Here’s what’s new and ready to stream now on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Now, Showtime Anytime, FilmStruck, video-on-demand, and other streaming services …
The Other Side of the Wind (2018, not rated), starring John Huston as an aging filmmaker trying to stay relevant in the changing landscape of 1970s cinema, was left unfinished and in limbo when Orson Welles died in 1985. Netflix helped finance the completion and clear up the legal tangles. It made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and Netflix streams the film the same day it plays select theaters.
Manohla Dargis, writing for The New York Times, describes it as “something of a seductive tease, a haunted film that at times entrances and delights and at times offends and embarrasses.”
Glenn Kenny calls it “A fascinating film, and watching this assemblage it occurred to me that it remained unfinished by Welles in his lifetime by design” for RogerEbert.com.
And at The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw writes: “This is a crazy, dishevelled, often hilarious film, in which lightning flashes of wit and insight crackle periodically across a plane of tedium.”
Also on Netflix today is They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead (2018, not rated), a documentary on the film’s history by Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville.
Julia Roberts stars in Homecoming: Season 1, her first series. Adapted by creators Micah Bloomberg and Eli Horowitz from their podcast and directed by Mr. Robot creator Sam Ismail, it’s a mystery set at a center for soldiers readjusting to civilian life.
“Forged from inventive long takes and killer audio cues, the upcoming Amazon original series feels like Alfred Hitchcock has made a new mystery, and it’s a deliciously good time,” writes Ben Travers for IndieWire.
Ten episodes on Amazon Prime Video.
Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) takes charge as the first woman president in the sixth and final season of House of Cards, which brings Netflix’s first bona-fide original hit to a close without Kevin Spacey. All 13 episodes on Netflix.
Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson are protective parents of a child (Jacob Tremblay) with facial deformities in Wonder (2017, PG), the family drama based on the bestselling children’s novel by R.J. Palacio. On Prime Video and Hulu.
Classic pick: John Boorman’s magnificent and magical Excalibur (1981, R) is the richest of screen incarnation of the oft-told Arthurian legend. On Prime Video.
Foreign pick: People on Sunday (Germany, 1930, with subtitles), a lovely silent film that offers a snapshot of life in Weimar Germany, launched the careers of some of Hollywood’s great filmmakers. On Prime Video.
Pay-Per-View / Video-On-Demand
Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon star in The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018, R) as best friends who inadvertently get caught up in international intrigue.
Also new: the animated Teen Titans Go! To The Movies (2018, PG) and teen science fiction adventure The Darkest Minds (2018, PG-13) with Gwendoline Christie and Mandy Moore.
Netflix
Halloween is over, which means that the Netflix Christmas movie originals are already arriving. Now available is the romantic drama The Holiday Calendar with “The Vampire Diaries” star Kat Graham and the animated Angela’s Christmas (2018, not rated), based on a story by Frank McCourt.
Foreign affairs: South African filmmaker and actor Akin Omotoso developed Vaya (South Africa, 2018, not rated, with subtitles), a fictional drama of rural folk in facing the big city culture of Johannesburg, from real-life experiences shared in story workshops. Also new is Gun City (Spain, 2018, not rated, with subtitles), a crime thriller set in the underworld of 1921 Barcelona.
Fair Game: Director’s Cut (2010/2018, PG-13) is a revised version of Doug Liman’s drama about Valerie Plame starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn.
Halle Berry and Daniel Craig star in Kings (2017, R), a drama set in the midst of the Rodney King riots, and Equals (2015, PG-13) features Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult as people in love in a world without emotions.
Kid stuff: Brainchild: Season 1 is new science series designed for young school kids.
Streaming TV: Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj takes on politics, culture, and the news with a sense of humor. New episodes arrive each Sunday. Also new is the third collection of Follow This mini-documentaries from BuzzFeed reporters.
Foreign language TV: from Thailand comes the high school revenge drama Girl from Nowhere: Season 1 (Thailand, with subtitles) and the college drama The Judgement: Season 1 (Thailand, with subtitles). Also new: The Sound of Your Heart Reboot: Season 1 (South Korea, with subtitles) revives the 2016 comedy of a webtoonist and his eccentric family with a new cast.
True stories: ReMastered: Tricky Dick & The Man in Black chronicles Johnny Cash’s 1970 visit to the White House. Also new:
- Stink! (2015, not rated), a documentary on chemical industry;
- The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin (2017, not rated) , a profile of the author and gay rights activist.
Stand-up: The Degenerates is a series spotlighting rising young comics.
A new month, a new batch of older films cycled through the library, including Oscar winners Good Will Hunting (1997, R) and The English Patient (1996, R). Other newly-arrived titles include:
- Julie & Julia (2009, PG-13) with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams;
- Sex and the City: The Movie (2008, R), the big screen sequel to the HBO series;
- family friendly adventure The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007, PG) about a boy and his mythical sea serpent;
- dystopian drama Children of Men (2006, R) with Clive Owen in future without children;
- Fearless (China, 2006, PG-13, with subtitles) with Jet Li as Chinese Martial Arts Master Huo Yuanjia;
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992, R) from Francis Ford Coppola with Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder;
- John Hughes’ Sixteen Candles (1984, PG) with Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall;
- cult comedy Animal House (1978, R) with John Belushi;
- Steven Spielberg’s wondrous science fiction odyssey Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977, PG).
