Welcome to this week’s edition of Weekend Streaming Recommendations! It’s a bit of a grab bag this week, but I rep each of these films to the fullest. From little-known indie gem Funeral Kings, to the delightful doc Kings of Pastry, to two bonafide monuments of cinema, Rio Bravo and Bicycle Thieves, I’ve got lots of goodies to get you through your Saturday and Sunday morning hangovers. Don’t even try to defend yourself. I know your type! LUSH. Enjoy!

Funeral Kings

With SF Indiefest right around the corner (it runs from February 6-20), I thought I’d lead off this week’s list with a pick from last year’s festival that I think deserves more streaming love. Funeral Kings, directed by siblings Kevin and Matthew McManus, is one of the most authentic movies about stinky 14-year-old boys you’ll see. Three vulgarity-spewing friends are suddenly saved from the malaise of their suburban Rhode Island town when they come into possession of a footlocker trusted to them by one of their older brothers. When they crack the lock, they find everything any self-respecting adolescent boy would want: porn, fireworks, booze, cigarettes, and even a gun! The trio is headed up by newcomer Alex Maizus, who’s genuinely funnier than most adult actors with his oversized swagger and pinpoint timing. Great for fans of ’80s nostalgia flicks.

Rio Bravo

Rio Bravo is arguably Howard Hawks’ crowning achievement and harbors, in my opinion, one of John Wayne’s very best performances. One of the best examples of the Western genre, the film stars John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson play three gunslingin’ peacekeepers who defend a small, covered-wagon town from outlaws. It’s one of the oldest and most recycled American stories there are, but Hawks’ masterpiece emanates a warmth and wit few others can claim. Wayne and the lovely Angie Dickinson have excellent romantic chemistry, and Dean Martin’s musical interlude never fails to evoke a fuzzy feeling, no matter how many times I watch it. Quentin Tarantino considers the climactic shootout sequence to be movie perfection, and I’d expand that sentiment to encompass all 141 minutes of the damn thing. If you haven’t seen Rio Bravo, or you haven’t seen it in a long time, git to streamin’!

Bicycle Thieves

Vittorio De Sica’s postwar Italian neorealist parable (whew!) is one of those movies you hear all of these great things about: “Masterpiece!” “Transcendent!” “Perfection!” It’s enough to make you sick! You sit down to watch it, cross your arms, and think, “Okay. Prove it.” Then, it fucking proves it. The film is about a jobless family man who, with his good-natured son, searches for the stolen bike he desperately needs to keep his family fed. The key to canonized films like this and Citizen Kane are that they don’t pander or condescend to us. De Sica pulls no punches when it comes to exploring the true nature of the desperate, and fewer films have ever felt so in touch with humanity.

Kings of Pastry

Following three French pastry chefs during their grueling preparation for a test where, if they pass, they will have earned the title of Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (or “MOF”), the highest honor attainable in the field. MOF’s are adored in France and incredibly respected across the country. (If you get caught pretending to be a MOF, you could be thrown in jail!) Watching the unbelievably rigorous training the chefs go through in their preparation for the MOF’s is riveting, and the cakes, chocolate and sugar sculptures, tiny bites, and candies they make are divinely beautiful (and tasty looking). The finale is brimming with both triumph and heartbreak, and after taking a glimpse into the wacky world of pastry chefs, you just might want to enroll yourself in pastry school.

Stagecoach is an old-school movie in every sense of the word. The characters are stripped down, traditional, Western stereotypes. The plot is a straight-forward race through hostile territory, with drunk doctors, a pregnant woman, a dubious banker, and, oh yeah, a shoot-out at the end. It was John Ford’s first Western using sound, John Wayne’s first highly acclaimed role, and the first Western shot in beautiful Monument Valley, Utah, and all of these elements truly elevated this film to a true classic.

The film begins with a stagecoach, naturally, about to depart through the Wild West, with Geronimo leading aggressive Indian attacks against white settlers in the area. The travelers include, a pregnant army wife trying to reach her husband, a banker who just stole $50,000 from his own bank, a drunk doctor, a whiskey salesman, a Marshall, a prostitute, a southern civil war vet, and of course the legendary local cowboy, the Ringo Kid. As the going gets tough, the characters start to come together and get on each other’s nerves at the same time. With all of the building tension surrounding each character and the ever present threat of an Indian attack, once they reach their destination, the Ringo Kid aims to settle a score with a trio of brothers who killed his father and brother.

Stagecoach is a truly entertaining film, with many memorable characters, and scenery. John Wayne steals every scene he is in, and his entrance is legendary in every way. The incredible, sweeping landscapes are contrasted nicely by the confined stagecoach. Despite all of the wide open space, the characters are forced to stay close to each other, for better or worse. The film really has good balance, each character is important and developed, there is great pacing between the action and the buildup, and there is even a hint of romance that really seems natural.

