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 a huge add this week with The Clearing, it’s in-house thriller series. This is based on J.P. Pomare’s 2019 novel In The Clearing, this considers the disappearance of a young girl in Australia, which shocks Freya (Teresa Palmer) into considering the possibility of the involvement of the cult that traumatized her, years after the group was thought to be dissolved. That cult, The Kindred, is led by Adrienne Beaufort (Miranda Otto!), where she is deified, with a bevy of young girls( also kidnapped?) are forced to dye their hair blonde and cut it like Adrienne‘s, and live under her harsh regimen. And just when her nightmare couldn’t see to get worse, Freya’s own daughter disappears. Guy Pearce, Kate Mulvany, Hazem Shammas, Julia Savage and Lily LaTorre also star, and there are 3 episodes available now. And this series, based on a real Australian cult, gets an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Coleman Spilde of the Daily Beast writes “that historical basis, and nimble fictionalized mystery led by a bewitching Otto, make The Clearing a captivating Aussie transplant that burrows deep into cult psychology and its lifelong effects, without feeling exploitative.” And I’m watching. Hulu also offers A Small Light, a 2023 historical drama series . This tells the real-life story of Miep Gies, played by Bel Powley, a worker for Otto Frank(Liev Schreiber), who offers to help hide his wife and children from the Nazis in 1940‘s Amsterdam. And so she save the eldest daughter Margot(Ashley Brooke) by getting her safely through a Nazi checkpoint, and finally, secreting the whole family, including Anne(Billie Boullet), in her attic. Joe Cole,Amira Casar, Laurie Kynaston, Noah Taylor and Sean Hart also star, and there are 8 episodes available now. And this series gets an astounding 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Rebecca Nicholson of the Guardian says it “finds a fresh way in to this tale of courage, resilience and tragedy and, in doing so, may well pass the story on to yet another generation.” and I’m tuning in. Also new and very notable on Hulu is Gannibal, a 2022 Japanese thriller/horror series from Disney+. An adaptation of a popular manga series of the same name, this focuses on police officer Daigo Agawa(Yûya Yagira), who leaves the city after an embarrassing incident there, and moves to work in the rural Kyokamura village, with his wife and daughter. But the fact that he’s replacing a missing officer becomes more troubling with each disturbing incident that follows their arrival. Lie an old woman found dead with human tooth marks on her arm. Could the powerful Goto family that rules the village be involved? Riho Yoshioka,Seiji Rokkaku, Sho Kasamatsu, Rairu Sugita and Mitsuko Baishô also star, and all 7 spine tingling episodes are directed by Shinzô Katayama(Missing). And this series gets an incredible 7.4/10 on IMDb, and Jorge Loser of Espinof calls it “a series that is postulated as one of the great sleepers of dark television” And, finally, Hulu has added Broker, the 2022 S. Korean drama. Directed by the master Hirokazu Kore-eda(Shoplifters), this follows the young mother, So-young (Ji-eun Lee), who is forced by poverty to abandon her baby at a church operation called the Baby Box, a haven for unwed or unprepared mother’s like her. But when her baby boy is stolen by baby brokers Sang-hyun(Song Kang-ho, of Parasite!) and Dong-soo(Gang Dong-won) , So-young sets off in hot pursuit of them. But when she finds the pair have a big money making scheme, baby boys being a hot commodity in S. Korea, she asks for a cut of the action, instead. But they themselves have two detectives on their trail. Im Seung-so, Bae Doo-na, Doona Bae, Kang Gil-woo and Lee Joo Young also star, and Kore-eda wrote the script, along with directing, here. And this movie was nominated for numerous awards, and competed for the Palme d’Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, and went on to win Ecumenical Jury Award and the Best Actor Award for Song Kang-ho there, along with winning Best International Film at the Munich Film Festival, along with other awards.. And this movie gets a spectacular 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Danny Leigh of the Financial Times wrote “Broker is nothing if not a film of surprises… a swaddled-up mix of road movie, social realism, crime cliffhanger and even knockabout comedy. Genres collide. A little like life.” I’m definitely tuning in.
