Yes, it’s that time again, the weekend, and time to review the best new movies and television shows added online this week(and last week), to Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. And there are some intriguing new adds this week, so let’s get started!
HULU
Hulu has two exciting adds this week, first, with Extraordinary, a 2022 British comedy series. Máiréad Tyers, stars, here, as Jen, an ordinary 25 year-old in an alternative world London, where everyone has superpowers. Except Jen, her powers unhappily haven’t developed yet, and so she is the truly extraordinary one. Everyone around her has super powers, like her flatmate Carrie (Sofia Oxenham), who’s a conduit to the dead, and relatives pity her, calling her a ‘brave little soldier,’ while human ubers fly about streets of town. Jen’s impatience and envy is palpable, as she does everything she can to get her powers to appear. Bilal Hasna, Siobhán McSweeney, Luke Rollason, Joshua Leese and Darcey Porter-Cassidy also star, and there are 8 hilarious episodes available to enjoy now. This series was created by the producers of Killing Eve, and Sherlock, and gets an incredible 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8/10 on IMDb. Judy Berman of Time calls it “True to its title, Extraordinary combines and tweaks familiar tropes into something genuinely unique. That it also makes Deadpool look about as audacious as The Incredibles is just a bonus.” I agree, and I’m tuning in. But Hulu also has the hugely important and timely docuseries The 1619 Project,. An outgrowth of the New York Times magazine series created and led by journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, this 6-part series tells of different subjects in America past and present where Blacks have played a pivotal role, only to be denied some part of that very freedom. Like Democracy, with Blacks who fought for our country and democracy, but were not defended by it themselves. Other episodes deal with titled subjects like Health and Race, and are teeming with intimate interviews of people fighting for their rights, or sometimes, their lives, with our country’s history of slavery looming large in the background, and the present. Oprah Winfrey is a producer, here, and director Roger Ross Williams delivers each episode replete with humor, grace and insight, while Nikole Hannah-Jones hosts each episode, while adding some of her own very personal experience, as well. And this amazing series gets an astounding 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and Peyton Robinson of RogerEbert.com calls it “both celebratory and searing.” I’m definitely watching. Hulu has also added the 2022 documentary, Three Minutes: A Lengthening. This is an examination of a 3 minute piece of home movie shot by David Kurtz in 1938 Poland, found by his grandson Glenn Kurtz, in Florida, in 2009. In it, we see the fresh shining faces of young children at play, women going to the store, men to work; with the shops, synagogues and other buildings in the background. With investigation by filmmaker Bianca Stigter, we find that the village was Nasielsk, Poland, which had 7,000 people at the time, and 3,000 Jews, with only 100 surviving the war. As the town itself was effectively purged, we get to see a lifestyle and the people Hitler and his army attempted, without success, to purge from Europe. Helena Bonham Carter gives a poetic narration of this wonderful piece, and meet Maurice Chandler, one of the few survivors pictured in this small piece of film. And this doc got multiple nominations last year, and went on to win Best Documentary Feature at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and Best Documentary at the Dublin International Film Festival. And it gets a tremendous 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 7.1/10 on IMDb.Wendy Ide of the Observer(UK) called it “part detective procedural, part memorial, its cumulative power is devastating.” And I’m definitely watching.And, finally, Hulu has added What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, a 2018 S. Korean drama. Based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jung Kyung-yoon, this tells of devoted secretary Kim Mi So, played by Park Min-young, who announces her resignation after working tirelessly for her narcissistic boss, Lee Young-joon, played by Park Seo-joon. So, of course, Lee Young-joon decides he will do anything to get her back, while she is determined to find an elusive man from her traumatic past, to help herself heal. Lee Tae Hwan plays Young Joon’s brother, Lee Sung Yeon, who also love Mi-so and Hwang Chan-sung, Kim Byeong-Ok, Kang Ki-young, Kim Hye-Ok and Pyo Ye-Jin also star, and there are 16 episodes available to watch now. And, yes, I know it’s a romance, but it won 3 awards at the Korea Drama Awards for Chan-sung and Pyo Ye-jin, and it gets an astounding 8.1/10 on IMDb. And Greg Wheeler of the Review Geek says “this is how you write a romcom!” So it’s on my list.
