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 few big titles added this week, but they have smaller notable adds, like Sacramento, a 2024 drama. Michael Angarano stars as Rickey, here, a manchild who shows up at the door step of his one-time best friend, Glenn(Michael Cera!), who is less than pleased. Glenn would rather concentrate on his adult life with his very pregnant wife, Rosie( Kristen Stewart!). But soon the pair find themselves on a road trip, presumably to scatter the ashes of Rickey’s late father, in Sacramento. But something more is on Rickey’s mind, and the trip might just resolve problems for the both of them. Michael Angarano Sr., Bunny Levine and Maya Erskine also star, and Michael Angarano directed. And this movie was nominated for Best U.S. Narrative Feature at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, and gets an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. And Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times said that the “prickly comedy of male-pattern personality collapse gives way to wisdom, something that Sacramento has in abundance.” So it’s on my list. Hulu also offers Capoeiras, a 2025 Disney+ Brazilian drama series. this series revolves around Veneno da Magrugada(Raphael Logam) and Noivo da Vida(Sérgio Malheiros), who were close friends as children, only to be broken apart by a violent crime. As Venemo fights capoeira style, in illicit fights in the underworld, Noivo tries desperately to protect Ventania(Dhara Lopes), the daughter of a murder victim. But he also tries to reunite with his old friend, but when they meet in the ring, that might become impossible. Galba Gogóia, Fernanda de Freitas, and Juliana Alves also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. And this series gets a 6.3/10 on IMDb, and though I can find no online reviews , as yet, I’m checking it out. Hulu has also added reminder, a 2025 Turkish Romance series. Here, Deniz(Baris Arduç) and Güneş(Hande Erçel) have broken up after almost marrying, trying desperately to heal. Güneş has begun dating another man, much to Deniz‘ chagrin, when they both receive a cryptic message. Finding they are co-inheritors of a house in Cappodocia they are forced to be together, and forced to discover whether their past love can be salvaged. Basak Gümülcinelioglu Çitanak, Begüm Akkaya and Feyyaz Serifoglu also star, and there are 8 episodes available for streaming now. And though this series gets a 5.7/10 on IMDb, it’s early, and it gets good reviews, like that of Pilar Martínez Manzanares of La Voz de Almeria who calls it “An unforgettable romance” that “combines passion, intense emotions, and surprising twists.” So it’s on my list. And, finally, Hulu has added The New Boy, a 2023 Australian drama. Cate Blanchett(!), stars, here, as Sister Eileen, who runs a Christian orphanage in 1940′s rural australia. With forced assimilation in full force in the country, an Indigenous boy played by Aswan Reid, is found, and brought to the orphanage, she continues the effort to make him blend in. But he doesn’t speak English, sleeps under his bed, and totally confounds Sister Eileen and the other boys. But when she finds the boy seems to have supernatural powers, the nun is torn between her orders from the church, and her morals. Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair and Shane McKenzie-Brady also star, and Warwick Thornton directed. And this movie was nominated for numerous awards in 2024, and went on to win many, including Best Non-U.S. Release at the Online Film Critics Society Awards, and Spotlight Award at the American Society of Cinematographers, USA. And if gets a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Jourdain Searles of RogerEbert.com said Aswan “Reid perfectly embodies the spirit of the film, making us feel his confusion and share his joy in the small moments where he’s allowed to be himself.” And I am so tuning in.
NETFLIX
Netflix surprisingly, has few big titles added this week, but does have gems like The Blackening, the 2023 horror comedy. Here, 7 Black college friends go to a cabin in the woods, for the Juneteenth weekend. But once there, they discover a game called The Blackening, which dares them to answer it’s questions to survive. But the stakes get higher, and Lisa (Antoinette Robertson), Allison (Grace Byers) and Shanika (X Mayo) may have to pull out all the stops, to save themselves, and their friends. Jermaine Fowler, Sinqua Walls, and Melvin Gregg also star, and Tim Story directed. And this movie won Best Feature at the 2024 ReFrame Awards, and gets an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. And Cheyenne Bunsie of Little White Lies calls it “a fun, welcome take on the horror-comedy genre that’s best enjoyed without too much over-analysis.” And I’m tuning in. Netflix also offers Inspector Zende, a 2025 Indian comedic mystery. Set in the 70′s and 80‘s , this features the hunt, led by Inspector Madhukar Zende (Manoj Bajpayee), to recapture the Bikini killer, Carl Bhojraj (Jim Sarbh). As Zende originally caught him, he is called in when the murderer escapes from police custody again, in Delhi, as he looks to escape the country, and his crime. But Inspector Zende will do anything to catch and keep his prisoner, including having his officers sit on him, to keep him in custody. Girija Oak, Bhalchandra Kasam and Sachin Khedekar also star, while Chinmay D. Mandlekar directs. And, though it gets no ratings on IMDb, or Rotten Tomatoes,(it’s early), it does get good reviews, like that of Lachmi Deb Roy of Firstpost, who says “indeed a quirky comedy and a great weekend watch and the best thing is the script is sharp and the performances are brilliant. And as for Manoj Bajpayee, he truly knows his craft.” So I’m tuning in. Netflix also offers Tomb