‘Hero’ a compelling political drama
What’s new for home viewing on video-on-demand and Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services.
HBO Now
“Show Me a Hero,” a rich and nuanced real-life drama from David Simon (“The Wire”), stars Oscar Isaac as the young mayor in the middle of a ferocious public fight over urban desegregation. It’s a microcosm of our polarizing political climate set in 1980s Yonkers, and it is compelling human drama. The first two hours of the mini-series are now available to HBO and HBO Now subscribers and concludes over two successive Sunday nights. Features adult language.
Also new: “The Theory of Everything,” which won an Oscar for Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking. PG-13.
Pay-per-view / video on demand
“Little Boy,” a family drama about a spunky little kid who turns to prayer to prove his faith while his father fights in World War II, comes from the producers of “The Bible.” The PG-13 rating is for scenes of war violence. Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson star.
The documentary “Lambert & Stamp” profiles the men who managed the British rock band The Who. R for language, drug use and brief nudity.
Available same day as select theaters nationwide is “She’s Funny That Way,” a modern screwball comedy with Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston (rated R), and the documentary “Being Evel” on the legendary motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel (no rating).
Netflix
Steve Carrell is “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” (2012) during the last days of life on Earth, and Keira Knightly signs on for his final road trip to track down his high school sweetheart in this low-key comedy. R for language and brief violence.
“Lord of War” (2005), starring Nicolas Cage, uses savage satire to examine the build-up of the international arms trade, and the award-winning indie drama “Pariah” (2011) follows a young African-American lesbian in the Bronx coming to terms with her sexuality. Both rated R.
Amazon Instant Prime
The documentary “Misery Loves Comedy” (2015) poses the question “Do you have to be miserable to be funny?” to dozens of comedians, who joke their way through serious answers. It’s not rated but features adult language and discussion of drugs.
For young adults is “If I Stay” (2014), starring Chloë Grace Moretz as high school girl caught between life and death after a car accident (PG-13), and for the younger set is Robert Rodriguez’s imaginative juvenile fantasy “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl” (2005), based on stories of the director’s 7-year-old son (PG).