Hello HSX Community! You may know me by my HSX username/handle: Moviesnob.
I will be doing a weekly or bi-weekly post about upcoming films I’ve seen. I watch more than 500 movies a year for various parts of my career so going forward I’ll search the internet looking for home viewing release dates for movies I’ve seen and if I dig them, I’ll let you know where you can see them, when you can see them and why I dug them! While the films will be from all over the globe, I’ll need to keep the release focus tied to the US only unfortunately.
Since the recommendations will be based on my tastes, you should get some idea (if you haven’t from my postings over the years) of where my tastes land. I fall in love with all kinds of films from Marvel and Star Wars blockbusters to Silent films, but my true passion has always been for smaller, more challenging fare. My favorite 20 films of the last ten years were (in alphabetical order):
As you can see, it's likely these recommendations will lean more niche than most folk’s taste. My hope is that the big studio films with large marketing spends will be films you are already aware of, so this will ideally peak your interest in something new. Also, I think you’ll find that I’ll cover a wide range of genres and tastes through this process so you’ll find it easier to zero in on specific films just based on how I describe them.
Finally, if there’s something older that I am a big fan of, I’ll call those out too, so it won’t just focus on new releases. Please watch these! And then get on the boards and let me know what you thought!
RECENT MOVIES THAT HAVE JUST COME OUT ON VOD I DON'T WANT YOU TO MISS
FIRST COW - Kelly Reichardt’s latest was released by A24 just when the pandemic hit so didn’t get the full release it deserved. Kelly’s movies are both minimalist and contemplative and usually based in the NW. It’s a period piece based on a loner moving west with fur traders who connects with a Chinese immigrant and the two start a business together. The movie is mostly about unlikely male friendships with harkens back to her early film OLD JOY.
RELIC - Sundance 2020 midnighter from Australia with Emily Mortimer. Haunted house film that's got some heavy body horror elements. It's most effective in how it twists around the usual family dynamics. First time feature director. [RELC]
THE WHISTLERS - You love a good noir? You want twists? Turns? Beautiful femmes fatales? Epic shootouts? Snitches? Exotic Mediterranean scenic beauty? Laughs? Intrigue? An epic love story? Opera? Friends, THE WHISTLERS is the film for you. It blew audiences away this year at Cannes, and it’s one of the best crime thrillers in recent memory.
COMING TO VOD
SHE DIES TOMORROW (8/7) - Amy Seimetz’s second feature is about a woman in a state of constant breakdown whose state of being starts to spread to both those around her and then the world itself. Timely to say the least. However, before I make the film sound like its non-stop somber, it does turn into something rather surprising and effective. One of my favorites of the year so far. [SDIET]
SPUTNIK (8/14) - IFC bought this Russian sci-fi horror monster flick. You’ve seen the premise before, and it's CGI heavy, but it's suspenseful enough that if you like these types of films, you won’t feel slighted.
Part II will continue tomorrow as I recommend films coming soon to Netflix, Hulu, Criterion Channel and Apple+.