What’s Streaming This Week (8/27 - 9/3)
August 29th, 2023
THE BAKER - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental
This Ron Perlman starring vigilante action film world premiered at last year’s Austin Film Festival. Co-starring Harvey Keitel, Elias Koteas and newcomer Emma Ho, the film received a minor theatrical release at the end of July. It’s the sort of comfort food action movie that’ll do well on demand.
THE BOOGEYMAN - $14.99 (Sale Only)
Originally slated to be a direct-to-Hulu release, 20th Century Studios shifted its strategy after positive test screenings. They even screened it for Stephen King, who loved the movie and said: ‘They'd be fucking stupid to release this on streaming and not in cinemas.' King was right, of course, and the film went on to gross $82M worldwide. It should hit Hulu in time for Halloween.
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY - $19.99 (Sale Only)
Indy 5 comes to home screens just short of two months after its theatrical premiere. It’ll be interesting to see if it gets a reassessment with a new wave of viewers. Will it play better on small screens that it did on the big screen? Probably not. But Crystal Skull was pretty much dismissed when it came out 15 years ago, and that film now has its ardent defenders. Look for Dial of Destiny to hit Disney+ by the end of the year.
LAKOTA NATION VS UNITED STATES - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Divided into three sections: extermination, assimilation and reparations, Lakota Nation Vs United States is told from the point of the Lakota people and recounts how the Black Hills were taken in violation of various treaty agreements, while the indigenous community who lived there was simultaneously exploited and displaced. Co-directed by Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli, the film counts Mark Ruffalo as one of its executive producers. An IFC Films release, so it should hit AMC+ sometime in the fall.
THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental
Whether it was the confusing title, middling reviews, or Dracula overload, The Last Voyage of the Demeter just never caught on with theater audiences. It’s the sort of mid-budget thriller we need more of from the studios, so it’s a shame it was such a money loser. Here’s hoping it’ll get a nice sampling on PVOD. If you’re waiting for it to arrive on Peacock, you’ll be out of luck. The film is produced by Amblin (and only distributed by Universal), so it’ll be on Paramount+ w/Showtime early next year.
THE POD GENERATION - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental
A film that premiered earlier in the year at Sundance without much fanfare, The Pod Generation has two appealing leads 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 when it hits SVOD later this year.
August 30th, 2023
A GOOD PERSON - MGM+
While we leave it to People Magazine to detail the comprehensive timeline of the Zach Braff/Florence Pugh relationship, moviegoers have A Good Person as the only souvenir of their time together. It feels like this movie came out five years ago, but it actually hit theaters in late March. Finally hitting SVOD this week, though on MGM+…so not exactly the biggest platform. Still, a must for Pugh completists.
OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE - Starz
The first of two 2023 Guy Ritchie movies (GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT being the other), this one doesn’t have the director’s possessive in the title, as it was the only movie of the year named Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre (go figure). Long delayed by the STX Entertainment restructuring, the film finally made it to theaters on March 3rd. Audiences stayed away…it grossed $6.5M. Good cast though!
September 1st, 2023
ALL FUN AND GAMES - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Netflix superstars Asa Butterfield (Sex Education) and Natalia Dyer (Stranger Things) star in this Russo Brothers production, described as an exploration of the elements of cruelty inherent in children's games -- Flashlight Tag, Hangman, Hide & Seek -- and what happens when the games go too far. When a group of teens find a cursed knife in the woods, they unleash a malevolent demon that will not rest until it's claimed all of their lives and souls in a terrifying deathmatch. No reviews yet, so dive in blind everyone!
HYPNOTIC - Peacock
Ketchup Entertainment’s Hypnotic didn’t connect with critics or audiences, and it became the lowest grossing opening weekend ever for both star Ben Affleck and director Robert Rodriguez. It probably didn’t help that Affleck was busy promoting AIR, a film that was always going to be his priority. Still, it has its defenders, with Glenn Kenny of The New York Times writing, "The movie is, if nothing else, ruthlessly efficient enough in delivering its crowd-pleasing bits that truly starving suspense genre hounds, at least, won't necessarily mind.”
MOVING ON - Hulu
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are living legends. And it was nice to see them anchor a hit movie in 2023. That movie was 80 FOR BRADY. Unfortunately, lightning did not strike twice for Moving On, which was hobbled by a generic title, terrible poster, and minimal promotion from its distributor. This was always going to be a tough sell. Reviews were solid (75% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), so hopefully this finds its audience on Hulu.
PERPETRATOR - Shudder, AMC+
Jennifer Reeder’s Perpetrator premiered at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Panorama Audience Award. It’s Reeder’s third collaboration with Shudder, previously working with the service on the 2021 anthology film V/H/S/94 and the 2022 film Night’s End. It’s great to see Shudder supporting female horror directors, and it’s great to see Alicia Silverstone, who has a supporting role in the film.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental
A surprise late addition to our preview, the Turtles will be coming home for Labor Day weekend. A success story no matter how you look at it, the only question left is when a sequel to this reboot will be announced. We’ll keep you updated on news of a Paramount+ launch date.
THE WRATH OF BECKY - Paramount+ w/Showtime
A sequel to the 2020 cult film Becky, The Wrath of Becky premiered at this year’s South By Southwest to positive reviews (86% Fresh). Upstart Quiver Distribution handled the theatrical release, and the film struggled to break out, grossing $180k total. Still, it likely killed on VOD, and there’s already talk of a third Becky film.
September 2nd, 2023
LOVE AGAIN - Netflix
Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sam Heughan are incredibly attractive actors who both have solid fanbases. But let’s be honest, Love Again will always be known as the Celine Dion movie. It’s technically her first, though we believe 2022’s Aline is spiritually her first film. If you haven’t seen Aline, it’s truly bonkers. Highly recommended.
Happy streaming everyone!
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