Written and directed by Zoe Lister-Jones, The Craft: Legacy continues Blumhouse’s cult hit The Craft. The story follows an eclectic foursome of aspiring teenage witches who get more than they bargained for as they lean into their newfound powers. You won’t catch this movie in the theaters as it’s set for on-demand.
The film stars Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, Zoey Luna, Nicholas Galitzine, Michelle Monaghan, and David Duchovny.
Directed by Lance Hool and co-written by Veronica Hool and Robin U. Russin, 2 Hearts follows two couples. Their future unfolds in different decades and different places, but a hidden connection will bring them together in a way no one could have predicted.
Based on a true story that inspires, 2 Hearts is a romantic journey that celebrates life, love, and generosity of spirit, and challenges audiences to believe miracles are possible.
The cast includes Jacob Elordi, Radha Mitchell, and Tiera Skovbye.
I am not sure where this story is going but I hope it’s not too syrupy, sweet.
The featurette tells us a bit about the story but not all of it. It looks like a tearjerker.
Story by Diane Paragas and Andy Bienen and co-wrote with Paragas, Annie Howell, and Celena Cipriaso, Paragas also directed Yellow Rose. The movie follows a Filipina teen, played by Eva Nolblezada, from a small Texas town. She fights to pursue her dreams as a country music performer while having to decide between staying with her family or leaving the only home she has known.
Noblezada is a Grammy-winner and two-time Tony Award nominee for Broadway’s Hadestown and Miss Saigon. This is her feature film debut with award-winning country music artist Dale Watson, Princess Punzalan and Lea Salonga.
As her first narrative feature film, Paragas had this to say, “…a deeply personal story that is filled with heart, acceptance, and hope set to an unforgettable original soundtrack. This release has given us a unique opportunity to present the Filipino-American experience and the struggles of undocumented families to a wide spectrum of audiences, who we hope will embrace Rose’s story and leave the theater singing her songs.”
Directed by Chole Zhao, Nomadland follows Fern, played by Frances McDormand. Following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, she packs her van and sets off on the road, exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad.
I saw the movie and found it very well written, directed and acted. The story is genuine about the struggle for the American Dream. It’s not something you’d want to watch for pure entertainment. Well crafted, it’s a movie that gets under your skin, and you think about it for days. You marvel at how internally deep Frances McDormand goes to tell us this amazing story.
The third feature film from Zhao, Nomandland features real nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells as Fern’s mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West.
“The American road fascinates me. It’s heartbreakingly beautiful and deeply complicated. I’ve traveled it for many years and always hoped to capture a glimpse of it. I’m thankful to be able to make Nomandland and excited for audiences to join Fern on her adventure,” said Zhao.
The filmed version of the original Broadway production of Hamilton combines the best elements of live theater, film, and streaming to bring the cultural phenomenon to homes around the world for a thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
With book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and direction by Thomas Kail, Hamilton is inspired by the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.
Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, Hamilton has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre. This musical has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education.
Hamilton stars: Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Jonathan Groff as King George; Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton; and Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton.
“I’m incredibly grateful that the world will be able to see this. Theater is a communal artistic experience, and this film is a love letter to live theater,” Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Capturing the essence of the Broadway show were six camera positions with six camera operators. Additionally, there were three fixed camera positions, one dolly and a Steadicam, a crane and two angles capturing each performance. There was one overhead camera and one at the rear of the stage, strategically hidden in a brick wall. The Steadicam, crane, and dolly were used on the scene the day the audience was not present. They shot 13 or 14 numbers from the 46 numbers in the show.
Director Thomas Kail describes directing Hamilton for the screen, “This film celebrates the work of our extraordinary designers.”
Offering the example with one of the most moving scenes, he says, “Satisfied changes time and plays with the time dynamic. The show doesn’t proceed in a linear fashion. It’s elliptical… it’s not continuous time, but it’s always moving forward, and Satisfied is the first moment in our show where we stop time.”
The song is also doing more, “What we are doing in that song is setting up the final duel… we’re setting up the bullet, and what we’re able to do on film is be much more subjective with the camera, so it feels a little more like we’re going inside her brain. The cut pattern is quite accelerated, and the camera angles are quite varied, and we did that because we wanted to also break the form in the cinematic language in the same way that we break the form in the theatrical language in the theater.”
Based on the acclaimed Jerzy Kosiński novel, The Painted Bird is a fastidious 35mm black and white summoning of wild, primitive Eastern Europe at the bloody close of World War II.
