Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024

ANYONE BUT YOU - Netflix

Sony’s surprise winter hit has made Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney bona fide movie stars. This romantic comedy not only legged-out its domestic box-office gross to $88M, but also added an additional $127M overseas. Its success led to the inevitable sequel talk, which to us sounds like a terrible idea. Why not go the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan route? Instead of following up Sleepless in Seattle with a sequel, they re-teamed with Nora Ephron for a fresh story, and gave us another classic, You’ve Got Mail. We don’t need Anyone But You, Too, or Everyone But You, or Anything But You. Give us fresh characters and stories, and let the sparks fly. Anyway…this is gonna be huge on Netflix.

ARTHUR THE KING - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Based on the 2016 memoir Arthur - The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home by Mikael Lindnord, the film adaptation follows the captain of an adventure racing team (Mark Wahlberg) who befriends a wounded stray dog named Arthur, who then accompanies the team on a grueling 435-mile endurance race through the Dominican Republic. Although the real-life story recounted in Lindord's book took place in Ecuador, Arthur the King was set and filmed in the Dominican Republic. According to GearJunkie, this has caused consternation and disappointment among many Ecuadorians, who felt that they had not benefited, despite the fact that the dog had been taken out of their country. Which…fair enough...but Arthur was a stray. Not exactly a kidnapping.

HOUSEKEEPING FOR BEGINNERS - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Director Goran Stolevski’s third film with Focus Features is a story exploring the universal truths of family, both the ones we’re born into and the ones we find for ourselves. Dita never wanted to be a mother, but circumstances force her to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters, tiny troublemaker Mia and rebellious teen Vanesa. A battle of wills ensues as the three continue to butt heads and become an unlikely family that must fight to stay together. Dita is played by the great Romanian actress Anamaria Marinca, who was so memorable in 2007’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. This one has really flown under the radar, but is well worth checking out.

MONKEY MAN - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Dev Patel’s directorial debut was initially sold to Netflix in 2021 for $30 million. Netflix, however, soon felt the film was too gritty for Indian audiences and was concerned about their reaction to the film's political commentary. So they quietly shopped it around. Jordan Peele saw the film and came on board as producer under his Monkeypaw Productions banner, and persuaded Universal Pictures to acquire the film from Netflix for a reported $10 million. And with that acquisition? A wide theatrical release! Something they never would have gotten from Netflix. And while Monkey Man has done decent business at the box-office, its value in ancillary markets (PVOD, Peacock, Blu-Ray) is much improved by its theatrical run.

TÓTEM - The Criterion Channel, $19.9 Sale / $6.99 Rental

This Mexican drama was widely predicted to nab a Best International Feature Oscar nomination, and it did indeed make the shortlist. But when nominations were announced in January, Tótem’s omission was a bit of a surprise. Lila Avilés’s drama tells the story of seven-year-old Sol, who is spending the day at her grandfather's home for a surprise party for Sol's father, Tonatiuh. As daylight fades, Sol comes to understand that her world is about to change dramatically. Reviews for this one have been stellar, we can’t wait to catch it on the Criterion Channel.

Thursday, May 25th, 2024

MILLER’S GIRL - Netflix

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 (which will go off the charts once this hits Netflix)! 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.

Friday, April 26th, 2024

INFESTED - Shudder, AMC+

Director Sébastien Vaniček’s feature debut is getting a ton of buzz, with many critics ready to add it to the pantheon of (non-Marvel) spider films. Originally titled Vermines, Infested world premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, and has been creeping out audiences at various festivals ever since. The story follows Kaleb (Théo Christine), who finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment (as one does!). It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce (of course, what was he expecting?), turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap (inevitable!). We’re super excited for this one.

LOVE LIES BLEEDING - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Rose Glass’s follow up to her debut feature Saint Maud, Love Lies Bleeding follows the relationship between a reclusive gym manager (Kristen Stewart), who is part of a crime family, and an ambitious bodybuilder (Katy O’Brian). We missed this in theaters, so we can’t wait to check it out next week. A special shout-out to lesbian twitter, who surfaced the following tweet from O’Brian, which lead to her audition and eventual casting. Absolute legend.

Happy Streaming Everyone!

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