September 4th, 2023

MAFIA MAMMA - Paramount+ w/Showtime

We love Toni Collette. We love Monica Bellucci. We’d watch them in anything, so Mafia Mamma is a reason to celebrate. Critics weren’t celebrating, saddling the film with a 27% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, this feels like a great movie to catch up on if you have Paramount+. And if you need an extra Bellucci fix, please enjoy her intensely reciting director’s names at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

September 5th, 2023

THE ADULTS - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Nominated for the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, The Adults did not make much of an impact when it launched in US theaters on August 18th. Michael Cera, Hannah Gross and Sophia Lillas co-star, with Dustin Guy Defa handling writing and directing duties. Sadly for The Adults, this was the summer of Alan.

AMANDA - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Amanda is an Italian comedy-drama written and directed by Carolina Cavalli, which premiered in the Horizons Extra section of the 79th Venice Film Festival and later screened at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Great reviews on this one, it currently sits at 95% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

BIRTH/REBIRTH - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Well received at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Birth/Rebirth is inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and stars Marin Ireland, Judy Reyes, A.J. Lister, Breeda Wool and LaChanze. We love that Shudder is supporting female directors in horror, and Laura Moss is a huge talent. If you subscribe to Criterion Channel, you can check out her 2017 short film Fry Day. It’s terrific.

DESPERATE SOULS, DARK CITY AND THE LEGEND OF MIDNIGHT COWBOY - $12.99 Sale / TBD Rental

We were very sad to hear the news of director Nancy Buiski’s passing this past week. In 1998, Buirski founded the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, which spotlights independent documentary filmmakers from around the world. Her doc examining the impact of Midnight Cowboy is a must watch for film lovers. Brenda Vaccaro, Jon Voight, Jennifer Salt, Bob Balaban, Brian De Palma, Michael Childers, Lucy Sante, James Hoberman, Adam Holender, Charles Kaiser and Edmund White all appear in the film, though Dustin Hoffman declined to participate.

STRAYS - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Pushed back from its original June premiere date, Strays landed with a thud in theaters on August 18th. Neither critically or commercially successful, it grossed $18.2M in its first two weeks in theaters. Universal will try to recoup some of its investment with a quick PVOD release. We’re estimating Strays will arrive on Peacock sometime in early October.

September 6th, 2023

THE LITTLE MERMAID - Disney+

After performing well at the domestic box-office (though underperforming overseas), The Little Mermaid arrives on Disney+, six weeks after its PVOD launch. The sing-along version was released in theaters last weekend without much success, but maybe people were just too embarrassed to sing this in public:

September 8th, 2023

BLOOD FLOWER - Shudder, AMC+

The first Shudder original movie from Malaysia, Blood Flower tells the story of a 16-year-old apprentice faith healer and exorcist, who is tormented by visions of the dead and spirits from other dimensions. When a malicious spirit begins to wreak havoc around him, the teenaged exorcist is forced to harness his supernatural gifts to save his family and friends. We’re in!

LANDSCAPE WITH INVISIBLE HAND - Sale Only (Price TBD)

We’re all for non-generic titles…but c’mon…this title…with that poster…oy. This movie never had a chance. Which is too bad, because it has a great cast (Asante Blackk, Kylie Rogers, Tiffany Haddish, Josh Hamilton), a talented director (Cory Finley) and a bonkers premise: In a near-future in which an alien species known as the Vuvv has taken over Earth, an aspiring teenage artist and his girlfriend hatch a scheme to make money by broadcasting their dating life to the fascinated aliens in the wake of the Vuvv's labour-saving technology. But the two teens slowly come to hate each other, and cannot break up without bankrupting their families. We will be watching.

SITTING IN BARS WITH CAKE - Prime Video

So…Cakebarring (taking a cake to a bar to meet guys) is a real thing? Apparently it is. And it’s finally getting its own romantic comedy. Based on the novel of the same name by Audrey Shulman, Sitting in Bars with Cake stars Yara Shahidi, Odessa A’zion, and….Bette Midler?? Great! This feels like a nice way for Amazon to keep their rom-com momentum going after the success of RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE.

Happy Streaming Everyone!

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