The sofa section highlights Disney + versions and VOD options. In the week of Disney + Day, the platform released the blockbuster “Thor: Love and Thunder” and its exclusive production of “Pinocchio”.
Digital store titles also include films that have recently hit theaters, such as the horror “The Black Telephone,” and unreleased and award-winning productions.
Check out the 10 streaming previews that stand out the most in the weekly schedule below.
| THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER | DISNEY +
Director Taika Waititi’s new film is a more cheeky comedy than “Thor: Ragnarok,” which combines action and humor to tell a coming-of-age story with loads of twists, fights and jokes. Lots of jokes. Not all of them are funny, as the critical reception in the United States attests: 70% approval from geek bloggers, but only 56% among top critics on Rotten Tomatoes. And despite the jokes, the ending is sad.
In his fourth solo film, Thor finds himself on the journey that began in “Avengers: Endgame”, sharing adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy and seeking inner peace. But those days of irresponsibility are interrupted by the emergence of a space killer known as Gorr, the Butcher of the Gods, whose mission is to kill all the gods. To stop a new Asgardian massacre, Thor teams up with King Valkyrie, his new best friend Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster – who re-emerges blonde, powerful and with the ancient magic hammer of the Thunder God, who embodies the Mighty Thor. – in a desperate fight against the Butcher of the Gods. But at the same time, Jane is still fighting her own silent struggle.
The cast highlights Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Natalie Portman (Jane), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Russell Crowe (Zeus) and Christian Bale (Gorr), not to mention the participation of Guardians of the Galaxy and director Taika Waititi in the Korg’s shoes. In addition, the post-credits scenes include the introduction of a new character (with a hook for “Thor 5”) and the return of an old acquaintance, cameos kept “secret”.
| THE BLACK PHONE | VOD *
Director Scott Derrickson’s return to horror after directing “Doctor Strange” (2016) is one of the best recent films in the genre, with 86% approval on Rotten Tomatoes. The plot is based on the eponymous short story by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King and author of the work that inspired the series “Locke & Key”. The story is part of the best seller “Ghosts of the 20th Century” and was adapted by Derrickson himself in collaboration with screenwriter Robert Cargill, with whom the director developed the franchise “The Entity”.
By the way, the main role is Ethan Hawke, who starred in the first “The Entity” (2012). He plays a serial killer who kidnaps children who, in a twisted reference to “It”, uses black balloons and clown disguises to commit his crimes.
But his plans fail when his latest target receives unexpected help to escape. Ghosts of past victims call the newly kidnapped boy on the black phone in the title, which is cordless and shouldn’t work, teaching him how to survive, while his best friend from school begins to have visions of him being imprisoned. Young Mason Thames (“For All Mankind”) and Madeleine McGraw (young Hope from “Ant-Man and the Wasp”) lead the cast of children.
| RED ROCKET | VOD *
In his new film, director Sean Baker returns to explore the fringes of society with dark humor. After following transgender prostitutes in “Tangerine” (2015) and the daily life of a teenage prostitute’s young daughter in “The Florida Project” (2017), he tells the story of the failure of an adult film actor, who returns to his hometown. become a veteran in the field and not be invited to new jobs. While trying to reconnect with the dysfunctional family, he meets a young woman named Ichigo, who works as a cashier at a local donut shop, and ends up returning to her old ways.
The lead role is played by Simon Rex, who was a model in the 90s, MTV VJ and even rapper, as well as starring in the comedy franchise “Everybody in Panic”, while the rest of the cast is made up of novice or little-known actors. . , like newcomer Brenda Deiss, who plays Ichigo.
“Red Rocket” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before the last one, won the Jury and Critics Award at the Deauville Film Festival, the Best Actor trophy at the Spirit Awards (the independent Oscar) and 10 other awards international, as well as achieving 94% approval for rotten tomatoes. In other words, it’s yet another work by Sean Baker that garners applause around the world.
| SEA IN FLAME | VOD *
Norwegian director John Andreas Andersen specializes in major disaster films. After the success of “Terremoto” (2018), he signs this maritime catastrophe of enormous proportions. The plot involves the collapse of an oil rig in the North Sea, which begins a series of tragedies capable of transforming the ocean into a fiery hell. A submarine pilot and researcher (Kristine Kujath Thorp, from “Betrayed by War”) embarks on a mission to try to save the region from an environmental catastrophe. But the plot is so tense that all the small bailouts lead to situations of greater danger and drama.
