Yes, it’s that time again, the weekend, and time to review the best new movies and television shows added online this week, to Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. And there are some exciting new adds this week, so let’s get started!
HULU
Hulu has some interesting adds this week, like Maggie, a 2022 Hulu romcom series. Rebecca Rittenhouse plays the title character, Maggie, a psychic who can see everybody’s future but her own, and who has no romance in her life. So when she reads a stranger’s palm, Ben (played by David Del Rio), and tells him of an epic romance coming in his life, she’s surprised to see herself as his partner, too. And even more surprised when he moves in next door with his girlfriend, Jessie(Chloe Bridges). Ray Ford stars as Maggie‘s psychic, Angel and Nichole Sakura, Angelique Cabral, Leonardo Nam, Chris Elliott(!) and Kerri Kenney also star. And there are 13 episodes available now, ready to devour in one gulp. And this series gets a 64% on Rotten Tomatoes. And while it’s not my cup of tea, if you want a romance, this may be yours. Angie Han of the Hollywood Reporter said its “not a once-in-a-lifetime love, but a pleasant weekend fling.” You decide. But Hulu also offers Ultrasound, a 2022 sci-fi thriller. Vincent Kartheiser stars, here, as Glen, a man driving home late in a rainstorm, forced to take refuge in a house when he has a flat tire, meeting a middle-aged man, Arthur(Bob Stephenson), and his younger wife, Cyndi(Chelsea Lopez). When he receives a truly weird offer from Art, to share the bedroom of his young wife, he can’t imagine what outright madness is yet to come. Breeda Wool, Tunde Adebimpe, Rainey Qualley, Jim Boeven and Dana Lyn Baron also star, and Rob Schroeder directs. And it gets an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Mary Beth McAndrews of RogerEbert.com wrote it “evokes a creeping sense of paranoia that may follow me for days to come.” So you can probably guess, I’m not watching. Too scary for me. Hulu also has Equity, a 2019 drama. Anna Gunn stars as Naomi Bishop, an openly ambitious investment banker struggling to keep her job when a leak ruins a big deal for the firm, not to mention the fact that her old college friend and white collar crime investigator, Samantha(Alysia Reiner), is snooping around. James Purefoy plays Naomi’s boyfriend Michael, and Samuel Roukin, Craig Bierko, Sophie von Haselberg, Carrie Preston and James Naughton(!) also star, while Meera Menon directed. And this film gets an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Jordan Hoffman of the Guardian saying the “hotly toxic tale of women on Wall Street is a greedy treat.” I’m tuning in. And, finally, Hulu has Get Low, a 2010 comedy. Said to be based on a true ‘tall’ tale of the ‘30‘s, this tells of Felix Bush, a hermit living in the woods, who approaches undertaker on the make Frank Quinn (Bill Murray!) with a proposition, wanting a funeral party to take place while he alive. Since he’s willing to spend a lot of money, and Quinn‘s had a bit of a dry spell, he accepts. But the party catches the public’s attention, and soon Felix is on the radio, and in the paper. And his old flame Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek!) shows up, and a surprising story comes to life. Lucas Black plays Quinn’s assistant Buddy, and Bill Cobbs, Gerald McRaney, Lori Beth Sikes, Scott Cooper and Linds Edwards also star, and Aaron Schneider directed. And this movie gets an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. Clem Bastow of The Vine wrote “it’s Duvall‘s film, and he brings a gravity and poetry to Bush that sets him apart from the script’s more prosaic moments.” I’m watching.
NETFLIX
The biggest title added on Netflix this week has to be The Sea Beast, a 2022 CGI animated movie. This revolves our hero Maddie(Zaris-Angel Hator), an orphan who runs away from her orphanage to seek the sea monsters that plague her country, eventually stowing away on the ship the Inevitable, with crewmember Jacob Holland (Karl Urban), and the ruthless Captain Crow (Jared Harris). When Maddie and Jacob are marooned on an monster infested island, they must survive that, to kill their ultimate quarry, the sea beast(s).Dan Stevens(!), Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Kathy Burke, Jim Carter and Doon Mackichan also voice characters here, and Chris Williams(Moana!) directs. And it’s for that reason I recommend this, the great girl power of Moana is present here, along with plenty of snark and humor. And, though I don’t usually love computer animation, this is artful and colorful enough as to, kind of, make up for any of the inherent awkwardness of CGI. And it gets an amazing 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com calls it “fun, smart, and sneakily deep.” I agree- I’m tuning in. But Netflix also offers King of Stonks, a 2022 German comedy series. Thomas Schubert plays Felix Armand, the hyper ambitious developer of a new payment startup CableCash, eager to become the CEO and next billionaire super-star of the tech world, and willing to lie, cheat or swindle in order to do so. But first, they need a huge federal contract, which maybe nixed if they find out about the startup’s earlier association with porn kings Till (Wilson Gonzalez) and Fabian Hermann (Ali Salman). And reporters are digging around, as their IPO draws near. Matthias Brandt,Larissa Sirah Herden, Nino Portio and Bibiana Beglau