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’s big add this week is Ferrari, the 2023 biopic/drama. Adam Driver stars in the title role, as ex-racer Enzo Ferrari, who, in 1957, when this film starts, finds his car company on the brink of collapse. It seems he has been spending too much on racing cars, so creating friction with his wife and co-owner of the company, Laura (Penélope Cruz). As Enzo patronizingly seeks Laura’s shares, and complete control of the company, he has an affair(and son) with Lina (Shailene Woodley). Sarah Gadon, Daniela Piperno and Gabriel Leone also star, while Michael Mann directed. and this movie won a few awards in 2023, like Best Film Production at the Italian Contemporary Film Festival, and it gets a 6.4/10 on IMDb. But it’s an uneven production, and Wenlei Ma of PerthNow said “like the myriad elements of a car engine, it can work in symphony, and at other times, it stalls and sputters out.” And so it’s not for me. but if you want thrilling car races, (and wrecks), this is for you. Luckily, Hulu also offers Pauline, a 2024 German thriller series from Disney+. Here, Pauline, played by Sira-Anna Faal, is regretful about her one-night stand with Lukas, and so she breaks up with him, only to find herself pregnant afterwards, even though they took precautions. And when her world turns upside down, during her pregnancy, with weird events besetting her, Lukas explains it by revealing that his mother is the Devil. and the Underworld is very excited about the prospect of a new Prince of Darkness. so it’s up to Pauline and her friends to battle the powers of Darkness, and protect the world from evil. Ludger Bökelmann, Lukas von Horbatschewsky, Johanna Hens, Andrea Sawatzki, and Susanne Wuest also star, and there are 6 episodes available for bingeing now. And though this series gets only a 5.6/10 on IMDb, it is outrageously funny and fun. Anjali Sharma of the Midgard Times calls it ” a compelling series that blends coming-of-age drama with supernatural intrigue. It offers a unique viewing experience, anchored by strong performances and visually striking direction.” and I agree, I’m tuning in. Hulu has also added Queens, the 2024 docuseries from National Geographic channel. In this fascinating series, we get a look at the different animal species focusing on females, with each of the seven episodes dealing with a different biome. The first is African Queens, and features a look at elephants, hyenas, and bonobos, too, also female led, protecting their territory and their young. In Tiny Jungle Queens, we witness the complex behavior of a queen bee, and those of a queen ant, too. Some of the animals here, are not quite as clearly delineated as female-led as they are drawn, but it is all quite dramatic and breath-taking. And narrated by award-winner Angela Bassett(!). And this series gets an impressive 7.5/10 on IMDb, and as Cristina Escobar of RogerEbert.com says, “our modern human society is still lacking in feminine perspectives behind and in front of the camera, the microscope, and the park ranger badge—all points that Queens makes well.” But remember, it is at times quite graphic and violent(and upsetting), so not for the kiddos. And, finally Hulu has added Chief Detective 1958, a 2024 Korean crime drama series. This is a prequel of Chief Inspector, and tells his early days as Detective Park Yeonghan(Lee Je-hoon), in the 50‘s and 60‘s. As Yeong-han joins the team at the Jongnam station in Seoul, they solve crimes big and small, using the same logic and reasoning to catch the criminals involved, and make a name for themselves. Lee Dong-hwi, Choi Woo-sung and Yoon Hyun-soo also star, and there are 10 episodes available for streaming now. And this series gets an amazing 8/10 on IMDb, and Joel Keller of The Decider says to stream it, adding it ” is a bit silly, but sometimes you want a little silly, combined with some fun action sequences, in your cop shows.” And I do love light-hearted mysteries, so I’m watching.
NETFLIX
The biggest title on Netflix this week is probably Atlas, the 2024 Jennifer Lopez sci-fi thriller. Lopez plays an title character, a counterterrorism expert, Atlas, on a near-future earth, which is terrorized by rogue AI robot units, led by the villainous Harlan (Simu Liu). Atlas‘ mom Val (Lana Perilla), built and trained Harlan-in fact, Atlas grew up with him-and so, only she can bring his reign to an end. So she travels to Harlan‘s rebel outpost on a distant planet in the Andromeda Galaxy to destroy all robots. Even if it takes an AI partner, Smith (Gregory James Cohan), to aid her. Sterling K. Brown, Abraham Popoola and Briella Guiza also star, while Brad Peyton directs. But this gets an embarrassingly low 18% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Todd Gilchrist of Variety calls it “predictable, overlong and bland, the kind of experience it’s hard to get excited about when the star player seems to be perfunctorily running the bases.” Luckily, Netflix also offers Seven Orifices, a 2024 Japanese sci-fi drama series. This show has titanic orifices suddenly appear all around Japan, towering brown masses that look like sideways mushrooms, with a bowl-shaped portal in the side. And through these frightening orifices, people do enter, and each episode tells of people who did enter, like a man named Ozawa, who worships the orifices as a god. Taishi Nakagawa, Shota Sometani, Moka Kamishiraishi, Kokoro Morita and Kanji Furutachi also star, and there are 4 episodes available now, with 5 more to come. And this series gets a respectable 6/10 on IMDb, and Karina “ScreamQueen” Adelgaard of Heaven of Horror calls this series “a sci-fi drama with a very intriguing core story..” And I love sci-fi, so I’m tuning in. Netflix has added Golden Kamuy, a 2024 Japanese historical epic. Based on a manga by Satoru Noda, this tells of a young Russo-Japanese war veteran, Saichi Sugimoto , played by Kento Yamazaki , and his quest to find the legendary gold of the Ainu people. On his journey he meets Asirpa, played by Anna Yamada, a young Ainu woman. But while Saichi wants the gold, Asirpa longs for vengeance for her father’s