Prime in December: Mrs Maisel, Hereditary, and All the President's Men
Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at 11:00AM 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!
Dark Crystal (1982)
I was SO into this movie when I was a kid, wanted to be a puppeteer, I did! It's sad we dont get puppet movies on the regular. The production design and score were memorable but Oscar didn't bite. 1982 was a very special year for sci-fi/fantasy. Consider the nominees for "Best Dramatic Presentation" at the Hugos that year: Blade Runner, The Dark Crystal, E.T., Mad Max: The Road Warrior, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Blade Runner won.
And I was standing there with a box of matches and an empty can of paint thinner. And I woke myself up striking the match, which also woke Peter up and he started to scream.
Hereditary (2018)
AVAILABLE ON DECEMBER 27TH ON PRIME but just 99¢ to rent on iTunes right now if you can't wait...
Toni Collette's line readings in this ❤️❤️❤️, they're filled with fascinatingly jagged jarring layers, there's no one way to interpret this woman. Collette's acting is a gift from God even in movies about demonic possession!
[Voice on TV] At this time most of the votes have been counted. Pablo has been elected.
Loving Pablo (2017/2018)
One shouldn't judge movies based on their lack of publicity but one fears that this would have to be bad, given that it stars Penelope Cruz AND Javier Bardem and no one ever talked about it and it got a miniscule blink-and-you-missed-it release.
Sorry. When a husband finds a man in his wife's bedroom, you're never sure how he's going to react.
A Fistful of Dollars (1964/1967)
Clint Eastwood's famous spaghetti western. It took 3 years to make it to the States. Weird.
-You will give us your best combo plate.
-Don't make us get rough with you!
Nico and the Sword of Light Season 2
This streaming roulette pic above is from Season 1. Haven't seen the series which is about a boy with a magic sword 'battling darkness to return the world to light' but thought it should be mentioned since the first season just received 3 Annie nominations for Best Character Design, Best Directing, and Best Production Design in their television categories. Season 2 begins December 28th.
Also streaming in December
THE MARVELOUS MRS MAISEL SEASON 2 PREMIERES TOMORROW, DECEMBER 5TH!
- A Clockwork Orange
- A Fish Called Wanda
- A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari)
- Bad Girls From Mars
- Because I Said So
- Bestseller
- Beverly Hills Vamp
- The Black Stallion
- Blue Hill Avenue
- Boogie Nights
- Bright Lights, Big City
- Downsizing
- Event Horizon
- The Firm
- The Game
- Gargoyle
- The Godson
- Groundhog Day
- Happily N’Ever After
- Happily N’Ever After 2
- Hitman’s Run
- King of the Mountain
- Line of Duty
- Livin’ by the Gun
- Loving Pablo
- Margin Call
- Mars Attacks!
- Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear
- Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult
- Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad
- Ordinary People
- Promised Land
- Silent Tongue
- Sleepover
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Trucks
- Ulee’s Gold
- Valkyrie
- War
- Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins
- Wild Wild West
- Windtalkers
December 7
- Killers
- Why Did I Get Married Too?
December 8
- Before I Fall
- Collide
December 14
- LOL: Last One Laughing (Prime Original series), Season 1
December 15
- 4 Blocks, Season 2
- Life of Crime, Mini-series
December 16
- Evan Almighty
December 19
- A Most Wanted Man
December 21
- Life Itself (Prime Original movie)
- Vanity Fair (Prime Original series), Season 1
December 25
- Iron Man 2
December 27
- Hereditary
December 28
- Niko and the Sword of Light (Prime Original series), Season 2
Reader Comments (9)
@Nathaniel R
Since you wanted to be a puppeteer were you resentful of the casting of John Cusack as one?
Don’t forget Cabaret and Klute! Also newly streaming on Prime now.
But... but.. I don't have Prime. Or ITunes. /whine
Re: "The best picture line up of 1976 is so delicious, isn't it? All the President's Men, Bound for Glory, Network, Rocky, Taxi Driver. I mean most Best Picture lineups wish!"
That's a pretty terrific line-up, with 4 bona-fide classics and another very good nominee (Bound for Glory). I still think the all-time best BP line-up was the previous year: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Jaws, Nashville, Dog Day Afternoon, & Barry Lyndon. Not a dud among them, with at least 2 (Jaws & Nashville) being flat-out masterpieces.
All the President's Men is a masterpiece. Every single shot is revelatory. The editing, the cinematography, Jane Alexander and Stephen Collins in bit parts...
Peggy Sue: totally. Watching it again recently I was struck again by just how good and how chillingly prescient it remains. I wish it had taken the top prize that year. It deserved it - over some stiff competition.
1976 is one of the all-time greats, and I haven't even seen Bound for Glory. Would've voted Network.
Re The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, I watched a few episodes and am at a loss to understand why everybody thinks it's so great.
Now mind you, I'm in my sixties, Jewish, and grew up in the NYC area - I nearly REMEMBER that time and those people... and EVERYTHING about this show's dramatization of them struck me as utterly bogus. I also don't understand why, at a time when everyone is hyper-sensitive about accurate presentation of their particular race/gender/etc., this show not only gets away with endless broad, discredited Jewish stereotypes, but revels in them, and is considered a masterpiece.
Entertaining TV, perhaps. Anything resembling a respectful, realistic depiction of these people, nope. Feh!
I loved the first season of Mrs. Maisel and I'm saving the second season to watch on my Christmas holidays. It's production values are a treat for the eye and the ear. I am captivated by the smart writing and wonderful acting of the lead actors.
As for the authenticity, I don't know but, Barbra Streisand liked the pilot so much she allowed one of her songs to be used. So at least 1 Brooklynite is a fan.