HULU
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 no new big titles this week, and few new adds of note for early June, but I did ferret out some interesting movies, like The Wheel, a 2022 indie drama. This finds Albee(Amber Midthunder) and Walker(Taylor Gray) taking a AirBnB vacation, desperately hoping to avoid a divorce that seems imminent. But their discord seems to be catching, with their hosts Ben(Nelson Lee) & Carly (Bethany Anne Lin), soon to be married, find themselves arguing too, and wondering about their own future. Carly Nykanen, Kevin Pasdon , Molly Gilula and Sean Crampton also star, and Steve Pink(Hot Tub Time Machine) directed. And this movie was nominated for 2 Chlotrudis Awards, including Midthunder‘s nomination there for Best Actress. And it gets a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Angie Han of the Hollywood Reporter writing it “may not, well, reinvent the wheel. But in its expansive empathy, it delivers something that nevertheless feels new and surprising.” And it’s on my list. Hulu also has Nitram, a 2021 Australian drama. Based on a true story, this tells of the troubled and isolated Nitram (Caleb Landry-Jones), living in the suburbs with his worried mom(Judy Davis!), whose fascination with fireworks and other odds behaviors, deeply concern Mum, while Dad(Anthony LaPaglia) simply brushes it off. When Nitram meets an older heiress, Helen (Essie Davis!), she offers care and kindness, even buying a car for her new friend, offering hope that the young man won’t go totally off kilter. But instead, with Nitram‘s family resenting her largesse, things come to a head, and violence horribly explodes. Annabel Marshall-Roth, Sean Keenan, Ethan Cook, Phoebe Taylor and Conrad Brandt also star, and Justin Kurzel directed. This film premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival , where Landry Jones won Best Actor, and later received eight awards at the 2021 AACTA Awards, including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Actor(Landry Jones), Best Actress(Judy Davis), Best Supporting Actor (LaPaglia) and Best Supporting Actress(Essie Davis). And it gets an incredible 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 7.1/10 on IMDb. Clarisse Loughrey of the Independent called it “a stark, difficult, but deeply reflective film that asks sincerely why we describe these crimes as incomprehensible at the very same time as we watch the same patterns unfold, again and again.” And its on my list. Hulu has also added Baby Ruby, a 2023 horror movie. Here, Jo, played by Noémie Merlant(Portrait of a Lady on Fire) a social influencer and lifestyle entrepreneur, is happily pregnant, with her husband, Spencer(Kit Harington). But once she gives birth , things terribly change, and as she brings her daughter Ruby home, it seems that there is an evil presence Jo can’t shake. The beatific neighborhood mothers(Stepford Wives?), with perfect quiet babies, and tell her to “Trust your instincts,” as her baby wails constantly, or her omnipresent mother-in-law that wants to take the baby home with her horrify her, while her doctor says it’s all normal. Even a baby that bites. Hard. Jayne Atkinson , Meredith Hagner, Lauren Beveridge, Camila Canó-Flaviá and Reed Birney also star, and Bess Wohl directs. Andd this film gets a 66% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times called it “disorienting, tense, funny and scary.” And I’m watching. And, finally, Hulu offers Big Bet, a 2022 South Korean crime drama. from Disney+. This tells the story of Cha Mu-sik(Choi Min-sik) , a man who rises to the top as a casino kingpin in the Philippines, only to be accused of a murder he didn’t commit. As he tries to convince others, the series takes a trip back in time, to show Mu-sik‘s life, how he started as a teacher and schoolmaster, but was offered a deal he couldn’t refuse. But can he convince the police he didn’t commit murder? Bae Hae-sun, Son Suk-ku, Lee Kyu-hyung, Lee Dong-hwi and Kim Roi-ha also star, and there are 8 episodes available now. and Joel Keller of The Decider says to stream it adding “has a lot of silly moments. But it also feels like a series that’s supposed to be a little silly…it’s drama with a wink.” And I’m watching.NETFLIX
