By Sean Axmaker
What's new for home viewing on Video on Demand and Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and other streaming services.
Top streams for the week
Two acclaimed shows that tackle contemporary issues through the prism of science fiction are back for their respective second seasons. Hulu presents "The Handmaid's Tale," the Emmy-winning dystopian portrait of America under the totalitarian rule of religious extremists starring Elisabeth Moss. Two episodes now available with new episodes every Wednesday. And HBO returns to "Westworld," a reworking of the 1970s movie for the age of artificial intelligence, with new episodes arriving Sunday nights.
https://youtu.be/Sg_Gmb0ntfw
https://youtu.be/qUmfriZoMw0
"The Rachel Divide" (2018, not rated) takes on a controversy close to home: Washington state civil rights activist Rachel Dolezal and the national conversation sparked when the self-identified black woman was revealed to be white. It debuts directly to Netflix.
Two more original documentaries debut on streaming services: "Bobby Kennedy for President" (2018, not rated) on Netflix and "Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie" (2018, not rated), about the cultural history of the iconic toy, on Hulu.
https://youtu.be/4mnC4LVGkr4
Spike Lee brings the play "Pass Over" (2018, not rated), described as "Waiting for Godot" meets "Do the Right Thing," to the small screen in a stage production directed by Danya Taylor at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre. It debuts directly to Amazon Prime Video.
https://youtu.be/iQo95MN-U8c
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
The family-friendly comedy "Paddington 2" (2017, PG) continues the comic adventures of the marmalade-loving bear in England, this time bringing joy to prison after he's convicted for a crime he did not commit.
https://youtu.be/sw7RElt-SvE
Annette Bening plays American actress Gloria Grahame in "Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool" (2017, R), inspired by the true story of a romance between the aging Hollywood star and a younger British man (Jamie Bell) while doing a play in England. Also new:
https://youtu.be/43_KLNaEc6M
- western "Hostiles" (2017, R) with Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike;
- heist thriller "Den of Thieves" (2018, R) with Gerard Butler and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson;
- "Maze Runner: The Death Cure" (2018, PG-13), the final film in the young adult science fiction trilogy with Dylan O'Brien.
Netflix
The biographical drama "The Man Who Knew Infinity" (2015, PG-13) stars Dev Patel as real-life visionary mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan and Jeremy Irons as his mentor.
https://youtu.be/Jji1zSwxstU
Two new Netflix Original movies arrive this week: "The Week Of" (2018, not rated), a comedy starring Adam Sandler and Chris Rock and directed by "Saturday Night Live" veteran (and Triumph to Insult Comedy Dog creator) Robert Smigel, and high school comedy "Candy Jar" (2018, not rated) about romance between rivals on a debate team.
https://youtu.be/vc0fb3xhFHY
Foreign affairs: the offbeat "Psychokinesis" (2018, South Korea, not rated, with subtitles), about the worried father of an estranged daughter who suddenly gets super powers, comes from Yeon Sang-ho, director of the hit zombie thriller "Train to Busan," and debuts directly to Netflix in the U.S.
https://youtu.be/1EkIWVjBBc0
Streaming TV: from Australia comes the comedy "The Letdown: Season 1" about a new mother who joins a support group for a little help facing parenthood. Also new:
- family friendly adventure "The New Legends of Monkey: Season 1," an Australian take on the classic Chinese tale;
- the second season of "3%: Season 2" (with subtitles), a Netflix original science fiction series from Brazil;
- "Call the Midwife: Christmas Special 2017" from UK.
Stand-up: "Kevin James: Never Don't Give Up" (2018, not rated), the first stand-up performance from the sitcom star in years, and German comedian "Enissa Amani: Ehrenwort" (2018, Germany, with subtitles).
Amazon Prime Video
The comedy "Operation Avalanche" (2016, R) satirizes the conspiracy theory that the moon landing was faked by Stanley Kubrick with a mock-documentary approach.
