Streaming Roulette, Dec: Summit of the Gods, Hitchcock for the Holidays, Power of the Dog

What's streaming in December? You know the drill by now. We pick two handfuls of titles and freeze them on the scroll bar at a random place (no cheating) and share what came up. Then we list the other titles streaming. Let's go.

Everybody has a Jaws story. Mostly you hear them from boys who took ownership of that summer as their fanboy nation origin story. But girls -- we were there, too. 

VOIR (Netflix)
We're looking forward to watching this. Each short episode (17-23 minutes) takes a look at one critic or cinephile's relationship to a particular classic or, if not that, an essay on a cinematic topic. This is from Sasha Stone's episode on the summer of 1975 and Jaws. 

- He said he can't do two for free.
-What?

KING RICHARD (HBOMax)
Expect this drama about the parents of Serena and Venus Williams, and the girls early coaching, to be big at the Oscars since it's a quality crowdpleaser. If you haven't seen it yet and can't get to the movie theater, hurry up. This leaves the service on December 19th.

Is David here?

ROPE (Criterion Channel)
Criterion Channel has a "Hitchcock for the Holidays" collection of 21 films. There's a lot of the early lesser seen titles from Brtiain but a few major masterpieces like Vertigo and Rear Window.  1949's Rope is one of my personal favourite films. Deliciously perverse and one of the earliest attempts at a continuous shot movie.

- Can you hear me?
-Yes!

SUMMIT OF THE GODS (Netflix)
This French/Japanese co-production is a majestic meditative look at one man's quest to find a mountain climber who went missing. This image is from one of the film's most riveting sequences. Netflix hopes this is one of Oscar's choices for Best Animated Feature but Oscar always has multiple possibilities for the "international slot" in that lineup.

[no dialogue]

POWER OF THE DOG (Netflix)
It seems only right that I landed on this sensual image of Phil Burbank rubbing his hands all over a prized saddle. It speaks to the tactile sensual quality of Jane Campion's cinema and it also speaks to the current "Bronco Henry" memes on the internet. This movie is awesome. 

But we both know I like the wrong guys.

SINGLE ALL THE WAY (Netflix)
Chris just reviewed this one and he's right that it would be vastly improved with lots of booze and a big group of friends watching with you. Why are Christmas movies always so bland looking and predictable? And why is a rare gay one so heternormative? You could honestly change the genders of either of the leads and it would be the exact same movie, no tweaking required! Well, I guess you'd have to lose the hunky male photoshoots. 

- Me and my little girl will be on our way now.
- She says she's not your little girl.

LOVE FIELD (Hulu)
Michelle Pfeiffer and Dennis Haysbert in a definitely not meet-cute situation though they'll fall in love later in this 1992 drama that brought Michelle Pfeiffer her final (ugh) Oscar nomination. Alas, they nominated her for the wrong movie this year. Catwoman was RIGHT THERE. 

Aren't you excited. Oh this is just so thrilling. Wait'll I show it to you. It's just perfect. It's just what I've been looking for.

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (Disney+)
Tim Burton has long since fallen out of favor but his early work is still bliss. And can we talk about how  frustrating it is that something as classic as Edward Scissorhands got ONLY 1 Oscar nomination. The production design is incredible. No nomination. The costuming was instantly iconic. Zip. The score was Danny Elfman's best. But not there either. And the movie is better than at least 4/5ths of the Best Picture nominees that year. Johnny Depp and Kathy Baker, both pictured above, as well as Vincent Price and Dianne Wiest are all sublimely in tune with what Burton's making. ❤️

-The ones I saw bitten turned in 12 seconds, same here?
-5 to 10 minutes

WORLD WAR Z (Hulu)
How has it been almost 9 years since this came out and became a huge hit and somehow there's still no sequel even though they threatened to make one several times? Brad Pitt was so damn attractive in this movie with that very early 2010s man scarf.  

also streaming on Netflix

• The Alpinist (2021) documentary
• Are you the One (Season 3)
• Blood and Bone (2009)
• Body of Lies (2008)
• Bruised (2021)
• Bordertown: Mural Murders (2021) Finnish serial killer drama
• Chloe (2010) - Julianne Moore & Amanda Seyfried
• Chocolat (2000) - 5 Oscar nominations 

