February 20th, 2024

MEAN GIRLS - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Originally slated to be a direct-to-Paramount+ release, the Mean Girls musical is proof positive that streamers (especially Netflix) are leaving millions of dollars on the table by not giving their big titles proper theatrical runs. Not only has the film grossed around $100M worldwide, it is now a much more valuable asset for the studio. In the short term, it will help drive streaming subscriptions. In the long term, the film will have a stickier cultural impact, allowing the studio to exploit multiple revenue opportunities (physical media, linear tv licensing, etc.). This used to be the model. It worked! It still works! Anyway, we haven’t seen the film, so no idea if it’s any good. But we look forward to catching up with it (probably when it hits Paramount+ in a few weeks, stay tuned for news on that). Please note: Paramount has neither confirmed nor announced this release date.

MEMORY - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

When Michael Franco’s drama world premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, the reviews singled out the powerful performances of stars Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard. In fact, Sarsgaard won the prestigious Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the festival. Could Memory make a run and crash the 2023 Oscar race? It would take a distributor who could navigated the awards landscape. A buyer was soon announced, and it turned out to be….Ketchup Entertainment. Now we’re sure there are fine people working at Ketchup. People who love movies and are great at their jobs. But can we agree that it’s a terrible name for a company? Imagine an awards voter sitting down to watch your serious dementia drama…settling in….and then the title card appears: ‘Ketchup Entertainment Presents.’ Do you immediately lose a little respect for the film? We’re probably overthinking it. Anyway…Memory is supposed to be pretty good, and Chastain is nominated for a Spirit Award. Hope it finds an audience now that it’s coming to streaming.

ORLANDO, MY POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY - $19.99 Sale-Only

Paul B. Preciado’s fascinating documentary made a big splash at last year’s Berlin Film Festival, winning three prizes: The Teddy Award for Best Documentary Film, the Tagesspiegel Reader’s Jury Award, and the Encounter: Special Jury Award. In the film, Preciado organizes a casting and brings together 26 contemporary trans and non-binary people, aged 8 to 70, to bring out Orlando of Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography. "Every Orlando", he says, "is a transgender person who is risking his, her or their life on a daily basis as they find themselves forced to confront government laws, history and psychiatry, as well as traditional notions of the family and the power of multinational pharmaceutical companies." Look for this one to hit the Criterion Channel in the next few weeks.

THE ZONE OF INTEREST - $19.99 Sale-Only

Loosely adapted from the 2014 Martin Amis novel of the same name, Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest was one of the most highly anticipated films of last year’s Cannes Film Festival. When it premiered, many predicted it would win the Palme d’Or. It lost to Anatomy of a Fall. Now both films are nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars, though only Zone is nominated for Best International Feature (Anatomy was not submitted by France, who chose The Taste of Things instead). It’s widely expected to win the International Feature Oscar, which would make it the first ever win in that category for a film submitted by the UK. The award would be deserved, as the film is (in our opinion) a masterpiece. Please note: A24 has neither announced nor confirmed the release date.

February 21st, 2024

RETRIBUTION - Starz

We’re still doing this? Look…we love Liam Neeson. We love a good Liam Neeson action movie. But good Liam Neeson action movies are becoming a rare beast. Retribution is the third remake of the 2015 Spanish film El desconocido, which follows a man (Neeson) who gets trapped in his car after receiving a threat that it will explode should he get out. Unfortunately, ‘third remake’ speaks volumes. Still…if you subscribe to Starz…it might not be the worst way to spend an afternoon. Go in with low expectations, you might be pleasantly surprised.

February 22nd , 2024

ALL OF US STRANGERS - Hulu, VOD/Digital: $19.99 Sale-Only

Andrew Haigh’s quietly powerful drama takes some big swings, and in our opinion, absolutely hits it out of the park. So much to admire here, but we want to sing the praises of star Andrew Scott, who is so understated and effective in this film. An amazing performance that was criminally overlooked by the Academy, as were the terrific supporting turns from Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, and Jamie Bell. Both Haigh (Best Director) and Scott (Best Lead Performance) are nominated for Spirit Awards, and the film is up for Best Feature. Here’s hoping it finds a wider audience on Hulu. Definitely a must-see.

February 23rd, 2024

MEA CULPA - Netflix

What looks like a ho-hum legal thriller suddenly becomes a must-watch when you add four little words: A Tyler Perry Film. Yes, we admit it. We’re fans of Perry’s gonzo style of melodrama. The man does not do boring. Mea Culpa stars Kelly Rowland (of Destiny’s Child) playing a criminal defense attorney who takes on the case of an artist, played by Trevante Rhodes of Moonlight, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend. Would the film be better if the Kelly Rowland part was played by Madea? Definitely! We’re assuming it was not possible because of her previous criminal record:

OCCUPIED CITY - $19.99 Sale-Only

Steve McQueen’s 4-hour documentary is based on the book Atlas of an Occupied City, Amsterdam 1940-1945 by Bianca Stigter, who also happens to be the filmmaker’s wife. The film creates two interlocking portraits: a door-to-door excavation of the Nazi occupation that still haunts Amsterdam, and a vivid journey through the last years of pandemic and protest. McQueen has said that there is a 36-hour version of the documentary, and that he shot everything that is covered in the book. Critics were mixed/positive on this one, and the film’s lengthy run time likely made it a tough sell for theatrical. It should find a larger audience on home screens, especially when it hits Max in the Spring. Please note: A24 has neither confirmed nor announced this release date.

PRISCILLA - Max

One of the low-key biggest indie success stories of 2023. Priscilla is the first Sofia Coppola film to break $20M at the domestic box-office since 2003’s Lost in Translation. Sadly, it didn’t get much awards traction or year-end critics support. That’s a bit surprising, especially considering lead Cailee Spaeney won the Best Actress prize at last year’s Venice Film Festival. It never felt like she was even part of the Oscar conversation. Now that it’s coming to Max, it should reach its largest audience yet. Definitely worth caching up on if you missed it.

THE PROMISED LAND - $16.99 Sale / TBD Rental

If you’re in the mood for an old-fashioned, sweeping historical drama, The Promised Land will definitely scratch that itch. The film takes place in 18th Century Denmark, where Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) sets out to tame an uninhabitable land and build a colony in the name of the King. Braving the elements, Kahlen is joined by a couple who has escaped the area’s merciless ruler, igniting a conflict that threatens his life, and the family of outsiders that has formed around him. It was Denmark’s entry for the Best International Feature Oscar, and while short-listed, it was not nominated. Really looking forward to this one.

RED RIGHT HAND - $16.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Not much advanced word on this Magnolia Pictures release. Here’s what we know: Orlando Bloom plays a character named Cash. Andie MacDowell plays a sadistic criminal kingpin named Big Cat. Cash is trying to live an honest and quiet life, taking care of his recently orphaned niece in the Appalachian town of Odim County. Big Cat, who runs the town, forces him back in to her services. Will he stay good? Or will he be bad? Again…we’ll ask the question…would the film be better if Madea played the Orlando Bloom role? We all know the answer:

Happy Streaming Everyone!

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