Filmmaker Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski teamed up for five memorable films. Their final two collaborations, the jungle epic "Fitzcarraldo" (Germany, 1982, not rated, with subtitles) and the historical drama "Cobra Verde" (Germany, 1987, not rated, with subtitles) set in 19th century Africa, are now available. Also new:
- unsettling indie horror film "Deadgirl" (2009, R);
- romantic comedy "Ghost Town (2008, PG-13) with Ricky Gervais and ghosts;
- prison drama "The Last Castle" (2001, R) with Robert Redford and James Gandolfini;
- UFO comedy "Evolution" (2001, PG-13) with David Duchovny;
- comedy "Elvis Meets Nixon" (1997, PG-13) starring Elvis impersonator Rick Peters;
- animation/live-action hybrid "Cool World" (1992, PG-13) with Kim Basinger.
- "Tokyo Girl: Season 1" (Japan, with subtitles), a Japan Prime Video drama that spans twenty years over nine episodes;
- Irish cop drama "Red Rock: Season 3";
- Amazon Original non-fiction sports series "All or Nothing: Dallas Cowboys: Season 3";
- "Amazon Riders: Season 1" (Japan, with subtitles), a latest production in the Kamen Rider series;
- and a collection of classic BBC comedies including "Absolutely Fabulous: Seasons 1-5," "Blackadder: Series 1-4," and "The Mighty Boosh: Seasons 1-3."
Amazon Prime and Hulu
"Vikings: Season 5" continues the pillaging in the hit dramatic series from The History Channel (Prime Video and Hulu).
Hulu
"BPM (Beats Per Minute)" (France, 2017, not rated, with subtitles), a drama of the lives of ACT UP activists in Paris during the AIDS epidemic early 1990s, won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and France's Cesar Awards.
The horror, the horror: Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair are parents gone bad in "Mom and Dad" (2018, R) and Joachim Trier directs "Thelma" (Norway, 2017, not rated, with subtitles), which channels "Carrie" in a Scandinavian vein.
Kid stuff: "Wildwoods: Season 1" is a puppet series for younger viewers from Ireland.
HBO Now
"War for the Planet of the Apes" (2017, PG-13), the third and ostensibly final entry in the franchise reboot, pits the peaceful ape civilization in a last-stand battle for survival against a fanatical renegade militia leader (Woody Harrelson). Andy Serkis once again delivers an expressive and nuanced motion-capture performance in the unexpectedly touching story.
https://youtu.be/qxjPjPzQ1iU
Arriving Saturday night is "The Hitman's Bodyguard" (2017, R), an action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson.
Showtime Anytime
"The Fantasticks" (1995, PG) is the big screen adaptation of the off-Broadway musical comedy twist on Romeo and Juliet that ran for 42 years and over 17,000 performances.
FilmStruck
TCM Select Pick of the Week is "On the Town" (1949), a story so slim as to be almost abstract – singing sailors Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin look for girls while on 24-hour leave in the Big Apple – in a movie that is all heart. This Technicolor fantasy of New York is painted in primary colors, sculpted in high energy choreography, and softened in small town romanticism. It's one of the essential Hollywood musicals and the greatest of three big screen pairings between Hollywood's all-American hoofer and the Great American Voice. “New York, New York, it’s a wonderful town” indeed. Streaming through October 19.
Elizabeth Taylor is Star of the Week, celebrated with a collection of 17 films, from "Lassie Come Home" (1943) and "National Velvet" (1944) to "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958) with Paul Newman and "Reflections in a Golden Eye" (1967) with Marlon Brando. Other new arrivals include "Little Women" (1949) with June Allyson and costume adventure "Ivanhoe" (1952) with Robert Taylor. Also new:
- twelve Early Hitchcock features, including his first masterpiece "The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog" (1927) (with supplements from the Criterion disc) and British classics "The 39 Steps" (1935) and "The Lady Vanishes" (1938);
- nine documentaries from Directors of the Week the Maysles Brothers, including the legendary rock doc "Gimme Shelter" (1970, not rated) with the Rolling Stones (featuring bonus supplements from the Criterion disc) and "Grey Gardens" (1976, PG);
- four films from Portuguese realist director Pedro Costa including "Colossal Youth" (Portugal, 2006, with subtitles).
"Paddington 2," "Den of Thieves," "Hostiles," "Maze Runner: The Death Cure," "Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool"
Now available at Redbox:
"Den of Thieves," "Paddington 2," "Hostiles," "Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool," "Forever My Girl"
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and TV can be found at http://streamondemandathome.com.
