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 exciting new adds this week, so let’s get started.
NETFLIX
Netflix has a delightful add with Cunk on Earth, a British travel mockumentary series. Diane Morgan stars as Philomena Cunk, a rather ill-informed television host who takes the viewer on a tour of the world and who doesn’t let her ignorance of history inhibit her offering her (sometimes very wise) opinion. We travel from the Egyptian pyramids to Pompeii, even to the view the cave paintings in France(where our host is singularly unimpressed), as Cunk offers her uniquely bizarre take on the treasures and the civilizations that built them. She even talks to real art and history experts, who, while polite, seem totally perplexed with their interviewer. Its a totally insane take on the classic shows like Civilization, and totally hilarious. And it’s creator is Charles Brooker of Black Mirror(!) and Christian Watt directs all 5 episodes available now. And this series gets a deserved and astounding 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 8.4/10 on IMDb. Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone says “what a ridiculous person is Philomena Cunk. What a very funny show is Cunk on Earth.” I’m definitely tuning in. Netflix also offers Infiesto, a Spanish crime drama series. This has two detectives in Inspector Samuel(Isak Férriz) and Subinspector Castro(Iria del Río) search for the kidnapper when a girl thought dead, Saioa (Andrea Barrado), turns up in the streets, screaming and brutalized. Since Saioa has litlle memory of what happened, and only a weird brand on her back, the pair investigate and find themselves in the small town of Infiesto, trying to prevent another abduction, or even worse, all during the pandemic, with the deserted streets adding another layer of strangeness to it all. Luis Zahera, José Manuel Poga and Patricia Defrán also star, and Patxi Amezcua directed and wrote the script, here. And though it gets but a 5.5/10 on IMDb, Martin Cid of MartinCid.com calls it “a very Spanish thriller, but with quality, well constructed and without a lot of great effects, bases itself on a good screenplay.” But it is dark, so beware. Also new on Netflix is Freeridge, a 2023 comedy series. A spin off of Netflix‘ On My Block(!), this has four teenage friends their Freeridge neighborhood in L.A. are plagued(they think) by a curse that springs from an old box they bought at a yard sale. Gloria (Keyla Monterroso Mejia of Abbott Elementary) and her sister Ines(Bryana Salaz) are always fighting, but now Gloria and her best friend Demi (Ciera Riley Wilson) are beset by more troubles in their lives. Cameron (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) rounds out the threesome who try to solve the mystery of the box, while trying to deal with their pre-existing problems, like Cameron‘s clingy boyfriend, and Gloria’s recently deceased mom. Peggy Blow, Michael Solomon, Zaire Adams, J.R. Villarreal and Jean Paul San Pedro also star, and there are 8 episodes available for streaming now. And it gets a respectable 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Angie Han of the Hollywood Reporter writes “while Freeridge emerges as a lighter show than its predecessor, it shares the same empathetic heart, playful sense of humor and, above all, deeply endearing affection for its young leads.” I’m watching. woNetflix has also added the award-winning 2017 film, Cactus Flower. Not to be confused with the 1969 American comedy, this has controversial Cairo actress Aida, played by Salma Samy, and her 70 year-old friend and neighbor Samiha (Menha Batraoui), getting thrown out of their Cairo apartment building after flooding there, blamed on them. And so the pair find themselves wandering the streets of the great city, trying to find a safe place to sleep, while meeting with friends and relatives from their past, in magical sequences of brilliant, colorful images. Marwan Alazab, Zaki Fateen, Arfa Abdel Rassoul, Sedky Sakhr and Zaky Fateen Abdel Wahab also star, while Hala Elkoussy directed. And this movie was nominated for Best Film at the 2017 Rotterdam International Film Festival, and went on to win for Menha Batraoui at the Dubai International Film Festival that same year. And it gets a 6.6/10 on IMDb, and Mark Adams of Screen Daily called it “a gently melancholic film that essentially