Streaming Roulette April '22: Sweet Birds, Edgy Postcards, and Moon Knights

Bridgerton Season 2.

Are you watching Bridgerton Season 2? I'm trying to pace myself but I'm watching it too fast because I am eager for the extremely beautiful pair of Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley to consummate their love instead of just staring angrily at each other. I will never get over how widely accepted the trope of 'people who hate each other are obviously in love!' is in movies and television since it has no parallel in real life. I've never met a couple in real life who discovered their love because they aggravated and hated each other so much. Have any of you? 

Okay, time for this month's streaming roulette. You know the rules. We highlight new-to-streaming movies and an occasional TV series by freezing them on the scroll bar at entirely random places and just sharing what pops up. No cheating*!

Suzanne: I'm gonna kill myself

Doris: Don't say, that even in jest, Suzanne. You've just come out of a drug clinic. People might take it the wrong way.

Postcards from the Edge (1990) on Hulu
To our dying day the lack of awards for Shirley Maclaine and screenwriter Carrie Fisher for this perfect mother-daughter showbiz comedy will be mystifying. It was excellent in 1990 and hasn't lost an ounce of its comic punch, musical surprise, or dramatic throughline. One of Meryl Streep's best performances and films, too.

no dialogue

The Last Picture Show (1971) on Criterion Channel
21 year-old Cybill Shepherd feeding 22 year old Jeff Bridges french fries -- you know you wanna watch. We'll be looking at Peter Bogdanovich's incredible debut film for Hit Me With your Best Shot on April 21st (here's the schedule) so watch it before then. It's ridiculously good. Nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Cinematography (it deservedly won Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress) 

He's learning... from her.

The Bubble (2022) on Netflix
That's the voice of David Duchovny dimly stating the obvious when some kind of dinosaur mimics human behavior. Judd Apatow's new comedy is about actors stuck inside a pandemic bubble completing an action sequel.

No no no no no no no no

Moon Knight (Season 1) on Disney+
My thoughts exactly, Oscar. They made four episodes available to press (though they'll air weekly on Disney+) and I regret to say that this one is tedious. The first episode is all a tease as Steven Grant, a wimpy museum gift shop worker, fears he's losing his mind. Turns out he is maybe also sharing a body with a much braver man named Mark Spectre and he's also an avatar of an Egyptian god... with healing armor that makes him basically unkillable. But you dont get any details on what Moon Knight is (if you dont know the comics) for awhile. It's all very silly and the action, like a sadly increasingly amount of Marvel Studios output, leaves a lot to be desired. The tone is aiming for absurdist metaphysical comedy (I think) but given that and maybe because it has the misfortune to have come out at the same time as Everything Everywhere All At Once, it's sorely lacking.

Every time there's a so-called nationalist revival it means one thing: somebody is trying to seize control of the entire country.

THE DEVILS (1971) on Shudder
This oft-banned, perverse, but frankly amazing Ken Russell film about religious hypocrisy in which a horny hunchback nun (Vanessa Redgrave in a genius star turn) and her convent accuse a charismatic priest (Oliver Reed, also excellent) of witchcraft. 

-Where did you get that?
-You bought it for me!

Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) on HBOMax
Geraldine Page at her haughtiest. Paul Newman at his hottest (in color). Both superlatives are saying a lot given their careers. Based on the Tennessee Williams play aboiut a gigolo and the movie star who become entangled. Page earned that nomination in one of the all time greatest Best Actress shortlists:

• Bancroft - Miracle Worker
• Davis - Whatever Happened to Baby Jane 
• Hepburn - Long Day's Journey Into Night
• Page - Sweet Bird of Youth
• Remick - Days of Wine & Roses

Wow that lineup. Seriously. If only the acting branch chose that well every year!

- Cmon Leroy, teach me something.
- I do not wish to fight you.

The Last Dragon (1986) on HBOMax
Do any of you remember this camp  supernatural comedy / martial arts / musical curiousity from the 1980s? I remember it being popular at video stores. One of the many Prince-adjacent music acts of the 80s, Vanity sings "Seventh Heaven" in the movie which I was really into as a kid because, you know, musical numbers! What happened to this films handsome star Taimak? 

