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 Under the Bridge, a 2024 crime drama limited series. this is based on Rebecca Godfrey’s book of the same name, this fictionalizes a true crime story of a 1997 murder of a 14 year old girl. Riley Keough plays the author Godfrey, returning home to Greater Victoria, British Columbia, to investigate the death of Reena Virk, with her old friend police officer Cam Bentland, played by Lily Gladstone(!), is eagerly searching for the killer. And the pair might find that the clique of teenage girls that Reena longed to belong to may hold the key. Archie Panjabi,Ezra Faroque Khan, Vritika Gupta, Chloe Guidry and Aiyana Goodfellow also star, and there are 8 episodes available for streaming now. And this series gets an amazing 7.3/10 on IMDb, and Laura Miller of Slate says it “may begin as a true-crime dramatization, but it arrives at this sweeping, tragic vision of the harm human beings do to each other.” So I’m tuning in. Hulu has also added The Stranger, a 2024 thriller. Here, rideshare driver Clare (Maika Monroe), newly located to L.A., picks up up Carl E. (Dane DeHaan) at a mansion-that doesn’t belong to him. Things get stranger as he asks to sit up front with her, and as he realizes she isn’t from L.A., things get more tense. But when he tells her he murdered the people in the mansion, and may do the same with her, she panics, and crashes her car, running for help. But each time she temporarily escapes the killer, he is hot on her trail, watching either virtually, or physically breathing down her neck. Avan Jogia, Roxana Brusso, Derrick L. McMillon and Gita Reddy also star, and Veena Sud wrote the script and directed here. This film is based on Sud’s episodic Quibi series The Stranger from 2020. But this production doesn’t quite measure up to Sud‘s original, and so gets just a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, Lyvie Scott of Inverse, calls it “a surprisingly propulsive thriller. Its original episodic structure prevents the adventure from growing stagnant: it’s light on its feet, and never overstays its welcome.” Still, it’s a little too tense for me. Luckily, Hulu also offers Which Brings Me to You, a 2023 romcom. Here, Jane(Lucy Hale) and Will(Nat Wolff) meet at a wedding, and have an awkward hookup in teh coat closet, only to find they are well matched in the love department. Each has ruined more than their fair share of relationships, and as they relate their stories, they come to realize they themselves are their perfect match. Britne Oldford, Genevieve Angelson, and Alexander Hodge also star, while Peter Hutchings directed. But, even though it gets a fair 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s a little smarmy for me. Still, Tim Cogshell of Filmweek wrote its ” cute, it really is… I figure that young people watching this movie are experiencing something similar.” So you decide. And, finally, Hulu has Dr. Romantic, a K-drama Disney+ medical drama series. Han Suk-kyu stars in the title role, Dr. Boo Yong-joo, once a successful surgeon whose career was derailed by trauma. Now he works under the name Kim Sa-bu at a smaller more provincial hospital, mentoring younger doctors there, like Kang Dong-joo (Yoo Yeon-seok) and Yoon Seo-jeong (Seo Hyun-jin). And Dr. Sa-bu urges them to buck the system of power at the hospital, and to fight for their patients, instead. Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Sung-kyung, Kim Hong-pa and Kim Joo-hun also star, and there are now 3 seasons available for bingeing. and this series has won numerous awards in it’s 3 seasons, including Best Director for Yu In-sik at the 2017 Baek Sang Art Awards, and Best Actor for both Lee Sung-Kyung and Ahn Hyun-seop at the 2020 Asia Artist Awards. And it gets an incredible 8.4/10 on IMDb, and KDrama Memories calls it ” the very best medical Kdrama ever produced, nothing less!” So I’m tuning in.
NETFLIX
Netflix has few big American titles added this week, but for the lame sequel to Rebel Moon, but they do offer fine foreign adds like Bros, a 2024 Israeli comedy series. this begins in Jerusalem, where best friends Pinni(Hanan Savyon) and Nisso(Guy Amir), bar co-owners together, receive shocking news that may threaten that bar. With the competition in the neighborhood already pressing them, and family issues raising the pressure, it seems soccer is their only escape. and so they travel to Krakow, to enjoy a championship game. Efrat Boimold, Yaniv Swissa, Shlomi Avraham, Yael Sztulman, and Omer Hazan also star, and there are 8 episodes available now. And this series gets a 6.1/10 on IMDb, and Smriti Kannan of Film fugitive calls it “an excellent show that describes friendship with a lot of love and humor, and the viewers would end up with a smile by the end of it.” So I’m watching. Netflix has also added Destiny, a 2024 Japanese courtroom drama series. Here, prosecutor Kanade Ishimura(Satomi Ishihara) begins to investigate the supposed suicide of her father 12 years before. There were mysterious circumstances that couldn’t be ignored about his death, and so, she delves deeper, she may find her old love, Masaki, may hold the all the answers she seeks. Kazuya Kamenashi, Masanobu Ando, Emma Miyazawa, Yuma Yamoto and Ryousuke Sota also star, and there are 4 episodes now available for streaming. and this series gets a 6.4/10 on IMDb, and Neerja Choudhuri of the Midgard Times says it “promises a riveting journey filled with twists, turns, and revelations, as Kanade and Masaki navigate the murky waters of their past while confronting the ominous mysteries that threaten to unravel their fragile existence.” So I’m tuning in. Netflix also has Our Living World, a 2024 documentary nature limited series. Narrated by Cate