It won the Amanda (Norwegian Oscar) for visual effects and was applauded by American critics, with a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
| SEE FOR ME | VOD *
The Canadian thriller follows a blind skier who decides to move into an isolated winter home. When the house is invaded by three thieves, their only help is an app that connects the blind with the people in charge of describing the environment in which they find themselves. The production is cheap but efficient, and shows that director Randall Okita learned the tricks of the genre as Stephen King’s assistant on the horror series “Kingdom Hospital”. With 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film also highlights the debut of actress Skyler Davenport, a well-known voice actress of anime and video games, in her first live-action film.
| Bliss | VOD *
Joe Begos’ new visceral horror (“Almost Human”) follows an artist (Dora Madison, “Chicago Fire”) in a creative crisis and on the verge of failure, indulging in hard drugs and spending nights partying. Until a new drug takes her out of her mind and has her painted wildly, in bloody tones, as if she were possessed. The psychotic journey may be too intense for some tastes, the artistic approach may be too pretentious for others, but fans of hardcore indie horror shouldn’t be bothered by the bad trip and the abundant nudity … art scenes. Even though it was divided – and there were those who hated it from the bottom of their soul – it reached 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.
| MANY SOULS | VOD *
Colombian director Nicolás Rincón Gille used his experience as a documentary maker in this fictional debut, shot with non-professional actors and in real locations, in a crossroads with his documentaries. In the plot, the fisherman José crosses the Magdalena River, the largest in Colombia, in search of the bodies of his two sons, murdered by the paramilitaries. Despite his pain, José is determined to find them to give them the burial they deserve and to prevent them from remaining wandering souls. During his journey, he encounters the magic of a shattered country.
Gille had already filmed the violence in the countryside, the river and Colombian superstitions in three long documentaries. By bringing these references together in a single narrative, you have achieved a synthesis that is as engaging as it is realistic: a portrait of deep Colombia that is not seen in postcards, which impressed international critics and won the Marrakech Festival.
| THE FATE OF HAFFMANN | VOD *
The French drama takes place in Paris during the Nazi invasion. When a Jewish jeweler is forced to flee, he makes a false deal to sell his shop with an employee to save his business. But he cannot escape the siege, being forced to hide in a basement and work for the former employee, who starts doing business with the Nazis to produce new pieces from the jewels of the death camp victims. The dark moral fable is directed by Fred Cavayé, nominated for a César (French Oscar) for “Everything for her” (2008).
| PINOCCHIO | DISNEY +
The live-action remake of “Pinocchio” is a visually faithful recreation of the classic two Academy Award-winning animation, but takes even more liberty than Walt Disney with Carlo Collodi’s children’s book, published in 1883. The Wooden Boy Now he is even more silly and likable – the opposite of Collodi’s character. After the carpenter Geppetto creates a wooden puppet and is granted the wish to see him transform into a boy, Pinocchio proves naive and is promptly deceived by the scammers who sell him as a circus attraction.
Despite the familiarity, the remake doesn’t have the same magic as the cartoon. If you don’t miss the song “When You Wish upon a Star”, the theme of the classic 1940s cartoon, there are many other unreleased (and unnecessary) songs, as well as small tweaks to the story that add nothing that changes the final result. Far from exciting critics, it only hit 31% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis (from “Forrest Gump”), which combines real actors with digital characters in a hybrid that looks like the opposite of “Paddington”, with Tom Hanks (“Elvis”) in the role of Geppetto, lost in a computer cartoon.
The cast also includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“The Chicago 7”) who voices Jiminy Cricket, Cynthia Erivo (“Genius: Aretha”) as Blue Fairy, Luke Evans (“Beauty and the Beast”) as Barker., The coachman in charge for bringing the protagonist to Pleasure Island, Keegan-Michael Key (“The Predator”) as thief João Honesto and Lorraine Bracco (“Rizzoli & Isles”) as a seagull named Sofia, created especially for the film. Finally, boy Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (“The Haunting of Bly Manor”) is the original voice of Pinocchio in the original dub.
| BEYOND LEGEND – FILMS | VOD *
The Pernambuco animated series broadcast by TV Brasil has become a feature film. Created by Erickson Marinho, Marcos França and Ulisses Brandão, the attraction is aimed at children aged six to nine and has the premise of reviving the main legends of national folklore, such as Saci, Cuca, Curupira and Boitatá, with new clothes – and like children.
The plot of the film explains that a sacred book brings together all these legends and is kept secret and hidden in Brazil’s Heart Mountain, which is revealed only once a year, on October 31, Saci’s day. But the date is forgotten by many Brazilians, who prefer to celebrate Halloween. Taking advantage of this, a trio of American Halloween monsters decides to come to the country with the idea of capturing the secret book and thus “dominate” the Brazilian legends. But by carelessness the book ends up falling into the hands of the boy Lucas, a fan of superheroes, comics and games, who unwittingly becomes responsible for the protection of part of the national folklore.
Directed by Marília Mafé and Marcos França, “Além da Lenda” is Pernambuco’s first animated film and features voiceovers by Gabriel Leone (Lucas) and Hugo Bonemer (Curupira).
* VOD (video on demand) versions can be rented individually on platforms such as Apple TV, Claro TV +, Google Play, Prime Store, Microsoft Store, Vivo Play and YouTube, among others, without the need for a monthly subscription.
Source: Terra
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