Stagecoach is one of the most definitive Western films of all time, from which all other Westerns borrow or flat out copy. Despite the fact the film was made over 70 years ago, it is still an exciting, thrilling movie that any film fan could still enjoy. This film is where it all begins, and a must see for any Western fan. The only reason this movie doesn’t get a 10 from me, is it’s just not as good the true Western elites such as The Searchers or The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a very complex Western that pits a traditional gun-slinging setting with a reformist mindset and the resulting tensions are intriguing and exciting. The movie stars two of the biggest stars ever, Wayne and Stewart, as conflicting protagonists with different views of how to handle a ruthless outlaw. The depth of the main characters immensely adds to the drama as the plot builds to a satisfying finish.

The film starts out with an aging senator from Washington returning to a small town in the West to pay respects to a deceased friend. The town’s newspaper editor is dumbfounded as to why a big wig from Congress would travel so far to attend the funeral of an unremarkable rancher. The story of how the two men met is told through flashbacks set nearly 30 years ago in the same small town.

Jimmy Stewart is Ransom Stoddard, the future senator, and freshly graduated law student bent on opening a small practice in the fairly lawless town of Shinbone. His stagecoach is robbed by the ruthless Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) who operates with impunity as the local sheriff is a fat, drunk man who is visibly scared of Valance. Ransom wants to bring the man to justice, but local ranch hand (John Wayne), the local hero, knows the only way to deal with a man like Valance is with a gun. The two man battle ideologies, Liberty Valance, and for the heart of a local women (Vera Miles).

The film is all about contrast. Jimmy Stewart is a small, intelligent, well-spoken lawyer from the East. John Wayne is a large, respected, local cowboy. The townsfolk respect both men in very different ways. One represents the changes of a modernizing, growing Western town, while the other symbolizes the traditional, independent, cowboy way of the old Wild West. The ideal of law enforcement, the town sheriff, is a travesty of authority, easily manipulated and scared. Even the title is a contrast, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance seems like a straight-forward spoiler title, but even that is called into question as the plot twists and turns, as each man becomes more polarized.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is the kind of intelligent Western that can really draw in a viewer and is an excellent choice for a movie fan looking to start enjoying Western films. Great acting and direction sets an entertaining pace which makes it easy to see why this movie is considered a classic.

The Coen Brothers’ set themselves up for a challenge by deciding to do a re-make of a classic Western film, True Grit, that starred John Wayne. The Coens work again with Jeff Bridges from his role as The Dude in The Big Lebowski and give him the tough role of replacing John Wayne from the original True Grit (1969). But do not let the movie poster fool you, while Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin all do exceptional jobs, the true stand out is the young, less-known Hailee Steinfeld.

Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is a fearless 14 year old farm girl whose father was recently murdered by Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). She sets out to capture the killer with help from a U.S. Marshal who is notorious for being ruthless. Considered a man with “true grit” she hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). Cogburn was recently on trial for being so careless with the amount of killings from his trigger-happy finger. She deems this a perfect candidate to help her seek redemption.

A Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) explains he would like to join Mattie and Cogburn in their effort to capture Chaney. Both LaBoeuf and Cogburn decide to try ditching the young girl to catch the killer and split the reward money between them. However, Mattie is forceful and stubborn, thus not easy to get rid of. The three set out on a journey filled with danger and unexpected circumstances.

It was not blatantly evident that True Grit was done by the Coen brothers. Typically, Ethan and Joel Coen put a quirky and irony touch to their films, however, they normally do original films that produce massive cult followings. This is time they decided to do a re-make of a classic John Wayne Western film. So do not go into it assuming they are picking up where they left off from No Country for Old Men, it has a lesser “Coen brothers” feel to it.

The cinematography in this film is phenomenal. True Grit looks like an authentic Western shot from the time period thanks to Roger Deakins. The buildings, clothing and even their language felt very true and accurate. The shots around the campfire were pleasantly done and the landscape is majestic.

The thing I enjoyed the most about True Grit was the acting performances. Jeff Bridges was born to play Westerns, he has the lazy, raspy voice that perfectly fits the role. This is something that proved true in the last film he did, Crazy Heart. The two roles were not all that different. Matt Damon did not seem too out of place as I expected he might. Hailee Steinfeld had the right amount of passion required for her role as a determined and stubborn lead character.

True Grit has a straightforward storyline that showcases beautiful landscapes and talented actors while proving that re-makes of classic Western’s are still possible. While I am not a huge fan of the Western genre, I feel like the Coen brothers paid some homage to the genre and did nothing over-the-top, probably for the better. However, I could see an even split between Coen lovers loving it or hating it, since it does not scream Coen. But if you like Western’s or just want to see a well-made one, you do not have to look further than True Grit.