Top streams for the week
Tom Holland returns in what may be his final appearance as the super-powered Peter Parker in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021, PG-13), a lively, spirited superhero adventure that brings two previous big screen incarnations of the webslinger (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield) to help our newly-unmasked hero deal with villains from all over the multiverse. Director Jon Watts brings heart and warmth to the lively odyssey, and the callbacks to the previous "Spider-Man" movies are clever and sometimes quite touching. Benedict Cumberbatch appears as Doctor Strange (who continued his adventures in the multiverse in "Multiverse of Madness") and Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, and Marisa Tomei costar. (Starz and for a limited time on Prime Video)
"The Bob's Burgers Movie" (2022, PG-13), the feature-length spin-off of the hit animated comedy, finds the Belcher family struggling to keep their restaurant running when a sinkhole appears in front of their entrance, while the kids get involved in a murder mystery involving their landlord (voiced by Kevin Kline). The musical comedy-mystery-adventure hits streaming just six weeks after debuting in theaters. (Hulu and HBO Max)
Dakota Johnson stars as the unmarried Anne Elliot and Cosmo Jarvis is the man whose proposal she turned down eight years before in "Persuasion" (2022, PG). This new adaptation of the classic romantic drama tosses modern sensibilities and diverse casting into the Jane Austen novel, and drives it with rapid pacing and sometimes awkward humor. Mia McKenna-Bruce, Henry Golding, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Richard E. Grant costar. (Netflix)
"Uncharted" (2022, PG-13) stars Mark Wahlberg as a veteran treasure hunter who recruits a street-smart thief (Tom Holland) to help him find a fortune in gold lost 500 years ago. Antonio Banderas costars in this globetrotting adventure as a ruthless rival and Ruben Fleischer directs. (Netflix)
John Cho stars as a single father diagnosed with a terminal disease and Mia Isaac is his teenage daughter in the road movie dramedy "Don't Make Me Go" (2022, R), which takes them from California to New Orleans and perhaps to the mother who left them long ago. (Amazon Prime)
Nathan Fielder helps ordinary people "rehearse" upcoming events with his own, offbeat simulations in "The Rehearsal: Season 1" (TV-14), a mix of reality TV and comedy. New episodes on Fridays. (HBO Max)
"Resident Evil: Season 1" (TV-MA), the first live-action series based on the video game franchise about an outbreak that turns is victims into infected zombies, was developed for Netflix by "Supernatural" producer/showrunner Andrew Dabb and stars Lance Reddick and Ella Balinska. (Netflix)
Netflix
"How to Change Your Mind " (TV-MA) looks as how modern science explores the potential of mind-altering substances (LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and mescaline) to help heal the brain. Author Michael Pollan teams up with Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney for this four-part docuseries.
Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon star in the military thriller "12 Strong" (2018, R), set in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.
Streaming TV: a warrior prince battles evil on an alien world in adult animation sci-fi comedy "Farzar: Season 1" (TV-MA).
International passport: "Image of Victory" (Israel, 2021, TV-14, with subtitles) dramatizes an attack on a kibbutz on the Gaza Strip early in the Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948. Avi Nashar directs. Also new:
- romantic drama "Under the Amalfi Sun" (Italy, 2022, TV-14, with subtitles);
- romantic comedy "For Jojo" (Germany, 2022, TV-MA, with subtitles);
- "Valley of the Dead" (Spain, 2022, TV-MA), a zombie thriller set during the Spanish Civil War.
International TV: a young woman (Elena Rivera) awakens with no memory of being assaulted by her boyfriend's buddies in "Alba: Season 1" (Spain, TV-MA, with subtitles). Also new:
- "Mom, Don't Do That!: Season 1" (Taiwan, TV-MA, with subtitles), a romantic comedy about a 60-year-old mother and widow looking for love again;
- "Backstreet Rookie" (South Korea, TV-14, with subtitles), a romantic comedy set in a struggling convenience store.
True crime: "D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?!" (2022, TV-14) looks back at the unsolved mystery of the legendary skyjacker and "My Daughter's Killer" (2022, TV-MA) follows a father's efforts to get justice.
Kid stuff: the animated action comedy "Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight: Season 1" (TV-Y7) features the voice of Jack Black.
Stand-up: "Bill Burr: Live at Red Rocks" (TV-MA)
Hulu
Return to Staten Island for the fourth season of the vampire comedy "What We Do in the Shadows" (TV-MA). New episodes on Wednesdays.
