OUT NOW:
‘The Many Saints of Newark’ (HBO Max)
David Chase’s legendary HBO series The Sopranos has maintained a legacy that seems to only grow larger by the day, so perhaps it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that Chase has chosen now to revisit his saga about an Italian-American crime family led by Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini in an incomparable role). The Many Saints of Newark is a movie prequel to the series, with Michael Gandolfini stepping into the role his father played. Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark's history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters begin to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family’s hold over the increasingly race-torn city. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), who struggles to manage both his professional and personal responsibilities—and whose influence over his nephew will help make the impressionable teenager into the all-powerful mob boss we'll later come to know.
‘No One Gets Out Alive’ (Netflix)
Directed by Santiago Menghini, No One Gets Out Alive is a haunted house tale in the same vein as last year’s brilliant horror masterpiece His House. Part supernatural scares, part biting social commentary on life for immigrants. The film follows Amber (Cristina Rodlo), an undocumented immigrant in search of the American dream, but when she's forced to take a room in a boarding house, she finds herself in a nightmare she can't escape. It's a story terrifying in ways both extraordinary and tragically real.
‘Séance’ (Shudder)
Camille Meadows (Suki Waterhouse) is the new girl at the prestigious Edelvine Academy for Girls. Soon after her arrival, six girls invite her to join them in a late-night ritual, calling forth the spirit of a dead former student who reportedly haunts their halls. But before morning, one of the girls is dead, leaving the others wondering what they may have awakened. The film is written and directed by Simon Barrett, who is best known for his work with Adam Wingard in films like You’re Next, V/H/S, and Blair Witch.
‘Promising Young Woman’ (HBO Max)
Last year’s award-winning and critically acclaimed Promising Young Woman is finally back on streaming! From visionary director Emerald Fennell (Killing Eve) comes a delicious new take on revenge. Everyone said Cassie (Carey Mulligan) was a promising young woman... until a mysterious event abruptly derailed her future. But nothing in Cassie’s life is what it appears to be: she’s wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she’s living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs of the past in this thrilling and wildly entertaining story.
‘Sorry to Bother You’ (Amazon Prime Video)
There’s a good bit of dark irony in the fact Sorry to Bother You, a blatant, hilarious, and furious anti-capitalist satire written and directed by Boots Riley, is streaming on Amazon’s service, of all places. Set in an alternate present-day version of Oakland, California, struggling telemarketer Cassius Green (LaKeith Stanfield) discovers a magical key to professional success, which propels him into a macabre universe. What's the key? Check out the immediately memorable trailer and see for yourself.
‘Gemini’ (Hulu)
Written, directed and edited by Aaron Katz, Gemini is about a heinous crime that tests the complex relationship between a Hollywood starlet (Zoë Kravitz) and her tenacious personal assistant (Lola Kirke). As the assistant unravels the mystery, she must confront her own understanding of friendship, truth and celebrity. The film is a thrilling mystery soaked in neon colors that takes all kinds of unexpected turns.
‘Official Secrets’ (Netflix)
Directed by Gavin Hood (Ender’s Game, Eye in the Sky), Official Secrets is based on world-shaking true events. Keira Knightley stars in the untold story of British intelligence specialist Katharine Gun. One day in 2003, and the lead up to the Iraq War, Gun receives a memo with a shocking directive: collect blackmail worthy information on UN council members to force the vote for the invasion of Iraq. Unable to stand by and watch the world be rushed into an illegal war, Gun makes the gut-wrenching decision to defy her government and leak the memo to the press. So begins an explosive chain of events that will ignite an international firestorm, expose a vast political conspiracy, and put Gun and her family directly in harm’s way.
‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’ (HBO Max)
Filmmaker Taylor Sheridan is best known for his screenplays for Sicario, Hell or Highwater, and Wind River, which he also directed. His latest directing gig has him adapting the 2014 Michale Koryta novel that combines elements of survival thrillers, Westerns, and action. The film follows a young boy named Connor (Finn Little) who witnesses the murder of his father and is relentlessly pursued by the killers, played by Nicholas Hoult and Aidan Gillen. He runs into a veteran fire warden named Hannah (Angelina Jolie) who attempts to shelter home, but the killers soon begin to set the entire forest ablaze, putting everyone in extreme danger. The cast also includes John Bernthal, Tyler Perry, and Jake Weber.
‘Minor Premise’ (Hulu)
Directed by Eric Schultz, Minor Premise is a science-fiction wallop that’s as thrilling as it is thought-provoking. Attempting to surpass his father's legacy, a reclusive neuroscientist (Sathya Sridharan) becomes entangled in his experiment, pitting 10 fragments of his consciousness against each other.
‘Phantasm’ (Shudder)
In 1979, Don Coscarelli unleashed his horror opus Phantasm on an unsuspecting public. Once seen, never forgotten, Coscarelli’s singular masterpiece holds a special place in every horror aficionado’s heart. The film follows two brothers who discover their local mortuary hides a legion of hooded killer dwarfs, a flying drill-ball, and the demonic mortician who enslaves the souls of the damned. It’s a cult classic if there ever was one, and Shudder also has some of its various sequels, including Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead, Phantasm IV: Oblivion, and Phantasm Ravager.
