Streaming Wars: Henry Cavill Is a Better “Man From U.N.C.L.E.” Than a “Man of Steel”

HOLLYWOOD PICK:

I couldn’t care less that Henry Cavill (the most joyless Superman in cinematic history) is preparing to don the Last Son of Krypton’s crimson cape again. But he’s suave and delightful in Guy Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015) as CIA agent Napoleon Solo, who teams up with a Russian spy (a humorously humorless Armie Hammer) and the daughter (Alicia Vikander) of a Nazi scientist for a series of colorful misadventures. Based on the ‘60s television series, it’s refreshingly unfrenetic for a Ritchie film. Rent on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Redbox, Vudu, YouTube.

INTERNATIONAL PICK:

When Azadeh Masihzadeh accused her former mentor, the Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, of stealing her ideas for his film A Hero, she inadvertently embarked on a journey that may ultimately change Iranian cinema forever. For anyone who wants to understand the scope of the allegations (Farhadi has faced similar claims from others), Rachel Aviv’s article in The New Yorker is a must-read—and Masihzadeh’s documentary All Winners, All Losers (2018) is a must-watch. It’s about a prisoner who finds a purse full of money and attempts to return it to its owner (the story of A Hero, which was released in 2021, is uncannily similar). YouTube.

FAREWELL WESTWORLD PICK:

HBO shocked everyone when it recently canceled Westworld, the android saga inspired by Michael Crichton’s 1973 film and created by spouses Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan (who co-wrote The Prestige, the Dark Knight trilogy and Interstellar with his brother, director Christopher Nolan). If you’re bummed not to be getting a fifth season of the show, cheer yourself up by checking out the Joy-directed, Jonathan Nolan-produced sci-fi romance Reminiscence, which stars Hugh Jackman as a master of virtual reality who is ensnared in a noirish mystery in a futuristic, flooded New Orleans. HBO Max.