Movies Streaming/On Demand This Week: 'Get the Gringo,' Olympic Classics & More
It's slim pickings this week in the streaming world, so we've decided to highlight a few titles that slipped through the cracks in previous columns.
Mel Gibson returns to do his best Mel Gibson in "Get the Gringo," Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt try to get salmon to Yemen, Morgan Spurlock gets his manscaping on in "Mansome" and we get amped for London with classic Olympic Games films.
NEW RELEASES
Guess this is where we stand with Mel Gibson: his latest tough-guy-who-finds-redemption-thanks-to-a-kids'-innocence-action-movie went straight to VOD in May and now its available through streaming. In it he plays a career criminal who gets in over his head after ending up in Mexico.
Why Stream It: Like him or not, ol' Mel can still pull off the action flick.
Available On: iTunes, VUDU, Amazon Instant
From Lasse Hallström — director of "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "The Cider House Rules" and "Chocolat" — Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas star in this romantic comedy about a fisheries specialist (McGregor) who is asked by a consultant (Blunt) to help introduce salmon fishing into the Yemen.
Why Stream It: Hallström brings something that sounds far-fetched and makes it genuine.
Available On: Cable On Demand, iTunes, VUDU, Amazon Instant, YouTube
This festival favorite follows 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono as he continues his quest to master the art of sushi making while his son struggles to live up to his legacy.
Why Stream It: A touching story about a food artist and his family.
Available On: Cable On Demand, iTunes
Jesse Eisenberg plays piano prodigy Eli who, on the day of a big audition, has to get his mom (Melissa Leo) to rehab. Things don't turn out well which leads to a weird journey with a drug dealer named Sprinkles (Tracy Morgan) and filled with self-discovery.
Why Stream It: With a storyline like this, you've just gotta see how it plays out.
Available On: Cable On Demand, iTunes, Amazon Instant
Morgan Spurlock looks at what it means to be a man in this era of "manscaping" and "metrosexuals." That includes talking to barbershop owners, a pro wrestler and a guy considered "America's greatest beardsman."
Why Stream It: Along with the everyday folk, the subject is also explored by a who's-who of Hollywood talent including Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Paul Rudd and Zach Galifianakis.
Available On: iTunes, VUDU, Amazon Instant, YouTube
Now available on Netflix, this highly-stylized Greek mythology tale follows Theseus (Henry Cavill) who has been chosen by Zeus to fight against a ruthless king in search of a weapon that can destroy humanity.
Why Stream It: "300" meets "Clash of the Titans."
Available On: iTunes, VUDU, Amazon Instant, YouTube, Netflix
Steve Jobs wasn’t always on top of the world. In 1995, after leaving Apple to create the computer company NeXT, his uncertainty of what the future holds is captured in this hour-long chat.
Why Stream It: See the visionary on the brink of greatness.
Available On: Cable On Demand, iTunes, VUDU, Amazon Instant, YouTube
In this mind-bending horror from Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo ("28 Weeks Later"), Clive Owen plays a father who tries to figure out if a monster is tormenting his teen daughter.
Why Stream It: A big reveal at the end that you won’t likely see coming. (So forget you just read this.)
Available On: iTunes, VUDU, Amazon Instant, YouTube
OLDIES BUT GOODIES
Gear up for the Summer Olympics, which kicks off later this week, with films based on some of the great stories from Olympic Games past: "Miracle," "Cool Runnings," "Jim Thorpe: All American" and "Blades of Glory" (nice to see the On Demand folks have a sense of humor with that last one).
Available On: Cable On Demand
It’s one of those movies that's impossible to describe… but we'll try. David Lynch's debut feature follows the life of Henry Spencer (played by Lynch regular Jack Nance) as he endures his industrial surroundings, his girlfriend and the arrival of a baby that let’s just say isn’t, um, normal.
Available On: Hulu (free)
Charlie Chaplin's first true "talkie," the iconic funnyman plays dual roles — a Jewish barber and a dictator — who, in typical madcap Chaplin fashion, are mistaken for each other. The results are hilarious. The film went on to become Chaplin's highest grossing film.
Available On: Hulu (free)
