Stream On Demand: Action, thrillers and series returns
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
Benedict Cumberbatch is “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (2022, PG-13), jumping through alternate realities to protect a gifted teenager (Xochitl Gomez) from a ruthlessly driven Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Director Sam Raimi fills this odyssey with wild imagery along with his brand of offbeat humor. (Disney+)
In “Downton Abbey: A New Era” (2022, PG), the second feature film spinoff of the hit TV series, the Grantham clan travels to the Ssouth of France to visit the villa that the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) has unexpectedly inherited. Pretty much the entire cast of the show returns for the adventure. (Peacock)
The animated comedy “The Bad Guys” (2022, PG) follows a team of notorious criminal animals (voiced by Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson and Anthony Ramos) as they try their hand at being good, with wildly chaotic results. (Peacock)
“Last Night in Soho” (2021, R) transports a naïve small-town girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in modern London back to swinging ‘60s Soho and the life of a glamorous aspiring singer (Anya Taylor-Joy). Edgar Wright’s colorful odyssey is part time-travel adventure and part ghost-story thriller. (HBO Max)
Joey King is “The Princess” (2022, R) in this action-thriller about a medieval princess who turns warrior to save herself and her family from a sociopathic king (Dominic Cooper). This bloody action film is no Disney Princess fantasy. (Hulu)
Chris Pratt plays a Navy SEAL officer whose platoon is ambushed during a high-stakes covert mission in the limited series “The Terminal List” (TV-MA). When he returns stateside, he starts uncovering evidence of a conspiracy and makes it his mission to solve the mystery after he survives an assassination attempt. (Prime Video)
Three highly anticipated streaming shows return this week. “Only Murders in the Building: Season 2” (TV-MA) finds the three amateur detective podcasters (Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez) the prime suspects in a new murder. New episodes on Tuesdays. (Hulu)
Also new is the fourth season of “Westworld” (TV-MA, HBO Max, new episodes on Sundays) and the final episodes of “Stranger Things: Season 4” (TV-14, Netflix).
Classic pick: The all-star MGM adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield” (1935) is handsome, entertaining and a prime example of Hollywood filmmaking of the ‘30s at its best. (HBO Max)
Netflix
A young singer (Grace Marie Bradley) on the brink of stardom is torn between her domineering family and her queer identity in “BEAUTY” (2022, R), a drama set in the 1980s.
Hulu
The documentary “Machine Gun Kelly’s Life in Pink” (2022, TV-MA) take viewers into the studio between snapshots of successful rap-rocker’s life.
Rami Malek won an Academy Award playing Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2018, PG-13).
HBO Max
The documentary “Julia” (2021, PG-13) profiles legendary cookbook author and TV host Julia Child.
Disney+
“Baymax!: Season 1” (TV-G) gives the inflatable health care companion robot his own animated series.
Amazon Prime Video
Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson star in the romantic comedy “Marry Me” (2022, PG-13), also streaming on Peacock.
New on disc and at Redbox
“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” “Firestarter”
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and TV can be found at https://streamondemandathome.com.