Yes, it’s Saturday, and time to review the new movies and television shows added online, at Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime. And there’s some exciting new stuff out there, so let’s get right to it!
HULU
One of the most exciting series added this week is Ramy, the new comedy series from comedianRamy Youssef. Ramy studies the difficulties and intricacies of being Muslim-American in his politically riven neighborhood in New Jersey. May Calamawy plays his sister, Dena, Hiam Abbass keenly plays his mother, Amr Waked, his father and Laith Nakli plays his uncle, Naseem. This is a wonderful comedy that’s not too different from any other good comedy out there, it’s not Muslim, but about a family of Muslim Americans, men and women, too. It also stars Steve Way,Mohammed Amer and Dave Merheje. The New York Times calls it “quietly revolutionary” and ” a soulful funny leap of faith” and it gets a 5.1/10 on IMDb, but it was only released today, so look for that to go up. I’m definitely watching. Hulu has also added The Quake, a 2018 thriller from Norway. This is a sequel to the excellent The Wave, of 2015(Norway’s highest grossing film that year) and picks up with the same family featured in that film, fractured by the fact that the father Kristian Elkjord, played by Kristoffer Joner, was not predicted soon enough to save the many lives it took. Ane Dahl Torp plays his very capable wife, with Kathrine Thorborg Johansen and Jonas Hoff Oftebro round out the family. Norway had an earthquake in 1904, in Oslo and Kristian now fears an earthquake may hit Oslo. This is another tense and intelligent thriller from director John Andreas Andersen, without overkill and too much CGI, like some American disaster films of the past few years have contained. It also stars Edith Haagenrud-Sande and Stig Amdam and it gets an amazing 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.2/10 on IMDb. And if you want to watch The Wave first, it’s streaming on Netflix here. Enjoy. Also, new on Hulu, is Above and Beyond, the 2018 documentary from director Rory Kennedy. This beautiful Academy Award nominated movie was also directed and narrated by Kennedy(who happens to be John F. Kennedy’s niece) is a celebration of NASA‘s 60th anniversary last year, and takes you on quite a ride through the missions and accomplishments of that organization. It’s especially interested in NASA‘s search for life on other planets, and a science nerd’s delight. And it gets an 8.1/10 on IMDb. So watch. And finally, Hulu has the charming Enchanted April, a 1992 comedy/drama from director Mike Newell(Four Weddings and a Funeral). Adapted from Elizabeth von Arnim’s 1922 novel of the same name, it tells the tale of four women, who decide to rent a cottage in Italy to escape their rainy gloomy environment. It stars Miranda Richardson, Josie Lawrence, Polly Walker and Joan Plowright(!) as those women and also features Albert Molina, Jim Broadbent and Michael Kitchen.It won two Golden Globe Awards that year and was nominated for three Oscars. With a cast like that, you can’t lose, and it gets an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.4/10 on IMDb.
NETFLIX
Netflix, too, has some big additions this week, but none bigger than Beyonce‘s 2019 concert movie Homecoming. This is an thrilling look at Beyonce’s 2018 Coachella performances, that paid homage to America‘s historically black colleges, directed and produced by Beyonce, too.It’s enough music for music lovers, long cuts of her performances at Coachella, but inspiring, too, with quotes from W.E.B. Dubois, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and more. It’s a beautifully shot, and wonderfully cut. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times calls it “one of the best concert films ever,” and Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com says “it’s a knockout.” And it gets an astounding 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.5/10 on IMDb. Netflix has also added Someone Great, a 2019 Netflix original movie starring Gina Rodriguez. This is a girl’s night out movie, motivated by Rodriguez‘s breakup with long time boyfriend Lakeith Stanfield and her move across the country to a new job.Brittany Snow and Dewanda Wise star as her best friends, and that’s the best part of the movie, with the trio desperate over her imminent departure from NYC. It also stars Rosario Dawson(!), Peter Vack and RuPaul Charles. It gets a 74% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 5.9/10 on IMDb. Netflix also has A Fortunate Man, a 2018 Danish drama. It tells the tale of a young man who leaves his poor roots to study engineering in Copenhagen, and designing a plan of canals in Jutland, only to have that threatened by his own ego. It stars Esben Smed,Julie Christiansen,Benjamin Kitter,Tammi Øst,Rasmus Bjerg and Tommy Kenter and was directed by Bille August. It was shortlisted for the Danish entry for the Academy Awards Best Foreign Film category. And it gets a 7.4/10 on IMDb. Netflix also offers I, Daniel Blake, a 2016 British drama. It stars Dave Johns in the title role, as a man who, despite having had a heart attack and his doctor’s advice not to work, has been deemed fit for work by a government official and denied employment and support allowance. Hayley Squires stars as an equally desperate single mom he befriends in Newcastle, where this takes place, and Dylan McKiernan,Briana Shann,Kate Rutter and Kema Sikazwe. It’s a grim and sad tale, woven by director Ken Loach, but it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and the Prix du public at the Locarno International Film Festival and the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film. And, it gets a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.9/10 on IMDb. And, finally, Netflix has Lunatics, an Australian Netflix 2019 original comedy series. This is a mockumentary reality series about an family of oddballs(to say the least), all played by comic Chris Lilley. It also stars Leena Arora ,Anne McCaffery-French,Philip Keogan,Harry Radbone,Emma Wilson and Ariana Doolan and it’s written and directed by Lilley, as well. It’s an out there, bizarre, ribald and at times, wildly inappropriate show, so don’t watch with the kiddies. And it gets a 7/10 on IMDb.
AMAZON
Yes, Amazon, too has a couple of big adds this week, it’s biggest being mid90s, Jonah Hill‘s directorial debut about youth and bullying in SoCal in the 90‘s. It stars Sunny Suljic as 13 year-old Stevie and Lucas Hedges as his older brother Ian, as they try to traverse L.A.’s tough skateboard culture, with their friends being played by Gio Galicia,Na-Kel Smith,Olan Prenatt and Katharine Waterston plays their Mom, Dabney. And it gets a 79% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.4/10 on IMDb. Amazon has also added In the Electric Mist, a 2009 mystery starring Tommy Lee Jones.In this, based on a James Lee Burke novel, Jones stars as a Louisiana detective(who’d have thunk), searching Bayou Country for the killer of a young woman. It also stars Peter Sarsgaard,Kelly Macdonald, John Goodman(!),Mary Steenburgen(!!) and Ned Beatty(!!!) and was only released in Europe in 2009. Rarely seen here, and with a stellar cast, it gets a 64% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.1/10 on IMDb. And, finally, Season 5 of Bosch, starring Titus Welliver is available on Amazon. Welliver plays Bosch, an L.A. police detective, based on Michael Connolly‘s mysteries, trying to survive as a police officer, after being sued for wrongful death, years earlier. It also stars Jamie Hector,Amy Aquino,Jeri Ryan, Lance Reddick, Madison Lintz and Sarah Clarke. It’s gritty, violent and suspenseful and gets an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.4/10 on IMDb.
So so whatever holiday you’re celebrating, whether Passover, Easter, or Spring Equinox, sit back and binge on movies and series online, on Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 