...Gomer Pyle, Batman, Gilligan, Flipper, Petticoat Junction, Andy Griffith, I Dream of Jeannie, The Addams Family, Dick Van Dyke, The Green Hornet...

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (2022) on Netflix
Richard Linklater's latest rotoscoped film, the animation process wherein people (or one assumes a computer programs) traces over live-action images. This one is about a boy in Houston in the summer of 1969. Linklater himself was turned 9 in the summer of '69 so for some reason he made his protagonist a year and a half older than him :) 

Put. The. Candle. Back. 

Young Frankenstein (1974) on Amazon Prime
So delightful. Everyone is hilarious in it. We miss Terri Garr. This Mel Brooks classic is an 'over & over'

So what (else) is streaming in April? 
MORE STREAMING TITLES FOLLOW... ★ indicates movies or series of note though sometimes hidden gems have no buzz until you see them. ANY REQUESTS FOR COVERAGE?

also streaming on Netflix

• Abby Hatcher (Season 1) - kids animated series
• Argo (2012) - BEST PICTURE WINNER
• Battle: Freestyle (Season 1) - Norwegian hip hop series
• The Blindside (2009) - BEST ACTRESS WINNER
• ★ Bridgerton (Season 2) 
• ★  Blade Runner 2049 - BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY WINNER
• Captain Nova (2022) - Dutch sci-fi film
• Forever Out of My League (2022) - Italian romcom
• ★ How to Train Your Dragon (2010) - animated classic
• The Imitation Game
• The Last Bus (Season 1) -sci-fi teen road trip
• The Rental (2020) horror mystery
• Ruroui Kenshin (2012) Japanese action movie
• Shrek Forever After (2010)
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
• Tomorrow (Season 1)
• Welcome to Eden (Season 1) - Spanish sci-fi drama series
• Welcome to Waikiki (Season 1) - Korean comedy

Later this Month (a sampling)

• ★ Elite (Season 5) - Spanish high school drama - April 8th
• Metal Lords (2022) - two kids start a metal band - April 8th
• The Call (2013) - Halle Berry as a 911 operator - April 10th
• Hard Cell (Season 1) - prison comedy - April 12th
• Ultraman (Season 2) - sci-fi anime - April 14th
• ★ Anatomy of a Scandal (Limited Series) - David E Kelley's latest courtroom drama - April 15th
• Choose or Die (2022) - horror movie starring Asa Butterfeld - April 15th
• ★ Russian Doll (Season 2) - April 20th
• ★ Heartstopper (Season 1) - LGBTQ series based on the webcomic April 22nd
• Ozark (season 4 - part 2) -FINAL EPISODES

 

★  COLLECTIONS streaming on Criterion Channel

• BEYOND BLAXPLOITATION: 21 films including Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, Black Caesar, Cleopatra Jones, and Dolemite
• YOUNG MR FORD 14 early films from Oscar's favourite director John Ford... including Young Mr Lincoln, How Green Was My Valley, and some siilent films
• STARRING DELPHINE SEYRIG 17 films for the French goddess including Last Year at Marienbad, Stolen Kisses, Daughters of Darkness, and Freak Orlando
• ASIAN AMERICAN FILMMAKING 2000-2009 - 20 films including Saving Face, Man Push Cart
• THE WORLD OF GURU DUTT 7 films from the "Orson Welles of Indian cinema"

★ INDIVIDUAL FILMS

• Blue Velvet (1986) by David Lynch
• France (2021) starring Léa Seydoux

★ Later this Month a Sampling

• Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021) by Ryusuke Hamaguchi on April 14th

