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 excellent add this week with La Máquina, a 2024 Mexican action thriller series. Gael García Bernal(!) stars, here, as Esteban “La Máquina” Osuna, an aging boxer at the low point of his career, and down on himself. Luckily, his best friend and manager Andy Lujan, played by Diego Luna(!), won’t let him quit and arranges a comeback match for him. But as Esteban begins to get his inspiration back and into top shape, Andy gets a call from a shadowy acquaintance, demanding La Máquina throw the fight. LaMáquina doesn’t agree, but as the threats grow, and finally, someone dies, he begins to realize what’s at stake. Eiza González plays Esteban‘s journalist ex-wife, Irasema, and Jorge Perugorría, Andrés Delgado and Lucía Méndez also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. And this series gets a 7.1/10 on IMDb, and Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly calls it “suspenseful and strange in all the best ways, La Máquina is a contender for one of the best shows of the year.” And I’m definitely tuning in. Hulu has also added Sting, a 2024 horror flick. Here, 12-year-old Charlotte, played by Alyla Browne, finds a spider in her apartment building and she keeps it. as she is intrigued by the behavior, its speed and adaptability, of the spider she calls Sting, she keeps him secret. But as he grows, and steadily needs more food, he escapes Charlotte‘s care, and begins to feast upon the building’s tenants. And as it eats, it grows, until Charlotte‘s father and a determined exterminator played by Jermaine Fowler, may be the only ones who can stop it. Ryan Corr, Penelope Mitchell, Robyn Nevin and Noni Hazlehurst also star and Kiah Roache-Turner directs. And this movie gets a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Barry Levitt of Empire Mag says “though it takes too long to get into the swing of things, Sting delivers faint echoes of the B-movie classic it wants to be, offering a memorable foe in a giant, bloodthirsty spider.” But definitely not for kids, or me, either, for that matter. Luckily, Hulu also offers Fleeting Lies, a 2023 Spanish comedy series. This tells the story of Lucia, played by Elena Anaya, the successful director of a beauty company, whose life goes downhill fast after a rival falsely accuses her of industrial espionage. As Lucia loses her job, she desperately tries to contain the destruction in her life, and so , hides the information from her husband to be and his family. As Lucia‘s lies pile up, she and her best friend, Maite, try to regain her position in the company, with ridiculous results. María Botto, Hugo Silva, Quim Gutiérrez and Susi Sánchez also star, and there are 8 episodes available now. And this series gets a 6.1/10 on IMDb, and Muriel del Don of Cineuropa calls it “a delightfully irreverent comedy about appearances, about the downside of a life based solely on consumerist ideals with a heteronormative flavour.” And I’m watching. And, finally, Hulu has added Mama Cake, a 2024 dramedy series. Susana Alexander stars as María Sánchez Olvera, an older woman, of late, abused by life, with the death of her husband, and the subsequent loss of her home. So, in desperation, she decides to market her famous cakes, popular with friends and family. Unfortunately, they contain her secret ingredient, marijuana, very effective for her husband’s painful cancer, but illegal. And when the authorities find out, they go after María and seek to shut her business down…and put her in jail. Ari Albarrán, Sebastian Dante, and Armando Hernández also star, and there are 10 episodes available now. And this series gets as outstanding 8.2/10 on IMDb, so though I can find now reviews online, I will be tuning in.
NETFLIX
The big add on Netflix this week has got to be Lonely Planet, a 2024 romantic drama. Laura Dern(!) stars, here, as Katherine Loewe, an acclaimed author enduring a break-up, who travels to Marrakesh for a writers retreat. There , she meets a hot new writer, Lily, who brings her financier boyfriend, Owen (Liam Hemsworth). And, of course, Katherine and Owen end up spending some time together, and then, falling in love. Diana Silvers, Younes Boucif and Adriano Giannini also star, and Susannah Grant directs, along with writing the script. But the script is disappointing, for me, and it gets only a 36% on Rotten Tomatoes. Alissa Wilkinson of the New York Times says “beautiful people in beautiful places can be fun to look at, but you need more than just a pretty face to keep your interest over the long term (or a feature-length film).” And I agree, I’m definitely not watching. Luckily, Netflix also offers In Her Place, a 2024 Chilean drama. This is based on a true story, with a famed writer María Carolina Geel (played by Francisca Lewin), tried for the murder of her lover, in 1955 Chile. As the shy secretary of the judge, Mercedes (Elisa Zulueta), watches the trial, she gets fascinated , and finally absorbed with the author and her avant-garde lifestyle. As she becomes more and more obsessed, Mercedes begins to take on Geel‘s identity, and to leave her own more staid, conventional life behind. Marcial Tagla, Pablo Macaya and Gabriel Urzua also star, and Maite Alberdi directs. And this movie was selected by the Chilean Film Academy at the 2025 Oscars and the Goya Awards, and was nominated for Best Film at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. So while it gets a 5.8/10 on IMDb, it also gets rave reviews, like that of Luis Martinez of the World Newspaper who says “period cinema as a mirror of feminist liberation (…) a small miracle that promises everything to come. So I’m definitely watching.” Netflix has also added Uprising, a 2024 S. Korean historical epic . This takes place in the the Joseon Dynasty, after the 1589 rebellion of Jeong Yeo-rip, and after devastating Japanese invasions. Here, two friends since childhood- the rich Jong-ryeo (Park Jeon-min) and his