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 some interesting new adds this week, like Scrambled, the 2023 comedy. Leah McKendrick stars as the eternal bridesmaid, Nellie Robinson, dissatisfied with her single status and familial and societal pressures to have children. So she decides to freeze her eggs, allowing her more time to have her own child. But the expense of $13000 will be hard to pay, as a jewelry maker on Etsy, and the complications are many. But on her journey, Nellie might even discover what she really wants from life. Ego Nwodim, Andrew Santino and Laura Cerón also star, and McKendrick wrote the script and directed, for the first time, here. And this movie gets an impressive 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Gissane Sophia of Marvelous Geeks Media said “it’s hilariously bold and gorgeously warm, resulting in the kind of film that’s tailor-made for women in their thirties.” And I agree, so I’m tuning in. Hulu has also added Fast Charlie, a 2023 crime thriller. Pierce Brosnan stars in the title role, Charlie Swift, a Biloxi hitman with a problem, as he’s lost the head of his latest victim. As he needs some way to ID that victim(to get paid), he turns to Marcie (Morena Baccarin), the wife of his victim. Toby Huss, Fredric Lehner and James Caan also star, and Philip Noyce directs. But this is pretty trite stuff, and Brosnan affects a strange Southern accent. Still, it gets an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com calls it “the farthest thing in the cinematic firmament from a world-changer you can imagine, but as an evening’s entertainment, it’ll more than do.” You decide. I’d rather watch The Animal Kingdom, a 2023 French sci-fi thriller. Here, humanity is suddenly hit by a strange mutation, that turns humans into part animal-part human creatures. And while many people are seized by panic, and hatred of those creatures, François, played by Romain Duris, wants only to save his wife, Julia(Adèle Exarchopoulos), who is mutating herself, from a terrible fate. Because the state wants to pen the creatures up, Francois encourages his son Émile(Paul Kircher), to accept the creatures like his mom. Tom Mercier, Nathalie Richard and Billie Blain also star, while Thomas Cailley directed. This wonderful movie premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and won the Un Certain Regard there, and 5 César Awards, including Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Original Music, Best Costume Design and Best Visual Effects. And it gets an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Leslie Felperin of the Hollywood Reporter calls it an “original and striking work.” So I’m definitely tuning in. And , finally, Hulu has Aarya, a 2020 Disney+ Indian crime drama series. Sushmita Sen plays Aarya Sareen, here, happily married to Tej, a pharmaceutical executive. But when her husband is killed, Aarya finds she was ignorant of her husband’s true business, a with drug dealing somehow involved. And not only was Tej‘s death ordered by a rival drug mafia, but his whole family, and so Aarya joins a gang to safeguard her children’s future..and avenge her husband’s death. Sikandar Kher, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Vikas Kumar, Ankur Bhatia and Jayant Kripalani also star, and there are 3 seasons on Hulu, with a total of 25 episodes available now. And this series has been nominated for International Emmy Awards, and Sen won Best Actress at the 2020 Filmfare OTT Awards and the Indian Telly Streaming Awards. And it gets an amazing 7.7/10 on IMDb, and Kennith Rosario of The Hindu said “Sushmita Sen is a tour de force in a gripping, but not-too-ambitious crime saga…” So I’m watching.
NETFLIX
It’s Netflix , surprisingly, that has few new adds this week, but they still have some good new viewing, like Srikanth, a 2024 Indian language biopic. This tells the true story of Srikanth Bolla, played by Rajkummar Rao, born without sight in the village of Seetharamapuram, and spurned by his upset father, only to be saved by his mother. A special school in Hyderabad saves him by nurturing his scientific prowess and a caring teacher who gets him into MIT. From there, with the helps of friends and advocates, Srikanth goes on to found his own company, Bollant Industries, with his partner Ravi, and becomes a huge success. Sukhita Aiyar, Jyothika and Sharad Kelkar also star, while Tushar Hiranandani directs. And this movie gets a stunning 7.6/10 on IMDb, and Devesh Sharma of Filmfare says “Srikanth is a poignant and inspiring tale brought to life by director Tushar Hiranandani‘s directorial acumen and the writing prowess of Jagdeep Siddhu and Sumit Purohit.” So I’m watching. Netflix also offers Another Self, a 2023-24 Turkish drama series. Ada (Tuba Büyüküstün), Sevgi (Boncuk Yilmaz) and Leyla (Seda Bakan)are longtime friends, go on vacation, in the seaside city of Ayvalik. But much has changed in their lives, as Leyla deals with her pregnancy alone, with her husband in prison, while Ada is divorced and dating Toprak, who isn’t sure what he wants from a relationship. Sevgi is married, but finds her husband more and more irritating as time goes on. But they help each other through the trials of life, with joy and heartache ensuing . Umut Kurt, Mehmet Aybars Kaya and Murat Boz also star, and there are 2 seasons available, with 16 episodes total, available for streaming now. And this series has been nominated for multiple awards in the past few years, and won Best Digital TV Series at the 2023 International Izmir Film Festival. And