‘The Harder They Fall’ covers new territory out West
‘The Harder They Fall’
I lost track of the number of times somebody said “Kill them all!” in the 19th-century Western, which borrows bold flourishes from Sergio Leone movies such as “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” to tell of two gangs that express their disdain for each other by any means necessary. The characters are archetypes, but they’re enlivened by an allstar cast that includes Regina King as a foul-mouthed outlaw, Jonathan Majors as a revengecrazed gunman who’s probably the nicest person in the movie and Idris Elba as the baddest of the bad. From the opening title, which declares “These. People. Existed.,” the whole thing is a bloody, entertaining reminder that the movies have only covered a tiny part of our country’s early history.
Where to watch: Netflix
‘Highway to Heaven’
Jill Scott inherits the wings once worn by Michael Landon in a new series of movies based on the 1980s series. In the first outing, her character serves as a high school guidance counselor who’s interested only in one student: a slacker mourning the death of his mother. The mission is so elementary, one has to assume she’s new to the job. Let’s hope her assignments — and the films — get more interesting.
When and where it premiered: Saturday, Nov. 6, on Lifetime
‘Attica’
If you only know this prison’s name because Al Pacino used it as a rallying cry in “Dog Day Afternoon,” check out this thorough documentary. Acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Nelson (“Freedom Riders”) has assembled former inmates, guards’ family members and journalists to look back in anger at how government authorities scrubbed peaceful negotiations and chose instead to storm the facilities. Ten hostages and 29 prisoners died in what remains the bloodiest prison riot in U.S. history.
When and where it premiered: Saturday, Nov. 6, on Showtime
‘The Electrical Life of Louis Wain’
Benedict Cumberbatch is a best actor waiting to happen. He has a long career ahead of him, so there will be more chances but this quirky biopic, in which he ages from a young and promising adulthood to aged-and-forgotten, is quite the showcase. He plays a troubled Brit who was renowned in the late 19th century for paintings of cats so adorable that people began thinking of them as pets.
Where to watch: Amazon