Sneak Peek At Holland Movie Coming To Amazon Prime

Holland is coming to Prime Video on March 27 after premiering at the SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas, on March 9.

In this wildly unpredictable thriller, Nicole Kidman is the meticulous Nancy Vandergroot, a teacher and homemaker whose picture-perfect life with her community pillar husband (Matthew Macfadyen) and son (Jude Hill) in tulip-filled Holland, Michigan, tumbles into a twisted tale. Nancy and her friendly colleague (Gael García Bernal) become suspicious of a secret, only to discover nothing in their lives is what it seems.

Besides Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, Jude Hill, and Gael García Bernal, Holland also stars Rachel Sennott (Bottoms), Lennon Parham, Isaac Krasner, and Jeff Pope (The Underground Railroad).

Directed by Mimi Cave (Fresh), Holland was written by Andrew Sodroski and produced by Kate Churchill, Peter Dealbert, Nicole Kidman, and Per Saari.

NICOLE KIDMAN stars in HOLLAND Courtesy of Prime Video © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC

MATTHEW MACFADYEN and JUDE HILL star in HOLLAND Courtesy of Prime Video © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC

NICOLE KIDMAN and GAEL GARCÍA BERNAL star in HOLLAND Courtesy of Prime Video © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC

Strange Darling

2024 Magenta Light Studios

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 37min

Action ~ Horror ~ Suspense

Directed by: JT Mollner

Starring: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, and Ed Begley Jr..

“Love hurts, love scars…Love wounds and marks, any heart not tough enough or strong enough, to take a lot of pain…….takes a lot of pain.”

I watched this last night. I was looking for something to watch more than I was looking for a movie to review. Strange Darling caught my eye on Amazon Prime. Perfect I thought…I didn’t know anything about it and had never heard of it.

WHICH IS EXACTLY HOW YOU SHOULD WATCH IT. And that is why this review will feature very little of the plot, storyline or in-depth look at the movie or the characters. Here is all I can tell you:

It is a Slasher type Horror Action Suspense Film.

The Movie Stars The Lady and The Demon.

The movie is broken into six chapters and an epilogue, in this order:

Chapter 3: “Can You Help Me, Please?”

Chapter 5: “Here, Kitty, Kitty…”

Chapter 1: “Mister Snuffles” (Mister Snuffleupagus)

Chapter 4: “The Mountain People”

Chapter 2: “The Electric Lady”

Chapter 6: “Who’s Gary Gilmore?”

Epilogue.

The Movie starts like this:

SHOT ENTIRELY ON 35MM FILM

(IN BLACK AND WHITE) A man and a woman in a truck on a rainy night in front of a motel………… she asks, “So I have to ask you a question, are you a serial killer?”

Between 2018 and 2020, the most prolific and unique American Serial Killer of the 21st Century went on a calculated, multi-state spree that began in Denver, Colorado, continued through Grand Lake, and expanded across Wyoming and Central Idaho before culminating in the dense forest of Hood River County, Oregon.

Drawing from police interviews, detailed accounts of eyewitnesses, depositions, and observations of various law enforcement, this is a dramatization of the true story of the final known killings in that rampage….

Then there is a killer (Pun intended) car chase…and then a woman is running in the woods from a killer, blood dripping from her wounds……as an acoustic cover of Love Hurts by Nazareth plays in the background……..

Love hurts, love scarsLove wounds and marksAny heartNot tough or strong enoughTo take a lot of pain, take a lot of painLove is like a cloudHolds a lot of rainLove hurtsOoh, ooh, love hurts

Some fools think of happinessBlissfulness, togethernessSome fools fool themselves, I guessThey’re not foolin’ me

Ooh, ooh, love hurts

AND WE START THE MOVIE WITH:

Chapter 3: “Can You Help Me, Please?”

I absolutely enjoyed every minute of this Horrifying piece of Cinematic Slasher Art.

Willa Fitzgerald reminds me of Mia Goth in Pearl.

Kyle Gallner is creepy scary as the nice guy?

JT Mollner I am unfamiliar with but will keep an eye out for.

Turn out the lights, crank up the soundtrack and enjoy the ride…

because that is what it is.

A Horrifying Action Filled Thrill Ride

through a Serial Killer Amusement Park.

Highly Recommended!

