Stream on Demand: ‘Good Omens’ among the movies and shows to see this week
What’s new for home viewing on Video on Demand and Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and other streaming services.
Top streams for the week
Michael Sheen is an epicurean angel and David Tennant a rebellious demon who team up to stop Armageddon in the Amazon Original limited series “Good Omens” (2019), a comic fantasy scripted by Neil Gaiman from the novel he wrote with Terry Pratchett. Sheen and Tennant have great fun with their maverick celestial oddballs and make a great odd couple buddy team in the witty, offbeat, often absurdist comedy. Jon Hamm, Michael McKean, and Miranda Richardson costar, Frances McDormand narrates, and the soundtrack is filled with Queen songs. All six episodes streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Ava DuVernay revisits the miscarriage of justice of The Central Park Five – African-American teenagers wrongfully accused and convicted of a brutal rape in 1989 and exonerated in 2002 – in the limited series “When They See Us” (2019), a dramatization that focuses on the lives of the five young men over 25 years as they survive prison and struggle to return to society. Vera Farmiga, Michael K. Williams, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, and Blair Underwood costar. Four episodes streaming on Netflix.
More than a decade after the series was abruptly cancelled by HBO, “Deadwood: The Movie” (2019, TV-MA) reunites creator/writer David Milch and the cast to bring the story of the legendary frontier Gold Rush town to a conclusion. Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Kim Dickens, Molly Parker, John Hawkes, and Robin Weigert headline the feature-length conclusion. On all HBO platforms.
Angourie Rice is a teenage department store clerk in “Ladies in Black” (2018, PG). Bruce Beresford directs the coming of age drama set in 1959 Australia costarring Julia Ormond and Rachael Taylor. On Cable on Demand and VOD.
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
Isabelle Huppert and Chloë Grace Moretz star in the thriller “Greta” (2019, R) from director Neil Jordan. Also new: science fiction apocalypse film “Starfish” (2019, not rated).
Available same day as select theaters nationwide is Brian De Palma’s “Domino” (2019, R), a spy thriller with “Game of Thrones” stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Carice van Houten.
Netflix
Comedians Ali Wong and Randall Park write and star in “Always Be My Maybe” (2019, not rated), a Netflix Original romantic comedy costarring Daniel Dae Kim and Keanu Reeves.
Andy Samberg is Jose Canseco and Akiva Schaffer is Mark McGwire in the “visual rap album” “The Lonely Island Presents the Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience” (2019, TV-MA).
Inspired by a true story, comic crime thriller “How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast): Season 1” (Germany, with subtitles) is a teenage “Breaking Bad” about a high school kid who builds Europe’s biggest online drug empire from his bedroom.
“My Week with Marilyn” (2011, R), based on the memoir (of dubious authenticity) of a production assistant (played by Eddie Redmayne) on “The Prince and the Showgirl,” stars Michelle Williams in an Oscar-nominated performance as Marilyn Monroe and Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier. Also new:
- family fantasy “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” (2018, PG) with Keira Knightley and Helen Mirren;
- indie comedy “The One I Love” (2014, R) starring Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss play young marrieds on the verge of separation;
- “Death at a Funeral” (2010, R), a comedy starring Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, and Tracy Jordan.
The first two seasons of the Starz historical romantic fantasy “Outlander,” based on the novels of Diana Gabalon and starring Caitriona Balfe as a nurse from 1945 England who is carried back to 1743 Scotland, are now streaming. Also new:
- “Historical Roasts: Season 1” hosted by Jeff Ross and featuring comedians playing famous historic figures;
- CW reboot of “Charmed: Season 1” (2018) with Melonie Diaz, Madeleine Mantock, and Sarah Jeffery as magical sisters;
- “Supergirl: Season 4” with Jon Cryer as guest villain Lex Luthor;
- “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: Season 4” with John Constantine (Matt Ryan) joining the time travelling superhero team;
- the second season of the talk show “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman” with guests Kanye West, Ellen DeGeneres, Tiffany Haddish, Lewis Hamilton, and Melinda Gates.
Foreign affairs: an aspiring young businesswoman and an enigmatic conman team up to recover her stolen car in the Netflix Original Bollywood comedy “Chopsticks” (India, 2019, not rated, with subtitles). Also new: “
Foreign language TV: “Killer Ratings” is a true crime documentary series about a TV host accused of covering up a murder. Also new: season two of the murder mystery series “Zone Blanche“ (France, with subtitles).
Amazon Prime Video
“Ernest and Celestine” (2014, not rated) was nominated for best animated feature at the 2014 Academy Awards.
The documentary “The Other F Word” (2011, not rated) profiles punk rockers as they become fathers raising their own families.
Prime Video and Hulu
Rachel McAdams is a young producer playing referee between the feuding hosts (Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton) of a failing TV morning show in the romantic comedy “Morning Glory” (2010, PG-13) (Prime Video and Hulu).
Nicolas Cage hunts a serial killer in “The Frozen Ground” (2013, R), a thriller based on a true story, costarring John Cusack and Vanessa Hudgens (Prime Video and Hulu).
Hulu
Two British warships trapped in Arctic ice in 1848 battle to survive in “The Terror: Season 1” starring Jared Harris, Tobias Menzies, and Ciaran Hinds. More streaming TV:
- “Broad City: Season 5” (Comedy Central), the final season of the skit comedy series from Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson;
- cop spoof “Angie Tribeca: Season 4” with Rashida Jones, Jere Burns, and Bobby Cannavale as Angie’s teenage son.
Available Saturday is the documentary “Ask Dr. Ruth” (2019, not rated), a profile of America’s most famous sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer.
HBO Now
David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” (2018, R) is not a remake but a sequel to the original 1978 horror classic with Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode, now a paranoid survivalist who is ready for the return of Michael after 40 years. John Carpenter, director of the original, is one of the producers and composes the score.
“Running with Beto” (2019, not rated), a documentary profile of politician Beto O’Rourke, comes to HBO from its film festival run.
If you’re still mourning the end of a certain fantasy epic about kingdoms and dragons, you can get behind the scenes for a last look at the final season with the documentary “Game of Thrones: The Last Watch” (2019, TV-MA).
Available Saturday night is “Bad Times at the El Royale” (2018, R), a thriller set at a run-down Lake Tahoe hotel starring Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Jon Hamm and Chris Hemsworth.
Other streams
“Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story” (2019, not rated) profiles the ordeal of the basketball star’s battle with mental illness. On Showtime Anytime.
The Criterion Channel spotlights the films of two American Independent women filmmakers this month. The Kelly Reichardt Masterclass includes the beautiful Michelle Williams collaborations “Wendy and Lucy” (2008, R) and “Meek’s Cutoff” (2010, PG) and Ann Biller is represented by her feminist take on genre filmmaking with “Viva” (2007, not rated) and “The Love Witch” (2016, not rated).
Also added this month are classic films by Italian filmmaking brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (“Padre Padrone,” 1977, “The Night of the Shooting Stars,” 1982) and dry romantic comedies by South Korean director Hong Sang-soo (“The Day He Arrives,” 2011, “On the Beach at Night Alone,” 2017, “Claire’s Camera,” 2017), all with subtitles.
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New on disc
“Greta,” “A Vigilante,” “Outlander: Season 4,” “Blue Velvet (Criterion)”
Now available at Redbox: “Greta,” “Drunk Parents,” “A Vigilante”
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and TV can be found at http://streamondemandathome.com.