Stream on Demand: Netflix series get new bodies, new powers
What’s new for home viewing on Video on Demand and Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and other streaming services.
Top streams
for the week
Anthony Mackie takes over the lead in the second season of the Netflix Original Series “Altered Carbon” (2020, TV-MA), a science fiction thriller based on the novels of Richard K. Morgan, set in a future where human consciousness can be downloaded into new bodies. Eight episodes on Netflix.
A teenager (Sophia Lillis of “It”) struggling with the high school, hormones, and sexuality suddenly manifests superpowers in “I Am Not Okay With This” (2020, TV-PG), a Netflix Original Series from the producers of “Stranger Things” and based on the graphic novel by Charles Forsman. Series showrunner Jonathan Entwistle describes the show as a superhero movie made by John Hughes. Seven episodes on Netflix.
Elsa and Anna return for a new quest into the unknown in the animated musical fantasy “Frozen II” (2019, PG), a sequel with a more dramatic story and greater stakes and a fine story that doesn’t quite match the musical heights of the original. It was an Oscar nominee for its centerpiece original song. On Cable On Demand and VOD, also on DVD and at Redbox.
Rian Johnson earned an Oscar nomination for his original screenplay for “Knives Out” (2019, PG-13), a murder mystery in the Agatha Christie with a modern sensibility and a witty sense of humor. Daniel Craig is the gentleman detective and Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Shannon are among the suspects. On Cable On Demand and VOD, also on DVD and at Redbox.
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
Nicolas Cage stars in “Color Out of Space” (2019, not rated), Richard Stanley’s surreal adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft horror story. It’s wild, pulpy, and a little psychedelic, and even more over-the-top than Cage’s performance. Also on DVD and at Redbox. Also new:
· Offbeat comedy “Wild Nights with Emily” (2018, PG-13) starring Molly Shannon as Emily Dickinson;
· Hockey drama “Goalie” (2020, not rated) starring Kevin Pollak and Mark O’Brien as Terry Sawchuck.
Available same day as select theaters nationwide is action comedy “Guns Akimbo” (2020, R) with Daniel Radcliffe and the Southern Gothic thriller “Blood on Her Name” (2019, not rated) with Bethany Anne Lind and Elizabeth Röhm.
Netflix
Based on the bestselling young adult novel by Jennifer Niven, “All the Bright Places” (2020, not rated) stars Elle Fanning and Justice Smith as high school outcasts who form a bond while struggling with the emotional and mental scars of their pasts.
Two indie horrors make their respective streaming debuts: “Girl on the Third Floor” (2019, not rated), featuring a fixer-upper-turned haunted house with bleeding walls and vengeful ghosts, and “Every Time I Die” (2019, not rated), a low-budget thriller about the spirit of a murdered man jumping through the bodies of the living.
Kid stuff: “The Angry Birds Movie 2” (2019, PG) takes a loony turn into crazy comedy and “Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution” (2019, Japan, TV-Y7), which makes its stateside debut on Netflix, is a CGI remake of the 1998 “Pokémon: The First Movie.”
Streaming TV: Three new collections of the game show “Jeopardy!” are now available, including a selection celebrating hose Alex Trebek.
True stories: The six-part limited series “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” (2020, not rated) investigates the death of an eight-year-old boy and the failures to protect him from systematic abuse. Also new:
· “Unabomber: In His Own Words” (2020, TV-14), a four-part documentary featuring the only existing interview with domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski;
· Reality series “Restaurants on the Edge: Season 1” (2020, not rated), which chronicles the efforts to revive failing restaurants all over the world.
International movies: A Republican fighter locks himself after the Spanish Civil War in “The Endless Trench (La trinchera infinita)” (Spain, 2019, not rated, with subtitles), a fictional drama based on real-life events.
