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 this week, with A Thousand Blows, a 2025 British drama series. this takes place in Victorian London’s East End, where two best friends from Jamaica, Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby) and Alec Munroe (Francis Lovehall), try to make their way in the boxing world. But then they come up against Sugar Goodson(Stephen Graham), a veteran boxer who is very willing to fight dirty. But when Hezekiah doesn’t lose outright to Sugar, a rivalry is born, that may threaten Hezekiah‘s very being. Jason Tobin, Erin Doherty and Ziggy Heath also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. And this series was created by Steven Knight of Peaky Blinders(!) fame, and gets an amazing 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. And Kaiya Shunyata of RogerEbert.com says “with each episode, it becomes clear that you’re watching something special, the show fantastically blending a sharpness and earnestness throughout its six-episode run.” So I am definitely tuning in. But Hulu also offers Bad Genius, the 2024 thriller. A remake of the 2017 Thai blockbuster of the same name, this follows gifted high school student Lynn(Callina Liang), who gets a scholarship to an elite prep school, anxious to make new friends. But her non-white status(she’s Asian American) and middle class background make assimilation hard, so she’s grateful when Grace (Taylor Hickson) befriends her. And when Grace asks Lynn for help, she is only to happy to accede, and finally, finds herself helping her rich classmates to cheat on their college entrance exams. Jabari Banks plays another non-white scholarship student, navigating the class system and racism at the school, and Benedict Wong, Samuel Braun and Sarah-Jane Redmond also star, and J.C. Lee directed. And this movie gets a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com says “fans of the 2017 version of Bad Genius may not need a makeover, but it’s still both novel and compelling enough to be worthwhile.” So I’m watching. Hulu has also added Things Will Be Different, a 2024 sci-fi thriller. Here, two siblings (and criminals), Sidney(Riley Dandy) and Joseph(Adam David Thompson), are on the lam and take shelter at an old farmhouse. But it’s no ordinary farmhouse, but one that appears to allow one to travel back intime, and so the pair take a trip, hoping to escape the police for a few weeks. But they don’t realize what it will take to get back to their own time, or what it will cost them, if they can get back at all. Chloe Skoczen, Justin Benson and Sarah Bolger also star, and Michael Felker directed. And even though it’s uneven, this movie won Best Film at the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, and gets an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Carlos Aguilar of Variety said “even if the balance between the high concept and the human component falters at times, Things Will Be Different is an auspicious effort to amalgamate what touches the heart and what tickles the brain.” So its on my list. And, finally, Hulu also offers Archive, a 2020 British sci-fi drama. This takes place in 2036, with George Almore(Theo James), a lonely roboticist living and working in isolation in Northern Japan, who decides to make a robotic version to house the consciousness of his late wife, Julie (Stacy Martin). In a world replete with robots, this one is exceptional in it’s realism, but it also may have used stolen technology from the company Archive. So while company execs pressure George for the android, who has developed emotions of her own, they find George unwilling. And when company toughs try to take the robot, he tries to protect her, while she may have ideas of her own. Rhona Mitra, Peter Ferdinando, Timea Maday Kinga and Toby Jones(!) also star, while Gavin Rothery directed. And this movie won Best Feature Film at the B3 Biennial of the Moving Image, and gets a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes. And John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter called it “a sleek and satisfying riff on familiar sci-fi themes.” So I’m watching.
NETFLIX
Netflix has some interesting adds this week, like My Family, a 2025 Italian drama series. this considers the dilemma of Fausto(Eduardo Scarpetta), an vibrant family man dying of cancer, and wanting to ease the coming pain for his family. And so he records messages for his family, including his two sons, Libero and Ercole, to listen to after he’s gone, during good times and bad. And this show depicts much life after Fausto, as his family and friends grapple with their grief, with Fausto‘s recordings encouraging them to move on. Vanessa Scalera plays Fausto‘s mom, Lucia, and Massimiliano Caiazzo, Jua Leo Migliore and Tommaso Guidi also star. And there are 6 episodes available now, and gets a whopping 7.3/10 on IMDb. And Neerja Choudhuri of the Midgard Times says “with its heartfelt performances, expertly crafted narrative, and authentic emotional depth, My Family is a must-watch for anyone seeking a series that resonates long after the credits roll.” And this is not a tearjerker, so I’m watching. Netflix has also added Zero Day, the 2025 thriller series. Robert De Niro(!) stars, here, as ex-president George Mullen, who is asked by President Evelyn Mitchell(Angela Bassett!),to head a commission on the ‘zero day’ cyber attacks in the United States. And so they put a pause on the constitution(?), to carry catch the perpetrators. But as Mullen battles memory problems, and discovers corruption and lies, will will anyone believe him? Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan and Connie Britton , and Joan Allen(!) also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. But this series gets but a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Peter Travers of ABC News says “Robert De Niro, as a former POTUS with integrity, shines in his first crack at series TV, but the double Oscar winner and a top cast are trapped in a muddled, political thriller about cyber terrorism that is nowhere near as smart as it thinks it is .” And it’s incredibly ill-timed, so I won’t be watching. Netflix also has The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, a 2025 Indonesian romance. This finds a rich spoiled playboy, Reuben Wiraatmadja( Reza Rahadian), forced by his father’s dying wish, to find a beautiful woman in 6 months and marry, or lose his fortune. Naturally, Reuben, being heir to his father’s TV network, decides to set up a reality show to find the most beautiful girl in the world, to help him find a wife. Unfortunately, his producer, Kiara (Sheila Dara Aisha), is not taken with him or his arrogance, and so sets about to make Reuben more palatable for the audience, and for the women contestants. Will she herself fall for the guy, and vice versa, as the search goes on? Bucek Depp, Dea Panendra and Kevin Julio also star, and Robert Ronny directs. And this romcom gets a 6.1/10 on IMDb, and Daniel Hart of Ready Steady Cut calls it “a captivating Indonesian romance that balances a sleazy reality dating show twist with a heartfelt quest for genuine love, though it sometimes falls into familiar rom-com clichés.” So its on my list. Netflix has also added Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, the 2019 documentary. Here, Princeton professor and Nobel Prize winner (and best-selling author) Toni Morrison, tells her own story, addressing the camera directly as she does. She tells of her working class upbring in Lorain, Ohio, her struggle for to achieve, and her writing. We also learn of her work at Princeton, and as an editor at Random House, all while raising her two children, and advocating for other black American writers. And we get extra insight from luminaries like Fran Lebowitz(!), Russell Banks(!), Oprah Winfrey, Angela Davis(!) and Barack Obama(!). And director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders ties all these stories up into an enjoyable package, not a preachy one. And this movie won multiple awards in 2019 including Best Biographical Documentary at the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, Best Documentary at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, Best U.S. Documentary at the Cinetopia Film Festival. And it gets an astounding 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Monica Castillo of RogerEbert.com said “Morrison‘s legacy is more than just the titles on a reading list, and this documentary will likely help many viewers see just how monumental her accomplishments remain.” So I’m definitely tuning in. And, finally, Netflix has added The First Frost, a Chinese romantic series. This has Wen Yi Fan(Zhang Ruo Nan), a reporter, suddenly meet up with Sang Yan(Bai Jing Ting), years after their high school romance. He had been her first love, but she was forced to reject him, and so, she pretends not to remember him their second meeting. As Sang does the same, the couple are awkwardly adapt, never realizing they will meet again, when they unintentionally end up sharing an apartment. And who knows where that will lead. Edward Chen, Zhang Miao Yi, Edward Chen Haosen and Yuan Ye also star, and there are 10 episodes available now. And this series gets an incredible 8.9/10 on IMDb, and Mamta Raut of Mashable says it “isn’t just a tear-jerker, it is also one of the funniest, sweetest, and a bingeable Chinese dramas you’ll ever encounter. Only six episodes have been released so far, and more will drop on Netflix in the coming days, but let me just say it straight – you need to watch this.” So I’m watching.
AMAZON
Amazon has no big adds this week, but they do have Broken Rage, a 2024 Japanese yakuza parody. This tells the tale of ‘Mr. Mouse,'(Takeshi “Beat” Kitano), an overweight hitman for the Yakuza, finally caught by the police. they convince Mr. Mouse to be a mole in the Yakuza for them, and feed them information. Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano and Nao Ômori also star, and Takeshi “Beat” Kitano directed, along with playing starring role, here. And this movie premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, and gets an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. And Ben Croll of Indiewire calls it “starting from a drier deadpan before rebooting into unbridled absurdity, Broken Rage is a concise lesson in parody, creating a simple form and then breaking it with the subtle force of a mallet smashing a watermelon.” So I’m definitely tuning in. Amazon also offers With You In the Future, a 2025 Spanish language sci-fi rom com. As this begins, Elena (Sandra Echeverría) and Carlos (Michel Brown) are finally getting divorced, delighted to finally be free of each other. But then they get an offer to return to the past, 1994, when they first met, one they can’t refuse. But as they meet their prior selves, and try to talk them out of falling in love, they find they may be matched for life. Javier Adrián, Marypaz Aparicio and Harold Azuara also star, and Roberto Girault directed, along with writing the script. And this movie gets a 6.2/10 on IMDb, and Anne Campbell of Film Gate Reviews calls it ” fun, funny and enjoyable.” So if you didn’t get your fill of Valentine’s Day romance, here’s a good pick. Just remember, the dubbing, as usual on Amazon(and Netflix and Hulu), is awful, so subtitles are a good way to go. And, finally, Amazon has added Abroad, a 2024 K-drama thriller. Here, Taemin (Jang Seong-beom) and his girlfriend, Minji (Lim Young-joo) , travel to Minnesota to see the Northern Lights. Exhausted by their long trip, they settle down in an Airbnb, with Minji doing all the talking, since she’s more fluent in English. So when she suddenly disappears, from inside the house, Taemin not only endeavors to find her, but also struggles to express himself to the English only police. And when he is arrested, and then escapes, there seems to be no way out, except for the help of a local woman. Arden Michalec, Alan Johnson and Chris Carlson also star, and Giovanni Fumu directed. and this movie gets an astounding 7.2/10 om IMDb, and Ruth Maremis of FlixChatter called it “an atmospheric, effective mystery thriller with a twist at the end that I did not see coming.” And I am so 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 