Yes, I’m late again, and so, its high 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 this week with Hold Your Breath, a 2024 horror flick starring Sarah Paulson(!). Paulson stars as Margaret, a mom left to care for her children while her husband‘s off building bridges, in 1933 Oklahoma. After the death of her daughter, Margaret tries to care for Rose and Ollie, her two remaining girls, in the isolation of their homestead. And with the ominous threat of dust storms ever present, a different threat, that of murderous drifter in the area arises , too. and when a preacher comes to stay, claiming to be a friend of Margaret‘s husband, that may push her over the edge. Amiah Miller, Annaleigh Ashford, Alona Jane Robbinsan, Ebon Moss-Bachrach also star, and Karrie Crouse and Will Joines co-direct. and though this movie gets just a 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, it does get good reviews, like that of Nick Schager of the Daily Beast, who says “in a genre overly taken as of late with “elevated” trauma scares, its gritty, skillful menace is a breath of fresh air.” You decide. You know it’s too scary for me. Luckily, Hulu has also added Babes, a 2024 comedy. Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau plays lifelong friends Eden and Dawn, respectively, best friends since childhood. but the two have have chosen different paths, with Dawn married with children , and Eden happily single. So when Eden becomes pregnant after a one night stand, and decides to keep the baby, Dawn sticks by her decision, but is secretly dubious about Eden’s choice. And as Eden grapples with the sleepless nights and labor filled days of motherhood, she leans on Dawn more and more, stressing their friendship to the breaking point. John Carroll Lynch, Hasan Minhaj and Oliver Platt also star, while Pamela Adlon directs. And this movie gets an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, and of the L.A. times said “it’s about time we had a movie that understands the basic truth of motherhood: You will often be too tired to cry, but you’re never too tired to laugh.” And I totally agree, I am so watching. Hulu has also added Blood for Dust, a 2023 thriller. Scoot McNairy stars as Cliff, here, a down-on -his luck defibrillator salesman, with a checkered past, living in Montana. But with a sick child, and plenty of debt, Cliff needs a job immediately, and coming up empty on his inquiries . In desperation, he finally accepts the offer of the less than honest acquaintance, Ricky (Kit Harington), and gets involved in drug and gun) running. And Cliff finds that once you accept a deal with the devil, it’s hard to get out. Josh Lucas, Nora Zehetner, Ethan Suplee also star, and Rod Blackhurst directs. And this movie won Best Feature Film at the 2023 San Diego International Film Festival, and gets a respectable 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com said “[w]hatever its shortcomings, including too much solemnity and not enough jokes, there’s no denying that the film creates a powerful mood and sustains it.” So it’s on my list. And, finally, Hulu has added Last Days of the Space Age, a 2024 Australian dramedy series. This takes place in 1979 Perth, with the Bisset family under pressure from a power company strike. Judy Bisset(Radha Mitchell) works as the plant manager, while her husband, Tony(Jesse Spencer) is a union leader who called the strike. They endure scarce funds, rolling blackouts, while Judy works overtime, and their two daughters seek the escape that teenagers often do. Mackenzie Mazur, Emily Grant, Ana Marie Belo and Aiden Du Chien also star, and there are 8 episodes available now. And this series gets a 6.7/10 on IMDb, and Samantha Nelson of the AV Club said “even as the series goes to great lengths to expose the warts of 1979 Perth, Last Days Of The Space Age also gives its subject plenty of love.” So I’m tuning in.
NETFLIX
Netflix has a good add this week with It’s What’s Inside, a 2024 sci-fi thriller. Here, a bunch of old college friends gather at a remote mansion, for a pre-wedding party, for Reuben(Devon Terrell. And Forbes(David Thompson) comes equipped with a new game, one that require you’re placing electrodes on your forehead, and letting him zap you. And, even though Forbes‘ past is shady, to say the least, they proceed, and find that they’re personalities have been switched. which leads to utter pandemonium , and panic, at how the guests will get their true selves back. Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Gavin Leatherwood, Nina Bloomgarden and Alycia Debnam-Carey also star, and Greg Jardin directs. And this movie gets an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Natalia Keogan of the AV Club says “there are plenty of laughs to be had here, making it the perfect movie night selection for a large group.” So its on my list. And Netflix has a fun add with Trouble, a 2024 Swedish comedy. this chronicles the troubles of Conny, played by Filip Berg, a divorced dad, who is ridiculously mistaken for a murderer. Worse yet, he’s convicted and sent to jail for 18 years. Meanwhile, only one person believes he’s innocent, Junior officer Diana Wilson (Amy Deasismont). But as she’s investigating the case, Conny has more trouble, as his fellow convicts think he can help them escape, and he takes the bait, hoping to solve his case on the outside. If only he can stay alive, with tons of police on his tail. Eva Melander, Måns Nathanaelson, Dejan Čukić and Joakim Sällquist also star, while Jon Holmberg directs. And this movie gets a 6.2/10 on IMDb, and Archi Sengupta of LeisureByte calls it “thoroughly chaotic, Trouble is twisty and funny, a combination that makes for an amusing and entertaining watch.” And I’m definitely watching. Netflix has also added the award-winning We Grown Now, a 2024 drama. This tells the story of two ten