What’s Streaming This Week (5/12 - 5/19)
Tuesday, May 14th, 2024
GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental
What we like:
Rebecca Hall gets a huge paycheck so she can write and direct more passion projects.
Bryan Tyree Henry continues his steady march towards (fingers-crossed) super-stardom.
Big, dumb movies like this are still the lifeblood of theaters. It was a hit. It got people to the movies.
What we don’t like:
Apparently, producer Legendary Entertainment didn’t want any competition for its Godzilla film, so Toho International was prevented from releasing Godzilla Minus One on demand in the US for a still unknown period of time. Plenty of room for both, Legendary!
THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES - Starz
What we like:
If you’re going to do a Wall Street-motivated cash-grab prequel, it might as well be good. This was pretty good!
Tom Blyth as a leading man. He’s effective here as the budding villain of the franchise. But if you really want to see what he can do, check out Terence Davies’s Benediction.
The continued ascendance of Hunter Schafer. We can’t wait to see her in Cuckoo.
What we don’t like:
It was still a Wall Street-motivated cash grab. We’re worried its (relative) success will teach studios the wrong lesson. Just because you can warm up leftovers, doesn’t make it automatically delicious.
What we don’t like:
No one seems particularly excited to be making it, selling it, seeing it. A bummer all around.
SASQUATCH SUNSET - $14.99 Sale
What we like:
The directing team of Nathan and David Zellner deliver another offbeat, original film. We loved their 2014 drama Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter.
Ari Aster is a producer. The man is doing his best to help make indie films interesting.
Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough are completely unrecognizable in Sasquatch make-up and costumes, and yet give distinctive performances that somehow seem completely in step with their acting styles. Impressive!
What we don’t like:
The film eked-out a mere $1M at the box-office. The arthouse theater business is still in big trouble.
STING - $19.99 Sale
What we like:
Spider movies! Even when they’re not great, they’re still a lot of fun.
This was a nice little hit for indie distributor Well Go USA, proving once again that horror gets audiences to theaters.
What we don’t like:
This one was not great. And it had the bad fortune of coming out around the same time another (much better) spider chiller: Shudder’s Infested.
The spider is an alien? They’re already scary enough!
Thursday, May 16th, 2024
DON’T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER’S DEAD - BET+
What we like:
On the podcast The Rewatchables, host Bill Simmons asks the question: Could you remake this movie with an all-black cast? It’s a fun exercise, and here’s a film that does it.
Guess what? It’s supposed to be pretty charming! Probably not going to be remembered at Oscar time, but a solid comedy.
The year of June Squibb continues. She plays the titular dead babysitter, and will be kicking butt later this year in Thelma.
What we don’t like:
Sorry, we don’t care for the 1991 original. We know it’s sacred text for some, and we don’t want to yuck anyone’s yum, but…not one of our favorites.
It will only be available to stream on BET+. So…another streaming service. But good for them that they’re investing in quality originals.
Friday, May 17th, 2024
CHALLENGERS - TBD Sale / TBD Rental
What we like:
Where do we start? We think this is an instant classic. Luca Guadagnino has directed a sexy romance that delivers on all levels.
Zendaya is a movie star. She’s been in hits (Dune 1&2, The Greatest Showman), but this time it’s her face on the poster. And while the box-office has not reached the heights of those other blockbuster, Challengers proves she can carry a movie.
The score. Dear God, the score. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are the heartbeat of the film and should be remembered at Oscar time.
We could go on and on: Josh O’Connor. Mike Faist. The tennis sequences. The sharp script by first-time screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes. So much to love here.
What we don’t like:
Amazon MGM’s short theatrical window. When we posted the release date, the internet went ape-shit. We get it. But Amazon’s main business is not theatrical. They want it on Prime Video (and MGM+) sooner rather than later. Let’s be thankful they’re committed to at least some theatrical. Better than Netflix.
HE WENT THAT WAY - Hulu
What we like:
The continued ascendance of Jacob Elordi as a leading man. After Priscilla and Saltburn, we’re excited to see how he can grow as an actor.
We’re a sucker for crazy true-crime stories, and this one’s a doozy: The film follows Jim Goodwin, an animal trainer accompanied by his pet chimpanzee, who picks up a hitchhiker later revealed to be a serial killer. It is inspired by real life events involving serial killer Larry Lee Ranes.
What we don’t like:
Tragically, the film’s director was killed in a surfing accident in 2022.
NIGHTWATCH: DEMONS ARE FOREVER - Shudder, AMC+
What we like:
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau! The Games of Thrones star is always appealing.
It’s a sequel to the 1994 film Nightwatch, which got an English-language remake in 1997 starring Ewan McGregor and Patricia Arquette.
What we don’t like:
We haven’t seen it, and there are no reviews posted, but we’re not crazy about the title. Is it supposed to reference the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds are Forever? If so, we like it.
THE SWEET EAST - Hulu
What we like:
Sean Price Williams made a name for himself in the indie world as a cinematographer, working with the Safdie Brothers (Good Time) and Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Philip, Her Smell). So when he was seeking funding for his directorial debut, Perry stepped up and used his agency connections to secure an impressive cast to gain financing.
The Sweet East does have an impressive lineup of up-and-coming and established talent: Ayo Edibiri, Jacob Elordi, Jeremy O. Harris, Simon Rex, and lead Talia Ryder, who was so impressive in 2020’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always.
It sounds like The Sweet East is an ambitious swing: A high school senior's class trip to Washington, D.C. is abruptly interrupted when she is separated from her classmates during a pizzeria shooting. She then embarks on a picaresque journey across the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Granted access to a variety of strange sects and cults, she encounters gatekeepers eager to win her over.
What we don’t like:
We don’t love the posters for this one. Such a great cast, and no one prominently featured to help sell it. Use your movie stars!
THELMA THE UNICORN - Netflix
What we like:
On first glance, this looks like a disposable Netflix movie for young children. But look closer, and you’ll see the talent involved is quite impressive. The film is written by Napoleon Dynamite’s Jared and Jerusha Hess.
Voice talent includes Brittany Howard, Will Forte, Jemaine Clement, Edi Patterson, Fred Armisen, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Heder and Shondrella Avery. That’s a great line-up.
It’s based on a book by Aaron Blabey, who also wrote the graphic novel series The Bad Guys, which was adapted by Dreamworks Animation in to the 2022 film.
What we don’t like:
We’re keeping an open mind, but the story doesn’t quite grab us: A pony named Thelma dreams of becoming a singer. In order to achieve her dream, she pretends to be a unicorn, garnering her fame and attention. We’re hoping to be pleasantly surprised!
Happy Streaming Everyone!
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