New streaming, on-demand highlights for Nov. 12-19, 2023
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — I love the world that director/writer Gareth Edwards and screenwriter Chris Weitz have conjured up for their sci-fi adventure “The Creator” so much that I would love to spend more time there than the 2 hours and 15 minutes that the theatrical cut gives us. I want to see more of the mundane, day-to-day life in both the wastelands that were Los Angeles and the rice fields of New Asia. I’m still quite taken with the movie, but a deeper dive might have been more rewarding.
Of the other titles coming to digital this week I’m most interested in “Before, Now & Then” and “The Night Owl.”
Pushing towards the holiday season, the physical releases for the week mix recently-in-theaters (“The Nun II,” “The Equalizer 3” and “Sounds of Freedom”) with numerous classics coming to 4K for the first time (“Duel," “The Last Picture Show,” “Rudy,” and “Terms of Endearment”). Shout! Factory have also thrown in a Sonny Chiba collection. I’m looking forward to finding the space to explore seven Chiba films that I haven’t seen.
The Creator
Studio Synopsis: Amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, Joshua (John David Washington), a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife (Gemma Chan), is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war - and humankind. Joshua and his team of elite operatives journey across enemy lines into the dark heart of AI-occupied territory, only to discover the world-ending weapon he's been instructed to destroy is an AI in the form of a young child, in this epic sci-fi action thriller directed by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) from a screenplay by Edwards and Chris Weitz.
Before, Now & Then
Studio Synopsis: Set amid the political violence of late-1960s Indonesia, Kamila Andini's intoxicating film BEFORE, NOW & THEN follows Nana, the beautiful wife of a wealthy plantation owner whose inner life remains with her deceased first husband, murdered in the civil war a decade prior. A survivor, Nana values her safety and material comforts, but carries out a haunted existence, dreaming of her lost love. Forced to confront her husband's blatant infidelity, Nana makes an unusual connection with his younger mistress, Ino. The two women, sharing their secrets and desires, discover a newfound freedom and intimacy withheld from them both by the strictures of patriarchal society.
Bolivar
Studio Synopsis: Maggie is struggling to keep her life together after the death of her mother when her addict brother shows up, forcing her to make sense of a reality that may not be what it seems.
The Night Owl
Studio Synopsis: Korea, 1645 - Joseon Dynasty: a partially blind and gifted acupuncturist, Gyeong-su, is invited to work alongside the royal physician in the palace of King Injo, just before the crown prince Sohyeon returns after having been held captive by the Qing Dynasty. Prince Sohyeon and his father begin to differ in opinion on the future direction of their dynasty, leading King Injo to suffer from severe anxiety and paranoia. One night, Gyeong-su witnesses prince Sohyeon's death. Disbelieved as a witness on account of his blindness, Gyeong-su must struggle to reveal the truth while not falling prey to the power-hungry conspirators of the palace.
Love in Taipei
Studio Synopsis: Based on the New York Times' Best-Selling Novel Loveboat, a young American woman is sent by her parents to a cultural immersion program in Taipei in which she begins a new journey of self-discovery and romance. Starring Ashley Liao and Ross Butler.
Monsternado
Studio Synopsis: A tornado, infested with prehistoric monsters, has formed in the Bermuda Triangle, and is making its way towards land. Megalodon, Pterodactyls, Giant Octopuses, Crocodiles, and more attack - now the city must fight to survive against these deadly creatures.
The Puppetman
Studio Synopsis: A convicted killer on death row maintains his innocence, his daughter suspects there is truth to her father's claim, when her loved ones begin to die in brutal ways.
Your Lucky Day
Studio Synopsis: After a dispute over a winning lottery ticket turns into a deadly hostage situation, the witnesses must decide exactly how far they’ll go—and how much blood they’re willing to spill—for a cut of the $156 million.
Blu-ray & DVD Highlights
The Nun II
Studio Synopsis: 1956 – France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit The Nun follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face to face with the demonic force Valak—The Demon Nun.
The Equalizer 3
Studio Synopsis: Denzel Washington is Robert McCall, an ex-assassin with a mysterious past, who returns to action to serve vengeance for the exploited and oppressed. Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends' protector by taking on the mafia.
Spirited Away: Live on Stage
Studio Synopsis: While traveling to their new home, Chihiro and her family stumble into a world of fantastic spirits ruled over by the sorceress Yubaba. When her parents are turned into pigs and she is put to work in a magical bathhouse, Chihiro must use her wits to survive in this strange new place, find a way to free her parents, and return to the normal world.
For All Mankind: Season One
Studio Synopsis: For All Mankind is created by Emmy Award winner Ronald D. Moore (Outlander, Battlestar Galactica), Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi. Told through the lives of NASA astronauts, engineers and their families, For All Mankind presents an aspirational world where NASA and the space program remained a priority and a focal point of our hopes and dreams.