Netflix has a big add this week with To Leslie, the 2022 drama. Yes, the film that gained infamy at this year’s Oscars by getting its star, Andrea Riseborough, an Best Actress nomination by using way too much inside influence. But Riseborough‘s portrayal of Leslie, an alcoholic woman living on the edge in west Texas, deserves viewing, regardless of the scandal. Leslie was a former lottery winner, who blew through her $190,000 quickly, and is found years later, being evicted from her cheap motel room with nowhere to go. But she’s also exhausted everyone’s patience by now, borrowing to the hilt from people her 19 year-old son James(Owen Teague), who she owes to the hilt, but agrees to let her stay for a while, as long as she doesn’t drink. Which, of course, isn’t a sure thing. Marc Maron, Andre Royo, Stephanie Wong, Matt Lauria and Allison Janney(!) also star, and Michael Morris directed his first feature length film, here. And, no, the writing isn’t superior, here, it’s the performances that make this film worthwhile. And it won 8 nominations last year, and went on to win Best Performance for Riseborough at the Raindance Film Festival, and Best Actress for Riseborough and Best Actor for Maron at the Gijón International Film Festival. An dit gets an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 7.1/10 on IMDb. Richard Brody of The New Yorker wrote “Riseborough makes a virtuoso display of the script’s gamut of screen clichés, ranging from loud aggression and wheedling sweetness to humbled desperation and proud defiance…” And, even if you think, like me, that Viola Davis deserved the nomination that Riseborough got this year, this is still a film well worth seeing, as is Riseborough’s performance. And I’m watching. But Netflix also had Mixed by Erry, a 2023 Italian comedy series. Based on a true story, this tells of Enrico Frattasio (Luigi D’Oriano), or Erry, and his older brother, Peppe (Giuseppe Arena) , who come up with the idea of mass-producing Erry’s mixtapes in 1985 Naples. And as the tapes take off in popularity, it makes brothers rich, but also attracts the attention of the authorities, especially since they’re not paying any royalties of any kind. And as the brothers became big record producers, living in the lap of luxury, they never heard the footsteps of cops like officer Ricciardi, hot on their trail behind them. Francesco Di Leva, Emanuele Palumbo, Adriano Pantaleo, Cristiana Dell’Anna and Greta Esposito also star, and Sydney Sibilia directed.This movie was nominated for Best Comedy and Best Screenplay at this year’s Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists, and it gets an amazing 7.2/10 on IMDb. Riya Singh of the Midgard Times calls it “light and fun to watch, and with its fast-paced storytelling.” And I’m watching. Netflix also offers One More Time, a 2023 Swedish comedy. Here, 40 year old and down and out Amelia (Hedda Stiernstedt) is hit by a truck one the eve of her birthday, and wakes up in 2002, on her 18th birthday, delighted at being a winner again, after a less than successful adulthood. But as she lives each day over and realizes she’s in a time loop, she comes to realize her high school self was far from perfect, and cruelty abounded. And she tries to be kinder to Fiona, a girl she avoided in school. And her escape from the loop comes with another car wreck, and awakening from the idealization of her high school days. Miriam Ingrid, Tove Edfeldt, Vanna Rosenberg, Maxwell Cunningham, Evelyn Mok and Amanda Rosdahl also star, and Jonatan Etzler directs. And even though it gets only 5.7/10 on IMDb, Mekado Murphy of the New York Times says its a “wonderful comedy from Jonatan Etzler is a godsend for lovers of time travel and time loops.” I’m tuning in. Netflix has added Agency, a 2023 Korean drama series. This tells the story of the ambitious and sometimes ruthless Ms. Go A-In, played by Lee Bo-young, a creative director at VC Communications, where women are required to be ruthless to get a job. As the first female exec at the company, Ms. Go was promoted as a token woman, knowing that her term would end after one year, but as she fights to maintain her position by doing an excellent ob, she wins the favor of the chairman’s daughter, Kang Hanna(a-Eun Son), that