Stream on Demand: ‘The Harder They Fall’ features Black cowboys, modern music in old West
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
“The Harder They Fall” (2021, R) draws from real-life characters of the old West to tell a fiction drama of African American cowboys. Jonathan Majors stars as the outlaw leader who reunites his gang to take out an old enemy (Idris Elba). It’s a classic Western with contemporary music and a star-studded cast that includes Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo and LaKeith Stanfield. (Netflix)
The biographical drama “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain” (2021, PG-13) stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the eccentric British artist who became famous in the 1880s for his playful, almost psychedelic paintings of cats. Claire Foy and Andrea Riseborough co-star. Streams two weeks after its theatrical release. (Amazon Prime Video)
Tom Hanks stars as a robotics engineer in a post-apocalyptic future who creates a robot (Caleb Landry Jones) to look after his dog in “Finch” (2021, PG-13). The science-fiction drama follows the three on an odyssey to across the American wasteland. (Apple TV+)
“Dalgliesh” (not rated) stars Bertie Carvel as enigmatic detective and poet Adam Dalgliesh in a new British mysteries series based on the novels by P.D. James and set in 1970s England. Two episodes available, new episodes on Mondays. (Acorn TV)
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
A mysterious man (Winston Duke) interviews souls to determine which will get a chance to be reborn on Earth in the metaphysical drama “Nine Days” (2021, R). Also on DVD.
Netflix
Keira Knightley is a songwriter and Mark Ruffalo a music producer who helps develop her sound in “Begin Again” (2013, R).
The Christmas movies begins with the romantic comedy “Love Hard” (2021, TV-14) with Nina Dobrev and Darren Barnet. Too soon?
International TV: “Gloria” (Portugal, TV-MA, with subtitles) is an espionage drama set amid the Cold War machinations of 1968 Portugal.
True crime: “Catching Killers” (TV-MA) spotlights the investigators behind infamous serial killer cases.
Amazon Prime Video
The eight-episode reality-TV series “Tampa Baes” (TV-MA) follows a group of young lesbian friends in a gay hotspot on the Florida shoreline.
Hulu
The four-part series “Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi: Holiday Edition” (TV-14) looks at traditions through the lens of a different immigrant culture and city.
HBO Max
“Head of the Class” (TV-G) reboots the 1980s sitcom with Isabella Gomez in the role of the inspirational teacher of a group of overachieving high school students.
Apple TV+
A scientist taps into the brains of the dead in the limited series “Dr. Brain” (South Korea, 2021, TV-MA, with subtitles) from filmmaker Kim Jee-woon. New episodes on Fridays.
Kid stuff: Jack McBrayer hosts “Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show” (TV-Y).
Other streams
Elijah Wood plays the FBI analyst who interviewed Ted Bundy (Luke Kirby) after his conviction in “No Man of God” (2021, not rated). (AMC+)
Judge Judy Sheindlin takes her daytime reality court series to streaming in “Judy Justice” (not rated). New shows with real-life cases debut every weekday. Free with ads. (IMDbTV)
New on disc this week
“Nine Days,” “Pig”
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and television can be found at streamondemandathome.com.