On Demand Weekly

On Demand Weekly spoke with Mark Pellington, director of the new movie on demand, I MELT WITH YOU, starring Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven, Christian McKay and Carla Cugino.

Frustrated by the often long process that comes with getting movies made today, Mark Pellington (GOING ALL THE WAY, ARLINGTON ROAD) resumed shooting music videos and began looking to, as he says, “take the creative process back to a more intuitive place of directorial freedom, and get out and shoot something down and dirty, yet meaningful— quickly.”

“I was looking to make a raw, visceral, music-driven film that expressed where I was in my life,” said Pellington.

Mark Pellington

He returned to a script (inspired by LA GRANDE BOUFFE (THE BIG FEAST)) from a lifelong friend, Glenn Porter, about men who had made an idealistic pact in college in their early twenties, and who are forced to confront the promise they made 25 years later.

“We are both 48, and found ourselves asking where our generation's version of Cassavetes’ HUSBANDS is…

where is the film about

our life experience?”

Pellington says.

Together, they embraced the punk rock spirit of making the film their way and said “fuck it, let’s just do it ourselves,” Pellington recalls.

What transpires is a very dark, raw film. “Rather than provide answers,” offers Pellington, “The film asks a lot of questions about the real life experiences of males. I MELT WITH YOU is about self-examination and connecting with the human soul. It could be from an email. I got an email from a friend I hadn’t heard from in 20 years who saw the film.”

I MELT WITH YOU has a very recognizable cast. It started with Thomas Jane as Richard the teacher and former novelist. The film opens on Jane in the classroom with the “Uncover & Real” lesson written on the chalkboard. Pellington explains writing is the thing Richard can’t do in his life

Thomas Jane & Mark Pellington / I MELT WITH YOU (Magnolia)

They then cast Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven and Christian McKay in the remaining three lead roles. “I needed male actors who had the courage to dig pretty deep, and Rob, Tom, Jeremy, Christian— they just went for it,” said Pellington. As the beginning of film continues, we see the remaining three characters leave their daily lives to embark on their annual reunion.
 

Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe & Jeremy Piven / I MELT WITH YOU (Magnolia)

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: BILLIONAIRE (Gravitas).

BILLIONAIRE
Larry Hillblom, billionaire and founder of DHL, dies in plane crash off his Micronesian island home, and dozens of would be heirs seek to lay claim to his billions.
By Sidney Falco

We’ve all been in the supermarket, glancing at the tabloids and wondering if perhaps, some odd story is remotely true. One of these stories that could have been ripped from the tabloids, yet is true, is the death Larry Hillblom, one of the Founders of DHL. Hillblom died in 1995 in a plane crash off the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, near his home, on the island of Saipan. His body was lost at sea and his death was a mystery to some residents of Saipan. That is the simple part of the story. As Journalist Peter Manso (who covered what transpired after Hillblom’s death) says in the film, “That’s where the trouble starts.” After he died, dozens of would be heirs came forward to lay claim to Hillblom’s fortune.

BILLIONAIRE, directed by Alexis Spraic, is a fascinating story of a Man and his Fortune – I can see why the filmmaker was attracted to such material. Truth is stranger than fiction and this cliché proves true this time around. The film is part documentary, part mystery, and all entertaining. The mystery aspect centers mostly on whether or not a 10-year-old Filipino boy named Larry Jr. is the son of Larry Hillblom. Without getting too deep into the narrative (and some of the various legal complexities), all the elements are there for a ripe Hollywood drama: rich, greedy corporate men taking advantage of the poor; a local, small time Lawyer taking on a big corporation; tampering and destroying of DNA evidence; illicit and questionable sex, all for none other than a few billion dollars.

“Did Larry father Larry Jr.? Why was his Will never updated? And why did he have such an affinity for female virgin prostitutes? Some of those questions, and many others, you will get answers to while watching BILLIONAIRE, but the question I asked myself after the film was over was, who was the real Larry Hillblom? Frankly, you don’t know and I do not think the filmmakers know either. While a truly fascinating story, there is very little humanity in the Larry Hillblom portrayed in BILLIONAIRE, especially once the film’s narrative veers towards the mystery aspect of whether or not he fathered a child (a simple internet search will give you your answer if you do not want to see the film).

