If you love movies as much as we do, then you’ll know how great it is watching movies about movies!
Whether it’s movies about movies being made, or about movie geeks like us, there are lots of options in this genre and most are worth watching.
We’ve selected five movies about movies you might have missed that we highly recommend.
Matinee (1993)
Joe Dante’s Matinee is loosely based on William Castle, the filmmaker who introduced theatre gimmicks in the ’50s like buzzers in seats and life insurance forms in case the movie scares you to death. John Goodman stars as a version of Castle as he goes on the road to premiere his new movie ‘Mant’ in a small Florida town during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Matinee is a fun movie that will make you miss the days when going to the theatre to watch a movie was an exciting experience. Matinee is available to stream in Canada on VOD platforms only. You can also get the Shout Factory Blu-ray release on Amazon.
Ed Wood (1994)
Edward D. Wood Jr. was best known for making Plan 9 From Outer Space, which for the longest time was highly regarded as the worst movie ever made. Tim Burton’s 1994 film Ed Wood, starring Johnny Depp as the B-movie director, shows how eccentric and ambitious the man was and how much he really wanted to make it in Hollywood. Along with Depp, Martin Landau (who won an Oscar for his role), Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Vincent D’Onofrio and Bill Murray all star. Ed Wood is available to watch on Disney+ Canada.
Once Up a Time… in Hollywood (2019)
Quentin Tarantino is a movie geek and his version of Hollywood during the time of the Manson Family murders is a beautiful “what if” tale. He gets the vibe and style of the ’60s perfectly, and the bits that are based on real people are spot on. This is the ultimate movie for movie lovers. Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt star. You can watch Once Up a Time… in Hollywood on Netflix Canada. It’s also available to purchase on 4K Blu-ray.
I Like Movies (2022)
Set in the early 2000s, I Like Movies is about an awkward teenager in Burlington, Ontario trying to earn enough money so he can go to film school in New York. He takes a job at a video store thinking it will pay him enough for school, which he quickly learns it won’t. Written and directed by Chandler Levack, there’s a lot of great commentary on movies in I Like Movies and there’s just something generally pleasing about watching a movie mostly set in a video store. I Like Movies is available to stream on Netflix Canada.
The Fabelmans (2022)
If you ever wanted to know how Steven Spielberg became one of the biggest filmmakers in the world, The Fabelmans is the story of his life. Set mostly during his teenage years, you get to see how he made home movies with his friends and how that carved out his path to Hollywood. There is also a lot of his personal life told on screen, which makes it even more of an interesting watch. Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Seth Rogen all star. The Fabelmans is available to watch on Crave.
What are some your favourite movies about movies? Tell us in the comments below or on our Facebook page.
Photo credit: A scene from Matinee.
