New Movies and Television Shows to Stream, Jan 5!

Yes, it’s the weekend again, time to discuss the best new movies and TV Shows to stream on Hulu, Netflix and Amazon. So let’s get right to it!

HULU

The most exciting new addition online this week is Annihilation, the 2018 sci-fi movie starring Natalie Portman, available today on Hulu! Directed by Alex Gardner(Ex Machina), this movie is the tale of biologists investigating a mysterious area, known as “The Shimmer.” It has a great cast, with Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny and Oscar Isaac.  This film may be cryptic, but highly praised in reviews, with Richard Roeper giving it 4/4 stars, and Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said “Garland need make no apologies for Annihilation. It’s a bracing brainteaser with the courage of its own ambiguity. You work out the answers in your own head, in your own time, in your own dreams, where the best sci-fi puzzles leave things.” And it gets an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. I’m definitely watching. Hulu also has Support the Girls, the 2018 comedy starring Regina Hall. Written and directed by Andrew Bujalski, this movie is about the women who work a sports bar and a particularly trying day there. It has a great ensemble cast, including Haley Lu Richardson, James Le Gros, AJ Michalka, Dylan Gelula, Shayna McHayle, Lea DeLaria, Jana Kramer and Brooklyn Decker. Hall won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, the first African–American to win the award(high time) and she was nominated for numerous others. And it gets a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and Vox called it “ an outstanding, quietly feminist comedy,” so I am definitely adding it o my queue! Hulu has also added A Crooked Somebody, the 2017 thriller directed by Trevor White. This is a movie about a conman, played by Rich Sommer, who uses his “psychic ” abilities to help people contact their loved ones, whose life is threatened because of that supposed gift. This film has a stellar cast, with Joanne Froggart, Clifton Collins Jr.,Ed Harris, Amy Madigan and Amanda Crew. It premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival and gets an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. And, finally, Hulu has added Something in the Air, the 2012 French drama. This is about life in the politically agitated ’70’s in France, the students embroiled in protest and their own lives, too. It stars Clement Metayer, Lola Créton ,Felix Armand, Carole Combes,
India Menuez, Hugo Conzelmann and Mathias Renou and it’s written and directed by  Olivier Assayas. Assayas won the Ossella at the Venice International Film Festival for Best Screenplay for this and Something in the Air gets an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.

NETFLIX

There are some big additions on Netflix, too, of course, with January, including Hell or High Water, the 2016 neo-western starring Jeff Bridges. Chris Pine and Ben Foster also star as a pair of bank robbing brothers, trying to save their family ranch, while Bridges and Gil Birmingham star as two Texas Rangers, determined to catch them. It also stars Marin Ireland, Katy Mixon and Dale Dickey and is directed by Dale MacKenzie. it premiered at Cannes, received great critical acclaim and was named by the American Film Institute as one of the ten best movies of the year. It also received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and gets a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. Netflix has also added And Breathe Normally, an 2018 Icelandic drama. It stars Kristín Thóra Haraldsdóttir and Babetida Sadjo as two women from the fringes of society, one a single mother seeking a job and stability, the other a woman seeking asylum in Iceland, becoming friends in a seemingly uncaring environment. It also stars Patrik Nökkvi Pétursson, Bragi Armasson and Helga Vala Helgadóttir and is directed by Ísold Uggadóttir. It gets an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7/10 on IMDb. Netflix has also added Krystal, William H Macy’s directorial coming-of-age movie from 2017. It stars Nick Robinson as a young man, who falls in love with a 30 year-old alcoholic stripper(Rosario Dawson), who joins AA in order to woo her. It also stars Macy as his father, Felicity Huffman(as his Mom), William Fichtner, Rick Fox and Jacob Latimore. Okay, so it gets a 10%(!) on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s still got a great cast, so I’m tuning in! And, finally, Netflix has added The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man, a documentary from director Tommy Avallone. This features Bill Murray’s almost epic habit of crashing everyday peoples lives, from a wedding or a karaoke bar to a kickball game. Avallone, Joel Murray and Peter Farrelly are also featured in this good hearted film, and it gets a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.

AMAZON

Amazon, too, has some amazing adds this week, biggest of all being Beautiful Boy, the 2018 movie starring Steve Carrell and Timothee Chalamet. A biographical drama about a teen’s drug addiction and it’s effects on the boy and his family. Chalamet is nominated for a Golden Globe this Sunday for his portrayal, and Maura Tierney, Jack Dylan Grazer, Amy Ryan and Timothy Hutton also star. It won the Founder’s Award at the Chicago Film Festival, and other awards, so if you wanat to see what all the buzz is about before Sunday, now’s your chance! But be forewarned, everyone didn’t love it- it gets a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.7/10 on IMDb. Another huge add on Amazon is Leave No Trace, the 2018 drama from director Debra Granik(Winter’s Bone). This movie is based on the true story of an Iraqi-War vet, with PTSD, who lives off the grid, way off, with his daughter in Portland, Oregon. It stars Ben Foster and Thomasin MacKenzie as the pair, and Jeff Kober, Dale Dickey and Jeffrey Rifflard complete the cast. It’s a sensitive and low-key portrayal of a very prescient problem, these days, and it gets a stunning 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. We should all watch. And finally, Amazon has added First Civilizations, the PBS science shows on how humans developed from hunter-gatherers to what we are today. , Though it is sometimes too concentrated on the male dominated Western European culture, it’s an enlightening and interesting series, certain to get you thinking and arguing on multiple subjects, like religion, cities and war. And it gets a 6.5/10 on IMDb.

So sit back, relax and recover from the Holidays, with a good binge of great shows on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime!