Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Billy (Zachary Epcar)
An emerging experimental filmmaker uses a series of 16mm close-ups to capture the textures and objects that characterize suburban life in this short horror film inspired by the ‘90s soap opera Melrose Place. Zachary Epcar’s approach to presenting household items––plastic Fiji water bottles, Nespresso pods, Amazon packages––using a combination of sharp visuals and eerie sounds produces a nightmarish thrill-ride through the suburbs that renders commodity culture itself as a movie monster.
Where to Stream: Le Cinéma Club
Blackout (Larry Fessenden)
As with Depraved, writer-director Larry Fessenden returns to the world of classic, Universal-inspired monsters in Blackout. Whereas that title brought the mythos of Frankenstein’s monster (and its ample room for social commentary) into the present-day,...
Billy (Zachary Epcar)
An emerging experimental filmmaker uses a series of 16mm close-ups to capture the textures and objects that characterize suburban life in this short horror film inspired by the ‘90s soap opera Melrose Place. Zachary Epcar’s approach to presenting household items––plastic Fiji water bottles, Nespresso pods, Amazon packages––using a combination of sharp visuals and eerie sounds produces a nightmarish thrill-ride through the suburbs that renders commodity culture itself as a movie monster.
Where to Stream: Le Cinéma Club
Blackout (Larry Fessenden)
As with Depraved, writer-director Larry Fessenden returns to the world of classic, Universal-inspired monsters in Blackout. Whereas that title brought the mythos of Frankenstein’s monster (and its ample room for social commentary) into the present-day,...
- 4/12/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Fire Country has found immense success on Friday nights for CBS.
The firefighting drama stars Max Thieriot from Seal Team (Clay Spenser) and Bates Motel (Dylan Massett). He plays Bode Donovan (Leone).
The network has had lots of success with its NCIS Universe and the trio of FBI shows, so CBS wants to see if a Fire Country spin-off will work.
An upcoming episode of Fire Country is called Alert the Sheriff, and it is a planned backdoor pilot.
If CBS is happy with fan response and how the new characters work within the world of Fire Country, that episode will springboard into a new show called Sheriff Country.
This is called a backdoor pilot, where the characters from a planned show appear first on the primary show. Main characters for NCIS: Los Angeles appeared in a two-episode arc of NCIS, while Chicago P.D. characters first appeared on Chicago Fire for NBC.
The firefighting drama stars Max Thieriot from Seal Team (Clay Spenser) and Bates Motel (Dylan Massett). He plays Bode Donovan (Leone).
The network has had lots of success with its NCIS Universe and the trio of FBI shows, so CBS wants to see if a Fire Country spin-off will work.
An upcoming episode of Fire Country is called Alert the Sheriff, and it is a planned backdoor pilot.
If CBS is happy with fan response and how the new characters work within the world of Fire Country, that episode will springboard into a new show called Sheriff Country.
This is called a backdoor pilot, where the characters from a planned show appear first on the primary show. Main characters for NCIS: Los Angeles appeared in a two-episode arc of NCIS, while Chicago P.D. characters first appeared on Chicago Fire for NBC.
- 3/28/2024
- by Ryan DeVault
- Monsters and Critics
Oscar winners Cameron Crowe and Robert Richardson have boarded Yi Zhou’s documentary “In Between Stars and Scars,” joining an extensive lineup of lauded creatives who will also be included in the artisans-focused film. Additionally, Zhou’s documentary will unveil music by composer Ennio Morricone and Bryan Ferry.
The film’s official description reads, “’In Between Stars and Scars’ unveils the intricate world of filmmaking, with a special focus on the artisans who bring cinematic visions to life. The documentary film takes audiences on a captivating journey behind the scenes, shining a much-deserved spotlight on the talented individuals who often go unrecognized for their crucial contributions.”
Camron Crowe will reflect on the artisans who have contributed to his iconic filmography. The documentary will also feature Oscar-winning artisans including cinematographers Robert Richardson and Vittorio Storaro, production designer Dante Ferretti, editor Thom Noble, and hair designer Giorgio Gregorini. Memories of the late...
The film’s official description reads, “’In Between Stars and Scars’ unveils the intricate world of filmmaking, with a special focus on the artisans who bring cinematic visions to life. The documentary film takes audiences on a captivating journey behind the scenes, shining a much-deserved spotlight on the talented individuals who often go unrecognized for their crucial contributions.”
Camron Crowe will reflect on the artisans who have contributed to his iconic filmography. The documentary will also feature Oscar-winning artisans including cinematographers Robert Richardson and Vittorio Storaro, production designer Dante Ferretti, editor Thom Noble, and hair designer Giorgio Gregorini. Memories of the late...
