News

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen)

Move over, Sandra Bullock—there’s a new Bird Box in town. The only film to have collected prizes at both Sundance and Cannes, Shaunak Sen’s taut, tender documentary has a healing power that’s sourced straight from its subjects: two brothers in Delhi who have devoted their lives to saving the Black Kite—a majestic, medium-sized, hypercarnivorous raptor of the air—from going extinct in Delhi’s fatally-polluted skies. Set to the backdrop of India’s rising social turmoil and Islamophobia, the threatened and neglected state of this bird reflects the brothers’ reality in a place that doesn’t fully recognize their humanity. But that doesn’t stop them from operating. It seems nothing can.

For actors, the biz of showbiz involves selling yourself to both the public and the industry at the same time. Packaging your persona and your talent as a "brand" or "type" can lead to the dreaded type-casting problem, of course. Yet it's a necessary evil, a way to get the job by proving you can already do the job.

Throughout his career, Jack Lemmon became known as a consummate comic actor: an affable, lovable everyman who had impeccable timing and was a master of character-based humor, picking up the baton from folks like Cary Grant and Bob Hope and paving the way for people like Gene Wilder and Ben Stiller. His association with director Billy Wilder resulted in comedy masterpieces such as "Some Like It Hot" and "The Apartment," and together with Walter Matthau he made the definitive version of "The Odd Couple."

Yet Lemmon would also, on occasion, demonstrate his massive range,...

Awards

The upcoming “2021 MTV EMAs” have unveiled a second group of artists set to perform during the Nov. 14 ceremony, including Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, Yungblud, Griff and Girl in Red. Sheeran recently tested positive for Covid-19, and was cleared to perform on “Saturday Night Live” after serving a quarantine period.

This year Sheeran is nominated for five awards, and will be performing at the awards for the third time. In 2015 he performed and hosted the awards in Milan after performing the year before when the ceremony was held in Glasgow.

Imagine Dragons, nominated for two prizes this year, make their second trip to the Ema stage this year. The group released their fifth album “Mercury – Act 1” earlier this year, and will perform their new single “Enemy” from the record with an appearance from rapper J.I.D.

Yungblud, nominated for best alternative, is performing at the EMAs for the second year in...

All but inventing the ‘new liberal exposé’ suspense format, James Bridges’ smart and effective thriller began as a star showcase with a political message. Its fictional nuclear accident hit screens just before a similar real nuclear accident happened in real life, at Three Mile Island. Historical synchronicity? Box office serendipity? One thing is certain — the show strongly affected the way we view the ‘miracle’ of nuclear-generated power.

The China Syndrome

Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator (UK)

1979 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 122 min. / Street Date June 18, 2017 / Available from Amazon UK £14.99

Starring: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, James Hampton, Peter Donat, Wilford Brimley, Richard Herd, Daniel Valdez, Stan Bohrman, James Karen, Michael Alaimo, Donald Hotton.

Cinematography: James Crabe

Film Editor: David Rawlins

Production Design: George Jenkins

Written by James Bridges, Mike Gray and T.S. Cook

Produced by Michael Douglas

Directed by James Bridges

In 1979 Saturday Night Live was the hottest ticket on television; we were...