Watch at Home: 1985, Roma, A Simple Favor

What's newly available for home viewing this week? Herewith a very quick survey of new releases and/or great deals

DVD/Blu-Ray
• All About Nina -Festival critics loved it (and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's performance) but it was lost in theaters. Can it find a second life now? 
• Fahrenheit 11/9 -Michael Moore didn't make the doc finalist list this year but his new doc is now on DVD
• A Simple Favor -Paul Feig and two terrific actresses, perfectly cast, delivered one of the year's best comic surprises
• Venom - The Spider-Man spinoff that was so successful we're sure to get loads of other villain spinoffs of superhero movies. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to threaten you.

New iTunes 99¢ Deals
I do not know what possessed them but they have a TON of great films for 99¢ this week (there's usually just a couple of must-sees). That's a price point we can get behind for streaming especially since otherwise you're at the whim of Netflix and Prime's extremely limited movie menus. You might want to check out 1985, Austin based filmmaker Yen Tan's latest LGBT drama. This one is in black and white and about a young man (Cory Michael Smith) who returns home to his parents in Texas (Michael Chiklis and an excellent Virginia Madsen) to say goodbye during the AIDS epidemic.

SO MANY FAMOUS FILMS FOR 99¢ THIS WEEK: Airplane, Annie Hall, Beetlejuice, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Birdcage, Black Hawk Down, The Black Stallion, Blue Velvet, Boyhood, Capote, A Clockwork Orange, Eat Drink Man Woman, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Gravity, Gremlins, Hairspray, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Heat, Kung Fu Hustle, Inherent Vice, Leave No Trace, Leaving Las Vegas, Lenny, The Madness of King George, The Magnificent Seven, Manhattan, Marty, Memento, Midnight Cowboy, Moonstruck, Moulin Rouge!, My Cousin Vinny, Mystic Pizza, Point Break, Raging Bull, Rainman, Spy, Sweeney Todd, Terminator 2, and Under the Skin.

This feels like my village. It's drier there but it feels like it.

Brand New Streaming
• Roma - Netflix's Best Picture hopeful is now streaming. Turn off your phone and all the lights. Then turn the sound way up. In other words treat it like a true cinematic experience if you're watching it at home. After Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien, and Gravity (among others) we think it's safe to say that Alfonso Cuarón has earned the world's full attention. 

Watch at Home: Dumplin', Searching, and Leave No Trace

What's newly available for home viewing these past few weeks? We've neglected to keep you updated of late in the rush to awards season  but this is important since there are several awards contenders that are newly available.

DVD/Blu-Ray
[links to to reviews]
• The Little Stranger - Lenny Abrahamson (Room) returns with a ghost story costume drama.
• Lizzie - Kristen Stewart and Chloe Sevigny star in this lesbian drama about the infamous ax wielding Lizzie Borden
• McQueen - the acclaimed documentary about the fashion designer - it's eligible for the Oscars.
• Mission: Impossible - Fallout - the latest installment in Tom Cruise's evergreen franchise with death defying stunts, double crossing, and (this time) Henry Cavill's moustache and muscles.
• Searching - John Cho is nominated for Best Actor at the Spirit Awards for this sleeper hit about a man searching for clues online when his daughter goes missing

ALSO NEWISH: Peppermint, Smallfoot, The Equalizer 2, The Nun, The Happytime Murders, and Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days.

Great rental deals and streaming options after the jump...

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Netflix December: Mowgli, Dumplin', and The Lobster

A belated Streaming Roulette. We forgot to share Netflix's new offerings so here we are a week late, surveying new titles by freeze framing films at random places with the scroll bar and whatever comes up first, that's what we share. No cheating.  Whats new on Netflix? Let's see...

I killed your brother.

The Lobster (2015/2016)
"Heartless Woman" absolutely upset me in this movie... but I love the rest of the movie (including that nobody has a name except the main character) which made my top ten list in its year. The Favourite is my new favorite Yorgos Lanthimos now, though. Which is your favorite of his merciless and haunting but sometimes indelibly funny movies: Dogtooth, Alps, The Lobster, Killing of a Sacred Deer, or The Favourite?

Related: Remember that great piece Daniel Walber wrote about The Lobster's phony flowers and production design.

[whispering in foreign languages]

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Prime in December: Mrs Maisel, Hereditary, and All the President's Men

Time to play Streaming Roulette. Each month, to survey new streaming titles we freeze frame the films at random places. Whatever comes up first, that's what we share -- no cheating.  What does Amazon Prime offer us this month? Let's survey...

[Librarian voice on line] Mr Bernstein, I was wrong. The truth is I don't have a card that says Mr Hunt took any material. I don't remember getting -- I do remember getting material from someone but it wasn't Mr. Hunt. The truth is I didn't have any requests at all from Mr. Hunt. The truth is I don't know any Mr. Hunt. [CLICK]

All the President's Men (1976)
Winner of four Oscars including Best Screenplay for William Goldman (who we were just discussing). The best picture line up of 1976 is so delicious, isn't it? All the Presiden't Men, Bound for Glory, Network, Rocky, Taxi Driver. I mean most Best Picture lineups wish! 

-Moldy mildew mother of mouth-muck, dangle and strangle to death!
-Oh how rude!

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The Links of Grindelwald

• Feedspot This is nice. The Film Experience has been listed as one of the top 40 movie podcasts.
• AV Club the Random Roles series grills Sarah Jessica Parker about her defining roles
• THR goes deep on The Favourite's power plays
• Rotten Tomatoes Ouch. Reviews for Fantastic Beasts 2 are brutal
• Pop Sugar the casting of Nagini in Fantastic Beasts was controversial but here's where you've seen the actress before
• Stephen Colbert Jude Law discuss fan nicknames for Dumbledore. Very cute

• Awards Daily Rob Marshall "wanted to bring a gift of hope into this climate" with Mary Poppins Returns
• /Film the effort to save Filmstruck has now gotten some big name directors behind it
• The Playlist opinions are divided in Hollywood about whether Netflix's theatrical play with Roma is playing by the rules or a con
• Variety ...speaking of. Italy is cracking down on streaming service with new laws about theatrical windows
• Film School Rejects Kiersey Clemons (Hearts Beat Loud) lines up a biopic which could take her career to the next level
• Coming Soon the Jack Reacher franchise is dead for now. They hope to reboot in TV series form with an actor who is more faithful to the character (who is 6'5"... nearly a full foot taller than Tom Cruise!)

Today's Must Read
• Critics Notebook "The End of Endings" I bow to this great piece. And I worry like ∞

Stage Diversions
• EW Tom Hiddleston will star in a revival of Harold Pinter's 70s classic Betrayal in the West End in the spring
• Playbill Caroline or Change returns to NYC at the Astoria Performing Arts Center next summer. I saw their production of Follies last season and it was really strong so I have high hopes that they'll do this great musical justice. I still think if they ever make this into a movie, whoever plays Caroline will win the Oscar. 
• Playbill Broadway grosses for the week: New shows Network with Bryan Cranston and Tatiana Maslany and To Kill a Mockingbird with Jeff Daniels are already hits, playing to 100% capacity. The emptiest houses are unfortunately for the Go-Gos musical Head Over Heels (which we loved but which has been struggling to find its audience). Head Over Heels will be one of the Thanksgiving performances at the Macy's Day Parade so we'll see if that helps get them through the holidays.