may save her position. Son Na-eun, Jo Sung-ha, and Han Joon-woo also star, and there are 10 episodes available now. And this gripping andd rlevant series gets a stupendous 7.6/10 on IMDb, and Divya Malladi of DMT calls it “one of the most thrilling dramas we have seen in a while.” And I’m watching. And, finally, Netflix has added Vortex, a 2023 French sci-fi mystery/thriller limited series. This takes place in a 2025 Brest, where police captain Ludovic, played by Tomer Sisley, solves murders cases using virtual reality, and finds a glitch in that VR that helps him communicate with his late wife, Mélanie (Camille Claris). But when he finds that Mélanie was murdered, and that he could actually prevent it, he is faced with the paradox of destroying his new life, including his son, Sam. Zineb Trik,Eric Pucheu, Sandrine Salyeres, Ludovik, Leo Chalie, and Anais Parello also star, and Slimane-Baptiste Berhoun directed all 6 absorbing episodes available for bingeing now. And this series, already a big hit in France, gets a stunning 7.2/10 on IMDb, and Karina “ScreamQueen” Adelgaard of Heaven of Horror says “the story is so engaging that it’s difficult not to binge-watch it.” So I’m definitely tuning in.
AMAZON
Amazon has one good new add with Deadloch, a 2023 Australian crime drama farcical comedy. This series created by the famed comedy duo of Kate McLennan and Kate McCartney, takes in Tasmania, where the body of local football club coach Trent Latham is found on the beach, and local cop Dulcie Collins(Kate Box) takes charge. But soon a “cowboy from Darwin,” Detective Eddie Redcliffe(Madeleine Sami), is sent down to take charge, but Detective Redcliffe is less than perfect herself, and so chaos ensues . Nina Oyama, Pamela Rabe, Tom Ballard, Kartanya Maynard and Leonie Whyman also star, and there are 3 episodes available now. And this ribald series gets a mere 5.7/10 on IMDb, but raves from critics like Luke Buckmaster of the Guardian who calls it “a ripsnorting whodunit that pumps new blood into old tropes.” And I’m tuning in. Amazon has also added A Simple Wedding, a 2020 romantic comedy. Nousha Hassani, played by Tara Grammy, is an Iranian American in California, pressured to marry by her parents, who arrange Persian matches for her . But Nousha is good at sabotaging these relationships, and as her relatives wonder if she’s gay, she finally meets Alex Talbot(Christopher O’Shea) at a demonstration. But Alex is bisexual, which doesn’t bother Nousha, and so they get engaged, but as the wedding approaches, her cold feet return, and the wedding may be her biggest catastrophe yet. Shohreh Aghdashloo, Maz Jobrani, Rita Wilson, and Houshang Touzie also star, while Sara Zandieh directed. And this movie gets an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, and MaryAnn Johanson of Flick Filosopher calls it “smart and spritely, ….. a real treat, one that makes a real effort to find crosscultural common ground, and so it feels very welcome right now.” And I’m definitely watching. And, finally, Amazon has added The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, a 2019 S. Korean action thriller. This has mob boss Jang Dongsu, played by Dong-seok Ma(Train to Busan!), attacked one rainy night by a killer, and when he escapes, he is bent on revenge. But police detective Jeong Taeseok(Kim Mu-yeol) comes to him, convinced it is a serial killer(who else would boldly attack a mobster?), the unlikely pair go on the hunt together, agreeing whoever catches the fiend, keeps him. Kim Sungkyu, Choi Chul Min, Heo Dong-won and Park Bo-kyung also star, and Lee Won–tae directed, along with writing the script. And this movie screened in the Midnight Screenings section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, and won the Focus Asia Best Film Award at the Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival that year. And it gets an astounding 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Richard Whittaker of the Austin Chronicle said “yes, it’s car crashes and fight sequences and dry jokes, but it’s a mix that will make you wow, wince and guffaw in just the right amounts, all carried off with a gritty style.” And that’s why I’m watching.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 