New streaming highlights for the week of April 17-23, 2023
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — I'm not familiar with the majority of this week's digital releases. However, I can tell you that A.V. Rockwell's "A Thousand and One" is one of the most interesting films that I've seen this year. It features tremendous performances and a third act that makes its already challenging narrative even more complex. It is a film that needs to be recognized for its intelligence.
I'm keen on watching "Sakra" a wuxia (historical Chinese martial arts film) with Donnie Yen.
If its Blu-ray and DVDs you are after, this week sees the release of "Cocaine Bear," a 4K UHD release of the classic DC animated film "All-Star Superman," and "Magic Mike's Last Dance." Films getting new 4K releases include "Rebel Without a Cause," "Serpico," "12 Angry Men," "The Seventh Seal," and "The Haunting of Julia." Also of note is Shout! Factory's The Brave Archer Collection, a 5-film collection of classic wuxia films.
A Thousand and One
Studio Synopsis:A THOUSAND AND ONE follows unapologetic and free-spirited Inez (Teyana Taylor), who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system. Holding onto their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City.
Sweethurt
Studio Synopsis:SWEETHURT follows Jacob (Rav Ratnayake), who embarks on a road-trip to a small, beach-side town with his two best friends Mike and Drew, (Mehdy Salameh, Logan Webster) as well as his sociopath sister, Abby (Sam Germain), for what promises to be a fun weekend of going through their newly-deceased grandfather's stuff - but upon arrival, Jacob's true motivations are revealed; his ex-girlfriend, Olivia (Alannah Robertson), lives in the town, and Jacob wants one last shot at probably disappointing her again. Meanwhile, Skye (Tyra Cartledge) has just had her heart broken, and the only one who can pick up the pieces is her best friend Carly (Rhiaan Marquez) - together, they go on a voyage through the night as Skye struggles with her burgeoning sexuality, having to deal with perverts, pirates, and worst of all - her parents. There is also a baby goat, of course.
Bait
Studio Synopsis:Martin Ward is a cove fisherman, without a boat. His brother Steven has repurposed their father’s vessel as a tourist tripper, driving a wedge between the brothers. With their childhood home now a get-away for London money, Martin is displaced to the estate above the picturesque harbor.
Rodeo
Studio Synopsis:Hot-tempered and fiercely independent, Julia (Julie Ledru) is a gearhead who thrives in hostile environments and turns every situation to her advantage. She has a talent for scamming condescending men who think it’s cute that she shows interest in their used motorbikes–and can’t fathom her riding away with gleeful abandon. Her obsession with the high-octane world of urban ‘Rodeos’ - illicit gatherings where riders show off their bikes and latest daring stunts - sparks a chance meeting with a volatile clique. Julia strives to prove herself to the ultra-masculine gang by performing cons and running errands for their incarcerated ring leader, Dom. She finds a surprising connection with Dom’s wife, Ophélie (Antonia Buresi), and son, a risky move that puts a target on her back. Julia is unsure who she can trust as the ultimate heist comes down the pike.
Sakra
Studio Synopsis:Based on the classic wuxia novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils by Louis Cha (known worldwide by his pen name Jin Yong), SAKRA stars Donnie Yen as Qiao Feng, the respected leader of a roving band of martial artists. After he is wrongfully accused of murder and subsequently exiled, Qiao Feng goes on the run in search of answers about his own mysterious origin story—and the unknown enemies working to destroy him from the shadows.
Little Richard: I Am Everything
Studio Synopsis:LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock n’ roll, exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard’s complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon’s life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions. In interviews with family, musicians, and cutting-edge Black and queer scholars, the film reveals how Richard created an art form for ultimate self-expression, yet what he gave to the world he was never able to give to himself. Throughout his life, Richard careened like a shiny cracked pinball between God, sex and rock n’ roll. The world tried to put him in a box, but Richard was an omni being who contained multitudes – he was unabashedly everything.