• Cobalt Blue (2021) Hindi language romantic drama. Dec 3rd
• Coming Out Colton (season 1) - Netflix Docu Series about the football player Colton Underwood 
• Coyotes (Season 1) -Netflix Original
• Death at a Funeral (2010) Alas it's never the original but always the 2010 remake
• Dr Seuss' Cat in the Hat (2003) - live action
• The Final Destination (oddly they're streaming the 1st, 3rd, and 5th films. Random)
• Fool's Gold (2008) McConaughey & Hudson
• Hellbound (season 1) 
• Ink Master (Season 3 & 4)
• JoJo's Bizarre Aventure: Stone Ocean (2021) - anime
• Kayko and Kokosh (2021) - Netflix Family
• Knight Rider 2000 (1991) - tv movie
• Knight Rider (Seasons 1-4) - the 1980s Hasselhoff series
• Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
• Legend of Zorro & Mask of Zorro (1998-2005) both the Antonio Banderas movies
• Life (multiple movies called this so not sure which one)
• Looper (2012)
• Lost in Space (season 3) - final season
• Minority Report (2002)
• Pet Sematary (1989)
• Prayers for the Stolen (2021) 
• Premonition (2007) Sandra Bullock thriller
• Robin Robin (2021) - new holiday special from Aardman animation!
• Sabrina (1995) - the remake no one likes. One wishes they would sometimes show the beloved original 

• Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (2021) - Animated
• Soul Surfer (2011)
• Stepmom (1998)
• Stuart Little 2 (2002)
• Sucker Punch (multiple movies called this so not sure which one)
• Think Like a Man (2012)
• Tick, Tick...Boom! (2021)
• Tremors (1990)
• We Were soldiers (2002)
• The Whole Truth (2021) -Thai horror film
• Wild Things (1998)
• Wyatt Earp (1994)

Later this Month (a sampling)

• Bathtubs Over Broadway () Dec 9th
• The Unforgiveable (2021) Sandra Bullock/Viola Davis Drama. Dec 10th
• The Hand of God (2021) Italy's Oscar submission. Dec 15th
• Darkest Hour (2017) 6 Oscar nominations. Dec 16th
• The Witcher (Season 2) . Dec 17th
• What Happened in Oslo (season 1) New Norwegian series set during the Oslo Accords of 1993 and involving a terrorist kidnapping. In Hebrew, Arabic, and Norwegian. Dec 19th
• Emily in Paris (Season 2) Dec 22nd
• Don't Look Up (2021) Oscar hopeful. Dec 24th
• Cobra Kai (season 4) Dec 31st
• The Lost Daughter (2021) Oscar hopeful. Dec 31st

 

COLLECTIONS streaming on Criterion Channel

• FEMALE GAZE (49 films from female directors and cinematographers including Jeanne Dielman, Sweetie, Go Fish, The Milk of Sorrow, Girlhood, and many many more)
• ITALIAN NEOREALISM (21 films including Stromboli, Bicycle Thieves, Rocco and his Brothers)
• STARRING GLENDA JACKSON (6 films including Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Maids, The Music Lovers)
• STARRING JOSEPH COTTEN (5 films including Gaslight, Magnificent Ambersons, Niagara)

Individual films also streaming on Criterion Channel

• The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love (1995) lesbian classic
• Throw Down (2004) Johnnie To directs Aaron Kowk in this judo film
• Downhill Racer (1969) Robert Redford

also streaming 

• Candified: Home For The Holidays: Season 1 (Hulu Original)
• All Rise (Seasons 1 & 2)
• The A-Team (2010)
• Above The Rim
• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
• Addicted
• Alex Cross
• Alienator
• All is Lost
• All Light Everywhere (2021) - doc
• Annie Live! (music special) 
• Ape Star (2021) - Danish animated movie 
• Armageddon
• Back To School
• The Bank Job
• Behind Enemy Lines
• The Black Stallion (1979)
• The Black Stallion Returns
• Blow
• Bull Durham
• Chattahoochee
• Cherry 2000
• Con Air
• The Crazies
• Crazy Heart
• Crimson Tide
• Cujo (1983)
• The Curse
• Days Of Heaven
• Dead Man Walking
• The Dungeonmaster
• Earth To Echo
• The East (2021)
• Erik The Viking
• Flightplan
• Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)
• Friday The 13th (1980)
• Godfather of Harlem (Season 1)
• Her Smell
• Hide And Seek
• Hollow Man
• Holy Man
• Horton Hears A Who! (2008)
• Hustlers
• I Love You, Beth Cooper
• Jagged Edge
• King Kong
• Making Mr. Right
• The Manchurian Candidate (they are playing both versions, 1962 and 2004)
• The Master (2012)
• My Best Friend's Wedding
• Ocean's Eleven
• Ocean's Twelve
• Ocean's Thirteen
• Pen15 (season 2.5) 
• The Princess Bride
• The Raid 2
• Regarding Henry
• Rio
• Serendipity
• Shanghai Noon
• She's Out Of My League
• Sherlock Holmes (2009)
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows
• The Siege Of Firebase Gloria
• Silverado
• Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow
• Soda Cracker
• Some Kind Of Wonderful
• Something's Gotta Give
• Stephen King's Graveyard Shift
• Stephen King's Thinner
• Superbeast
• Troll
• The Warriors
• World War Z 
• Young Guns
• Young Guns II

later this month -a ★ sampling

• Swan Song (2021) Dec 9th
• Crypto Zoo (2021) Dec 16th
• Mother/Android (2021) HULU original. Dec 17th
• Dragons: The Nine Realms (season 1) HULU original. Dec 23rd

also streaming on Prime...

• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
• Alex Cross (2013)
• All Is Lost (2013)
• Dr. Seuss' The Cat In The Hat (2003)
• Edward Scissorhands (1990)
• End Of Days (1999)
• Guess Who (2005)
• Halloween II (1981)
• Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (1982)
• The Hunt For Red October (1990)
• Jennifer's Body (2009)
• The Jeffersons: Seasons 1-11
• Joe Bell (2021) DEC 3RD
• Little Women (1994)
• Mistletoe Mixup (2021)
• Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)
• Pineapple Express (2008)
• The Proposal (2009)
• Ronin (1998)
• The Royal Tenenbaums (2002)
• Sanford: Seasons 1-2
• Sanford And Son: Seasons 1-6
• Sleepless In Seattle (1993)
• Soul Surfer (2011)
• Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby (2006)
• The Thin Red Line (1998)
• Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (2008)
• The Usual Suspects (1995)
• Under The Tuscan Sun (2003)
• The Waterboy (1998)
• What's Love Got To Do With It (1993)
• White As Snow (2021)
• Sanford: Seasons 1-2
• Sanford And Son: Seasons 1-6

later this month - a  ★ sampling

• Encounter (2021) - Riz Ahmed stars. BIFA nom  - Dec 10th
• The Expanse (season 6)
• Being the Ricardos (2021) Oscar hopeful. Dec 21st
• Lady of the Manor (2021) Dec 31st

also streaming on Disney+

• Edward Scissorhands (1990) 
• Hawkeye (season 1. Fridays beginning December 3rd) - Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld star in the latest Marvel superhero series
• The Rescue (2021) Documentary about Thai cave rescue

later this month

• Encanto (2021) the animated musical is getting just a month in theaters before hitting the service on Christmas eve.

later this month - a sampling

• Swan Song (2021) Mahershala Ali & Noemi Harris star in this sci-fi drama about grief

also streaming

• Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
• Dragula (Season 4) - season finale on Dec 21st
• House of Wax (1953)
• House of Wax (2005)
• Mill of the Stone Women (1960)

• Screams of a Winter Night (1979) 
• Silent Night Deadly Night 3,4,5 (1989-1991) sequels
• To All a Good Night (1980)

later this month - a sampling

• All the Colors of Giallo (2019) documentary on Italian horror. Dec 13th
• Spider Baby (1967) Dec 7th
• Switchblade Sisters (1975) Dec 7th

also streaming

• 12 Strong, 2018 (HBO)
• 20 Feet from Stardom, 2013 (HBO)
• Adrienne, Documentary Premiere (HBO)
• A Perfect Murder, 1998 (HBO)
• All I See Is You, 2016 (HBO)
• All Rise, Seasons 1 and 2
• Anna Karenina, 2012 - Joe Wright's gorgeous costume drama 
• The Answer Man, 2009 (HBO)
• Blade II, 2002
• Bolero, 1984 (HBO)
• Breakdown, 1997 (HBO)
• Changing Lanes, 2002 (HBO)
• Chicago, 2002
• Cloud Atlas, 2012
• Control Room, 2004 (HBO)

