January 30th, 2024

THE BEEKEEPER - $19.99 Rental

The kind of meat-and-potatoes action movie we should be getting on a monthly (weekly?) basis, The Beekeeper is the best kind of January high-end trash (compliment). Jason Statham goes from sharks to bees, which are actually more dangerous. He plays the titular Beekeeper, who looks to exact revenge on a group that caused the death of his landlady. And what a cast! In addition to Statham, it’s got Jeremy Irons, Minnie Driver, Josh Hutcherson, and Phylicia Rashad. Director David Ayer knows how to shoot action, so it’s no wonder this has over-performed at the box-office. It’s baffling Amazon MGM isn’t giving their Road House remake a theatrical release. Meat-and-potato action movies are working in theaters! Give it a few weeks! Please note: Amazon MGM has neither announced nor confirmed this release date. Our sources are good, but as always, dates are subject to change.

WONKA - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

That first trailer had us worried. Was Wonka going to be terrible? Was director Paul King, who delighted the world with his fantastic Paddington films, going to be chewed up and spit out by the Hollywood studio system? Turns out, we had nothing to worry about. While not as beloved or artistically satisfying as the Paddington movies, Wonka is a perfectly entertaining family musical that will likely have a long shelf-life. Timothée Chalamet’s Willy Wonka may never erase our memories of Gene Wilder in the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but it might certainly help scrub our brain of Johnny Depp in 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. For that, we are grateful.

February 1st, 2024

SHORTCOMINGS - Netflix

It was a brutal summer at the arthouse. The only title that really broke out at the box-office was Past Lives, which had the advantage of an early June release (pre-Barbenheimer). Shortcomings, released in August, just couldn’t attract any significant attention. It stalled out with $660K total domestic. It’s heartening that this Sony Pictures Classics release is going to be getting a huge profile boost on Netflix, where it’ll likely be watched by millions. It’s well worth catching up on.

February 2nd, 2024

DICKS: THE MUSICAL - Max

Max kicks off its newly minted partnership with A24 with the release of Dicks: The Musical, a love-it-or-hate-it comedy that got a limited theatrical run in the fall. It’s nice that we won’t have to wait as long to catch these A24 titles on SVOD, as the Max windows look to be considerably shorter than the Paramount+ w/Showtime windows. And it couldn’t come at a better time for Max, who desperately need some prestige movie titles to fill out their streaming schedule. Remember when HBO would have a premiere marquee movie every Saturday night? When their output deals with 20th Century Studios and Universal expired, it left a huge hole. A24 titles will help fill that gap nicely.

FREELANCE - Hulu

With a reported production cost of $40M, Freelance had a tough time making its money back. We’re sure it all sounded good on paper: A likable action lead (John Cena), a talented comedic actress (Alison Brie), the director of franchise-starter Taken (Pierre Morel), a jungle-set action comedy (The Lost City was great!). But something was lost in the sauce, and this one landed with a thud. It should play better at home, where flaws are sometimes more forgivable.

KOKOMO CITY - Paramount+ w/Showtime

Magnolia Pictures’ acclaimed documentary arrives not with the distributor’s usual SVOD partner Hulu, but on Paramount+ w/Showtime. We’re not sure if that’s a one-off, or a new output deal. Either way, Kokomo City is well-worth catching up on. The film explores the lives of four transgender sex workers (Daniella Carter, Dominque Silver, Koko Da Doll, and Liyah Mitchell) in New York and Georgia, and was directed by D. Smith and produced by Lena Waithe. Tragically, on April 18th, 2023, Koko da Doll, real name Rasheeda Williams, was found dead from a gunshot wound in southwest Georgia. Smith responded to the news by emphasizing her intent to show the lighter side of life for Black trans women, and said Williams "will inspire generations to come and will never be forgotten."

ORION AND THE DARK - Netflix

Directed by Sean Charmatz (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Charlie Kaufman, Orion and the Dark looks fascinating. It’s based on the children’s book of the same name by Emma Yarlett, and follows Orion, a young boy who is afraid of heights, pets, and rendered nearly catatonic by the worst of all perils: the dark. The Dark takes Orion on a nighttime trip to prove to the youngster that the only thing to fear is fear itself. It looks amazing! And it’s in danger of falling in to Netflix’s black hole of content. A shame. We can’t wait to watch.

PAST LIVES - Paramount+ w/Showtime

One of the most acclaimed films of last year will finally be available for SVOD streaming, just in time for the Oscars. Past Lives hit big when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2023, with audiences and critics raving about Celine Song’s beautiful compositions. Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro’s performances were also lauded, with many predicting Oscar nominations to come. Sadly, none of the actors received nominations, though the film is up for Best Picture and Song’s script is nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category. A special shout-out to legendary producer Christine Vachon, who scored her first-ever Oscar nomination for producing the film.

THE TIGER’S APPRENTICE - Paramount+ w/Showtime

Originally planned for theatrical release by Paramount Pictures, TheTiger’s Apprentice debuts on Paramount+ this week after being delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. It comes from Mikros Animation, the same studio responsible for animating this week’s Orion and the Dark, so that’s encouraging? With a voice cast that includes Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Sandra Oh, Lucy Liu, Bowen Yang and Jo Koy…wait a minute…JO KOY! Everything he touches turns to gold! Never mind, then. This is gonna be great!

Happy Streaming Everyone!