all in this together” phase, the mind-boggling denial and deluge of misinformation, the constantly frustrating uncertainty, and the ongoing question of when we’re going to get to resume some sense of normalcy.

It’s been a lot. It’s been emotionally and mentally exhausting. And at this point, many of us have hit a wall of pandemic fatigue that’s hard to describe. We’re just done with all of it, but we know we still have to keep going.

Poet Donna Ashworth has put this “done” feeling into words that are resonating with so many of us. While it seems like we should want to talk to people we love more than ever right now, we’ve sort of lost the will to socialize pandemically. We’re tired of Zoom calls. Getting together masked and socially distanced is doable—we’ve been doing it—but it sucks. In the wintry north (and recently south) the weather is too crappy to get together outside. So many of us have just gone quiet.

If that sounds like you, you’re not alone. As Ashworth wrote:

---

You’re not imagining it, nobody seems to want to talk right now.

Messages are brief and replies late.

Talk of catch ups on zoom are perpetually put on hold.

Group chats are no longer pinging all night long.

It’s not you.

It’s everyone.

We are spent.

We have nothing left to say.

We are tired of saying ‘I miss you’ and ‘I can’t wait for this to end’.

So we mostly say nothing, put our heads down and get through each day.

You’re not imagining it.

This is a state of being like no other we have ever known because we are all going through it together but so very far apart.

Hang in there my friend.

When the mood strikes, send out all those messages and don’t feel you have to apologise for being quiet.

This is hard.

No one is judging.

– Donna Ashworth

Those of us who find ourselves feeling this way certainly hope that no one is judging. We hope that our friends understand, either because they’re in the same boat or because we all get that we’re all handling this weird time differently.

It’s not that we don’t care or that we don’t miss people outside of our household desperately. It’s more that we miss people so much that we can’t stand this half-baked way of being with people anymore. Personally, I’d rather just wait it out until we get enough people vaccinated over the next few months. I’m holding out for the hugs, man. Going into hermit mode in this final stretch feels more doable than straining to make socializing work with all the limitations and the exhaustion on top of it.

There are exceptions, of course. People who live alone probably need whatever socializing they can get. And checking in with people, especially loved ones you know struggle with mental health issues, is important. Some of this pandemic wall can be veiled depression, so we need to look out for one another and touch base sometimes. It’s also good for us to make connections even when we don’t necessarily feel like it. Sometimes the desire might be lacking, but we’re happy to have connected once we’ve done it.

And of course, there are people who have just pretended that the pandemic isn’t happening this whole time. Maybe those people aren’t feeling this, even while they’re making life harder for the rest of us who are trying to follow the guildelines.

It’s all just hard. There’s no right or wrong way to make it through a pandemic, as long as we’re not actively harming ourselves or other people. Everyone has different needs, and those change as we go through different phases of this thing. It’s just nice to see a common feeling in this phase put into words so eloquently.

Donna Ashworth has published a whole book of poems about the pandemic called “History Will Remember When the World Stopped.” She also has a book of poetry for women, “To The Women: Words to Live By.”

The arts are always a gift, but they can be especially powerful during tough times. Thank you, Ms. Ashworth, for using your words to give voice to what so many of us are experiencing.

Last week, we learned the 10 players who will make up the 2021 NBA All-Star Game starters. Headlined by captains LeBron James and Kevin Durant, it’s hard to have too many gripes about the dudes who will comprise the game’s first unit, although one of the players, Luka Doncic, made clear that he thought his starting gig should have gone to Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers.

On Tuesday night, the league had plans to announce its lengthy list of reserves, but they got beaten to the punch by Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania reported that 14 players, headlined by Lillard and James Harden, will make it to the game, with a handful of them getting All-Star nods for the first times in their careers, with Zion Williamson arguably being the flashiest name of that bunch.

There are, as always, a handful of snubs, but this is a deserving group of players who will take the floor in Atlanta on March 7. The only potential name that could end up getting the All-Star title in an honorary fashion only could end up being Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers. While he has not officially been ruled out, Davis is dealing with an Achilles issue, and the All-Star Game is a little to early for the four-week timetable for a return that was put on him last week.

In only two years in the Senate, Josh Hawley has turned himself into a household name. Unfortunately, it’s mostly for being one of the key lawmakers who helped incite the failed MAGA coup that resulted in five deaths. Like Ted Cruz, the Missouri congressman has not been formally reprimanded for his role in the Capitol storming, nor has he expressed any remorse, nor has he apologized to the colleagues whose lives he helped put in danger. Quite the contrary. On Monday — mere days after being called a “little piece of s*it who should be run out of DC” by noted former general (Russell Honore) — Hawley appeared in the Senate hearing into what happened on January 6. And people were furious.

