It's all hallows eve this weekend, which means it is that time of the year where you tell yourself that you're going to stay up and watch a horror movie on Saturday night to mark the occasion, only to have fallen asleep mid-evening with a sore stomach after gorging on the extra bag of chocolates/candy you bought 'just in case' you didn't have enough for the trick or treaters at your front door.
Truth be told - I actually feel a bit funny about putting out decorations to signal my house is welcome to Trick Or Treat visitors in this time of COVID delta. So, I won't be doing that this year.
Which means more candy for me.
If you are looking for a few scares on your TV, my recommendation is just downloading horror streamer Shudder to your phone or TV and finding something that strikes your fancy. I'm admittedly not a huge horror-genre fan, but I'm always impressed at how compelling a number of films are in the Shudder library - it's a really well-curated niche streaming service.
Halloween highlights on Shudder include a new horror anthology film called Horror Noire which has six films from African American horror movie writers & directors, V/H/S/94 - a new entry in the V/H/S/ Horror anthology film series, or just choose from whole host of great classic and current horror films in its rich and fulsome library.
And speaking of hosts, have you seen the Shudder original HOST? The film was released mid-last year and is a very watchable 60 minute Zoom call among friends that goes very badly. It is magnificent.
from the vault:
FYI, starting this week in the Always Be Streaming newsletter I am going to add in this bonus section for paid supporters of the newsletter. Just as a thank you for supporting the newsletter. I'm including it for everyone this week, but from next week it goes behind the paywall.
If you'd like to help support the newsletter and get access to content like this, more information can be found HERE.
James Bond fans will be aware of the complicated rights to the character and attempts made by rival producers to make their own Bond movies. The first Bond film was Dr No, produced by EON Productions - the company that is seen to be the rightful producers of the Bond films. But there was also the 1967 film Casino Royale. It was released as a supposed parody of the Bond films and isn't especially well-regarded. There is also the 1983 Sean Connery film Never Say Never Again.
But Dr No was not the first Bond story brought to the screen. James Bond's first screen outing was actually on a 1954 TV show called Climax! And the story? An adaptation of the 1953 Ian Fleming spy novel Casino Royale.
Climax! was a weekly anthology drama with episodes broadcast live. Casino Royale ran as its third episode, adapting the then-new book. Only a few recordings of the broadcast exist, and, sadly, only black and white copies of the show remain - it had been broadcast in glorious color.
For more on the broadcast, Film Threat has a detailed article about the show and how it was saved.
admin
returning:
Curb Your Enthusiasm (s11), All American (s07), Insecure (s05), The Last OG (s04), Sintonia (s02), Walker (s02), Love Life (s02)
new:
Army of Thieves - Netflix
Stars: Matthias Schweighöfer, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ruby O. Fee
A prequel, set before the events of Army of the Dead, which focuses on German safecracker Ludwig Dieter leading a group of aspiring thieves on a top secret heist during the early stages of the zombie apocalypse.
4400 - The CW
Stars: Alice Hunter, Brittany Adebumola, Joseph David-Jones
4400 overlooked, undervalued, or otherwise marginalized people who vanished without a trace over the last hundred years are all returned in an instant, having not aged a day and with no memory of what happened to them.
Star Trek: Prodigy - Paramount+
Stars: Jason Alexander, Ella Purnell, Jimmi Simpson
A group of teenagers steal a derelict Starfleet vessel and use it to explore the galaxy.
Fairfax - Amazon Prime Video
Stars: J.B. Smoove, John Leguizamo, Kiersey Clemons
Animated series centering on four middle school friends on their quest for fame on L.A.'s Fairfax Avenue.
Swagger - Apple TV+
Stars: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Tristan Mack Wilds, Quvenzhané Wallis
Inspired by Kevin Durant's youth basketball playing experience on the AAU circuit.
Colin in Black & White - Netflix
Stars: Jaden Michael, Colin Kaepernick, Gabriel Womack
This drama series from Colin Kaepernick and Ava DuVernay explores Kaepernick's high school years and the experiences that led him to become an activist.
Hypnotic - Netflix
Stars: Kate Siegel, Jason O'Mara, Dulé Hill
A young woman seeking self-improvement enlists the help of a renowned hypnotherapist. But after a handful of intense sessions, she discovers unexpected and deadly consequences.
That's it for this week - let's be careful out there.
