The conceit behind Baby Driver – a getaway driver uses his iPod playlists to drown out his tinnitus, thereby providing the soundtrack to his car chases – is really smart, and works incredibly well: the film sounds as good as it looks, and it looks amazing. If you’re in the mood for an action-packed event with spectacular stunt work, effective CGI, and lots of thrills and spills, it’s a five-star experience – and it’s on Netflix.
Ansel Elgort is the Baby of the title, and while he’s tired of the life he has no choice but to take on one more job from criminal Doc, played by Kevin Spacey. As you’d expect, things promptly go off the rails – it wouldn’t be much of a movie otherwise – and the result was what RogerEbert.com described as “as much fun as you’re going to have in a movie theater this year.” And now you can have the same fun from the comfort of your couch.
Is Baby Driver worth streaming?
Definitely. It’s hard to describe the film without making it sound like an extended movie video, but while it has all the visual flair and excitement of the very best music videos there’s a proper film here too: RogerEbert.com says that “trust me when I say that [director Edgar] Wright doesn’t skimp” on the substance; “there’s enough story and action here to satisfy without the music that drives the film-making… at its core, Baby Driver recalls decades of movies that anchored their narratives on criminals and the art of the car chase.”
But “it’s not just the action sequences that strike a chord,” the Guardian says. “At times the songs serve as an on-the-nose Greek chorus, telling us that Baby has “nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide” as he’s trapped in an arms deal. But it’s when the horns and drums of the Button Down Brass’s Tequila become gunfire, or the madness of Hocus Pocus by Focus drives a breathless chase, that Wright really puts his foot down, with exhilarating results.”
Empire gave the film the full five stars, with Terri White calling it “an awe-inspiring piece of filmmaking… that plays out as a musical through the lens of an action thriller. Sweet, funny and utterly original – you won’t see a film like it this year.”
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The action-comedy romance film Argylle shot to the top of a streaming popularity chart as soon as it reached Apple TV+. It’s spy-vs-spy excitement chock full of celebrities.
Plus, the series Sugar and Franklin drew big audiences on Apple’s streaming service last week, too. These also feature big-name stars in the lead roles.
Argylle is an immediate streaming hit for Apple TV+
Star power attracts attention to movies, and Argylle is packed with big names, including Henry Cavill, Dua Lipais, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson, Bryce Dallas Howard, and many more.
The strategy clearly worked as the film debuted at No. 1 on Reelgood’s list of Top 10 films on streaming during the week ending April 17. Estimates from companies like Reelgood are necessary because streaming services rarely reveal how many people watch their offerings
Argylle, Sugar and Franklin all did well with audiences last week. Photo: Reelgood
The spy thriller turns spy-movie tropes upside down. Apple’s description says:
Elly Conway, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, is the reclusive cat-loving author of a series of bestselling espionage novels about the impossibly glamorous secret agent Argylle (Henry Cavill), who’s on a mission to unravel a nefarious spy syndicate. When Elly, with the help of feline-hating real-life spy Aidan (Sam Rockwell), discovers that her story mirrors the actions of an actual spy organization, a dangerous game of cat and mouse ensues. In order to stay one step ahead of the syndicate’s assassins while also working to prevent a global crisis, these two unlikely conspirators — accompanied by Alfie the cat — find themselves in an adventure story of their own.
The spy-vs-spy fun is ready to stream now. After the film premiered in theatres on February 2, Argylle made its global streaming debut on Apple TV+ on Friday, April 12.
Colin Farrell helps make Sugar popular
Speaking of star power, Colin Farrell’s celebrity helped make Sugar popular. He stars as a private detective searching for the missing granddaughter of a Hollywood magnate, and the Apple TV+ series has stayed near the tops of the charts since it premiered earlier this month.
It’s at No. 4 on Reelgood’s list of Top 10 TV shows on streaming last week.