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: SLEEPING BEAUTY (IFC Films).

SLEEPING BEAUTY - On Demand
By Amy Slotnick

Beautiful and broke, Lucy (Emily Browning) is a student looking for extra work to make ends meet. Like many before her, she finds the money made in sex work too great to resist. However, this work is atypical, even for a prostitute. The service she works for caters to a wealthy and senior clientele, white haired men who want to fondle her while she is drugged into a deep sleep. Penetration is forbidden, but abuse is not. When Lucy awakes, she remembers nothing, and it seems, at least initially, that she is able to avoid any emotional penetration as well.

The wide shots of Lucy’s slim, naked and limp body being groped by elderly men are soundless and long shots, making the dark urges being enacted seem even more disturbing. Lucy instinctively knows this is unhealthy for her, but her double life continues, while she wonders what is being done while she sleeps. It is the audience who knows more about the horrific details of her life than she does, and it is no fairy tale. We get glimpses of her life outside this job, but none of it is more fulfilling for her. She has a mysterious bond with an alcoholic she calls Birdman, but it is never clear what they mean to each other.

FILMS OF FURY: THE KUNG FU MOVIE MOVIE (Phase 4 Films) premiered on demand November 1st.  Here are 5 Compelling Items About FILMS OF FURY: THE KUNG FU MOVIE MOVIE

5 Compelling Items About FILMS OF FURY: THE KUNG FU MOVIE MOVIE

1. The action-packed martial arts documentary is written by Ric Meyers, who has been inducted into five international Martial Arts Halls of Fame for his extensive body of work in Kung Fu.

2. FILMS OF FURY: THE KUNG FU MOVIE MOVIE premiered at the San Diego Comic Con Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza, which was also hosted by the film’s writer.

3. This film is based Rick Meyers’ book FILMS OF FURY: THE KUNG FU MOVIE BOOK

4. FILMS OF FURY: THE KUNG FU MOVIE MOVIE includes scenes from over two hundred of the greatest martial arts movies ever made

5. This documentary features Kung Fu legends Bruce Lee (Enter the Dragon, Fist of Fury), Jackie Chan (Rush Hour, The Spy Next Door, The Karate Kid, The Forbidden Kingdom), Jet Li (The Expendables, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The Forbidden Kingdom), and Chuck Norris (“Walker, Texas Ranger)
 

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The televised Yule Log on cable is back again this year in SD, HD and 3D via free Video On Demand (VOD). Last winter, cable brought viewers the very first 3D version of the televised Yule Log. This year, the industry adds another element, enabling viewers to easily access the iconic video log online anytime, for free, from the national Movies On Demand website, rentmoviesondemand.com. Now viewers can literally carry the Yule Log into any room in the house, and warm it up with a crackling fire and carols. While the virtual hearth is burning, they can also browse through the hottest movies available instantly via cable’s Movies On Demand (MOD).

Viewers can call up the Yule Log on any computer or mobile device simply by clicking on: http://rentmoviesondemand.com/yulelog

For the second year, many systems are showing the Yule Log in 3D, in addition to High Definition (HD) and Standard Definition (SD). This holiday gift is available for free via Video On Demand (VOD) for digital cable subscribers on Comcast, Cox Communications, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Cablevision/Bresnan and RCN. The service is available now and airs until Jan. 2, 2012 as part of the cable operators’ “free on demand” services. (See list below of exact locations on system lineups, and content availability in 3D, SD or HD.)

Adding to the familiar Yule Log, program distributor iN DEMAND also provides Winter Green*, a snowy, pine forest setting and Snowman*, dressed in top hat, scarf and neckerchief withstanding a windy, snowy storm. These offerings will help viewers get into the holiday spirit, accompanied by traditional carols like Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels Sing and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. *Not in 3D.

