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 an exciting, though lesser known, add this week with The Royal Hotel, a 2023 thriller. Here, Americans Hanna(Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick), are backpacking across the Outback, in Australia, and find themselves in need of money. So they take jobs live-in bartenders at a seedy bar in an out-of-the-way mining town, and though Liv sees only an adventure, Hanna has foreboding about the rowdy male hangout. And as the situation grows more dangerous, with leering, veiled threats grow, the pair are at a loss as to how to escape from a world where male domination and violence are all just part of the fun. Hugo Weaving, Ursula Wallace, Toby Wallace and Keylan Devine-Ingerson also star and Kitty Green directs. And this chiller gets an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Jessica Kiang of the L.A. Times wrote “the central terror of Green’s ferociously tense, intelligent movie is the terror of recognition.” And I’m definitely tuning in. Hulu also has I’m Your Fan, the 2022 Mexican romcom series. This finds a group of forty-something friends dealing with the changes and realizations their age brings, while still trying to maintain those friends. Nicolás and Iñaki are considering getting back together, while Charly (Ana Claudia Talancón) and Nicolás (Martín Altomaro) are trying to conceive a baby, with the ticking of their clock growing louder. Meanwhile, Rocío (Maya Zapata) feels stifled by motherhood, and tries to get her groove back. Johanna Murillo, Juan Pablo Medina, and Gonzalo Garcia Vivanco also star, and there are 8 absorbing episodes available now. Some of the biggest stars of Mexican and Latino filmdom are here, and Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna are some of the shows producers. And it gets an astounding 8.1/10 on IMDb, so even though I can find no reviews, I’m watching. Hulu has also added The Stones and Brian Jones, a 2023 music documentary. This tells the sad story of Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones of his founding the group, in 1962; as they covered Black American blues singers, like Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Didley and Will Dixon. And the public loved him at first , with teenage girls favoring him over the others. But then Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote songs that Jones took issue with – for watering down their material, and being less bluesy. And when the Stones‘ new manager Andrew Long Oldham took over, he wanted the band to be more pop,(Jones disagreed) and as Jagger and Richards became more popular with the public, Jones was edged out. As his drug use became more destructive, he was finally fired in 1969. Nick Broomfield(Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love) has inside connections here, having met Jones when he was a teen, and does exhaustive research, even getting an interview with original Stones bassist Bill Wigans. And lots of contemporary videos, music and interviews are included that make for thrilling viewing. And led to 2 award nominations, one for the Sound & Vision Award at the CPH:DOX in Copenhagen. And so this doc gets a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Sheri Linden of the Hollywood Reporter calls it “surprisingly poignant study of the Rolling Stones co-founder.” And a great piece of cultural history, too. So I’m watching. And, finally, Hulu has So I Married My Anti-Fan, a 2021 K-drama rom com series. This has reporter Lee Geun Young (Choi Sooyoung)finally getting an interview with pop-star Hoo Joon (Choi Tae Joon), but she is let down by his rudeness, and then unexpectedly, throws up on him. When she is fired the next day, she can only assume he had something to do with it, and so goes on the war path, becoming his biggest anti-fan in public. So when an opportunistic producer offers the pair a chance to do a reality show together- living together!- they both have no choice, for Hoo Joon‘s celebrity is falling and Geun Young is out of a job. But when their on screen fighting leads to all kinds of sparks, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen. Hwang Chan-sung, Han Ji-an and Kim Min-kyu also star, and there are 16 episodes available for bingeing now. and this series gets an impressive 7.2/10 on IMDb, and Jessica Firpi of Always The Critic says “this show is a stunner in my book.” So it’s on my list.
