Stream on Demand: New movies find inspiration in the past
What’s new for home viewing on Video on Demand and Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max and other streaming services.
Top streams for the week
Kate Winslet plays fossil hunter Mary Anning and Saoirse Ronan is a young woman sent to the sea for her health in “Ammonite” (2020, R), a fictional love story inspired by the real life of Anning, whose discoveries in 1840s England were claimed by male archaeologists for more than a century. (Hulu)
Eddie Murphy reunites with “My Name Is Dolemite” director Craig Brewster for “Coming 2 America” (2021, PG-13), the sequel to Murphy’s 1988 comedy. Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones and John Amos also return, and Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, Shari Headley, Germaine Fowler and Wesley Snipes join the cast for the return trip to Queens. (Amazon Prime)
Jodie Foster won a Golden Globe Award for “The Mauritanian” (2021, R) playing the attorney who fought for detained suspect Mohamedou Ould Salahi (played by Tahar Rahim), a man tortured and imprisoned for years at Guantanamo Bay on scant evidence without being charged. Shailene Woodley and Benedict Cumberbatch cos-tar in the drama directed by Kevin Macdonald. (VOD and Cable on Demand)
The animated fantasy “Raya and the Last Dragon” (2021, PG) follows a teenage heroine (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran) on an odyssey across Asia to restore a magical stone to reunite a fractured kingdom and save the world with the help of a dragon long thought dead. Don Hall (“Big Hero 6” and “Moana”) directs with Carlos López Estrada (“Trainspotting”) and the voice cast includes Awkwafina, Gemma Chan and Daniel Dae Kim. Originally produced for theatrical release, it debuts simultaneously on Disney+ as a premium purchase.
Another animated feature, the TV spinoff “The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run” (2020, PG) streams on the newly rechristened and expanded Paramount+ (previously CBS All Access) the same day it arrives on VOD and Cable on Demand.
The oddball comedy “The Twentieth Century” (2019, not rated) reimagines the life of Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King (Dan Beirne) as a fever dream of psychological obsession and madcap antics. The debut feature from director Matthew Rankin (who apprenticed on the films of Guy Maddin) recasts Canadian history as an absurdist farce. (Criterion Channel)
True crime: The three-part documentary series “Murder Among the Mormons” (not rated) investigates a series of pipe bomb killings in 1985 Salt Lake City and traces it back to a conspiracy involving rare documents that challenge Mormon orthodoxy. Directors Jared Hess and Tyler Measom were both raised LDS. (Netflix)
Streaming TV: Episodes of the NBC conspiracy thriller “Debris: Season 1” (TV-14) stream on Hulu and Peacock a day after their respective network debuts, as well as episodes of the new seasons of “New Amsterdam” (TV-14) (Hulu and Peacock) and “The Voice” (TV-PG) (Hulu and Peacock).
Classic pick: “Young Frankenstein” (1974, PG), the lovingly hilarious tribute to the classic “Frankenstein” movies from director Mel Brooks and star/co-writer Gene Wilder, mixes pathos and parody and remains the funniest film that either of them have made. (Hulu)
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby are frontier wives in 1856 America who fall in love in “The World to Come” (2021, R). Casey Affleck and Christopher Abbott co-star.
“Pixie” (2021, R), a mix of revenge thriller and dark comedy, stars Olivia Cooke as a young woman on the run from a gang of crooked priests and nuns. Also new:
• “Crisis” (2021, R), a crime thriller set against the opioid epidemic starring Gary Oldman and Armie Hammer;
• “Sometime Other Than Now” (2021, not rated), a drama starring Donal Logue as a man seeking redemption;
• “The Affair” (Czech Republic, 2021, not rated, with subtitles), a romantic drama with Carine van Houten and Claes Bang set against the Nazi invasion;
• “Night of the Kings” (Ivory Coast, 2021, not rated, with subtitles), a prison drama wound around the art of storytelling.
Netflix
A shy high school teenager (Hadley Robinson) takes on the misogyny and racism in her school in the comedy “Moxie” (2021, PG-13), directed by and co-starring Amy Poehler.