also streaming 

• ★ Atlanta SEASON 3
• Love Me: Complete Season 1
• All Inclusive (2008)
• Antz (1998)
• Armored (2009)
• Austenland (2013)
• Battleship (2012)
• Blind Date (1987)
• Blue Streak (1999)
• Boys on the Side (1995)
• Brigsby Bear (2017)
• Casese Quien Pueda (2015)
• Casper (1995)
• Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie (1980)
• Cheech & Chong’s Get Out of My Room (1984)
• Conspiracy Theory (1997)
• Copycat (1995)
• Crank (2006)
• Death at a Funeral (2010)
• ★ Deep Water (2022) - Adrian Lyne's new erotic thriller starring Ana De Armas and Ben Affleck
• Definitely, Maybe (2008)
• The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)
• ★  Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Stanley Kubrick's last film
• The Five-Year Engagement (2012)
• Fly Away Home (1996)
• Get Him to the Greek (2010)
• Glee: The 3D Concert Movie (2011)
• Hanna (2011)
• Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
• I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)
• In the Army Now (1994)
• Insomnium (2017)
• Instructions Not Included (2013)
• The International (2009)
• John Carpenter’s Vampires (1998)
• Just My Luck (2006)
• Knowing (2009)
• Kusama: Infinity (2018)
• Ladrones (2015)
• Look Who’s Talking (1989)
• Looper (2012)
• Love Actually (2003)
• Made in America (1993)
• Mr. Popper’s Penguins (2010)
• National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie (2011)
• The Negotiator (1998)
• Night Raiders (2021)
• Open Range (2003)
• ★  Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) 
• Phantom (2013)
• The Power of One (1992)
• ★ Practical Magic (1998) Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock who deserved a sequel
• Radio (2003)
• Ramona and Beezus (2010)
• Runaway Jury (2003)
• The Runaways (2010)
• Scooby-doo (2002)
• Scooby-doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
• Shrek (2001)
• Shrek 2 (2004)
• The Siege (1998)
• ★ Single White Female (1992)
• Snakehead (2021)
• Stay (2005)
• The Tailor of Panama (2001)
• That’s My Boy (2012)
• Think Like a Man (2012)
• Three Fugitives (1989)
• Twilight (2008-2012) - all five films
• Vertical Limit (2000)
• Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
• Watchmen (2009)
• ★ Wolf (1994) Michelle Pfeiffer and Jack Nicholson

later this month - a sampling

• The Hardy Boys (Season 2) - April 6th
• Compliance (2012) - April 15th
• Under the Banner of Heaven (Series Premiere) - Andrew Garfield stars in this miniseries about Mormon fundamentalists and a brutal murder. - April 28th

also streaming on Prime...

• The Outlaws S1 (2022) 
• Armaggedon (1998)
• ★ Beast of the Southern Wild (2012)
• Benny & Joon (1993)
• Bringing Down the House (2003)
• Brown Sugar (2002)
• ★ Bull Durham (1988)
• Be Cool (2005)
• ★ Blow Out (1981)
• Braveheart (1995)
• ★ Carrie (1976)
• Cast Away (2000)
• Cedar Rapids (2011)
• Color of Money (1986)
• ★ Compliance (2012)
• Con Air (1997)
• ★ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
• Date Night (2010)
• Dirty Dancing (1987)
• District 9 (2009)
• Garden State (2004)
• Good Morning Vietnam (1987)
• Hot Chick (2002)
• Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
• Joy Luck Club
• Lions of Lambs (2007)
• Mystic Pizza (1988)
• ★ O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)
• Pineapple Express (2008)
• ★ Raging Bull (1980)
• Recruit (2003)
• Rushmore (1999)
• Revolutionary Road (2008)
• Shrek Forever After (2010)
• Saved! (2004)
• Shanghai Noon (2000)
• Signs (2002)
• Sixth Sense (1999)
• Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
• Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
• Unbreakable (2000)
• The Watch (2012)
• Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) 
• Woman in Red (1984)

also streaming on Disney+

• Herbie Fully Loaded
• ★ Moon Knight SEASON 1 (weekly)

also streaming on Apple TV+

• Pachinko SEASON 1 (In Korean, Japanese, and English)
• Slow Horses MINISERIES - Gary Oldman stars
• We Crashed MINISERIES - Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto star

later this month - a sampling

• Roar SEASON 1 Nicole Kidman and Alison Brie star - April 15th
• Shining Girls SEASON 1 Elisabeth Moss stars - April 29th
• They Call Me Magic MINISERIES about "Magic" Johnson - April 22nd

also streaming

• Candyman (1992)
• ★ The Evil Dead (1981)
• Evil Dead II (1987)
• The Fog (1980)
• ★ Near Dark (1987) - Kathryn Bigelow's vampire cult classic
• Nights End (2022) - shudder original starring Michael Shannon
• The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
• Session 9 (2001)
• The Spine of Night (2021) ultra violent animated film
• Trick 'r Treat (1986)

