Complete ‘Anarchy’ saga now available on multiple services
What’s new to watch this week on pay-per-view and streaming services:
“Sons of Anarchy: Season 7,” the final season of the outlaw motorcycle drama that became a surprise hit for the FX network, is now available to Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus subscribers. Which means all three services offer the entire saga, a violent drama of family, brotherhood, loyalty, betrayal, and honor with Shakespearean dimensions (it opens as a leather jacket “Hamlet”) and tragic twists. It made Charlie Hunnam a bad boy icon, and the final season features guest appearances by Lea Michelle (of “Glee”), Marilyn Manson and Courtney Love.
Pay-per-view/ video on demand
“Paddington,” based on the British storybooks of a gentle talking bear with a taste for marmalade, was a modest hit in the U.S. but a smash in Great Britain. The cuddly bear is brought to life with CGI, but otherwise, it’s a live action comedy with Nicole Kidman doing villain duty and a whimsical humor and a sweet disposition keeping it gently PG for mild toilet humor (Paddington has some trouble managing indoor plumbing). Also on Blu-ray and DVD and at Redbox, and VOD from iTunes, Amazon Instant, Vudu and other services.
Less family friendly is the R-rated comedy “The Wedding Ringer” with Kevin Hart as a best man for hire and Josh Gad as the geeky groom.
Also new: “The Gambler” with Mark Wahlberg as a college professor and compulsive gambler, and the award-winning French-Canadian drama “Mommy,” plus “The Boy Next Door,” a romantic thriller with Jennifer Lopez that received some of the worst reviews of the year so far. All of these are rated R.
Netflix
The first of the month brings a new batch of older titles to the library. Reese Witherspoon stars in the powderpuff law school comedy “Legally Blonde,” and Julianne Moore is “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio,” a time-capsule drama set in the 1950s. Martin Scorsese’s 1978 concert movie “The Last Waltz” features the Band and friends, and the biopic “Jimi: All is by My Side” stars Andre Benjamin as Hendrix but features no original Hendrix music.
For foodies, there’s the new Netflix original series “Chef’s Table,” which goes into the kitchens of six of the most renowned culinary stars in the world.
Amazon Instant Prime
Kurt Russell was born ready for “Big Trouble in Little China,” John Carpenter’s wild and hilarious 1986 tribute to Hong Kong martial arts fantasies. The action has a much tougher edge in “Payback” (1999), a violent adaptation of Richard Stark’s crime classic “The Hunter” starring Mel Gibson.