NETFLIX
The biggest title on Netflix this week has to be Fubar, the 2023 action/thriller series marking the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Here, Schwarzenegger plays CIA operative Luke Brunner, on the brink of retirement, when, of course, he is asked to perform one last mission, to rescue a fellow operative from the grip of the villainous Boro (Gabriel Luna). And who does that agent turn out to be but his daughter, Emma(Monica Barbaro), who has a troubled relationship with her dad already. So when the CIA wants the pair to work together to bring down Boro, arguments ensue, amid the gunplay. Fabiana Udenio,Jay Baruchel,Fortune Feimster,Milan Carter and Barbara Eve Harris also star, and there are 8 episodes available for viewing now. But this series gets only a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Kelly Lawler of USA Today called it “all cliché, followed by painful cringe and then rounded out by dumbfounded confusion. There are humans talking, but I don’t believe humans wrote the dialogue.” I won’t be watching. Luckily, Netflix also offers Blood & Gold, a 2023 German historical thriller. This tells of the end days of WWII, with Nazi rule crumbling, when reluctant soldier Heinrich (Robert Masser) finally deserts, and goes in search of his daughter. But he’s caught by the Nazis and hung from a tree, only to be rescued by the farmer Elsa (Marie Hacke), but the Nazis linger in the area, in search of a huge gold stash purportedly hidden by a persecuted Jewish family finally burned out of their home by their neighbors. And so Heinrich and Elsa go on a bloody path to escape the army, while looking for the gold at the same time. Alexander Scheer, Simon Rupp,Roy McCrerey, Jördis Triebel and Nele Kiper also star, while Peter Thorwarth directs. And this gets a 6.7/10 on IMDb, and M.N. Miller of ReadySteadyCut calls it “a bloody good time,” adding its “Inglourious Basterds meets The Dirty Dozen, a potent mix of unexpected wit and sobering themes of moral ambiguity that lead to a euphoric, action-packed rush game of wack-o-mole.” It’s definitely on my list. Also new on Netflix is The Portrait, an award-winning 2017 Filipino musical historical drama. This takes place on the eve of World War II in Manila, where the older, unmarried sisters, Paula(Rachel Alejandro) and Candida(Joanna Ampil) try to make ends meet, while caring for their father, the famous artist, Don Lorenzo. But when news leas out that he’s confined to his room after a fall, and that there may be one final portrait by him, the “Portrait of the Filipino,” the impoverished sisters are pressured on all sides to sell it. But Paula and Candida feel there is more inherent worth to art than just money, so they resist, but as the greedy interests surround them, including their bullying older brother, Manolo(Nonie Buencamino), can they continue to resist. Paulo Avelino, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo Sandino Martin, Cris Villonco, Celeste Legaspi and Aicelle Santos also star, and Loy Arcenas directed. And this won numerous awards in 2017, with 6 awards, including Best Music, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Picture, at the FAP Awards, Philippines. And this movie gets an impressive 7/10 on IMDb, and Richard Kuipers of Variety wrote “clearly made with the utmost love and care, The Portrait is beautifully decorated and top-notch in every technical detail.” I’m tuning in. Netflix has also added Bheed, a 2023 Indian drama. Filmed in gorgeous black and white, and based on real events, this tells the story of Covid-era India, when the borders within and without India were hastily shut down, stopping workers from rejoining their families, and leaving them at the border, without the money for adequate food or supplies. Officer Surya (Rajkummar Rao) is tasked with enforcing these inhumane rules, but, being a member of a lower caste who has worked his way up, finds himself repulsed with the idea, and so, decides to help TV journalist Vidhi Prabhakar (Kritika Kamr) show the debacle. Pankaj Kapur,Dia Mirza,Dhawal Pandey,Aditya Shrivastav and Bhumi Pednekar also star, and Anubhav Sinha directs. And Bheed, which means “divided crowd”in Hindi, has already been controversial in India, being critical of P.M. Moda, but it has gotten great reviews, as well. And so it gets an incredible 7.4/10 on IMDb, and Carla Hay of Culture Mix says it “offers a realistic and sometimes alarming look at how social class structures and prejudices can affect people in a crisis. It’s a rare COVID-19 pandemic drama that isn’t crassly exploitative of this deadly pandemic.” And I’m watching. And, finally, Netflix offers Where the Tracks End, a 2023 Mexican drama. This tells the tale of Ikal, played by Kaarlo Isaacs, a boy whose life is constantly uprooted by his father’s work for the railroad, constructing tracks, which leaves the family always living (in a railroad car), ‘where the tracks end.’ But when they land in a small town in rural Mexico, with a one room school house, he finally finds a connection with his teacher, Valeria(Frida Cruz). And his world lights up with the education he was sorely missing before, but then, word comes that the government wants to close the school. Ikal Paredes, Adriana Barraza, Memo Villegas and Diego Montessoro also star, and Ernesto Contreras directs. And this film gets an amazing 7.6/10 on IMDb, and Neha Krishna of the Midgard Times calls it “a remarkable film that showcases the power of resilience, friendship, and education in the face of adversity.” And I’m definitely tuning in.
