Prime for May - Screengrab Roulette
Monday, May 1, 2017 at 3:00PM A new month, a smattering of titles freshly available to stream for free at home, provided you have certain subscriptions. Let's play screengrab roulette. The following images are what came up (no cheating!) when I blind "scrolled" these newly streaming films on Amazon Prime. I only allow myself a second spin if the image is a complete blur or contains something really upsetting/violent [Complete list of titles is after the jump]
All extras, keep eating the oysters or you will be shot and killed!
Cecil B DeMented (2000)
This is the John Waters movie with the biggest divide for me between how much I love the concept (a guerilla filmmaking unit kidnapping an A list actress and forcing her to star in their film) and what I think of the actual movie. But, damn, Alicia Witt was on comic fire in this movie as "Cherish". It's clear that Melanie Griffith who headlines had seen Serial Mom (1994) and thought 'I could do that!' Only, she couldn't. I forgot how many stars were in this before they broke out: Adrian Grenier, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Michael Shannon!
I want you to listen to me, child. You need to turn around and get yourself on home.
Winter's Bone (2010)
Dale Dickey was so damn great in this movie, wasn't she?
But only Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes were nominated for it. Dickey just missed my own supporting actress ballot that year
Look at you!
-Your friend François is here.
-[Confused] François?
Bad Influence (1990)
Oh no, no, Marcia Cross, look at you and that clingy sleeve dress and time capsule "claw" hair! I didn't actually know that Marcia Cross from Desperate Housewives was in this thriller which pits James Spader against the titular Rob Lowe. Or is it the other way around? Spader is so creepy even when he plays good guys. (Spader is about to realize that Lowe has infiltrated this party pretending to be an old Parisian friend of his. Clearly none of the wealthy party attendees have ever met a real French person because THAT ACCENT. Eeet eez like Pepe LePew)
I'm sure of one thing. I'm going to have you locked up for a long time. The Apache in you won't like that!
Arrowhead (1952)
Charlton Heston is such a dick -- don't be mean to Katy Jurado, Chuck! She already had to put up with the Academy nominating her for the wrong movie to make up for that High Noon snub.
[YAWNING]
Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977)
awwww, Snoopy.
You guys, isn't that French class?
School Ties (1992)
This movie is like a who's-who of emerging stars. In this one single frame above there's Anthony Rapp (just a few years away from the youthquake of Broadway's "Rent"), Chris O'Donnell (hot off a wonderfully sympathetic debut double: Men Don't Leave / Fried Green Tomatoes though he'd be prematurely headlining films just after this), and Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who both had just a single feature behind them plus a few random itty bitty things on big and small screens, sometime uncredited. And those faces and the leading man (Brendan Fraser) isn't even in the shot!
Life is Beautiful (1998)
The Film Experience wasn't yet a thing when the 1998 Oscar race was on but it sure would have been a doozy to talk about daily, don't you think? And not just from the Shakespeare in Love vs. Saving Private Ryan thing.
Also newly available on Amazon Prime
- A Christmas Story (1983)
- A View to a Kill (1985)
- Bait Shop (2008)
- Cabin Fever (2003)
- Cabin Fever 2 (2009)
- Catacombs (2007)
- Chuck & Buck (2000)
- Dark Blue (2003)
- Dr. No (1963)
- Fatal Instinct (1993)
- For Your Eyes Only (1981)
- From Russia with Love (1964)
- Goldeneye (1995)
- Gone with the Wind (1939)
- Law Of The Lawless (1964)
- Licence to Kill (1989)
- Maximum Security (1990)
- Monkey Shines: An Experiment in Fear (1988)
- Moonraker (1979)
- Naked Gun 2 &1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991)
- Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
- Naked Gun From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
- Nick of Time (1995)
- No Way Out (1987)
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
- Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
- Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
- Small Soldiers (1998)
- Star Kid (1998)
- Sucker Punch (2008)
- The Bad News Bears (1976)
- The Doors (1991)
- Thunderball (1965)
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
- WellieWishers - Season 1
- The Wizard of Oz (1925)
Later in the Month
- Vikings - Season 4B (5/2)
- Denial (5/3)
- Youth in Oregon (5/4)
- A Fistful of Dollars (5/4)
- Manchester by the Sea (5/5) - OSCAR NOMINEE BEST PICTURE
- The Ardennes (5/6) - Belgium's Oscar submission last season.
