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Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Claudia Puig and Andy Klein review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” Wide Release

“Poolman” In Select Theaters

“Summer Qamp” Laemmle Glendale [Glendale]

“Power”  Laemmle Monica Film Center [Santa Monica]| Streaming On Netflix May 17 

“The Last Stop in Yuma County” In Select Theaters

“Living With Leopards” Streaming On Netflix

“The Roundup Punishment” Wide Release

“Force Of Nature: The Dry 2” In Select Theaters

“The Image of You” VOD

“Lazareth” VOD

“Mother of the Bride” Streaming on Netflix

 

Saturday Night Live over the decades has served as a building block for comedians, using that platform as a way to get your name out there and eventually spin their popularity into other ventures. One of the earliest, and most iconic cases, being the American Classic that SNL alums Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi created with “The Blues Brothers.” A new book, by writer and journalist Daniel de Visé, gets into how Aykroyd and Belushi’s kinetic, comedic energy was spun into a just as entertaining production process. Along with the film’s influence on pop culture humor, it also shares how the film’s appreciate of blues music is best encapsulated by its soundtrack and appearances by Aretha Franklin and James Brown.

For this week’s FilmWeek feature, we talk to Daniel de Visé, author of “The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the making of an American Film Classic” about what he was able to uncover from revisiting this film the captured a special moment in American film and comedy.

“I Saw The TV Glow,” the new film by second-time director Jane Schoenbrun, is a story they consider their most personal. The story follows the character Owen, over multiple decades of their own life, re-visiting their identity through the help of an old friend named Maddy. The film brings together elements of childhood nostalgia and horror in this fictional story of one kid who feels different from everyone else in this small town.

Today on FilmWeek, Larry sits down with the film's lead actor, Justice Smith, and its director Jane Schoenbrun, getting into the film’s exploration of identity and dysphoria.

 

‘I Saw The TV Glow’ is now in theaters, check your local listings.

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Lael Loewenstein and Peter Rainer review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.

“The Fall Guy” Wide Release

“Unfrosted” Streaming on Netflix

“I Saw The TV Glow” Wide Release

“Wildcat” AMC Century City 15 [Century City] | Vidiots [Eagle Rock] May 4th 

“Blood in Blood Out (1993)” Streaming on Hulu

“Nowhere Special” Landmark Pasadena Playhouse [Pasadena] | Laemmle Royal [Sawtelle] | Laemmle Glendale [Glendale] | Regency Agoura Hills Stadium [Agoura Hills] | Laemmle Claremont [Claremont] 

“The Idea of You” Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

“Evil Does Not Exist” Wide Release

“Who is Stan Smith?”  Landmark Nuart Theater [Sawtelle] | Expands to Laemmle Town Center [Encino] | Laemmle Monica Film Center [Santa Monica] | Laemmle Glendale [Glendale] May 10

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Tim Cogshell and Andy Klein review this weekend’s new movie releases in theaters, streaming, and on demand platforms:

“Challengers” Wide Release 

“Boy Kills World” Wide Release 

“Egoist” Wide Release

“Bad Faith” VOD 

“Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story” Laemmle Glendale [Glendale] April 26th | Streaming on PBS May 13

“Uncropped” Laemmle Royal [Sawtelle] on April

“Little Empty Boxes” Laemmle Monica [Santa Monica] April 26 | Laemmle Royal [Sawtelle] April 28

“Humane”  The Alamo Drafthouse [DTLA] April 26th

“ALAM” VOD

“Infested” Streaming on Shudder 

One of the most prolific and exceptional filmmakers who ever lived, Akira Kurosawa has an anniversary for his best works. His 1954 film “Seven Samurai” has now hit its 70th anniversary, released on April 26. It’s a film that was voted the 20th best film of all time by prominent members of the film industry who took part in BFI’s Top 225 list back in 2022. ‘Seven Samurai’ followed hits in Kurosawa’s filmography like “Rashomon” and “Yojimbo’... but what’s led to that common sentiment?

For this week’s FilmWeek Feature, we talk to LAist film critics Peter Rainer, Tim Cogshell, and Andy Klein about why Seven Samurai is essential viewing for cinephiles and all moviegoers.