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Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

The Beekeeper (David Ayer)

It’s the time of year for smooth-brained relaxation. Moviegoers can recover from the holidays with the comfort of knowing Gerard Butler, Liam Neeson, or Jason Statham will be here to satisfy their mid-budget, action-programmer needs. Is it really the new year if one of those cherished Kings of January doesn’t appear on the release slate? There’s no Gerry or Liam, but the ever-reliable Statham dons a trucker hat and blue jeans to grit his way through David Ayer’s The Beekeeper, an overall valiant, occasionally fun attempt to take us out of Q1 doldrums. – Conor O. (full review)

Where to Stream: VOD

Brawl in Cell Block 99 (S. Craig Zahler)

S. Craig Zahler is the...

Premiering 30 years ago this year, Chen Kaige’s enchanting, Palme d’Or-winning, and Oscar-nominated drama Farewell My Concubine is finally returning in its original cut, stunningly restored in 4K. Starring Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang, and Gong Li, the drama was cut by 20 minutes after Harvey Scissorhands had his way with it. Now restored to its original glory and set for a September 22 release beginning at Film Forum from Film Movement Classics, the new trailer has arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “In Chen Kaige’s adaptation of the Lilian Lee novel, Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) grow up enduring the harsh training of the Peking Opera Academy, where instructors regularly beat the students to instill in them the discipline needed to master the complex physical and vocal techniques of this ancient art. As the two boys mature, they develop complementary talents: Dieyi, with his fine, delicate features,...

Liu Siyi studied Media and Visual Arts at Tong Ji University and Film Production at the Vancouver Film School. Her short film “Cadence” was selected by the China Independent Film Festival. “Flaming Cloud” is her debut feature as writer and director. The project was in the Top 5 projects in the 4th Cfdg China Youth Film Director Support Program. It also has won Most Promising Director, Genre Selection and Producers Jointly Promote Project prizes in the China Golden Rooster Film Project Market.

Flaming Cloud is screening at New York Asian Film Festival

In a story that seems to combine Disney fairy tales and Chinese Folklore, “Flaming Cloud” opens in a casino above the clouds, where a number of deities wager on the lives of mortals to pass the time. Although the bets seem innocent for the most part, the appearance of a newcomer, who is willing to bet on the existence of true love,...

Disney’s blockbuster “Avatar: The Way of Water” ruled the U.K. and Ireland box office for the sixth consecutive weekend with £2.7 million (3.4 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.

James Cameron’s return to Pandora now has a running total of £67.6 million.

In its second weekend, Universal’s “M3gan” collected £1.35 million for a total of £4.6 million. Close behind was Paramount’s “Babylon,” which debuted in third place with £1.32 million.

A trio of Sony titles occupied fourth to sixth positions. In its fourth weekend, in fourth place, “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody” took in £766,245 for a total of £9.6 million; “Matilda the Musical” collected £661,450 in its ninth weekend for a total of £25.7 million; and in its third weekend, “A Man Called Otto” £577,305 for a total of £3.6 million.

Mubi’s Cannes winner “Holy Spider” debuted in 14th position with £60,731, including previews. Other Mubi titles on release continue to display legs.

On this day (Sept 1st) in showbiz history...

1934 Metro Goldwyn Mayer releases their first animated short, The Discontented Canary. It wasn't Oscar nominated but they soon begin to crash Walt Disney's stranglehold on that particular category back then, with nearly annual nominations (for a time) beginning in 1939 (Peace on Earth) and regular wins in the 1940s thanks largely to the Tom & Jerry series. 

1952 Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea is first published. It wins the Pulitzer and gets adapted to the movies twice, the first time as a feature in 1958 with Spencer Tracy and the second time as an Oscar winning Russian animated short in 1999 which was painted on glass. 

1977 Blondie signed their first major record company contract. Whatever happened to that Debbie Harry biopic we were supposed to get? Wasn't it going to star Kiki Dunst or was that just our Tfe fantasy?

2004 Mike Leigh's...

★★★★☆ The aspirations of art pitted against the never-ending flux of politics. That is the underlying conflict driving Farewell My Concubine, a tale of two Peking Opera singers struggling to preserve themselves and their trade during the revolutionary turbulence of twentieth century China. We first meet Dieyi as he is abandoned by his prostitute mother at an opera training school, with hopes of a better life for her son. Despite a rough start, Dieyi eventually settles in to the harsh way of life of the academy and - because of his rather feminine appearance - is assigned the role of the concubine in rehearsals of the classic Chinese opera that gives the film its name. Along with stage partner and close friend Xiaolou (Fengyi Zhang), Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) hits the big time, and as adults the two men perform at the famed Peking Opera House. But this bliss is not to last,...