later this month - a sampling

• The Cellar (2022) - shudder original starring Elisah Cuthbert
• Cursed Films - doc series weekly - april 7th. This season including The Wizard of Oz, Rosemary's Baby, Stalker, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and Cannibal Holocaust
• Puppet Master (all 3 movies) - april 11th
• The Pit and the Pendulum - april 12th
• ★ The Boulet Brothers Dragula (all 4 seasons to date) -april 18th

also streaming 

• ★ "10", 1979 - huge hit at the time. Starring Bo Derek, Julie Andrews, and Dudley Moore
• Annabelle, 2014 (HBO)
• Armed and Dangerous, 1986
• ★ The Asphalt Jungle, 1950 - classic noir. Nominated for 4 Oscars
• Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach, 2009
• Battle Los Angeles, 2011
• ★ Beetlejuice, 1988 - classic horror comedy
• ★ Bells Are Ringing, 1960 - the Judy Holliday musical
• ★ The Big Chill, 1983 - classic drama with all star cast. 3 Oscar nominations including Best Picture
• ★ The Big House, 1930 - classic prison drama. 4 Oscar nominations including Best Picture
• Black Gold, 1947
• Blood Ties, 2014 (HBO)
• Boys’ Night Out, 1962
• The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, 2009 (HBO) (Director’s Cut)
• The Break-Up, 2006 (HBO)
• The Brothers Solomon, 2007 (HBO)Brewster McCloud, 1970
• Brie’s Bake Off Challenge, 2022
• ★ Capote, 2005 - BEST ACTOR WINNER
• ★ Captains Courageous, 1937 - BEST ACTOR WINNER
• ★ Chicago, 2002 (HBO) - BEST PICTURE WINNER
• Children of the Damned, 1964
• The Chosen, 1982
• Czech It Out!, Max Original Premiere
• ★ Dances With Wolves, 1990 (HBO) (Extended Version) - BEST PICTURE WINNER
• Erased, 2013 (HBO)
• Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History, 2022
• ★ Five Easy Pieces, 1970 - 4 Oscar nominations including Best Picture
• The Freshman, 1990
• Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, 2009
• Girl Most Likely, 2013 (HBO)
• Graffiti Bridge, 1990
• The Heartbreak Kid, 2007
• ★ Hugo, 2011 (HBO) -11 Oscar nominations including Best Picture
• ★ The Incredible Hulk, 2008 (HBO) - the second MCU film
• The Informant (aka A Besugo), Max Original Season 1 Premiere
• Insidious, 2010
• Iron Eagle, 1986
• Iron Eagle II, 1988
• Kin, 2018 (HBO)
• ★  King Richard (2021) - BEST ACTOR OSCAR WINNER
• Krull, 1983 (HBO)
• The Ladies Man, 2000 (HBO)
• The Last Airbender, 2010 (HBO)
• ★ The Last Detail, 1973 - Jack Nicholson Best Actor nomination
• Larry Crowne, 2011
• Les Miserables, 1998
• Limitless, 2011 (HBO)
• ★ Moon, 2009 (HBO) - Fine sci-fi drama with Sam Rockwell
• Moscow on the Hudson, 1984 - early Robin Williams movie
• ★ Nobody’s Fool, 1994 - Paul Newman Best Actor nomination
• ★ Odd Man Out, 1947 - Belfast-set drama. Nominated for 1 Oscar
• ★ On the Waterfront, 1954 - BEST PICTURE WINNER
• One True Singer, Season 1 (weekly)
• ★ Only Lovers Left Alive, 2014 - Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston are vampire lovers in this great little oddity
• Original Sin, 2001 (HBO) (Extended Version)
• ★ Peggy Sue Got Married, 1986 - Kathleen Turner's only Best Actress nomination. Lovely film
• Point Break, 2015 (HBO)
• ★ Rain Man, 1988 (HBO) - BEST PICTURE WINNER
• Red, 2010 (HBO)
• The Raid: Redemption, 2012 (HBO) (Extended Version)
• The Relic, 1997 (HBO)
• Rendez-Vous, 2020 (HBO)
• Revolver, 2007 (HBO)
• Salt, 2010
• The Secret in Their Eyes, 2010 (HBO)
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, 2013 (HBO)
• ★  Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, 1954 - Classic musical. Nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Picture
• Sex Drive, 2008 (HBO) (Extended Version)
• ★ She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, 1949 - John Ford / John Wayne movie. Best Cinematography Oscar winner
• ★ Show Boat, 1936 - The James Whale version of this classic musical
• ★ Six Degrees Of Separation, 1993  - Stockard Channing Best Actress nomination
• SLC Punk!, 1999 (HBO)
• Spartan, 2004 (HBO)
• Special Agent, 1935
• ★ Summer of ’42, 1971 - 4 Oscar nominations. Romantic drama between a war widow and a teenage boy. Would be absolutely cancelled today but big hit at the time.
• Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania, 2017
• The Thaw (aka Odwilz), Max Original Season 1 Premiere
• The Thirteenth Floor, 1999
• ★ Tootsie, 1982 -Comedy classic. 10 Oscar nominations including Best Picture (and should have won way more than just Supporting Actress!)
• The Toy, 1982
• ★  Under the Cherry Moon, 1986 - Prince film. Kristin Scott Thomas's film debut
• Universal Soldier: The Return, 1999
• Vice Versa, 1988
• The Wackness, 2008
• Welcome to Collinwood, 2002 (HBO)
• Who’s Harry Crumb?, 1989 (HBO)
• ★ William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, 1996 (HBO) - Baz Luhrmann's wild take with Leonardo DiCaprio in his twink years and rising star Claire Danes.
• Winter Meeting, 1948
• Wrath of the Titans, 2012

