Streaming Roulette, August: Exotica, Harriet, and Muppets Now

If you're new to the site this is how we share new streaming offerings for the month. 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.  Ready? Let's play...

I CAN'T WATCH!!!

Muppets Now (2020) Season 1 on Disney Plus
Let's HOPE Kermit isn't being prophetic about the quality of his new show with this random shot/dialogue. Maybe because we grew up with them, we always give new Muppet content a chance. Will you?

-We were just talking about Felix.

-What about him?

Exotica (1994) on Criterion Channel
You guys. Young Nathaniel was SOOOO into this arthouse hit. Sadly the Nathaniel of now does not remember a single thing about Atom Egoyan's international breakthrough movie beyond that there was some kind of strip club where Mia Kirschner danced and that it was exciting that Canada had a new famous director to add to the small pool we knew about at the time (Cronenberg and Arcand... that was the extent of the list!). LOOK AT HOW YOUNG THESE FAMOUS ACTORS ARE... That's Bruce Greenwood, Sarah Polley, and Victor Garber! The "Felix" they're talking about is the parrot on Victor's shoulder. 

One look at him and I can tell he has rubber in his blood.

Miss Annie Rooney (1942) on Criterion Channel
Wait, what? Sometimes dialogue out of context is just "!?!?!" This movie is famous for one single reason: It gave Shirley Temple her first screen kiss (with fellow former child star Dickie Moore, who claimed it was also his first kiss, period). She was 14 but would retire from acting by 1950.

There are those that say my radium is making them sick. Are you sick? 

Radioactive (2020) on Amazon Prime
We reviewed. There have been at least five filmed versions of this story: Madame Curie (US, 1943) nominated for 7 Oscars starring Greer Garson, Marie Curie (UK, 1977) a miniseries starring Jane Lapotaire, Les palmes de M Schutz (France, 1997) starring Isabelle Huppert,  Marie Curie (Poland, 2016) starring Karolina Gruszka and now Radioactive (2020) starring Rosamund Pike.

[Coughing]

Harriet (2019) on HBOMax
Harriet's escape is the best stretch of the movie, culminating in a beautiful scene (not this one) where she walks in the sunshine, after crossing enough borders to finally breathe. We wish the movie had had more of that pause for feeling as previously stated. It's a typical biopic problem, the rush to hit as many important plot points in a life as possible. Though we didn't think Erivo deserved an Oscar nod for this performance (too many powerhouse leading women last year), we're pissed that Emmy skipped her for The Outsider just this past week  since she was just riveting in it playing a fascinating character. Apparently they didn't like that horror drama since it got only one measly nomination for "guest" Jason Bateman who is the star of the first couple of episodes. 

Just as you were going leaving me all at sea
The clouds broke | They broke and oh what a break for me! ♫ ♬

Top Hat (1935) on HBOMax
HBO Max has a few Fred & Ginger movies

-You know that Wanda Jean now lives with a woman in Abilene and she delivers for the UPS.

-It all tracks back. [Laughing]

Sordid Lives (2000) on Hulu
Have any of you seen this cult classic piece of camp? We imagine it will find some new fans now that Leslie Jordan is so popular on Instagram. He plays "Brother Boy," whose been locked up for 23 years in an institution for his cross-dressing gayness by his family.

Hide me somewhere deeper, somewhere really buried.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) on Netflix
To think that this very obvious (at the time) masterpiece wasnt granted a Best Picture nomination (in a weak field of competitors at that) remains enraging. 

ALSO STREAMING  RIGHT NOW...

newly streaming

• The Adjuster (1991)
• Adoration (2008)
• Arizona Dream (1993)
• Born in Flames (1983)
• Breaker Morant (1980)
• Calendar (1993)
• The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
• The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978)
• The Devil's Playground (1976)
• Don's Party (1976)
• Family Viewing (1987) 
• Gallipoli (1981)
• The Getting of Wisdom (1977)
• Gloria (1980)
• Gun Crazy (1950)
• Infinite Football (2018)
• Last House on the Left (1972)
• The Last Wave (1977)
• The Little Prince () 
• Long Weekend (1978)
• Mad Max (1979)
• Miss Annie Rooney (1942)
• Mona Lisa (1986) 
• Money Movers (1978)
• My 20th Century (1989)
• My Brilliant Career (1979)
• Newsfront (1978)
• Next of Kin (1984)
• Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
• The Plumber (1979)
• Puberty Blues (1981)
• Soleil O (1967) 
• Speaking Parts (1989)
• Starstruck (1982)
• Storm Boy (1976)
• Sunday Too Far Away (1975)
• Sullivan's Travels (1941)
• The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
• The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
• Walkabout (1971)

later this month (a selection) 