While the original televised Yule Log has been airing on broadcast TV since 1966, iN DEMAND’s version for cable viewers was first produced in high definition starting in 2002 and lit up on Video On Demand starting in 2007. The 3D version, which started in 2010, is originally produced exclusively for cable by iN DEMAND using the latest 3D technology. To see the 3D version, viewers need a 3D TV with compatible 3D glasses and an HD set-top box connected according to their system’s specs. The HD offerings were filmed with HD cameras and are presented in 1080i picture and 5.1 sound. The 3D version was produced by Offhollywood Digital using Red 1 cameras and an Element Technica 3D rig.

WHERE TO FIND THIS FREE ON DEMAND HOLIDAY OFFERING ON SPECIFIC MSOs**:

So many movies and so many movie lists of 2011. How could you watch or read them all and yet so many are so similar. Do you need affirmation of the films you may have seen in the theaters already? How about learning about the best films of 2011 you may have missed?

On Demand Weekly's Cynthia Kane and Chris Claro offer their Top 10 Movies On Demand of 2011. Tell us what you think of the their lists or what your #1 movie of 2010 is HERE.

Part I - Cynthia's is HERE.
Part II - Chris's is below.

10. SHUT UP, LITTLE MAN! AN AUDIO ADVENTURE
Matthew Bate’s hilarious and poignant film about unwanted fame and the subculture of pre-Internet tape trading was an entertaining and effective documentary.

9. THE MAN FROM NOWHERE
The violent and kinetic thrill ride from Korean director Jeong –beom Lee was stuffed with dynamic action set-pieces and an amazing performance from child actor Sae-ron Kim

8. BLACKTHORN
The last real man, Sam Shepard, took on the legend of the last real outlaw, Butch Cassidy, in an elegiac film about the final days of cowboys and Indians.

7. THE BIG UNEASY
Humorist Harry Shearer’s fascinating and heartbreaking document of the post-Katrina cover-up by the Army Corps of Engineers. Thoroughly sourced, sincerely conveyed, and absolutely fascinating.

6. BRIGHTON ROCK
Helen Mirren and John Hurt classed up this retelling of Graham Greene’s novel about a killer and the girl he entrances. Set against the birth of the mods/rockers conflict, Rowan Joffe’s film also boasted an intense performance by Sam Riley.

5. CONAN O’BRIEN CAN’T STOP
Behind the scenes with the talk show host on his post-Tonight concert tour, director Rodman Flender’s film was painful, funny, and painfully funny.

4. TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL
Horror clichés were turned on their ear in Eli Craig’s debut film. Stars Taylor Labine and Alan Tudyk were a joy as the harmless hillbillies mistaken for psychos.

Chris's Top 3 of 2011...

Get the latest information about Movies On Demand from On Demand Weekly. Every week we provide the Week’s Top 10 Movies On Demand (MOD).

On Demand Weekly's VOD Spotlight highlights stories from the On Demand industry. Chris Claro interviews U2 drummer turned actor, Larry Mullen Jr. about MAN ON A TRAIN (Tribeca Film). Read our review of the film here.

Larry Mullen Jr. Drums Up Interest On Demand
The drummer from an iconic band talks with On Demand Weekly’s Chris Claro about his cinematic acting debut.

At 50, Larry Mullen, Jr. would appear to have precious few mountains left to scale. Founding member of the internationally acclaimed, universally respected, still-together U2, Mullen has provided the band his steady backbeat for over thirty years. He and his mates have sold over 150 million records, won 22 Grammy Awards, and are esteemed not only for their continued relevance, but their ability to bring light to the world’s ills. But even with all that, Larry Mullen, Jr. had the desire to do something new. The cliché goes that all actors want to be rock stars and all rock stars want to be actors, so just as Elvis, Bowie and Mick did before him, Mullen decided to take a shot at another kind of performance.

The film he chose as his debut, MAN ON THE TRAIN. It’s a remake of the French original, co-starring Donald Sutherland as a lonely professor who befriends a mysterious and taciturn stranger. The two men have a profound effect on each other and the film is an engaging, if obtuse, look at their offbeat friendship. Mullen’s involvement in the project came out of a meeting he had with his friend, the director of the film, Mary McGuckian. Though she encouraged him, Mullen was initially reticent, as he felt acting was “kind of a lead singer thing to do.”