later this month - a sampling

• The Nighthouse, 2021 - April 8th
• ★  The Flight Attendant SEASON 2 - April 21st
• ★  The Blair Witch Project, 1999 - April 30th

* People never believe this but it's (mostly) true. The only exceptions are when the image is too fast to look good in still frame (we usually use a gif in those cases) or if it's too transitional (dissolves, fadeouts, etcetera) or an establishing shot of a building or something... the other secret to why the images are often good is that we just dont use that particular film if we land on something that's too dull. 

Comments

[Mr Ripley79]

CoSign on the MacLaine snub.

[Tony L]

I read ‘Shining Girls’ once I heard it was going to be a miniseries starring Jamie Bell (whom I LOVE LOVE LOVE) - then see that it will be on Apple Plus which means NEVER on DVD - and that saddens me very deeply :(

[Ryan T.]

Obviously I've only seen only the first episode of MOON KNIGHT but I really liked it! I like that we don't REALLY know what's going on in the episode, but it is slightly discouraging to find that maybe we won't know for a bit more? That said, I'm still all about seeing Oscar Isaac be unhinged and act his ass off. Plus the Cockney accent weirdly works?

I binged S2 of BRIDGERTON in a few days. Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey are literal fire. The show itself is eh and some choices are UGH, but yeah those two are worth it.

[forever1267]

No Star for "Boys on the Side"? That's about as ActressSexual as you can get!

[thevoid99]

Is it the uncut version of The Devils on Shudder?

I should note that the 126-minute cut of Mood Indigo by Michel Gondry is now available on MUBI.

[Pam]

Two things:

1. I’d like my favorite actressexual, Nathaniel, to watch Doctor Who Partner in Crime S4E1 (HBO Max), Happy Valley (AMC+, Crackle), and Julia (HBO Max) and tell us that Sarah Lancashire is one of the finest actors working today, with range. And, bonus, she can sing.

(Also, TFE contributor, Abe, had some nice interviews with some of the cast and creators of JULIA, for another site.)

2. I love PACHINKO. Hope someone covers that series.

[jules]

I was really excited for Moon Knight - I love Ethan Hawke and Oscar Isaac - but the premiere almost put me to sleep. I don't care for Marvel in general but I was hoping their charisma would carry the series (I actually think they're both kind of bad in it, which is shocking for me to say). Interesting that it doesn't get any better.

I love Bridgerton, though, it's so watchable, and I, too, am trying to pace myself.

Also, I just watched Postcards from the Edge the other night! MacLaine gives one of my favorite performances ever, just perfect.