- Jackie Brown (5/7)
- A Hologram for the King (5/12)
- I Love Dick - Season 1 (5/12)
- Me Before You (5/19)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (5/20)
- Boardwalk Empire - Season 5 (5/21)
- Moonlight (5/21) - OSCAR WINNER BEST PICTURE
- Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (5/21)
- Seasons (5/24)
- Tomake Chai (5/24)
- Dino Dana - Season 1 (5/26)
- Poldark - Season 2 (5/27)
- The Duel (5/28)
Reader Comments (7)
Bad Influence is seriously underrated. Love Cecil B. Demented. Maggie had the best lines.... "Hi, I'm Raven. My God, you're pale. *punches Melanie Griffith* Sorry but Satan says you need more color" "It's goat urine, want some?"
Melanie Griffith is, quiet honestly, the worst actress in Hollywood. Sure, there's Body Double and Something Wild, but two/three films out of a long career? I think that's ridiculous. The 90's was the weirdest period for her where she made such trash. Shining Through, Crazy in Alabama, Milk Money, Bonfire of the Vanities. She's just awful, and not in that Jennifer Tilly/Sharon Stone way wherein the talented actresses clearly know they're in trash and act accordingly. Griffith never looks as though she's engaged in the lines, nevermind another screen partner. Just goes through the motions. She's always been the biggest question mark for me as a leading actress. And a frustratingly successful one as well.
" Bad Influence " is very good..."Cecil B Demented" is better idea than an actual movie..."Life is Beautiful" is phony and highly over rated
@Amanda - I so agree, although I think Daryl Hannah ranks up there, too. At least, she did until the Kill Bill movies where, I admit, she's pretty fun. And I think Andie McDowell is mostly terrible except for sex, lies and videotape and Magic Mike XXL.
Chuck and Buck! After loving Enlightened so much, I really need to give this movie a try.
I love Life is Beautiful and I live Benigni in it. If you ever tried acting, you know Clown is tge most difficult kind of performance to pull off.
I happen to like Melanie Griffith when she's given a good role and is directed well. I even like her in "Bonfire of Vanities" and think her performance in "Cecil B. Demented" probably was what Waters asked for. Not that I think she should have won an Oscar or think she really deserves that "Working Girl" nom, but it's the typical case of actress that only really tries when motivated correctly, otherwise seems to just grab cash. Special case for "Crazy in Alabama", though, I think she was quite good there, probably because her then-husband Banderas was directing and invested a good chunk of personal money in it.
On "Life is Beautiful"... ugh... I'll repeat it again, it was the 2nd best film out of the 1998 Best Picture nominees, second only to "The Thin Red Line" and probably the most risky project out of the five. I don't think it is overrated by any means, and I don't complain about Benigni winning over McKellen because of the risks he took and how complex the role was (he had to render both comedy and drama). I understand it's not many people cup of tea, but Lead Oscars going to comedy are sooooo rare, that we should never be complaining when the exception to the rule, happens. I also happen to think Benigni should have been at least nominated before, for his cab driver in "Night on Earth", but that's me.
Benigni beating McKellan ranks among the very worst Best Actor choices by the Academy. Off the top of my head only Cliff Robertson beating Peter O'Toole for Lion in Winter comes close. Or Bogart beating Brando's Streercar.
1998 is overall one of the worst years all around for the Academy. They screwed up Picture, Foreign Language Film, all four acting categories, several techs (make-up for Elizabeth, really? In an year with SPR and TRTL?), both score categories and even song. At least Spielberg won Director for SPR, preventing the ceremony from being a complete dumpster fire. The screenplay wins were deserved too. That should have been SIL's win, along with costume design.