“It’s not a dream a drummer is supposed to have,” Mullen explains. But McGuckian asked Mullen to watch the original MAN ON THE TRAIN, which starred Johnny Halliday, who was considered by some to be the French Elvis. “And he does this film and it’s a hit all over the world,” says Mullen. Halliday’s success acting in the film made Mullen less hesitant about taking the plunge into acting. “I was watching how somebody in your business actually can make that transition without too much embarrassment,” Mullen says.

Mullen was impressed that a novice such as Halliday could score onscreen, and jumped at the opportunity to take a stab at the same role, undaunted by his own lack of training. In fact, Mullen felt that his lack of professional acting skills made performing in the film easier for him. “Having no knowledge or training gave me a get-out-of-jail-free card,” he says, “I couldn’t fall back on technique if I had a problem. I just had to get up and do it again, which I did. Since I didn’t know any better, I wasn’t embarrassed in front of Donald Sutherland.”

Don't know what movie to watch on demand? Let On Demand Weekly help you browse through the New Movies On Demand (MOD) every week.

By Britt Bensen

Movies On Demand Premiering This Week (January 16, 2012)

- THE IDES OF MARCH
- BUCKY LARSON: BORN TO BE A STAR

THE IDES OF MARCH – Premieres January 17

Might I interest you in a film written, directed and starring George Clooney? Okay, so Clooney isn't the lead (he is in that other movie getting Oscar buzz not on demand yet), but just look at the rest of the cast: Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood. The once up-and-comer Ryan Gosling, is now a leading man. He's in interesting films, if not box office bofo (DRIVE, BLUE VALENTINE) and who doesn't love a political thriller. Hoffman and Giamatti are perfectly cast as rival campaign managers. I'd watch a series based on their two characters and the sleeze they would bring to office every four years. Hello HBO, Showtime, AMC? Kudos to whoever brought them on board. Unfortunately they're never on the screen at the same time. But they use the other characters to carry out their needs on the campaign trail.

I'm not crazy about the actual plot IDES revolves around. It missed the opportunity to be an iconic political film with this stellar cast. Clooney includes some impressionable dialogue as potentially pragmatic politician, but his actions belie a more scandalous, manipulative persona. It leaves you less enamored with an idealogue you would want to believe in. A notion we're all too familair with in real life. An idea that refutes any hope for change.

The unfortunate storyline aside, IDES is well acted and worth a rental to just watch these superb actors.
Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood
R, Drama

Same day as DVD.

BUCKY LARSON: BORN TO BE A STAR – Premieres January 17

Adam Sandler continues to astound with the movies he produces. GROWN UPS. JUST GO WITH IT. ZOOKEEPER. JACK AND JILL. And now BUCKY LARSON. Your movie demanding privileges should be revoked if you rent this.
Nick Swardson, Christina Ricci
R, Comedy

Same day as DVD

*Title dates and availability may vary by system. HD not available in all systems.

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The Week's Top 10 Movies On Demand

- Britt Bensen

Each week, On Demand Weekly will List our Top 5 fiilms based on a theme of a top new movie on demand. You can compare your own and share with friends on facebook.

With THE IDES OF MARCH now available on demand, we look at our favorite sports movies.

This Week -  Political Thrillers:

5. ENIGMA
4. THE CRYING GAME
3. THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL
2. THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
1. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962--OF COURSE!)

- Jean Tait


5. THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL
4. THE PARALLAX VIEWS
3. NO WAY OUT
2. SPY GAME
1. THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR

- Chris Claro

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New Movies On Demand - January Preview

New Movies On Demand - January Preview: The Indies

The Top 10 Movies On Demand of 2011 - Part I

The Top 10 Movies On Demand of 2011 - Part II

Watch Movies On Demand on the following Cable Distributors

Brick-and-mortar retail stores continue to cede movie-rental market share, as kiosks and digital-streaming rentals become more accepted by consumers.

