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 add with Grotesquerie, the 2024 FX horror series. Niecy Nash-Betts(!) plays Detective Lois Tryon, working and living in a small town suddenly experiencing horrific crimes. As she grapples to deal with the inhuman crimes, with her alcoholism growing ever worse, and her husband, Courtney B. Vance(!), struggling to survive cancer, Tryon finds help in an unlikely person, a nun and reporter, Sister Megan(Micaela Diamond) . As the pair hunt together for the murderous fiend, their lives grow gradually more threatened, until its questionable whether either of them will survive. Lesley Manville(!), Travis Kelce and Nicholas Alexander Chavez also star, and there are 2 episodes available now. Ryan Murphy is one of the series creator here, and this series gets a 6.7/10 on IMDb. And Joel Keller of the Decider says “whether the mystery at the center of Grotesquerie is good or not, we like watching Niecy Nash-Betts so much that it may not matter.” And I agree, but the whole cast is wonderful, including Lesley Manville. But I’m still not watching, it’s far too scary. Luckily, Hulu also offers What You Wish For, a 2023 thriller. Nick Stahl stars as Ryan, here, an in debt and in trouble chef, who goes to visit a friend, and chef, Jack (Brian Groh) in his posh house. When Ryan finds that Jack is swimming in money, though working for “the worst people in the world,” he asks for employment as a sous chef. But with Jack’s demise, Ryan steals his identity, and goes to work for the shadowy employers of his friend. And very soon, the new chef realizes his mistake, but getting out of it will be no small miracle. Tamsin Topolski, Randy Vasquez, Penelope Mitchell and Juan Carlos Messier also star, and Nicholas Tomnay directs. And this movie gets an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com said “one of the things that makes the movie work is that it acknowledges this fact but then makes the premise terrifyingly credible.” But its still too scary for me. Hulu has also added Boy Kills World, the 2023 thriller. Bill Skarsgård plays Boy, here, a deaf man living in a dystopian world, where a totalitarian regime has an annual culling, which kills Boy‘s little sister before his eyes. But Boy gets a chance for serious revenge, after training with The Shaman(Yayan Ruhian). And so the rest of the movie records his ultra-violent slashes through the world, killing people right and left. Famke Janssen, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Rothe and Michelle Dockery also star, while Moritz Mohr directed. But this script doesn’t pan out, despite it’s a-list cast, and so gets only a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes. And Simon Abrams of RogreEbert.com said so “much pseudo-comic stress is put on sweeping camera movements and impact-driven maneuvering that it reduces everything funny, upsetting, and spectacular about these scenes to its sheer numbing impact.” And I’m definitely not watching. And, finally, Hulu has added Murder in a Small Town, a 2024 Canadian mystery series. This follows Detective Karl Alberg, played by Rossif Sutherland, who moves to a small coastal town of Gibsons to escape stress of his big city policing job, and take the job of Police Chief there. But then, of course, a body is found, and he begins to wonder if he escaped at all. He also meets a librarian, Cassandra(Kristin Kreuk), who attracts him far more than he had intended in his post divorce phase. But with the murders piling up, he may in Mia Lowe, Aaron Douglas and James Cromwell(!) also star, and there are 2 episodes available now. And this series gets a smashing 7.2/10 on IMDb, and Aramide Tinubu of Variety says it “hits the nail on the head as a pleasing procedural with a 1990s-esque feel.” And I love a mystery, so I’m definitely watching.
NETFLIX
The big title added on Netflix this week has got to be Nobody Wants This, a 2024 romcom series. Kristen Bell stars as, Joanne ,who hosts a sex-advice podcast her sister, Morgan(Justine Lupe). Joanne has never made good relationship choices, but when she meets Noah, played by Adam Brody, she is dumb struck. But then, she doesn’t know Noah’s a Rabbi(she’s agnostic), or that his family expects him to marry a nice Jewish girl. So will it work? Not if Noah‘s mom has anything to say about it. Timothy Simons, Stephanie Faracy, and Tovah Feldshuh(!) also star, and there are 10 episodes available for bingeing now. And this series gets a incredible 8.1/10 on IMDb, and Daniel Fienberg of the Hollywood Reporter says “Bell and Brody are accompanied by a supporting cast of veteran scene stealers, and creator Erin Foster has additionally given their tale a specificity that sets it apart from your average meet-cute about mismatched lovers.” So I’m watching. But, Netflix has also added Will & Harper, a 2024 documentary. This chronicles a cross country road trip Will Ferrell took with one of his best friends, Harper Steele. Steele boosted Ferrell’s talent when he was an unknown, when Steele was a writer for Saturday Night Live who then presented as male , as Andrew Steele. So when Ferrell got an email recently from Steele, saying that Steele was going to transition to female, he was shocked, having no inkling that his best friend felt this way. So the pair took a road trip, together with a film crew, to talk things out, and get to know each other again. But Harper had concerns about her safety, especially in some of the bro bars they visit, especially middle America, like Iowa(her home state) and Indiana. Luckily, things, for the most part, worked out, and director Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar) gives a very clear view of what’s a stake for someone who doesn’t fit the cisgender ‘norms’ in our country right now. But its also a lot of fun, and enlightening, too. And this doc premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. And it gets a smashing 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, and John Nugent of Empire Magazine calls it “an affectionate road-trip buddy-movie, featuring