Premieres 2019: February 8 - February 14

By Dave B.

​"Premieres" will feature official trailers and synopses from what I feel looks like the most interesting (or the only, in some cases) original programming coming out in the subsequent week on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and elsewhere. In no way to these previews represent recommendations or reviews. My intent is to post this segment each Thursday or Friday, but we'll see. Enjoy!

Remastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke - Netflix, February 8

Synopsis:
​"While Sam Cooke rose to stardom as a soul singer, his outspoken views on civil rights drew attention that may have contributed to his death at age 33."

High Flying Bird - Netflix, February 8

Synopsis:
​"In the midst of a pro basketball lockout, sports agent Ray Burke (André Holland) finds himself caught in the face-off between the league and the players. His career is on the line, but Ray is playing for higher stakes. With only 72 hours to pull off a daring plan, he outmaneuvers all the power-players as he uncovers a loophole that could change the game forever. The outcome raises questions of who owns the game – and who ought to. Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) from a script by Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight), HIGH FLYING BIRD features an acclaimed ensemble cast that includes Zazie Beetz, Melvin Gregg, Sonja Sohn, Zachary Quinto, Kyle MacLachlan and Bill Duke, plus appearances from NBA athletes Reggie Jackson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Donovan Mitchell."

PEN15: Season One - Hulu, February 8

Synopsis:
​"PEN15 is middle school as it really happened. Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle star in this adult comedy, playing versions of themselves as thirteen-year-old outcasts in the year 2000, surrounded by actual thirteen-year-olds, where the best day of your life can turn into your worst with the stroke of a gel pen."

White Dragon: Season One - Amazon Prime, February 8

Synopsis:
​"What kind of person will you become when your life is a lie? In White Dragon, a new Prime Original thriller, Professor Jonah Mulray travels to Hong Kong where he discovers his recently deceased wife led a double life that led to her murder and begins to unravel the conspiracy surrounding her murder."

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot-Amazon Prime, February 8

Synopsis:
​"The last day Portland slacker John Callahan is able to walk, he wakes up without a hangover — because he’s still drunk from the night before. That night at a wild party he meets a wisecracking drinking buddy (Jack Black), who insists they leave for an even better party he knows about. But when his new friend dozes off at the wheel, John wakes up confined to a wheelchair with only partial use of his arms. Though he initially has no intention of getting sober, he reluctantly attends a 12-step meeting run by a charismatic and dedicated sponsor named Donnie (Jonah Hill) and reconnects with Annu (Rooney Mara), a therapist he met at the hospital. With their encouragement, John finds that love is not beyond his reach and discovers a hidden talent for drawing, channeling his playful personality into crude, politically incorrect — and often hilarious — cartoons, which develop a national following. Based on a true story, this poignant, insightful, funny drama about redemption, forgiveness and the healing power of art is adapted from Callahan’s autobiography and directed by two-time Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant (Milk, Good Will Hunting)." 

The Man Who Killed Hitler and then The Bigfoot - Amazon Prime, February 8

Synopsis:
​"Since WWII, Calvin Barr has lived with the secret that he was responsible for the assassination of Adolf Hitler. Now, decades later, the US government has called on him again for a new top-secret mission. Bigfoot has been living deep in the Canadian wilderness and is carrying a deadly plague that is now threatening to spread to the general population. Relying on the same skills that he honed during the war, Calvin must set out to save the free world yet again. Starring Sam Elliott, Aidan Turner, Caitlin FitzGerald and Ron Livingston, The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot follows the epic adventures of an American legend that no one has ever heard of."

Synopsis:
​"Shmuel, a Hasidic cantor in Upstate New York, distraught by the untimely death of his wife, struggles to find religious solace, while secretly obsessing over how her body will decay. As a clandestine partnership develops with Albert, a local community college biology professor, the two embark on a darkly comic and increasingly literal undertaking into the underworld."