• "Starring Alain Deloin (12 films) on August 9th
• "Directed by Wim Wenders" (11 films) on August 16th
• Bacurau (2020) on Aug 20th
• Brazil (1985) on Aug 11th
• King's Row (1942) on Aug 7th
• The Magnificent Ambersons () on Aug 7th
• Only Angels Have Wings (1939) on Aug 4th
• The Player (1992) on August 14th
• Rafiki (2019) on Aug 5th

newly streaming

• Acts of Violence
• The Addams Family
• An Education
• Being John Malkovich
• Death at a Funeral
• Dennis the Menace
• Elizabeth Harvest
• Hardcore Henry
• Iron Man: Armored Adventures Seasons 1-2
• Jurassic Park (first three movies)
• A Knight's Tale
• Mad Max (1979)
• Mr. Deeds
• My Perfect Landing Season 1
• The NeverEnding Story (both movies)
• The Next Step Season 6
• Nights in Rodanthe
• Ocean's Twelve
• Ocean's Thirteen
• Seabiscuit
• Spotlight
• Super Monsters: The New Class (Netflix Kids)
• Toradoral Season 1
• Transformers Rescue Bots Academy Season 2
• The Ugly Truth
• What Keeps You Alive

Later in the Month... a selection

• Les Miserables (2012) on Aug 16th
• Nightcrawler on Aug 10th
• Safety Not Guaranteed on Aug 13th

newly streaming

• The Assistant (2020)
• Australia (2008)
• The Brothers McMullen (1995)
• Cats and Dogs (2001)
• Child's Play (1988)
• City Slickers (and sequel)
• Company Business (1991)
• Death at a Funeral (2010)
• Elena Undone (2010)
• Four Wedding and a Funeral (1994)

• Free Fall (2013)
• Gayby (2012)
• Hellraiser (1987)
• Hurricane Bianca (2016)
• Just Charlie (2017)
• The Last Stand (2013)
• Legend of the Guardians (2010)
• Margin Call (2011)
• Master & Commander (2003)
• My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
• My Bloody Valentine (1981)
• Pit Stop (2013)
• Rain Man (1988)
• Rustlers Rhapsody (1985)
• Safe (2012)
• The Saint (1997)
• Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)
• Spare Parts (2015)
• Stanley & Iris (1990)
• Star Trek Movies (1979-1998)
• Stuck On You (2003)
• Top Gun (1986)
• Ultraviolet (2006)
• Up in the Air (2009) 
• Were the World Mine (2008)

later in the month (a selection)

• The Binge (2020) a hulu original on Aug 28th
• Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019) on Aug 3rd
• Monster's Ball (2001) on Aug 11th
• The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019) on Aug 6th

newly streaming for August - a selection. They usually offer (most) of the same films as Hulu (see above) plus a slew of older often B films

• 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
• Animal Kingdom (S4) 
• The Holiday (2006)
• Inception (2010)
• Somethings Gotta Give (2003)
• Spider-Man 3 (2007)
• Steel Magnolias (1989)

later in the month (a selection)

• Capone (2020) on Aug 10th
• Chemical Hearts (2020) on Aug 21st
• The Legion (2020) on Aug 22nd

also newly streaming

• Incredibles 2 (2018)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

later in the month a selection

• Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) on Aug 14th
• Beauty & The Beast (2017) on Aug 21st
• The Greatest Showman (2017) on Aug 14th
• Howard (2018) a documentary on Aug 7th
• X-Men (2000) on Aug 7th