NETFLIX
Netflix has some interesting new adds this week, like Lockwood & Co, a 2023 Britsh fantasy series. Here, Britain is beset by ‘the Problem,’ in a word, ghosts who wander at will, and can kill with just by touch, in fact, they have already killed millions of Brits. And so, Lucy Carlyle, played by Ruby Stokes, answers a cryptic ad for Lockwood & Co, a ghost hunting agency led by another psychic, and investigator, Anthony Lockwood (Cameron Chapman), and together with George Karim (Ali Hadji-Heshmati), they go after those ghosts. And they use plenty of kick a techniques, like sword play and kick fighting, while adults disdain them altogether, even monitoring them through the Department of Psychical Research and Control (DEPRAC). Hayley Konadu, Ivanno Jeremiah, Luke Treadaway, Morven Christie and Rhianna Dorris also star, and there are 8 episodes available for gorging now. And, yes, it’s a YA series, but there’s plenty of mystery, fighting and comedy, that makes it worthwhile for adults like me, as well. And it gets a fantastic 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 7.4/10 on IMDb. And Josh Stephenson of metro.co.uk says it’s “fun, inventive – and a little bit Doctor Who…” So you know I’m watching. Netflix also offers The Snow Girl, a 2023 Spanish crime drama series. Here, a missing 5 year old girl rocks the community of Malaga, Spain, and young journalist Miren Rojo, played by Milena Smit, is determined to solve the mystery. But her reasons are different from most, in that she herself was kidnapped as a child and so she goes to the girl’s parents, Ana and Alvaro, offering her help. Which, of course, the lead investigator Belén Millán(Aixa Villagran) doesn’t appreciate. José Coronado,Tristán Ulloa, Julián Villagrán, Loreto Mauleón and Raúl Prieto also star, and there are 6 exciting episodes available now. And it gets a 7/10 on IMDb, and Jonathan Wilson of Ready Steady Cut calls it ” a solid mystery…it’s hard not to recommend this Spanish thriller to fans of the genre.” But it is a bit dark, so pace yourselves. Netflix has also added their big title of the week, You People, a 2023 comedy. Jonah Hill stars here as Ezra Cohen, a pod cast host who meets and falls in love with Amira Mohammed, played by Lauren London. Determined to marry her, he seeks permission from her parents, Ahmed, played by Eddie Murphy(!), and Fatima, played by Nia Long, but of course, things don’t go well. Ahmed, especially, is not impressed and does everything he can to put Ezra through the wringer. Julia Louis-Dreyfus(!) and David Duchovny(!) play Ezra’s parents, and Sam Jay, Anthony Anderson(!), Hal Linden(!) ,Richard Benjamin(!) and Elliott Gould(!) also star, while Kenya Barris(black-ish!) directs. But it’s great pedigree can’t save this weak material, and so it gets only a 46% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 5.5/10 on IMDb. Odie Henderson of the Boston Globe calls it “so tame in its take on race that it makes Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner look like Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman.” Better to watch black-ish (on Hulu here). Luckily, Netflix has also added Narvik, a 2022 Norwegian historical drama. this tells the true story of the WWII Battles of Narvik, in neutral Norway, in 1940. Since Narvik had 85% on the iron ore Hitler used by 1940, he invaded, not realizing the fight Norwegians would put up, and as the fight went on for months, the people of the city try to survive the invasion. And as Corporal Gunnar Tofte(Carl Martin Eggesbo) tries to return home from service, his wife Ingrid (Kristine Hartgen) tries to defend her family and herself from the invaders. She’s forced by German Konsul Fritz Wussow (Christoph Bach) to work as a translator, butthat doesn’t stop her from working to help British diplomats escape from the hotel where she is employed. Stig Henrik Hoff stars as Gunnar’s father Aslak, Christoph Gelfert Mathiesen as Ingrid and Gunnar‘s son Ole, and Holger Handtke, Henrik Mestad, Benjamin Noble and Ollie Campbell also star, while Erik Skjoldbjærg(Insomnia) directs. And this movie is now #1 on Netflix, and gets a 6.6/10 on IMDb. M.N. Miller of Ready Steady Cut calls it a “stunning-looking war film that’s naturally gripping.” I’m definitely tuning in. And, finally, Netflix has added Against the Ropes, a 2023 comedy drama. This revolves around Angela, played by Caraly Sánchez, recently released from prison(for a crime she says she didn’t commit) to find that her daughter, Rocio, is not at home with Angela‘s mother, but with her father and his new girlfriend, Candy Caramelo(Scarlet Gruber), a professional wrestler. Worse, it seems Rocio is smitten with her stepmother and angry with her mom for leaving. Angela feels her only choice is to prove her innocence, and along the way, to take up her father’s passion, Lucha Libre. Carmen Ramos, Alisson Santiago, Michelle Rodríguez, Giovanna Zacarías, Cuauhtli Jiménez and María Balam also star, and there are 10 episodes available for bingeing now. And this series gets an outstanding 8/10 on IMDb, with Joel Keller of The Decider calling it “a fun, heartwarming story that should have a lot of great wrestling at its core.” I’m watching.