year old boys growing up in 1990‘s in Chicago‘s Cabrini-Green housing project. The besties, Malik and Eric, played by Blake Cameron James and Gian Knight Ramirez, respectively, share their dreams, their lives in school, and pretty much everything else. Though they deal with the many tribulations of poverty and Cabrini Green, like a child’s murder, and illegal search of an apartment by police, sorrow does not define them. The kids play and invent games just as any other child would. But when Malik’s mom, Dolores, gets offered a promotion, which would enable her family to move out of Cabrini, Eric and Malik’s friendship is challenged. Lil Rel Howery, Jurnee Smollett and S. Epatha Merkerson(!) also star, and Minhal Baig(Hala!) directs. And this movie was nominated for numerous awards last year, and won Best U.S. Feature at the 2023 Chicago International Film Festival, and the Shawn Mendes Foundation Changemaker Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. and it gets an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Tomris Laffley of Variety said “Baig has a textured, refreshingly unfussy way of perceiving coming-of-age stories, favoring intimate moments over explosive ones, with an assured handle on a sense of time and place.” And I’m definitely tuning in. Netflix has also added Ulajh, a 2024 Indian thriller. This finds Foreign service officer Suhana Bhatia, played by Janhvi Kapoor, offered an auspicious job at the London embassy, working for India. Whispers and rumors begin about her worth, as she is young, and her family is powerful and well known. but when she meets another agent posing as a chef, Nakul (Gulshan Devaiah), who then proceeds to black mail her after their affair. But Nakul may have some surprises, as Suhana is intent on avenging herself, and she may actually root out the mole that has infested the London Embassy. Meiyang Chang, Roshan Mathew and Adil Hussain also star, while Sudhanshu Saria directs. And though it gets just a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, it gets a 6.5/10 on IMDb, and Ganesh Aaglave of FirstPost calls it “one of those spy-thrillers, which deserves a watch for its gripping story-telling and superb star performances.” And, finally, Netflix has added Shinjuku Field Hospital, a 2024 Japanese medical drama series. This takes place at a medical center in Kabukicho, a redlight district in Tokyo. This hospital is a special one, serving the poor, homeless people and sex workers of the area, and as ex-military doctor, Yoko Nishi Freeman (Eiko Koike), joins the team, she brings a bit of light and hope to the facility. And as she meets Dr Toru Takamine (Taiga Nakano), nephew of the facility owner, she may even stop hm from turning the hospital into a cosmetic surgery hospital. Mai Minami, Yuta Okamoto, Akane Wakai and Akira Emoto also star, and there are 11 episodes available now. and this series gets a 7/10 on IMDb, so though I can find no reviews online, as yet, I’m checking it out.
AMAZON
Amazon has a scary add with House of Spoils, a 2024 horror flick. Ariana DeBose plays Chef, here, working in a high pressure restaurant, only to quit when she gets an offer too good to refuse. A rich investor Andres (Arian Moayed) want her to head a restaurant housed in an old farmhouse, in fact, it’s supposed to be a witch’s former house. And the ramshackle place gets on her nerves, right away, with strange noises, weird occurrences, and bug infestations. As the Chef‘s anxiety grows, she pushes herself to continue, but as she tells Andre about the ghostly occurrences, he claims it’s only her nerves. So it’s up to the Chef to save herself and her future, if she can. Barbie Ferreira, Marton Csokas and Amara Karan also star, and Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy(Blow the Man Down!) co-direct. And, though it gets only a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, Halloween is coming, and Randy Myers of the San Jose Mercury News calls it a “cut above most recent Blumhouse movies and is observant to the insane pressures of the restaurant biz.” Amazon has also added If, the 2023 kids comedy/animation. This revolves around 12-year-old Bea(Cailey Fleming), who lives with her single dad in NYC, and grieving her late mom. But when her father, Dad(John Krasinski), gets sick and is hospitalized, Bea, moves in with her grandmother, and meets Cal(Ryan Reynolds), a leftover imaginary friend of a child now grown up. And he has more friends, all of whom need new kids, so Bea sets out to help them find new homes. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Emily Blunt and Bradley Cooper also star, and Krasinski directs. But this has been done (better) before, and doesn’t really hit its mark. And so it gets a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Tomris Laffly of Variety said “despite a star-studded voice cast and a terrific lead in Cailey Fleming, this big-hearted animation-live action hybrid doesn’t feel magical like the Pixar films it aspires to emulate.” I won’t bother. And, finally, En Fin, a 2024 Spanish comedy series. This tells of Tomás, played by José Manuel Poga , who abandons his family, with the news of the coming apocalypse. With a planet looming on the horizon, and due to hit our planet, Tomas leaves his family and joins a vigilante group. But when said Apocalypse doesn’t come, and the threatening planet zoomed by, Tomas is left to return home to his family, apologetic and abashed. And his wife might not be too pleased about his return. Malena Alterio, Irene Pérez and Luisa Gavasa also star, and there are episodes available now. And this series gets a 6.5/10 on IMDb, and Daniel Moya Calero of Cinemagravia says ” a script full of comedy and constant subversion of the clichés about the end of the world to which we are so accustomed.” And 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 