Yes, it’s the weekend again, and time to review the new movies and television shows added on Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime. There is some good stuff added online, so let’s get right to it!
HULU
Hulu has some great added this week, the first of which has to be the season 3 of The Handmaid’s Tale, starring Elizabeth Moss. Originally(in season 1) adapted from the Margaret Atwood classic novel of the same name, this season follows June/Offred(Moss) and other females forced to bear children, continues to fight back against the authoritarian, theonomic government of Gilead, that seeks to enslave them. The season also stars Joseph Fiennes, Alexis Bledel,Ann Dowd, Amanda Brugel, Elizabeth Reaser and Christopher Meloni and the creator is Bruce Miller. The previous seasons have won many awards, including Emmys and Golden Globes, and this season look just as promising. And it gets an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.5/10 on IMDb. Another notable addition to Hulu this week is Vox Lux, the 2018 drama starring Natalie Portman. Directed by Brady Corbet, this film tells the sad tale of sisters,Celeste and Eleanor (played by Raffey Cassidy and Stacy Martin)who survived a school shooting, and Celeste goes on to become a superstar(Portman), only to have her own song connected to a terrorist attack. It also stars Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle, Willem Dafoe(the narrator) and Maria Dizzia. It had its world premiere at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, and gets a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6/10 on IMDb. Hulu’s June addition to Into The Dark, They Come Knocking ,is finally available. This one centers on Father’s Day, and stars Clayne Crawford(Rectify),Josephine Langford and Lia HcHugh, on a road trip with the mission of scattering Val’s, played by Robyn Lively, ashes, the mother of the girls. And, way out in the middle of nowhere, their mobile home becomes the target of some visitors, first at the sunroof window and then knocking at the door with worse encounters to come.It also stars Dwight Hicks, Shane Carpenter and Willa Miel Pogue and it’s directed by Adam Mason. It gets a 6.9/10 on IMDb, and Brian Tallerico of rogerebert.com calls it the “best installment” of Into the Dark yet. Too scary for me. And, finally, Hulu has added The Weekly, the weekly news series from the New York Times. Every week, a day after airing on FX, an episode will be added to Hulu’s lineup, a half hour coverage of some of the paper’s most interesting stories, like the scandal of abuse and intimidation at T.M. Landry College in Louisiana, or the tale of the swindling of taxi cab drivers in New York, for medallions(a permit to drive). It’s fascinating and absorbing material, with a new story every week, and it gets a 5.9/10 on IMDb. I will be watching.
NETFLIX
Netflix has some exciting additions this week, but none as interesting as I Am Mother, the 2019 scifi thriller starring Hilary Swank and Clara Rugaard. The story begins as Rugaard‘s character, Daughter, is brought up by Mother(voiced by Rose Byrne) a robot designed to repopulate the Earth after extinction of humankind, or so she is told by Mother. But that secure world is shattered after Swank shows up at her sanctum, and tells her stories totally contrary to Mother‘s. It also stars Hazel Sandery and Luke Hawker and is an American/Australian production directed by Grant Sputore. David Rooney of the Hollywood Reporter calls it “an uncommonly ambitious feature debut with impressive design work, sharp visual effects, a fabulous A.I. creation and a compelling lead performance from talented Danish newcomer Clara Rugaard.” And it gets an amazing 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.8/10 on IMDb. It’s definitely on my list. Netflix has also added Everybody Knows, the 2018 Spanish language thriller directed by Asghar Farhadi(The Salesman). This show stars Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, with Cruz playing a mother who returns to her hometown outside Madrid for a wedding, when suddenly her daughter(Carla Campra) is kidnapped, and the family is investigated. It also stars Ricardo Darin, Bárbara Lennie, Inma Cuesta, Elvira Minguez and Sara Salamo. It premiered at Cannes last year, and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune says ” the acting’s universally strong always at the service of a knotty story.” And it gets a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7/10 on IMDb. Netflix also has a 2019 Tales of the City, based on Armistead Maupin‘s novels. It has an all star cast, with Ellen Page, returning to her hometown, Laura Linney playing her long absent Mom returning home and Olympia Dukakis the landlady that glues the neighborhood together. It also stars Paul Gross, Charlie Barnett, Murray Bartlett, May Hong and Garcia.There are 10 episodes now available, and it gets an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.5/10 on IMDb. Netflix also offer Herrens Veje, a 2018 historical drama series about life within the Church of Denmark. It stars Lars Mikkelson, Ann Eleanora Jørgensen, Simon Sears and Morten Hee Andersen as a family with a legacy of being priests(only the men, of course) in the Church, led by the patriarch(Mikkelsen) as they witness the historic events occurring in the country. It also stars Fanny Louise Berth, Joen Højerslev and Camilla Lau. There are 2 seasons available now on Netflix, with 10 from each year. Mikkelsen won the Best Performance by an Actor at the 46th International Emmy Awards, and the show gets a 7.4/10 on IMDb. I love a good historical drama. And, finally, Netflix has Alle Ist Gut, a 2019 drama from Germany. The film stars Aenne Schwarz as Janne, who is raped by a man she knows, and tries to be stoic about it, with heartbreaking results. It also stars Andreas Döhler, Hans Low, Tilo Nest and Lisa Wendel and was directed by Eva Trobisch. Wendy Ide of Screen Daily says Schwarz provides “a blistering performance that anchors this meticulous and powerful debut,” and the movie gets a stunning 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. An important film to see.
AMAZON
Amazon‘s biggest add this week, if they are to be believed, is Chasing Happiness, the 2019 Jonas brothers documentary. It stars all the brother, Nick, Joe and Kevin and covers their lives, from humble beginnings to meteoric rise. It’s directed by John Lloyd Taylor and gets an 8.1/10 on IMDb. So, if you’re interested in the pop group, that’s for you. But I’d prefer Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects, a psychological thriller from 2013. It stars Rooney Mara as a woman who attempts suicide after her husband’s (Channing Tatum) release from prison, and so is prescribed an experimental drug to treat it. But it causes her to sleepwalk as a side effect, and one night she stabs her husband to death while sleepwalking. I will go no further, to avoid spoilers, but that’s only the beginning. It has a solid cast, too, with Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vinessa Shaw, Ann Dowd, Polly Draper and Scott Shepard. And it gets an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.1/10 on IMDb. And, finally, Amazon offers Bottle Shock, a 2008 comedy/drama starring Alan Rickman. This movie features the tale of the “Judgement of Paris,” a wine competition where the California wine beat a French one, in 1976, for the first time. It also stars Chris Pine, Rachael Taylor, Dennis Farina, Bill Pullman and Eliza Dushku and is directed by Randall Miller. It premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and gets a 6.8/10 on IMDb, but, watch out, it only got a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes. Maybe only for Alan Rickman fans.
So sit back and relax this weekend and binge on wonderful movies and TV shows on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 