There’s more the Apple TV+ detective series than name recognition. The official description says:
“Sugar is a contemporary, unique take on one of the most popular and significant genres in literary, motion picture and television history: the private detective story. Academy Award nominee Colin Farrell stars as John Sugar, an American private investigator on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As Sugar tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he will also unearth Siegel family secrets; some very recent, others long-buried.”
Four episodes of Sugar are available now. New episodes will be added on successive Fridays.
Franklin docudrama turns Michael Douglas into a sexy founding father
Legendary actor Michael Douglas has the title role of Franklin, which has surely helped attract audiences. The fact that the series was adapted from a bestseller by Kirk Ellis, who also wrote HBO’s John Adams, which was both popular and showered with awards.
The historical drama is at No. 7 on the Reelgood list of Top 10 TV shows on streaming last week.
As Apple TV+ says:
“At age 70, without any diplomatic training, Franklin convinced an absolute monarchy to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy. By virtue of his fame, charisma and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies, French informers and hostile colleagues to engineer the Franco-American Alliance of 1778 and the peace treaty with Great Britain in 1783.”
Franklin premiered globally on Apple TV+ on April 12, offering the first three episodes to get viewers into the story. There are now four available, with more coming every Friday through mid May.
Watch threes hits and more on Apple TV+
Watching Argylle, Sugar and Franklin plus many other series or films comes with a subscription to Apple TV+. It is $9.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. You can also access it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle.
And Apple’s streaming video service also includes much more, of course. There’s a library of drama, comedies, sci-fi, musicals, children’s shows, nature documentaries, etc.
Mafia Mamma was in so much danger of not working. Its story is borderline nonsense, its acting is as grounded as the International Space Station, and its tone veers from full-on farce to alarming violence to surprisingly erotically charged. And in the end, all of that is why it works so well. This Prime Video comedy movie knows exactly what it’s doing, and what it’s doing is having a big party in Italy with fun jokes, and everyone’s invited – but only if you promise not to take it seriously.
Toni Collette plays Kristin, a classic downtrodden movie wife, who returns from the job where her contributions are ignored to find that her husband is cheating on her, and all just as her son is leaving home. Fortunately(ish), her Italian grandfather has died, and she needs to go to Italy to settle the estate, and that estate turns out to be A Full-on Mob Family.
Do hijinks ensue? You betcha. Do her two bodyguard heavies turn out to be sensitive souls for comedic purposes? Of course. Does she accidentally become good at Mafia-ing? Inevitably. Does that cause her to fall in danger? Naturally. Does she have conversations with Monica Bellucci that are extremely sexually charged for no particular reason? Totally. Is there a part where a man’s eyeball is graphically removed in a scene that is as comical as it is alarming? Unbelievably.
Mafia Mamma is funny because it genuinely means to be, not in the ‘so bad it’s funny’ way – it’s just willing to go the silliest lengths to get there. This is a big broad farce set in beautiful Italian towns and countryside. Go in with the right attitude and it’s a blast, even if it’s not going to become a modern classic on the list of the best Prime Video movies.
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Look, I realise you don’t really need me to tell you that The Matrix is quite a good movie. I’m not going to cover its plotline or praise its cast redundantly. In some ways, this article is just to remind you that if you’re finding yourself lost browsing the many, many options among the best Netflix movies – you can just always choose The Matrix and have a fantastic time.
However, I am informed by men wearing black suits who’ve inexplicably turned up at the TechRadar office that an article needs more than just one paragraph, so I’ll talk about some of the impressive parts of the movie that tend to get overlooked in the face of the awesome action and drama.
The cinematography, by the great Bill Pope, is absolutely astounding. There are so many shots written indelibly into my mind, and I can tell you from stills not only what part of the movie that is, but what comes just before and just after. That’s partly because they’re all so distinct and well-realized as individual pieces, but also due to the second thing I want to mention: the fantastic combination of script, visuals and editing that gives the movie a better flow than basically anything else.