also newly streaming

• Harriet (2019)
• Motherless Brooklyn (2019)
• 10,000 BC, 2008
• All the President’s Men, 1976
• Altered States, 1980
• Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, Season 1
• Bad Influence, 1990 (HBO)
• Barkleys of Broadway, 1949
• Batman, 1989
• Batman & Robin, 1997
• Batman Begins, 2005
• Batman Forever, 1995
• Batman Returns, 1992
• The Bear, 1989 (HBO)
• Bee Season, 2005 (HBO)
• Before Sunrise, 1995 (HBO)
• Before Sunset, 2004 (HBO)
• Biloxi Blues, 1988 (HBO)
• Blade Runner: The Final Cut, 2007
• Blue Crush, 2002 (HBO)
• The Candidate, 1972
• Carefree, 1938
• The Change-Up (unrated version), 2011 (HBO)
• Chariots of Fire, 1981
• Contact, 1997
• The Dark Knight, 2008
• The Dishwasher, 2020 (HBO)
• Driving Miss Daisy, 1989
• Elf, 2003
• The First Grader, 2011 (HBO)
• The First Wives Club, 1996
• Flipper, 1996 (HBO)
• Flying Down to Rio, 1933
• Flying Leathernecks, 1951
• Fool’s Gold, 2008
• Fracture, 2007
• The Fugitive, 1993
• The Gay Divorcee, 1934
• Get on Up, 2014 (HBO)
• Grace Unplugged, 2013 (HBO)
• Hard to Kill, 1990
• Harley Quinn, Seasons 1 & 2
• Highlander: The Final Dimension, 1995 (HBO)
• Highlander IV: Endgame, 2000 (HBO)
• The Hindenburg, 1975 (HBO)
• Hours, 2013 (HBO)
• House of Wax, 2005
• House Party, 1990
• House Party 2, 1991
• House Party: Tonight’s the Night, 2013
• How to Be a Player, 1997 (HBO)
• Idiocracy (extended version), 2006 (HBO)
• Interview with the Vampire, 1994
• Jeremiah Johnson, 1972
• Jim Thorpe: All-American, 1951
• Jojo Rabbit, 2019 (HBO)
• Kung Fu Panda, 2008
• Kung Fu Panda 2, 2011
• Leprechaun (five films)
• The Long Kiss Goodnight, 1996
• The Lost Boys: The Thirst, 2020 (HBO)
• The Lost Boys: The Tribe (unrated version), 2020 (HBO)
• Love Field, 1992 (HBO)
• Lovelace, 2013 (HBO)
• Lying And Stealing, 2019 (HBO)
• The Marine (unrated version), 2006 (HBO)
• Martha Marcy May Marlene, 2011 (HBO)
• Marvin’s Room, 1996 (HBO)
• Maverick, 1994
• Monkeybone, 2001 (HBO)
• Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, 2007 (HBO)
• Murder at 1600, 1997
• The Mustang, 2019 (HBO)
• My Blue Heaven, 1990
• My Sister’s Keeper, 2009
• Nell, 1994 (HBO)
• New Year’s Eve, 2011 (HBO)
• Ocean’s Eleven, 2001
• On Dangerous Ground, 1952
• On Golden Pond, 1981 (HBO)
• Phantom, 2013 (HBO)
• Pi, 1998 (HBO)
• Raise the Titanic, 1980 (HBO)
• Roberta, 1935
• Romeo Must Die, 2000
• Savages (unrated version), 2012 (HBO)
• Say It Isn’t So, 2001 (HBO)
• Serendipity, 2001
• Skyline, 2010 (HBO)
• South Central, 1992
• Spy Game, 2001 (HBO)
• Steven Universe Movie, (2019)
• The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, 1939
• Striptease, 1996
• Swing Time, 1936
• They Live by Night, 1949
• Things Never Said, 2020 (HBO)
• Three Days of the Condor, 1975
• Time Bandits, 1981 (HBO)
• Two Minutes of Fame, 2020 (HBO)
• Walk the Line (extended version), 2005 (HBO)
• Wedding Crashers, 2005
• Without Limits, 1998
• Yes Man, 2008

later in the month, a selection 

• Richard Jewell (2019) on Aug 8th
• Birds of Prey (2020) on Aug 15th
• Queen & Slim (2019) on Aug 22nd

Comments

[N8]

"... infinitely more respectable best picture winner than The Revenant... and you know that's what it would have been otherwise"

Actually, the bullet we dodged in 2015 wasn't the possibility of The Revenant, but of The Big Short winning Best Picture. It's victory on the PGA's preferential ballot (which until that year had not deviated from Oscar's Best Picture) made it more of a threat.

