Streaming movie premieres include “The Boston Strangler” and “Babylon”

The week’s lineup of digital releases includes new releases like “The Boston Strangler” and “Black Belt” and recent theatrical highlights including “Babylon” and “Smile.” Among the selection of films, there is even a series. You can find the explanation below, along with the titles and details of the 10 best premieres to watch at home over the weekend.

| THE BOSTON STRANGLER | STAR+

The dramatic – and feminist – thriller highlights the hard work of two journalists who unravel the true case of one of America’s most famous murderous psychopaths. Keira Knightley (“Colette”) plays Loretta McLaughlin, the reporter who christened the “Boston Strangler” and helped identify him by connecting the serial murders in the 1960s. “The Leftovers”) defied the sexism of the time to report on the city’s most notorious serial killer, even before his crimes were properly identified, working tirelessly to keep women informed. No

The story of the killer, whose real name was Albert DeSalvo, has been taken to theaters several times. The first film was released in 1964, when the case was still recent, and the most famous came four years later, with star Tony Curtis (father of actress Jamie Lee Curtis) in the role of the serial killer. In Brazil, the film starring Curtis (which was originally called “The Boston Strangler”) was released with the title “The Man Who Hated Women”. But this is the first time that, in addition to being victims, women also appear as the heroines of history.

The new film is scripted and directed by Matt Ruskin (“Escobar Connection”), and produced by filmmaker Ridley Scott (“Lost on Mars”) and actress Margot Robbie (“Babilônia”), through their companies. The cast also includes Alessandro Nivola (“Amsterdam”), David Dastmalchian (“The Suicide Squad”), Morgan Spector (“Homeland”), Bill Camp (“Joker”) and Chris Cooper (“Little Women”).

| BABYLON | VOD*

A grand extravaganza from director Damien Chazelle (“La La Land”), starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie (both from “Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood”), the film is a recreation of the Golden Age of the American film industry, during the transition from silent to talkies, like lots of sex, drugs and jazz.

Most of the characters are fictional, but inspired by real people. After living Sharon Tate in “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”, Robbie plays a cocaine addicted version of Clara Bow, a sex symbol of the 1920s, while the character Pitt is based on great actors of the period, such as John Gilbert, who had difficulties adapt to technological changes brought about by sound.

The staging is extremely exaggerated, everything is hysterical, but there is no lack of those who love precisely this aspect of the production. By the way, even with negative reviews (56% approval on Rotten Tomatoes), the film won 40 awards for its technical achievement and was nominated for three Oscars.

In addition to Pitt and Robbie, the stellar cast also includes Diego Calva (“Narcos: Mexico”), Tobey Maguire (“Spider-Man: Never Go Home”), Samara Weaving (“Bloody Wedding”), Olivia Wilde (“The Richard Jewell Case”), Jovan Adepo (“Watchmen”), Li Jun Li (“Evil”), Jean Smart (“Hacks”), PJ Byrne (“The Boys”), Lukas Haas (“The Revenant”), Olivia Hamilton (“La La Land”), Max Minghella (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Rory Scovel (“Physical”), Katherine Waterston (“Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secrets”), Eric Roberts (“Inherent Vice”), Ethan Suplee (“Dog”), Phoebe Tonkin (“The Originals”), Jeff Garlin (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and bassist Flea (“Queen & Slim”) of the Red Hot Chili Peppers .

| THE BLACK BELT | HBO MAX

The unprecedented drama is a biopic of Fernando Tererê, five-time world champion and one of the greatest legends of jiu-jitsu. Directed by Caco Souza and Raphael Logam in the lead role, the feature narrates the fighter’s battles since childhood, when he had to dodge the violence of drug trafficking to follow his dreams, and even presents his various achievements on the mats, demonstrating his dexterity. rare in high-level competitions. However, it also highlights its biggest defeat. He who became a great example for other young people from the favelas in Rio lost the main fight of his life, against drugs, which made him kiss the canvas and abandon the fights. But luckily, this is not the end of the story.

The plot of rise, fall and search for overcoming of “The Black Belt” is one of those that exemplify the maxim that sport saves lives

| EMILY | VOD*

The biopic features Emma Mackey (Maeve from “Sex Education”) in the role of writer Emily Brontë, who wrote the famous novel “Wuthering Heights” in the early 19th century. The plot explores the repressive climate that surrounded her life in Victorian England, from pressure from her conservative family to her engagement to a macho poet who considered her writing too profane for a woman – which led her to release her literary classic under a male pseudonym.

Of the three writer sisters, the author of “Wuthering Heights” is the one with the least information, which allows a lot of freedom to the screenplay by Frances O’Connor (“The Conjuring 2”), better known as an actress and who makes his directorial debut here. Thanks to too many gaps, Emily is portrayed as a strong-willed young woman who uses her frustration and personal problems to write what would turn out to be her masterpiece – and whose language shocked critics at the time.

