2 ‘Weird’ movies in September on Hulu

2 ‘Weird’ movies in September on Hulu

Plenty of stuff to choose from

Streaming is great! All digital platforms that supply us with thousands of feature films, TV shows, concerts, documentaries and whatnot flood us with the choice of entertainment that we could not have dreamed of merely a few years back. All tastes are catered for; starting from old classics that used to be mostly available on wrinkled VHS tapes only later replaced with “remastered” digital versions, and finishing with the latest productions issued in 4K quality and the sound that would embarrass some movie theaters even today.

Time to download: 5 days, 11 hours and 47 seconds…

In the past, people used to hunt for individual movies that were either extremely popular or extremely difficult to come by. The heydays of torrents and P2P downloads were also marked by particular titles buzzing back and forth from one user to another. All that changed with the dawn of streaming which, first and foremost, got rid of the nuisance of waiting for your movie to finish downloading (often with the result of many hours of waiting only to see that you just downloaded some crappy old porn) and, secondly, opened the possibility of practically unlimited real-time watching with no lags and strange surprises.

A wind of change

Consequently, all of the sudden it was all about series. Things that were once aired on some TV channels and gone forever (with occasional replays) became available for watching anytime and anywhere. Something that was unthinkable not too long ago became reality – you could watch entire seasons at one go thus giving birth to binge watching.

The fall of real cinema?

Does the expansion of series binge watching really mean that the times of blockbusters and evergreen classics are gone? Hopefully not. And quite unlikely too. I find it hard to believe that hardcore movie fans will simply turn to watching dozens of episodes a day (or a night for that matter) and forget about true one-off masterpieces that are worth revisiting no matter how many new episodes of some series were shot in the meantime (no offense meant for binge-watchers, of course).

Solution for all

No matter whether you are a binge watching fan or a classic moviegoer (or perhaps both), such platforms as Hulu give you the possibility to see whatever you want, whenever you want and however you want it. The time, place and the device to watch your favorite piece no longer matters.

Not only blockbusters

In the Summer/Fall season, Hulu offers a wide selection of really spectacular movies with such titles as Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Terminator Genisys, Interstellar and Noah to name just a few. September will also enrich the Hulu catalog with such titles as American Psycho (both parts), The Ides of March, Leaving Las Vegas or first two instalments of Bridget Jones (with the third one – Bridget Jones’s Baby to be coming to cinemas on 16 September). However, the problem with very popular movies is that they are, well, very popular. What it normally means is that we all have seen them, sometimes more than once. Most of those films are, in fact, worth revisiting anyway but we might as well try to turn to more niche-like productions. Oftentimes, they are films that we heard of, that someone once recommended to us but somehow we never got around to watching them or the ones from the I-always-wanted-to-see-it category.

A very subjective choice of two ‘weird’ movies that are worth watching

Out of all the movies coming to Hulu in September, here’s a shortlist of two films that earned their reputation not so much by their stunning visual effects or multi-million-dollar paycheck of the lead actor but due to their unique character and a ‘cult’ status. You will also find some interesting behind-the-scenes details connected with those productions.

1984-movie-bb_a1

1984

Much as the title itself may not be known to general public, its main, overwhelming villain – Big Brother – is recognizable by almost everybody. The movie is based on Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell’s dystopian novel written in 1948 presenting life in a superstate Oceania (formerly known as Great Britain) which is ruled by all-pervading government and stained by public manipulation, total surveillance and absolute control of what people do and think.

Storyline touch (no spoilers)

The year is 1984, which is future from the author’s perspective. And it is a gloomy future. After the atomic apocalypse, the entire world is divided into three states which are at unceasing war with each other. Oceania is a totalitarian superstate under the constant supervision of the Thought Police and the Party’s supreme figurehead – Big Brother. Winston Smith works in a small cubicle at the Ministry of Truth and his major task is rewriting history according to current propaganda needs of the Party. Haunted by painful memories of his mother and restless desires, he writes a secret diary with his private, or at least that’s what he believes, thoughts.

His life takes a major twist when he falls in love with Julia, a young, bold activist. This illicit affair, forbidden in emotionally deprived world leads them to the plans of escaping from omnipresent surveillance. But who can really escape?

Cast & Crew

The film stars John Hurt as Winston Smith, Richard Burton as O’Brien (a top Party official) and Suzanna Hamilton as Julia. The film was written for screen and directed by Michael Redford.

Production and filming

The film was actually made and released in 1984. Many scenes were shot on actual dates mentioned in Winston’s diary. The shooting locations were also very true to the settings imagined by George Orwell. The film was originally planned to be shot in black and white but Virgin Films, the production company bankrolling the movie, opposed the idea. Instead, the film was shot in so-called bleach bypass technique to create a distinctive, washed-out look. The movie is one of very rare examples of this technique applied to release prints.