The Matrix is fantastic at moving you from one scene to the next, or between locations in the same scene. It rarely needs establishing shots of locations, because the dialog from the end of one scene makes it so clear what’s coming next that you can just cut to something kicking off – or the sound bleeds from one moment to the next, tying together that these things are linked, even if something has been skipped in the middle. There’s no sense of ‘How did we get here? Who’s that guy?’ You understand that you’ve skipped the shoe leather, you can conclude in half a second who that guy is based on context; The Matrix is all killer, no filler.
In the latest 4KHDR versions with Dolby Atmos, it’s a fantastic showpiece for the best TVs and the best soundbars – you’ve got a swelling score, gunshots and explosions, pouring rain, strange sci-fi sounds, and the forever-effective swoosh of bullet time. If you’ve upgraded your home theater tech recently and haven’t put The Matrix on since you did so, give a go, because it’ll really show off what your new system can do.
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Fans of proper nail-biter flicks probably already know that Heart of the Hunter, the explosive conspiracy thriller from the streamer’s latest collaboration with South African filmmakers, is a huge hit on Netflix. At the time of writing, it’s number one of the English movies chart, racking up 11 million views and nearly 20 million viewing hours.
The movie tells the story of Zuko Khumalo, a man whose mission to save his family escalates into a battle to prevent a corrupt politician from becoming President, and features critically acclaimed character actor Bonko Khoza (Necktie Youth, Collision, The Woman King) in the lead role alongside a who’s who of iconic South African actors.
If that’s whetted your appetite for some tense thriller action, here are three more movies to keep you on the edge of your seat.
The Killer
The Killer is another Netflix hit, topping the streamer’s movie charts when it premiered in November. Directed by David Fincher and starring Michael Fassbender, it’s perhaps not Fincher’s best movie but it’s still a dark and stylish drama with a superb central performance by Fassbender as a killer for hire. Empire Magazine called it “a riveting revenge riot, with gobsmacking levels of film craft and a performance from Michael Fassbender to make your blood run cold.”
Alone
This stripped-back survival thriller takes a simple and perhaps over-familiar premise – a woman becomes the obsession of a terrifying man in a place almost as dangerous as the man hunting her – and delivers an exceptionally tense drama that dispenses with cheap tricks such as jump scares, unreasonably proficient protagonists or far-fetched coincidences: Alone feels real, and that makes it all the more frightening. As Thrillist puts it: “The cat and mouse premise may be somewhat familiar, but the presentation is top-notch. Scary, suspenseful, and altogether compelling.”
Emily The Criminal
You may know Aubrey Plaza from her roles in comedies such as Parks and Recreation, but here she’s playing it straight as a young woman exploring the LA underworld. Thanks to her ever-spiralling debts she’s desperate for cash and soon becomes a scammer, with all the excitement, adrenaline and danger that entails. The Daily Beast loved her performance, saying that “Emily the Criminal is just the latest in a decade’s worth of iconic, perfect, unforgettable dramatic roles for the queen of deadpan”, while Ready Steady Cut writes that “Emily The Criminal is a brilliant piece of art that’s particularly relevant to today’s world. It’s almost terrifyingly realistic and shows how far a person is capable of going when society turns its back on them.”
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Marvel has all but confirmed that Galactus will be the primary villain of its forthcoming Fantastic Four movie.
Today (April 4), the comic book giant ostensibly revealed that the planet-devouring deity would be the big bad of The Fantastic 4, which is set to launch in theaters in July 2025. The apparent announcement was surprisingly shadow-dropped on Marvel’s social media channels, where the Disney subsidiary revealed a brand-new poster depicting Johnny Storm/The Human Torch to celebrate 4-4 Day, aka April 4.