- 3/1/2024
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
I suppose there’s a more interesting film to be made about the great composer Ennio Morricone, but watching Giuseppe Tornatore’s loving and comprehensive “Ennio” makes it almost impossible to care. An uncomplicated and reverent tribute that was shot before the late maestro’s death in 2020 (and would feel like a two-and-a-half-hour tribute reel if not for the fact that Morricone himself is the film’s most frequent talking head), this straightforward biodoc is almost perversely generic for a movie that’s meant to honor one of cinema’s greatest radicals.
And yet, do you really not want to see Clint Eastwood deadpanning that Morricone’s music “helped dramatize me, which is really hard to do”? Would a less conventional documentary have been able to squeeze Bruce Springsteen, Wong Kar-wai, and James Hetfield into the same film, or include so much of what Bernardo Bertolucci had to say about...
And yet, do you really not want to see Clint Eastwood deadpanning that Morricone’s music “helped dramatize me, which is really hard to do”? Would a less conventional documentary have been able to squeeze Bruce Springsteen, Wong Kar-wai, and James Hetfield into the same film, or include so much of what Bernardo Bertolucci had to say about...
- 2/7/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
“A director can’t understand the final result from a description. You cannot describe music; it needs to be listened to.” So says Ennio Morricone in one of many talking-head sections that comprise Giuseppe Tornatore’s documentary. But Ennio, as it’s aptly titled, can feel part-documentary, part-video essay, and, yes, part-talking head compilation. It’s 156 minutes, but even the first four hint at its simplicity. A barrage of musicians, producers, and filmmakers spout what the film quickly compresses into glorified soundbites. Morricone was a towering artist. Audiences already knew this. But Tornatore doesn’t fully unpack the composer’s impact; he does more to describe it.
So what else is there to listen to? Per Morricone himself, he wanted to be a doctor, but his father insisted he learn the trumpet. He took classes at the Saint Cecilia Conservatory at age 12 and studied under Goffredo Petrassi, later marrying Maria Travia.
So what else is there to listen to? Per Morricone himself, he wanted to be a doctor, but his father insisted he learn the trumpet. He took classes at the Saint Cecilia Conservatory at age 12 and studied under Goffredo Petrassi, later marrying Maria Travia.
- 2/7/2024
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
Luigi Comenicini’s The Sunday Woman makes for an intriguing blend of police procedural and comedy of manners. It isn’t really a giallo, despite an investigation into a bizarre murder that fuels further misdeeds. As a satire of Turin’s upper classes, it isn’t nearly as trenchant, let alone grim, as other examples of commedia all’italiana like Dino Risi’s Il Sorpasso or Pietro Germi’s Seduced and Abandoned, though it does share their preoccupation with character types that border on the grotesque. Taken on its own terms, the film is absorbing, frequently amusing, and exceedingly well directed by Comencini, who keeps things moving with admirably brisk efficiency.
When sleazy architect Garrone (Claudio Gora) is found beaten to death with a large stone phallus (shades of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange), Commissioner Santamaria (Marcello Mastroianni) takes up the case. A handy clue soon puts him on...
When sleazy architect Garrone (Claudio Gora) is found beaten to death with a large stone phallus (shades of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange), Commissioner Santamaria (Marcello Mastroianni) takes up the case. A handy clue soon puts him on...
- 5/1/2023
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
Exclusive: Wild Bunch International (Wbi) has boarded sales on buzzy Portuguese director, artist and producer Gabriel Abrantes’ upcoming English-language feature Amelia’s Children.
The film is among half a dozen new titles being launched by Wbi at the EFM, alongside a raft of previously announced upcoming films, including Cannes hopefuls such as Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s Monster.
The company is also handling Berlinale Competition selections, Philippe Garrel’s The Plough and Makoto Shinkai’s hotly awaited anime Suzume, and the Panorama title Heroic, which world premiered at Sundance.
Abrante’s psychological thriller Amelia’s Children is his solo feature debut and his first feature since his 2018 Cannes Critics’ Week winner Diamantino (co-directed with Daniel Schmidt).
The film reunites him with its star Carloto Cotta. Other key cast members are Brigette Lundy-Paine (Atypical) and Alba Baptiste (Warrior Nun).
Cotta plays a man whose search for his biological family leads him and his...
The film is among half a dozen new titles being launched by Wbi at the EFM, alongside a raft of previously announced upcoming films, including Cannes hopefuls such as Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s Monster.