Trivia

One of the interesting controversies surrounding the film was the use of Eurythmics music instead of already written orchestral score by Dominic Muldowney. Virgin Films insisted on more commercially viable option. Muldowney’s score was finally released in 1999 to commemorate the film’s 15th anniversary.

Reception

Generally considered as “not an easy film to watch”, 1984 received good reviews winning several British film awards. Amazing film’s production design with Roger Deakins’s cinematography, backed with a very good performance of John Hurt in portraying a dramatic role of Winston makes the movie outstanding and definitely worth watching.

clerks-1994Clerks

The director of the movie, Kevin Smith, is well known to almost every film fan as Silent Bob present in the series of movies featuring a famous combo of Jay and Silent Bob. Clerks is his feature film debut, shot in black and white (due to the film’s shoestring budget) and is the first movie to feature the famous duo.

Storyline touch (no spoilers)

It’s not Dante Hicks’s best day. He’s a 22-year-old clerk in a small convenience store in Leonardo, NJ. It is his day off. Until he finds out that he has to come to work and cover for another employee who is sick. Being sure that his life is a string of failures and down endings, this day is just another proof that he’s right. To make things worse, security shutters are jammed, his high school love is engaged to be married, and his current girlfriend stopped bringing him home-made lasagna… There’s only one way to spend such a day – endless conversations with Randal Graves – a reckless slacker who works at the next-door video store.

Dante is annoyed with customers and a pair of drug dealers outside his store and the range of conversations and weird events bring the two to a fight. Can he handle it?

Cast & Crew

Brian O’Halloran as Dante Hicks, Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves and, of course, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith as Jay and Silent Bob.

Production and filming

Kevin Smith practically helped to finance the movie by selling off his comic collection, borrowing money from his parents and maxing out his credit cards. It was shot in the store where he actually worked. As he was allowed to shoot only outside of business hours, the shot for 21 straight nights giving Kevin one or two hours of sleep a day before he opened at 6 AM. This also explains the trick with security shutters being closed. At the end of the filming, Kevin Smith was so tired that he could barely deliver his lines.

Trivia

Although the film does not actually depict any violence, it was originally given NC-17 rating (later changed into R) due to graphic dialogs.
Out of 50 actors credited, 48 made their first time ever appearance on screen. Some of them became regular faces in Smith’s consecutive movies. For some, it was a one-off adventure with movies.

Reception

The film received surprisingly good reviews mostly due to brilliant and witty dialogs and authentic, if a bit exaggerated, depiction of middle-class life. Despite its black and white formula, the movie is considered a cult classic. It was followed by Clerks II and will possibly be followed by Clerks III – the final instalment announced by Kevin Smith as the best film he’ll ever make!

These are just two suggestions out of vast Summer/Fall catalog of movies and shows offered by Hulu. The complete list of what’s coming and leaving the platform can be found below.

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(Note: Titles with an * are available with a Showtime)

Available September 1
Uncle Grandpa: Complete Season 2 (Cartoon Network)
1984 (1985)
2001 Maniacs (2005)
American Psycho (2000)
American Psycho 2 (2002)
At Close Range (1986)
Autopsy (2008)
Body of Evidence (1993)
Borderland (2007)
Breakheart Pass (1976)
The Broken (2008)
Buried (2010)
Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations (2009)
Code of Silence (1985)
Crazy Eights (2006)
Crocodile Dundee (1986)
Crocodile Dundee II (1988)
Dark Ride (2006)
The Deaths of Ian Stone (2007)
The Devil Inside (2012)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Double Jeopardy (1999)
Dying Breed (2009)
Eight Men Out (1988)
Fido (2007)
The First Wives Club (1996)
Four Feathers (2002)
The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981)
From Dusk till Dawn (1996)
From Within (2009)
Fun Size (2012)
Futureworld (1976)
Get Shorty (1995)
Hair (1979)
Happily N’Ever After (2006)
Happily N’Ever After 2 (2009)
Heaven’s Gate (1981)
The Honkers (1972)
The Ides of March (2011)
Imagine That (2009)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Jeff Who Lives at Home (2012)
Lake Dead (2007)
Larger Than Life (1996)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Like Water (2012)
The Mechanic (1972)
The Messengers (2007)
Mr. Majestyk (1974)
Mulberry Street (2007)
Night Falls on Manhattan (1997)
Nightmare Man (2006)
Offspring (2009)
The Others (2001)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Red Corner (1997)
Red Dawn (1984)
Reincarnation (2007)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Saved! (2004)
Scary Movie 2 (2001)
Scary Movie 3 (2003)
The Secret Of N.I.M.H. (1982)
Slaughter (2009)
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
The Thaw (2009)
Theater of Blood (1973)
Unearthed (2007)
United States of Leland (2004)
Voices (2008)
The Wood (1999)
Young Adult (2011)