AMAZON
Amazon has an impressive add this week with Three Thousand Years of Longing, the 2022 fantasy movie. Tilda Swinton (!) stars, here, as the skeptical professor Alithea Binnie, fascinated with stories and the classics, who travels to Istanbul for a conference, and ends up buying an antique bottle at the Grand Bazaar, there. Which, of course, contains a genie- the Djinn– played by Idris Elba(!), who proceeds to regale the professor with ancient stories gloriously depicted by director George Miller(Mad Max: Fury Road). We get the stories of women, like the Queen of Sheba(Aamito Lagum ) and King Solomon(Nicolas Mouawad), a concubine in Ottoman Empire, Gulten(Ece Yüksel) and modern Zefir(Burcu Gölgedar), unhappily married, and shackled to a man she does not love. As Althea deals with her own unmet dreams, she considers the wishes she is offered by the Djinn. Matteo Bocelli, Lachy Hulme, Megan Gale, Zerrin Tekindor and Oğulcan Arman Uslu also star and Miller co-wrote the script with Augusta Gore, along with directing. And this movie gets a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Scott Tobias of the Reveal called it a “feast for the head and the heart and the eyes.” And I’m definitely tuning in. But Amazon has also added Eternal Beauty, a 2020 drama starring Sally Hawkins. Hawkins plays Jane, here, a woman who plummeted into despair years ago after being left at the altar, who finds herself no longer able to handle her schizophrenia and Depression. Her medication no longer helps, her psychiatrist is overbearing, and her disapproving mother, Vivian (Penelope Wilton!), doesn’t really help, either. So when she meets a new man, Mike(David Thewlis), her Depression begins to lighten, but her mother(and others) don’t necessarily approve. Morfydd Clark, Alice Lowe, Robert Pugh, Dennis Aramayo and Billie Piper(!) also star, while Craig Roberts directed, along with writing the script. And this movie gets a 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Karen Han of Polygon wrote “Hawkins is masterly, as always, in a role that demands she calibrate her energy differently in almost every scene.” And that’s why I’m watching. And, finally, Amazon has added The Gryphon, a 2023 German fantasy series. Based on the novel Der Greif, this takes place in the 90‘s where teen Mark Zimmerman (Jeremias Myer), who wakes to find on his 16th birthday , not only that a girl at school, Becky (Lea Drinda) might like him, but also, that he is born to follow the family line of monster fighters. His older brother Thomas (Theo Trebs) gives him The Chronicle, a tome about fighting The Gryphon, the monster their father Karl (Golo Euler) was fighting when he disappeared. So, as Mark fights his destiny, he is forced to confront it as he himself is confronted with wraithes and ghosts at a cemetery. Zoran Pingel, Sabine Timoteo, Flora Li Thiemann, Thorsten Merten and Samirah Breuer also star, and this series is brought to us by the creators of Dark, the popular sci-fi show on Netflix. And this 6 episode series gets a 6.3/10 on IMDb, and Johnny Loftus of The Decider says to “Stream it,” adding it”crafts an intriguing opening episode that soundly establishes Mark’s real life world, with all of its general-issue teen angst and adoration for 90‘s alt rock, as well as that other, scarier world, with the horned hunters gathering at the base of the Black Tower. And it’s a tight six-episode arc, so why not follow the journey of Mark and Becky.” And I’m definitely tuning in.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 