The company is also handling Berlinale Competition selections, Philippe Garrel’s The Plough and Makoto Shinkai’s hotly awaited anime Suzume, and the Panorama title Heroic, which world premiered at Sundance.
Abrante’s psychological thriller Amelia’s Children is his solo feature debut and his first feature since his 2018 Cannes Critics’ Week winner Diamantino (co-directed with Daniel Schmidt).
The film reunites him with its star Carloto Cotta. Other key cast members are Brigette Lundy-Paine (Atypical) and Alba Baptiste (Warrior Nun).
Cotta plays a man whose search for his biological family leads him and his...
- 2/2/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Laura Poitras’ All the Beauty and the Bloodshed and Manuela Martelli’s 1976 also among winners.
Davy Chou’s Return to Seoul and Laura Poitras’ All the Beauty and the Bloodshed were among the winners at the 28th Athens International Film Festival-Opening Nights, which ran from September 28 - October 9.
Return to Seoul, which world premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard in May, was named best film in the festival’s eleven strong international fiction section, receiving the Golden Athena and a Euros 2,000 prize. Chou sent a videotaped message of thanks for the award.
The film was acquired for Greece by local theatrical distributor and platform Cinobo.
Davy Chou’s Return to Seoul and Laura Poitras’ All the Beauty and the Bloodshed were among the winners at the 28th Athens International Film Festival-Opening Nights, which ran from September 28 - October 9.
Return to Seoul, which world premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard in May, was named best film in the festival’s eleven strong international fiction section, receiving the Golden Athena and a Euros 2,000 prize. Chou sent a videotaped message of thanks for the award.
The film was acquired for Greece by local theatrical distributor and platform Cinobo.
- 10/10/2022
- by Alexis Grivas
- ScreenDaily
Oscar Wilde may be the most famous person to face imprisonment for being gay, but he wasn’t the only one to suffer under an archaic legal system. Set in 1960s Italy, Gianni Amelio’s expansive historical drama “Lord of The Ants” uncovers the story of Aldo Braibanti, an Italian playwright, poet, and director who faced imprisonment for a consensual relationship with a younger student. “Lord of The Ants” holds a mirror to this shameful chapter in Italian history, painting
The film opens on an intimate moment between the handsome and dignified Aldo (Luigi Lo Cascio) and beautiful Ettore (Leonardo Maltese). Glowing with adoration, Aldo and Ettore recite poetry to each other in an outdoor Roman movie theater, ensconced in each other’s brilliance. At another table a kind journalist named Ennio (Elio Germano) observes them with sensitivity. “Braibanti, the myrmecologist,” he points out to his cousin Grazie (Sara Serraiocco...
The film opens on an intimate moment between the handsome and dignified Aldo (Luigi Lo Cascio) and beautiful Ettore (Leonardo Maltese). Glowing with adoration, Aldo and Ettore recite poetry to each other in an outdoor Roman movie theater, ensconced in each other’s brilliance. At another table a kind journalist named Ennio (Elio Germano) observes them with sensitivity. “Braibanti, the myrmecologist,” he points out to his cousin Grazie (Sara Serraiocco...
- 9/10/2022
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Click here to read the full article.
Gianni Amelio’s chronicle of the persecution of Aldo Braibanti, Lord of the Ants (Il Signore delle Formiche), doesn’t avoid the propensity of many Italian period dramas for dense verbosity, with characters spouting great gobs of manicured prose. That’s perhaps especially the case since the protagonist was a poet, playwright and philosopher. But Amelio’s classical approach, and the dignified refusal of martyrdom in Luigi Lo Cascio’s lead performance, make this account of Braibanti’s controversial imprisonment for homosexuality in 1968 after a four-year trial a quietly stirring portrait of institutional intolerance.
The Braibanti case drew international attention in the wake of his conviction due to the number of influential public figures who spoke out against the travesty of justice — Pier Paolo Pasolini, Alberto Moravia, Elsa Morante, Marco Bellocchio and Umberto Eco among them.
What’s striking now about the courtroom...
Gianni Amelio’s chronicle of the persecution of Aldo Braibanti, Lord of the Ants (Il Signore delle Formiche), doesn’t avoid the propensity of many Italian period dramas for dense verbosity, with characters spouting great gobs of manicured prose. That’s perhaps especially the case since the protagonist was a poet, playwright and philosopher. But Amelio’s classical approach, and the dignified refusal of martyrdom in Luigi Lo Cascio’s lead performance, make this account of Braibanti’s controversial imprisonment for homosexuality in 1968 after a four-year trial a quietly stirring portrait of institutional intolerance.
