‘Call Me By Your Name’ a magical summer romance
Swooningly romantic, the gorgeous love story “Call Me By Your Name” tracks the coming-of-age of a 17-year-old teenager (Timothée Chalamet) who, over the course of a season in Northern Italy, falls hard for his father’s research assistant (Armie Hammer).
Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino lingers over every detail of the pair’s magical summer romance, from Hammer’s orange swim trunks to bike rides by a crystal clear ocean. Boasting vivid performances, intimate interludes and haunting songs by Sufjan Stevens, “Call Me By Your Name” is occasionally so sad it makes your heart burst. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu.
Also New to VOD and Streaming
The Disaster Artist: It would have been easy for James Franco to make a movie which mocked filmmaker Tommy Wiseau, who’s something of a modern-day Ed Wood. But instead Franco celebrates Wiseau and his pal Greg Sistero (Dave Franco) as they try to make a movie called “The Room,” which has since become a so-bad-it’sgood cult classic. There’s plenty of laughs along the way, but “The Disaster Artist” is endearingly humane as it zeroes in on Wiseau and his Hollywood dreams. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu. I, Tonya: The brilliance of Craig Gillespie’s darkly comic biopic about disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding is how it juggles the conflicting points-of-view of a handful of people, including Harding (Margot Robbie), her flaky husband (Sebastian Stan) and her crazy mother (Oscar-winning Scorched Earth: Con Man: biggest accounting frauds in U.S. history. After serving time in prison, he became a preacher and helped raise funds for this biopic, which features him playing the middle-aged version of himself (Justin Baldoni plays the young Minkow). But before the movie could be released, Minkow wound up pleading guilty to scamming parishioners in his church. “Con Man” is a bit of a mess but it’s a fascinating mess, that’s for sure. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu. Night of the Living Dead: Even if you already own a copy of George Romero’s zombie classic, you have to check out Criterion’s edition, which thanks to a 4K spit and polish job, outdistances every other version. The action pivots on a gang of survivors (Judith O’Dea, Duane Jones) who take refuge at what seems to be an abandoned farm house. A precursor to every single zombie film that’s come in its gore-splattered path, “Night” still ranks as one of the scariest movies of all time. On FilmStruck.com. Major Crimes - The Sixth And Final Season: One of the most intriguing aspects of this superb show, headed by Mary McConnell as Commander Sharon Raydor, is how efficiently it demonstrates the ways that crime-solving in a big city like Los Angeles can quickly become mired in complex political issues. Also on tap: the return of serial killer Phillip Stroh (Billy Burke), who haunts Raydor just as he haunted her predecessor (Kyra Sedgwick). On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu.
For The Kids
Lego Star Wars - The Freemaker Adventures: Can the Freemaker Family save the galaxy? They certainly give it their best effort in the latest 12 episodes of the series about Rowan, Kordi and Zander’s efforts to work with the Rebels to bring down the Empire. Get ready for brutal Imperial forces, desperate Hutts and conniving Sith Lords. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu. Benji: In this remake of the beloved kiddie classic from the 1970s, a determined dog comes to the rescue after a young boy and his sister stumble into some serious danger. In the end, the lovable mutt winds up helping to heal a broken family. It’s directed by Brandon Camp whose dad Joe helmed the original “Benji.” On Netflix.