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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Jersey Boys’ goes beyond jukebox

Sean Axmaker

What’s new to watch this week on pay-per-view and streaming services:

Pay-per-view

“Jersey Boys,” the jukebox musical drama built on the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, also tells a story you may not have known about their rise and fall and resurrection. Clint Eastwood (a musician and composer in his own right) directs the screen version, which stars Tony Award-winning stage vet John Lloyd Young as Valli and co-stars Christopher Walken. It’s also on disc and video on demand.

“Miss Meadows,” an offbeat action film starring Katie Holmes as a schoolteacher who moonlights as a vigilante, and the horror film “Wolves,” the directorial debut of “X-Men” and “Watchmen” screenwriter David Hayter, come to pay-per-view the same day they open in theaters.

Also new: the comedy “Tammy” with Melissa McCarthy and Susan Sarandon, the romantic drama “In Your Eyes” written by Joss Whedon, the whimsical French romantic comedy “Mood Indigo” with Audrey Tautou, and the documentary “James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge.”

Netflix

“Snowpiercer,” the wild, ferocious end-of-the-world science fiction allegory starring Chris Evans leading a revolution on a perpetual motion train in a frozen world, was announced for a late November debut, but it snuck in earlier this month and is now available to stream. Board the train and join the fight.

Dustin Hoffman directs Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay and Billy Connolly in “Quartet,” about old colleagues preparing for a recital in a home for retired musicians. They’re not the only senior citizens returning to professional life this week: “Fading Gigolo” sends bookstore manager John Turturro into a new line of work as an aging male escort. Woody Allen co-stars as his “manager.”

“Salem,” the supernatural drama set in 17th century Massachusetts, was created for the WGN superstation, which is not carried by all cable and satellite providers. You can now get your sorcery fix with the entire 13-episode first season.

More new streaming TV: the SyFy viral thriller “Helix: Season 1” and the medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy: Season 10.”

Amazon Instant Prime

Tormented American agent Jack Bauer is back for another really bad day in “24: Live Another Day.” The entire short season (just 12 episodes) is now available to Amazon Prime members.

Scarlett Johansson takes on a very different kind of role in “Under the Skin,” a quasi-experimental science fiction trip about an alien that takes on the appearance of a beautiful woman to hunt human men. It’s all quite strange and beautiful and weird but certainly not for everyone.

Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His work appears in Parallax View, Turner Classic Movies online and the “Today” show website. Visit him online at seanax.com.