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 a major add this week with Freakier Friday, the 2025 comedy. In this sequel to the 2003 original, Tess(Jamie Lee Curtis) and Anna(Lindsay Lohan) return, this time with Anna‘s marriage to Eric (Manny Jacinto) looming. But Anna’s daughter Harper (Julia Butters) disapproves, as doesn’t Eric’s daughter Lily(Sophia Hammons), and so, wouldn’t you know, Anna and Harper and Lily and Tess, all end up switching bodies. But can Tess and Anna get everyone back in their own body, before the wedding? Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray, and Christina Vidal Mitchell also star, while Nisha Ganatra directed. And this movie gets a respectable 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Alissa Wilkinson of the New York Times said it “works best if you’re there for the memories. Especially if you’ve learned a lesson or two of your own in the last 22 years.” So I won’t be watching. But Hulu has added The Ugly Stepsister, the 2025 horror/comedy. Here, Elvira (Lea Myren), one of the ugly stepsisters of yore, will do anything to compete with Cinderella and her own beautiful elder sister Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess). But in this horror flick, that means letting a cocaine steeped doctor break her nose, and other tortures. And that’s only the beginning. Ane Dahl Torp, Flo Fagerli and Isac Calmroth also star, and Emilie Blichfeldt directs. and this movie gets an whopping 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Jeannette Catsoulis of the New York Times called it “slyly funny and visually captivating, its scenes move with ease from gross to gorgeous, and from grotesque to magical.” But it is graphic and gross, so keep that in mind. Luckily, Hulu has added R.M.N., a 2022 Romanian drama. This takes place in the Romanian town of Hollókő, where the townspeople are in a furor because a bakery is bringing in foreign workers, to work for the minimum the villagers didn’t want. When the company brings in 3 people from Sri Lanka, villagers complain about not only Sri Lankans, but the gypsies they replaced. Csilla(Judith State) doesn’t mind the newcomers, but her ex-lover ,Matthias (Marin Grigore), just returned from working in Germany, does. And the town seems ready to explode. Macrina Barladeanu, Orsolya Moldován and Andrei Finti also star, and Cristian Mungiu directed. and this movie won multiple awards, including Best Film at the 2022 Palic Film Festival, and Best Narrative Feature at the 2022 Crested Butte Film Festival. And it gets a smashing 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Manohla Dargis of the New York Times said “Mungiu’s touch is so deft and his filmmaking so enlivening, and the villagers so laughable (if also scary!), that you never feel dragged down or punished by the ugliness.” So I’m tuning in. And, finally, Hulu has added National Anthem, a 2023 drama. This finds Dylan(Charlie Plummer), a 21 year old construction worker in New Mexico, working for a rodeo to help support his mom and little brother, Cassidy (Joey DeLeon). But the introverted Dylan finds a different life there, as it a queer rodeo, with plenty of LGBTQ+ people working there. And as Dylan begins to fall for Sky(Eve Lindley), his little brother Cassidy comes home in a dress, both of which send their mother through the roof. Rene Rosado, Mason Alexander Park and Fernando Casablancas also star, and Luke Gilford directed. And this movie won several awards in 2025, including Best Debut Director for Gilford at the Raindance Film Festival and Best Narrative Feature at the TLVFest. And it gets an astounding 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Jesse Hassenger of the Daily Beast called it the “best western of the year.” So I’m watching.
NETFLIX
Netflix has a huge add with the 5th and final season of Stranger Things, the 2025 sci-fi series. In an effort to avoid spoilers, I’ll just say this season begins with the Wheeler family, including Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) hosting the Byers family, headed by Joyce (Winona Ryder). Meanwhile, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown!) and Hopper (David Harbour) investigate in the Upside Down. And if you worry about not remembering Season 4, The Duffer Brothers start out with an earlier scene , to refresh the memory. Charlie Heaton, Natalia Dyer, Sadie Sink and Gaten Matarazzo also star, and there are 4 episodes now, with 3 more to come on Christmas Day, and the finale dropping on New Year’s Eve. And this season gets an sparkling 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Dais Johnston of Inverse says “it’s worth the wait…it revitalizes the series.” So I’m tuning in. Netflix has also added Joy Ride, the 2023 comedy. Here, lifelong best friends Audrey (Ashley Park) and Lolo (Sherry Cola) travel to Beijing on a work assignment for Audrey . Lolo’s cousin, Deadeye(Sabrina Wu), comes along for the ride, and they meet Audrey’s old roomie, Kat(Stephanie Hsu! ) there. But the fun they have is only equal to the trouble they cause on their whirlwind trip. David Denman, Desmond Chiam and Annie Mumolo also star, and Adele Lim directed. And this movie won Best Feature at the 2024 ReFrame Awards, and gets a impressive 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Katie Walsh of the Tribune News Service called it “hilariously daring, deeply