Streaming columnist NICK OVERALL marvels at how a peculiar, low-budget movie turns the oldest halloween costume in the book into a profound piece of imagery.

A STRANGE little curio of a film has drifted on to Stan this month.

It’s called “A Ghost Story”, and in it Oscar-winning actor Casey Affleck spends most of the film underneath a bedsheet with two eye holes poked in it.

That may sound like some kind of brutally deadpan joke, but this peculiar movie somehow turns the oldest halloween costume in the book into a profound piece of imagery.

Shot on a $100,000 budget, it’s the story of a man who returns to his house as a ghost after dying in a car crash and who helplessly watches as his wife tries to move on in her life without him.

This isn’t a film that’s trying to get your popcorn flying in the air with a jump scare. Instead, it opts for the slightly more frightening tac of ruminating on lost love, the relentless, crushing passage of time and the impossible question of what comes after we die. Nothing too scary, then, right?

It is remarkable how a film, set almost entirely in a single house, is able to feel so cosmic in the exploration of its ideas.

Be warned this is a movie that is heavy on imagery, and light on action and dialogue. It wants its audience to sit and soak in its scenery and think about how it makes them feel. Those wanting answers to the film’s many questions will have to look inside themselves to get them.

And, hey, that’s just not what some people want in a movie, and that’s fine. While some of this slow-moving meditation at times borders on saccharine, it’s ultimately only collateral of a film that tries to do something so wonderfully unique. Love it or hate it, this is a movie like none other.

If you are at all intrigued, even slightly, I can’t recommend this 90-minute burst of phantasmagoria enough. It’s no horror movie, but it certainly is a haunting one.

STREAMERS looking for something a little more high octane this month may find more fun in the latest James Bond flick which has just made its way to Amazon Prime Video.

“No Time To Die” caps off Daniel Craig’s tenure as the globe-trotting MI6 agent with a stylish final outing that ticks almost every box in the James Bond book.

It might not hit the heights of other Criag led 007 flicks such as “Casino Royale” or “Skyfall”, but this is still a hell of a good time.

Bond fans may also be excited that coinciding with the release of “No Time To Die” is the entire James Bond collection on the platform.

From Sean Connery all the way through to Craig himself, all 25 Bond films will now be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. 

FOR those who enjoy a peek behind the scenes, Paramount Plus’ newest streaming hit gives an inside look at the making of what’s widely considered to be the greatest film of all time.

“The Offer” drops viewers into a glossy ’70s Hollywood and tells the story of how “The Godfather” was made.

Miles Teller stars as a plucky producer who was doing all he could to get the film greenlit, and despite the unmatched success of the movie, it turns out it almost didn’t happen.

With the script changing directors’ hands multiple times, a real-life crime mob protesting its production and even Marlon Brando not wanted in the lead role by Paramount executives meant the Corleone family almost didn’t make it to the screen.

“The Godfather” itself holds up incredibly well in 2022, 50 years since it was first released, and can be found on a plethora of streaming services including Paramount Plus, Binge, Amazon Prime Video and Stan.

It makes for a particularly interesting watch next to this new, 10-part mini series that’s dripping in style and moves along at a swift pace.

For general audiences it may not quite be the drawcard Paramount wants it to be, but for film buffs, pop culture pundits and fans of “The Godfather”, this is one offer that can’t be refused.