The Reaperman
Studio Synopsis:A grieving wife summons a dark spirit with an insatiable desire for revenge in the chilling THE REAPER MAN
A Wounded Fawn
Studio Synopsis:A Wounded Fawn follows the story of Meredith Tanning, a local museum curator who is dipping her toe back into the dating pool, only to be targeted by a charming serial killer. When a fateful romantic getaway between the two becomes a tense game of cat and mouse, both must confront the madness within him.
Wicked Games
Studio Synopsis:When Harley joins her boyfriend for a Halloween weekend at his family's estate, they’re invaded by a band of masked freaks and forced into playing a game. But the intruders don’t know that Harley is ready to fight back with her own tricks.
Blu-ray & DVD
All-Star Superman 4K UHD
Studio Synopsis:Grant Morrison's beloved, Eisner Award-winning vision of Superman's heroic final days on Earth is brought to exquisite, animated life in All-Star Superman. The film begins as the Man of Steel rescues an ill-fated mission to the Sun (sabotaged by Lex Luthor) but, in the process, is oversaturated by radiation - which accelerates his cell degeneration. Sensing even he will be unable to cheat death, Superman ventures into new realms - finally revealing his secret to Lois, confronting Lex Luthor's perspective of humanity, and attempting to ensure Earth's safety before his own impending end with one final, selfless act.
Cocaine Bear
Studio Synopsis:Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner's plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500- pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow ... and blood.
Magic Mike's Last Dance
Studio Synopsis:“Magic” Mike Lane takes to the stage again after a lengthy hiatus, following a business deal that went bust, leaving him broke and taking bartender gigs in Florida. For what he hopes will be one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite who lures him with an offer he can’t refuseand an agenda all her own. With everything on the line, once Mike discovers what she truly has in mind, will he—and the roster of hot new dancers he’ll have to whip into shape—be able to pull it off?
Full Time
Studio Synopsis:Julie (Laure Calamy) can’t catch a break. For a single mother raising two children in the suburbs of Paris but working in the city, the commuter train is a lifeline–and it’s suddenly been severed during the latest transit strike. Without the train, Julie can’t get to her job as the head maid at a five-star hotel–or to the interview for a better job she has lined up. Out of desperation, Julie turns to neighbors and her own gutsy resourcefulness to commute into the city for work, barely making it back in time to pick up her kids before dinner. Worse yet: it’s only Monday. Julie is at her breaking point and soon finds herself bending the rules to stay afloat in a ruthless society as her responsibilities pile up.
The Offering
Studio Synopsis:In the wake of a young Jewish girl’s disappearance, the son of a Hasidic funeral director returns home with his pregnant wife in hopes of reconciling with his father. Little do they know that directly beneath them in the family morgue, an ancient evil with sinister plans for the unborn child lurks inside a mysterious corpse.
Emily
Studio Synopsis:EMILY imagines Emily Brontë's own Gothic story that inspired her seminal novel, "Wuthering Heights." Haunted by the death of her mother, Emily struggles within the confines of her family life and yearns for artistic and personal freedom, and so begins a journey to channel her creative potential into one of the greatest novels of all time.
Kids vs. Aliens
Studio Synopsis:An all-time rager of a teen house party turns to terror when aliens attack, forcing the kids to band together to survive the night.
Living with Chucky
Studio Synopsis:Living with Chucky takes an in-depth look at the groundbreaking horror franchise. Featuring interviews with cast and crew, including genre favorites Lin Shaye, Alex Vincent, Jennifer Tilly and creator Don Mancini, the film recounts the dedication and creativity that went into making Child's Play and its lasting impact on the horror community.
Marlowe
Studio Synopsis:A gripping crime thriller set in late 1930s Bay City, Marlowe centers around a brooding, down-on-his-luck detective: Philip Marlowe (Liam Neeson), who is hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress (Diane Kruger), daughter of a well-known movie star (Jessica Lange). The mysterious disappearance is the first twist in a series of bewildering events, and soon Marlowe is embroiled in a deadly investigation and web of lies that he's determined to bring to light.
