On Demand Weekly

The Movies On Demand MOD November Preview of The Indies has arrived. Highlights of the new release schedule for November, 2011 include SARAH’S KEY, ANOTHER EARTH and THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE. People who missed these highly-regarded titles can catch them on demand in November.

Almost every indie new release listed comes to Movies On Demand either before or the same day as DVD.

Enjoy On Demanding this month!


Indie Titles:

BELLFLOWER – Premieres November 1
R, Action
Evan Glodell, Jessie Wiseman

Weeks before DVD, Netflix and Redbox


SLEEPING BEAUTY – Premieres November 1
TV-MA, Drama
Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie

Before theatrical release


SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN – Premieres November 1
PG-13, Drama
Gianna Jun, Li Bingbing

Same day as DVD, Weeks before Netflix and Redbox


I MELT WITH YOU*** – Premieres November 4
R, Drama
Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven

Before theatrical release


ATLAS SHRUGGED: PART I – Premieres November 8
PG-13, Drama
Taylor Schilling, Grant Bowler

Same day as DVD, Weeks before Netflix and Redbox


PETE SMALLS IS DEAD – Premieres November 11
TV-MA, Comedy
Mark Boone Junior, Steve Buscemi, Seymour Cassell, Peter Dinklage, Rosie Perez, Tim Roth

Before theatrical release

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN (Millennium), starring Kate Hudson is available now On Demand before in theaters on May 4, 2012

A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN
By Amy Slotnick

It is hard to make cancer funny. Many have tried -- 50/50, WHEN GOD SAID HA! and THE BIG C, come to mind. Like those, A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN, the new film from director Nicole Kassel and screenwriter Gren Wells, succeeds with bringing levity and romance to a serious, and frightening subject.

Kate Hudson plays Marley Corbett, a successful, wildly funny and flirty advertising exec. Besides a few friends and a loyal bulldog, she lives a workaholic lifestyle, with one-night stands being a matter of course, along with regular breakfasts of Pepto Bismol. Emotions and commitment are generally kept at an arms length. So when Marley learns she has advanced stage colon cancer, it is not surprising that at first she attempts to hide and laugh at it, in order to avoid the grave meaning at all costs.

Marley’s doctor, played by Gael Garcia Bernal, is unable to resist her charm and their chemistry emerges, even when Hudson is made to look pale and drained from treatments. It takes Marley longer to open herself up to love, but when she finally does, she is all in, embracing feelings of joy along with her physical pain.

On Demand Weekly provides new reviews of hot movies and shows on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: “GAME OF THRONES.”

In the annals of television history, there are only a few shows that years from now people will still be talking/obsessing about: “The X-Files”, “Lost,” and, I believe, “Game of Thrones.” It’s a fantasy, but with gritty realism. It’s a good vs. evil story, but no one character is all good or all evil. And happily-ever-afters keep getting snatched away as quickly as a dragon can barbeque and eat a fish.

As the show’s popularity grows, the producers, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, while trying not to get expectations too high, have admitted that Book 3 of the A Song of Ice and Fire series was the one they most looked forward to filming. Season 3 will cover roughly the first half of Book 3, A Storm of Swords. Their love of the material really shines in this season. It must be love to make anyone tackle four different countries for the shooting. The locations (Northern Ireland, Croatia, Morocco, and Iceland) are stunning. The visuals are even lusher than before. Ditto the costumes and special effects: Dragons (!) flying, fishing, fire-breathing and cuddling up to their mommy making little purring noises! Line up the technical Emmys again.

Usually, when one starts raving about sets and costumes, it is because the writing and performances are weak. That is so not the case here. The dialogue is delicious, especially as spoken by the incredible cast. Listening to Peter Dinklage (Tyrion), Lena Heady (Cersei), Nicholas Coster-Waldau (Jaime), Gwendolyn Christie (Brienne), Conleth Hill (Varys), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Rose Leslie (Ygritte) and new this season, the inimitable Diana Rigg (Olenna Tyrell) snark is as delightful as having tea with a roomful of Maggie Smiths.

Although it is a game, it is not all fun. We’ve still got the White Walkers and Wildings in the North, Joffrey in King’s Landing, and the House of the Undying is sending assassins for Daenerys as she attempts to engage an army in Astapor on Slavers Bay. Bran and Rickon are still heading for the Wall, aided by Hodor and Tonks, I mean Osha, and they will be joined by the mysterious Jojen and Meera Howland. Brienne is still fighting to bring Jaime to King’s Landing to exchange for Sansa and Arya, and Arya is struggling to get anywhere that’s safe. The King of the North, Robb Stark, has an inconvenient love for his new wife which means he has broken his vow to the nasty Frey family, while his grandfather, Hoster Tully is dying.

(If that is too much to keep track of, watch Seasons 1 and 2 on HBO on Demand and/or read the books—highly recommended!)

The first episode begins where the last episode of Season 2 left off, North of the Wall. Poor, craven Samwell Tarly is trudging fearfully along in the snow when he comes upon someone dressed in black. Is it a fellow Nights’ Watch brother or a White Walker? No spoilers here, but for book readers two big disappointments. Then the opening credits (in my opinion, the finest on television). Neat additions are Dragonstone and Astapor and the smoking effect on Winterfell.