Yes, it’s the weekend again, and time to mention the new shows and movies available to stream online. So let’s get right to it !
HULU
Hulu actually has some exciting additions this week, including, most notably, Castle Rock, the series, produced by J.J. Abrams and Stephen King. Castle Rock has an amazing cast, including Sissy Spacek, Bill Skarsgaard, Melanie Lynsky, Andre Holland, Scott Glen and Jane Levy. It is different horror stories, all taking place in Castle Rock, the fictional town in Maine featured in many King novels. It also has some of King‘s classic characters and features Shawshank Prison, as well. Now this show is too scary for me, but it gets a 9.0 on IMDb. Also, new on Hulu, is The Glass Castle, starring Brie Larson. It is based on the classic book, of the same name, by Jeanette Walls, and also stars Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, Max Greenfield and Sarah Snook. The Glass Castle is a biographical account of Walls‘ childhood, living in poverty, with dysfunctional parents. Brie Larson received wonderful reviews for her part, and the movie gets a 7.2//10 on IMDb. Hulu has also added The 13th Warrior, starring Antonio Banderas. This movie is from 1999, and wikipedia says, that it is based on Michael Crichton‘s Eaters of the Dead, and is pretty much a retelling of Beowulf. It also stars Diane Venora and Omar Sharif and was directed by John McTeirnan. The movie gets a 6.6/10 on IMDb, but a 33%(!) on Rotten Tomatoes. It maybe best for fantasy fans and Banderas fans. And, finally, Hulu has the 2nd season of The Strain, the FX horror series from Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. As you might guess, this too is too scary for me, but I got to watch enough to know it’s a good show. It stars Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Mia Maestro and Sean Astin, in a story of a CDC doctor(Stoll), trying to stop the advance of viral outbreak of an ancient strain of vampirism. The Strain gets a 7.4/10 on IMDb.
NETFLIX
Netflix, too has added some good stuff this week, including The Education, a 2009 film starring Carey Mulligan. Mulligan was nominated for an Best Actress Oscar for her role as a young girl involved with an older man, in 1961 London. This film also stars Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina and Rosamund Pike and has a script written by Jack Hornsby. The film won multiple awards, including a BAFTA for Mulligan for Best Actress. It gets a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.3/10 on IMDb. I‘m watching. Netflix also has Obvious Child, an important 2014 movie starring Jenny Slate. Obvious Child is directed by Gillian Robespierre and is about a woman who becomes pregnant after a one night stand and decides to get an abortion. It also stars Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffman and David Cross. This movie won numerous awards, including at the Sundance Film Festival,one Critics Choice Movie Award, and two National Review Board Awards. It gets a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.8/10 on IMDb. Another new movie on Netflix is Remember, a 2015 movie starring Christopher Plummer. It’s a Canadian production about an again man with dementia, determined to kill an Nazi war criminal, a Rudy Kurlander, who supposedly emigrated to North America. It also stars Bruno Ganz, Jurgen Prochnow, Kim Roberts and Martin Landau. This film won an award for Best Original Screenplay at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards, and gets a 7.4/10 on IMDb and a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. and, Netflix has a new original sci-fy movie called Extinction. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Michael Pena, Mike Colter and Lilly Aspell in a tale of a man who dreams of alien invasion who seeks help at a clinic, and things escalate from there. Extinction gets a 6.1/10 on IMDb, and it’s really too early for any other reviews. If you want a proven sci-fi classic, look no further than Ex Machina a wonderful 2014 production. It was directed by Alex Garland(Annihilation) and is a futuristic study about robots and humanity. It stars Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Sonoya Mizuno, Alina Alminas andOscar Isaac. Ex Machina won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and British Independent Film Awards, as well as others. It gets a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.7/10 on IMDb. You should definitely see it, if you haven’t already. Netflix has also added The End of the Tour, the 2015 movie starring Jesse Eisenberg. Based on David Lipsky’s memoir, this movie is about author David Foster Wallace, and an interview the magazine writer had with him years before his suicide. Also starring Jason Segel as Wallace, it has a wonderful supporting cast with Becky Ann Baker, Anna Chlumsky and Joan Cusack. It won wide critical acclaim and was nominated for numerous awards. It gets a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.3/10 on IMDb. And, finally, Netflix offers Slow West, a 2015 British/New Zealand western. Not your average western, Slow West is about a young man in search of the woman he loves and what she thinks about it, as well. He travels far, meets bounty hunters, Native Americans, which makes for an interesting cast and comedy, too. It stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, Caren Pistorius, Michael Fassbender, Brooke Williams and Madeleine Sami. It gets a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.9/10 on IMDb.
AMAZON
Amazon hasn’t added much new stuff this week, except The Glass Castle, which, as on Hulu, I would recommend watching. But there are some hidden gems here, including Nothing Gold Can Stay, a Chinese TV series from 2017. It stars Sun Li, Chen Xiao and Ha Rundong, and is about a legendary Chinese female hero who was sold into slavery as a child, and suffers many more hardships, yet becomes a successful merchant. It gets 8.5 stars on MyDramaList and good reviews elsewhere. Amazon also has Comicstaan, an Indian Comic reality competition. It stars seven Indian Comics on a panel, travel to different Indian cities, looking for fresh new comic talent. The panel includes Tanmay Bhat, Sapan Verma and Biswa Kalyan Rath, and gets a 6.6/10 on IMDb. If you love standup comedy, this may be the show for you. And, finally, Amazon offers the Beatles’ classic Yellow Submarine, from 1968. With animation by Peter Max and great Beatles tracks, you can’t go wrong. And it gets a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.4/10 on IMDb.
Yes, if you can’t take the heat, stay inside and binge on classics new and old online, all weekend long!