NETFLIX
Netflix has no huge English language adds this week, but plenty of foreign adds to devour, like Bandidos, a 2024 adventure series. Here a band of incompetents decide to go in search of a Mayan treasure, the Gold of Aj Took. All they think they need is 3 specific stones, to put together- to tell them where to find the riches of the Mayan king. The ragtag team is led by Miguel(Alfonso Dosal), who works at a Yucatan resort, but dreams of bigger things. His dad was an archaeologist, and when Miguel talks with a friend of his father’s , who knows of the legend of Aj Took, and has a treasure map ..on his stomach. And soon, Miguel and his team of of on a hunt, and their only rival is his adopted brother Ariel, who wants the treasure for his museum. Mabel Cadena, Ester Expósito, Juan Pablo Medina, Andres Baid and Nicolás Furtado also star, and there are 6 episodes available for streaming now. and this series gets a 6.4/10 on IMDb, and Phil Harrison of the Guardian says “there are Indiana Jones vibes in this Mexican heist drama, ” and that’s why I’m watching. Netflix also offers Judge Dee’s Mystery, a Chinese mystery series. This features the famous Judge Dee or Di Renjie , played by Zhou Yi Wei, moved to a remote town eastern China, during the Tang dynasty. But even there, Judge Di finds adventure and many mysteries to solve, and others in need of his wisdom. Wang Li Kun , Zhong Chu Xi , and Zhang Jia Yi also star, and there are 10 episodes available for bingeing now, with 22 more to come(!). And it gets a 6.7/10 on IMDb, and Anjali Sharma of the Midgard Times calls it “a triumph in the realm of historical detective dramas. Its commitment to authenticity, innovative narrative structure, and standout performances elevate it to a level that transcends its occasional shortcomings. As viewers embark on Judge Dee‘s journey through the intricate cases of the Tang Dynasty, they are treated to a visually stunning and emotionally resonant experience that solidifies the series as a standout in its genre.” And i love a mystery, so I’m definitely tuning in. Netflix also offers To Kill a Tiger, the award-winning 2023 doc. This tells the true story of Ranjit, a farmer in rural India, who finds that his 13 year-old daughter was brutally raped by 3 men in his village. When Ranjit presses charges and has the men arrested, he himself is attacked by his neighbors, who pressure him to drop the charges. Instead , they pressure Ranjit to marry his daughter to one of the attackers, since they had sex. As the village leader approaches the filmmakers in Ranjit‘s home to ‘interview’ them, the pressure becomes almost intolerable for the farmer, with his life is threatened, too. But his determination does not flag, no matter what. Nisha Pahuja directs this phenomenal film that counts Mindy Kaling, Dev Patel and Priyank Chopra Jonas among it’s executive producers. And this movie has won tons of awards, including Best Documentary at the Canadian Screen Awards, Women Film Critics Circle Awards, Toronto International Film Festival, and was, of course, nominated for Best Documentary at the Academy Awards last Sunday. And it gets an astounding 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, with of Variety saying it “depicts a shining, poignant example of the difference individuals can make in altering the social fabric.” And I totally agree, I’m watching twice. Netflix also offers Murder Mubarak, a 2024 Indian Hindi-language mystery. Here, ACP Bhavani Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) finds himself investigating the murder of a trainer at the posh Royal Delhi club. But Singh is a duck out of water at the club, and finds not only resistance, but too many suspects during his investigation. Sara Ali Khan, Vijay Varma, Dimple Kapadia, Karisma Kapoor, and Sanjay also star, and Homi Adajania directs. this movie gets a 6.9/10 on IMDb. Shubhra Gupta of the Indian Express calls it “a delightful whodunit…the closest any film has come to re-creating Anuja Chauhan’s universe, very few can do the insider-outsider divide with such acuteness, both sharp and warm.” And you know I love a mystery, so I’m watching. And, finally, Netflix has added Chicken Nugget, a 2024 K-drama comedy series. this finds Min-ah (Kim Yoo-jung) turned into a chicken nugget, after stepping into a strange machine at her father’s company, All Machines. Now her father, Choi Seon-man(Ryu Seung-ryong) , has a lot of machines there, and he and his intern, Go Baek-joong (Ahn Jae-hong), an admirer of his daughter, have to figure out how to turn her back into a human. And who delivered the strange machine to Seon-man in the first place, and why? Md Rustam Ansari, Brandon English and Hoyeon also star, and there are 10 episodes available for streaming now. And this series was an instant hit when added last week, at 8.4/10 on IMDb, and its been up and down since then. But Joel Keller of the Decider says to stream it, adding its as “silly as hell, but it promises to be one of those shows where two people go on a crazy adventure. It just happens to involve a woman who becomes a chicken nugget.” So count me in.