Available September 2
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)

Available September 3
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)
Forsaken (2015) (*Showtime)

Available September 5
Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood: Season 5 Premiere (VH1)

Available September 6
Inside the NFL: Season Premiere (*Showtime)
A Season with Florida State Football: Season Premiere (*Showtime)

Available September 7
Unlocking the Truth: Season 1 Premiere (MTV)

Available September 9
Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction (2006)
Martin Lawrence: Doin’ Time Uncut: Premiere (*Showtime)

Available September 10
Knock Knock (2015)
W. (2008)

Available September 11
The Circus: Season 1 Premiere (*Showtime)
La Banda: Season 2 Premiere (Univision)
Masters of Sex: Season 4 Premiere (*Showtime)

Available September 12
Drillbit Taylor (2008)

Available September 13
Dancing with the Stars: Season 23 Premiere (ABC)
El Color de la Pasion: Series Premiere (Univision)
Ink Master: Season 8 Premiere (Spike)

Available September 14
Rica Famosa Latina: Season 4 Premiere (Univison)
South Park: Season 20 Premiere (Comedy Central)

Available September 15
Blindspot: Season 2 Premiere (NBC)
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)
Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)

Available September 16
Guns N’ Roses – The Most Dangerous Band in the World: Documentary Premiere (*Showtime)
Stop-Loss (2008)

Available September 17
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years (2016) (Hulu Documentary)
Captive (2015)

Available September 18
The Challenge: Season 28 Premiere (MTV)
Ray Donovan: Season 4 Finale (*Showtime)

Available September 20
Gotham: Season 3 Premiere (FOX)
Lucifer: Season 2 Premiere  (FOX)
The Good Place: Series Premiere (NBC)
The Voice: Season 11 Premiere (NBC)
Serena (2016)

Available September 21
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 4 Premiere (FOX)
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Season 4 Premiere (ABC)
New Girl: Season 6 Premiere (FOX)
Scream Queens: Season 2 Premiere (FOX)
This is Us: Series Premiere (NBC)

Available September 22
Black-ish: Season 3 Premiere (ABC)
Chicago Med: Season 2 Premiere (NBC)
Chicago P.D.: Season 4 Premiere (NBC)
Designated Survivor: Series Premiere (ABC)
Empire: Season 3 Premiere (FOX)
The Goldbergs: Season 4 Premiere (ABC)
Law & Order Special Victims Unit: Season 18 premiere (NBC)
Lethal Weapon: Series Premiere (FOX)
Modern Family: Season 8 Premiere (ABC)
Speechless: Series Premiere (ABC)

Available September 23
Grey’s Anatomy: Season 13 Premiere (ABC)
How to Get Away with Murder: Season 3 Premiere (ABC)
Notorious: Series Premiere (ABC)
Pitch: Series Premiere (FOX)
Rosewood: Season 2 Premiere (FOX)
Superstore: Season 2 Premiere (NBC)
Sicario (2015)

Available September 24
Caught on Camera with Nick Cannon: Season 3 Premiere (NBC)
The Exorcist: Series Premiere (FOX)
Hell’s Kitchen: Season 16 Premiere (FOX)
Last Man Standing: Season 6 Premiere (ABC)
Shark Tank: Season 8 Premiere (ABC)
Heist (2015)
Available September 25
Robot Chicken: Complete Season 8 (Adult Swim)

Available September 26
Bob’s Burgers: Season 7 Premiere (FOX)
Family Guy: Season 15 Premiere (FOX)
The Last Man on Earth: Season 3 Premiere (FOX)
Loosely Exactly Nicole: Series Premiere (MTV)
Mary + Jane: Series Premiere (MTV)
Once Upon a Time: Season 6 Premiere (ABC)
Quantico: Season 2 Premiere (ABC)
Ridiculousness: Complete Season 7 (MTV)
Secrets and Lies: Season 2 Premiere (ABC)
The Simpsons: Season 28 Premiere (FOX)
Son of Zorn: Series Premiere (FOX)

Available September 30
Wolf (2014)

**Here’s the list of movies leaving Hulu in September:

September 18
The 100 (CW)
Arrow (CW)
Beauty and the Beast (CW)
Containment (CW)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW)
Dc’s Legends of Tomorrow (CW)
The Flash (CW)
iZombie (CW)
Jane the Virgin (CW)
The Originals (CW)
Reign (CW)
Supernatural (CW)
Vampire Diaries (CW)

September 30
Disturbing Behavior (1998)
Wicker Park (2004)
Clerks (1994)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

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