Hawley spent most of his time during the hearing criticizing the hearing itself. He took umbrage with accusations that those in charge of the officers overseeing Capitol security had given the “appearance of complicity.” Hawley called the allegations “extremely disrespectful.”

The Kansas City Star, which is published in the town where Hawley attended private school, saw through Hawley’s moves, saying his “rejection of the notion that these decisions amount to complicity in the attack is an indirect way to defend his own actions leading up to Jan. 6.” (The day of the attack, the paper also published a scathing op-ed, writing, “No one other than President Donald Trump himself is more responsible for Wednesday’s coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol than one Joshua David Hawley.”)

But most people were simply horrified that the hearings got it backwards — that Hawley should have been questioned, not the other way around.

There were a lot of I Think You Should Leave “hot dog guy” memes.

But Hawley wasn’t the only insurrection-fanning senator who had evaded questioning. There was Ted Cruz, too.

And Ron Johnson.

At one point Hawley tried to defend the infamous photo of him giving a passionate fist-bump to Trump supporters about to attempt an insurrection. But he wasn’t terribly convincing.

(Via Kansas City Star)

It seems like a lifetime ago when DeMarcus Cousins was one of the most promising young big men in the NBA during his All-Star days in Sacramento. It’s been a steep and steady decline ever since as he’s battled multiple injuries, the most recent of which was an ACL tear that cost him all of last season.

Cousins has been back on the court with the Rockets, but the team announced on Tuesday that they were officially parting ways with him, despite guaranteeing his contract last week for the remainder of the season. Cousins had been acting as backup center behind emerging star Christian Wood and was logging a respectable 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in 20 minutes of action.

But his lack of lateral quickness has rendered him a liability on defense, and what’s more, it makes it difficult to envision a scenario in which he can play a significant role on a contender that might be looking to add a little size and scoring punch as they look ahead to the postseason.

Regardless, someone will likely take a gamble on him and talk themselves into believing that he still has some juice left as a scorer who can provide some spot minutes at center. Here are three possible destinations that might make that happen.

Lakers

The latest rumors claim that the Lakers aren’t actually interested in potentially adding Cousins, but you have to take that with a grain of salt. Cousins spent all of last season on the Lakers bench as he recovered from ACL surgery, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to think he could add some depth to a roster that is currently lacking size due to the Anthony Davis injury.

Marc Gasol certainly isn’t what he used to be as a defender or an offensive threat, but savvy and experience make up for a lot. Given his injury history, Cousins’ defensive issues are a real concern, although he could possibly add some scoring to the second unit. The recently waived Quinn Cook clears a roster spot, and depending on how long Davis is sidelined, it could make sense as a stop-gap solution.

Raptors

The Raptors climbed above .500 this week, thanks to a four-game win streak, earning the No. 5 seed in a conference that has become increasingly top-heavy once you get past the Sixers, Nets, and Bucks. It’s the Wild East, and if they want to fight for good playoff positioning, they could use some extra size in the paint and on the boards.

According to the most recent reports, they’d prefer to make a go at Andre Drummond, who’s currently being held out of the rotation in Cleveland as they work toward a buyout. But Cousins would be a much better bargain, even if he comes with all the bargain-bin baggage. The question is whether he fits what they want to do. He’d arguably be an offensive upgrade over Aron Baynes, and he’d help out on the glass, as Toronto has been one of the worst defensive rebounding teams all season. However, on a team that values defensive versatility, he’s certainly not a snug fit.

Blazers

The Blazers frontcourt issues have been well-documented. With Zach Collins out for the season and Jusuf Nurkic out six weeks with a fractured wrist, the center position is virtually nonexistent. But if Terry Stotts can make it work with Enes Kanter clocking substantial time in the middle, then he can surely find a solution for Cousins.

And if you need any further evidence that the Blazers are in the business of refurbishing careers that were previously on the fritz, then look no further than Carmelo Anthony, who was out of the league entirely before finding new life in Portland last season. The Blazers have been on a hot streak despite their injuries, winning seven of their last 10 and moving them into the No. 5 spot in the West.

Cousins, ostensibly, would act much like Kanter in a reserve role, bringing scoring and rebounding to their second unit and trying to minimize what he’d give back on the defensive end. But Portland could be just the right fit for a player who faces a great deal of uncertainty at this point in his career.