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 amazing add this week with Perfect Days, a 2023 Japanese drama directed by Wim Wenders(!). This tells the story of Hirayama, played by Kôji Yakusho, a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. And, though Hirayama may seem to have a lowly job, he approaches it with dedication and caring, and also enjoys music and photography. So, when his niece runs away from home and comes to him, she finds a primer on a life well lived, and joy in the moment, that may turn her own life around. Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada and Yumi Asô also star, and Wenders co-wrote the script here, with Takuma Takasaki. And this movie was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2023 Oscars, and went on to win major awards in 2023, including the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury for Wenders and Best Actor for Yakusho at Cannes, and Best Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. And it gets an incredible 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 7.9/10 on IMDb. And Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times said its a “beautifully observed paean to caretaking — both physical and philosophical — the movie is led, with sublime joy, by the great Japanese actor Koji Yakusho.” And I totally agree, I’m watching twice. Hulu also offers Clotilda: The Return Home, a 2024 documentary from National Geographic and Disney+. In 2019, the last known slave ship, Clotilda, was found at bottom of the Mobile River in Alabama, inspiring the 2022 award-winning documentary Descendant, which talked with some of the ancestors of the slaves on that ship. This series goes one step further, and finds some of those ancestors returning to the home of some of the people on that ship, going to Benin, and the former kingdom of Dahomey. Oluale Kossola (renamed Cudjo Lewis in slavery) was the last known survivor of the Clotilda, featured in Zora Neale Hurston‘s book Barracoon, and here, Nat Geo’s Tara Roberts returns to Kossola’s home of Benin, along with surviving descendants of his and Gumpa Lee, another survivor of the Clotilda. And together, they return to Kossola‘s home town in Benin, with the soil from his memorial in Alabama. And this moving documentary gets a 6.2/10 on IMDb, and John Serba of the Decider says to stream it, adding “if you don’t know much about this horrible, shameful piece of the story of America, Clotilda: Last American Slave Ship will be a crucial history lesson.” So I’m watching.Hulu also offers Marmalade, the 2024 crime drama. Joe Keery(Stranger Things!) stars as Baron, a jailed , and very naive, young man, who tells a romanticized tale of how he ended up in prison, and of the woman who got him involved in crime, the Marmalade(Camila Morrone). But as he and his cellmate, Otis (Aldis Hodge) plan their escape, and Baron, his return to Marmalade, it becomes clear to Otis how dangerous the woman is , and how a return to her could get them all killed. Joshua Hanson, Jane Hammill and Wayne Duvall also star, while Keir O’Donnell directs. And it gets a respectable 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Monica Castillo of RogerEbert.com called it “delightful feature debut Marmalade is the kind of comedy that zigs when you expect it to zag, like a carnival ride that catches you by surprise… a strange mix of its own, launching the rom com criminal premise to thrilling heights. “And, finally, Hulu has Link: Eat, Love, Kill, a 2022 K-drama mystery/romance series. Here, Eun Gye Hoon(Yeo Jin-goo) returns to the his childhood town of Jihwa-dong , where his twin sister disappeared, 18 years ago, to open a restaurant. But he meets a mysterious girl, Noh Da-hyun(Moon Ga-young), with whom he has a strange connection, feeling her emotions, and vice versa. Since he had a similar connection with his twin sister, he wonders if Da-hyun is indeed his sibling, but she is too young. But with a killer is on the loose, there is only the hope that he can prevent Da-hyun from harm, as he wrestles with survivor’s guilt over his sister. Park Ji-a, Lee Bom, June Angela and Park Ji-a also star, and there are 13 episodes available for bingeing now. And this series gets an outstanding 7.3/10 on IMDb, and Pierce Conran of the South China Morning Post says it “succeeds thanks to Moon Ga-young/Yeo Jin-goo chemistry.” And I love a mystery, so I’m tuning in.
NETFLIX
Netflix has an incredible add this week with Aftersun, a 2022 British coming-of-age drama. this takes place in the 1990‘s, with Scottish 11-year old Sophie, played by Frankie Corio, travelling to a Turkish holiday resort with her young, divorced father Calum, played by Paul Mescal(!). Sophie filmed on her mini-video camera, clips of which intersperses the film, while the pair tried to enjoy their short respite together until she returns to her mother. But as Calum reassures his daughter she can tell him anything, she finds him secretive about his own depression, and anxiety over her coming absence. Celia Rowlson-Hall, Spike Fearn, Brooklyn Toulson and Ruby Thompson also star, and Charlotte Wells directed and wrote the script, here, too. And this movie premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the French Touch Prize of the Critics’ Week prize , and also won the
