Streaming Roulette: Honey Boys & Gates of Hell

by Nathaniel R

The mania of Oscar season completely detached us to what people might have actually been streaming at home. So let's get back to that with a short round of Streaming Roulette. If you're new to the site that's how we share new streaming offerings. We select a handful (or two) of titles and just randomly hit a place on the scroll bar to see what the film looks like - no cheating. 

If you'd like us to write up any of the new to streaming pictures (there's a huge list after the roulette) please share what you'd most like to talk about in the comments. Maybe we'll get to 2 or 3 of them? Ready? Let's stream...

The reviews were... like, I murdered their children or something. 

28 Hotel Rooms (2013) on Hulu
The only thing I remember about this movie is that it's a rather naked Chris Messina romp (and a low budget but high acting showcase). MmmmMessina. 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, performing for you live without a net, Henrietta Le Fowl... world's first daredevil chicken!

Honey Boy (2019) on Prime
It was so pleasing that this very personal (if fictionalized) feature about Shia Labeouf's childhood as a child star with an alcoholic father (he plays his own dad) got a cinematography nod from the Spirit Awards and a "spotlight" nod from the ASC. It didn't win either but I think we can safely say that DP Natasha Braier (who also shot the great looking if widely hated movie Neon Demon) really ought to be swamped with work offers by major auteurs. Shia Labeouf and Noah Jupe were so good in this one as father and son. 

Closely Watched Trains (1966) on Criterion Channel
They have several Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar winners available right now including this famous one from the Czech New Wave about a dispatcher at a railway station looking for sex and oblivious to the war around him. 

[no dialogue]

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019) on Netflix
Given the Oscar nomination for the original Shaun the Sheep movie shouldn't they have tried to qualify this one for the Oscar race last year? It wasn't even on the eligibility list. What a mystery. Unless this is bad. Have any of you seen it? Aardman visuals always delight, though. 

Let me put your groceries away for y---oh, you got your shirt all wet.

Cookie's Fortune (1999) on Netflix
You guys. I have no recall whatsoever of this Robert Altman picture but I remember it almost made my top ten list that year. That said I was in an intense Altman phase. I don't remember this at all except that Liv Tyler, Julianne Moore and Glenn Close are in it. 

I'm still not sure what happened."

Henry Gamble's Birthday Party (2015) on Hulu
The films of Stephen Cone don't get much attention but they should. They're so modest but authentic and lovely and they don't feel like "Hollywood" movies at all but regionally specific and middle America queer. This one is good but Cone took it up a transcendent notch for his follow up, Princess Cyd (2017) which is also streaming on Hulu. 

[no dialogue]

Gate of Hell (1954) on Criterion Channel
This 12th century set Japanese film about a samurai eager to kill a rival in order to have his wife has some notable Oscar history. It won Best Foreign Film and Best Costume Design, the first foreign language film ever to win more than one statue. It was also the first foreign language film to ever win Costume Design though it shared "first to be nominated" honors in a tie with The Earrings of Madame de... (from France) which was nominated in the black and white category this same year (the two costume design categories would merge into one in 1967). Japan's Sanzo Wada was the first Asian ever nominated for costume design and also the first to win.

Costume Design would go on to become the category with the most non foreign wins (outside of the "international" category of course). Seven subtitled films in total have won Best Costume Design: Gate of Hell, La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, Fellini's Casanova, Fanny & Alexander, Ran  and Cyrano de Bergerac. (The runner up category for most foreign films wins is Original Screenplay which has had 6 non-English language winners over the Academy's history including Parasite just last weekend.) 

ALSO STREAMING IN RIGHT NOW...

Newly streaming for February: Sidney Poitier films, various Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winners, movies about movies, and more. US films unless otherwise noted 

• 8 1/2 (1963, Italy)
• Adaptation (2002)
• Amarcord (1973, Italy)
• Babette's Feast (1987, Denmark)
• The Bad and the Beautiful (1955)
• The Big City (1963, India)
• The Big Knife (1955)
• Brief Encounter (1945, UK)

• Buck and the Preacher (1972)
• Closely Watched Trains (1966, Czechoslovakia)
• Close-up (1990, Iran)
• Contempt (1963, France)
• Daughters of the Dust (1991) - HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL INDIE
• Day For Night (1973, France)
• Defiant Ones (1958)
• Discreet Charm of the Bourgeouisie (1972, France)
• Fanny & Alexander (1983, Sweden)
• Footlight Parade (1933)
• Gates of Hell (1953, Japan)
• The Great Beauty (2013, Italy)
• The Grifters (1991) - 4 OSCAR NOMINATIONS. A NATHANIEL FAVOURITE
• Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967)
• Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
• House of Games, 1987)
• In the Mood for Love (2001, Hong Kong)
• Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
• La Strada (1954, Italy)
• Lamb (2015, Ethiopia)