death while mining the gold. Asirpa agrees to help him, if there is no violence, but their fellow searchers made no such promise, and so the stakes grow higher as their search continues, and when they find a man whose very body is a treasure map, they may be in the money. If they survive. Yûma Yamoto, Gordon Maeda Kubo and Ryôhei Ohtani also star, while Shigeaki Kubo directs. And this movie gets a 6.5/10 on IMDb, and Daniel Hart of Ready Steady Cut called it a “a sneaky hidden gem that was released globally. It’s refreshingly epic and will make new fans of the story along the way.” Netflix has also added Crew, a 2024 Indian Hindu language comedy caper film. Here, three airline attendants, Geeta Sethi (Tabu), Jasmine Bajwa (Kareena) and Divya Rana (Kriti), find themselves deeply in debt and in big trouble when their airline goes bankrupt, and they find they will not be paid in the near future. So, when they find a gold smuggler dead on their next flight, the three women decide to take the gold for themselves, as payment for their 6 months of unpaid work . Of course, there is an ongoing investigation of that gold smuggling, and so the trio find themselves in more hot water, and try to escape the authorities and prison, for their impulsive crime. Diljit Dosanjh, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Kapil Sharma also star, while directs. And this fun movie gets a 6.4/10 on IMDb and Monika Rawal Kukreja of the Hindustani Times calls it a “heist comedy keeps things funny throughout, makes you wish it lasted longer.” I agree, and I’m definitely tuning in. And, finally, Netflix has Military Prosecutor Doberman, a 2024 K-drama legal drama limited series. This tells of Do Bae-man (Ahn Bo-hyun), also known as Doberman, a corrupt lawyer, who initially joins the Military prosecution team for the rewards, and to get close to Cha Woo-in (Jo Bo-ah). But Woo-in is intent on bringing criminals to justice, especially the corrupt Noh Hwa-young, who she finds implicated in the death of her father. And soon Bae-man is drawn into Woo-in’s wish for justice, and for revenge against the people responsible for her father’s death. Kim Young-min, Kim Woo-suk , Kang Mal-geum and Lee jin-soo also star, and there are 16 episodes available for bingeing now. And this series gets an outstanding 7.7/10 on IMDb, and DryedMangoez.com says “a roller coaster of emotions and 16 episodes of engaging drama, Military Prosecutor Doberman is a must-watch.” And I’m tuning in.
AMAZON
Okay, so Amazon Prime has no interesting new movies added this weeks, there are still hidden gems to be found, like My Undead Yokai Girlfriend, a 2024 Japanese fantasy series. This finds college student Tadashi “Hachi” Inukai (Hayato Sano) lonely and wanting a girlfriend. So, in desperation, he conducts an incantation he found online, and ends up conjuring a Yokai, or undead, girl, Princess Izuna-Imiki (Yoshikawa Ai) or Izzy. And she is (or was) a ninja warrior and she has scores to settle, and so she must consummate her relationship with Hachi in order to stay in our time. but Hachi wants to take it slow, and that, plus Izzy’s violent tendencies, might cause some turbulence in their relationship. If they are to have one. Yukiya Kitamura, Antony, Louis Kurihara and Ryô Katô also star, and there are 8 episodes available now. And it gets a whopping 7.2/10 on IMDb, and Joel Keller says to stream it, calling it “funny without trying hard, and presents an interesting central relationship, with a shy, nerdy college kid paired up with a strong female warrior.” So I’m tuning in. Amazon also has The Head Of Joaquín Murrieta, a 2023 historical epic series. This tells the tale of a real Mexican hero, Joaquín Murrieta, played by Juan Manuel Bernal, a deserter from the Mexican American war, who then goes on to work trying to regain some of the of Mexicans belongings, spoils taken by the Americans. Filled with regret about the men who served under him after he deserted on ethical grounds, Murrieta is determined to avenge those Mexicans whose land was taken by the new American California government. he is joined by his protégé, Adela Cheng (Becky Zhu Wu. And together, they wage a battle for the poor that makes Murrieta renown as the Latin Robin Hood. Alejandro Speitzer, Alejandro Speitzer, Steve Wilcox and Emiliano Zurita also star, and there are 8 episodes available for bingeing now. And this series won a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Miniseries or TV-Series for Emiliano Zurita at the 2024 The Platino Awards for Iberoamerican Cinema and gets a 6.5/10 on IMDb, and Joel Keller of the Decider says to stream it, adding it “has great scenery of Northern Mexico, and two stories that are on their way to being merged into one big revenge tale.” And its a lot of fun, too, so I’m tuning in. And, finally Amazon has season 1 of Christian, a 2023 Italian comedy/thriller series from Mhz Choice. Edoardo Pesce stars in the title role, Christian, a low-level mob enforcer, living in poverty with his mom in Rome and trying to get promoted by mob boss Lino(Giordano de Plano). But when Christian‘s hands start hurting and bleeding, he fears for his job, while a Vatican official hears of the phenomenon and investigates. When Christian‘s hands start to heal people, no one is stunned more than he, but when his neighbor neighbor Rachele (Silvia D’Amico) tells him he can charge for his miracles, they become the hit of the neighborhood. But Lino doesn’t want miracles or hope ruining his business, so the pair maybe in big trouble. Claudio Santamaria, Lina Sastri , Antonio Bannò, and Francesco Colella also star, and there are 6 episodes available now, to view before June 1(!). And Pesce was nominated for Best Actor at the 2023 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists for his work in this series, which gets a 7.2/10 on IMDb. And Kelly Luchtman of French Crime Drama says the series “is well-written and well produced. I highly recommend it.” And it’s funny, too. So I’m watching. But remember to finish before June 1st, when it all goes back to the premium Mhz Choice.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 