AMAZON
Amazon has a major add this week with Shotgun Wedding, the 2023 Jennifer Lopez romcom. Lopez plays Darcy, here, a lawyer, set to marry ex-baseball player, Tom (Josh Duhamel), who agrees to a big do on an island, but getting cold feet(again) as both of their large families descend on the island. There’s Tom’s parents Carol(Jennifer Coolidge!) and Larry(Steve Coulter), and Darcy’s dad Roberto( Cheech Marin) and Renata(Sônia Braga!), that contribute to the chaos, with Darcy‘s ex Sean (Lenny Kravitz) adding only trouble. But the last straw comes in when pirates(!) descend on their party and take everyone hostage. Only Darcy and Tom evade their captors, and go off to get help, and save the day. Selena Tan, Callie Hernandez, Desmin Borges, Alberto Isaac, Melissa Hunter, Pancho Cardena and D’Arcy Carden(!) also star, and Jason Moore directs. But this material is far from Pitch Perfect, Moore‘s hallmark film, and so it gets only a 47% on Rotten Tomatoes. Brian Lowry of CNN.com says it “is a slapdash effort on most every level, seemingly sold almost entirely on the notion of watching Lopez run through the jungle in a tattered wedding dress.” I’d rather watch The Women’s Balcony, a 2017 Israeli drama. This opens with a tragedy, when the women’s balcony(tradition in many older, more Orthodox groups) at a synagogue collapses, leaving the rabbi’s wife injured, and the rest of the congregation shocked. When the regular rabbi gets ill, he’s replaced with a new, more conservative rabbi, David(Aviv Alush), who says the balcony collapse was a judgement of God, and though the men fall under his charismatic sway, the women are less than pleased. As he insists women cover their hair, and obey other orthodox rules, their anger rises, but when the women raise money for a new women’s balcony, but he wants to spend it on a scroll(saying it’s more important), they become irate. And they go on strike, with Ettie, played by Evelin Hagoel, leading the campaign. Orna Banai, Igal Naor, Yafit Aselin, Sharon Elimelech and Einat Saruf also star and Emil Ben-Shimon directs. And this movie got multiple nods when it came out, and went on to win Best Screenplay Award for Shlomit Nehama at the 2016 UK Jewish Film Festival. And it gets an outstanding 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Katie Hogan of VultureHound calling it “a brilliant uplifting film with a soul and really does show the importance of respect.” And I’m tuning in. And, finally, Amazon has added season 1 of Under The Vines, a New Zealand romantic dramedy from Acorn TV. This has both Aussie socialite Daisy Munroe (Rebecca Gibney) and soon to be disbarred Brit lawyer Lewis Oakley (Charles Edwards) believing they’re the “sole heir” to the fortune of Stanley Oakley, vineyard owner, who has just died. Turns out, though, that they both inherited only a winery that is on it’s last legs, with an almost undrinkable wine, that they have to turn around, in order to sell it, and make any profit at all. Trouble is they know little of wine, nothing of hard labor, and they can hardly stand each other. Dean O’Gorman, Sam Gardner, Trae Te Wiki, Simon Mead, Matt Whelan and Sarah Peirse also star, and there are 8 episodes in all to enjoy. And it gets a 7.3/10 on IMDb, and James Groot of stuff.co.nz says “Rebecca Gibney shines in TVNZ’s latest delightful dramedy.” I’m definitely watching.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 