OUT NOW:
‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’ (Hulu)
Billie Holiday is one of the most recognizable names and voices when it comes to music. The soul and jazz singer has a fascinating legacy, and filmmaker Lee Daniels (Precious, Empire, Lee Daniels’ The Butler) is approaching her story at a unique angle The United States vs. Billie Holiday is actually based on the book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by journalist Johann Hari, detailing the incredibly harmful effects of drug criminalisation.
Holiday, a long-time heroin addict, is profiled in the book, and Daniels’ appears to be attempting to inject some much needed life into the tired music biopic formula. Anyone familiar with his work knows how Daniels deftly combines dramatic personal stories with strong and pointed social commentary. The film stars musician Andra Day in the lead role, along with Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight, Birdbox), Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black, Russian Doll), and Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy, Triple Frontier).
‘Minari’ (VOD)
Minari is a distinctly American tale of assimilation and the pursuit of self-sufficiency told through the eyes of a young Korean boy. Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who based the film on his own immigrant experience growing up as his dad moved the family to rural Arkansas to start a farm.
Starring Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Noel Kate Cho, and Alan Kim, Minari has been receiving endless praise for its performances and its intimate and emotional depiction of a family struggling to make it in 1980s America. It has appeared on dozens of film critics’ top lists of the year, and is now available on demand following its two week theatrical run.
‘The Vigil’ (VOD)
The Vigil takes place over the course of a single night as Yavok Ronen (Dave Davis) keeps watch over the body of a deceased community member. As the lights flicker and the shadows ebb and flow on the walls of the dilapidated house he’s staying in, the film settles into familiar but strong scare tactics to tell the tale of a haunted house and religious guilt.
The film marks the directorial debut for writer and director Keith Thomas and has received high praise for its successful scares and unique inspiration from Orthodox Judaism and demonology.
‘Tom & Jerry’ (HBO Max)
The slapstick comedy stylings of Tom and Jerry have lasted for over 80 years, making them two of the most enduring and iconic cartoon characters in entertainment and animation history. A return to the big screen for them has been long in development, but the pair are now finally ready to be introduced to a new generation of fans with their new film.
The film will be a hybrid of animation and live-action in the style of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, featuring a cast that includes Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney, and Ken Jeong. I personally believe that some good old fashioned cartoon violence is exactly what we might need after the past year.
‘Open 24 Hours’ (Shudder)
Open 24 Hours is a 2018 psychological thriller about a young woman named Mary (Vanessa Grasse) who suffers from paranoia after a traumatizing relationship that ended with both her and her boyfriend in prison. Once Mary is out, the only job she’s able to find is at a gas station working the graveyard shift.
This leaves her exposed and vulnerable to any number of horrors, and as terrible things begin to occur, the film tilts into blood-soaked slasher territory. But whether these things are real or all in Mary’s head is yet to be determined.
‘Pelé’ (Netflix)
Brazil is home to one of the biggest football legends of all time: the one and only Pelé. Netflix’s latest documentary combines exclusive interviews with the man himself and others with rare archival footage to track the rise of the international sensation and celebrate his life and legacy.
Pelé led Brazil to a shocking three World Cup titles between 1958 to 1970; an incredible accomplishment during what was a turbulent time for the country. The film will follow the icon from childhood to now to give perspective on one of history’s greatest athletes.
‘The Dark and the Wicked’ (Shudder)
Filmmaker Bryan Bertino is best known for writing and directing the home-invasion thriller The Strangers, as well as his critically acclaimed 2016 horror film The Monster. His latest, The Dark and the Wicked, is full of nightmares and a growing sense of evil.
The film follows two siblings, Louise (Marin Ireland) and Michael (Michael Abbott Jr.) who are summoned back to the secluded family farm to await the inevitability of their father's death. What initially appears to be a timeless ritual of loss and remembrance turns out to be something very different.
‘Dredd’ (Hulu)
Judge Dredd has been dishing out harsh punishments and taking names since he first graced comic books in the late 70s, and his growing popularity earned the character a 1995 feature film starring Sylvester Stallone, as well as a handful of video games. In 2012, a new adaptation had Karl Urban donning the helmet, and its high-octane violent action was met with far stronger reviews than its predecessor.
Directed by Pete Travis (Vantage Point), the film takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where law enforcers act with impunity as judge, jury, and executioner. Dredd works in Mega-City One, a dystopian metropolis where he’s tasked with bringing order to its citizens.