Market research company, The NPD Group reports the U.S. consumer rental of movies in DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats fell by 11 percent in 2011, versus 2010,

Nearly one in three paid movie rentals (31 percent)

now come from paid video-on-demand (VOD) options.

Netflix is the dominant provider of paid digital movie rentals, posting a 55% share in the fourth quarter of 2011 (though down from the company’s peak of 59% in Q2 and Q3 ‘11).

“The movie-rental market is clearly undergoing a sea change, as consumers become better equipped to access on-demand and streamed movies and are more comfortable with available delivery options,” said Russ Crupnick, senior vice president, industry analysis for The NPD Group.

“Even so renting physical discs from now-ubiquitous kiosks in grocery stores and other venues has taken the lead as the most popular movie-rental method in the U.S.”

The leaders in the physical-disc rentalsvportion of the home entertainment category continues to change.
 

DONNER PASS tells the story of settlers in 1846 that became snowbound in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and had to resort to cannibalism to survive. Some 150 years later, a group of teens on a snowboard trip discover that the curse of the Donner Party still haunts those mountains when members of their group start turning up not only dead, but half-eaten. Nothing - and no one - is what it seems and history doesn't always stay in the past.
 

1. Based on a true story – In the winter of 1846, George Donner and his Donner Party were stranded in the snow and were forced to resort to cannibalism to survive.

2. The film is directed by Elise Robertson; it is her first feature and she is on a small list of female horror film directors.

3. Horror icon John Kassir, best known for voicing the Crypt Keeper on Tales from the Crypt, has a role in the film.
 

- Britt Bensen

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: THE OTHER F WORD (Oscilloscope Labs).

THE OTHER F WORD

By Chris Claro

Punk rock has always been about rebellion: sticking it to the man, telling society to go to hell, making sure that people just don’t understand, man! At its core, punk is anti-authoritarian, anti-government, anti-establishment, not the environs for such bourgeois pursuits as parenthood – “Father knows best? Father knows nothing!”

But even punks grow up, despite their attempts to the contrary. And no matter how hard they may have moshed or how badly they courted attention with choices in hair, ink, and accessories, punks age just as the rest of us do, and with age often comes the desire for something more fulfilling, something more than where to go eat after a gig. That something, as many of us squares know, is fatherhood.

THE OTHER F WORD, produced by Morgan Spurlock and directed by Andrea Blaugrund Nevins, is a rollicking doc about what happens when punks become parents. Though it sounds like the idea for a bad pilot starring Michael Rappaport and Jason Lee, THE OTHER F WORD is funny, insightful, and even touching, as it plays up the ironic dichotomy of post-40 punkers who need to maintain their bad-ass stage cred even though most of them are toast-making homebodies who find it increasingly difficult to go on tour.

Blaugrund traces the rise of punk in southern California, through the recollections of everyone from Flea to Art Alexakis to Mark Hoppus.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: LOVELESS (FilmBuff).

LOVELESS
With this Peter Pan, it’s not his nose that grows when he is lying
By Adam Schartoff

Andrew (Andrew von Urtz) is a middle aged single New Yorker with a dead-end job. While never explained, the scenes at work could be out of the OFFICE SPACE handbook. Clearly this is an intelligent, reasonably good looking guy, who has never been especially ambitious about much in his life or, if so not for a long while. To take his mind off that, Andrew continues to try to bed a growing pool of age-inappropriate women while the perfect one, his on-again, off again girlfriend Joanna (Cindy Chastain) is right under his nose. Her only flaw seems to be that she adores Andrew.

While Andrew continuously tries to get his screenplay financed —a script that is never explored in this movie— the opportunity of a lifetime literally falls into his lap in the form of the gorgeous Ava (Genevieve Hudson-Price). They meet in a bar late one night after she gets into a brawl with another woman. Andrew pursues Ava for her obvious assets until finally he ends up in her bed. That bed, for better or worse, is in house that Ava shares with her endless supply of swarthy brothers and one painting of their Dad.