• Craig of the Creek (season 3). Dec 3rd
• Crazy, Stupid, Love., 2011
• Days Of Thunder, 1990 (HBO)
• Dragged Across Concrete, 2018 (HBO)
• Enough Said, 2013 (HBO)
• Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery, 2015
• Frontera, 2014 (HBO)
• The Good Doctor, 2011 (HBO)
• The Haunting In Connecticut, 2009 (HBO)
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, 2012 (HBO)
• Interview with the Vampire, 1994
• The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, 2013 (HBO)
• Inside Man, 2006 
• The Italian Job, 2003 (HBO)
• Jack The Giant Slayer, 2013 (HBO)
• Jackie Brown, 1997 (HBO)
• Jupiter Ascending, 2015
• The Lawnmower Man, 1992 (HBO)
• Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace, 1996 (HBO)
• Limbo, 2020 (HBO)
• Little Monsters, 1989 (HBO)
• The Mask, 1994
• Max Steel, 2016 (HBO)
• Miss Congeniality, 2000
• Mortal Kombat, 1995
• Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms, 2021
• Music Box: Listening to Kenny G, 2021 
• The Muppets Take Manhattan, 1984
• No Country For Old Men, 2007 (HBO)
• Percy Jackson Sea Of Monsters, 2013 (HBO)
• Pope: The Most Powerful Man In History, 2018
• Pulse, 2006 (HBO)
• R.I.P.D., 2013 (HBO)
• Rubber, 2010 (HBO)
• Runner Runner, 2013 (HBO)
• Se7en, 1995
• Shark Night 3D, 2011 (HBO)
• Space Jam: A New Legacy  (2021)
• Surrogates, 2009 (HBO)
• Troll Hunter, 2010 (HBO)
• The Truman Show, 1998 (HBO)
• Two For The Money, 2005 (HBO)
• Two Lovers, 2008 (HBO)
• Viva, 2015 (HBO)
• War On Everyone, 2016 (HBO)
• The Wedding Singer, 1998
• The Wolfpack, 2015 (HBO)
• World’s Greatest Dad, 2009 (HBO)
• The Wrecking Crew!, 2008 (HBO)
• XXX, 2002

later this month - a sampling

• And Just Like That (season 1). Sex and the City sequel series. Dec 9th
• Succession (season 3 finale). Dec 12th
• The Matrix Resurrections (2021). Dec 22nd (also in theaters)
• The Suicide Squad (2021). Dec 23rd

WHICH WILL YOU BE WATCHING THIS MONTH? WHICH WOULD YOU LOVE TO SEE A POST ON?

Comments

[Edward L.]

That Jaws photo is ace!

It's been years since I've seen Rope. Time for a rewatch.

Nathaniel: Edward Scissorhands was nominated for an Oscar! It was up for Makeup, along with Cyrano de Bergerac and the winner, Dick Tracy. What a set of nominees!

[Edward L.]

Also, I haven't seen Single All the Way, but is the fact that the genders could be swapped easily something to do with good intentions: the filmmakers want to give to gay audiences the sort of stories that straight audiences have been able to enjoy all these years? Granted, that approach elides the different experience of being gay, but maybe there's something egalitarian in the generic predictability and even in the blandness?

[Edwin]

Nathaniel, do you happen to know whether Michelle Pfeiffer was campaigned as a lead or supporting actress for Batman Returns (if she was campaigned at all for that film)? She’s kind of right on the cusp in my estimation, but I wasn’t following the Oscars at the time so I don’t know. It would’ve been great to see her as a double nominee that year though.

[Mr Ripley79]

I prefer Pfeiffer in BR but she's very solid in Love Filed that line up stinks with no Sharon Stone in it.

I am still not convinced of the masterpiece quality of POTD the cast are mostly wrong for the roles apart from McPhee.

I still think Dunst's best performances are IWTV from 1994 and especially 2011's All Good Things,there is a scene were she ages infront of a mirror and it's one of the best pieces of acting I've seen in the last 10 years.

[Lynn Lee]

Loved Power of the Dog (it's currently my #1 of the year, bearing in mind I still have a kajillion more movies to see), but it seems to be another one with a significant divide between critics and general audience reactions. I can't help thinking the majority of the people who didn't like it saw it on streaming rather than in a theater, based on the number of "Turned it off half an hour in" type comments I've seen. Argh.

[rrrich7]

My list, taken from your list:
The Italian Job (is Marky Mark in this one? i think and hope so)
The Truman Show (this website has shown me the wisdom of re-watching)
Don't Look Up (very excited about this one)
The Lost Daughter (same)
4 Weddings and a Funeral (never seen and i feel i should see some movies I probably won't like, as it has Hugh Grant at his height of popularity)
The Royal Tennenbaums (God what fun!)
Being the Ricardos (big fan of Aaron Sorkin; worried about Nicole trying to be Lucy)

[NATHANIEL R]

Edward L -- i'm sure that's it but assimilation has its price!

[Peggy Sue]

I love Love Field. I feel so close to that crazy pink lady

(I'm a brunette)

[Paranoid Android]

I can see why someone would turn Power of the Dog off after half an hour. I don't think it has to do with streaming vs. theater. I enjoyed it, and it has grown on me in memory since, but it definitely meanders.. you don't quite know where it's headed initially, or what the throughline is, until about halfway into the film. It takes a while to take shape and get going. Until that point, it's a collection of well-shot and well-acted scenes that don't quite gel.

[Frank Zappa]

@ Lynn

Argh is right. I just can't imagine seeing The Power of the Dog for the first time on a small screen.

[Sven Frueh]

It's been years since I've seen Rope. Time for a rewatch.