Top streams for the week
Apple TV+ launches this Friday with a slate of original shows led by "The Morning Show" (TV-MA), a drama set in the cutthroat world of morning TV news starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell; and "For All Mankind" (TV-MA), a mix of historical drama and science fiction in an alternate history where the American space program races to catch the Soviets. It's from Ronald D. Moore (of "Outlander" and "Battlestar Galactica") and stars Joel Kinnaman.
https://youtu.be/BeXtt2X6nDk
https://youtu.be/HZS9M52Bd_w
Also streaming are comedy "Dickinson" (TV-14) starring Hailee Steinfeld as a modern Emily Dickinson rebelling against her repressive culture; sci-fi thriller "See" (TV-MA) with Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard in a future where the human race is blind; and talk show "Oprah's Book Club" (TV-PG). Kids programing includes "Ghostwriter" (TV-G) for teens and tweens and the Sesame Street spin-off "Helpsters" (TV-Y).
Apple TV+ is $4.99 a month and accessible on Apple devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsun smart TVs. Sign up at tv.apple.com.
Timothée Chalamet is young King Henry V and Robert Pattinson is the Dauphin of France in "The King" (2019, R), an historical drama from filmmaker David Michôd and co-screenwriter/costar Joel Edgerton. It comes to Netflix direct from a brief theatrical release.
https://youtu.be/yMJnsTx-TBg
Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale reprise their stage roles as an estranged couple searching for their missing child in "American Son" (2019, not rated), a screen adaptation of the Broadway play. Streaming on Netflix.
https://youtu.be/dbKZlSwAS3M
Tom Perrotta adapts his own novel for the seven-part limited series "Mrs. Fletcher" (TV-MA), a half-hour dramedy starring Kathryn Hahn as an empty-nest divorceé exploring a new lust for life and Jackson White as her son losing himself in sex and porn at college. New episodes each Sunday night on all HBO platforms.
https://youtu.be/EzKu5JKrY6U
Noomi Rapace joins the second season of "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" (TV-MA) as Ryan (John Krasinski) chases illegal arms to South America. Wendell Pierce costars.
https://youtu.be/Un2zXkM-03U
Classic pick: Warren Beatty's epic "Reds" (1981, PG), a sweeping historical drama about the turbulent lives of reporter and author John Reed (Beatty) and bohemian spirit Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton), was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won three, including best director for Beatty. Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer star in "Luce" (2019, R), a drama about a star high school student (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) who may not be all he seems. Also on Cable On Demand, VOD, and DVD. Also new:
https://youtu.be/aqzgDB1CMI4
- "Them That Follow" (2019, R), a drama set in a remote Appalachian community of evangelical snake-handlers with Olivia Colman and Walton Goggins;
- documentary "Mike Wallace is Here" (2019, PG-13).
Available same day as select theaters nationwide is "Adopt a Highway" (2019, not rated) starring Ethan Hawke as an ex-con who finds an abandoned infant.
Netflix
Music documentary "Echo in the Canyon" (2019, PG-13) explores the culture of 1960s Laurel Canyon that nurtured the melodic folk rock sound of The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas, and features Jakob Dylan paying tribute to their music with fellow contemporary artists.
https://youtu.be/QRVFBQHBUls
Rob Lowe and Kristin Davis star in "Holiday in the Wild" (2019, not rated), the first of the Netflix Original Christmas romances to roll out for the season.
Streaming TV: Sam Gardner (Keir Gilchrist), a high school graduate on the autism scale, navigates college in the third season of the comedy "Atypical" (TV-MA). Also new:
- The Fab Five go east for "Queer Eye: We're in Japan!" (TV-14);
- Reese Witherspoon in talk show "Shine On with Reese: Season 1" (2018) featuring Dolly Parton, Ava DuVernay, P!nk, and other trailblazing women.
- science fiction drama "Mars: Season 2" (TV-PG) from National Geographic channel;
- five new collections of episodes from the quiz show "Jeopardy!" (2015-2016);
- anime sci-fi action series "Kengan Ashura: Part II" (Japan, TV-MA);
- "My Next Guest with David Letterman and Shah Rukh Khan."
International affairs: the comedy "The Man Without Gravity" (Italy, 2019, not rated, with subtitles) puts the premise right in the title and a street racer joins forces with a notorious thief for a major heist in the Bollywood action film "Drive" (India, 2019, not rated, with subtitles). Both debut direct to Netflix around the world.
International TV: a group of high school kids rebel against the establishment in the teen thriller "We Are the Wave: Season 1" (Germany, with subtitles) but discover their leader has harbors his own plans. Also new:
- crime drama "Hache: Season 1" (Spain, with subtitles), based on a true story;
- crime thriller "Nowhere Man: Season 1" (Taiwan, with subtitles) about a triad member who must break prison to save his family;
- "Flavorful Origins: Yunnan Cuisine" (China, TV-G, with subtitles), a new entry in the show that explores the roots of Chinese cuisine.