it gets a 6.9/10 on IMDb, and Joel Keller of The Decider says to stream it , adding it “boasts a trio of stars with great chemistry, stunning coastal scenery, and a story that could go just about anywhere.” And I’m tuning in. Netflix also offers Kuyang, an Indonesian horror movie. Here, Bimo(Dimas Aditya) and his wife, Sri(Alyssa Abidin) , are sent to a remote village in the Kalimantan region of Borneo, after debt forces Bimo to teach there. But soon after arriving in the isolated town, they feel on edge, and after meeting the town shaman, Mina Uwe (Putri Ayudya), they feel worse. For people show an odd interest in Sri‘s unborn child, and the disembodied head that haunts them, doesn’t help. But can they escape unharmed? Luthfi Triadi, Putri Ayudya and Totos Rasiti also star, and Yongki Ongestu directed. And this movie gets a respectable 6.6/10 on IMDb, and FilmFlicksReviews says its “a fascinating addition to the world of horror films, drawing on rich Indonesian folklore to create a story that’s both terrifying and culturally resonant.” But it may be too scary for me. Luckily, Netflix also offers Remembering Gene Wilder, a 2023 documentary. This tells the story of comic actor Gene Wilder, born Jerome Silverman, as he made his way to becoming a legend. low his sometimes traumatic childhood, and his pivotal meeting of Mel Brooks, through Brooks‘ then-girlfriend Anne Bancroft, leading to Wilder‘s starring in The Producers. Then comes Young Frankenstein, with many hilarious outtakes, and wonderful interviews with famous, like Carol Kane and Ben Mankiewicz of TCM. Of course , Wilder’s marriage to Gilda Radner is included, along with her tragic grappling with cancer, and Wilder‘s own struggle with Alzheimer’s. But this is a joyous piece of movie history, lovingly put together by director, and best of all, much narration by Gene Wilder, himself. and this exemplary movie won numerous awards last year, including Best Film at the Milwaukee Film Festival . And it gets an impressive 7.9/10 on IMDb, and Christy Lemire of Filmweek calls it “a very lovely film. Warm, affectionate, so many great anecdotes, and I came to appreciate his artistry on a whole different level.” and I am definitely tuning in. And, finally, Netflix has added Maharaja, a 2024 Tamil language Indian thriller. this tells the story of Maharaja, played by Vijay Sethupathi, a barber living in Pallikaranai, Chennai, who has already been dealt a lot of tragedy in his life. Having lost his wife last year to a runaway truck, his daughter Jyothi, survived, due to a strange twist of fate, and a dustbin. But when Maharaja he loses that dustbin, he calls Lakshmi, to thieves, he pleads with the police to recover Lakshmi. They investigate, but when they discover what Lakshmi is, they balk. And so Maharaja decides to act for himself, among the crime ridden streets of the worst neighborhoods of Pallikaranai. Anurag Kashyap, Abhirami and Mamta Mohandas also star, while Nithilan Saminathan directed. And this movie was the year’s highest-grossing Tamil film, and it gets an stunning 8.7/10 on IMDb, and Sruthi Raman of Film Companion says “complicated destiny is everything in Vijay Sethupathi’s terrific hyper-link thriller. It is this labyrinthine web of writing choices that also urges us to overlook its missteps.” So I’m tuning in.
AMAZON
Amazon’s biggest title added this week is Tyler Perry‘s Divorce in the Black, a2024 thriller. Here, Ava, played by Meagan Good, is (surprisingly) stunned when her (abusive) no-good husband Dallas(Cory Hardrict) leaves her. Megan is crushed and goes home to her parents(?), but when she starts dating Benji(Joseph Lee Anderson), Dallas gets angry. And as Dallas relentlessly harasses his ex-wife, and then begins to stalk her, Ava decides its time to strike back. Richard Lawson, Debbi Morgan and Taylor Polidore also star, and Perry, wrote the script, here, along with directing. But this movie gets a shocking 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, and John Serba of the Decider writes it “isn’t the hoot you want it to be. It doesn’t derail like a memorable trainwreck; rather, it poots out on the track.” So its not for me. Luckily, Amazon has also added Mirzapur, an Indian crime thriller series. This tells of the crime boss of Mirzapur, Akhandanand Tripathi, played by Pankaj Tripathi, who also sells carpets, to shield his illicit activities. As his ambitious but incompetent son , Munna(Divyendu Sharma), waits anxiously in the wings, the father crosses swords with lawyer, Ramakant Pandit(Ali Fazal) , which begins a epic battle between the two families. Vikrant Massey, Shweta Tripathi, Rasika Dugal, and Harshita Gaur also star, and there are 3 seasons with 29 episodes total , available for bingeing now. And this series has won myriad awards in India in the past 3 years, like Best Dialogue at the 2021 Indian Television Academy Awards, and Best Supporting Actor for Divyendu Sharma and Best Supporting Actress for Rasika Dugal at the 2021 Indian Film and Television Awards. And it gets a whopping 8.4/10 on IMDb, and Umesh Parwani of Koimoi said what “makes it different is the portion of entertainment and thrills attached with every episode.” So its on my list. And finally, though the new adds on Amazon may be thin, the deals on streaming are getting thick, with the arrival of Prime Day nearing. so you can get 50% off Paramount+, AMC+, and Starz, BritBox, PBS Masterpiece, Acorntv and MGM+ for only 99 for two months. So don’t miss out! I know I won’t.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 