is about friendship.” I’m watching. And, finally, Netflix has added Prison Playbook, a 2023 Korean drama. This tells the story of star baseball pitcher Je Hyeok-kim, on his way to play for the Boston Red Sox, when he is found guilty of assault(albeit to protect his sister) and sent to prison for a year. He is interned in the Seobu Penitentiary, with a wide array of criminal inmates, from drug offenders to while collar criminals, and although some of the administrators are corrupt, Je Hyuk‘s best friend, Lee Joon Ho (Jung Kyung Ho), is a guard there, and he becomes friends with other inmates, as well. Krystal Jung, Lee Kyoo-hyung, Jeong Woong-in, Moo-Seong Choi and Gi Doong Kang also star, and there are 16 episodes available for bingeing now. This show has been nominated for multiple awards in Asia recently, and Park Hae-soo won Best New Actor at the 2018 Seoul Awards. And it gets an astonishing 8.4/10 on IMDb. Driedmongoez.com calls it “an enjoyable, heartwarming and endearing slice of life story about convicts, their families and the corrections officers tasked with keeping them in check. Quite an interesting combination,”
AMAZON
Okay, Amazon itself has no big titles added this week, but it’s channel Freebie does, with the 2020 drama Let Him Go. Diane Lane and Kevin Costner star here as Margaret and George Blackledge,a couple in the 1960‘s, who travel from their home in Montana to North Dakota, desperate to save their grandson, after the loss of their only son. As they deal with their family ghosts and grief on the long ride over, they realize they have to get their grandson away from the criminal Weboy family, led by the terrifying Blanche(Lesley Manville!) that their son’s widow married into, and is now too terrified to leave.Kayli Carter, Jeffrey Donovan, Booboo Stewart and Will Britain also star, and Thomas Bezucha directed, along with writing the script. And this neo-western gets an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Tim Robey of the Daily Telegraph (UK) wrote “raising it to a must-see, [Lane] gets the scope to build a character who’s at once fretful and dead set, clinging on to what she loves, and fully prepared to fight.” I agree, Diane Lane is great, here, and that’s why I’m watching. Amazon has also added May I Help You, a S. Korean series. Lee Hye-ri plays Baek Dong-ju, a funeral director plagued by her ability to communicate with the dead, as they will drive her crazy with their demands until she helps them. But then she meets errand runner Kim Tae-hee, who is burdened with guilt of his own over his little brother’s death, and Dong-joo is able to help him deal with that, and to get justice for his brother. Together, they both heal, and direct themselves to the kind of life they actually desire. Oh Dae-hwan, Seo Hye-won, In-ho Tae, Kyu-han Lee and Le Hae Rie also star, and there are 16 episodes available now. And this series gets an incredible 7.7/10 on IMDb, and Greg Wheeler of the Review Geek calls it “intriguing drama that blends romance, drama and thrills together into an enticing cocktail.” It’s on my list. And, finally, Amazon has Season 1 of Vera, the 2011 BBC crime drama series. Brenda Blethyn(!) stars as the indomitable DCI Vera Stanhope, lead investigator in a new murder case each week, in a mystery series based on books by Ann Cleeves(!). She takes a no-nonsense approach to any conundrum or problem, gamely taking on any problem on the Northumbrian moors, dressed in her macintosh and bucket hat, with DCI Joe Ashworth(David Leon) by her side, as they solve seemingly baffling crime. Kenny Doughty, Jon Morrison, Riley Jones, Paul Ritter and Wunmi Mosaku also star in this first season, and there are 4 episodes available to gorge on now, until March 1st, when they all go back to the Britbox premium channel. And it was nominated for Best TV Drama, Serial or Season at the UK Crime Thriller Awards that first year it aired, and has gone on to win Best Drama in 2015 and Performance of the Year for Blethyn in 2017 at the Royal Television Society Awards. And it gets a whopping 8.1/10 on IMDb, and Chitra Ramaswamy of The Guardian(UK) says “what’s not to like? Not many actors can pull off shambolic and effective, but Blethyn can do it with a single, penetrating glance from beneath that hat.” I’m tuning in. I love a mystery.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 