True stories: three Netflix Original documentary shorts debut this week. "Fire in Paradise" (2019, TV-MA) examines the devastating 2018 Camp Fire;
- "A 3 Minute Hug" (Mexico, 2019, TV-PG, with subtitles) captures the brief reunion of family members separated by the U.S.-Mexico border;
- "Little Miss Sumo" (Japan, 2018, TV-G, with subtitles) profiles a female sumo prodigy battling to be allowed to compete in the male-only profession.
Kid stuff: the animated "Hello Ninja: Season 1" and "True: Grabbleapple Harvest" arrive for young children.
"Zombieland" (2009, R), the comic zombie thriller with Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone, and the landmark cyber-thriller "The Matrix" (1999, R) and sequels "The Matrix Reloaded" (2003, R) and "The Matrix Revolutions" (2003, R) return to Netflix this month.
Stand-up: "Arsenio Hall: Smart & Classy" (2019, not rated)
Amazon Prime Video
Tiffany Haddish and Tika Sumpter are sisters in Tyler Perry's raunchy comedy "Nobody's Fool" (2018, R).
https://youtu.be/MsFbMw9LO5M
More streaming TV: "Unforgotten: Season 3" (TV-MA), the British crime drama with Nicola Walker, makes its U.S. debut on Amazon Prime.
International affairs: "Transit" (Germany, 2018, not rated, with subtitles), Christian Petzold's award-winning drama of man who assumes the identity of a dead author to escape occupied France
International TV: comedians Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen return as the socially awkward best friends in "Clown" (Denmark, with subtitles), the 2018 revival of the beloved cult comedy series.
True stories: "In Search of Greatness" (2018, PG-13) looks at what makes a great athlete with Wayne Gretzky, Jerry Rice, and Pelé. Also new:
- "My Generation" (2018, not rated), a look at 1960s British pop culture hosted by Michael Caine;
- "Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown" (2015, not rated) from Oscar-winning documentarian by Alex Gibney.
And while it's not a documentary, the shot-on-the-streets indie film "Wild Style" (1983, R) is a time capsule of the early hip hop culture of the South Bronx.
Prime Video and Hulu
World War II action meets monster movie in "Overlord" (2018, R), a thriller pits an Allied strike force against Nazi super-soldier zombies (Prime Video and Hulu).
Paulina García as a divorced middle-aged woman blossoming after 60 in "Gloria" (Chile, 2013, R, with subtitles), which was Chile's official submission to the Academy Awards (Prime Video and Hulu).
Also newly arrived: "The Ring" (2002, PG-13), the American remake of the influential Japanese horror film (Prime Video and Hulu);
- heist-gone-wrong thriller "Killing Zoe" with Eric Stoltz and Julie Delpy (1993, R) (Prime Video and Hulu);
- Paul Schrader's "Light Sleeper" (1992, R) with Willem Dafoe and Susan Sarandon (Prime Video and Hulu);
- Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning "Chinatown" (1974, R) with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway (Prime Video and Hulu).
Hulu
"The Nightingale" (2018, R), filmmaker Jennifer Kent's follow-up to her breakthrough "The Babadook," is a dark, brutal revenge thriller set on the frontier of early 19th century Australia. The divisive film makes its streaming debut on Hulu.
https://youtu.be/YuP8g_GQIgI
"Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (2003, R), the last sequel to feature Arnold Schwarzenegger, arrives as he returns to the franchise in theaters this week.
"Into The Dark: Pilgrim" is the Thanksgiving-themed episode of the anthology horror series.
Also newly arrived is the light drama "Magic Mike" (2012, R), directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Channing Tatum as a male stripper, and the first big screen "Fantastic Four" (2005, PG-13) movie with Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis.
HBO Now
The American indie drama "Blindspotting" (2018, R) follows a man (Daveed Diggs) on the final days of probation as his reckless best friend pulls him back into crime. The film landed on a number of Top Ten lists from last year.
https://youtu.be/-9-HBqVbtTo
The sixth and final season of the tech world comedy "Silicon Valley" brings internet entrepreneur Richard (Thomas Middleditch) to testify in congressional hearings, which goes as well as you would expect. New episodes Sunday nights.
Isabelle Huppert and Chloë Grace Moretz star in the thriller "Greta" (2018, R) from filmmaker Neil Jordan.
True stories: producer George Shapiro celebrates the legacy of "The Bronx, USA" (2019, TV-PG) with a visit to his hometown and old friends, and "Any One of Us" (2019, PG-13) chronicles the recovery of pro mountain biker Paul Basagoitia’s after suffering a spinal cord injury.
Other streams
"Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House" kicks off the third series of the comic mysteries starring Ashley Jensen as the amateur detective in rural England. Now streaming on Acorn TV.
https://youtu.be/oksVcG0hozM
Guillermo Del Toro's "The Devil's Backbone" (Spain, 2001, R, with subtitles), a haunting ghost story in an orphanage caught in the violence of the Spanish Civil War, and the shadowy "They Live By Night" (1948), a film noir classic with a tender core, are new to The Criterion Channel with bonus commentary, interviews, and other supplements originally created for disc.
New on disc this week:
"Luce," "Them That Follow," "Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975," "The Before Trilogy"
Now available at Redbox:
"A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish," "10 Minutes Gone," "Running with the Devil"
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and TV can be found at http://streamondemandathome.com.
