What to Stream: This week offers fresh bounty of movies, TV shows, comedy specials
This week brings a wealth of varied new movies, comedy specials and series to streaming services, so here’s a list of highlights and what to watch every day this week, based on the new releases.
On Tuesday, Ari Aster’s Grand Guignol of anxiety and mommy issues, “Beau Is Afraid,” became available for purchase on digital platforms. This sprawling, epic, guilt-ridden odyssey follows Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) as he attempts to pay a visit to his mother (Patti LuPone), encountering harrowing, absurdist and violent obstacles along the way, while he ponders the potentials of his life unlived. While Aster is known for his horror films “Hereditary” and “Midsommar,” “Beau is Afraid” doesn’t quite fit into a specific genre, though it is a deeply hilarious and wholly unique slice of cinema from one of our most fascinating visionaries. You’ll be puzzling through its visual jokes and sheer audacity for days.
The next day, decompress from the three-hour “Beau Is Afraid” with something short and sweet, and just in time for Father’s Day – documentarian Jay Rosenblatt’s Oscar-nominated short documentary “How Do You Measure a Year?” This 30-minute doc features a simple but poignant gambit: an interview with Rosenblatt’s daughter Ella every day on her birthday, in which the filmmaker asks her the same questions. It’s a beautiful, intimate and revealing device to illustrate the passage of time, the brevity of childhood and the delicate evolution of a father-daughter relationship. Stream it Wednesday on Max.
After “Beau Is Afraid” and “How Do You Measure a Year,” it will be time for something fun and thrilling, like the Hulu original film “Jagged Mind.” This sexy psychological horror thriller follows a young woman (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) who starts experiencing strange blackouts and visions after she begins dating a mysterious new woman (Shannon Woodward). “Jagged Mind,” directed by Kelley Kali, streams on Hulu Thursday.
To ring in the weekend, check out the latest period drama, “Chevalier,” starring Kelvin Harrison Jr. as the brilliant composer, musician and fencer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who broke boundaries in 18th-century France. Born on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, the son of a white Frenchman and an enslaved African woman, Joseph was educated in France to take advantage of his musical gifts, and went on to befriend Marie Antoinette, rival Mozart and join up with the revolutionary forces when war broke out. The film, directed by Stephen Williams, explores some of the more gossipy tidbits from the history books, but his is a story worth telling, now more than ever. Purchase “Chevalier” on digital platforms on Friday.
Kick back with some comedy on Saturday with the latest special from the effervescent John Early (“Search Party” on Max, “The Afterparty” on Apple TV+, “The Characters” on Netflix). For his first HBO comedy special, “John Early: Now More Than Ever,” the comedian goes musical for this delirious sendup of a behind-the-scenes concert documentary.
And to round out the weekend, something familiar and comforting on Sunday night with the return of “The Righteous Gemstones.” The third season of the Danny McBride comedy finds the famed televangelist family grappling with a whole new set of challenges as the three Gemstone siblings (McBride, Adam Devine, Edi Patterson) jockey for power and influence in the church started by their father (John Goodman). Catch the season premiere Sunday night on Max.