servant, Cheon-yeong (Gang Dong-won)- find themselves fighting on opposite sides of a war. As the battle for the throne of the vicious King Seonjo (Cha Seung-won) wages on, Jong-ryeo fights for him, while Cheon-yeong fights for the rebels, and a better world. A vision that may get him killed. Jin Seon-kyu,Kim Shin-rock, Jin Sun-kyu and Jung Sung-il also star, while Kim Sang-man directs. And the master director of Oldboy and the Handmaiden, Park Chan-wook, produced this film and helped write the script. And it gets a 6.6/10 on IMDb, and James Marsh of the South China Morning Post says “Kim delivers a visually polished production, beautifully shot by Ju Sung-lim and boasting some spectacular swordplay that yields a multitude of decapitations and copious bloodletting.” So it’s on my list. Netflix also offers A Virtuous Business, a 2024 S. Korean dramedy series. This takes place in the rural village of Geumje in 1992, where four women decide, for different reasons, to sell sex toys, in an area totally unfamiliar with them. Han Jung-Sook (Kim So-Yeon) is a housewife having difficulty making ends meet, and paying for her children’s supplies, and so, gets into door-to-door sales of the products. Seo Young-Bok (Kim Sun-Young) too, is living in poverty, and in a one room house, and wants to pay for anew room for her four children. But whatever their motivation, the women are not well received at first, but are met with shock and indignation. Slowly, though, the tide turns, and their sales go up, even if the indignation does not go away in the conservative town. Lee Se-Hee, Yeon Woo-Jin and Choi Jae-Rim also star, and there’s 1 episode available now, with 11 more to come. And this series is so new it has 0 ratings on IMDb, and so, no rating, but Neerja Choudhuri of the Midgard Times gives it an 8/10, and calls it “bold and unconventional,” and adds “with its mix of humor, drama, and unexpected plot twists, the show challenges traditional norms, making for a fascinating watch.” So I’m definitely watching. And, finally, Netflix has added The Secret Of The River, a 2024 Mexican drama series. This tells of two boys who become best friends in a small town in Oaxaca; Manuel (Frida Sofía Cruz Salinas), who moves to town with his grandmother, and Erik (Mauro Guzmán), whose mother introduces him to Manuel. And the pair become fast friends, though they have little in common, Erik loves sports, but not Manuel. But while there, Manuel gets to experience some of the local Zapotec culture, like Muxes, a ‘third gender,’ where men dress as women, with the community respecting them. But the boys also witness something horrific, for which they will be hunted by authorities, and by the culprits. As they grow into men, they grow apart, only to meet again, with a few changes, but not their friendship or their connection. Mercedes Hernández, Lisa Rivas, La Bruja de Texcoco, Jorge A. Jimenez and Diego Calva also star, and there are 8 episodes available now. And this series gets a whopping 7.5/10 on IMDb, and Joel Keller of the Decider says to stream it, adding its “an affecting story of an unexpected friendship that was forged before a tragedy occurred and solidified after.” And I’m definitely tuning in.
AMAZON
Amazon has a scary add with The Diary, a 2024 Spanish sci-fi horror flick . This tells of Olga(Irene Azuela) newly divorced, who moves into a new house with her daughter, newly separated from her husband. When in the attic, Olga finds a chest, with a diary in it, that she reads, and finds horrific. Meanwhile her daughter, Vera, has had difficulties, and sees a psychiatrist, and as Olga tries to get rid of the diary, she worries for her daughter. But the diary always reappears, and it becomes clear the house itself has a horrible past, and may even be haunted. Isabella Arroyo, Juan Acosta, Yoshira Escárrega and Mauricio Ochmann also star, and Emma Bertrán and Alba Gil co-directed. And though it gets on a 4.7/10 on IMDb, Riya Singh of the Midgard Times says “this film has a great way of storytelling….and is a must-watch.” But definitely not for me. Luckily, Amazon also offers Citadel: Diana, a 2024 Italian thriller series. This series, a sequel to Amazon‘s 2023 Citadel, begins in Milan in 2030, with Diana, played by Matilda De Angelis, serving as a double agent , working for Citadel, as a mole in their evil rival, Manticore . And Diana is out for revenge, after the collapse of Citadel, but Manticore may know that she’s not who she says she is. As they both race for a device called ‘the apple,’ Diana finds half of it, and tries to escape, but the son of the Manticore leader may be her only hope for survival. Lorenzo Cervasio, Maurizio Lombardi, Julia Piaton and Thekla Reuten also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. And this series gets a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Archi Sengupta of LeisureByte calls it “a thrilling and surprisingly emotional watch where the protagonist has a vulnerable side and the storyline is tense and twisty.” And I’m tuning in. And, finally, Amazon has The Breach, a 2023 horror/thriller. As he prepares to leave the small town of Lone Crow for the big city, Sheriff John Hawkins (Allan Hawco) is pulled back in when a badly damaged body is found. Thought to be the remains of a renowned physicist, Cole Parsons, Hawkins heads out to Parsons‘ cabin with a guide, Meg, and the coroner. But what they find there is shocking, and grows more horrific, and perhaps inescapable, as they advance. Emily Alatalo, Adam Kenneth Wilson, Natalie Brown and Wesley French also star, and Rodrigo Gudiño directs. And this movie gets a respectable 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Jonathan DeHaan of Nightmare on Film Street calls it “an undeniably gory mashup of the tried and true cabin-in-the-woods set up with the madness and monsters of a classic Lovecraft story.” So you know I won’t be watching.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 