an unseen depth to Will Ferrell, this documentary is illuminating, timely, and gently funny.” And I am definitely watching. Netflix also offers Divorce, a 2024 Polish dramedy. This follows the travails of Goska(Magdalena Poplawska) and Jacek (Wojciech Mecwaldowski), long ago divorced in civil court, but not in the eyes of the church. With Jacek wanting to remarry, he requests Goska help him get their old marriage annulled by the Catholic Church. But that’s not so easily done, not even considering the fact that Goska has remarried, and had a child with that husband. With all the piles of paperwork, declarations and meetings with church officials, the situation becomes more and more ridiculous. And as the stress grows for Goska, her real marriage suffers, and its not clear if the church will ever let Pacek and Goska annul their marriage. Tomasz Schuchardt, Stanislaw Cywka, Oliwia Drabik and Adam Cywka also star, while Michal Chacinski directs. and though this movie gets a 5.7/10 on IMDb, it gets great reviews, like Brian MacNamara of TL;DR MovieReviews, who calls it “a delightfully fun look at trying to work your way through many layers of church bureaucracy.” And I agree, so I’m definitely tuning in. Netflix has also added Morrison, a2023 Thai drama. This finds pop-star turned engineer Jimmy returning to the hotel in Vietnam where his parents first met. The dilapidated hotel is wanders the deserted halls of the hotel, he finds ghosts of the past everywhere. As he stay there, he is overwhelmed by thoughts of the Vietnam War, and worlds past. Kitty Chicha, Joe Cummings and Hugo also star, and Phuttiphong Aroonpheng directed, along with writing the script. And this film was nominated for Best Asian Feature Film at the Singapore International Film Festival, and it gets an impressive 7.3/10 on IMDb. And Hugo Hamon of Asian Movie Pulse calls it “a mesmerizing exploration of trauma, memory, and the search for identity in a world haunted by the specters of the past.” So I’m watching. And, finally, Netflix has added Rez Ball, a 2024 drama. This tells the story of a Navajo community in New Mexico reeling after the death by suicide of a young man, Nataanii (Kusem Goodwind). Nataanii‘s friend Jimmy (Kauchani Bratt) is hit hard, but so is his basketball team that Nataanii shined with. And with important games and the state championship on the line, Coach Hobbs (Jessica Matten) pushes her players hard, and then the Jimmy and others decide to lean on Navajo traditions to bring them strength, and help them win. Julia jones, Kiowa Gordon and Devin Sampson-Craig also star, while Sydney Freeland directs . And this movie gets a stunning 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Marya E. Gates of RogerEbert.com said “there’s a lived-in intimacy to its heart and humor that is both culturally specific and universally felt. It’s also just plain entertaining from start to finish. I’m happy to report that the feel-good sports movie renaissance is off to a great start.” And I’m definitely tuning in.
AMAZON
The big title on Amazon this week is Killer Heat, a 2024 mystery thriller. based on a story by Jo Nesbø, this tells of PI (and former NYPD cop) Nick Bali, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, called to the posh estate of the late shipping magnate Leo Vardakis, in Crete. He is hired by Leo’s beautiful widow, Penelope Vardakis(Shailene Woodley!), as the family worries over negative publicity. But as Leo’s twin Elias, comes under suspicion of killing his brother, it becomes clear the family is full of secrets, and they do not want the truth to be found. Richard Madden, Clare Holman and Abbey Lee also star, and Philippe Lacôte directed. But there’s nothing new , or especially interesting, about this movie, despite its distinguished pedigree. And so it gets only a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Brandon Yu of the New York Times writes “the twists and pedestrian dramatics are a stiff slog to get to, and Gordon-Levitt’s once innate charisma has vanished altogether here; his cheap P.I. outfit itself seems to be wearing him more than the other way around.” So I’m not watching. Luckily, Amazon also has Seobok: Project Clone, a 2021 S. Korean sci-fi thriller movie. This finds former agent Min Ki-Hun(Gong Yoo), dying from cancer, ordered back into service to protect a secret mission , Project Seobok. When Soebok turns out to be a human being, or at least, the first genetically created human, i.e., a clone, Min is shocked. But his surprise grows, when he learns that Soebok(Park Bo-gum) is virtually indestructible and immortal, and intended as a weapon of war. As the pair go on the run, from mercenaries and government agents who want to control that weapon, they both learn what it means to be human. But will Min be willing to exploit Seobok to save his own life? Jang Young-nam, Jo Woo-jin and Sena Bryer also star, and Lee-Yong Ju directs. And this movie won Best Sound at the 2021 Korean Film Producers Association Awards, and gets an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. And Ricardo Gallegos of But Why Tho? called it a “riveting balance of philosophy, sci-fi, and action with a hint of road movie goodness…” So its on my list. And, finally, Amazon has added The Perfect Miss, a 2024 German romcom series. This tells of two people-sports store owner Ralf(Bastian Pastewka), divorced and at loose ends, and Maria(Anke Engelke), a book store owner. But, though they both live in Marburg, close to each other, they keep just missing the one person that may be their perfect match, if only they could meet. But instead, Ralf tries to adapt to life as a divorced man, and Maria wonders if she has missed her chances at becoming a writer, without meeting the person who could be their ideal partner . Fritzi Haberlandt, Lea Freund and Caro Scrimali also star, and there are 8 episodes available now. And this series gets a 7.5/10 on IMDb, and Oliver Armknecht of FilmDienst.com called it “definitely worth watching.” So I’m 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 