The Braibanti case drew international attention in the wake of his conviction due to the number of influential public figures who spoke out against the travesty of justice — Pier Paolo Pasolini, Alberto Moravia, Elsa Morante, Marco Bellocchio and Umberto Eco among them.
What’s striking now about the courtroom...
- 9/6/2022
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Myrmecology is a study of science that looks at the life, society and hierarchy of ants. Early Myrmecologists believed that ant culture was utopian and thought by studying them in encased ant farms, they could find solutions to human problems. However, Gianni Amelio’s Italian post-wwii drama The Lord of the Ants (Il Signore Delle Formiche) flips this idea around. It examines why strict societies foster cultures of oppression where everyone must play their role or be punished.
The screenplay by Amelio, Federico Fava and Edoardo Petti chooses its dialogue with precision. They want us to know they resent post-Mussolini Europe and how not just homosexuals but anyone on the margins is oppressed under fascist rule.
Venice Film Festival: Deadline’s Full Coverage
In 1965 Rome, Aldo Braibanti (Luigi Lo Cascio) is caught sleeping with his young lover Ettore (Leonardo Maltese). Their relationship started a year earlier in small-town Italy, where Aldo was directing a play.
The screenplay by Amelio, Federico Fava and Edoardo Petti chooses its dialogue with precision. They want us to know they resent post-Mussolini Europe and how not just homosexuals but anyone on the margins is oppressed under fascist rule.
Venice Film Festival: Deadline’s Full Coverage
In 1965 Rome, Aldo Braibanti (Luigi Lo Cascio) is caught sleeping with his young lover Ettore (Leonardo Maltese). Their relationship started a year earlier in small-town Italy, where Aldo was directing a play.
- 9/6/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Gianni Amelio was in his late sixties when he came out as gay a few years ago. The announcement preceded the release of his documentary “Happy to Be Different,” which worked toward an overriding sunniness in contemplating the trials and challenges of being gay in Italy at various points in the 20th century. In turning to a gay-themed narrative project, Amelio narrows the focus and dims the mood: “Lord of the Ants” takes as its subject the gay Italian author Aldo Braibanti, and the social and legal opposition he faced over his sexuality in mid-1960s Rome. Solemn, stately and perhaps a little stifled, it’s the kind of queer statement you might expect from a veteran filmmaker who wasn’t until relatively recently out and proud, and is rather poignant for that.
In a key scene, the middle-aged Braibanti (played with urbane grace by Luigi Lo Cascio) takes his...
In a key scene, the middle-aged Braibanti (played with urbane grace by Luigi Lo Cascio) takes his...
- 9/6/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
The hilarious family animated film Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank, from Paramount Pictures, is available now to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Canada. The exciting action-adventure stars Michael Cera, Ricky Gervais and Samuel L. Jackson.
Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank also stars Mel Brooks, George Takei, Aasif Mandvi, Gabriel Iglesias, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Yeoh, Cathy Shim and Kylie Kuioka.
A down-on-his-luck hound Hank (Michael Cera) finds himself in a town full of cats who need a hero to defend them from a ruthless villain’s (Ricky Gervais) evil plot to wipe their village off the map. With help from a reluctant teacher (Samuel L. Jackson) to train him, our underdog must assume the role of town samurai and team up with the villagers to save the day. The only problem… cats hate dogs!
Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank is directed by Rob Minkoff,...
Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank also stars Mel Brooks, George Takei, Aasif Mandvi, Gabriel Iglesias, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Yeoh, Cathy Shim and Kylie Kuioka.
A down-on-his-luck hound Hank (Michael Cera) finds himself in a town full of cats who need a hero to defend them from a ruthless villain’s (Ricky Gervais) evil plot to wipe their village off the map. With help from a reluctant teacher (Samuel L. Jackson) to train him, our underdog must assume the role of town samurai and team up with the villagers to save the day. The only problem… cats hate dogs!
Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank is directed by Rob Minkoff,...
- 9/5/2022
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Film FestivalThe documentary on Ennio, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, the man who made ‘Cinema Paradiso’, was screened at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala.CrisStill from the documentary 'Ennio'If you knew precious little about Ennio Morricone, unarguably one of the greatest composers who lived in the last 100 years, Ennio, a 150-minute documentary about him, will open up big wide worlds of music and movies for you. A good chunk of the history of film music falls right off the screen, and you will be left wondering from where to start catching up – the vast amounts of stunning music he left behind (500 of them for films and more than a 100 classical works) or the movies themselves. The films and its visuals are so entwined with Ennio’s music, it seems hard to separate one from the other once you have watched them unroll. The documentary, made by Giuseppe...
- 8/30/2022
- by Cris
- The News Minute
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