Rebel Without a Cause 4K UHD
Studio Synopsis:James Dean stars in a movie that shocked the United States with a performance that still electrifies the screen twenty-five years after his untimely death prior to the film's release. In this archetypal drama of teenage angst and rebellion, three high school students who should lead idyllic lives in their stable, comfortable suburban families explode with a violence and sexuality that their parents cannot understand. This film--which ripped the façade from the post-war American dream to expose the rage of the country's youth--resonates with an energy that has made it a modern classic and a powerful coming-of-age story.
Serpico 4K UHD
Studio Synopsis:erpico is based on the true story of a New York policeman who discovers that honesty is not expected to be part of his job. He endures scorn and mistreatment from his fellow cops while attempting to perform his duties with integrity. The character of Frank Serpico, combining the best elements of the Establishment and counterculture, is a tour-de-force role for Al Pacino (The Godfather, Scarface). The film is a breathtaking suspense story and a fascinating character study as well as a memorable statement about government’s inherent flaws. Rendered with unflinching realism by director Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon), Serpico earned 1973 Oscar nominations for its screenplay by Waldo Salt (Midnight Cowboy) and Norman Wexler (Saturday Night Fever) from the acclaimed biography by Peter Maas (The Valachi Papers), and for Best Actor, cementing Pacino as one of the cinema’s most versatile and iconic talents. Featuring Cornelia Sharpe (Busting, The Reincarnation of Peter Proud) as Leslie, Serpico’s girlfriend.
12 Angry Men 4K UHD
Studio Synopsis:Following the closing arguments in a murder trial, the twelve members of the jury must deliberate, with a guilty verdict meaning death for the accused, an inner-city teen. As the dozen men try to reach a unanimous decision while sequestered in a solitary, sweltering room, one juror (Henry Fonda, The Ox-Bow Incident) casts considerable doubt on elements of the case. Personal issues soon rise to the surface, and conflict threatens to derail the delicate process that will decide one boy’s fate. In addition to Fonda (who also co-produced with writer Reginald Rose), the cast includes Lee J. Cobb as his main opposition; Ed Begley as a hateful bigot; E.G. Marshall as a cold, logical stockbroker; Jack Warden as a baseball fanatic and Jack Klugman as the disturbed blood-brother to the defendant. The feature directing debut of Sidney Lumet (Serpico, The Verdict), 12 Angry Men remains “one of the best pictures ever made” (The Hollywood Reporter), a searing examination of race, justice, family and morality.
The Seventh Seal
Studio Synopsis:Returning exhausted from the Crusades to find medieval Sweden gripped by the Plague, a knight (Max von Sydow) suddenly comes face-to-face with the hooded figure of Death, and challenges him to a game of chess. As the fateful game progresses, and the knight and his squire encounter a gallery of outcasts from a society in despair, Ingmar Bergman mounts a profound inquiry into the nature of faith and the torment of mortality. One of the most influential films of its time, The Seventh Seal is a stunning allegory of man’s search for meaning and a work of stark visual poetry.
The Haunting of Julia
Studio Synopsis:Magnus and Julia Lofting (Keir Dullea, Black Christmas, and Mia Farrow, Rosemary's Baby) suffer a tremendous shock one morning when their daughter Kate (Sophie Ward, The Hunger) begins choking. Unsure what to do, Julia attempts a tracheotomy, inadvertently causing Kate's death. The tragedy sends Julia to a hospital to recover, but when Magnus asks that she come home, she prefers to buy a new house in London to live alone. Magnus begins pondering Julia's fragile sanity, while Julia becomes convinced that her house is haunted by the spirit of a little girl. A supernatural fable based on the novel Julia by Peter Straub, The Haunting Of Julia is brimming with haunting imagery and chilly atmosphere.
