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 no big titles added this week, but they do have Don’t Breathe, a 2016 horror flick. Here, three young theives decide to burglarize the home of a blind vet, played by Stephen Lang. The teens, Alex (Dylan Minnette), Money (Daniel Zovatto), and Rocky (Jane Levy) , expect a quick in and out job, in a deserted neighborhood in Detroit. But what they don’t expect is a more than capable man with a horrible secret, who will stop at nothing to keep it quiet. Emma Bercovici, Franciska Töröcsik and Katia Bokor also star and Fede Alvarez directs. And it gets an astounding 7.1/10 on IMDb, and Aja Romano of Vox called it a “taut, appropriately breath-stealing new movie that galvanizes the tired home invasion subgenre of horror the way films like The Witch and It Follows have done for the coven and slasher subgenres.” But it’s far too scary for me. Luckily, Hulu also offers Los Protectores, a 2023 Argentine dramedy series. This tells of three struggling football agents, Reynaldo ‘Colombia’ Morán(Andrés Parra), Renzo ‘ Mago’ Magoya(Adrián Suar) and Carlos ‘Conde’ Mendizab(Gustavo Bermúdez)form the agency Protectors Inc.. But as they wheedle and cajole famous players like Lionel Messi(!) to join their agency, they find trouble once they gain clients, as they have to keep them from temptation along the way. Gustavo Garzón, Laura Fernández and Abril di Yorio also star, and there are 10 episodes available now. And this series gets a 6.6/10 on IMDb, and so, though I can (as yet) find no online reviews, I’m watching. This is a funny, diverting show, with interesting characters and lots of action. Hulu also offers Tomorrow, I’ll Be Someone’s Girlfriend, a 2022 J-pop series. This focuses on 5 roommates, who poses as paid girlfriends for a living. There’s Yuki(Ai Yoshikawa) a college student who pays off her debts with her earnings, while her friend Rina(Yokota Mayuu), also a college student, tries to find sugar daddies who will support big spending. But all of the women hope for something more, something permanent and unpaid, that will transform their lives. Ugaki Misato, Yanai Yumena, Mizuki Kayashima and Saito Nagisa also star, and there are 12 episodes available now. And this series gets a rousing 7.2/10 on IMDb, and K & J Reviews says it “portrays beautifully its characters, centering the whole story around their personalities and their struggles.” And I’m watching. And, finally, Hulu has added 55, a 2020 Indian drama. This tells the story of Pachpan (Rizwan Shaikh), an orphaned boy living in Mumbai, working as a pickpocket under the thumb of mastermind Sagar Bhai (Emraan Hashmi). Numbered 55, Pachpan works the streets around train stations and such, pickpocketing everyone he can find. But one day, he robs the wrong man, a poor father whose daughter’s dowry was in his stolen wallet, ruining him and his family. And so Pachpan is intent on repaying that debt, even as it incurs the wrath of Sagar. Dhanshree Patil, Ashutosh Gaikwad and Harsh Rajendra Rane, also star, and Shyam P. Madiraju directed. and it gets a sparkling 7.3/10 on IMDb, and Kristin Dreyer Kramer of Nights and Weekends calls it ” a thoughtful, dramatic story, following one boy’s fight for more than just survival—to be more than just the money in his pocket. It’s often a heavy story, but it’s also a gripping one.” And I’m definitely tuning in.
NETFLIX
Netflix has some blockbuster adds this week, starting with Nouvelle Vague, the 2025 comedy from Richard Linklater(!). This tells the story of the making in 1959 of Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard‘s New Wave classic. Zoey Deutch(!) plays Jean Seberg, the new American star set to play his female lead, while Guillaume Marbeck plays the legendary Godard at 29. As the production moves forth in Paris, Godard consulters with his fellow upstart movie makers, while battling with his producer during filming. And we the viewer get to experience all the excitement, conflict, and creative chaos that ended up creating a great classic film. Alix Bénézech, Paolo Luka-Noé, Aubry Dullin, Adrien Rouyard, and Antoine Besson also star, and Linklater shot this movie in glorious black and white, and mostly, in French. And it gets an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a smashing 7.5/10 on IMDb. And Manohla Dargis of the New York Times says I “initially classified it as a delightful, explicitly non-Godardian homage. Watching it again, I recognized that Linklater’s film is itself an expression of a certain approach — a consciousness — toward cinema’s pleasures and possibilities, one that at once embraces the art’s past and insists on its future.” And I’m definitely watching. But Netflix has also added The Beast In Me, the 2025 thriller series. Claire Danes(!) stars here, as Aggie Wiggs, a writer blocked since the death of her son. Desperate for ideas, she is inspired when a new neighbor, Nile Jarvis (Matthew Rhys), moves in next door. Because Nile is a rich boy , suspected of killing his first wife. And as friends and associates warn her about the man who could be a sociopath, Nile agrees to be interviewed, and Aggie begins her research. But as she is pulled into the man’s orbit, the distinctions between the two of them become blurred. Susan Pourfar, Eleni Yiovas , Brittany Snow and Natalie Morales also star, and there are 8 episodes available now. And it gets an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and an incredible 7.4/10 on IMDb. and Ben Dowell of The Times (UK) calls it “a classic thriller executed with such panache