Top streams for the week
"Tokyo Vice: Season 1" (TV-MA) takes viewers into the Japanese underworld through the experiences of the sole American reporter (Ansel Elgort) on the crime beat of a Tokyo newspaper in 1999. Ken Watanabe ("Batman Begins" and "Inception") costars as the police detective who introduces the American to the wary power dynamics between the cops and the yakuza. The show, loosely based on the memoir by journalist Jake Adelstein and shot on location, is produced by Michael Mann, who directs the first episode and sets the style. Three episodes available, new episodes on Thursdays. (HBO Max)
Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton star as CIA agents and former lovers who reunite after a failed rescue attempt in "All the Old Knives" (2022, R). When they discover there's a mole in the agency, they start to suspect one another. Laurence Fishburne and Jonathan Pryce costar in the spy thriller of global espionage and personal betrayal. Streams the same day it opens in theaters. (Prime Video)
The British mystery series "Harry Wild: Season 1" (not rated) stars Jane Seymour as a retired literature professor in Ireland who transforms herself into a private detective, much to the frustration of her son (Kevin Ryan), a Dublin police detective. New episodes on Mondays. (Acorn TV)
The documentary "Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off" (TV-MA) profiles the legendary pro skateboarding champion and entrepreneur who helped redefine the sport. Now in his fifties, he navigates life as a father and an aging athlete in a physically challenging sport. (HBO Max)
Paul Thomas Anderson draws from his own experiences (and those of others) growing up in San Fernando in the Oscar-nominated "Licorice Pizza" (2021, R), an offbeat tale of first love and the entrepreneurial spirit starring Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman. (VOD)
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
Penélope Cruz earned an Oscar nomination in Pedro Almodóvar's acclaimed drama "Parallel Mothers" (Spain, 2021). Also on DVD.
Inspired by a true story, "Minamata" (2022, R) stars Johnny Depp as photojournalist Eugene Smith as he investigates mercury poisoning in Japan in 1971.
Two films currently available on different streaming services are now on VOD: Oscar winner "West Side Story" (2021, PG-13) and Oscar nominee "Nightmare Alley" (2021, R).
Debuting direct to VOD is "As They Made Us" (2022, R), the directorial debut of Mayim Bialik, starring Dianna Agron and Simon Helberg with Candice Bergen and Dustin Hoffman.
Netflix
A pair of metal-loving high school misfits (Jaeden Martell and Adrian Greensmith) search for a bass player for a Battle of the Bands contest in "Metal Lords" (2022, R), a teen rock comedy from director Peter Sollet.
Streaming TV: the new romance reality show "The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On: Season 1" (TV-MA), hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, rolls out new episodes weekly. Also newly arrived are "Queen of the South: Season 5" (TV-MA) and "Better Call Saul: Season 5" (TV-MA).
True stories: "Return to Space" (2022, TV-MA) follows the efforts of the SpaceX team to send NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.
True crime: "Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story" (TV-MA), about the beloved British TV star's hidden history of sexual abuse, and "Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star" (South Africa, TV-MA) are both limited series.
International passport: espionage action thriller "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" (South Korea, 2022, TV-14, with subtitles) features "Squid Game" star Park Hae-soo. Also new:
- "Furioza" (2022, Poland, TV-MA, with subtitles), about a policewoman who blackmails her ex-boyfriend into infiltrating a gang;
- "Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash" (2021, Indonesia, TV-MA, with subtitles), a throwback to eighties action cinema;
- "Rurouni Kenshin: Origins" (2012, Japan, TV-14, with subtitles), the live action remake of a popular manga starring Takeru Satô.
International TV: the raunchy drama "Dirty Lines: Season 1" (Netherlands, TV-MA, with subtitles) follows a college student finding a new career as a phone sex operator in 1980s Amsterdam. Also new:
- "Black Dog: Being a Teacher: Season 1" (South Korea, TV-MA, with subtitles), about a young teacher's experiences in her first year;
- "Green Mothers' Club: Season 1" (South Korea, TV-MA, with subtitles), a melodrama of five mothers in a competitive grade school community;
- popular young adult drama "Elite: Season 5" (Spain, TV-MA, with subtitles).
Kid stuff: "Green Eggs and Ham" (TV-Y7) returns for a second season of adventures.
Hulu
Teenage mystery series "The Hardy Boys" (TV-PG) and quasi-autobiographical comedy "Woke" (TV-MA) return for their respective second seasons.
A bullied young boy befriends an eternally adolescent vampire in "Let the Right One In" (Sweden, 2008, R, with subtitles).
Hulu / Peacock
New seasons of the animated kids shows "The Croods: Family Tree" (TV-G, Hulu and Peacock) and "Madagascar: A Little Wild" (TV-G, Hulu and Peacock) are now streaming.
HBO Max
"The Invisible Pilot" (TV-MA) unravels the labyrinthine story behind a husband and father who unexpectedly jumps off of a bridge in 1977. New episodes of the three part documentary roll out on Mondays.
The moody horror film "The Night House" (2021, R) (HBO) stars Rebecca Hall as a woman who discovers disturbing secrets after her husband's sudden death.
Streaming TV: the sitcom "Chad: Season 1" (TV-MA) follows a Persian-American boy (played by Nasim Pedrad) navigating high school and cultural identity. Also new:
- "Batwoman: Season 3" (TV-14) starring Javicia Leslie;
- "A Black Lady Sketch Show: Season 3" (TV-MA) from actress and creator Robin Thede.
Henry Cavill dons the cape to play Superman in "Man of Steel" (2013, PG-13), the superhero reboot by Zach Snyder.
Paramount+
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture: The Director's Edition" (1979, PG) presents the expanded version of the first big screen "Star Trek" feature, which director Robert Wise created for DVD in 2001, newly remastered in HD for the first time. It debuts on April 5: First Contact Day in the Trek universe.
The second season of the "iCarly" (TV-PG) revival with Miranda Cosgrove begins with new episodes on Fridays.
Other streams
The American indie drama "Freeland" (2020, not rated) stars Krisha Fairchild as an aging pot farmer in Humbolt County. (MUBI)
The animated kids show "Pinecone & Pony: Season 1" (TV-Y) is based on the book "The Princess and the Pony" by New York Times best-selling author Beaton. (Apple TV+)
"Young Mr. Ford" presents 14 films that John Ford directed for Twentieth Century Fox, from his silent western epic "3 Bad Men" (1926, silent with score) to "Young Mr. Lincoln" (1939) starring Henry Fonda (presented with commentary and archival interviews) and the Oscar-winning classic "How Green Was My Valley" (1941). Among the rarities in the collection are the expressionist World War I drama "Four Sons" (1928, silent with score), the intimate "Pilgrimage" (1933), and the director's three films with Will Rogers, including "Steamboat Round the Bend" (1935). (Criterion Channel)
"The Chambermaid" (Mexico, 2018, TV-MA, with subtitles) uses the monotonous workday of a kind-hearted maid in a posh Mexico City hotel as a microscope to observe human behavior. (Criterion Channel)
New on disc and at Redbox:
"Scream" (2022)
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and TV can be found at https://streamondemandathome.com.
Copyright © 2022 by Sean Axmaker
