This Easter, we're turning our streaming spotlight on an underserved sub-genre: eggs in the movies!
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| The Shape Of Water |
The Shape Of Water - Disney, Amazon, Sky
Jennie Kermode writes: The first hint of the strange connection between Sally Hawkins’ shy, mute heroine and Doug Jones’ unhappily imprisoned amphibian creature come from eggs, which she boils in quantity as an essential part of her morning routine, whilst his captors feed them to him partly for sustenance, partly as a training aid. He’s being held for experimentation by military scientists in the facility where she happens to work as a cleaner, and their burgeoning romance will inspire a daring rescue attempt. The eggs she gifts to him seem to symbolise new beginnings in a Fifties culture whose ideas are getting stale, where wholesome all-American cuisine comes with a side-order of racism and homophobia, but where there’s still hope for an outsider with the courage to break out of her shell.
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| The Pod Generation |
The Pod Generation - Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon
Amber Wilkinson writes: The eggs in Sophie Barthes' feminist satire are the latest must-have – at least if you want to start a family without giving up work. That's the plan for Rachel and Alvy (Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor), who are embarking on this lightly dystopian path to parenthood. Strong production design coupled with sensitive performances from the two leads helps bring home the humour as Barthes explores workplace pressures and a modern world where companies give their tech an organic look in order to win us over. “I love this idea of exploring the future because we can explore philosophical questions in a playful way," she told us. It may not be the most sharp-edged skewering of society you'll ever see but its situational comedy is strong, the rendering of how our future homes might look impressive, and there's plenty of food for thought about the way tech companies and neo-liberal capitalism affect our lives.
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| Ninja Badass |
Ninja Badass - Amazon
Jennie Kermode writes: Eggs are not only potent and delicious – they’re also nutritious. When no-hoper redneck layabout Rex (Ryan Harrison) finds himself in a situation where only he can save the day, he is fortunate to find a ninja master who understands this. By eating egg rolls, Rex is able to build up his strength and undertake a gruelling training programme which might just give him the edge he needs, without having to go down the bad guy’s route of gaining strength by eating things that are pretty or cute. With a bin bag full of puppies at stake as well as the girl of his dreams, there’s no time to hesitate. Hollywood this ain’t – in fact, its effects work isn’t even up to the standard of the average Asylum film – but with lively performances and a can-do attitude, it eggs on its viewers to share in the fun.
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| Puss In Boots |
Puss In Boots - Amazon, Google Play, Apple TV
Amber Wilkinson writes: There are good eggs and bad eggs in the world and Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) is one of the latter – at least in this animated gem from DreamWorks. He's a fundamental part of Puss in Boots' origin story, having tricked the swashbuckling cat into a failed bank heist in his youth. Now a fugitive from justice, Puss (Antonio Banderas loving every minute) just wants to make his human owner proud again. You might say he's on a wild goose chase as he heads on a mission for magic beans as a route to a giant's golden eggs. That's when he runs into cat burglar Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek). Soon he's been convinced to work with Humpty and Kitty as a team in order to grab the loot, while hoping for a little romance on the side. Packed with visual humour and cat-driven comedy, the double-act between Humpty and Puss makes this a real family treat.
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| Alien |
Alien - Amazon, Disney, Apple TV
Jennie Kermode writes: The ill-fated crew of the Nostromo might have lived a little longer if they’d paid attention to their parents. Eggs can be bad for you. When you find one that’s gone green and slimy, avoid. Unfortunately, Kane (John Hurt) has never been taught this, and when something springs out of that egg, burns its way through his helmet and attaches itself to his face, we know that dinner is going to be spoiled. Most of the sequels to Ridley Scott’s classic have struggled to match it for thrills and chills, never mind smart science fiction plotting, but every time those iconic eggs appear they send a shiver down the spine. James Cameron’s Aliens will pose the question: who is laying them? A still scarier one might be: who is having them for breakfast?
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| Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory |
Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory - Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, and ITV at 6.30pm on 26 April
Amber Wilkinson writes: There's an entire room dedicated to eggs in this brightly coloured adaptation of Road Dahl's book about Charlie Bucket's (Peter Ostrum) visit to Willy Wonka's (Gene Wilder) magical factory. It's the place where the geese lay their golden eggs but, of course, quality control ensures each is checked before it's shipped out. That's where spoiled brat Veruca Salt gets her comeuppance when after trashing the place while singing I Want It Now she finds herself on the "eggdicator", which brands her a bad egg and dumps her down the garbage shoot. That's just one of the delightfully sticky ends served up to the unpleasant kids in this film, as Wilder amps Wonka's eccentricity up to the max so that he is zany but also borderline creepy in certain moments. Fans of Wilder, might want to check out this interview with him, at about minute nine, he talks about how he came up with the acrobatic cane piece of business that introduces his character in the film and establishes his ambiguity.
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| Ocean’s 12 |
Ocean’s 12 - Sky, Amazon, Now Cinema
Jennie Kermode writes: As you’ll now have seen, there’s a lot to love about eggs, but nobody has ever gone quite as over the top in celebrating them as Gustav Fabergé, whose jewel-encrusted hold creations became must-have collectors’ items for the noble heads of Europe and now fulfil a similar role for prestigious museums and socially ambitious billionaires. Understandably, this gives them a certain allure where thieves are concerned as well, especially if they are the sort of people who like a challenge. Enter George Clooney’s Danny Ocean, who gets the gang back together for three daring heists in different parts of Europe, the highlight of which is the Imperial Coronation egg. With a fabulous cast and plenty of tricks up its sleeve, the films delivers on thrills and finds time to fit in some great one-liners. It’s worth shelling out for.
