November 6th, 2023

THE ETERNAL MEMORY - Paramount+ w/Showtime

This Chilean documentary comes from filmmaker Maite Alberdi, whose previous doc The Mole Agent was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary feature. The Eternal Memory is also likely to be shortlisted and possibly nominated this year. It won the World Cinema Prize/Documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and was just nominated for Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Director at the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards. The film follows the relationship of Chilean journalist Augusto Góngora, who is battling Alzheimer’s disease, and Chilean actress Paulina Urrutia. Have your tissues ready while watching.

SQUARING THE CIRCLE (THE STORY OF HIPGNOSIS) - Netflix

Anton Corbijn made his mark first as a photographer in the 1980s, eventually photographing and designing iconic album covers for U2 and Depeche Mode, among many others. He soon found his visuals and the music worked well together, and began directing videos for artists like Nirvana, Metallica, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. From there he transitioned to features, starting with the Ian Curtis 2007 biographical film Control, 2014’s George Clooney vehicle The American, and 2014’s A Most Wanted Man. With Squaring the Circle, Corbijn tackles his fist documentary feature, which tells the story of Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey "Po" Powell, the creative geniuses behind the iconic album art design studio, Hipgnosis, responsible for some of the most recognizable album covers of all time.

November 7th, 2023

BUTCHER’S CROSSING - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Another week, another Nicolas Cage movie! What can we say…the man works. Butcher’s Crossing premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, and looks like a perfectly serviceable western that should satisfy fans of the genre. But let’s be honest. The film’s lasting legacy will always be the story of Nicolas Cage vs. Rain Man. If you haven’t seen Cage tell the story, please take a minute and enjoy.

CARLOS - $14.99 Sale / $6.99 Rental

Carlos Santana has had an incredible career. He played at Woodstock, continued having commercial success throughout the 70s and 80s, and then in 1999, released the blockbuster album Supernatural. If you weren’t around when that album came out, it’s hard to overstate how huge it was. The singles Smooth (a collaboration with Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas) and Maria, Maria spent a combined 22 weeks atop the Billboard singles chart. It won the Grammy’s for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. Huge. This doc gives the artist his due, chronicling his amazing musical legacy. Shame about his recent comments.

DUMB MONEY - $19.99 Sale Only

The influence of The Social Network continues. That film started the trend of the ‘recent events’ genre, with films like The Big Short, Moneyball, The Bling Ring, and Hustlers all tackling stories not long after they occurred. In fact, Dumb Money is based on the book The Antisocial Network by Ben Mezrich, who also wrote the book The Accidental Billionaires, which Aaron Sorkin adapted in to The Social Network. While Dumb Money might not reach the heights of that 2010 film , it does sound like director Craig Gillespie delivered an entertaining addition to the genre. But just like almost every other comedy in 2023, it tanked in theaters.

FOE - TBD Sale / TBD Rental

A psychological thriller starring Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal? Directed by Garth Davis (Lion, Mary Magdalene)? Yes please! So why did this one never get out of the gate? It seems poor reviews out of the New York Film Festival doomed Foe. When the film opened in limited release on October 6th, the studio didn’t even report box-office. From there, all US expansion plans were dropped. We’re hoping low expectations will make this a pleasant surprise when we catch up with it on streaming.

THE INVENTOR - $9.99 Sale / TBD Rental

The Inventor is a stop-motion animated biographical film about Leonardo da Vinci. The kids have demanded it, and now Blue Fox Entertainment delivers! But seriously, it looks lovely, and the voice cast includes Stephen Fry, Marion Cotillard, Daisy Ridley, and Matt Berry. While we’ll probably skip this one, we’d love to see those four actors get drunk and record a DVD commentary for the film.

SCRAPPER - $12.99 Sale / $4.99 Rental

Another Sundance Film Festival winner released this week, as Scrapper nabbed the Grand Jury Prize for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. It also just received 14 nominations at the 2023 British Independent Film Awards, including Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Joint Lead Performance for Lola Campbell and Harris Dickinson, and Best Screenplay. Charlotte Regan’s debut feature is definitely one you’ll want to catch up on.

November 9th, 2023

THE LEAGUE - Hulu

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI), executive produced by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Oscar-winning SUMMER OF SOUL), Tariq Trotter (DESCENDANT), and produced by RadicalMedia, THE LEAGUE celebrates the dynamic journey of Negro League baseball's triumphs and challenges through the first half of the twentieth century. The story is told through previously unearthed archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with legendary players like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neil – whose early careers paved the way for the Jackie Robinson era – as well as celebrated Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron who started out in the Negro Leagues.

November 10th, 2023

BIRTH/REBIRTH - Shudder, AMC+

Well received at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Birth/Rebirth is inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and stars Marin Ireland, Judy Reyes, A.J. Lister, Breeda Wool and LaChanze. We love that Shudder is supporting female directors in horror, and Laura Moss is a huge talent. If you subscribe to Criterion Channel, you can check out her 2017 short film Fry Day. It’s terrific.

DICKS: THE MUSICAL - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Dicks: The Musical was directed by Larry Charles and is based on the off-Broadway musical Fucking Identical Twins by Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson, who also star in the film as a pair of identical twins who plot to reunite their divorced parents. We love a Parent Trap reference, and look forward to checking out Nathan Lane and the two Megans (Mullally and Thee Stallion). Also, Bowen Yang as God.

FOOL’S PARADISE - Hulu

We love the premise for Fool’s Paradise: A down-on-his-luck publicist, who gets his lucky break when he discovers a mute man recently released from a mental health facility, who looks just like a method actor that refuses to leave his trailer. There aren’t enough movies about publicists! They see and hear everything in Hollywood. They know all the secrets. Publicist movies should be a genre. For now, we’ll have to make do with this one.

THE KILLER - Netflix

This week’s big release is bittersweet. We love that Netflix gives David Fincher the resources to make whatever movies he likes. And we’re huge fans of his Netflix serial killer series Mindhunter. But man, it would be great to have a Fincher film with a proper theatrical release. The Killer sounds like it’s another winner from one of our finest filmmakers, and we’ll be watching and re-watching in the coming weeks. Great to have Michael Fassbender back as well.

SHE CAME TO ME - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

This romantic comedy written and directed by Rebecca Miller didn’t make much of an impression with critics or audiences when it got a limited release in theaters this fall. It stars Peter Dinklage, Marisa Tomei, Joanna Kulig, Brian d'Arcy James, and Anne Hathaway, so the talent is there. And it’s great to see Dinklage getting another lead role, and also love that Cold War’s Joanna Kulig is popping up in American indies. We’ll be checking this one out.

November 11th, 2023

ALBERT BROOKS: DEFENDING MY LIFE - Max

A comedy legend gets the documentary treatment from a comedy legend, as Rob Reiner directs this examination of Albert Brooks’ life and career. Brooks’ run of Real Life, Modern Romance, Lost in America, Defending Your Life, The Muse, and Mother is matched only by Reiner’s run of This is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, Misery, and A Few Good Men. Let’s have Brooks direct a Reiner documentary! We can’t wait for this one.

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