Yes, it’s that time again, the weekend and time to review the newest movies and TV series added to Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime. So let’s get right to it!
HULU
Okay, Hulu has added a few interesting new shows this week, including Hang Ups, a 2018 British sitcom with Stephen Mangan. It this series, Mangan plays a therapist, with troubles of his own, to start doing therapy by web cam. There are tons of great British actors and comedians here, including Katherine Parkinson(Doc Martin) as his wife, and Richard E. Grant,Charles Dance( The Jewel in the Crown), Karl Theobald, Alice Lowe, and Bebe Cave. Then there are the people who play some of his patients, including David Tennant,Jo Joyner,Paul Ritter, Monica Doland, Lolly Adefope, Sarah Hadland and David Bradley. It’s fast paced and there’s a lot of ad-lib going on here, and it got great reviews in Britain. It gets a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.1/10 on IMDb. Hulu has also added Where Hands Touch, the 2018 British war drama starring Amandla Stenberg(The Hate U Give). This movie, written and directed by Amma Asante, tells the tale of a biracial girl in Germany, played by Stenberg, who falls in love with a member of the Hitler Youth, played by George MacKay. But this is a disturbing tale, as Leyna(and others like her) is considered a Rhineland Bastard“,considered a child of a French soldier that occupied the area after WWI. It also stars Abbie Cornish, Christopher Eccleston and Tom Sweet. And though it’s heart is in the right place, the movie kind of fails . It gets only a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 5.1/10 on IMDb. Another new addition on Hulu is The Panama Papers, the 2018 documentary about global corruption. At the center of this corruption was the Panamanian law firm of Mossack Fonseca to hide massive amounts of money, acquired in many illegal ways,like tax evasion, cronyism, election meddling and murder by cartels, politicians, and heads of state.All of this was uncovered by an international network of reporters, working at great personal threat, to their well being. The film is directed by Alex Winter, and narrated by Elijah Wood. And it gets a stunning 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.4/10 on IMDb. And, finally, Hulu has I, Dolours, a 2018 documentary about a woman working for the IRA in Northern Ireland, Dolours Price. Price went from being an idealist, hired to work for Special Ops, in the IRA, and “disappeared” a lot of enemies of the organization, to going on hunger strikes and finally becoming jaded and cynical about her efforts. She gave these interviews two years before, on the condition they couldn’t be shown until she died. Lorna Larkin plays her well and believably in the reenactments here, and the film gets an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.4/10 on IMDb.
NETFLIX
Netflix has some exciting additions this week, including After Life, Ricky Gervais‘ new series about a man trying to survive his wife’s death. This is a dark comedy, with Gervais trying to insult and do battle with everyone he meets, and taking a job on a free newspaper as an advice columnist. Luckily, he has a good cast to work with, including David Bradley(Game of Throne, Harry Potter), Mandeep Dhillon, Penelope Wilton, Kerry Godliman, Ashley Jensen and Tom Basden. There is a lot of raunchy language, inappropriate insults and depression here, but if you like Ricky Gervais, there are six half-hour episodes available, and the show gets an 8.6/10 on IMDb. Netflix has also added Juanita, the 2019 comedy/drama starring master actor Alfre Woodard. In it, Woodard stars as a terribly unappreciated and overworked Mom of three grown children, who suddenly skips town for Montana and a new life. It also stars Adam Beach, Marcus Henderson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Blair Underwood, Elaine Miles and Ashlie Atkinson. It’s based on a novel by Sheila Williams and directed by Clark Johnson. Parts of it may be predictable, but Woodard never is and gives a wonderful, layered performance. And I heartily agree with The Guardian, that” it’s a step in the right direction for Netflix in one way, giving an older black woman her own narrative.” And it gets a 6.2/10 on IMDb. Netflix also offers Lady J., a 2019 French period drama based on a plot by Diderot. This stars Cécile de France, as Madame de la Pommeraye, a woman who unfortunately falls for a womanizer’s ploys, but fortunately manages to plan her revenge. It also stars Edouard Baer,Alice Isaaz and Natalia Dontcheva and is directed by Emmanuel Mouret. It’s just released yesterday, so it’s too early for IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes ratings, but it gets lovely reviews, and if you liked Dangerous Liaisons, this is the movie for you. Netflix has added Disappearance, a thriller series from Emerati TV. It stars Nelly Karim as a Russian woman looking for her missing husband in Egypt. It also stars Mohamed Mamdouh, Basma and Hesham Selim and was directed by Ahmed Medhat. There are no rating for this, but apparently this was a big hit when it aired in the Middle East for Ramadan. I”m watching. Netflix also has the 2010 Indian Award-winning movie I am, actually an anthology of four short films. Each one is based on a real-life story of a person in India dealing with difficulties like child abuse, being gay, sperm donation and or being an isolated ethnic group like the Kashmiri Pandits. It stars Nandita Das, Juhi Chawla Sanjay Suri,Rahul Bose and won multiple awards at dozens of film festivals, and won the National Award for Best Hindi Film and Best Lyrics in 2012. It gets a 7/10 on IMDb. And, finally, Netflix has added Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller Strangers on a Train, from 1951. Starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker, this is based on the novel of the same name, by Patricia Highsmith, where two strangers meet, and, unwittingly set into motion one murder, and an expectation for a reciprocal murder down the line. It also stars Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll, Patricia Hitchcock, Laura Elliott and Marion Lorne. This is one of Hitchcock‘s best later movies and certainly, one of his creepiest. And it gets a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8/10 on IMDb. I’m tuning in.
AMAZON PRIME
Amazon only two new movies this week, the best being Mia Madre, a 2016 movie starring Margherita Buy. She stars as a director, whose husband is the star of her show, and causing major problems, and who also has to deal with her mother’s serious illness. It is masterfully directed by Nanni Moretti and also stars John Turturro, Giulia Lazzarini,Nanni Moretti and Beatrice Mancini. And it gets an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.8/10 on IMDb. Certainly worth a view. And Amazon has added I Can Only Imagine, the 2018 Christian drama starring Dennis Quaid. It tells the tale of Christian band MercyMe‘s song of the same name, based on band member Bart Millard’s, (played by J. MIchael Finley) tough relationship with his father, played by Dennis Quaid. It also stars Madeline Carroll, Priscilla Shirer, Cloris Leachman, Trace Adkins and Brody Rose. It only gets a 64% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a bit corny, but it has some good cast members, including, of course, Cloris Leachman. And that’s it for Amazon’s new additions this week, but they also have Deep Red, a 1975 thriller starring David Hemmings. This is from Suspiria’s director Dario Argento and tells the tale of a man(Hemmings) witness to a murder of a psychic, who teams up with a reporter, played by Daria Nicolodi. It also stars Gabriele Lavia,Clara Calamai, Macha Méril and Glauco Mauri. It gets an amazing 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Total Film calls it “a great introduction to Dario Argento‘s evolving style of horror.” So if you can’t stream the original Suspiria, turn Deep Red on instead. it’s too scary for me.
So sit back and relax, with classic movies and new television series, online, at Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 