Tuesday, August 20th, 2024

GREEN BORDER - $12.99 Sale / TBD Rental

What we like:

• Directed by legendary filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, Green Border explores the harrowing experiences of refugees trying to cross from Belarus into Poland. Set in the dense, swampy forests known as the "green border," the movie delves into the geopolitical and humanitarian crises faced by these refugees, who are lured by false promises of easy passage to the European Union.

• The film interweaves three main narrative strands: the desperate journey of a Syrian family, the moral dilemmas faced by a young Polish soldier, and the courageous efforts of activists trying to assist the refugees.

• The film won the Special Jury Prize at the 2023 Venice International Film Festival.

What we don’t like:

• Despite its artistic and emotional impact, the film has faced criticism from some political figures in Poland, who have accused it of presenting a negative image of the country​.

INSIDE OUT 2 - $29.99 Sale / $24.99 Rental

What we like:

• The sequel to the beloved 2015 film Inside Out, Inside Out 2 continues the story of Riley, who is now a 15-year-old teenager. The film explores the new challenges and emotional complexities Riley faces during her adolescence, including the introduction of four new emotions: Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos!)​

• How hungry are families for quality movies? Starving! The box-office stats on this one are insane. It’s the highest grossing domestic animated film of all time (surpassing The Incredibles). It’s on track to double the worldwide gross of its predecessor (currently at $1.6B and still going strong). Pixar needed a hit, and they got one…big time.

What we don’t like:

• Following a dispute over pay, both Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling declined to reprise their respective roles as Fear and Disgust; they and the rest of the returning cast (except Amy Poehler) were reportedly offered $100,000 each. Let us reiterate: the film made $1.6B. Pay your talent, Disney.

ODDITY - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

What we like:

• Directed by Damian McCarthy, Oddity is a supernatural horror film from Ireland that centers on Darcy, a blind medium and curio shopkeeper, who is grieving the brutal murder of her twin sister, Dani. A year after Dani's death, Darcy uses a collection of haunted artifacts to seek vengeance on those responsible for her sister's murder​.

• Carolyn Bracken, who was featured in the Oscar-nominated Irish film The Quiet Girl, stars in a dual role as both Dani and Darcy.

• The film premiered at this year’s SXSW Festival and won the Audience Award in the Midnighter section. It also won the Audience Award at this year’s Overlook Film Festival.

What we don’t like:

• The film got a nice wide release in theaters, but failed to become a Late Night with the Devil or In a Violent Nature-sized hit, earning only $1.1M at the box-office. Still we love that IFC Films is giving these titles proper theatrical releases!

Wednesday, August 21st, 2024

ORDINARY ANGELS - Starz

What we like:

• Ordinary Angels stars double Oscar-winner Hilary Swank as a hairdresser who rallies her community to help a widowed father (not-Tom Cruise-Reacher Alan Ritchson) save the life of his critically ill young daughter after Louisville is hit by a major snowstorm.

• The film got its start from a pitch from Dave Matthews (!), and one of the credited screenwriters is actress Meg Tilly (!!).

• Kelly Fremon Craig, who directed last year’s terrific Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. is the other credited screenwriter, so it’s no surprise this was an audience favorite.

What we don’t like:

• Despite getting a rare ‘A+’ Cinemascore, this inspirational drama never really took off at the box-office, earning less than $20M at the US box-office.

STRESS POSITIONS - Hulu

What we like:

• John Early is a major comic talent, and it’s great to see him get a showcase in this well-reviewed indie.

• Director Theda Hammel is a trans filmmaker, and Stress Positions is her feature debut. It’s been praised for its satirical approach to issues of race, gender, and sexuality.

What we don’t like:

• Well…’COVID period-piece’ isn’t ever a huge selling point. Still too raw. But it sounds like the film mines some laughs from that grim moment in history. We’re looking forward to catching up with it.

Friday, August 23rd, 2024

GREEDY PEOPLE - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

What we like:

• This comedy mystery directed by Potsy Ponciroli (great name) centers around a cop in a small island town who discovers a large sum of money while investigating a murder. The discovery leads to a series of comedic and thrilling events involving crooked cops and the town's colorful residents.

• This film’s cast is absolutely stacked. In addition to headliners Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lily James, and Himesh Patel, the supporting cast includes Tim Blake Nelson, Joey Lauren Adams, Uzo Aduba, and Jim Gaffigan. 

What we don’t like:

• With a hasty day-and-date streaming release, we’re worried that the studio’s confidence is low. Still, the trailer looks intriguing, and with that cast, how bad could it be?

