Whilst the world is on pause and your Filmhouse Sunderland visits aren’t possible, we’re keeping the independent cinema flag flying with our new weekly watch lists from Chris & Jonny, the people behind the project. 

Each Friday, we’ll post a list of four films that are currently available across BBC iPlayer, All4, Netflix and Amazon Prime that we think you should seek out. 

This week’s selection is…

Great Expectations (PG) (1946) (BBC iPlayer)
David Lean’s never-bettered Dickens adaptation stars John Mills as the orphan Pip, who discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers (Francis L. Sullivan) that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood patron, Miss Havisham (Martita Hunt), and his first love, the beautiful but emotionally cold Estella (Valerie Hobson), he discovers that the elderly spinster has gone mad from having been left at the altar as a young woman, and has made her charge into a warped, unfeeling heartbreaker…

Love Actually (15) (2003) (Netflix)
Richard Curtis’ Christmas film is beloved by many. Nine intertwined stories examine the complexities of the one emotion that connects us all: love. Among the characters explored are David (Hugh Grant), the handsome newly elected British prime minister who falls for a young junior staffer (Martine McCutcheon), Sarah (Laura Linney), a graphic designer whose devotion to her mentally ill brother complicates her love life, and Harry (Alan Rickman), a married man tempted by his attractive new secretary…

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-verse (PG) (2018) (All 4)
Hands-down, the best multiversal Spider-man movie is this animated awesomeness fro 2018.  Bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into the one and only Spider-Man. When he meets Peter Parker, he soon realises that there are many others who share his special, high-flying talents. Miles must now use his new skills to battle the evil Kingpin, a hulking madman who can open portals to other universes and pull different versions of Spider-Man into our world.

Being The Ricardos (15) (2021) (Amazon Prime)
Aaron Sorkin directs Nicole Kidman in the story of Lucille Ball (Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem), who were threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear and cultural taboos. A revealing glimpse of the couple’s complex romantic and professional relationship, the film takes audiences into the writers’ room, onto the soundstage and behind closed doors with Ball and Arnaz during one critical production week of their groundbreaking 1960s sitcom “I Love Lucy.”

We’d love to hear what you think of the films we recommend – let us know!

See you next week,

Chris & Jonny