February 13th, 2024

THE CRIME IS MINE - $14.99 Sale / $4.99 Rental

Writer/Director François Ozon conceived this crime comedy during the pandemic lockdowns, and says he was influenced by American screwball comedies from the 1930s, particularly films by Ernst Lubitsch and Frank Capra, along with the Paris of the 1930s as depicted in Hollywood films like Blake Edwards’ Victor/Victoria. Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Rebecca Marder star, but the real stand-out is, as usual, Isabelle Huppert, who plays a character based on the actress Sarah Bernhardt. Reviews have been strong, so Francophiles should definitely dive in.

THE IRON CLAW - $19.99 Sale Only

Director Sean Durkin broke out in a big way in 2011 with his debut feature Martha Marcy May Marlene, which won him the US Director’s Award at that year’s Sundance Film Festival. It took a while for his follow-up, 2020’s The Nest, which was released in the middle of the pandemic, but has slowly built a cult following. Now he’s come back in a big way with The Iron Claw, which has become his biggest commercial success by far. The story of the wrestling Von Erich family, the film features a break-out performance from Zac Efron, who transforms himself as heavyweight champion Kevin Von Erich. He really should have gotten Oscar consideration, and we have a feeling this film will only grow in estimation as more people discover it on demand.

February 14th, 2024

PLAYERS - Netflix

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Netflix pumps out another rom-com. This one stars the always appealing Gina Rodriguez, who plays Mack(!), a sportswriter in New York City who is always concocting hook-up schemes (Netflix’s description, not ours), but then unexpectedly falls for a fling. Will she keep playing the field or start playing for keeps (again…Netflix’s words)? Looks perfectly fine. We have to admit, every time we read or hear about Gina Rodriguez, we immediately think about the classic viral video Zendaya is Meechee. So sing it with us…Gina Rodriguez is Kolka!

February 15th, 2024

JOAN BAEZ: I AM A NOISE - Hulu

Neither a conventional biopic nor a traditional concert film, this doc is an intimate portrait of the legendary folk singer and activist that shifts back and forth through time as it follows Baez on her final tour and delves into her vast archive, including newly discovered home movies, diaries, artwork, therapy tapes, and audio recordings. Baez is admirably revealing about her life on and off stage -- from her lifelong emotional struggles to her civil rights work with Martin Luther King Jr. and a heartbreaking romance with a young Bob Dylan. A must for music fans.

THE KILL ROOM - Starz

A reunion of Pulp Fiction co-stars Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson, The Kill Room is a comedic crime thriller that skewers the art world. But let’s talk about Thurman and Jackson, both of whom received their sole Oscar nominations for Tarantino’s 1994 landmark film. It’s crazy that neither of them have been nominated again, especially for their projects with Tarantino. Jackson, of course, did receive an honorary Oscar last year. Well deserved. But it would be great if these terrific actors were in the mix for competitive Oscars again. Probably not for this film, though.

NEXT GOAL WINS - Hulu

Taika Waititi’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning 2019 film JoJo Rabbit felt like it was never going to hit theaters. It wrapped filming in January 2020, and then was pushed off several dates on the calendar until finally arriving on November 17th of last year. That’s a near four-year gap between filming and release! When it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, critics were not kind. The consensus was that Waititi had delivered a standard inspirational sports comedy, but nothing special. When it hit theaters, audiences liked it better, giving it a B+ CinemaScore. But like most films that stay on the shelf too long, the box-office was DOA. We’re actually quite interested in catching up with it now that it’s hitting Hulu.

February 16th, 2024

THE COLOR PURPLE - Max

When The Color Purple musical launched in theaters, audiences were ready. The film earned an incredible $18.2M on day-one, making it the second highest domestic opening on Christmas Day of all-time, behind only 2009’s Sherlock Holmes, which made $24.6M. It was a hit! Oscar buzz was strong! Nothing was going to stop it! But then…it just sort of petered-out. While other films held strong at the box-office, The Color Purple dropped like a stone, ultimately earning only $60M in the US. The Oscar buzz abated, though the film did score one nomination for Danielle Brooks in the Best Supporting Actress category. The film should find a wider audience when it begins streaming on Max this week.

MILLER’S GIRL - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman star as a student and teacher who enter into a complicated relationship after a creative writing assignment. We know what that means, right? Age-gap discourse! Yes, fans of the actress took issue with the sex scene between her and Martin Freeman, calling it ‘inappropriate’ and ‘gross.’ Ortega is 21, and Freeman is 52. But fear not, the film’s Intimacy Coordinator has assured us the co-stars were comfortable filming their scenes. So we can all relax and enjoy(?) this film, which received mostly bad reviews.

OPPENHEIMER - Peacock

Christopher Nolan’s unlikely blockbuster hits Peacock a week before the final Oscar voting period (February 22-27). And it’s lock for Best Picture and Best Director, right? We think it’s a done deal. What else could it win? Robert Downey Jr. feels relatively solid to take home his first Oscar. And Best Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing feel very possible. Beyond that…we’ll see. Cillian Murphy could certainly take Best Actor, though we’re leaning towards a Paul Giamatti win for The Holdovers. It’ll be great to see Christopher Nolan finally get his due, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for him.

THE POD GENERATION - Hulu

A film that premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival without much fanfare, The Pod Generation has two appealing leads (Emilia Clarke, Chiwetel Ejiofor) and an interesting premise: A couple in futuristic New York use technology such as detachable artificial wombs and pods to start their family. But with lukewarm reviews, it was destined to flop in theaters. It did, earning a mere $31K. Could it be a future cult classic? Probably not. But maybe worth a watch now that it’s launching on Hulu.

THIS IS ME…NOW: A LOVE STORY - Prime Video

Jennifer Lopez’s new album This Is Me... Now is set to be released on February 16, 2024, and will be accompanied by this Prime Video-exclusive narrative musical film titled This Is Me...Now: A Love Story. It was directed by Dave Meyers and is inspired by her new album. It’s basically JLo’s Lemonade. The film’s press release breathlessly and humbly breaks it down for us: “Along with Director Dave Meyers, Lopez creates a genre-redefining immersive cinematic experience: an extravagant visual and sonic feast with impressive choreography, star studded cameos, costumes, sets and blockbuster-worthy visuals. Although an astonishing vivid spectacle, the film is ultimately a heartfelt ode to JL’s journey of self-healing and everlasting belief in fairytale endings. Audiences will be captivated and leave hopeful that true love can be more than a dream.” You know who seems especially inspired by JLo’s new album?

February 17th, 2024

THANKSGIVING - Netflix

Eli Roth’s feature length adaptation of his fictitious trailer from 2007’s Grindhouse, Thanksgiving performed well enough in theaters to merit a sequel announcement from the director (see below). It still baffles us that Sony chose to release the film one week before the titular holiday. Why not give it a few weeks to take advantage of the season? Christmas movies used to be launched in November, and they were HUGE. Hopefully they won’t make the same mistake with Thanksgiving 2. In the meantime, this release is set to be huge on Netflix, where all new Sony movies seem to thrive no matter when they’re released.

Happy Streaming Everyone!

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