that at times you feel you’re in the middle of someone’s nervous breakdown. But you won’t want to look away for a second.” And I’m so tuning in. Netflix has also added Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, the 2024 French romcom. Here, Agathe (Camille Rutherford), works in a Parisian bookstore, but as an aspiring writer, dreams of more. So when she wins a place at a Jane Austen writing retreat on the Austen family estate, she grabs at it. But when she meets an Austen descendant, Oliver (Charlie Anson), a modern literature professor who pooh-poohs Austen, Agathe is unimpressed. But, when he does draw her into his orbit, she is torn between him and Félix (Pablo Pauly) at home. But Agathe, most importantly, finds her way in her writing. Annabelle Lengronne, Liz Crowther and Alan Fairbairn also star, and Laura Piani directed. And this movie gets an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Cath Clarke of the Guardian said “this funny and smart French comedy instead gives us a 21st-century Jane Austen. British-French actor Camille Rutherford is terrific.” So I’m watching. Netflix also offers The Crystal Cuckoo, a 2025 Spanish mystery/thriller series. Based on the novel Snow Girl by Javier Castillo, this tells of Clara Merlo (Catalina Sopelana), a young doctor, collapses and awakes to finds she had a serious heart problem and she received a heart transplant. As she recuperates, Clara wonders about her (anonymous) donor, and goes in search of that person, in a small town in Spain. But just when she thinks she finds the donor, she finds instead more mystery, and maybe even murder. Itziar Ituño, Ivan Massagué and Álex García also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. and this series gets a 6.1/10 on IMDb, and Joel Keller of the Decider says to stream it, adding it’s “a solid mystery thriller that isn’t trying to distract viewers with red herrings.” So I’m tuning in. And, finally, Netflix has added Last Samurai Standing, a 2025 Japanese historical drama action series. This takes place in 1878, a decade after the Satsuma Rebellion, with Japan‘s new Meiji government stripping the Samurai class of it’s power and it’s riches. With many samurai wandering the country in poverty, news of a Kodoku, or a competition where one travels from Kyoto to Tokyo, travels fast. Each competitor wears a wooden tag, and the only way to win is to collect the most tags. Shujiro Saga( Jun’ichi Okada), desperate to win the prize with his wife near death from cholera during an outbreak, decides he must compete. And so he forges alliances and enmities with his fellow male and female competitors, and everyone hopes to stay alive. Yumia Fujisaki, Masahiro Higashide and Kaya Kiyohara also star and there are 6 episodes available now. And this series gets a stunning 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a And James Marsh of the South China Morning Post calls it a “wildly exhilarating roller coaster that deftly balances historical intrigue with personal heroism and an escalating body count.” And I’m definitely watching.
AMAZON
Amazon has a big title added this week with Malice, a 2025 thriller series. Here, the Tanner family, led by dad Jamie(David Duchovny!), and his wife, Nat(Carice van Houten), who summer at their palatial mansion in Greece. All is not perfect, but when a new nanny, Adam (Jack Whitehall) , things get ready to explode. Because Adam is not only a sociopath, but also wants revenge against Jamie and his family. Raza Jaffrey, Phoenix Laroche and Teddie Allen also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. But this series misfires, and so gets only a 46% on Rotten Tomatoes. And Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com says “when done well, we don’t mind irrational behavior and inconsistent characters in the name of thrilling twists. When done poorly, we get ‘Malice.'” And I’m definitely not tuning in. But Amazon has also added Drop, the 2025 thriller. This finds Violet(Meghann Fahy), anxiously awaiting her online match, Henry (Brandon Sklenar), at a restaurant high atop a skyscraper in Chicago. Recently divorced and a survivor of domestic violence, Violet is filled with trepidation, butt hen she starts getting anonymous air-dropped texts, telling her to flirt with Henry or her son will be killed. Then matters worsen, as Violet gets texts ordering her to kill Henry, or lose her son. Jacob Robinson, Violett Beane and Michael Shea also star, while directed. Despite it silly premise, this movie gets an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, but Amy Nicholson of the Los Angeles Times says it’s “clever in an Alfred Hitchcock-meets-ChatGPT kind of way. The plot is silly and the climax is at once too fast, too slow and too ludicrous.” So I’m not tuning in, but you decide. And, finally, Amazon has added Recipe for Crime, a 2022 Russian historical mystery series. Also called Formula Prestupleniya, this follows Anastasia Ardashnikova(Alina Lanina) returning to Saint-Petersburg, after graduating from the Sorbonne with a degree in criminology. Despite her expertise, women aren’t welcome the professional world in Russia, and so Anastasia fights to be taken seriously, and to take part in crime solving. And, surprisingly, her only ally is an experienced police officer, Taras Smolokurov. Aleksandr Kozlov, Andrey Gorbachev and Kirill Ivanov also star, and there are 9 episodes available now. And this series gets a rousing 7.3/10 on IMDb, so, though I can find no online reviews of this show, 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 