Each week our staff of film and TV experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish movies available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.
1. Cinderella (Amazon Prime)
It is time, apparently, once again, time for a new take on Cinderella, the classic story of a girl and her evil family and how magic and some rodents make her a star. This time around, we have Camilia Cabello in the lead role and Billy Porter as her fairy godparent and Idina Menzel as the evil stepmother and, look at that, Pierce Brosnan as the king. The whole thing basically puts a series of small twists on a story you’ve seen a few dozen times, but sometimes that’s okay. The cast is strong enough to make it all worth a shot. Watch it on Amazon.
2. The Suicide Squad (HBO Max)
It is time, once again, for a take on the Suicide Squad, the crew of DC villains who band together to cause chaos and/or save the day. This one is directed by Guardians of the Galaxy mastermind James Gunn and features everyone from Margot Robbie (as Harley Quinn, of course) to Idris Elba and Joel Kinnaman to Sylvester Stallone (as a giant talking CGI shark). It all looks weird and fun and kind of exactly what you need in a summer weekend movie. And then when you’re done you can click over and binge the Harley Quinn animated series on the same streaming service. Big weekend for you. Watch it on HBO Max.
3. Worth (Netflix)
It’s a hell of trick, the way Michael Keaton went from being just a little more alive and electric than everyone else on the screen to how he now fades into roles where he’s at the center of slow-burn David and Goliath stories that mythologize the dogged pursuit of justice. It’s like he pointed his jets inward to melt away any sense of movie star sparkle to become the son of Pittsburgh everyman that he was born to be. I expect we’ll see that in the upcoming Dopesick, we certainly saw it in Spotlight, and from the producers of that film comes this story about the effort to compensate the families of 9/11 victims and the fight to not have that effort lose the thread of empathy and respect when confronted by such titanic loss. Watch it on Netflix.
4. The Green Knight (VOD)
Some of us have been waiting an entire year to see a glowed-up Dev Patel play a troubled, handsomely rugged knight in this trippy take on an Arthurian legend, but now that The Green Knight is finally streaming everywhere … well, we all win. Patel plays Gawain, the film’s should-be hero who must fulfill an oath and face off against a myth-like creature who demands his head. Talking foxes, blood magic, and literal giants all pop up, inhabiting a mystical, terrifying, otherworldly landscape from the twisted, creative genius of director David Lowery. Find it on your VOD outlet of choice.
5. Vacation Friends (Hulu)
What we have here is a vacation romp featuring mismatched couples, one a party animal pair played by John Cena and Meredith Hagner, the other a more straightlaced duo played by Lil Rel Howery and Yvonne Orji. They’re all in Mexico. One assumes hijinks will ensue. Watch it on Hulu.
6. Annette (Amazon)
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A stand-up comedian (Adam Driver) and a world-famous opera singer (Marion Cotillard) have a child that turns out to be a wooden marionette doll, and the doll begins taunting them with its own singing voice after their marital problems lead to chaos. It sounds… weird. It sounds weird. There’s no way around that. But it does have an interesting cast and is getting solid reviews so maybe give it a run if you’re in the mood to have your mind bent a little. Watch it on Amazon.
7. Jungle Cruise (Disney+)
Though the plot gets a bit convoluted in the second half of the movie, the dazzling, movie star-esque performances here by The Rock, Emily Blunt, and Jesse Plemons make this an entertaining movie well worth watching. Set in 1916, this movie about a race to be the first to get to a tree with magical healing powers has a distinct Indiana Jones/Raiders of the Lost Ark vibe to it. In fact, a couple of the scenes play like homages to those earlier films. And Jesse Plemons appears to be having the time of his life portraying the villain in this film, and who on God’s green Earth doesn’t love Jesse Plemons?! Watch it on Disney+.
8. Beckett (Netflix)
In Beckett, John David Washington plays the title character, just a guy who is on vacation in Greece with his girlfriend (Alicia Vikander). After an automobile accident, during which Beckett sees someone he’s not supposed to see, he’s thrust into a game of espionage, intrigue, and geopolitical maneuvering that he never asked for. Director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino was heavily influenced by William Friedkin’s movies of the 1970s and he tries to recapture that here in a movie where, like the title character, we don’t really know what’s going on and there’s always a culpable sense of dread. Watch it on Netflix.
9. Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal, and Greed (Netflix)
Bob Ross is beloved worldwide for his landscapes and peaceful vibes, but this new Netflix documentary reveals that things weren’t all sunsets and smiles when it came to his fortune and estate. Money will do that, even when the money comes from someone as sweet as Bob Freakin’ Ross, apparently. Watch it on Netflix.
10. (tie) Reminiscence (HBO Max)
The last time Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson starred in a movie together, it was The Greatest Showman and it made $435 million at the box office. Reminiscence is being released on HBO Max the same day it comes out in theaters, so it won’t equal The Greatest Showman’s total gross. But the twisty thriller about nostalgia and lost love from Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy might make you say this is… what I’m watching tonight. Watch it on HBO Max.
10. (tie) CODA (Apple TV+)
The story of a young woman who is the only hearing person in her family, living with her deaf parents and deaf brother, became the it movie of this year’s Sundance. It’s fair to wonder if this actually does hurt a film, expectations-wise. But it didn’t hurt last year’s then-record holder Palm Springs. And the producers of CODA surely didn’t care while they count their money. What’s surprising about all of this is CODA isn’t a deeply profound film. It’s just a really funny, feel-good movie about nice people doing nice things. And maybe that’s kind of rare these days. Give it a shot to put you in a good mood. Watch it on Apple TV+.