Chicago – When moviegoers think of John Woo, the first image that comes to mind isn’t legions of ancient armies fighting each other with bows and arrows, but rather two men holding each other at gunpoint (as in his 1992 classic “Hard-Boiled”). His best action set-pieces are the most intimate, with gunplay and bloodshed taking on an almost balletic grandeur.

Yet at age 61, Woo was clearly ready to venture out into new terrain, and tackle a project he had been dreaming up for nearly two decades, based on Guanzhong Luo’s 14th century historical novel, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” It’s reportedly the most expensive film ever made in China, and certainly one of the most audacious. Unfortunately, like many epic films aiming to reach an international audience, the picture has been butchered for mass consumption.

Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0

“Red Cliff” was originally a five-hour epic released theatrically in two parts...

In Part 2 of our 20 Most Anticipated Period Films, we're listing down another 10 up and coming period movies. But this time, a lot of the movies' release dates are still unavailable.

- - -

- - - However, these period flicks have generated a lot of buzz and obviously, there's a lot of excitement in their upcoming release. With stars such as Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, James McAvoy, among others, how can they not create excitement?

More about these flicks, stills and their trailers after the jump!

# 10 - Black Death

- - -

Timeline: The 14th Century

Director: Christopher Smith

Stars: Sean Bean, Carice van Houten, Eddie Redmayne

The Plot: In medieval England fallen under the shadow of the Black Death, a young monk called Osmund is charged in leading a fearsome knight, Ulric and his group of mercenaries to a remote marsh. Their quest is to...

In Part 2 of our 20 Most Anticipated Period Films, we're listing down another 10 up and coming period movies. But this time, a lot of the movies' release dates are still unavailable.

- - -

- - - However, these period flicks have generated a lot of buzz and obviously, there's a lot of excitement in their upcoming release. With stars such as Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, James McAvoy, among others, how can they not create excitement?

More about these flicks, stills and their trailers after the jump!

# 10 - Black Death

- - -

Timeline: The 14th Century

Director: Christopher Smith

Stars: Sean Bean, Carice van Houten, Eddie Redmayne

The Plot: In medieval England fallen under the shadow of the Black Death, a young monk called Osmund is charged in leading a fearsome knight, Ulric and his group of mercenaries to a remote marsh. Their quest is to...

In Part 2 of our 20 Most Anticipated Period Films, we're listing down another 10 up and coming period movies. But this time, a lot of the movies' release dates are still unavailable.

- - -

- - - However, these period flicks have generated a lot of buzz and obviously, there's a lot of excitement in their upcoming release. With stars such as Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, James McAvoy, among others, how can they not create excitement?

More about these flicks, stills and their trailers after the jump!

# 10 - Black Death

- - -

Timeline: The 14th Century

Director: Christopher Smith

Stars: Sean Bean, Carice van Houten, Eddie Redmayne

The Plot: In medieval England fallen under the shadow of the Black Death, a young monk called Osmund is charged in leading a fearsome knight, Ulric and his group of mercenaries to a remote marsh. Their quest is to...

In Part 2 of our 20 Most Anticipated Period Films, we're listing down another 10 up and coming period movies. But this time, a lot of the movies' release dates are still unavailable.

- - -

- - - However, these period flicks have generated a lot of buzz and obviously, there's a lot of excitement in their upcoming release. With stars such as Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, James McAvoy, among others, how can they not create excitement?

More about these flicks, stills and their trailers after the jump!

# 10 - Black Death

- - -

Timeline: The 14th Century

Director: Christopher Smith

Stars: Sean Bean, Carice van Houten, Eddie Redmayne

The Plot: In medieval England fallen under the shadow of the Black Death, a young monk called Osmund is charged in leading a fearsome knight, Ulric and his group of mercenaries to a remote marsh. Their quest is to...

In Part 2 of our 20 Most Anticipated Period Films, we're listing down another 10 up and coming period movies. But this time, a lot of the movies' release dates are still unavailable.

- - -

- - - However, these period flicks have generated a lot of buzz and obviously, there's a lot of excitement in their upcoming release. With stars such as Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, James McAvoy, among others, how can they not create excitement?

More about these flicks, stills and their trailers after the jump!

# 10 - Black Death

- - -

Timeline: The 14th Century

Director: Christopher Smith

Stars: Sean Bean, Carice van Houten, Eddie Redmayne

The Plot: In medieval England fallen under the shadow of the Black Death, a young monk called Osmund is charged in leading a fearsome knight, Ulric and his group of mercenaries to a remote marsh. Their quest is to...