🔥🔥🔥🔥 #TheFantasticFour Celebrate 4-4 Day at: https://t.co/0L6vmfvKPN pic.twitter.com/byRvjcbsNfApril 4, 2024
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Okay, so how does this promotional art confirm that Galactus will feature in Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot? It doesn’t, but the accompanying link to a page titled ‘Future Foundation’ does. Clicking on said link is supposed to take you to a Fantastic Four movie-based page but, at the time of writing at least, viewers have been greeted with a 404 page. However, if you click on the image of the supergroup’s helpful android Herbie, you’ll be redirected to the ‘Future Foundation’ page.
There, fans are welcomed as ‘delegates’ to the aforementioned webpage, which shows five key Fantastic Four-starring comic book issues that appear to be the biggest influences on the team’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) debut. Clicking on each comic book cover opens a new page where you can read said issues for free via Marvel Unlimited.
But I digress. The five issues in question – Fantastic Four #1 and #48 through #50 (all released in 1961) and Fantastic Four: Life Story #1 (published in May 2021) – suggest they’ll not only serve as the introductory inspiration to the group’s MCU arrival, but also that Galactus will by the film’s primary antagonist. Indeed, Fantastic Four issues #48 to #50 make up a three-part arc where Galactus arrives with the aim of consuming Earth to sustain his life force. Standing in his way are the Fantastic Four, who – spoilers – locate a supremely powerful weapon that scares off Galactus and keeps Earth safe from harm.
A Herald of darkness – and a 1960s setting
It’s increasingly likely that The Fantastic 4 will be set in the 1960s. (Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Galactus’ positioning as The Fantastic 4‘s villain-in-chief isn’t a complete surprise. Yesterday (April 3), Deadline reported that a gender-swapped version of The Silver Surfer – one of Galactus’ so-called Heralds (his servants, essentially) – will play a prominent role in the Marvel Phase 5 flick.
Julia Garner, who some readers might know as Ruth Langmore from Netflix‘s Ozark TV show, will portray the character. They’ll reportedly go by the name Shalla-Bal, an existing Marvel character with ties to the Silver Surfer in the comics. It seems, though, that Marvel will retool Shalla Bal as a multiversal iteration of Silver Surfer for the forthcoming movie. If this proves to be the case, it’ll be further proof that The Fantastic 4 is an MCU film that’s largely set in an alternate dimension – a storytelling device that fits into Marvel’s wider multiverse-centric plan for Phases 4 through 6.
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More evidence for this fan theory can be found in Marvel’s tease concerning the influence that Fantastic Four: Life Story will have on the movie’s plot. Indeed, #1 of this multi-comic story is set in the 1960s, which was already teased in The Fantastic 4‘s first MCU poster in mid-February. Considering the iconic quartet have been conspicuous by their absence in the MCU so far – there’s been no mention of them up to this point in any Marvel project – it would make sense that they exist in another universe. My guess? The group’s reality might be destroyed by Galactus and they’ll seek refuge in the MCU, aka on Earth-616, save this world from Galactus (who might follow them through whatever dimensional portal they use to escape), and decide to stay in this realm.
With production finally ramping up on The Fantastic 4 after years of intense rumors, it’s high time we learned more details – concrete or otherwise – about one of the most anticipated Marvel movies in years. Indeed, with Marvel finally confirming its Fantastic Four cast, release date, and new title (also in mid-February), as well as teasing what’ll inspire the superhero film, fans of the beloved superteam are certainly eating well.
It’ll be over a year before The Fantastic 4 is with us. In the meantime, you can watch the group’s other big-screen adventures on Disney Plus.
While CG is still the medium of choice for many of the largest animation studios like Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks, traditional 2D animation still holds the hearts of many, including myself.
However, be it financial pressures, tighter deadlines, or viewers’ preference for the more glossy, finished feel of CG animation, there’s not a lot of mainstream 2D animation these days. Aaron Blaise, a former Disney animator, writer, director, and all-round animation legend, thinks that could be about to change, thanks to more accessible software like Procreate Dreams.
