Stream on Demand: ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ ‘Uncle Frank’ and holiday offerings
What’s new for home viewing on Video on Demand and Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO and other streaming services.
Top streams for the week
“Hillbilly Elegy” (2020, R), based on the bestselling memoir by J.D. Vance, stars Gabriel Basso as a Yale law student drawn back to his Northern Kentucky home by his meth-addict mother (Amy Adams). Haley Bennett, Frieda Pinto and Glenn Close also star, and Ron Howard directs. (Netflix)
Paul Bettany is “Uncle Frank” (2020, R) in Alan Ball’s road movie about a closeted gay literature professor in 1969 New York who reluctantly returns to his South Carolina home with his niece (Sophia Lillis). (Amazon Prime).
Charlize Theron plays Megyn Kelly and Nicole Kidman is Gretchen Carlson in “Bombshell” (2019, R), based on the true story of the toxic atmosphere of Fox News. Margot Robbie and John Lithgow co-star. (Amazon Video and Hulu)
Based on a true story, contemporary war thriller “Mosul” (2019, not rated, with subtitles) follows an Iraqi SWAT team that breaks all the rules to drive ISIS out of their city. (Netflix)
Mackenzie Foy is the spirited teenage girl who bonds with a wild horse in the new adaptation of “Black Beauty” (2020, TV-PG). (Disney+)
Kaley Cuoco is “The Flight Attendant” (TV-MA) in the eight-episode comic murder mystery. Three episodes available, new episodes each Thursday. (HBO Max)
“Saved by the Bell: Season 1” (TV-14), updates the 1990s high school sitcom with original stars Elizabeth Berkley, Mario Lopez and Mark-Paul Gosselaar as adults with their own kids. Three episodes available, new episodes each Tuesday. (Peacock)
Holiday trimmings
“Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” (2020, not rated) is a holiday musical with Christine Baranski as a Scrooge-like cynic and Dolly Parton (who also produced and wrote 14 original songs) as an angel named, appropriately, Angel. (Netflix)
“The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two” (2020, TV-PG), a sequel to the 2018 adventure directed by Chris Columbus, features Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus. (Netflix)
The romantic comedy “Happiest Season” (2020, PG-13) stars Kristen Stewart as a woman at her girlfriend’s (Mackenzie Davis) family Christmas dinner who discovers she hasn’t come out to her parents. (Hulu)
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
Diane Lane and Kevin Costner play grandparents who, after the death of their son, go on a mission to rescue their grandson from a criminal family in “Let Him Go” (2020, R).
“Stardust” (2020, not rated) stars Johnny Flynn as young David Bowie at the beginning of his career.
Netflix
True stories: “Shawn Mendes: In Wonder” (2020, not rated) profiles the top-selling singer-songwriter on his world tour, and “Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” (2020) goes behind the scenes of Debbie Allen’s annual “Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” production.
Based on a true story, “Most Wanted” (2020, R) stars Josh Hartnett as an investigative journalist who uncovers a case of gross injustice that sent a Canadian man to a Thai prison.
Standup: “Larry the Cable Guy: Remain Seated” (not rated).
Hulu
The three-part limited series “Black Narcissus” (TV-MA) is a hothouse melodrama starring Gemma Arterton as a British nun in a Himalayan convent in 1914.
HBO Max
“Superintelligence” (2020, PG) stars Melissa McCarthy as an ordinary human chosen by an A.I. to prove that humanity is worth saving. (HBO Max)
“Between the World and Me” (2020, TV-14) features a star-studded cast (including Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance and Oprah Winfrey) reading from the book by Ta-Nehisi Coates. (All HBO platforms)
Other streams
The documentary “Belushi” (2020, TV-MA) delves into the life and legacy of comedy legend John Belushi. New on Showtime Anytime, along with two acclaimed films:
• “1917” (2019, R), a World War I drama that won three Oscars;
• “First Reformed” (2018, R) starring Ethan Hawke as a priest facing a spiritual crisis.
“The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse: Season 1” (TV-G) presents Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and other classic Disney characters in new short animated adventures. New cartoons every Friday. (Disney+)
“Yellowstone: Season 3” (TV-MA), the TV melodrama about a Montana ranching family starring Kevin Costner, is now available on Peacock.
The spotlight “Queersighted: Queer Fear” gathers 12 horror films with a queer subtext from the past century, including James Whale’s witty “The Old Dark House” (1932), the Oscar-winning adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (1945) and the first version of “The Haunting” (1963) based on the Shirley Jackson story. New on Criterion Channel.
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and television can be found at streamondemandathome.com.