As usual… These aren’t necessarily recommendations; consider it more of an FYI – films we’ve talked about recently that are streaming on Netflix, that you might want to check out for yourselves.
As with last week’s list, the films on this week’s list were all released in the last year, and only recently became available on Netflix to stream. So you’re getting newer titles here.
But without further ado, here’s this week’s list of 5:
1 – Sheldon Candis’ feature film debut, LUV, which made its debut at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in the dramatic competition section, stars Common and Michael Rainey Jr.
Indomina Entertainment acquired the film after its Sundance premiere, and opened it in a limited theatrically in the USA on January 18th, 2013.
It was also picked up by BET for its eventual TV debut.
The film’s official synopsis reads:
An orphaned 11-year-old boy is forced to face the unpleasant truth about his beloved uncle during one harrowing day in the streets of Baltimore.
Dennis Haysbert, Danny Glover, Michael K. Williams, Meagan Good and Charles S. Dutton also co-star.
Trailer embedded below:
2 – A feature documentary from Image Entertainment and One Village Entertainment, based on a story that’s said to have initiated one of the most expansive DEA investigations in USA history.
The synopsis for BMF: The Rise and Fall of a Hip-Hop Drug Empire, reads:
BMF explores the story of the 15-year investigation by the DEA, FBI and an elite drug task force called HIDTA that resulted in 41 defendants across the country being charged in one of the largest drug conspiracy cases ever. The film is a tale that combines the story of a criminal syndicate that lived on a code of honor and conduct that rivaled any of the five Mafia families, and ended just as dramatically under a hailstorm of government informants, wiretaps and surveillance that ultimately caused the downfall of the Hip-Hop Drug Empire.
For those unfamiliar, the Black Mafia Family (BMF), was a drug cartel that was created in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1980s, by Demetrius “Big Meech” and Terry Flenory. Over the following decade or so, their organization grew into a hugely successful nationwide enterprise.
Soon after, they began to use their financial gains to branch out into other businesses, creating a hip-hop music label called BMF Entertainment, promoting the careers of a few artists, some fairly well known, like Young Jeezy, Slim Thug and Fabolous.
But the castle they built all came crashing down in the mid-2000s, when they were busted, indicted and convicted on charges of running a notorious criminal enterprise that allegedly grossed over $270 million during the period of its existence. Both brothers were sentenced to prison for 30 years to life. Other members of their organization would also face jail sentences.
Trailer for the doc below:
3 – As announced earlier last year, Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin purchased the remake rights to Brooklyn Castle, the documentary that premiered at SXSW last year, where it won the audience award for best documentary.
I was there; I saw it; I loved it.
But before that scripted remake happens, you can watch the original documentary film, which was released in a limited theatrical run last fall, via Producers Distribution Agency (part of Cinetic Media).
Brooklyn Castle (directed by Katie Dellamaggiore) is a documentary about I.S. 318, an inner-city public school that’s home to the most-winning junior high school chess team in the country. But a series of deep public school budget cuts now threaten to undermine its hard-won success.
Trailer for Brooklyn Castle:
4 – It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year; HBO later acquired US TV rights and aired Sing Your Song, the Harry Belafonte documentary-styled biopic, which covers his life as an actor and an activist, on October 17th.
It got an official theatrical release, opening at NYC’s IFC Center, before traveling to other cities around the country, including San Francisco; Santa Fe, NM; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA and others, grossing just under $50,000 in total.
If you missed its HBO airing, and its theatrical run, or you just want to see it again, Sing Your Song is now on Netflix.
Trailer follows below:
5 – Djimon Hounsou and Diane Kruger star in Special Forces, an action film directed by Stéphane Rybojad, which centers on a French special forces team in Afghanistan, sent on a rescue mission to save a kidnapped news reporter.
Benoît Magimel, Denis Ménochet, and Raphaël Personnaz round out the cast.
The film is now available for streaming via Entertainment One Films.
Trailer embedded below:
