Top streams for the week
Jenny Ortega stars as the original Goth girl in "Wednesday: Season 1" (TV-14), a comedy centered on the eldest child in the Addams Family. She's ideal casting, deadpan and macabre with a wickedly dark sense of humor, and finds herself just as out of place when she's sent to an exclusive academy for children of the supernatural variety. Gwendoline Christie, Riki Lindhome, and Emma Myers costar in the series created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and produced and directed by Tim Burton. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán play parents Morticia and Gomez. (Netflix)
The elite team of FBI profilers is reunited in "Criminal Minds: Evolution: Season 1" (TV-14), a revival of the long-running TV procedural that pits the Behavioral Analysis Unit against a network of serial killers run by an evil mastermind. Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez, and Paget Brewster reprise their roles from the original series. Two episodes available, new episodes on Thursdays. (Paramount+)
Two Special Forces soldiers (Luke Evans and Michiel Huisman) go on personal mission when a young scientist (Jessica Ann Collins), the brother of one and the wife the other, goes missing in Colombia in the military thriller "Echo 3: Season 1" (TV-MA) from Oscar-winning screenwriter Mark Boal. Three episodes available, new episodes on Fridays. (Apple TV+)
A mix of true crime drama and American dream gone sour, the limited series "Welcome to Chippendales" (TV-MA) charts the rise and fall of the exotic dancing-for-women empire created by Somen "Steve" Banerjee (played by Kumail Nanjiani) in the 1980s. Murray Bartlett, Juliette Lewis, and Annaleigh Ashford costar. Two episodes available, new episodes on Tuesdays. (Hulu).
True stories: the heartwarming documentary "Good Night Oppy" (2022, PG) explores the journey and the accomplishments of Opportunity, the rover sent in 2003 to explore the surface of Mars for a 90-day mission that lasted 15 years, with interviews with the human crew and special effects recreating the robotic mission on Mars. (Prime Video)
Holiday Highlights
With Thanksgiving dinner relegated to leftovers, the Christmas season begins in earnest and the holiday movies arrive in force. Hulu spotlights its movies and holiday-themed shows on its Holidays Hub, and Peacock has a Hallmark page.
New on Netflix is the romantic drama "The Noel Diary" (2022, TV-PG) with Justin Hartley and the family comedy "Christmas on Mistletoe Farm" (2022, TV-G), while HBO Max has "A Christmas Mystery" (2022, TV-14) and "Holiday Harmony" (2022, TV-14).
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
"Moonage Daydream" (2022, PG-13) surveys the career and creative life of David Bowie through a rich selection of concert film, archival interviews, and rare footage.
Also new is raunchy romantic comedy "Bros" (2022, R) with Billy Eichner and romantic drama "The Good House" (2022, R) with Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline. (Also on DVD and at Redbox)
Netflix
"The Swimmers" (2022, PG-13) dramatizes the true story of Yusra and Sarah Mardini, sisters who fled war-torn Syria and went on to swim in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Morgan Freeman narrates "Our Universe" (TV-PG), a limited series natural history documentary that explores the forces that shape the universe and life on Earth.
Jake Gyllenhaal is a hot-headed boxer who suffers a tragic loss in "Southpaw" (2015, R), costarring Rachel McAdams and Forest Whitaker.
Gerard Butler and Peter Mullan are lighthouse keepers who stumble upon a small fortune in on a remote Scottish island in "The Vanishing" (2018, R).
"The Boxtrolls" (2004, PG) is a delightfully oddball stop-motion fantasy about mischievous trolls who scavenge discarded objects from the streets of a storybook town.
More true stories: "Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich" (2022, TV-MA) tells the story of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's mysterious accomplice.
International passport: the survivor of a massacre wakes up after years in a coma and tries to piece together his lost memories in "The Lost Patient" (France, 2022, TV-MA, with subtitles).
International TV: the musical drama "The Unbroken Voice: Season 1" (Colombia, TV-MA, with subtitles) tells the story of Colombian superstar Arelys Henao.
Stand-up: "Trevor Noah: I Wish You Would" (TV-14)
Hulu
A woman (Karen Gillan) clones herself and then has to fight a duel to the death to see which one is allowed to live in the science fiction thriller "Dual" (2022, R).
HBO Max
The documentary "Love, Lizzo" (2022, TV-MA) profiles the life and odyssey of the Grammy-winning superstar and the documentary series "Shaq: Season 1" (not rated) chronicles basketball legend and his rise to superstardom.
Disney+
"Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium" (2022, TV-PG), the concert special featuring special guests Dua Lipa, Kiki Dee, and Brandi Carlile, is now available to stream.
A 13-year-old girl goes on a road trip with her adoptive parents to find her mother in the family comedy "Daddies on Request: Season 1" (Mexico, not rated, with subtitles).
"The Hip Hop Nutcracker" (2022, not rated) reimagines the classic holiday ballet.
Amazon Prime Video
Peter Dinklage takes the lead in "Cyrano" (2021, PG-13), a musical adaptation of the classic play by Edmond Rostund about a soldier who helps a young man woo the woman he loves.
True story: "Good Rivals" (2022, TV-14) explores the United States-Mexico soccer rivalry
Streaming TV: the sixth and final season of "Animal Kingdom" (TV-MA) brings the saga of the criminal Cody family to an end.
Paramount+
A therapist (Sosie Bacon) has to confront her traumatic past after seeing terrifying visions in the eerie horror film "Smile" (2022, R).
In the family comedy "Fantasy Football" (2022, TV-PG), a girl can magically control her football player father (Omari Hardwick) through a video game.
Peacock
"Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin: Season 1" (TV-14), a spin-off of the big screen music comedies, stars Adam Devine as Bumper Allen.
Carla Gugino headlines the ensemble cast of "Leopard Skin: Season 1" (TV-MA), a thriller set in a hotel where armed terrorists take everyone hostage. Created by Sebastian Gutierrez.
Overachieving best friends (Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein) throw caution to the wind on the last night of high school in the raunchy and smart buddy comedy "Booksmart" (2019, R).
The true crime documentary series "Once Upon a Time in Londongrad" (2022, TV-MA) looks at a series of deaths on British soil that may be traced back to Russia.
Other streams
Sir David Attenborough hosts the natural history limited series "Life in Colour" (TV-PG), which looks at role color plays in wildlife. (AMC+)
A 115-year-old vampir
e discovers he has a daughter in the horror comedy "Blood Relatives" (2022, not rated) from writer/director/star Noah Segan. (AMC+ and Shudder)
Five films "Starring Veronica Lake" include the superb Hollywood comedy "Sullivan's Travels" (1941) with Joel McCrea and all three films she made with Alan Ladd, including "The Blue Dahlia" (1946). (Criterion Channel)
Two films by Lucrecia Martel arrive this week: "Zama" (Portugal, 2017, not rated, with subtitles), about a Spanish officer in a backwater in 17th century Portugal, and "The Headless Woman" (Argentina, 2008, not rated, with subtitles), a portrait of a middle-class woman's spiral after a hit-and-run. (MUBI)
New on disc and at Redbox: "Bros," "The Good House," "Father of the Bride (2022)"
Visit the paper's website online for more options and recommendations.
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