“I think Procreate Dreams could not have come out at a better time,” says Blaise. “The use of CG animation is wonderful; it’s a great tool that allowed a lot of animated filmmakers who didn’t draw to get into the field and create their visions. But I think that the industry has steered away from hand-drawn animation long enough – there’s a big hunger for it now.”
In an interview with TechRadar, Blaise discussed why he’s adopting new and more accessible software for his animation education business and even some of his future works, including a feature-length film.
(Image credit: Aaron Blaise)
Paint with all the colors of the wind
Blaise left Disney in 2007 after having worked on titles like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Aladdin – he also directed Brother Bear. He wanted to continue making films, but on a smaller scale, and his greatest ambition was to transform his over 35-year career into education.
More recently, a key component of that ambition has been Procreate Dreams. Blaise’s business, CreatureArtTeacher, even offers Procreate Dreams-specific workshops. “So many people ask me what software to use, and it’s a no-brainer. If you’ve got an iPad? No-brainer.”
In the run-up to Procreate Dreams’ release, Blaise spent 12 weeks working on a short animation using the software. “One of the biggest compliments and most consistent comments that I got on YouTube was, ‘This reminds me of the old Disney-style animation that I grew up on,’ which was always followed up with, ‘I wish there was more of this.’
“That really gets me excited for the young artists who want to come in, start drawing, and do it the way we used to do it.”
Adding to Blaise’s Procreate Dreams enthusiasm in light of this renewed hunger for 2D animation is its very approachable price – just $19.99 / £19.99 / AU$29.99. “There is no other software out there that does what Procreate Dreams does for the price point, and that to me is probably the biggest selling point,” he says. “We’re just gonna see this surge – and I’m already seeing it across YouTube and TikTok – this wave of new pieces of animation being done in Dreams.”
As a very amateur animator myself, I’ve also been pretty blown away by the Procreate Dreams experience. It’s remarkably robust and powerful but also incredibly flexible and easy to use – aspects Blaise sees huge potential in for newer animators.
Even for a seasoned pro like Blaise, though, Procreate Dreams is plenty powerful, too: “That penguin short I drew – that was before the software was even finished. I did it when a lot of the features weren’t even there yet, but Dreams was still strong enough that I could create all the backgrounds and the animation in about 12 weeks, which is huge for a full piece of animation like that.”
In fact, Blaise sees Dreams as so capable he might just make his next feature-length animation using it. “We’re talking about trying to do feature-length material using Dreams, and we’re really excited about that. We just have to figure out the pipeline.”
One jump ahead of the slowpokes
One of Blaise’s favorite things about Procreate Dreams is how easily it can replicate the experience of traditional, frame-by-frame animation on paper. “With young artists nowadays that is such a nostalgic mystery to them.
“The way I approach animation, even when I’m drawing digitally, is still a very old-school, traditional way as if I’m animating on paper, which Dreams allows me to do,” says Blaise, “I don’t use Lasso Tools and things like that, because I treat it like it’s paper.”
There’s one standout feature Blaise wishes he could have used earlier in his career; Performance mode. “The Performance mode is awesome. You can take a piece of animation, move it around the screen, record that movement, and then you’re done. That saves such an incredible amount of time.”
In fact, Blaise said Dreams’ biggest flaw has more to do with hardware – he’d love to see it on a larger slate: “Apple, if you’re reading this – make a bigger iPad.”
Still, he says, Procreate Deams has done a great job at allowing you to use that space economically, letting you easily switch between editing directly on the timeline and drawing in flipbook mode. ”I don’t know of any other software that does that. They’re really thinking about the artist and the ease of animation.”
(Image credit: Aaron Blaise)
Adventure in the great wide somewhere
For Blaise, the Dreams experience isn’t just exciting in its potential to bring in new animators; having the freedom to move with his artwork is even changing his own lifestyle as an artist.
At the Lightbox art conference in Pasadena, California, last year, fellow artist James Gurney arranged for a few peers, including Blaise, to gather one morning and complete landscape or cityscape paintings of downtown Pasadena. They also added giant creatures into the paintings as a fun illustration exercise.