• Long Day's Journey Into Night (China, 2019)
• The Naked Prey (1965, South Africa)
• Nights of Cabiria (1957, Italy)
• The Official Story (1985, Argentina)
• The Player (1992)
• Rashomon (1950, Japan)
• A Raisin in the Sun (1967)
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) - DANNY KAYE COMEDY
• Some Like it Hot (1959)
• Sunset Blvd (1950)
• The Tin Drum (1979, Germany)
• To Sir With Love (1967)
• Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)
• Vanya on 42nd Street (1994) - VERY EARLY JULIANNE MOORE MAGNIFICENCE
• The Virgin Spring (1960, Sweden)
• War and Peace (1966, Russia)

later this month - a selection

• The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978, Germany) on February 17th - FASSBINDER 
• Gas Food Lodging (1992) on February 19th - INDIE CLASSIC
• The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987, UK) - WITH MAGGIE SMITH & WENDY HILLER
• MONTGOMERY CLIFT TRIPLE FEATURE - February 24th
• SHORT FILMS OF MATI DIOP (ATLANTICS) - February 26th

newly streaming for February

• Back to the Future III
• A Bad Mom's ChristmasThe Ballad of Lefty Brown
• Better Call Saul S4
• Blade Runner: The Final Cut
• Cable Girls: Final Season
• Cagaster of an Insect Cage (Netflix anime)
• Camino A Roma (documentary)
• Captain Underpants Epic Choice-o-Rama (Netflix family)
• Center Stage
• The Coldest Game
• Cookie's Fortune
• Dear John
• The Dirty Dozen
• Dirty Harry
• Dragon Quest Your Story (Netflix anime)
• Dragons Rescue Riders S2 (Netflix Family)
• Driving Miss Daisy
• Elizabeth / Elizabeth the Golden Age
• Fools Rush In
• Good Time
• Hancock
• Horse Girl
• Isi & Ossi
• A Little Princess
• Locke & Key (Netflix Original)
• Love is Blind (Netflix Original)
• Love Jacked
• My Holo Love (Netflix Original)
• Narcos: Mexico S2 
• The Notebook
• The Other Guys
• The Pharmacist (documentary)_
• The Pianist
• Polaroid
• Police Academy (the first seven movies)
• Purple Rain
• Q Ball
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
• Scary Movie 2
• Sex and the City 2
• A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (Netflix family)
• She Did That
• Sordo
• Starship Trooper
• Team Kaylie: Part 3 (Netflix Family)
• To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You
• Tom Papa: You're Doing Great (Netflix Original)
• Uppity: The Willy T Ribbs Story
• Who Killed Malcolm X?

later this month (selection)

• System Crasher (Germany's most recent Oscar submission!) on February 21st
• Altered Carbon Season 2 on February 27th
• Jerry Maguire (90s Oscar gem) on February 29th

newly streaming for February

• 300
• 28 Days Later 
• 28 Hotel Rooms 
• Adam
• Alive
• All about E
• American Ultra
• Anchor and Hope
• Angel of Mine
• Beverly Hills Ninja
• Bridget Jones (all three movies)
• Buffalo ‘66
• Cabin in the Woods
• Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter
• Cheech & Chong’s Still Smokin’
• Cherry Pop
• David Crosby Remember My Name
• Disaster Movie
• Earth Girls Are Easy
• For Colored Girls
• From Hell
• The Fugitive
• Getting Go: The Doc Project
• Ghost
• The Girl King
• Hitch
• Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
• Hot Guys with Guns
• Into the Dark: My Valentine (Hulu Original)
• John Q
• Judgement Day
• The Last Stand
• The Last Warrior
• Liz in September
• Lord of War
• A Madea Family Funeral
• The Man Who Could Cheat Death
• Margarita with a Straw
• Ms. Purple
• Menace II Society
• Mimic
• Mister America
• Monogamy
• National Lampoon’s Vacation (multiple movies)
• Naz and Maalik
• The Phantom of the Opera
• Precious
• Princess Cyd
• Racetime
• Radio Flash
• Robin Hood
• Say Anything
• Southie
• The Spy Next Door
• Those People
• Touched with Fire
• Utopia Halls (Hulu Original)
• Vegas Vacation
• Villains
• Warrior
• When Harry Met Sally
• Where We Go From Here
• Where'd You Go Bernadette
• Wrinkles the Clown

newly streaming for February - a selection only since they often shared titles with the other services

