MOVIES: WHAT’S NEW ON DEMAND, STREAMING
New movies on demand
“Summerland”: During World War II, a reclusive writer in southern England reluctantly agrees to adopt a young boy evacuated from London, and discovers their lives have much in common. Gemma Arterton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Tom Courtenay star in this period drama. Available starting Friday on videoon-demand and digital services.
“The Big Ugly”: The enforcer for a London crime boss is sent to West Virginia to complete a deal for his boss with a local oilman, but when the enforcer’s girlfriend disappears and is found dead, he starts looking for answers, and revenge. Vinnie Jones is the enforcer, Malcolm McDowell is the London mobster and Ron Perlman is the oilman in this gritty crime drama. Available starting Friday.
“House of Hummingbird”: A lonely 14-year-old girl, ignored by her family, flits through life trying to make connections in the boomtown of 1994 Seoul, South Korea, in this coming-of-age drama, one of the best-reviewed movies (so far) of pandemic 2020. Available starting Tuesday.
“Weathering With You”: A teenage boy runs away to Tokyo and becomes focused on a girl who appears to be able to change the weather in this gentle Japanese animated movie. Available starting Tuesday.
“What We Found”: When a free-spirited friend disappears, a group of freshmen at a tough West Baltimore high school decide to try to find out what happened. Available starting Tuesday.
“The Swan Princess: A Royal Wedding”: The 10th movie in the “Swan Princess” franchise involves a wedding, true love, a sorceress and animal heroes. Available starting Tuesday.
Sofa Cinema
Milwaukee Film’s online movie portal Sofa Cinema gives you a window through which you can rent new and recent independent movies, the movies that the nonprofit outfit would have been showing at the Oriental Theatre if the theater had been shut down thanks to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Part of the proceeds go to Milwaukee Film. See the website for details: mkefilm.org/sofacinema. New releases beginning Friday include:
“The Fight”: Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman and Eli Despres’ documentary, honored for social-impact filmmaking at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, follows the work of the American Civil Liberties Union during the presidency of Donald Trump. It’s multifront battle that, in this riveting account, encompasses conflicts over immigration, abortion and voting rights. As the directors showed in the excruciatingly entertaining 2016 Anthony Weiner documentary “Weiner,” they have talent for colorful fly-on-the-wall filmmaking of politics in action. Here, they focus on four tireless ACLU attorneys.
“Lake Michigan Monster”: A crazed ship captain and his crew set out to hunt the legendary title creature in this black-and-white horror comedy back for a return voyage. It’s available for rental for 24 hours only, starting Friday;
the screening includes a Q&A with the filmmakers hosted by Milwaukee’s own Mark Borchardt.
New movies on streaming
“Black Is King”: Written, directed and executive produced by Beyoncé, the pop star’s “visual album” arrives Friday on Disney+. Given that the last time Beyoncé made something similar she crafted the dazzling film “Lemonade,” “Black Is King” — like most things involving Beyoncé — is a major event. This one, a fantasia celebrating black identity, comes as a companion piece to last year’s Beyoncé-curated album “The Lion King: The Gift.” She has described it as “a story of how the people left most broken have an extraordinary gift and a purposeful future.”
“An American Pickle”: A man (Seth Rogen) falls into a pickle vat in New York and comes out, alive and unchanged, 100 years later, finding a very different world and a great-grandson (Rogen) who looks exactly like him but doesn’t act anything like him. Premiering Thursday on HBO Max.
“The Secret: Dare to Dream”: A young widow (Katie Holmes) with three children, struggling to make ends meet, meets a mysterious man (Josh Lucas) whose secret could change her life. Jerry O’Connell also stars in this inspirational drama based on the bestselling novel, which had been ticketed to theaters before everything shut down. Debuting Friday on Apple TV (also available on demand).
“Dora and the Lost City of Gold”: The live-action adventures of the animated Nickelodeon adventurer starts on Hulu and Amazon Prime Monday.
“The Peanut Butter Falcon”: Dreaming of becoming a professional wrestler, a teen with Down syndrome runs away from his care home and finds an unlikely ally in a bad-luck drifter who’s also on the run. Zack Gottsagen as the boy with the dream and Shia LaBoeuf as his new pal give two of the best performances from last year. Available on Hulu and Amazon Prime starting Thursday.
“Ordinary Love”: Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville play a long-married couple, whose worldview is tested when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Available on Hulu starting Monday.
“Slay the Dragon”: This documentary follows the fight by grassroots groups to take on organized gerrymandering efforts across the United States, including Wisconsin. Available on Hulu starting Thursday.
“The Speed Cubers”: This new documentary follows the journeys of two Rubik’s Cube champions — yes, Rubik’s Cube champions — who becomes friends and rivals. Available on Netflix starting Friday.
“Los Lobos”: Two kids who immigrate to the United States from Mexico wait in a tiny apartment for their mother to return, and take them to Disney World, in this new drama. Available on Netflix starting Friday.
“The Swamp”: This new documentary follows “three renegade Republican Congressmen as they bring libertarian and conservative zeal” to Washington while having to raise money for re-election. Available on HBO Max starting Tuesday.