Love Hurts Cover by Z-Berg featured in the movie:

https://youtu.be/WoPBFiYxb84?si=YIQjxnVd5bjxF9RD

New On Netflix & Prime Video this coming week February 23 – 28, 2025

STREAMING MOVIES ADDED THIS WEEK:

NETFLIX:

Kofi Siriboe and Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing in Really Love (2020)

Really Love FEBRUARY 25

2020 Unrated

Set in contemporary Washington D.C., a rising black painter strives to break into the competitive art world, while balancing a bittersweet romance he never expected.

Kofi Siriboe Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing Uzo Aduba

Watcher February 25

2022 R

A young American woman moves with her husband to Bucharest, and begins to suspect that a stranger who watches her from an apartment window may be a serial killer.

Maika Monroe Karl Glusman Burn Gorman

Demon City February 27

2025 TV-MA

Framed for his family’s murder and left for dead, an ex-hitman will stop at nothing to exact revenge on the masked “demons” who have taken over his city.

Tôma Ikuta Masahiro Higashide Miou Tanaka

The Wrong Track February 27

2025 Unrated

A struggling divorced mom must learn to ski and complete a grueling 54km race to stay at her brother’s place. As she trains for the impossible challenge, she discovers inner strength she never knew she had.

Ada Eide Trond Fausa Christian Rubeck

Steve Carell, Tara Strong, and Pierre Coffin in Despicable Me 4 (2024)

Despicable Me 4 February 28

2024 PG

Gru, Lucy, Margo, Edith, and Agnes welcome a new member to the family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad. Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal and his girlfriend Valentina, and the family is forced to go on the run.

Steve Carell Kristen Wiig Pierre Coffin

Jim Carrey, Luke Freeborn, James Marsden, Shemar Moore, Ted Barba, Rob 'Sluggo' Boyce, Tom Butler, Douglas Chapman, Colby Chartrand, Brennan Dyson, Idris Elba, Corry Glass, Leif Havdale, Ernie Jackson, David Jacox, Tom Holkenborg, Jim May, Angela Meryl, Mike Mitchell, Neal H. Moritz, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Gerald Paetz, Kyle Riefsnyder, Heath Stevenson, Shawn Stewart, Rhys Williams, Alex Bogomolov, Donna Jay Fulks, Toru Nakahara, Elizabeth Bowen, Nito Larioza, Brandon Trost, Don Lew, Tavita Woodard, Jeff Sanca, Mike Rufino, Preston Blaine Arsement, Stuart Murray, Adam Pally, Maria Ameerali, Sook Hexamer, Paul Lazenby, Josh Miller, Pat Casey, Parker Rowell-Laferriere, Aiden Cass, Stanislav Galimkhanov, Shaun Magee, Saida Dyson, Allan Luna, Leon Scherwitz, Yoko Jing, Larry Herrera, Mahlissa, Cheryl Lewis, Steve Chang, Eli Olson, Adrian Hein, Michelle Watson, Jeff Fowler, Tika Sumpter, Simon Chin, Shay Kuebler, Hitoshi Okuno, Johnson Phan, Ben Schwartz, Barry Nerling, Fraser Corbett, Tammy Nera, Kevin Mylrea, Scott Patey, Lee Majdoub, Ashlei Tave, Sean Kennedy, Quinn Early, Peter Brown, Katie Wright Pere, Yvetta Fisher, Toby Ascher, John Whittington, Sarah Surh, Andrew Kyrzyk, Robert Zen Humpage, Jason Triplett, Marcus Aurelio, Nilo Ghajar, Vladimir Ruzich, Natasha Rothwell, Jess Lundgren, Zac Vran, Vladimir Raiman, Krista Alvarez, Ha'a Keaulana, Mariah Dyson, Kevin Fortin, Nicholas Dohy, Brad Kalilimoku, Jared Khalifa, Keiran Bohay, Leighton Hara, Russell Lee, Chad Keaulana, and Melody Nosipho Niemann in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 February 28

2022 PG

When Dr. Robotnik returns with a new partner, Knuckles, in search of an emerald that has the power to destroy civilizations, Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, on a journey across the world to find the emerald first.

James Marsden Jim Carrey Ben Schwartz

Squad 36 February 28

2025 Unrated

Transferred to the Anti-Crime Brigade, a senior officer probes the deaths of two ex-colleagues and disappearance of another, exposing a bitter feud within the police force.

Tewfik Jallab Yvan Attal Victor Belmondo

PRIME:

The Meg February 23

2018 PG-13

A rescue mission to the bottom of the ocean is terrorized by a massive prehistoric shark.