Watcher, a 2025 Thai horror flick. This finds the rich Cheev (Thanavate Siriwattanagul) finds himself forced by his late wife‘s will to spend 100 days in their house, with her preserved body(in a coffin). But with his mistress Rossukhon (Arachaporn Pokinpakorn ) joining him at the villa, they are in for anything, but peace. And his late wife, Lunthom (Arachaporn Pokinpakorn), may be determined to make sure the new couple doesn’t last the 100 days required to inherit. Woranuch BhiromBhakdi also stars, while Oat Vatanyu Ingkavivat directs. And Kat Hughes of The Hollywood News says it’s a “wonderfully melodramatic telling of the age old ghost story of the mistress and the jilted wife, Tomb Watcher is a fun-filled watch with some ingenious effect work.” So I’m tuning in, if it’s not too scary. Netflix has also added Lovesick, a 2025 Taiwanese romantic drama. Here, high school student Ye Zijie or Jay,(Zhan Huai-yun) pretends to be fatally ill(with cancer) to avoid expulsion at school, while the class monitor, another Ye Zijie, called Jade,(Victoria Chiang) is assigned to look out for him. But Jade has problems of her own, as she is recovering from Leukemia, and hopes it will never return. But she tells no one, so as she cares for Jay, she also has to care for herself and her brother. Meanwhile, Chen also cares for Jade, and resents her constant attention being given to Jay. Huai-Yun Zhan, Huang Guan-zhi and Hsiu-Fu Liu also star, while Hsu Fu-hsiang directs. And Chi Chiang was nominated for Best Actress at the Taipei Film Festival for her role here, and the movie gets a 6.7/10 on IMDb. And Neerja Choudhuri calls it “a heartbreaking yet beautiful story.” So I’m watching. And, finally, Netflix has added Queen Mantis, a 2025 K-drama thriller series. This revolves around Cha Soo-yeol(Jang Dong-yoon) a police detective , whose estranged mother Jung Yi-shin(Go Hyun-jung), is an infamous murderer, nicknamed the Mantis. And when another murder occurs, resembling that of the Mantis, the department makes the decision to consult Yi-shin, while making her son work with her. But though Cha is repulsed by his mother, he continues to work with her, and comes to find she may just be the key to cracking the case. Jo Sung-ha, Kim Bo-ra and Lee El also star, and there are 2 episodes available for bingeing now, with 6 more to come. And this series gets an smashing 7.4/10 on IMDb, and Shabnam Jahan of K-Waves and Beyond calls it “a cracking meld of psychological family drama and crime thriller intensity.” And I’m definitely tuning in.
AMAZON
Amazon has added Black Bag, the 2025 spy thriller. Here, George (Michael Fassbender!) and Kathryn (Cate Blanchett!) try to manage being married spies working for the same organization, even if George passed Kathryn over for a promotion. But then, George is apprised of a security leak in the form of a mole, at the organization, and all signs point toward Kathryn. So he begins to spy on her, tailing her all about London, never knowing if she, in turn, is onto him. Gustaf Skarsgård, Tom Burke and Marisa Abela also star, while Steven Soderbergh directed. And this movie gets a sparkling 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Monica Castillo of RogerEbert.com called it “svelte piece of entertainment that feels like a vintage yarn yet very much represents our own current anxieties, questions of sustaining trust in relationships and high-stake careers.” So I’m tuning in. Amazon has also added Timestalker, a 2025 historical sci-fi fantasy . This finds Agnes(Alice Lowe), a humble servant in Scotland, falling under the spell of a heretical preacher, Alex(Aneurin Barnard), so in love, in fact, that she sacrifices her life for him. And then she finds herself repeatedly reborn as a woman, from the 1680s to the 1980s, who falls in love with the same (wrong) man, always played by Aneurin Barnard, for whom she repeatedly gives her own life. And finally, in the 1980′s, it begins to dawn on her, that perhaps she was never in love at all. Jacob Anderson, Nick Frost, Tanya Reynolds and Kate Dickie also star, while Alice Lowe directed, and wrote the script here, as well. And this movie premiered at the 2024 South by Southwest, and gets an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. And Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian said “Alice Lowe’s anti-romcom is a darkly hilarious spin through history.” So I’m watching. And, finally, Amazon has added Season 1 of The Newsreader, the 2022 Australian drama series. This takes place in a newsroom, in the 1980′s , where Helen Norville(Anna Torv)is the co-anchor, with Geoff(Robert Taylor), but longs to cover bigger stories. But that honor usually goes to men at her station, thanks to her boss Lindsay (William McInnes). So Helen ends up befriending the newbie at the station, Dale Jennings(Sam Reid), mentoring him, while perhaps longing for more. But Dale has secrets of his own, that could potentially cause big trouble for him, if they become known. Michelle Lim Davidson, Chai Hansen and Chum Ehelepola also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. and this series won many awards, including Best Actress for Torv, Best Direction in Drama or Comedy for Emma Freeman, and Best Series at the 2024 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards. And it gets a stunning 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Joe Clay of The Times (UK) said it’s “great as a drama (and a comedy — Dale’s presenting debut is hilarious), plus the period styling is also impeccable, from VHS recorders, glass milk bottles and Kyrie by Mr Mister blasting out of Dale’s car stereo…” But remember to finish Season 1 before October 1st, when it disappears back to Paramount +. I’m certainly going to try.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 