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.
Actors (Betsey Brown)
With its central storyline revolving around a male actor (Peter Vack) adopting a phony trans identity in order to secure roles, Betsey Brown’s Actors is engineered to court controversy. But the film is more than empty provocation. Actors is about the inherent vulnerability it takes to be a working actor, and we catch glimpses of the ceaseless cycle of auditions and self-tapes listed as private on Vimeo. This includes one very funny early sequence in which Brown’s mother and father (played by her actual parents) walk her through a self-tape for a lewd part. It’s a role Brown knows she has little chance at landing, so why go through with the humiliation? Because born performers have no choice.
Actors (Betsey Brown)
With its central storyline revolving around a male actor (Peter Vack) adopting a phony trans identity in order to secure roles, Betsey Brown’s Actors is engineered to court controversy. But the film is more than empty provocation. Actors is about the inherent vulnerability it takes to be a working actor, and we catch glimpses of the ceaseless cycle of auditions and self-tapes listed as private on Vimeo. This includes one very funny early sequence in which Brown’s mother and father (played by her actual parents) walk her through a self-tape for a lewd part. It’s a role Brown knows she has little chance at landing, so why go through with the humiliation? Because born performers have no choice.
- 3/8/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
I sat in silence for a while after finishing Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days and then ended up on Spotify, searching for the film’s soundtrack. The latter is ironically funny, given our lead, Mr. Hirayama, doesn’t have a clue what “Spotify” is. The man lives in 2023, but he belongs to an old world. On the surface, Wender’s Japanese drama appears to be a celebration of the mundane, much like Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson, but underneath the surface, there lie layers of melancholy, heartbreak, and hope. It’s also a portrayal of working-class people, something that we saw very recently in Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, but the treatment is much different here. Wender’s signature style, which involves a lot of silence, cynicism, and the use of striking imagery as tools of storytelling, fits this story and its central character perfectly.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Movie?...
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Movie?...
- 2/13/2024
- by Rohitavra Majumdar
- Film Fugitives
Few horror sub-genres are as divisive as exorcism movies. For some, they are silly to the point of high camp, outrageous stories about invisible creatures that can take control of normal people and make them do outrageous things. For others, exorcism movies reveal a hidden realm of evil that has a very real impact on our world.
That tension allows a wide variety of approaches within the sub-genre, despite the dominance of one monumental film from the 70s. Exorcism movies can be ridiculous crowd-pleasers, stately dramas, or lowbrow comedies. Whether it’s because of the power of Christ or a really good script, you should feel compelled to watch these great exorcism movies.
The Exorcist (1973)
Of course, it starts with The Exorcist, directed by the late, great William Friedkin. Friedkin wasn’t writer William Peter Blatty’s first choice to direct the movie, which first went to Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich.
That tension allows a wide variety of approaches within the sub-genre, despite the dominance of one monumental film from the 70s. Exorcism movies can be ridiculous crowd-pleasers, stately dramas, or lowbrow comedies. Whether it’s because of the power of Christ or a really good script, you should feel compelled to watch these great exorcism movies.
The Exorcist (1973)
Of course, it starts with The Exorcist, directed by the late, great William Friedkin. Friedkin wasn’t writer William Peter Blatty’s first choice to direct the movie, which first went to Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich.
- 8/24/2023
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
Cynthia Weil, a Grammy-winning lyricist of notable range and endurance who enjoyed a decades-long partnership with husband Barry Mann and helped write “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”, “On Broadway”, “Walking in the Rain” and dozens of other hits, has died at age 82.
Weil’s daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann, said that the songwriter died Thursday at her home in Beverly Hills, California, “surrounded by her family.” Mann, the couple’s only child, declined to cite a specific cause of death.
Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, married in 1961, were one of popular music’s most successful teams, part of a remarkable ensemble recruited by impresarios Don Kirshner and Al Nevins and based in Manhattan’s Brill Building neighborhood, a few blocks from Times Square. With such hit-making combinations as Carole King and Gerry Goffin and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the Brill Building song factory turned out many of the biggest...
Weil’s daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann, said that the songwriter died Thursday at her home in Beverly Hills, California, “surrounded by her family.” Mann, the couple’s only child, declined to cite a specific cause of death.
Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, married in 1961, were one of popular music’s most successful teams, part of a remarkable ensemble recruited by impresarios Don Kirshner and Al Nevins and based in Manhattan’s Brill Building neighborhood, a few blocks from Times Square. With such hit-making combinations as Carole King and Gerry Goffin and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the Brill Building song factory turned out many of the biggest...
- 6/3/2023
- by Melissa Romualdi
- ET Canada
Cynthia Weil, a Brill Building songwriter, who along with her husband Barry Mann, wrote some of music’s most enduring works, has died at the age of 82.
Weil’s daughter, Jenn Mann, told TMZ that her mother passed away on Thursday, June 1st. “My mother, Cynthia Weil, was the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for. She was my best friend, confidant, and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music,” Mann said in a statement.
Weil is an inductee of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame, as well as a recipient of multiple Grammy Awards. Her writing credits include such classics as “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” which was made famous by The Righteous Brothers and ranks as among the most-played songs in the history of radio; “Make Your Own Kind of Music,...
Weil’s daughter, Jenn Mann, told TMZ that her mother passed away on Thursday, June 1st. “My mother, Cynthia Weil, was the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for. She was my best friend, confidant, and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music,” Mann said in a statement.