Justified: City Primeval - Season 1
Studio Synopsis: Based on Elmore Leonard’s novella “Fire in the Hole,” Justified was developed by Graham Yost and stars Timothy Olyphant as Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens, a lawman who finds himself drawn back to his home state of Kentucky. In Justified’s final season, the long brimming conflict between Raylan and Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) will finally come to a head.
Sound of Freedom
Studio Synopsis: The incredible story of a former government agent turned vigilante who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hundreds of children from human traffickers.
Duel 4K UHD
Studio Synopsis: Steven Spielberg directs Duel, a high-velocity thriller about a motorist terrorized by an evil truck. As Spielberg's first full-length movie, Duel helped jumpstart the director's big-screen career, with a gripping, action-packed story hailed by critics as a film that "belongs on the classics shelf reserved for top suspensers" (Dailey Variety). Dennis Weaver stars as the traveling salesman waging a desperate battle for survival after he is mysteriously singled out. Praised for its deft use of relentlessly mounting psychological tension, Duel features one of the most uniquely terrifying "characters" in movie history: a massive, roaring, 40-ton truck with sheer menace.
The Last Picture Show 4K UHD
Studio Synopsis: One of the key films of the American seventies cinema renaissance, The Last Picture Show is set in the early fifties, in the loneliest Texas nowheresville to ever dust up a movie screen. This aching portrait of a dying West, adapted from Larry McMurtry’s novel, focuses on the daily shuffles of three futureless teens—enigmatic Sonny (Timothy Bottoms), wayward jock Duane (Jeff Bridges), and desperate-to-be-adored rich girl Jacy (Cybill Shepherd)—and the aging lost souls who bump up against them in the night like drifting tumbleweeds. Featuring evocative black-and-white imagery and profoundly felt performances, this hushed depiction of crumbling American values remains the pivotal work in the career of invaluable film historian and director Peter Bogdanovich.
Rudy 4K UHD
Studio Synopsis: All Rudy Ruettiger wants in life is to play football for his beloved Notre Dame. Unfortunately, Rudy is no athlete, his academic record is spotty, and his family can't afford to send him to college. But Rudy has an abundance of two things: heart and hope and he ultimately overcomes the odds.
Terms of Endearment 4K UHD
Studio Synopsis: Terms of Endearment dazzled critics and audiences alike with its believable, insightful story of two captivating people, mother and daughter, unforgettably played by Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger. From grand slapstick to deepest sentiment, director James L. Brooks masterfully paints scenes from their evolving 30-year relationship. Jack Nicholson turns in a great comic performance as MacLaine's neighbor, a boozy, womanizing former astronaut.
The Sonny Chiba Collection: Volume 2
Following the first 'Sonny Chiba Collection' box set release from Shout! Studios, this second volume offers even more thrilling highlights from Chiba's highly influential legacy, including the films The Defensive Power of Aikido, 13 Steps of Maki, Karate Warriors, The Great Okinawa Yakuza War, Karate for Life, Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon, The Okinawa War of Ten Years, Greatly missed by his legion of fans, Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba – The "Street Fighter" – remains an icon for all time!
THE DEFENSIVE POWER OF AIKIDO
Jiro Chiba tackles the role of Morihei Ueshiba, born in Wakayama to a farming family and destined for martial arts greatness as he learns from the masters (including brother Sonny Chiba) and develops his own well-polished Aikido.
13 STEPS OF MAKI
Based on a comic book, 13 Steps Of Maki follows the leader of the all-female Stray Cats gang who use their fighting skills to help others. But when Maki crosses the daughter of a powerful man with connections to the yakuza, she winds up in prison on false charges.
KARATE WARRIORS
A street fighter (Sonny Chiba) arrives in a town ruled by two warring gangs headed by feuding yakuza brothers. He does everything he can to keep them feuding while tracking down a lucrative stash of drugs and befriending the son of a sword-wielding samurai ...
THE GREAT OKINAWA YAKUZA WAR
Co-starring alongside Hiroki Matsukata, Sonny Chiba makes for a striking, animalistic gangster battling his way through the streets of Okinawa in this eye-popping martial arts powerhouse set one year before the return of power to the mainland.
KARATE FOR LIFE
The final film in the Masutatsu Oyama trilogy, Karate For Life follows our hero through US-occupied Okinawa, where he leaves a professional wrestling job ... but must return to the ring in order to help a friend in desperate need of medical supplies.
GOLGO 13: ASSIGNMENT KOWLOON
International spy Duke Togo has taken on a tricky assignment from an American drug syndicate: take out a Hong Kong kingpin who has been selling their drugs on his own. Duke faces danger at every turn ... and competition from a detective who wants the kingpin for himself!
THE OKINAWA WAR OF TEN YEARS
It's brother against brother and friend against friend when Okinawa is returned to mainland Japan ... and the local yakuza does not take kindly to being strong-armed by mainland gangs. The result is mayhem and the biggest yakuza war ever fought in Okinawa.