Blanchett(!), this 4-parter tells of the interconnectedness of all of us animals here on earth, and the ingenuity and alacrity with which we adapt to our surroundings. It begins with rhinos in Nepal, then heads to the Arctic, and covers everything from the lives of cuttlefish to the elephant. And does so with breathtaking photography. And it gets a stunning on 8/10 on IMDb, and Jack Seale of the Guardian says its “a rare ray of hope.” So I’m definitely tuning in. Netflix has also added Disappear Completely, a 2022 Mexican horror flick. This tells of Santiago, played by Harold Torres, a merciless and dogged tabloid photographer, who will stop at nothing to get his lurid pictures of corpses from various crime scenes. But when he insists on taking pictures of the corpse of a senator partially eaten by rats, its a step too far, and his life begins to change. Slowly he begins to lose his five senses, one by one, and as doctors can’t tell him of any disorder(or cure), his girlfriend, Marcel (Tete Espinoza), a nurse, pleads for him to see a psychiatrist. But his refusal leads him down one blind alley after another, as his hearing and sight leave him with only dark visions and horror surrounding him. Fermín Martínez, Vicky Araico and Norma Reyna also star, while Luis Javier Henaine directs. And this movie gets an outstanding 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Alison Foreman of IndieWire calls it “what this twisted portrait of crumbling personhood lacks in earnest emotions it more than makes up for with a body horror that’s frequently subtle in execution but always brutal in conceit.” But way too horrific for me, and it is very graphic, with violence and animal harm depicted, so definitely not for the kiddos. Or me. And, finally, Netflix has added Ripe for the Picking, a 2024 Japanese romantic drama series. Here, 32-year-old office worker Kosaka Maiko(Koharu Kusumi)longs for more sexual experience and so, upon seeing an old boyfriend, Saeki, at a reunion, approaches him with an unusual offer. But when that ends rather disastrously, Kosaka is convinced she is a lost cause. But over time, Kosaka finds a connection with a young man at work, and finds that romantic relationships are complex things, that are about more than sex. And she can succeed at love, too. Kaho Tsuchimura, Ruka Ishikawa, Yuki Izumisawa, and Wakana Sakai also star, and there are 9 episodes available now. And this series gets a incredible 7.1/10 on IMDb, so though I can, as yet, find few reviews, it’s on my list.
AMAZON
Amazon has only one interesting add this week- Dinner With The Parents, a 2024 comedy series, on Freevee. In a remake of a classic British comedy series, Carol Kane(!) stars as the matriarch of the off-beat Langer family, Nana Rose , that gathers every Friday night for dinner. Dinners that include pranks, razzing and general embarrassment, so no wonder David Langer (Henry Hall) isn’t too anxious to bring his new girlfriend, Kristin (Anoushka Chadha),home to meet the parents. But when Kristin Facetimes David just before the dinner, to break up with him, he frantically brings a Postmates driver, Destiny, instead. And, of course, disaster ensues. Michaela Watkins, Dan Bakkedahl, Sarah Kameela Impey , Jon Glaser and Daniel Thrasher also star, and there are 4 episodes available for streaming now. And though the material doesn’t really pan out, and so, the series gets only a 5.7/10 on IMDb, Joel Keller of the Decider says to Stream it, adding its “one of those shows that is elevated by the cast. Nothing about the show is particularly fresh or inventive, and some of the writing is maddeningly inconsistent. But the cast manages to take the material and make it funny.” So I’m tuning in. Amazon has added season 1 of Pacific Criminal, a 2023 French crime drama series from MHZ choice . This takes place in French territory of New Caledonia, where Police captain Clarissa Horaeu and her crew investigate murder and other crimes, in the working class town of Nouméa. And when Jackson Bellerose(Nathan Dellemme) is unhappily transferred from Paris, he is unhappy with his position, and with everything around him. So when he finds key evidence without getting the permission of his superiors, he is removed from a case. And so, the team struggles to regain their equilibrium, and solve their cases, big and small. Antoine Stip, Marielle Karabeu, Hindra Armède and Marion Campan also star, and there are 20 episodes available to eat up before May 1, when it goes back to the premium territory of MHZ Choice. And it gets a 6.5/10 on IMDb, so though I can find no reviews of this program online, it’s intriguing enough for me. And I love a mystery. And, finally, Amazon has added season 1 of Bordertown, a 20 crime drama series. This takes place in a small town in Finland, near the border with Russia, where Kari Sorjonen (Ville Virtanen) has just been named Police Chief. He migrated from Helsinki, wanting more quiet time with his wife and daughter, so when the body of a young women is found in a nearby lake, it’s anything but welcome news. But as Sorjonen works the case(and others) with his two colleagues, Lena and Niko, they find themselves growing used to his odd quirks(think Monk), and astounded by his ability. Matleena Kuusniemi, Olivia Ainali, Ikka Villi and Anu Sinisalo also star, and there are 11 episodes in season 1 to binge before it, too, disappears into the MHz Choice premium network. And this series gets an amazing 7.6/10 on IMDb, and Mark Glass of Patch.com says “for serious crime fans, this is one worth adding to your repertoire of odd, yet effective detectives doing their thing.” So I am definitely bingeing now, before it disappears, May 1.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 