Stream on Demand: Ryan Reynolds is a video game character in ‘Free Guy’
What’s new for home viewing on Video on Demand and Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime and other streaming services.
Top streams for the week
The action comedy “Free Guy” (2021, PG-13) stars Ryan Reynolds as a wildly optimistic, utterly cheerful fellow who discovers he’s a background character in a violent video game, thanks to the intervention of a rebellious player (Jodie Comer) who prods him to self-awareness. (Disney+ and HBO Max)
Wes Anderson pays tribute to a vanishing breed of magazine journalism in “The French Dispatch” (2021, R), a playfully comic anthology of stories from a fictional French city in the late 1960s. It’s an overstuffed bonbon with a magnificent cast that includes Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Bill Murray. (HBO Max)
Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, Penélope Cruz, Lupita Nyongo and Fan Bingbing play top agents from rival national agencies who team up in “The 355” (2022, PG-13), an all-female spy squad spectacle directed by Simon Kinberg. Streams on Peacock the same day it arrives on VOD and DVD. (Peacock)
The end-of-the-world comedy “How It Ends” (2021, R) counts down the last days through the feel-good odyssey of a young woman (Zoe Lister-Jones, also co-director and co-writer) making amends. It was shot during the early days of the pandemic and uses the empty streets of L.A. to good effect. (Hulu and Paramount+)
In “Vikings: Valhalla” (TV-MA), a sequel to the hit cable adventure set 100 years later, the legendary Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett) and his sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson) leave Greenland to take vengeance on Viking invaders in Europe. (Netflix)
The supernatural thriller “From” (TV-MA) stars Harold Perrineau as a sheriff protecting the citizens of a mysterious small town that won’t let anyone leave from vicious creatures that attack at night. Three episodes available, new episodes on Sundays. (Epix)
NBC revives “Law and Order” (TV-14), one of television’s landmark crime dramas, with returning stars Sam Waterston and Anthony Anderson. New episodes stream on Fridays. (Hulu and Peacock)
The heist thriller “The Endgame” (TV-14) with Morena Baccarin as a criminal mastermind and Ryan Michelle Bathé as an FBI agent begins with new episodes streaming Tuesdays. (Hulu and Peacock)
News: Netflix and Amazon Prime Video subscribers will both be paying more for their service starting in March. Monthly plans at Netflix increase $1 to $2, depending on the plan. Prime membership increases $2 on the monthly plan and $20 year on the annual plan.
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, and Al Pacino star in “House of Gucci” (2021, R), the scandalous story of scheming, betrayal and murder in the famous fashion family. Also on DVD and at Redbox.
Joaquin Phoenix is a radio journalist who temporarily takes in his rambunctious nephew in “C’mon C’mon” (2021, R).
Netflix
Madea returns in “Tyler Perry’s a Madea Homecoming” (2022, TV-MA), a new comedy directed and written by and starring Tyler Perry in drag.
Interactive programming: The animated quiz show “Cat Burglar” (TV-14) arrives from the creators of “Black Mirror.”
HBO Max
The documentary “Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches” (2022, TV-MA) brings to life excerpts from the speeches of the anti-slavery activist.
Free streams
“Reno 911! Defunded” (2022, TV-14) reunites the original cast members of the Comedy Central sitcom for a new season. (The Roku Channel)
New on disc and at Redbox
“House of Gucci,” “The 355,” “American Underdog”
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and television can be found at streamondemandathome.com.