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 added The Roses, the 2025 dark comedy. In this remake of the 1989 comedy, Benedict Cumberbatch(!) and Olivia Colman(!) star as Theo and Ivy Rose, happily married , with Theo working as an architect, and Ivy as a mom and at-home chef. But when Theo‘s career suffers an embarrassing collapse, Ivy’s new restaurant takes off, and the balance of the marriage changes. Theo stays at home parenting, while Ivy lives in the limelight. And their marriage crashes and burns, in spectacular fashion. Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, Wells Rappaport and Hala Finley also star, and Jay Roach directed. And it gets a 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Glen Weldon of NPR called it “a throwback film, the kind they don’t make anymore — and given the sheer amount of Screenwriting 101 cliches that pile up — you can’t help thinking that might be a good thing.” So I probably won’t watch. Hulu has also added American Murderer, a 2022 crime drama movie. Based on a true story, unfortunately, this tells of Jason Derek Brown (Tom Pelphrey), a good-looking man who manages to con a number of people, especially women. But his toxic chronic lying manages to scorch many of his relationships, and soon he finds himself owing a group of thugs $80,000. As they give him 3 days to repay them, FBI agent Lance Leising(Ryan Philippe) is hot on his trail, so Brown decides to rob an armored truck. Jacki Weaver(!) plays his mother, Jeanne Brown, and Idina Menzel, Paul Schneider and Moises Arias also star, and Matthew Gentile directed. And this movie won a few awards in 2022, like Best Narrative Feature at the Fayetteville Film Festival, and Best Actor for Pelphrey at the Boston Film Festival. And it gets a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Peter Martin of ScreenAnarchy said it “elides many tropes or excesses that might be expected from its title. Instead, it paints a portrait of a murderous character whose poisonous behavior proved to be suffocating for anyone who touched him.” Not for me, but you decide. Hulu has also added Armand, the 2024 Norwegian drama. This follows Elisabeth(Renate Reinsve!), as she heads to her son’s school, to hear of the concerns over her son’s disturbing behavior toward another student. As Elisabeth listens to the tale as told only by the other child, Elisabeth tries desperately to defend her young son, with school officials seemingly only interested in covering their own backs. Finally, her frustration boils over, as it seems no one is listening. Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Øystein Røger, Endre Hellestveit and Thea Lambrechts Vaulen also star, while Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel directed. And this movie premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in 2024, where it won the Caméra d’Or, and it went on to win numerous other awards, like the Narrative Feature at the 2024 Hamptons International Film Festival. And it gets a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Isaac Feldberg of RogerEbert.com said “in a film playing with thriller and melodrama conventions before tipping over into expressive surrealism, hers is a fiercely visceral presence; Reinsve performs as if dancing on the edge of a knife.” And I’m watching. And, finally, Hulu has added Special Ops, a 2020-2025 Hindi spy thriller series. Here, Himmat Singh (Kay Kay Menon) an agent at the Research and Analysis Wing in India, suspects there is a single culprit behind a string of terrorist attacks in India. So he forms an elite team of 5 different agents, and sends them to different countries to hunt down clues. And slowly, as they follow the money, they track the killer down. Vinay Pathak, Muzammil Ibrahim, and Meher Vij also star, and there are 2 seasons , with 15 episodes available now. And this series gets a stunning 8.6/10 on IMDb, and Archika Khurana of the Entertainment Times calls it “an engrossing thriller,” adding “well-written plot and every detail is very minutely stringed.” And I’m definitely tuning in.
NETFLIX
Netflix has a huge title added this week with Train Dreams, a 2025 drama. Based on the novellla by Denis Johnson, this tells the story of Robert Grainier(Joel Edgerton!), a train laborer, working in the West in the early 1900′s. Living a lonely life on the road, felling trees and laying rails, Grainier finally meets Gladys (Felicity Jones!), whom he quickly marries. While they build a home and pastoral life together, they start to build a family. But tragedy strikes Grainier not only at home, but in his work, that haunts him throughout his life. Will Patton narrates the story here, and Kerry Condon, William H Macy(!) and Clifton Collins Jr. also star, while Clint Bentley directs. and this movie gets an astounding 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Nick Schager of the The Daily Beast said a “poignant and poetic drama about the things that vanish and those that remain, and the finest offering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.” And I’m watching before awards season begins! Netflix also offers Envious, a 2024-2025 Argentine comedy series. Here, Vicky(Griselda Siciliani), is in crisis having recently broken up with her boyfriend of 10 years, with her 40th birthday approaching. Since Vicky’s breakup was partly due to her ultimatum to her boyfriend either marry or break-up( he married someone else), she is especially testy about all her friends getting married. And as she seethes in resentment, Vicky also realizes she was trained by her mother to expect an ideal marriage, and wonders what else possibilities exist for her. Carolina Hoyos, Pilar Uribe, Benjamín Vicuña, Pilar Gamboa, and Violeta Urtizberea also star, and there are now 3 seasons, with 33 episodes available for streaming now. And this series has won 4 Silver Condor Awards at the 2024 Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards, including Best Drama or Comedy Series and Best Actress for Griselda Siciliani. And it gets an impressive 7.1/10 on IMDb, and Mahan Zahiri of