International TV: The first African Netflix original, the English language “Queen Sono: Season 1” (South Africa, 2020, not rated) is a thriller about a spy (Pearl Thusi) infiltrating the underworld to find her mother’s killer. Also new:
· “Followers: Season 1” (Japan, 2020, not rated, with subtitles), a drama of the lives of Tokyo women in the social media age;
· “Hyena: Season 1” (South Korea, TV-14, with subtitles), a legal drama about cutthroat rivals (new episodes every Friday and Saturday);
· Romantic drama “Hi Bye, Mama!: Season 1” (South Korea, TV-14, with subtitles), about a ghost given 49 more days of life with her husband and child (new episodes every Saturday and Sunday).
Stand-up: “Pete Davidson: Alive From New York” (2020, not rated) presents the “SNL” cast member solo, and from India comes “Amit Tandon: Family Tandoncies” (2020, not rated, with subtitles).
Amazon Prime Video
Streaming TV: James Norton and Robson Green return in the popular British mystery series “Grantchester: Season 4” (2019, TV-14). Also new: “The Best of The Johnny Carson Show: Seasons 1-2” (1974-1991).
International TV: The dead return to a remote Alpine village in “The Returned: Complete Series“ (France, 2013-2015, with subtitles), an acclaimed supernatural drama with a melancholy atmosphere.
Prime Video and Hulu
Two devoted brothers turn to one another in “Run the Race” (2019, PG), a faith-based young adult sports drama produced by Tim Tebow (Prime Video and Hulu).
Hulu
The documentary “After Parkland” (2019, not rated) follows students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and their families in the aftermath of one of the deadliest high school shootings in American history.
Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore, and Billy Crudup star in “After the Wedding” (2019, PG-13), a remake of the Danish romantic drama.
Streaming TV: The premiere of “The Voice: Season 18” is now available. New episodes stream the day after their network debut.
HBO Now
“Annabelle Comes Home” (2019, R), the third film in the possessed doll horror franchise, becomes a “Conjuring” crossover costarring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the paranormal investigators.
Stand-up: “Whitmer Thomas: The Golden One” (2020, TV-MA).
Other streams
Disney+ presents offers two animated “Star Wars” shows to tide you over until the return of “The Mandalorian.” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Final Season” (2020) wraps the series after a six hiatus and “Star Wars: Resistance – Season 2” (2019-2020) arrives from Disney XD.
The mystery series “Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones” (2020) with Juliette Lewis and Ryan Kwanten streams on Facebook Watch with new episodes each Thursday. (The first season was based on Spokane author Stephanie Oakes’ “The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly.” It’s still available to stream.)
“Justin Bieber: Seasons” (2020) follows the pop celebrity as he works on his first new album in years. Presented in ten-minute chapters on YouTube.
The BBC intelligence thriller “MI-5” is one of the best spy dramas of the past few decades. BritBox now features the first five seasons (2002-2006). Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes anchor the initial seasons but Peter Firth remains the show’s foundation over the course of the series.
Criterion Channel presents collections of films “Directed by Jean-Luc Godard” and “Starring Anna Karina” include seven collaborations between the two French icons, among them “A Woman Is a Woman” (France, 1961), “Band of Outsiders” (France, 1964), and “Made in U.S.A” (France, 1966). The “Jean-Luc Godard” collection spans 22 films and over 50 years and includes such landmarks as “Weekend” (France, 1967), “Hail Mary” (France, 1985), and “Goodbye to Language” (France, 2014), and Karina also stars in Jacques Rivette’s “The Nun” (France, 1966) (all not rated, with subtitles). Also new on Criterion Channel:
· “Three Starring Montgomery Clift” including “Red River” (1948) with John Wayne and “A Place in the Sun” (1951) with Elizabeth Taylor;
· “Lindsay Anderson’s Mick Travis Trilogy” starring Malcolm McDowell;
· Fatih Akin’s searing “The Edge of Heaven” (Germany, 2007, not rated, with subtitles).
New on disc and available at Redbox
“Knives Out,” “Frozen II,” “Color Out of Space”
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and TV can be found at http://streamondemandathome.com.