The documentary “Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell” (2021, R) celebrates the life of rap legend The Notorious B.I.G. through rare footage and in-depth interviews.
Oscar-winners: Denzel Washington earned his first Oscar as a rogue cop in “Training Day” (2001, R), costarring Ethan Hawke. Also newly arrived are two best picture winners: frontier Western “Dances with Wolves” (1990, PG-13) from director/star Kevin Costner and drama “Rain Man” (1988, R) with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise.
International passport: Olga Kurylenko stars in the action thriller “Sentinelle” (France, 2021, not rated, with subtitles) as a soldier hunting for the man who hurt her sister. Also new:
• “Dogwashers” (Colombia, 2021, not rated, with subtitles), a crime drama of debts, drug dealing, and revenge on the lowest rungs of street crime;
• “The Girl on the Train” (India, 2021, TV-MA, with subtitles) is a remake of the 2016 thriller based on the novel by Paula Hawkins.
Stand-up: “Blanche Gardin: Bonne Nuit Blanche” (France, 2021, TV-MA, with subtitles)
Amazon Prime Video
A midlife crisis spirals into a suburban family breakdown in the indie dramedy “King of Knives” (2020, not rated).
”Out of Africa” (1985, PG), starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, won seven Academy Awards including best picture and director (Sydney Pollack).
Kirk Douglas is a ruthless reporter in “Ace in the Hole” (1951), one of the most cynical films noirs ever made.
Amazon Prime and Hulu
John Boyega and Jodie Whittaker star in “Attack the Block” (2011, R), a clever alien invasion thriller set in the gang-run projects of South London.
Ewan McGregor is “The Ghost Writer” (2010, PG-13) in the conspiracy thriller from director Roman Polanski.
Hulu
A special agent (Frank Grillo) relives the day of his murder in “Boss Level” (2021, TV-MA), a thriller with a “Groundhog Day” twist co-starring Mel Gibson.
Eva Green is a French astronaut and a single mother chosen for a yearlong space mission in the science-fiction drama “Proxima” (2019, not rated).
Jon Hamm is a disillusioned diplomat pulled back in to service to save the life of a friend in “Beirut” (2018, R), a thriller set in the violence of the undeclared warzone of 1982 Beirut.
The family-friendly animated comedy “Storks” (2016, PG) features the voices of Andy Samberg and Kelsey Grammer.
True stories: “Charles and Diana: 1983” (2021, not rated) looks back at the royal couple’s tour of Australia and the tensions behind the scenes.
HBO Max
Ben Affleck directs and stars in “Live By Night” (2016, R) as a Boston gangster who relocates to Florida during Prohibition.
Hey pitches! The original a cappella comedy “Pitch Perfect” (2012, PG-13) with Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson is back.
Michael Pena plays “Cesar Chavez” (2014, PG-13) in the drama about the Mexican-American union activist.
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter travel through time, space, heaven, and hell in the comedies “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (1989, PG) and “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey” (1991, PG).
True stories: “Persona: The Dark Truth Behind Personality Tests” (2021 TV-MA) digs into the history behind such testing and the biases behind them.
Other streams
The darkly comic crime drama “Cold Pursuit” (2019, R) stars Liam Neeson as a grieving father who takes revenge on a gang of drug dealers with a snowplow. It’s new on Peacock along with:
• Thriller “Mr. Mercedes: Season 3” (TV-MA) with Brendan Gleeson;
• “Good Times: Complete Series” (1974-1979, TV-PG), the landmark sitcom set in the Chicago projects.
The animated comedy “Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Early Years: Season 1” (not rated) debuts on Paramount+.
Tom Holland plays a troubled war vet who turns to robbing banks in “Cherry” (2021, R), directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. (Apple TV+)
A self-help author takes on a murderous stalker who returns to her home night after night in the horror film “Lucky” (2021, not rated) from writer/actor Brea Grant. (Shudder)
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and television can be found at streamondemandathome.com.