also star, and there are 6 episodes available for viewing now. And though this series gets only a 5.6/10 on IMDb, Joel Keller of The Decider says to Stream it, saying it “shows more humanity than at least a couple of the “tech bro” series we’ve seen lately.”, and I agree. It’s on my list. Netflix has also added The Lift Boy, a 2021 Indian comedy. This tells the story of 24-year-old Raju Tawde, played by Moin Khan, a slacker who has failed his engineering exam for the fourth time when his father, Krishna(Saager Kale) a lift operator, suffers a heart attack. And so Raju’s mother Laxmi (Neha Bam) convinces him to take his father’s place while he recovers, and so he meets new people, including the owner of the building, Mrs. D’Souza(Nyla Masood), who helps Raju find purpose, and finally, pass his exam. Aneesha Shah, Damian D’Souza, Nil Mani, Kaustubh Narain and Shilpa Iyer also star, while Jonathan Augustin not only directed, but wrote the script for this piece, as well. And this movie gets an impressive 7.1/10 on IMDb, with Isha Sharma of HighonFilms called it “heartening tale that will make you both laugh and cry.” I’m watching. Also new on Netflix is The Longest Night, a 2022 Spanish thriller series. This begins with the arrest of the notorious serial killer ‘The Alligator’ Simón Lago, played by Luis Callejo, but with Lago, after being tipped off, going willing with police. And instead of sending him toe a maximum security prison, he is sent to Monte Baruca, an unprepared psychiatric prison. So authorities know something is up, including warden Hugo Roca(Alberto Ammann), called away from a holiday dinner with his family, to handle whatever comes. meanwhile, an assault team is headed to the hospital, led by Lennon (Jose Luis Garcia Perez), to break the man out. Maria Caballero, Sabela Aran, Barbara Goenaga,Daniel Albaladejo, Lucia Diez, Xabier Deive and Cecilia Freire also star, and there are 6 episodes available to bingeing now. This is a dark and violent series, but smart and interesting, too. And it gets a 6.1/10 on IMDb, with Jonathon Wilson of ReadySteadyCut saying it may “very well be the standout binge-watch proposition of this streaming weekend [that] delivers a high-octane viewing experience in a digestible package.” I’m watching. And, finally, Netflix has added Incantation, a 2022 Taiwanese horror flick. Tsai Hsuan-yen plays Li Ronan, a young woman who broke a terrible taboo six years ago, and now struggle to protect her daughter Dodo (Huang Sin-ting) from the monsters that seem to be encroaching, as a result of her curse. When Li travels to a mountain village for answers, the evil only deepens. Kao Ying-hsuan, Mohamed Elgendy, Sean Lin, Ahmed Shawky Shaheen and Ching-Yu Wen also star, while Kevin Ko directs. And this film that gets a 6.6/10 on IMDb is made super scary with it’s found footage style. Karina “ScreamQueen” Adelgaard of Heaven of Horror writes “it has been called “the most terrifying film ever made in Taiwan” and I am very inclined to agree.” So I’m not watching. Just the trailer had me hiding under the bed. But horror enthusiasts will enjoy it.
AMAZON
Amazon has some good, though more obscure, adds this week, like Perfumes, a 2020 French comedy. Grégory Montel stars as Guillaume, the chauffeur in desperate need of a job, who gets hired by Anne, played by Emmanuelle Devos, a freelance ‘nose’ in the perfume business. But Guillaume discovers he was not so much lucky as cursed to land the exclusive job for the demanding and elitist smeller, as he finds her wanting him to quit smoking, carry her bags and even change her sheets, in addition to driving. But he needs to stick with it, especially as he’s seeking joint custody of his tween daughter, Léa (Zélie Rixhon). But could he actually find a friend in his haughty boss? Gustave Kervern, Sergi Lopez, Anne Walberg, Gustave Kervern and Patrick Ballester also star, and this film gets a stunning 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Ed Potton of the Times (UK) called it “quietly delightful.” So I’m watching. Amazon also offers Warriors on the Field, a 2022 doc. This considers the lives of 3 indigenous Australians who all play for the ASL, or Aussie Rules Football. Michael O’Loughlin, Michael Walters and Tarryn Thomas all share their experiences of being indigenous children in Australia, growing up in poverty, and rising to heights little dreamed of by any one person. But that doesn’t mean they left the racism that dogs the indigenous behind, relating stories of calls of slurs like “monkey, black dog, and abo, ” and even a sports league that forbade them to speak in their native language. They tell of living in two worlds, and how ‘”sport changes a lot of conversations.” It’s thrilling and inspiring stuff, but also a very balanced tale told by director Larissa Behrendt(In My Blood It Runs). And it gets an impressive 7/10 on IMDb, with Andy Punter of ReadySteadyCut says it “tells an important story likably and thought-provokingly.” I’m tuning in. And, don’t forget, with Prime Day coming up in 3 days, Amazon Prime Video has made some great deals on premium channels available now, offering 99¢, including Showtime, Starz, Epix, Acorn TV and AMC+, right here. They also offers some cut rates for buying first run films like The Batman and Ambulance, but their best deals seem to be for rentals, at $2.99. So click here for more details.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 