The Brave Archer Collection
This ShoutFactory.com exclusive is a limited edition of 2,500 units.Adapted from The Legend Of The Condor Heroes, the wuxia novel by Jin Yong, this phantasmagorical martial arts saga – The Brave Archer Trilogy – stars Alexander Fu Sheng. In addition to the celebrated original trio of beloved films, this set also includes the two unofficial sequels: The Brave Archer And His Mate which also stars Alexander Fu Sheng, and Little Dragon Maiden which stars Leslie Cheung (A Chinese Ghost Story, The Bride With White Hair). The first four films are directed by one of the greatest film directors of martial arts films ever, Chang Cheh.
The Brave Archer
Studio Synopsis:Chang Cheh is known for his revolutionary teen angst kung-fu films, his superheroic, Grand Guignol Venoms series, his sweeping martial arts epics, and the likes of this phantasmagorical saga featuring demi-deities of mythical kung-fu. The great international idol Alexander Fu Sheng stars as a wushu warrior who must learn the "18 Palms" and the "Nine Secrets," and be taught by the "Seven Evils" to take vengeance on the man who killed his father – the Prince of the invading Chin Kingdom. With dazzling costumes, sets, and martial arts, the director tests the mettle of future superstars Hui Ying-Hung (soon to be in My Young Auntie) and Kuo Chue, who was to become the star of the Venoms series as well as one of the most respected action choreographers in the world (with both Tomorrow Never Dies and Brotherhood Of The Wolf to his credit).
The Brave Archer 2
Studio Synopsis:This magnificent martial arts saga takes up where the renowned original left off: with our hero Kuo Tsing winning the hand of fair maiden Huang Yung. Almost immediately, however, clan rivalries in the "Martial Arts World" lead to Kuo being wounded and Huang being named new leader of the Beggar Clan. It's all mounted with sparkling energy by three kung-fu choreographers and a star-packed cast. International favorite Alexander Fu Sheng is back as Kuo, and Niu Niu shines in her show-stopping role as his betrothed. In addition, the mystical martial arts mayhem serves as a showcase for My Young Auntie star Hui Ying-Hung, king of villains Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, and featuring a few of the Deadly Venoms – Kuo Chue, Lo Meng, and Sun Chien.
The Brave Archer 3
Studio Synopsis: It's rare in any film industry that Part 3 of a classic series has the same "umph!" as its predecessors, but when you get legendary director Chang Cheh to return for a third time to helm much of the original terrific cast that includes Alexander Fu Sheng, Ti Lung and several of the Five Venoms, it's just a masterpiece waiting to happen ... again. And it does. Based on a classic kung-fu novel, The Brave Archer 3 delivers at all levels: mystery, magic, plot twists and of course brilliant martial arts action that has always been one of the Shaw Brothers' calling cards of success. Chang's heroes live for death while wrapping themselves in their own universe, and at the right time, will altruistically explode. That's what makes this film a blast.
The Brave Archer and His Mate
Studio Synopsis: When is The Brave Archer movie a Venoms film? When it is this, the fourth in a series originally starring international favorite Alexander Fu Sheng as master martial artist Kuo Tsing. But Fu only appears here in a cameo as the son of a character played by Lung Tien-Sheng (best known as a spear master in the Venoms film The Flag Of Iron). Kuo Chue is the new hero (as he is in the Venoms films as well) who is out to defeat the mass murderer of his martial arts masters. In fact, this fast-moving, action-packed film is even choreographed by the three core Venoms, making it a unique combination of grand "Martial Arts World" mayhem and special Venom-style, high-flying kung-fu.
Little Dragon Maiden
Studio Synopsis:With Hong Kong cinema's new wave, high-flying, martial arts action of the 1980s came a new wave of actors: teeny-bopper, canto-pop singer/stars with little or no martial arts background. However, when a film like Little Dragon Maiden intelligently mixes the old with the new, the results are pure gold. This costume-filled action-drama-love story features relative newcomer Leslie Cheung, who falls in love with the Dragon Maiden while learning the art of swordplay. The recipe is complete when veteran kung-fu stars Chen Kuan-Tai and Lo Lieh add just enough weapon-wielding spice to make this film really cook. Cheung later garnered international recognition in John Woo's A Better Tomorrow and Ronny Yu's The Bride With White Hair.