AMAZON
Amazon has an intriguing add with Frida, a 2024 documentary. Here, director Carla Gutiérrez gives us a more imaginative and artistic view of Frida Kahlo, the famed 20th century Mexican artist, using her own words from her illustrated diary, and her art. Told mostly in Spanish, and narrated by performer Fernanda Echevarría del Rivero, this production is more representative of Kahlo’s independent spirit, raw and daring. Everything is covered, from Kahlo‘s catastrophic bus accident that left her wearing a brace for life, but also spurred her interest in art, and her career therein. There’s also her husband Diego Rivera, her heartbreaking miscarriage, and her affair with Leo Trotsky, as well. But most importantly, her paintings and artwork, sometimes animated, are front and center, those things that most intimately convey who she was, and what she thought. And this work won U.S. Documentary at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and gets a stunning 7.5/10 on IMDb, and a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Carlos Aguilar of Variety says “even those already familiar with the trajectory of Kahlo’s existence may find the delivery here raw, vulnerable, and refreshing.” And I totally agree, I’m tuning in. Amazon also newly offers No Actvity: Italy, a 2024 comedy series. This focuses on a police force in Italy, where two cops , Marcello and Achille, are on a stakeout, watching a crate where two criminals are hiding-and doing nothing. Meanwhile, control freak Katia and Perri handle the radio control room and man the switchboard, communicating back and forth in anticipation of what could be ‘the bust of the century.’ Unfortunately, nothing happens, and as the inactivity draws out, tempers flare, and the cops argue and wonder about everything in the universe, while they wait. Luca Zingaretti, Carla Signoris, Emanuela Fanelli, Rocco Papaleo, and Alessandro Tiberi also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. And this is a remake of the Australian hit original series, and it gets a 6.1/10 on IMDb, and Arpita Mondal of the Midgard Times says the “humor in No Activity is a potent cocktail, where physical slapstick meets witty dialogue and absurdity dances with existentialism. The cast embodies their roles with the kind of infectious enthusiasm that could make a traffic jam a laugh riot.” So I’m watching. And, finally, if you’re too impatient to wait for Netflix‘ release of the Three Body Problem next week, Amazon has China’s Three-Body, a 2023 sci-fi series. Based on the same classic sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, this tells of nanoscientist Wang Miao(Zhang Luyi)in 2007 Beijing, who is pulled into an investigation by the police, and Inspector Shi Qiang(Yu Hewei), when a series of strange suicides take place among the scientific community. the answer may lie in events in the Cultural Revolution, 4 decades earlier, or it may have to do with something more mysterious. The only sure thing is that the solution lies in science. Rong Yang, Chen Jin, Min Liu, Zehui Li and Yongjian Lin also star, and there are 25 episodes available now, with 5 more to come. And this series has already won numerous awards in Asia, including Best Young Director of a TV Series for Yang Lei, and Outstanding Young Screenwriter for Liangliang Tian and Outstanding TV Series of the Year at the 2023 China Television Drama Production Industry Association Awards. And it gets an outstanding 7.6/10 on IMDb, and Mike Hale of the New York Times says this series is more faithful to the first book of the series, than the Netflix one, which admittedly had been endorsed by Cixin. And Hale of the New York Times also said its “thoroughly imagined speculative sci-fi.” So 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 