As usual… These aren’t necessarily recommendations. Consider the list more of an FYI – films we’ve talked about on this site, at one time or another, that are now streaming on Netflix, that you might want to check out and see for yourselves.
Without further ado, here’s this week’s list of 5:
Marlon Wayans’ found-footage horror-comedy, A Haunted House, was directed by Mike Tiddes, from a script penned by Wayans and Rick Alvarez.
The official synopsis reads:
In an outrageous send up of the Paranormal Activity movies, The Devil Inside and other “found footage” movies, A HAUNTED HOUSE features young couple Malcolm (Marlon Wayans) and Kisha (Essence Atkins) who have just moved in to their dream house. As they settle in, they quickly find they’re not alone. But it’s not the house that’s haunted, it’s Malcolm’s girlfriend who is possessed by a demon. Malcolm hires everyone from a priest to modern day ghostbusters to rid her of this unwelcome intruder, determined not to let the evil spirit ruin his relationship… or, more importantly, his sex life.
The movie co-stars Essence Atkins and Cedric The Entertainer.
The Anderson Monarchs (named after famed African American opera singer Marian Anderson and Jackie Robinson’s Negro League baseball team the Kansas City Monarchs) is about an all-girls soccer team competing, living, and thriving in an at-risk neighborhood in Philadelphia.
Nominated in 2008 by Sports Illustrated as “Sports Team” of the year, they were also hailed as “the future of American Soccer” in the London newspaper, The Guardian.
The documentary follows two girls, Jlon, age 11, and Kahlaa, age 10, through their formative years from 2009 to 2011.
As the girls grow as soccer players, they learn more about their own abilities. Bodies and minds become healthier, aspirations grow, and new dreams are formed. Barriers start to fall by the side as they become confident in school. Marian Anderson, when asked about the time when she was denied the right to sing in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., replied, “I had no bitterness and I have no bitterness now, because we look for bigger things, and if you’re all right on the inside, you don’t have to worry about things like that”. The Anderson Monarchs, like their namesake Marian Anderson, are making history. By seeking a level playing field, they are changing how they are perceived. They are also setting the stage for other girls far and wide to walk in their footsteps. The real messages of the film are grounded in social justice, the right to be treated equally, and freedom. Most importantly, the film celebrates the rights of young women and the community they are building for themselves as talented athletes, emerging scholars, and leaders. Their remarkable story brings them to a place they only ever imagined in their dreams.
Directed by Eugene Martin, The Anderson Monarchs is now available digitally on iTunes as well as Amazon’s VOD service, for both rental and purchase… and now on Netflix.
Trailer below:
The Hip Hop drama Filly Brown premiered last year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it received favorable reviews, especially for its relatively unknown lead Gina Rodriguez (Our Family Wedding.
Written by Youssef Delara and directed by Delara and Michael D. Olmos, the film also stars Jenni Rivera, Lou Diamond Phillips and Edward James Olmos.
Here’s a full synopsis:
Maria Jose ‘Majo’ Tonorio is a tough LA street poet who spits from the heart. After meeting a talented DJ she cuts her first demo under the guidance of a small time hustler more interested in promoting Majo’s sexuality than her lyrics. Soon a major label and its strong-arm executive come calling. Convinced that a record deal will deliver much needed money for the family, Majo is suddenly faced with some stark choices. Does she accept the deal and turn her back on the friends who got her to the precipice of success or does she let a golden opportunity slip away.
Watch the teaser trailer below.
The cop action/drama Freelancers, stars Curtis “50 Cent“ Jackson, Robert De Niro and Forest Whitaker in a film that sees Fiddy play the son of a slain NYPD officer who, with his two best friends, joins the Police Academy. After graduating, he’s taken under the wing of his father’s former partner, Captain Joe Sarcone (De Niro), and he becomes part of Sarcone’s rogue task force.
Official synopsis reads:
The son of a slain NYPD officer joins the force, where he falls in with his father’s former partner and a team of rogue cops. His new boss, Sarcone, will see if he has what it takes to be rogue through many trials and tribulations of loyalty, trust and respect. When the truth about his father’s death is revealed, revenge takes over him, and he won’t stop until justice has been truly served.
The film, which was co-produced by Jackson under the 10-picture, $200 million agreement that Jackson and his Cheetah Vision production company have with George Furla’s Hedge Fund Film Partners, was directed by Jessy Terrero (Soul Plane).
Trailer for Freelancers follows below; poster underneath:
Michael Jai White and Lynn Whitfield star in Somebody’s Child – a drama which aired on GMC last summer.
Whitfield and White play a terminally ill mother and her son, who let an ex-con into their lives.
Byron Minns (as the ex-con), Nadine Ellis and Clifton Powell round out the cast.
The script, penned by Siddeeqah Powell, was a finalist in the 2011 American Black Film Festival’s GMC Faith and Family Screenplay Competition.
Production took place in Wilmington, NC, with Gary Wheeler directing.
Watch a trailer below:
