Yes, it’s the weekend and time to rundown the new movies and Television shows available to stream online, with Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. So let’s get right to it!
HULU
Hulu has added some good stuff this week, the most interesting of which is Safe Harbour, an 2018 Australian Hulu original production. It stars Phoebe Tonkin, Ewen Leslie, Robert Rabiah, Jacqueline McKenzie, Joel Jackson and Leeanna Walsman, and its’s story features a group on a sailing holiday in the Timor Sea, who take some asylum seekers in tow, only find them gone the next day, and finding out the truth after five years. It deals nicely with the moral question of what would you do, and got great reviews. Wenlei Ma of news.com.au calls it “unmissable” and I agree. And it gets a 6.4/10 on IMDb. Another good new show on Hulu is Crime + Punishment, a 2018 Hulu documentary. About a group of police officers, in New York, who filed a lawsuit about their imposed quota for arrests every month. New York City has recently gone publicly against a quota now, but for years it was enforced, usually at the expense of young non-white men in the city. This movie won a special jury award for “social impact” at Sundance Film Festival for director Stephen Maing and it’s a must see movie for all Americans. And it gets an 8.0/10 on IMDb. If you want something a little lighter, in a documentary, Hulus has Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a hit movie in 2012. It’s about 85 year old Jiro Ono, who is the master sushi maker and owner at Sukiyabashi Jiro, a Michelin three-star restaurant in a Tokyo subway station. It’s a fascinating movie about Jiro and his sons, and Roger Ebert called it a “portrait of tunnel vision.” It gets a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 7.9/10 on IMDb. Hulu has also added To The Moon and Back, a 2018 documentary about murder, revenge and the Russian Adoption Ban. It is a chilling movie by director Susan Morgan Cooper, full of intrigue and scandal. There is very little information about it online as yet, but it gets an 8.7/10 on IMDb. and, finally, if you want a little sci-fi and adventure, after all the documentaries, Hulu offers The Time Machine, the 2002 version starring Guy Pearce. This is a loose retelling of H.G. Wells’ tale, but it has pretty impressive special effects, and a good cast, including Jeremy Irons, Orlando Jones, Samantha Mumba and Phyllida Law. It may not be as good as the 1960 classic, but Hulu doesn’t offer that version and some of us need science fiction every week.It even has a cameo by Alan Young of the 1960 version. And it gets a 5.9/10 on IMDb.
NETFLIX
Netflix, too, has some exciting new additions this week, including The Innocents, the new supernatural British thriller. This features a romantic pair , one of whom has an extraordinary psychic ability, who are separated and challenged by a mysterious group. That’ all I can tell you without giving anything away, but it stars Sorcha Groundsell, Percelle Ascott, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Laura Birn and Guy Pearce, again. It’s basically a Romeo and Juliet story, with sci-fi effects included. This is newly released so there aren’t many rating or reviews, but IMDb gives it 6/10. If you want some more grownup thrills, Netflix offers Ghoul, a 2018 Indian horror series. This looks really scary, from the trailer, and is based on the ghoul, from arabic folklore. It takes place in a covert military detention center, where an investigator(Radhika Apte) is summoned, for a particularly troubling detainee, who it turns out, is not of this world. Ghoul also stars Manav Kaul, Ratnabali Battacharjee, Mahesh Balraj and Mallhar Goenka. This looks to be a seriously terrifying series and it gets a 7.7/10 on IMDb. Watch it if you dare. Also, new on Netflix, is The Lodgers, an 2017 Irish gothic horror film. Starring Charlotte Vega and Bill Milner as two twins who, 1920, live under the gloom of a sinister presence, in their house. It also stars David Bradley, Moe Dunford, Roisin Murphy and Dierdre O’Kane, and appears to be more atmospheric than our previous suggestion, and had critcs calling it intelligent and effective, comparing it to The Others(with Nicole Kidman). This movie won awards, including one at the 15th Irish Film & Television Awards, and gets an 5.1/10 on IMDb. It’s definitely more my speed for a horror film. If you want something more light(I know I do), Netflix has added Great News, the NBC series starring Andrea Martin, of SCTV. Now, normally, I don’t included major network series, but this has a great pedigree, with Tina Fey as a producer, Robert Carlock(The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and David Miner(also Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). It stars Briga Heelan, Martin and John Michael Higgins in a story a segment producer(Heelan) who has to deal with presence of her Mom(Martin) on the set as an intern. It also has cameos by great actors and comedians, including Tina Fey herself, Vicki Lawrence, Ray Liotta and Ana Gasteyer. And it gets a 6.7/10 on IMDb. Netflix has also added Deadwind, a 2018 series from Finland. It stars Pihla Vittala as detective Sofia Karppi, who must investigate the murder of a woman, with a new rookie partner, after the death of her husband. Deadwind also stars Lauri Tilkanen, Jani Volanen, Pamela Tola and Eedit Patrakha. It got strong reviews, and was even nominated at at the 2018 Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize in the Best Nordic Screenplay category. (I got all this info courtesy of wikipedia, thanks so much). And Deadwind gets a 7.0/10 on IMDb. And, finally, Netflix offers Pad Man, a 2018 Indian movie about Arunachalam Muruganantham, a hero of mine. Muruganantham, a social activist developed a low cost sanitary pad for women in India and suffered public humiliation and resistance for it. The movie stars Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte and won several awards, including Best Director for R. Balki and Best Actress in a Leading Role for Kapoor. It gets a 100%(!) on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.1/0 on IMDb.
AMAZON
Amazon has one really exciting addition this week; Unsane, starring Claire Foy(The crown, Wolf Hall). A Steven Soderbergh film,Unsane stars Foy as a woman who is involuntarily committed to a mental institution, after reporting being stalked, who becomes unsure of what was really happening to her. It also stars Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Juno Temple and Amy Irving, and got good reviews. It gets a 6.4/10 on IMDb and a 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. And, starting tomorrow, Amazon will offer mother! , Darren Aronofsky‘s allegorical movie starring Jennifer Laurence and Javier Bardem. A screwy tale of a young woman whose happy home with her husband is turned upside-down with mysterious guests and violence, mother! also stars Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer and Domhnall Gleeson. The movie got fairly good reviews, but confused a lot of viewers, in fact, at the Venice Film Festival, where it premiered, it got both boos and a standing ovation. So watch if you dare. And it gets a 6.7/10 on IMDb and a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes. Amazon also has, starting today Disobedience, starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams. Weisz stars as a former orthodox Jew, who was shunned for a supposed indiscretion, and meets her old friend, McAdams. The movie was directed by Sebastien Lalio and produced, in part by Weisz. It also stars Alessandro Nivola, Anton Lesser and Liz Sadovy and got good reviews. It gets an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.6/10 on IMDB. Well worth seeing, especially for it’s views of the sometimes stifling effect of Orthodox Judaism on some members, especially women. And, finally, Amazon has Woman Walks Ahead, starring Jessica Chastain. Chastain stars in the true story of Caroline Weldon, a painter set to do a portrait of Sitting Bull, who gets embroiled in the plight the Lakota Sioux and the struggle for their land and heritage. It also stars Michael Greyeyes, Chaske Spencer and Sam Rockwell. Greyeyes, especially, got rave reviews for his portrayal of Sitting Bull, with NYTimes critic Jeannette Catsoulis calling his performance “a miracle of intelligence and dignity.” And it gets a 6.2/10 on IMDb.
So if it’s too hot outside, hibernate inside with great new movies and classics online at Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.
Grownups Guide to Streaming 