Amazon Prime Video
The Adventures of Tintin (2011, PG), Steven Spielberg’s first foray into motion capture filmmaking, turns the legendary boy journalist and globe-trotting adventurer from the early graphic novels of Herge into a big screen hero. Jamie Bell stars with Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock.
The animated fantasy Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Japan, 1984, PG, with subtitles), the second feature from Hayao Miyazaki and the feature debut of Studio Ghibli, is set on a faraway world of medieval castles and massive airships and splintered kingdoms.
Also new this month: cop drama Rampart (2011, R) with Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster;
- inspired-by-a-true-story drama Stuck (2008, R) with Mena Suvari and Stephen Rea;
- college gambling drama 21 (2008, PG-13) with Jim Sturgess and Kevin Spacey;
- political thriller Michael Clayton (2007, R) with George Clooney;
- Australian western The Proposition (2006, R) with Guy Pierce;
- Assault on Precinct 13 (2005, R) remake with Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne;
- The Motorcycle Diaries (Argentina, 2004, R, with subtitles) with Gael Garcia Bernal as young Che Guevara;
- far north survival drama The Snow Walker (2004, PG) with Barry Pepper;
- crime comedy The Mexican (2001, R) with Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt;
- My Girl (1991, PG-13) with Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky as adolescent best friends;
- Oscar-winning mother-daughter drama Terms of Endearment (1983, PG) with Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger.
True stories: Ron Mann’s Grass (1999, R) looks at the history and culture of marijuana in America. Woody Harrelson narrates.
Amazon Prime / Hulu
Samuel L. Jackson stars in the gorgeous musical drama The Red Violin (1998, R), which follows the journey of a legendary instrument as it passes through many hands over the course of three centuries. On Prime Video and Hulu. Also new:
- Lord of War (2005, R) with Nicolas Cage (Prime Video and Hulu);
- comedy The Birdcage (1996, R) with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane (Prime Video and Hulu);
- Mulholland Falls (1996, R) with Nick Nolte as a cop in 1950s Los Angeles (Prime Video and Hulu).
Hulu
It only lasted a single season on AMC but Dietland” an ingenious social satire that tackles feminism, body image, and corporate culture, is well worth seeing.
Also new: Flesh & Blood, the second feature-length episode of the anthology horror series “Into the Dark,” and the European crime drama Racer and the Jailbird (Belgium, 2018, R, with subtitles);
- conspiracy thriller The Interpreter (2005, PG-13) with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn;
- spy adventure xXx (2002, PG-13) with Vin Diesel;
- offbeat romantic comedy Italian for Beginners (Denmark, 2000, R, with subtitles);
- David Cronenberg’s science fiction headgame eXistenZ (1999, R);
- cult comedy The Big Lebowski (1998, R) with Jeff Bridges and John Goodman;
- action spectacle Supercop (Hong Kong, 1992, R) with Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh;
- Australian road comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) with Terence Stamp and Hugo Weaving;
- family drama Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993, PG) with Joe Mantegna and Ben Kinglsey.
HBO Now
The Oscar-nominated drama The Post (2017, PG-13) takes on the responsibility of journalists to speak truth to power with the story of the stakes behind The Washington Post’s decision to publish the Pentagon Papers in 1971. Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks star in the old school newspaper drama directed by Steven Spielberg.
Older films returning to HBO this month include Cop Car (2015, R) with Kevin Bacon as a corrupt sheriff;
- crime drama Edge of Darkness (2010, R) with Mel Gibson;
- spy adventure Knight and Day (2010, PG-13) with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz;
- Invictus (2009, PG-13) with Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandella;
- comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004, PG-13) with Will Ferrell;
- action film Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003, PG-13) to Angelina Jolie;
- drama In the Name of the Father (1993) with Daniel Day-Lewis.
Available Saturday night is an extended, unrated version of the R-rated Fifty Shades Freed (2018, not rated).
Showtime Anytime
Dylan O’Brien and Michael Keaton star in the action thriller American Assassin (2017, R) and Ansel Elgourt and Taron Egerton star with Kevin Spacey in Billionaire Boys Club (2018, R), a crime drama based on a true story.
Also new: The Bourne Ultimatum (2007, PG-13) with Matt Damon;
- Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001, PG-13) with Haley Joel Osmet;
- True Romance (1993, R) from an original screenplay by Quentin Tarantino;
- Black Rain (1989, R) with Michael Douglas;
- Oscar-nominated Field of Dreams (1989, PG) with Kevin Costner.
FilmStruck
TCM Select Pick of the Week is The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), Albert Lewin’s handsome 1945 adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s novel of a man who remains eternally young and increasingly damned while his portrait reflects his true age and corrupt soul. Hurd Hatfield plays the eternally young Dorian, George Sanders plays Wilde’s stand-in, offering dryly witty commentary with a cultured purr, and Donna Reed and Anglela Lansbury co-star as two of Gray’s victims.
“Director of the Week: Jacques Tourneur” presents a collection of his early short films along with such horror classics as Cat People (1942) and I Walked With a Zombie (1943) and the film noir masterpiece Out of the Past (1947) with Robert Mitchum, and “Star of the Week: Jacqueline Bisset” features American action classic Bullitt (1968, PG) and French dramas Day for Night (France, 1973, PG, with subtitles) and La Cérémonie (France, 1995, with subtitles).
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