Weil is an inductee of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame, as well as a recipient of multiple Grammy Awards. Her writing credits include such classics as “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” which was made famous by The Righteous Brothers and ranks as among the most-played songs in the history of radio; “Make Your Own Kind of Music,...
- 6/2/2023
- by Alex Young
- Consequence - Music
Henry Silva, an actor with a striking look who often played villains and had credits in hundreds of films including “Ocean’s Eleven” and “The Manchurian Candidate,” died of natural causes Wednesday at the Motion Picture Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif., his son Scott confirmed. He was 95.
One of Silva’s most memorable roles came in John Frankenheimer’s classic thriller “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962), in which he played Chunjin, the Korean houseboy for Laurence Harvey’s Raymond Shaw — and an agent for the Communists — who engages in a thrilling, well-choreographed martial arts battle with Frank Sinatra’s Major Bennett Marco in Shaw’s New York apartment.
Silva appeared in a number of other movies with Sinatra, including the original, Rat Pack-populated “Ocean’s Eleven” (1960) with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., where he was one of the 11 thieves, and 1962 Western “Sergeants 3.”
His death was...
One of Silva’s most memorable roles came in John Frankenheimer’s classic thriller “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962), in which he played Chunjin, the Korean houseboy for Laurence Harvey’s Raymond Shaw — and an agent for the Communists — who engages in a thrilling, well-choreographed martial arts battle with Frank Sinatra’s Major Bennett Marco in Shaw’s New York apartment.
Silva appeared in a number of other movies with Sinatra, including the original, Rat Pack-populated “Ocean’s Eleven” (1960) with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., where he was one of the 11 thieves, and 1962 Western “Sergeants 3.”
His death was...
- 9/16/2022
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Henry Silva, the rugged New York actor who portrayed heavies and heroes of various ethnicities in a career highlighted by turns in A Hatful of Rain, The Manchurian Candidate and Johnny Cool, has died. He was 95.
Silva died Wednesday of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, his son Scott Silva told The Hollywood Reporter.
Silva also played the Draconian commander “Killer” Kane in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), just one in a lineup of his bad guys seen in The Tall T (1957), The Bravados (1958), Il Boss (1973), Sharky’s Machine (1981), Above the Law (1988), Dick Tracy (1990) and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).
“Henry Silva is one of those guys you most likely will recognize even if you don’t know his name,” onetime Crimespree magazine writer Dave Wahlman wrote in 2016. “His face is something straight...
Henry Silva, the rugged New York actor who portrayed heavies and heroes of various ethnicities in a career highlighted by turns in A Hatful of Rain, The Manchurian Candidate and Johnny Cool, has died. He was 95.
Silva died Wednesday of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, his son Scott Silva told The Hollywood Reporter.
Silva also played the Draconian commander “Killer” Kane in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), just one in a lineup of his bad guys seen in The Tall T (1957), The Bravados (1958), Il Boss (1973), Sharky’s Machine (1981), Above the Law (1988), Dick Tracy (1990) and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).
“Henry Silva is one of those guys you most likely will recognize even if you don’t know his name,” onetime Crimespree magazine writer Dave Wahlman wrote in 2016. “His face is something straight...
- 9/16/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Writer/Director Anita Rocha da Silveira discusses a few of her favorite films with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Medusa (2022)
Switchblade Sisters (1975) – Jack Hill’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Blue Velvet (1986) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Mulholland Drive (2001) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Clueless (1995)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
All That Jazz (1979) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (1964)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – Darren Lynn Bousman’s trailer commentary
Last Night In Soho (2021)
Carrie (1976) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Suspiria (1977) – Edgar Wright’s American and international trailer commentaries, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
Kill Me Please (2015)
Blood and Black Lace (1964) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentaries, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Suspiria (2018)
The Virgin Suicides (1999) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Somewhere (2010)
Goodfellas (1990) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary,...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Medusa (2022)
Switchblade Sisters (1975) – Jack Hill’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Blue Velvet (1986) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Mulholland Drive (2001) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Clueless (1995)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
All That Jazz (1979) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (1964)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – Darren Lynn Bousman’s trailer commentary
Last Night In Soho (2021)
Carrie (1976) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Suspiria (1977) – Edgar Wright’s American and international trailer commentaries, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
Kill Me Please (2015)
Blood and Black Lace (1964) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentaries, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Suspiria (2018)
The Virgin Suicides (1999) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Somewhere (2010)
Goodfellas (1990) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary,...
- 7/26/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Michele Carey, Elvis Presley‘s former costar in Live a Little, Love a Little, has died. She was 75.
The actress, who retired in 1986, passed away on Nov. 21, according to spokesperson Michael Anthony, who confirmed the news on her Facebook page on Saturday.
“Today I have the saddest task, one I had never hoped to do during my lifetime, and that is to report to the many friends and fans of Michele Carey that what you have read online is terribly true,” the post read.
“Michele passed away on November 21st with her family by her side at the tender age...
The actress, who retired in 1986, passed away on Nov. 21, according to spokesperson Michael Anthony, who confirmed the news on her Facebook page on Saturday.
“Today I have the saddest task, one I had never hoped to do during my lifetime, and that is to report to the many friends and fans of Michele Carey that what you have read online is terribly true,” the post read.
“Michele passed away on November 21st with her family by her side at the tender age...
- 12/3/2018
- by Alexia Fernandez
- PEOPLE.com
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