One of LOVELESS’s running gags is that all the siblings have an active relationship with the late beloved patriarch, constantly seeking his approval though he is long since deceased. Whether the late father approves or disapproves of Andrew is an ongoing issue which resolves itself with Ava commitment to being in Andrew’s movie and financing it with the family money. It turns out that dead Dad was a real estate mogul.

LOVELESS is the product of filmmaker Ramin Serry (2002’s MARYAM) who based his character, Andrew, on his real-life good friend, von Urtz. If there’s an essential problem with LOVELESS, a character study, it’s that its main character, while not holey unlikeable or unsympathetic, is hard to fathom.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: SENNA (FilmBuff).

SENNA

By Chris Claro

You never know what you’ll get with a sports documentary. Some are overlong and didactic, like HOOP DREAMS or Ken Burns’ BASEBALL. Some, like MURDERBALL and DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS, take you inside an unknown enclave of sports esoterica. Bud Greenspan’s series of Olympic docs offer viewers dizzyingly close-up views of the danger and precision of elite sports. And Leon Gast’s WHEN WE WERE KINGS brought Ali’s charisma and danger to a new generation.

Where Asif Kapadia’s SENNA excels – pardon the pun – is in showing how one sportsman, Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna, captivated and united his home country, even as he was derided by fellow drivers for his showmanship and selfishness on the track.

SENNA has all the hallmarks of a sports film, including an impossibly handsome, flawed hero at its center. Born of privilege outside Sao Paulo, Senna rose from go-cart racing to winning the F1 championship three times. Throughout his racing career, his fan base grew but he alienated his colleagues, none more so that Alain Prost, with whom Senna would have a rivalry that culminated in a controversial crash during the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: GNARR (Focus World).

GNARR

By Chris Claro

The kabuki theatre of American politics has long drawn performers from outside its world to perform on its stage – and, as anyone who’s watched the 7,000 Republican debates held over the last few months can attest, it most assuredly is a stage, so it’s only natural that personalities successful in other arenas would take a shot at running for office. Though writers and actors and folk singers have all made attempts to be elected – some successful, some not – it seems that comics are the ones who are truly drawn to the absurdity and irony of the political system.

In 1968, deadpan Smothers Brothers regular Pat Paulsen got himself on the presidential ballot in a few states and ran a campaign during one of the most tumultuous years in American history. More recently, Howard Stern made a semi-serious bid for governor of New York, dropping out only when he realized he’d be forced to disclose his earnings. And just this year, Stephen Colbert started his own super PAC and outpaced Jon Huntsman in the South Carolina primary.

Which brings us to Icelandic comic – yes, an Icelandic comic – Jon Gnarr. With a resume of sketch and standup, Gnarr decided he could run the city of Reykjavik more competently than the incumbent mayor and declared himself a candidate, feeling that his possession of a commercial driver’s license and his stint as an attendant in a mental hospital gave him the credentials. That seemingly impossible quest is the subject of GNARR, a new documentary directed by Gaukur Ulfarsson.

To face off against the “kleptocracy,” that had been running Reykjavik, Gnarr started the Best Party. Initially, he told the press he wanted the job of mayor so he could make a nice salary and use the city-owned summerhouse. He also promised to have a number of “broads” on his ticket and promised farmers a free night in a hotel room with one of their animals.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: 2ND TAKE (Gravitas).

2ND TAKE

By Sky McCarthy

An emotionally damaged storage facility owner must come to terms with his troubled romantic past in 2ND TAKE. Tom Everett Scott (THAT THING YOU DO, "southland") plays Peter, a one-hit screenwriter who has decided to step out of the Hollywood spotlight in the wake of a personal tragedy. Spending his nights with prostitutes has rendered him incapable of true love, but when a beautiful, young actress-hopeful, Charlie (Sarah Jones, "Alcatraz" and "Sons of Anarchy") steps in to buy a unit, Peter is compelled to help.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: THE TENTS (Gravitas).