Jason Statham Bingbing Li Rainn Wilson

The Burial

2023 Amazon MGM Studios

Rated: R

Length: 2 hr 7min

Comedy ~ Drama ~ True Story

Directed by: Maggie Betts

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, and Bill Camp, and Alan Ruck.

“Jerry’s a… a dream client. He’s got a great narrative. He’s a war hero. A decorated war hero. He served in World War II. He was, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross… for service for his country.”

Tommy Lee Jones stars as Jeremiah O’Keefe, an honest hard working Businessman and Family Man from Mississippi. He runs a chain of Funeral Businesses and a Funeral Insurance Company. Jeremiah found himself in trouble with the Mississippi State Insurance Commission after one of his Business Associates got him involved in a Ponzi scheme and he lost a lot of money. His Contract Lawyer, Mike Allred (Alan Ruck) suggests they set up a meeting with The Loewen Group from Canada who have been buying up privately owned Funeral Businesses that find themselves in financial trouble. Jeremiah agrees and they meet with the head of The Loewen Group, Raymond Loewen (Bill Camp).

Jeremiah and Raymond reach an agreement for The Loewen Group to buy three of Jeremiah’s Funeral Businesses, but Jeremiah stipulates that they must promise not to sell them Funeral Insurance. Jeremiah wants to keep that aspect of their business for himself. They shake hands on it but months later the Loewen group is stalling on any payments and has sold their own Insurance to those businesses, reneging on the handshake deal. Infuriated, Jeremiah takes notice of a flashy personal Injury Lawyer from Florida named Willie E. Gary (Jamie Foxx). Jeremiah and his young Lawyer Hal Dockins (Mamoudou Athie) convince Willie to take the case and file a lawsuit against The Loewen Group. The showdown is on as Jeremiah O’Keefe and his lawyers and the flamboyant Willie E. Gary and his team of lawyers take on the very successful and powerful Loewen Group.

I have to point out the racial overtones in the story because they play a part in the story and the trial. Jeremiah O’Keefe and his Contract Lawyer Mike Allred are successful old school white folks from Mississippi, who grew up in a very segregated and racist environment. White is white, and black is black. Although Jeremiah seems less prejudiced than Mike Allred who is definitely old school Racist, with family ties to the K.K.K. Jeremiah’s Lawyer is a young well educated Black Lawyer, and Willie E. Gary and his team of Lawyers are all black. Raymond Loewen and his Corporate team of Lawyers are white Canadian. The Contract Lawyer that the Loewen Group hire to head the legal team for this case is a Black Female Trial Lawyer (Jurnee Smollett) with tons of experience winning cases.

The Lawsuit was filed and the trial was held in Hinds County, Mississippi, a predominantly African American Community. The filmmakers wanted to highlight the dynamic of a white plaintiff facing a predominantly Black jury, leading Jeremiah O’ Keefe to hire a prominent Black lawyer, Willie Gary, to navigate this situation and appeal to the jury composition. Jeremiah was confidant that his contract Lawyer and old friend Mike Allred was too white, southern and racist to win the case given the environment in which it was held. The Trial in itself is a study in racism in the deep south.

I love this movie, I have seen it several times. I am a Tommy Lee Jones fan from way back and I think this is one of his best. I have gained new found respect for Jamie Foxx recently after watching his special on Netflix, where he addresses the health and life scare that he had. I liked him in this as the flamboyant Willie E. Gary. And I love the True Story movies, and I love the underdog stories and this one is both. I think it is a really good movie and I would definitely recommend it. Amazon bills it as a Comedy Drama and it does have it’s comedic moments, but I would say it is more of a courtroom little guy against the big guy drama than a comedy.

Highly Recommended!

New on Netflix & Prime Video this coming week February 16 – 22, 2025

STREAMING MOVIES ADDED THIS WEEK:

NETFLIX:

David Oyelowo and Storm Reid in Don't Let Go (2019)

Don’t Let Go FEBRUARY 16

2019 R

Detective Jack Radcliff and his recently murdered niece race against time to solve the crime before it happens.

David Oyelowo Storm Reid Mykelti Williamson

Gold FEBRUARY 16

2016 R

Kenny Wells, a prospector desperate for a lucky break, teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on a journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.

Matthew McConaughey Edgar Ramírez Bryce Dallas Howard

Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane in Ted 2 (2015)

Ted 2 FEBRUARY 16

2015 R

Newlywed couple Ted and Tami-Lynn want to have a baby, but in order to qualify to be a parent, Ted will have to prove he’s a person in a court of law.

Mark Wahlberg Seth MacFarlane Amanda Seyfried