Gazettely calls it “a moving depiction of resilience as Vicky, and perhaps audiences, learn life’s beauty emerges from within regardless of what joys or hardships each day brings.” So I’m tuning in. Also new on Netflix has added Delhi Crime, a 2025 Indian crime drama series. Here, DCP/DIG Vartika Chaturvedi(Shefali Shah) is shocked at a brutal and violent rape of two women on a bus in Delhi, and so she insists on taking the case. As she and her team, consisting of Bhupendra (Rajesh Tailang) and trainee Neeti ( Rasika Dugal), proceeds to uncover the horrific details of the case, they somehow manage to continue, and bring the offenders to justice. Adil Hussain, Anurag Arora and Gopal Datt also star, and there are 3 seasons, with a total of 18 episodes available for streaming now. And this series has won numerous awards including Best Drama Series at the 2019 Asian Academy Creative Awards and Best Drama at the 2023 International Emmy Awards. And it gets an amazing 8.5/10 on IMDb, and Saloni Gajjar of Mashable called it a “moody, well-acted serialized crime drama that sets out to explore a known story in more detail.” But remember, this is very upsetting material, so don’t watch with the kiddos. Netflix has also added Homebound, a 2025 Indian drama. This follows two friends from northern India, Chandan Kumar (Vishal Jethwa), and Mohammed Shoaib Ali (Ishaan Khatter), as they travel to the big city with dreams of taking the police exams, passing, and finally, working in a field that earns them respect. But, the wait for the results seems endless(almost a year), and the pair are left in limbo until the grades come out. And, both face huge obstacles of discrimination in finding work, as Chandan is a Dalit(what was once called ‘untouchable’), and Shoaib is Muslim. But the two friends rely upon each other for strength when they falter, and are determined to succeed. Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Dubey and Shalini Vatsa also star, and Neeraj Ghaywan directs. And this movie premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for Un Certain Regard Award. And it gets an astonishing 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 8.1/10 on IMDb. And Siddhant Adlakha of Variety calls it a “film of great tragedy, but one so rooted in beating humanity that you can’t help but be left furious, in addition to teary-eyed.” And I’m watching. And, finally, Netflix has added Had I Not Seen the Sun, a 2025 Taiwanese thriller series. This finds Chou Pin-yu (Chaing Chi) gaining an interview with the “Rainstorm Killer,” Li Jen-yao (Tseng Jing-hua) in prison, for a documentary her boss is producing. Jen-yao had turned himself in, but reveals little of himself or his actions during their interview. Pin-yu is intrigued by the man, and continues to dig for the truth , and she gets some help from ghosts of Jen-yao‘s past. Moon Lee, Lyan Chen, and Yao Chun-yao also star, and there are 10 episodes available now. And this series gets a smashing 7.8/10 on IMDb, and Anjali Sharma of the Midgard Times calls it “a chilling ride with heart and horror.” So I’m tuning in.
AMAZON
Amazon has a big title added this week with After The Hunt, a 2025 psychological thriller. Here, assistant professor Alma (Julia Roberts) is working to gain tenure at Yale, vying with her friend Hank Gibson (Andrew Garfield), when she’s faced with a dilemma. Her prized doctoral student, Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), claims she was sexually assaulted by Hank, whilehe claims Maggie is committing plagiarism in her doctoral thesis. And Alma is caught in the middle, with secrets of her own she is determined to hide. Chloë Sevigny, Michael Stuhlbarg and Thaddea Graham also star, and Luca Guadagnino directs. But this movie writing is lacking, and so it gets only a37% onRotten Tomatoes, and Alissa Wilkinson of the New York Times says “from start to finish, After the Hunt sets its audience adrift on a sea of unmoored signifiers, flailing to keep up with all the arm-wavey gestures at academia and bourgeois morality and ethics, providing nothing beneath to hold it all together.” And Iwon’t be watching. Luckily, Amazon also offers Unburied, a 2025 supernatural drama series. Here, the orphaned Aylin(Lilith Curiel) , living in poverty inMexico City, finds herself distraught after her high school teacher and friend, Emma(Yalitza Aparicio), is abducted. But, when bullied by the ‘popular’ students, Aylin also finds that she has a gift, for when she is forced to eat dirt by them, she can see visions of what has happened to others on that earth, like her teacher,Emma. And so she, and her other outcast friends, Calaca andVero, are intent on using that gift to find her beloved teacher. Harold Torres, Cecilia Toussaint, Iván Martz andGerardo Taracena also star, and there are7 episodes available now. And this series gets a respectable6.2/10 onIMDb, and Alfredo Galindo of the Latino Slant calls it “a gripping folk horror rooted in Mexico’s spiritual and social realities.” So I’m definitely watching. And, finally, Amazon has season 1 of Slow Horses, the2024 British spy thriller series. Based on the books of Mick Herron, this tells of theMI5 unit of disgraced or failed agents, jokingly called Slow Horses, run byJackson Lamb(Gary Oldman!). Though these agents haven’t deserved firing, their serious gaffs have sometimes been catastrophic, like that of River Cartwright(Jack Lowden), who resents his demotion. All the while, the agents have to put up withLamb‘s insults and putdowns, sometimes even disobeying his directives, to get back in the game. Kristin Scott Thomas, Jonathan Pryce, Saskia Reeves, and Rosalind Eleazar also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. And this series gets a sparkling 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, andBrian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com called it a “smart, witty, cleverly plotted piece about a group of outcasts in the world of espionage.”But this series is only available through November 31, so binge soon!!
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 