THE TENTS

By Sky McCarthy

Calling all fashion lovers! Fashion enthusiasts and pop culture devotees will delight in THE TENTS, directed by James Belzer. From 1994 to Spring of 2010, Bryant Park symbolized a vision of American creativity and brought together a culture of designers under pristine white tents in the middle of Manhattan. This documentary provides an inside look into one of New York City’s most iconic events – New York Fashion Week. From its humble and sporadic beginnings in vacant SoHo lofts to its current location at Lincoln Center, Fashion Week in New York has catapulted the American fashion industry to the forefront of the market.

THE TENTS will be enjoyed not just by lovers of clothes but by New York historians and people interested in the business of brand creation. Through interviews with top designers like Michael Kors, Donna Karan, Zac Posen and more, Belzer brings to life an industry known for its exclusivity. The director also makes the case that young designers who are rarely given a chance in other markets have been able to flourish under the guidance of the CFDA.

Today, New York Fashion Week is more than just the shows. THE TENTS goes beyond the runway to explore how the fashion industry has evolved in the U.S. While youthful looks and beauty reign supreme, it is usually the older clientele purchasing the couture styles. Modern designers must adapt their brand with ready-to-wear and sportswear lines to compete in larger markets.

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: CONCEPTION (Tribeca Film).

CONCEPTION
By Amy Slotnick

Nine romantic couples on the eve of conception. First time, first date. Erotic and neurotic. CONCEPTION shows us vignette-like scenes, immersing its audience into nine separate relationships.

The implications of sex are made relatable and humorous by the a talented cast including Julie Bowen (“Modern Family”),, Sarah Hyland (“Modern Family”), David Arquette (NEVER BEEN KISSED), Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights”) and Alan Tudyk (DODGEBALL).

We follow these couples in various set ups, one on a blind date, another going through fertility treatments. Pairs are shown in long-standing and dysfunctional relationships. Some sex-deprived, others over-sexed. What they have in common is that all are about to conceive, however not intentionally for all.

It’s a cute concept, but the film is weakened by the limitations of its many sketch-like scenes that provide a lack of feeling for any one story in the ensemble. As a result you never get fully immersed in the story, which breezes by at a fast pace and light, comic tone.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: NEON FLESH (Tribeca Film).

NEON FLESH
By Joe Charnitski

The gritty street drama that shines a bright light into the dark corners of crime and punishment has been a part of cinema since the beginning of movies. Warner Bros. built their studio on bold gangster pictures in the 1920’s and 30’s. Many cinephiles would credit Scorsese’s MEAN STREETS for invigorating the genre and spotlighting the common hoodlum over the mafia don. The 1990’s gave us Tarantino, and his many imitators, and just a few years ago the Italian film GOMORRAH received raves for its brazen depiction of modern Italy and the expendable, low-level thugs running its streets.

NEON FLESH is a new Spanish film that forces its way into the canon of down and dirty, rough and tumble, life on the street pictures. Its protagonist, Ricky, a 20-something hustler who’s only know life in the gutters, defines the film’s philosophy in a very early voice-over, which I’ll paraphrase: there are two kinds of people, those selling flesh and those buying. There’s plenty of flesh being sold in this movie, both literally and figuratively, but who’s buying and who’s not? Well, that’s what makes the story worth telling.

Ricky’s mother, Pura, is due to be released from prison any day now. She abandoned Ricky a decade earlier when she was working as a prostitute. Instead of holding a grudge and cursing her name, Ricky anticipates his mother’s release like they’ve always been the best of friends. He even goes to great lengths to save money (earned by selling drugs) and buy her a very special gift: a brothel. Not my first choice on Mother’s Day, but this isn’t your average family.

Ricky recruits his friend Angelito to help him acquire the women, fix up the real estate and get his bar/club/house of ill repute up and running. Angelito warns his young friend that the big boys of the local crime scene aren’t going to be too happy with his attempts to climb out of the gutter and into the upper reaches of perversion for profit. That’s their turf. The kid won’t listen. He’s doing it for Mom after all.

As the plot builds more than one crime boss comes after Ricky and his business, his first encounters with his mother after all of these years are not what he hoped for and he eventually finds himself in the middle of a war of revenge between local police and Chino, an underworld overlord who’s son was killed under suspicious circumstances. By the end, ala PULP FICTION, it’s amazing how everything is connected.