‘Pictures’ puts twist on familiar formula
What’s new to watch this week on pay-per-view and streaming services:
“Words and Pictures” (2013) stars Clive Owen as a passionate but alcoholic English teacher at an expensive prep school and Juliette Binoche as the new art teacher. It’s pretty familiar stuff – a personality clash that eventually results in romantic sparks – but the refreshingly grown-up story and the performances and sparring byplay make it worth seeing. It’s on Netflix and Amazon. PG-13 for language and adult themes.
Pay-per-view / Video on Demand
“The DUFF” stands for “designated ugly fat friend,” a designation that infuriates a high school senior (Mae Whitman) in this comedy about the savage social hierarchies and cruelties of teenage life. It’s based on the young adult novel by Kody Keplinger. High school kids also take the lead in the young adult time-travel thriller “Project Almanac.” Both are rated PG-13 and also on Blu-ray and DVD.
The documentary “Red Army” tells the story of the powerhouse Soviet national hockey team of the eighties and the political and social culture of the Soviet Union from the Cold War to the fall of communism. Also on Blu-ray and DVD.
Available On Demand same day as theaters is the new take on “Madame Bovary” with Mia Wasikowska as the young wife who escapes a stultifying marriage through reckless romantic affairs.
Netflix
“Nightcrawler,” a wicked satire of tabloid news television starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a freelance video journalist who races to crime scenes and accidents to record the goriest footage and most sensationalistic scoops, earned an Oscar nomination for director Dan Gilroy’s screenplay. Rated R for blood and violence.
Jon Stewart took a leave of absence from “The Daily Show” in 2013 to make his directorial debut with “Rosewater” (2014), starring Gael Garcia Bernal as the Iranian-Canadian journalist arrested and tortured in Iran.
It’s back to Litchfield Correction Facility with Piper, Poussey, Crazy Eyes and the gang in the Netflix original series “Orange Is the New Black: Season 3.” All 13 episodes are available to stream.
More TV on Netflix: “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2,” which gives Marvel fans all summer to catch up before the new season begins in the fall, and the ABC Family Channel hit “Pretty Little Liars: Season 5.”
Also new: Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” (2012) with Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart, and “Grace of Monaco” (2014) with Nicole Kidman.
Amazon Instant Prime
If you’ve a taste for the classics, there’s “People Will Talk” (1951) with Cary Grant, “Roman Holiday” (1953) with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, and the law school drama “The Paper Chase” (1973).