• Absentia (Prime Original)
• The Big Lift (1950) - MONTGOMERY CLIFT MOVIE!
• Dick Tracy (1990) - WARREN BEATTY, MADONNA, AND MORE...
• The Expanse S2
• The Farewell (2019) - SPIRIT AWARD WINNER BEST FEATURE
• The Good The Bad and the Ugly (1967)
• Good Time (2017)
• He Said, She Said (1991)
• Honey Boy (2019) -SPIRIT AWARD NOMINEE
• Human Flow (documentary Ai Weiwei)
• Logan Lucky (starts tomorrow)
• Manhattan (1979)- 2 OSCAR NOMINATIONS
• Manhunter (1986)
• Mermaids (1990) - WINONA RYDER'S FIRST GLOBE NOMINATION
• Mozart in the Jungle S4 (starts tomorrow)
• My Dead Boyfriend (2016)
• Precious (2009) - BEST PICTURE NOMINEE
• Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985)
• Star Trek (the reboot from 2009)
• Terms of Endearment (1983) - BEST PICTURE WINNER
• The Warriors (1979)

newly streaming for February 

• Ali & Cavett: Tale of the Tapes
• Alita Battle Angel (2019)
• Cake (2015)
• Cap (2019)
• Casino Royale (1967 and 2006)
• Days After Your Departure (2018)
• Defending Your Life (1991) - FUN AFTERLIFE COMEDY
• Debris (2020)
• Due Date (2010)
• Emergency (2018)
• Evelyn x Evelyn (2019)
• The Fisherman (2019)
• Flight (2019)
• Hair Wolf (2018)
• High Maintenance (season 4)
• The Honeymooners (2005)
• Hostel (both movies 2006, 2007)
• In a World... (2013)
• The Island (2005) - LONG FORGOTTEN SCARLETT JOHANSSON & EWAN MCGREGOR FLOP
• Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
• Last Chance Harvey (2009) - 2 GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS, EXCELLENT EMMA THOMPSON!
• Last Tango in Paris (1972) - 2 OSCAR NOMINATIONS
• Ma (2019)
• McMillion$ (docu series premiere)
• Moths and Butterflies (2018)
• Nanny McPhee Returns (2010)
• The Others (2001) - NICOLE KIDMAN CLASSIC
• Prisoners (2013)
• Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
• Quantum of Solace (2008)
• Shaft (2019)
• Side Effects (2013)
• The Skulls (all three movies)
• Storks (2016)
• Suitable (2018)
• The teenage Psychic (season 2)
• The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
• Valkyrie (2008)
• Voyage of the Damned (1976) - 3 OSCAR NOMINATIONS
• Wednesday (2019)
• Winter's Bone (2010) - 4 OSCAR NOMINATIONS

Comments

[Jaragon]

I highly recommend "Seventeen" (2019) directed by Daniel Sanchez Arevalo. A road trip comedy drama about two brothers Hector (Biel Montoro) and Ismael (Nacho Sanchez) two brothers tryingto reconnect as they search for a missing dog in Spain. I saw this on Netflix

[thevoid99]

The Island should remain forgotten like everything Michael Bay has done since Armageddon.

[par]

the sheepquel is cute but more of a kid's film than the original. plenty of fun sci-fi references and there's a reveal at the halfway point that ups the stakes so it's well worth a watch - but i doubt it was going to snag any awards

[Rob]

Nathaniel, love that The Grifters is one of your favorites - me too!

[Andy]

My friends laughed at me when I said I'd pick Chris Messina over Javier Bardem after seeing Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Justice!!

[Ryan T.]

The more time that passes, the more impress I am about HONEY BOY. It just really sticks with you. And think what you will about Shia, but his 1-2 punch of that and PEANUT BUTTER FALCON last year was wonderful.

I'm so happy THE FAREWELL is on Amazon Prime. I cannot wait to re-watch that and laugh/cry.

[Volvagia]

thevoid99: Yeah, just watch Parts: A Clonus Horror. Or the MST3K episode of Parts: A Clonus Horror. Either is a better use of your time than watching the mega budget Michael Bay rip-off.

[Anonny]

you really didn't cheat with that butt pic/ ahem. ok.

[NATHANIEL R]

anonny -- i really didn't! I rewound a bit and there's a similar butt shot a few seconds earlier, too haha.

ryan -- i rewatched The Farewell last week. SOOOOOO GOOOD.

[five nights at freddy's]

That's so strong idea. It's good.