moving, and stereotype-busting in equal measure, “Joy Ride” is also the raunchiest movie to most likely to make you shed a tear.” So I’m definitely watching. Also new on Netflix is The Son of a Thousand Men, a 2025 Brazilian drama. Here, the 40-ish fisherman, Crisóstomo (Rodrigo Santoro), longs for a son, but not a marriage. So he sends out word he’d like to adopt a fatherless child, and meets Camilo(Miguel Martines), a boy with few attachments and no parents. As Crisóstomo tries to teach Camilo more about tolerance and love, Isaura and Antonino marry, trying to live a more conventional life, that, in the end, doesn’t suit them. Rebeca Jamir, Johnny Massaro, Juliana Caldas, and Grace Passô also star, and Daniel Rezende directs. And this movie gets an amazing 7.3/10 on IMDb, and Vikas Yadav of the Midgard Times calls it “slideshow of scenic beauty.” So I’m watching. Netflix also offers Oh, Hi!, the 2025 comedy. Here, Iris (Molly Gordon)has gone for a romantic weekend with her boyfriend ,Isaac(Logan Lerman), in a rental cottage. But by the time her bestfriend Max(Geraldine Viswanathan) arrives, things have gone a bit sour, as Isaac is tied up and Iris refuses to let him leave. It seems they found BDSM gear in the rental closet, so they took part, but, while talking, Isaac admitted he wasn’t that interested in her, and that he’s been sleeping around. Iris, in a panic, refused to untie him, and figures that she only needs about 12 hours to convince him that they are a couple. But the longer she waits, the more difficult it is for Iris to set Isaac free, and the situation grows rapidly out of control. David Cross, Polly Draper and Tabitha Lawing also star, while Sophie Brooks directed, along with writing the script. and this movie gets a 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Zachary Lee of RogerEbert.com it’s “full of laugh-out-loud moments, but it thrives in the ways it embodies quiet, shattering devastation.” So I’m watching. And, finally, Netflix has Left Handed Girl, a 2025 Taiwanese drama . Here, the family of six-year-old I-jing(Nina Ye) moves to Taipei, with her mom, Chu-Fen (Janel Tsai), planning to open a noodle stand. But as I-Jing is amazed at the city and its wonders, it does bring difficulty, as the little girl strives to fit in at school, and her mom works desperately to pay the bills. And then I-Jing’s grandfather tells her not to use her left-hand, calling it the devil’s hand, which serves to send the girl into new shocking behavior. Shih-Yua Ma, Xin-Yan Chao and Akio Chen also star, and Shih-Ching Tsou directs. And this movie was nominated for numerous awards this year, winning Best Feature Film at the Zurich Film Festival, and 9 Golden Horse nominations, where Shih-Yua Ma won Best New Performer. And it gets a stunning 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Tammy Tang of the Guardian says “Tsou pairs the kaleidoscopic fragments of the city with the splinters of imperfect people — poignantly and tenderly showing what it means to be a family in Taiwan, and delivering a triumph of a film.” And I am so tuning in.
AMAZON
Amazon has a big add this week, with Mickey 17, the 2025 sci-fi satire from master director Bong Joon Ho. This takes place in a future world, where Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) unknowingly singing a contract, agreeing to be an Expendable, someone who can be reprinted and reprinted, over and over. That reprinting technique was developed by billionaire Kenneth Marshall(Mark Ruffalo!), who thereby uses Mickey as a guinea pig, putting him in horrendous situations, only to bring him back again, in another iteration. Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun and Patsy Ferran also star, and Bong Joon Ho adapted the book Mickey7 with it’s author, Edward Ashton , along with directing. And this movie was nominated for numerous awards this year, and gets a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. And Coleman Spilde of Salon.com said “Pattinson’s malleable performances as two warring Mickeys gracefully complement Bong’s playful sensibilities to make “Mickey 17” one of the most galvanizing cinematic experiences this year.” And I’m definitely tuning in. Amazon has also added Black Tide, a 2019 French psychological thriller. Here, when a teen, Dany, goes missing, his mother, Solange(Sandrine Kiberlain), urgently pleads with the police for help. But the policeman she speaks to, detective François Visconti(Vincent Cassel), is anything but ordinary, an alcoholic cop who’s also a deadbeat dad. But he’s is also a determined investigator, so, though, he first thinks the kid has just run away, begins to suspect his mother of lying. Even though the detective himself is sleeping with her. Romain Duris, Lauréna Thellier and Hafsia Herzi also star, while Érick Zonca, directed. And this movie gets an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Jennie Kermode of Eye For Film calls it “a taut little film whose slightly rushed ending doesn’t undermine an impressive character study.” And I love a mystery, so I’m watching. And that’s it for Amazon’s new adds this week, but they do have a number of good streaming offers, what with Black Friday just over and Cyber Monday approaching. Amazon offers HBO for $2.99 a month, Acorn TV for $2.25 a month and AMC+ for $1.75/month.
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 