The film follows the boy’s journey, entrusted by his persecuted parents to an elderly foster mother. The older woman soon dies, and the boy is on his own, wandering through the countryside, from village to village, farmhouse to farmhouse. As he struggles for survival, he suffers through extraordinary brutality meted out by the ignorant, superstitious peasants. He witnesses the terrifying violence of the efficient, ruthless soldiers, both Russian and German.
In a defining scene, one of the peasants shows him the flight of a captive bird, whom the man has painted and then released back into its flock. Immediately, the bird gets attached and ripped apart because it is different from its fellows. That lesson reinforces all he already knows and will soon know better: the difference is fatal.
But there are rare moments of compassion: a German soldier spares him, a priest intervenes on his behalf, and finally, he becomes the protégé of a Russian sniper, who is kind to the child, but ruthless with the enemy. And there are signs of love. He is seduced by an older girl, finally rediscovering the comfort of intimacy, only to realize that he has been used. When he is miraculously reunited with his weakened father at the end of the war, the boy is cold and impenetrable, hardened by his ordeal. Yet we can still glimpse something of the old, sensitive boy behind the eyes of the new. Perhaps there is hope.
The cast includes Petr Kotlár, Udo Kier, Lech Dyblik, Jitka Čvančarová, Stellan Skarsgård, Harvey Keitel, Julian Sands, Aleksey Kravchenko, and Barry Pepper.
Written and directed by Gil Junger, Think Like a Dog comes across as a heartwarming family comedy, which is going directly to Digital, On-Demand and available on Blu-ray (plus Digital) and DVD.
The film stars Gabriel Bateman, Kunal Nayyar, Julia Jones, Janet Montgomery, with Bryan Callen and Todd Stashwick as the voices of “Henry,” Megan Fox, and Josh Duhamel.
The follows a boy named Oliver, played by Bateman, and his dog, involving a science project that will change all of their lives forever. Oliver is a tech prodigy whose middle-school science fair experiment goes awry, creating a telepathic connection between him and his furry friend, Henry.
The bond brings Oliver and Henry even closer as they join forces to comically overcome complications at school, and help Oliver’s parents, Fox and Duhamel, rekindle their marriage along the way.
Directed by Michael Polish, Force of Nature stars Mel Gibson in an edge-of-your-seat action-thriller that erupts during a violent Category 5 hurricane.
The movie is going directed to streaming and retail.
The story follows a disgraced cop named Cardillo, played by Emile Hirsch, who races to evacuate an apartment building. He comes across Dr. Troy, played by Kate Bosworth, and her retired detective father named Ray, played by Gibson.
When a murderous gang of thieves arrives to rob a wealthy tenant, they must join forces to battle the criminals and escape for their lives before the entire city is deep underwater.
Directed by Abel Ferrara, Tommaso is about a man, played by Willem Dafoe, as an older American living in Rome with his young wife and daughter.
Tommaso is Ferrara’s first dramatic feature film since Pasolini, which Dafoe also starred. Disoriented by his past misgivings and next, unexpected blows to his self-esteem, Tommaso wades through this late chapter of his life with an increasingly impaired grasp on reality as he prepares for his next film.
Directed by Nisha Ganatra, The High Note brings us a hilarious and moving story about following your dreams set inside the dynamic world of L.A.’s glamorous music scene.
Superstars don’t come much bigger than Grace Davis, played by Tracee Ellis Ross, the celebrated diva. Her unbelievable talent has won her countless accolades and the adoration of generations of fans. Keeping pace with Grace’s every demand is her devoted if overworked personal assistant Maggie played by Dakota Johnson. Maggie spends her days traversing Los Angeles running errands, yet she still aspires to make it in the cutthroat, male-dominated music business as a producer.
From the confines of the apartment she shares with her spunky roommate Katie, played by Zoe Chao, Maggie is secretly perfecting her mix of Grace’s upcoming live greatest hits album. She’s convinced that her dogged work ethic and her devotion to preserving the classic elements of Grace’s sound will pay dividends. Her skills are put to the test when Maggie meets gifted musician David Cliff, played by Kelvin Harrison, Jr. As they write and record new material together, Maggie finds herself pulled between pursuing her passion and her commitment to Grace.
Things come to a head when Grace’s long-time manager, played by Ice Cube, presents the singer with a choice that could alter her career, and Grace must wrestle with a decision that could have life-altering consequences. What follows is a series of surprises that not even the ultra-prepared assistant could have predicted—events poised to change both Maggie and Grace’s lives forever.