Blaise, typically confined to his studio space and full setup for animation, was able to partake in a way he’d never be able to without Procreate Dreams. “Just having that portability and being able to animate anywhere, that’s pretty cool. I love that it’s ready to go when the inspiration hits you or if you want to go somewhere and you can’t be in the studio.”
It’s a freedom Blaise sees as central to the future and success of Procreate Dreams, and that freedom extends to the artistic flair of the individual using it. “It doesn’t have to be Disney style; that’s the thing I get excited about. There are so many new fresh ideas coming into the animation world; styles and ways of expression that we’ve never seen before that Dreams is going to allow people to do.”
All that’s left, Blaise says, is to try: “Just get in there and start animating and drawing, learning the basics; the bouncing ball, the stretch and squish exercises, the timing, all of that. Being able to do shots like that in Dreams is incredibly easy.”
“One of the things I love about apps like Procreate and Procreate Dreams is that they are so robust, there are 100 different ways that you can do any one thing. It just depends on what your workflow is, and how you come at it.”
Whether you’re an experienced artist like Blaise or an absolute amateur like myself, Procreate Dreams is one of the most accessible animation apps available, from its low price to the fact its hardware is a general-use tablet and not the pricey purpose-built best drawing tablets.
Samsung has announced that it is launching a movie VOD service for Samsung TV Plus in its home country of Korea, and they plan to work with KT Alpha to bring VOD content to the platform in Korea.
Samsung has said that there will be around 150 titles available by the end of 2023 and that they will be adding about 1,000 titles in 2024, there will be some Christmas movies available soon.
CJ ENM exclusive channels have also been added, so you can enjoy content from CJ ENM channels that are not available in other domestic FAST services, such as ‘Amazing Saturday’, ‘Our Blues’, and ‘Mr. Sunshine’.
Choi Yong-hoon, Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business Division, said, “Considering the diverse tastes of users, we plan to expand VOD to more than 1,000 next year by strengthening content partnerships,” and added, “We plan to continuously improve consumer experience through high-quality content and UI updates.”
Samsung TV Plus is an ad-based free streaming (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV, FAST) service that allows you to enjoy a variety of content for free. You can enjoy content for free by watching ads without paying a monthly subscription fee.
You can find out more details about the Samsung TV Plus and its new movie VOD service over at Samsung at the link below, as yet there are no details on when it will be expanded to other countries.
Source Samsung
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Are you looking for a good comedy movie to watch? If so, you should check out Queens on the Run-on Netflix. Queens on the Run is a new Netflix original Spanish film directed by Jorge Macaya and written by Martha Higareda. The film’s plot focuses on four lifelong friends who decide to take the road trip they’ve been planning since high school. However, what begins as a straightforward road trip becomes a wild adventure. Keep reading to find out more about the film.
‘Queens On The Run’: Story
‘Queens on the Run,’ aka ‘Fuga de Renias,’ is the narrative of four friends who are either married or seeking love. Despite being married, they are presently unhappy in their unions. Four friends, dissatisfied with their mediocre lifestyles, embark on a road trip to complete a bucket list they created when they were younger.
On their impromptu voyage, they encounter both fascinating and dangerous individuals. They are confronted with the truth they have been avoiding, and by the film’s conclusion, they emerge as better people than before.
Cast
Martha Higareda portrays Paty Fenix, the trophy wife of an arrogant and self-absorbed assemblyman, Esteban. Alejandra Ambrosi plays the housewife Marilu Davila, who sacrificed her dreams and aspirations for her spouse and children.
Valeria Vera, who portrays Estrella Solares, is the only unmarried quartet member. She is funky, quirky, and still seeking love. Paola Nunez, who plays Famela Guerra, is a workaholic who disregards her spouse and is desperate to become pregnant. Each character is unique, but when they decide together, it’s as if they share a single consciousness.