The limited series documentary "Victoria's Secret: Angels and Demons" (TV-MA) looks at the provocative story of the rise and fall of the famous lingerie brand and the CEO's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Two drifters (Zac Efron, Anthony Hayes) become wary partners in when they stumble across a fortune in "Gold" (2022, R).
More streaming TV: the fourth and final season of "Killing Eve" (TV-14) brings the intertwined stories of intelligence agent Eve (Sandra Oh) and assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) to an end. Also new:
- comedy "Everything's Trash: Season 1" (TV-14) starring Phoebe Robinson as an outspoken podcast star;
- animated comedy "Solar Opposites: Season 3" (TV-MA);
- "Criminal Minds: Complete Series" (2005-2020, TV-14) presenting all 15 seasons of the crime thriller about an elite team of FBI profilers.
HBO Max
True stories: the limited series "The Anarchists" (TV-MA) looks at the strange story of an idealistic anarchist community in Acapulco, Mexico and its spiral into chaos and violence. New episodes on Sundays.
Streaming TV: Olivia Liang stars in the martial arts remake "Kung Fu: Season 2" (TV-PG).
International TV: a rookie cop and an eccentric group of friends get caught a war between rival alien factions in the sci-fi comedy "The Visitors: Season 1" (France, TV-MA, with subtitles).
Disney+
"Zombies 3" (2022, TV-G) completes the trilogy of high school musical romantic comedies about humans, zombies, werewolves, and other supernatural beings living in harmony.
Amazon Prime Video
The reality series "Forever Summer: Hamptons" (2022, TV-MA) follows a group of college kids working at a seaside restaurant over the course of a summer.
Peacock
"Nash Bridges" (2021, TV-14) reunites Don Johnson and Cheech Marin for the TV movie follow-up to the hit crime drama.
New episodes of the soap opera spinoff "Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem: Season 2" (TV-14) arrive on Mondays.
Will Ferrell and Drew Barrymore provide the voices in "Curious George" (2006, G), the animated feature based on the popular children's books.
It's Blake Lively versus shark in the survival thriller "The Shallows" (2016, PG-13).
Paramount+
The first responder nurses and pilots of "SkyMed: Season 1" (TV-14) fly to remote calls in the wilderness of Northern Canada.
The documentary "The Only" (2022, TV-MA) chronicles the life and career of soccer star Briana Scurry.
Other streams
Award-winning filmmaker Jacques Audiard directs "Paris, 13th District" (France, 2021, R, with subtitles), a playful romantic drama about four young people falling in and out of love in Paris. (AMC+)
Andrea Arnold directs the documentary "Cow" (2022, not rated), an intimate portrait of one dairy cow's life. (AMC+)
A single mother moves in with her own estranged mother in Cape Town in "Good Madam" (South Africa, 2022, not rated, with subtitles), a horror film wound around race and family. (AMC+ and Shudder)
The long-running British crime drama "Silent Witness" (TV-14) celebrates its 25th season with the return of Amanda Burton as Dr. Sam Ryan, the team's original lead. (BritBox)
"Three Families" (2021) dramatizes the true story of three women and their families in Northern Ireland between 2013 and 2019, when abortion rights were finally passed. (Sundance Now)
An Israeli filmmaker struggles against censorship while he presents a film in a small village in "Ahed's Knee" (Israel, 2021, not rated, with subtitles), winner of the Jury Prize at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. (Criterion Channel)
"In the Ring: Boxing On-Screen" brings together 16 features and documentaries, from
Alfred Hitchcock's romantic drama "The Ring" (1927, silent with score) to the documentary "When We Were Kings" (1996). Among the highlights are "The Set-Up" (1949) with Robert Ryan as an aging boxer, "The Harder They Fall" (1955) with Humphrey Bogart as a sports writer, John Huston's "Fat City" (19712) with Jeff Bridges and Stacy Keach, and Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull" (1980, R), which is presented with a wealth of supplements from the Criterion Collection disc release. (Criterion Channel)
Harry Dean Stanton takes a rare leading role in "Lucky" (2017), a gentle character study set in a small desert town. (MUBI)
Free with ads (AVOD)
Rivals in an advertising firm start a text romance without realizing it in the romantic comedy "Love Accidentally" (2022, TV-14) starring Brenda Sullivan, Aaron O'Connell, and Denise Richards. (Amazon Freevee)
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