The film also highlights his relationship with his brothers, especially the youngest, whose death would break his heart. The cast includes Oliver Jackson-Cohen (“The Invisible Man”), Adrian Dunbar (“Line of Duty”) and Gemma Jones (“Gentleman Jack”), as well as Fionn Whitehead (“Dunkirk”), Alexandra Dowling (“The Musketeers”) “) and Amelia Gething (“The Spanish Princess”) as Emily’s siblings – respectively, Branwell and writers Charlotte and Anne. All died young. Emily was only 30 years old when she died, without having managed to publish another work. Charlotte, author of “Jane Eyre”, lived the longest, until she was 39.

| I AM NOT A WITCH | NETFLIX

The impactful drama by filmmaker Rungano Nyoni, from Zambia, tells the story of an 8-year-old girl, who, after an incident in her village, is accused of witchcraft and exiled to a witch colony. At the new camp, she participates in an initiation ceremony, where she is shown the rules surrounding her new life as a witch. Essentially, it is a life of slavery, where so-called witches, at the whim of government officials, perform manual labor in fields, use their powers to single out thieves in identification lines, and invoke rain.

Although it presents a situation worthy of dystopias a la “The Handmaid’s Tale”, the film uses dark humor to express its criticism. One of the scenes, for example, has a group of tourists stopping in front of the captive women, being told that they are dangerous witches kept under control and, instead of expressing outrage, taking pictures with their phones.

Acclaimed with a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film won 17 international awards, including the BAFTA (British Oscar) for Best Debut Work.

| SMILE | PARAMOUNT+

Parker Finn’s first feature is clearly inspired by contemporary Asian horror (“Spirits”, “The Ring”), but tells an original story, where smiles are harbingers of dread. The plot accompanies a therapist (Sosie Bacon, Kevin Bacon’s daughter) cursed after witnessing the suicide of a patient who said she couldn’t stand to see creepy smiles on the people around her. When the doctor herself begins to see these smiles, she discovers that others who had the same visions died within a week.

Widely praised for the effective way it uses trauma to conceive its supernatural fantasy, the film reached an 87% approval on Rotten Tomatoes and became one of the most successful horrors of recent times.

| CRUEL INTENTIONS | VOD*

Actress Madelaine Petsch (Cheryl of “Riverdale”) produces and stars in the teen thriller as Olivia, a high school student who always got everything she wanted, but now must deal with the inexplicable loss of her best friend Jane and the pressures of enter university. When she is shunned from the college of her dreams, she begins to experience increasingly frightening panic attacks and resolves to vent her anger and frustration at everyone she sees standing in the way of her success, using an old social media account of her friend who killed herself. . She goes on to use this ghost account to attack a rival, humiliate a teacher, and so on. She even starts to see Jane everywhere, in an outbreak that takes her to the brink of madness or supernatural contact.

Praised by critics (73% on Rotten Tomatoes), the first feature directed by Sabrina Jaglom (producer of “Back Home”) also features Chlöe Bailey (“Grown-ish”) and Melissa Leo (Oscar for Best Actress) in its cast. by “The Winner”).

| BENNY LOVES YOU | VOD*

The terrir taps into the killer toy trend with sinister humor. The main character is Jack (played by the director of the film), who after the death of his parents is forced to sell the old family home. Seeking a fresh start in life, he decides to get rid of all of his childhood possessions, including a teddy bear named Benny. What he didn’t expect is that the teddy bear would take revenge for being despised. Made with a low budget and many special defects, filmmaker Karl Holt’s debut in feature films was consecrated with victories in important horror film festivals, such as FrightFest, Macabro and San Sebastián.

| STORM | VOD*

Reedited version of the series “Survive”, released with 12 episodes of 10 minutes each on the extinct Quibi platform, the production features Sophie Turner (Sansa “Game of Thrones”) as an addicted and depressed young woman who, when boarding a flight, suffers a plane crash. Only she and another passenger, played by Corey Hawkins (“Squadron 6”), survive the crash. But in order not to freeze to death, she still needs to face suicidal impulses and the challenge of going down a mountain in the snow to return to civilization. Directed by Mark Pellington (“The Last Word”).

| THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT | NETFLIX

The animation tells the story of a boy in search of his long-lost sister. One day, he hears from a fortune teller that, in order to find her, he will first need to find a mysterious elephant conjured by a magician. And, indeed, he finds the fantastic beast, only he immediately faces a new challenge. The local king decides that the boy will need to perform three impossible tasks if he wants to keep the elephant. Thinking of tasks that no one could accomplish, the king bets on the young man giving up. But by facing all the missions with creativity, he ends up affecting the whole city with his accomplishments.

The good story was written by Kate DiCamillo (“The Brave Little Mouse Despereaux”) and Martin Hynes (“Toy Story 4”), while the direction is signed by Wendy Rogers, who debuts in the role after a career focused on visual effects – including in first “Shrek” (2001) and “Puss in Boots” (2011).

* VOD (video on demand) releases can be rented individually on platforms such as Apple TV, Claro TV+, Google Play, Loja Prime, Microsoft Store, Vivo Play and YouTube, among others, which work as digital rental companies without the need for a subscription monthly.