Top streams for the week
Elsie Fisher delivers a heartbreakingly vulnerable performance as an awkward, introverted teenage girl enduring the final week of "Eighth Grade" (2018, R). The directorial debut comedian Bo Burham is an insightful and sensitive comic drama that explores the anxieties of growing up in the social media age with humor and hope. Be warned that it's R-rated. Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Robert Redford brings his easy charm to the role of a gentleman, octogenarian bank robber who lives for the thrill of the deed in "The Old Man & the Gun" (2018, PG-13), a strangely sweet and affectionate low key drama co-starring Sissy Spacek and Casey Affleck. Redford said it's his farewell screen performance. On VOD and Cable On Demand, also on DVD and at Redbox.
Streaming TV: Netflix presents new seasons of "Grace and Frankie" with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin and "The Punisher" with Jon Bernthal and Amazon Prime premieres the third season of the gearhead series "The Grand Tour."
True stories: remember Fyre Festival, the infamous music festival fiasco in the Bahamas that stranded ticket buyers and launched a thousand lawsuits? Two new original documentaries are here to remind you: Netflix presents "Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened" (2019, not rated) and Hulu offers "Fyre Fraud" (2019, not rated).
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
David Gordon Green's "Halloween" (2018, R) is not a remake but a sequel to the original 1978 horror classic with Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode, now a paranoid survivalist who is ready for the return of Michael after 40 years. John Carpenter, director of the original, is one of the producers and composes the score. Also on DVD and at Redbox.
Also new: light British drama "The Bookshop" (2018, PG) with Emily Mortimer and Bill Nighy, kid-friendly horror film "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween" (2018, PG), end-of-the-world thriller "After Darkness" (2018, R) with Kyra Sedgwick and Tim Daly, and "Once Upon a Deadpool" (2018, PG-13), a "cleaned-up" re-edit of "Deadpool 2."
Available same day as select theaters nationwide is "The Standoff at Sparrow Creek" (2019, not rated), a crime thriller set in the culture of militia groups, and political thriller "An Acceptable Loss" (2019, R) with Tika Sumpter and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Netflix
Mark Wahlberg is "The Fighter" (2010, R) in the based-on-a-true-story underdog boxing drama that earned Oscars for supporting actors Melissa Leo and Christian Bale. David O. Russell directs and Amy Adams co-stars.
Noomi Rapace is a counter-terrorist expert hired to protect a young heiress (Sophie Nélisse) in the crime thriller "Close" (2019, not rated). It's one of five Netflix Original features debuting this week. Also new:
- end-of-the-world sci-fi drama "IO" (2019, not rated) with Anthony Mackie and Danny Huston;
- Golden Globe-nominated drama "Girl" (Belgium, 2018, R, with subtitles) about a transgender teenage ballet student;
- action thriller "Revenger" (South Korea, 2019, not rated, with subtitles), about a cop out for vengeance against the criminals who murdered his family;
- "Soni" (India, 2018, not rated, with subtitles), a cop drama that takes on violent against women in India.
Also new: "Becoming Jane" (2007, PG-13) with Anne Hathaway as the young Jane Austen and Ridley Scott's "American Gangster" (2007, R) with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.
Streaming TV: rapper and activist Killer Mike hosts "Trigger Warning with Killer Mike," a docu-series about social change in America. Also new:
- "American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace" with Edgar Ramírez and Darren Criss;
- NBC action series "Taken: Season 2" (16 episodes, NBC) with Clive Standen;
- reality shows "Back with the Ex: Season 1" and "Yummy Mummies: Season 1" from Australia;
- "The World's Most Extraordinary Homes: Season 2 Part B" (Netflix Original)
Kid stuff: "Carmen Sandiego: Season 1" revives the nineties kids show about geography as an animated series featuring the voice of Gina Rodriguez. Also new: "Trolls: The Beat Goes On!: Season 5."
Stand-up: "Sebastian Maniscalco: Stay Hungry"
Amazon Prime Video
Helen Mirren stars in "The Debt" (2010, R) as a retired Mossad agent recalling a past mission (played by Jessica Chastain in flashbacks).
This colorful new indie take on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (2018, not rated) is relocated to modern Hollywood and stars Rachael Leigh Cook, Finn Wittrock, Paz de la Huerta, and Lily Rabe.
A selection of HBO Original films from years past are new available, including "Grey Gardens" (2009, TV-14) HBO with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange as Little Edie and Big Edie, "You Don't Know Jack" (2010, not rated) with Al Pacino as Dr. Jack Kevorkian; and "Cinema Verite" (2011, not rated) with James Gandolfini and Diane Lane.
Kid stuff: more episodes of the animated revival "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle."
Foreign affairs: "Footnotes" (France, 2017, not rated, with subtitles) is a throwback musical comedy set during a strike at a luxury shoe factory.
Also newly arrived: cult action drama "Coffy" (1973, R) with Pam Grier;
- gangster drama "Dillinger" (1973, R) with Warren Oates and Ben Johnson;
- classic westerns "Apache" (1954) with Burt Lancaster; and "Along Came Jones" (1945) with Gary Cooper and Loretta Young.
Available on Saturday is "Fahrenheit 11/9" (2018, R), Michael Moore's documentary on the Trump presidency.
Prime Video and Hulu
Alex Roe is a country star who returns to his hometown and the girl he left behind in the romantic drama "Forever My Girl" (2018, PG). Prime Video and Hulu.
Hulu
Stephen Frears directs the sweet comic drama "The Snapper" (1993, R), adapted by Roddy Doyle from his novel.
Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, and Josh Hartnett take the leads in "O" (2001), Tim Blake Nelson's take on Shakespeare's "Othello" set among the teenage students of a prep school.
Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson star in "You, Me and Dupree" (2006, PG-13), a comedy from Anthony and Joe Russo before they became Marvel movie directors.
Streaming TV: the British drama "Butterfly: Season 1" stars Anna Friel and Emmett J Scanlan as the separated parents of an 11-year-old child born male but who identifies as a girl. Also new:
- Canadian legal drama "Burden of Truth: Season 1" with Kristin Kreuk;
- comedy "Brockmire: Season 2" with Hank Azaria and Amanda Peet.
HBO Now
The women call the shots in the comic caper spin-off "Ocean’s 8" (2018, PG-13), starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway.
Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff star in the third season of "True Detective" from creator Nic Pizzolatto. Two episodes now available, new episodes each Sunday evening.
Arriving Saturday night is "Tully" (2018, R), a comic-drama about motherhood and friendship starring Charlize Theron and Mackenzie Davis, and "Brexit" with Benedict Cumberbatch.
Showtime Anytime
Amy Schumer is an insecure woman who wakes of from a fall convinced that she's a model-thin bombshell in the comedy "I Feel Pretty" (2018, PG-13).
Stand-up: "Howie Mandel Presents Howie Mandel at the Howie Mandel Comedy Club."
New on disc this week:
"Halloween," "The Old Man & the Gun," "Goosebumps 2," "The Bookshop," "Once Upon A Deadpool"
Now available at Redbox:
"Halloween," "The Old Man & the Gun," "Goosebumps 2," "Once Upon A Deadpool"
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and TV can be found at http://streamondemandathome.com.
Elsie Fisher stars in "Eighth Grade." Photo credit: A24
Robert Redford in "The Old Man & the Gun." Photo credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in "Grace and Frankie." Photo credit: Ali Goldstein / Netflix
Noomi Rapace in "Close." Photo credit: Gareth Gatrell / Netflix
