My co-workers and I enjoy keeping up with the movie streaming channels so that we can choose the best titles for our DVD collection. We strive to get all the big names, the award winners, PBS hits, British favorites, great documentaries, other non-fiction, and patrons’ choice. This month I wanted to highlight just a few new titles that showcase our diverse collection. Check out a few and enjoy!
Can Homo sapiens evolve into Homo spatius? For over 50 years now, we have been testing our human nature in our effort to conquer outer space, and still 30 years away from a possible human exploration of Mars, a question remains: Can our body take such travels? Will it ever adapt? Accelerated aging, muscular atrophy, slowed-down brain functions, euphoric hallucinatory spells - as soon as we leave our usual environment towards extra-terrestrial horizons, we face conditions which our bodies are unfit for. But, the pull of exploration is stronger. Hear scientists and astronauts discuss how to prepare humans for sustained travel to new worlds - in a near or more distant future.
TYREL follows Tyler, who joins his friend on a trip to the Catskills for a weekend birthday party with several people he doesn't know. As soon as they get there, it's clear that (1) he's the only black guy, and (2) it's going to be a weekend of heavy drinking. Although Tyler is welcomed, he can't help but feel uneasy in "Whitesville." The combination of all the testosterone and alcohol starts to get out of hand, and Tyler's perceptions of the evening shift and become even more uncertain. But are things really as they seem?
The Man Who Killed Hitler and then the BigFoot
Follow the epic adventures of an American legend that no one has ever heard of. Since WWII, Calvin Barr (Sam Elliott) has lived with the secret that he was responsible for the assassination of Adolf Hitler. Now, decades later, the US government has called on him again for a new top-secret mission. Bigfoot has been living deep in the Canadian wilderness and is carrying a deadly plague that is now threatening to spread to the general population. Relying on the same skills that he honed during the war, Calvin must set out to save the free world yet again. Wow – now, this is a new premise!
Like most moms, Addy struggles with being the disciplinarian parent when her daughter Esther just wants a life of play. Addy tries to turn to her husband, Jason, for comfort and guidance. The problem is that Jason isn’t just a superhero dad to Esther, he actually plays a superhero on TV. Jason tells Addy that all his success in life can be attributed to the lessons he learned in an Improv class: listening and playing. Jason warns Addy -- a travel writer who lives mostly in her head -- that Improv is not safe for her. It’s unscripted, unedited, unfiltered and basically everything Addy is not. As Addy’s journey in Improv progresses, she finds that both motherhood and Improv are failure-based art forms.
This feature film tells the tale of Shmuel, a Hasidic cantor in Upstate New York, who is distraught by the untimely death of his wife, Rivkah. As he struggles to find solace in his religion, which proffers a stringent timeline for grief, Shmuel grows increasingly haunted by visions of Rivkah's decomposing corpse. Convinced that her soul will suffer until her body returns to dust, Shmuel decides that to stop his feverish spiral he must seek an understanding of the physical processes of her decay - despite the blasphemy inherent in any scientific inquiry. Risking discovery and expulsion, Shmuel tip-toes outside his enclave, where his search leads to Albert, a bumbling biology professor at the local community college. Soon, Albert is unwittingly seduced into an odd world of homespun forensic research and begins to guide Shmuel through outrageous experiments that aim to approximate a timeline for Rivkah's dissolution. With their macabre moonlit misadventures growing ever more perilous, the odd couple will stop at nothing to satiate their curiosity and ultimately find Shmuel the comfort he desperately seeks.
Life isn't easy for a group of high school kids growing up absurd in Japan's pervasive pop/cyber culture. As they negotiate teen badlands- school bullies, parents from another planet, lurid snapshots of sex and death- these everyday rebels without a cause seek sanctuary, even salvation, through pop star savior Lily Chou-Chou, embracing her sad, dreamy songs and sharing their fears and secrets in Lilyholic chat rooms. Immersed in the speed of everyday troubles, their lives inevitably climax in a fatal collision between real and virtual identities, a final logging-off from innocence.
Destroyer follows the moral and existential odyssey of LAPD detective Erin Bell who, as a young cop, was placed undercover with a gang in the California desert with tragic results. When the leader of that gang re-emerges many years later, she must work her way back through the remaining members and into her own history with them to finally reckon with the demons that destroyed her past. You have never seen Nicole Kidman like this before.
While Goebbels infamously declared Berlin "free of Jews" in 1943, 1,700 managed to survive in the Nazi capital. Claus Räfle's gripping docudrama traces the stories of four real-life survivors who learned to hide in plain sight. Moving between cinemas, cafés and safe houses, they dodged Nazi officials and a dense network of spies and informants. Yet their prudence was at odds with their youthful recklessness, prompting them to join the resistance, forge passports, or pose as Aryan war widows. Masterfully weaving these story threads together, The Invisibles is a testament to the resourcefulness, willpower and sheer chance needed to survive against incredible odds.
Unforgotten is a British crime drama television series, which initially aired on British television in 2015. The program follows two London detectives, DCI Cassie Stuart and DI Sunny as they solve cold cases of disappearance and murder. Three series, each consisting of six episodes, deal with a new case, introducing seemingly unconnected characters who are gradually revealed to have some relationship with the victim. As the murder mystery unfolds, the emotional ramifications of the crime are also explored in the lives of those affected. Unforgotten has received critical acclaim and numerous BAFTA awards. For those of you who love British crime drama, try this one if you haven’t! Each season builds and gets better.
When a devastating attack shatters Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell) and wipes away all memories, no one expected recovery. Putting together pieces from his old and new life, Mark meticulously creates a wondrous town where he can heal and be heroic. As he builds an astonishing art installation--a testament to the most powerful women he knows--through his fantasy world, he draws strength to triumph in the real one.
About the Author
Cary's idea of a perfect day is a complete stereotype: reading or watching British crime fiction with a cup of hot tea close at hand, her favorite quilt, and her cats Clio & Junie on her lap.