‘Lupe’ (HBO Max)
Lupe follows a Cuban immigrant and boxer named Rafael (Rafael Albarrán) as they struggle with their transgender identity while at the same time searching for their missing sister, Isabel (Lucerys Medina) in New York City’s underground sex industry.
Rafael is a compelling protagonist in the way they’re laser-focused on their goal, and navigating the city’s seedier areas leads to obvious violent confrontations where their prior boxing training comes in handy. But Rafael is also struggling with discovering who they really are and challenging preconceived notions and established norms. It’s a moving and refreshing portrayal of a trans character, and the film breaks out of easy categorization.
‘Blade Runner 2049’ (HBO Max)
Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner - a slow neo-noir science fiction piece - gradually built a sizable fanbase after its release in 1982, thanks to its broad philosophical ideas and fascinating dystopian setting. It would take 35 years before a sequel would come to fruition, with Scott stepping down to executive produce while filmmaker Denis Villenueve (Arrival, Sicario) took over directing duties
Blade Runner 2049 expands on the original in every possible way, delving much further into its complex and meditative existential questions while also delivering a thrilling and epic sci-fi drama. The film stars Ryan Gosling as K, a hyper-advanced android who tracks down and decommissions other bioengineered beings like himself. When he finds an older man named Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford reprising his role) who used to have the same job, they uncover a deeper conspiracy.
Also streaming now:
Netflix - ‘Classmates Minus’, ‘Operation Finale’, ‘The Conjuring & The Conjuring 2’, ‘‘Captain Fantastic’, ‘Our Idiot Brother’
Shudder - ‘One Missed Call’
Amazon Prime Video - ‘The Informer’
HBO Max - ‘Argo’
CONTINUED WEEKLY EPISODES:
‘WandaVision’ (Disney+)
Not only is WandaVision the first Disney+ series from Marvel Studios, but it’s the first new piece of Marvel Studios content in over a year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic derailing their movie release plans. That’s a lot to live up to, and WandaVision takes a big gamble by not being your typical superhero entertainment. Instead, it’s a homage to classic sitcoms of every decade, spoofing everything from I Love Lucy to Modern Family.
SPOILERS in the below Mid-Season catch-up & Trailer
Now that the series is nearly through, much of its cheery facade has been peeled back to reveal a more sinister mystery beneath. Several other characters from the MCU – including Thor’s Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), Ant-Man’s Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), and Captain Marvel’s Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) – have joined the show to help discover the truth, and the true villain behind it all has been revealed. WandaVision’s finale is sure to keep the surprises coming. The first eight episodes are now streaming, with the finale arriving next week.
COMING THIS WEEK:
Netflix - ‘Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell’, ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’, ‘Invictus’, ‘Seven Souls in the Skull Castle’, ‘Murder Among the Mormons’, ‘Pacific Rim: The Black’
Hulu - ‘Blow’, ‘Brooklyn’s Finest’, ‘Demolition Man’, ‘Enemy of the State’, ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’, ‘In the Line of Fire’, ‘Judge Dredd’. ‘Malcolm X’, ‘Neil Young: Heart of Gold’, ‘The Ninth Gate’, ‘Predators’, ‘Rushmore’, ‘Silverado’, ‘The Social Network’, ‘The Spirit’, ‘Stargate’, ‘Starsky and Hutch’, ‘Traitor’, ‘Wedding Crashers’, ‘The Whole Nine Yards’, ‘Young Frankenstein’, ‘Boss Level’, ‘Beirut’
Shudder - ‘Lucky’, ‘The Burning’, ‘Amityville II: The Posession’, ‘The Devils’
HBO Max - ‘Adventureland’, ‘Assault on Precinct 13’, ‘Bandits’, ‘Blade’, ‘Bowfinger’, ‘Constantine’, ‘The Doors’, ‘Dream House’, ‘Live by Night’, ‘The Lost Boys’, ‘Machine Gun Preacher’, ‘Malice’, ‘Miss Sharon Jones!’, ‘Ocean’s Eleven’, ‘Pitch Perfect’, ‘The Raven’, ‘Red Dragon’, ‘Secretary’, ‘Stand Up Guys’, ‘Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride’, ‘Veronica Mars’
Disney+ - ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’
Amazon Prime Video - ‘Coming 2 America’, ‘48 Hrs.’, ‘50/50’, ‘Attack the Block’, ‘Back to the Future’, ‘Due Date’, ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’, ‘Patriots Day’, ‘Wet Hot American Summer’