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer for Wells at the BAFTA Film Awards, and two awards at the Deauville Film Festival, including Grand Special Prize and Critics Award for Wells. And it gets a stunning 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Screen Daily’s Fionnuala Halligan wrote that Wells’ “hits a vein, and, occasionally, an artery, in her story of a troubled father and his uncomprehending 11 year-old daughter relentless probing … one of the most promising new voices in British cinema in recent years.” And I’m watching. But Netflix has also added Black Barbie, a 2024 documentary. This considers the arduous and grueling climb toward the development of a black Barbie doll, finally released in 1980. For decades, workers at Mattel, like Beulah Mae Mitchell, had pushed for the black doll, even talking to Barbie creator, Ruth Handler. But it had little effect, even as ancillary Barbie ‘friends,’ were created, until 1980. And we get views of how that affected women, and little girls, unrepresented by the iconic company, like Misty Copeland, Shonda Rhimes and even congresswoman Maxine Waters(!). And it’s all artfully laced together by director Lagueria Davis, who wrote the script, too. And this documentary gets an 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com calls it a “searing critique of what it means to be seen in mass media.” And I’m definitely tuning in. Netflix also offers Mallari, a 2023 Filipino horror flick. This considers the descendants of a true-life serial killer, Fr. Severino Mallari, a priest who killed 57 people during the Spanish occupation in the 19th century. Unfortunately, descendants like Dr. Jonathan Mallari, played by Piolo Pascual, are still haunted by their forebear, and evil that lingers and threatens those they love, like his fiancé, Agnes (Janella Salvador). And so, he returns to his ancestral home, to find the key to a haunting and recurring dream he had, and save Agnes‘ life. Pascual plays multiple roles, here, and Elisse Joson, Gloria Diaz and Vangie Labalan also star, and Roderick Cabrido directed. And this movie won numerous awards last year, including Best Supporting Actress for Gloria Diaz, Best Actor for Pascual, and Best Picture at the 2023 FAMAS Awards. And it gets a 6.9/10 on IMDb, and Rhea Manila Santos of Push.com says it “elevates the standard of Pinoy horror...[and that]Pascual’s multiple roles [are] both horrifying and fascinating at the same time.” So you know I’m not watching. I’ll be under the bed. Luckily, Netflix has also added Inheritance, a 2024 Polish comedy mystery. This tells of the Fortuna family, heirs to their rich relative and inventor, Wladyslaw(Jan Peszek). But when Wladyslaw is murdered, they finnd he will leave it all to the local orphanage , unless they solve the puzzles he left behind in his ominous estate. Maciej Stuhr, Joanna Trzepiecinska and Mateusz Król also star, while Sylwester Jakimow directs. And though(inexplicably) it gets a 5.2/10 on IMDb, Jonathon Wilson of Ready Steady Cut calls it “a funny whodunit With a satisfying climax.” Puzzles and a mystery? You bet I’m tuning in. And, finally, Netflix has added The Victim’s Game, a 2024 Taiwanese crime drama . This series revolves around Fang Yi-jen (Joseph Chang), a forensic scientist with Asperger‘s , who is drawn into an investigation of a series of murders, when it seems his estranged daughter may be involved. Yi-jen decides to work with a newspaper reporter, Hsu Hai-yin (Tiffany Hsu), to delve deeper into the case, and perhaps, to protect his daughter , and perhaps, even save her life. Wei-Ning Hsu, Hsiao-chuan Chang and Shih-Sian Wang also star, and there are 8 episodes of season 1, with season 2 dropping today. And this series gets an impressive 7.3/10 on IMDb, and Joel Keller of the Decider says to stream it, calling it “a well-done police thriller that tries to be as faithful to police and forensic investigations as possible.” And I love a mystery, so you know I’m watching.
AMAZON
Amazon has a huge add this week with Oppenheimer, the 2023 biopic thriller. Yes, Amazon has finally added Christopher Nolan’s award-winner from last year, where Cillian Murphy plays the father of the bomb, Robert Oppenheimer. It begins with Oppenheimer‘s studies , his direction of the Los Alamos Laboratory and even, his 1954 security hearing. Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, and Rami Malek also star, and this movie is based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. It premiered at Le Grand Rex in Paris on July 11, 2023, and won tons of awards, including 7 Oscars this March, including Best Supporting Actress for Blunt, Best Actor for Murphy, Best Director for Nolan, and Best Picture. And it gets an incredible 8.3/10 on IMDb, and Bilge Ebiri of New York mag/ Vulture wrote “that the director turned this most devastating of stories into a riveting pop culture phenomenon without ceding one inch on its tragic dimensions is surely an achievement for the ages.” So I’m tuning in. But Amazon also has Viktor Bringt’s, a 2024 German comedy series. Moritz Bleibtreu stars as Viktor, an opinionated service technician in Berlin, whose son, Mika(Enzo Brumm) comes to work with him, out of concern for his father’s health. And though Viktor expects to impress his son with his expertise and workmanship, he is soon disabused of this notion, as death by electrocution is barely escaped, and destruction follows them everywhere. Still, the pair manage to become closer, though Viktor may not have been totally honest with his son. David Kross, Heino Ferch, Jasna Fritzi Bauer and Caroline Peters also star, and there are 8 episodes available for bingeing now. And this series gets a 6.6/10 on IMDb, and Blickpunkt:Film says ” this is an absolutely award-worthy undertaking.” So I’m definitely watching. And, finally, Amazon offers Estoy Vivo, a 2017 Spanish mystery/fantasy series. Andres Vargas is a police detective hot on the trail of the Midnight Butcher, responsible for the deaths of multiple women, when he dies. But his death was a mistake, and so, he is sent back, five years later, in a new body, as Detective Manuel Márquez (Javier Gutiérrez). But he is forever separated from his former wife and family, including his daughter, Susana Vargas (Ann Castillo), now a police officer. But together, he and Susana can hunt for the Midnight Butcher, and find a new life together. Alejo Sauras, Cristina Plazas and Patricia Valley also star, and there are 4 seasons now available, with 54 total episodes!And this series has won multiple awards in Spain, including Best Actor for Gutiérrez at the Ondas Awards, and TV – Best Drama Series at the 2018 Premio ACE awards. and it gets a stupendous 7.5/10 on IMDb, so though I can find no critics review of this one, I’m tuning in. A mystery with comedy, fantasy and thrills, can’t be missed.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 