Either of those would have been dreadful. Hearing Spotlight get called was less a thrill than an incredible relief.

[NATHANIEL R]

n8 - perhaps you're right. interesting that the best picture was so splintered that year (given revenant's director, mad max's overall dominance, and spotlight. BUT i removed Spotlight from this article (so anyone reading our comments will be confused) since there's going to be another post on it that one of the contributors is working on. stay tuned.

[Sally W]

Thank you so much for highlighting Exotica. Atom Egoyan was one of my favourite 90s auteurs but he’s not mentioned often these days, perhaps because of a discernible dip in quality after The Sweet Hereafter. However, in my opinion, the aforementioned films are devastating masterpieces that mustn’t be neglected.

[ScottC]

Sordid Lives is such fun. Great cast. And Exotica - love it love it love it still.

[EricB]

HARRIET is an aggressively bad movie, and the super talented Erivo is not good in it...she's actively playing "noble historic woman" instead of just being a human. It's awfully one-note. That movie made me depressed considering the inspiring subject matter.

[Luke]

Kermit's new voice actor is appalling, and the Miss Piggy replacement isn't much better.

[Luke]

Also somebody missed a trick never casting Miranda Richardson as Marie Curie - they are literally identical.

[Arkaan]

a) Yeah, not nominating Eternal Sunshine in 2004 was egregious.

b) Exotica holds up, as does The Sweet Hereafter. That mid 90s duo ranks among any directors finest back-to-back films, imo.

c) Look at all those Australian films on Criterion. I've got a long weekend right now, maybe I should sample.

[markgordonuk]

Victor Garber was hot.

[Amirfarhang]

Eternal sunshine is my favorite Winslet performance but I still can’t choose who would be my winner that year! Staunton , Kidman , Delpy , Bening and Sandino Moreno were all great and definitely better than the actual winner!

[Joseph]

'Exotica' was a film I've wanted to see since maybe high school (at least 15 years ago), when I saw that it was highly rated on both Siskel and Ebert's Top 10 list. I could never find it! Wasn't at my local Blockbuster, wasn't at any place where I would normally buy DVDs.

For years, since I've had a Roku, I'd look for it and no luck. I thought it would be one of those films doomed to never make the transition to streaming.

Luckily I stumbled upon it on Criterion. Signed up for the free trial just to watch it last weekend.

I'm glad I finally saw it. It's definitely of its time. I was intrigued, if not moved. I imagine my high school self would have loved it and re-watched it multiple times.

[Dave S. in Chicago]

I hope more people find "Starstruck" on Criterion. It's such fun, and underseen in the U.S. at least - I'm not sure of its reputation in Australia.

[ajnrules]

Apparently the works of Bill Plympton have been added to the Criterion Collection so there are numerous shorts and feature films of this zany animator, including the Oscar nominated Your Face and Guard Dog.

[Ash]

That new Muppets show is not the tea. Sad to say.

[par]

at least the new muppet show has kept miss piggy and uncle deadly as a team - they were far and away the highlight of the short lived 2015 mockumentary series

[i thought uncle deadly should've been campaigned for a best supporting actor emmy...or at least a freakin' golden globe]

[jules]

Dave S. - I was just coming here to post that. Star Struck is so wonderful, a fun new wave musical that deserves a much bigger cultural impact. I think most TFE posters would love it.

[LadyEdith]

I remember loving Starstruck so much I bought the soundtrack. I am pleased and impressed with my own good taste to hear that Criterion have released it. The Busby Berkley inspired scene with lifeguards and inflatable sharks must have done the trick.

[Marcos]

Back in 2013, Kermit toured many countries to promote a film and basically announce to the world that Kermit was was going to be called Kermit in every country in the world. For instance, it was "La rana René" in Argentina and "Gustavo" en Spain. They hired me as Kermit's Spanish interpreter for Argentina. The guy handling René was brilliant. He asked me to look at the person asking the questions so he could point Kermit to look into the person's eyes when answering.Then I had my picture taken with Kermit! A wonderful experience. That's me speaking Spanish!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At9GTgmO6t0