CONTINUED WEEKLY EPISODES:
‘What If…?’ (Disney+)
The very first animated series from Marvel Studios, What If…? runs wild and plays loose with the sprawling cinematic universe that everyone knows. The series dives into the multiverse to show a variety of different timelines where major moments from the MCU play out differently, such as Agent Carter receiving the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers, Killmonger rescuing Tony Stark before he’s ever kidnapped by terrorists, and even an episode that involves superhero zombies. With a gorgeous cel-shaded animation style and an infinite amount of exciting and weird directions the show can go in, it’s sure to be a hit for Marvel fans. The first eight episodes are now streaming, with the latest exploring what would have happened had Ultron defeated the Avengers.
'Only Murders in the Building' (Hulu)
A wonderfully timely take on our nation’s ongoing obsession with true crime, Only Murders in the Building has been receiving glowing reviews since its first episodes aired. The series stars Steve Martin (who created it alongside John Hoffman), Martin Short and Selena Gomez as three strangers who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. Perhaps even more explosive are the lies they tell one another. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living among them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it’s too late. The first seven episodes are now streaming.
'Y: The Last Man' (Hulu)
Adapted from the hit comic book series of the same name by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, this series from Eliza Clark expands and even challenges to source material to create something even greater. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, a man named Yorick Brown (Ben Schnetzer) is the last surviving male human on the planet. The series follows Yorick as he traverses the new world, as its survivors struggle with their losses and attempt to restore world society—led by Yorick’s mother, who is the new U.S. President Jennifer Brown (Diane Lane). The first four episodes are now steaming.
'Creepshow' (Shudder)
The classic horror anthology series by Stephen King and George A. Romero was finally brought back from the dead in 2019 thanks to Shudder, delighting fans and capturing the spirit of the original films. Executive produced by showrunner Greg Nicotero, who is best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Creepshow’s third season features all new horrifying tales. A comic book comes to life in a series of vignettes, exploring terrors ranging from murder, creatures, monsters, and delusions to the supernatural and unexplainable. You never know what will be on the next page. The first two episodes are now streaming.
Also streaming now:
Netflix - 'Destination Wedding', 'Smaller and Smaller Circles', 'A Knight's Tale', 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?', 'Bad Teacher', 'Desperado', 'Eagle Eye', 'Gladiator', 'Fearless', 'Léon: The Professional', 'Live by Night', 'Malcolm X', 'Once Upon a Time in Mexico', 'Project X', 'Seinfeld', 'Step Brothers', 'The Guilty', 'The Devil Inside', 'Titanic', 'Unthinkable', 'Waterworld', 'Zodiac'
Hulu - 'New Order', 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence', 'Air Force One', 'Ali', 'Dr. No', 'Escape from Alcatraz', 'Goldeneye', 'Goldfinger', 'The Hunger Games Quadrilogy', 'License to Kill', 'Mad Max', 'Queen of the Damned', 'Resident Evil: Retribution', 'Signs', 'Theater of Blood', 'The Village'
Shudder - 'Escape From New York', 'Motel Hell', 'Razorback', 'Blacula', 'Scream Blacula Scream', 'JD's Revenge', 'Sugar Hill', 'The House That Screamed', 'The Poughkeepsie Tapes', 'The Shout'
HBO Max - 'All the President's Men', 'American Graffiti', 'Argo', 'Bad Boys', 'Bad Boys II', 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure', 'Black Christmas', 'Blazing Saddles', 'City of God', 'Gangs of New York', 'Gangster Squad', 'Hacksaw Ridge', 'Hitman', 'House of Wax', 'Just Mercy', 'Kill Bill', 'Lincoln', 'Mama', 'Misery', 'The Running Man', 'Natural Born Killers', 'Orphan', 'Sherlock Holmes', 'Super 8', 'Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans', 'The Book of Eli', 'The Invisible Man', 'Tim Burton's Corpse Bride', 'Twelve Monkeys', 'Warm Bodies', 'XXX'
Amazon Prime Video - 'Despicable Me 2', 'Die Hard', 'Fight Club', 'Last Action Hero', 'Taken', 'The Grudge 2', 'The Last Exorcism'
Disney+ - 'LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales', 'Maleficent'
COMING THIS WEEK:
Netflix - 'Dave Chappelle: The Closer', 'Escape the Undetaker', 'Bad Sport', 'Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things', 'The Blacklist (Season 8)', 'There's Someone Inside Your House'
Hulu - 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show', 'Cannabis Evolution'
Shudder - 'Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum', 'The Endless', 'Night of the Demons', 'Witchboard', 'The Mutilator', 'V/H/S/94'
HBO Max - 'Voyagers'
Amazon Prime Video - 'Prometheus'
Disney+ - 'Black Widow', 'Among the Stars', 'Muppets Haunted Mansion'
