SHINING A LIGHT ON STAR
Disney+'s streaming banner offering plenty of titles
From Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to Zardoz, Disney+ is about to release a host of movies and TV shows to its streaming service under a new banner called Star.
The streamer promises nearly 800 new films by the end of the year, but the first batch, which launching this week, already features more than 500 titles and 150 TV shows. That includes such so-so content as the 2012 action/fantasy Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Zardoz, a 1974 cult sci-fi movie starring Sean Connery in the weirdest mankini this side of Borat.
There are also some weird omissions that probably have to do with licensing rights. While Star will feature all four films of the Predator franchise and all six Alien movies, as well as the two Alien/predator crossovers, it's not quite completist when it comes to the films of Wes Anderson. You'll get Rushmore, The Life Aquatic, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited and The Grand Budapest Hotel, but no Bottle Rocket or Moonrise Kingdom. (The animated Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs are already on Disney+.)
Even stranger is the decision to include 1988's Cocoon: The Return, but not Ron Howard's 1985 original. And while it makes sense not to show the 1984 comedy Revenge of the Nerds (since it features a scene of rape by deception played for laughs), why even remind people by including the 1987 followup Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise? But hey, they can't all be winners. Here are some hidden gems from among the new content. (Titles are specific to Canada. Also, be aware that Disney+ will raise its monthly fee to $11.99, but existing subscribers will remain locked in at their old price for six months.)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969): Paul Newman and Robert Redford star in this story of two outlaws on the run from a “super posse” in turn-of-the-century Wyoming. William Goldman (The Princess Bride) won his first screenwriting Oscar for this.
The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980): Cultures clash in this slapstick comedy in which a Kalahari tribesman sets out to find the edge of the world. His mission: return a Coke bottle (dropped from an airplane) to the gods from which he believes it came. He crosses paths with a biologist, a schoolteacher and some inept guerrillas along the way.
28 Days Later (2002): Screenwriter Alex Garland (Ex Machina) and director Danny Boyle (127 Hours) crafted this clever post-apocalyptic tale credited with reinvigorating the “fast zombie” genre. Cillian Murphy stars as a man who awakens from a coma to discover that Britain has been overrun by people infected with a “rage virus.”
Planet of the Apes (various): The recent superb reboot/trilogy comprises Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). It also incredibly includes a humanity-destroying plague that happens off-screen between the first and second movies. Disney is also including the 1968 original and 1973's Battle for the Planet of the Apes, presumably so you can see how great and bad the series can get, respectively.
The Martian (2015): With several robotic visitors arriving at the red planet this year, this is a great time to revisit Ridley Scott's Oscar-nominated tale of astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon), stranded on Mars after his team assumes he died during a storm.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000): The Coen brothers based this crime comedy on Homer's Odyssey (loosely, it must be said), took the title from a line in an old Preston Sturges movie, and crafted a period-music soundtrack that sold more than eight million copies. Coen fans can also find their early film Raising Arizona in Disney's batch of releases.
The Shape of Water (2017): Guillermo del Toro's best-picture Oscar winner tells the story of a romance between a lonely janitor (Sally Hawkins) and a sea monster played by the director's go-to creature guy Doug Jones. There's also a lovely scene shot in Toronto's Elgin Theatre, in case you've forgotten what cinemas look like on the inside.
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970): This Japanese-american co-production provides a remarkably even-handed telling of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor that brought America into the Second World War. The film featured one American and two Japanese directors, dialogue in both languages and an international all-star cast.
Moulin Rouge! (2001): Ewan Mcgregor and Nicole Kidman star in Baz Luhrmann's jukebox musical about an English poet who falls in love with a French cabaret actress. A stage adaptation opened on Broadway in the summer of 2019, with post-pandemic plans for a tour of America, the West End and Melbourne.
The French Connection (1971): Winner of five Oscars including best picture, best director (William Friedkin) and best actor (Gene Hackman), this American New Wave film tells the story of two NYPD detectives on the trail of a wealthy French heroin smuggler. Come for the famous car chase, stay for the drama.
But wait, there's more. In addition to its recent release of the entire Muppet Show (all five seasons), Disney's Star content includes about 150 TV shows, from old classics (MASH, Hill Street Blues) to cult sci-fi (Firefly) and even some new shows such as Hulu's Solar Opposites, which hasn't been available in Canada until now.