HELL HOLE - Shudder, AMC+

What we like:

• Hell Hole comes from the filmmaking family behind 2021’s Hellbender, and centers on an American-led fracking crew that uncovers a living French soldier frozen in time from a Napoleonic campaign, whose body hosts a parasitic monster.

• The film is literally a family production. Actor Toby Poser, alongside her husband John Adams and their daughters Lulu and Zelda, are a filmmaking team whose approach involves everyone in the family taking on multiple roles, from acting to directing to operating the camera, creating a highly collaborative and intimate filmmaking process.

What we don’t like:

• We’re excited to catch up with this one, but we can’t say we love the poster.

HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA - CHAPTER 1 - Max

What we like:

• Kevin Costner betting on himself. The actor reportedly put up $38M of his own money to help finance his passion-project Western.

• Kevin Costner Westerns. 1990’s Dances with Wolves was probably over-praised at the time, but it’s an entertaining, if overlong, sweeping epic. The fact that it beat Goodfellas for Best Picture does its reputation no favors. And 2003’s Open Range is a Costner Western that still holds up beautifully.

What we don’t like:

• Unfortunately, Costner’s bet has not paid off. The biggest knock seems to be that it feels more like television than a movie. The first chapter is broken up in to three one-hour parts, which gives it an episodic/television rhythm.

• We get it was probably cost-prohibitive, but the decision to shoot Horizon on digital rather than film really bolsters the ‘It feels like television’ takes.

• Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2’s theatrical release has been pulled, with no new date announced. It’s world-premiering at the upcoming Venice Film Festival, so its reception will likely dictate whether it goes straight to streaming.

INCOMING - Netflix

What we like:

• Our expectations were low on the below-the-radar teen comedy. But we have to admit, the trailer worked for us. We’re all starved for comedies with genuine laughs, so hopefully they didn’t give away the only good jokes in the trailer.

• Writer/Director/Brothers Dave and John Chernin were inspired by classic high-school comedies, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Can’t Hardly Wait, and Superbad. And making the film a hard-R comedy was a priority.

What we don’t like:

• A big part of what made those classic high-school comedies so iconic was seeing them in a theater, with an audience whose roars of laughter you could feel in your bones. Comedies on Netflix just can’t have that same impact.

THE KILLER - Peacock

What we like:

• John Woo’s reimagining of John Woo's 1989 classic features Nathalie Emmanuel in the lead role as Zee, a feared Parisian assassin known as the Queen of the Dead. The story kicks off when Zee, during a mission, chooses to spare a blind young woman, which sets off a series of events that lead her into a deadly conspiracy and an alliance with a French detective named Sey, played by Omar Sy.

• The screenplay was written by Josh Campbell, Matt Stuecken, and Brian Helgeland, who won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for LA Confidential.

What we don’t like:

• We love John Woo, and we love the original The Killer. But after last year’s lackluster Silent Night, we’re worried about this one. A straight-to-Peacock release also doesn’t give us much confidence. Still…we’ll watch and hope to be pleasantly surprised.

THE SUPREMES AT EARL’S ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT - Hulu

What we like:

• Based on the 2013 best-selling novel by Edward Kelsey Moore, the film’s story centers on the lifelong friendship of three women, Odette (played by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), Barbara Jean (Sanaa Lathan), and Clarice (Uzo Aduba), known collectively as "The Supremes" (not the singing group).

• Another stellar supporting cast: the film features Mekhi Phifer, Julian McMahon, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Russell Hornsby.

• Early word is good on the Searchlight Pictures release.

What we don’t like:

• It’s just one of those weeks. So many straight-to-streaming releases in genres that used to get healthy theatrical runs. The African-American audience is woefully under-served at the multiplex this year. This could have been a hit in theaters. Such a shame.

Sunday, August 25th, 2024

THE FIRST SLAM DUNK - Netflix

What we like:

• Based on the popular manga series "Slam Dunk" by Takehiko Inoue, who also directed and wrote the screenplay. The film focuses on the character Ryouta Miyagi and his journey with the Shohoku High School basketball team, delving into themes of overcoming personal struggles and teamwork.

• The film combines 3D CGI for the basketball scenes and traditional 2D animation for daily life scenes, striving for a blend that captures the dynamic nature of basketball while maintaining a hand-drawn, manga-like feel​.

What we don’t like:

• These super-long theatrical windows test our patience in the age of quick PVOD releases. The First Slam Dunk arrived in US theaters over a year ago, and is just now hitting a streaming service.

Happy Streaming Everyone!

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