Stream on Demand: ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ brings a classic tale to Netflix

Fri., Dec. 9, 2022

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.” (Netflix)

By Sean Axmaker For The Spokesman-Review

Top streams for the week

For “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (2022, PG), the Oscar-winning director teams up with stop-motion filmmaker Mark Gustafson to bring his dream project to the screen as an animated musical. He sets his vision in World War II Italy, where the crudely carved puppet (voiced by Gregory Mann) sets out on a dangerous journey to become a real boy, and brings darker themes and macabre touches to the odyssey. Features the voices of Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Cate Blanchett, and Tilda Swinton. (Netflix)

David O. Russell swings for the fences in “Amsterdam” (2022, R), an overstuffed mix of conspiracy thriller, screwball comedy, and social commentary set in 1930s New York. Christian Bale and John David Washington star as World War I veterans and best friends who are framed for murder and get tangled in a Fascist conspiracy. (HBO Max, also on VOD)

Billy Eichner cowrites and stars in “Bros” (2022, R) as a high-strung 40-something man who falls for a free-wheeling younger guy (Luke Macfarlane), opposites who stumble toward love with all the same anxieties and insecurities of classic Hollywood romcom couples. (Peacock)

Will Smith stars as an enslaved man who escapes the plantation and battles bounty hunters and swamps to gain his freedom in 1863 Louisiana in “Emancipation” (2022, R). (Apple TV+)

Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon deliver stellar performances as country music legends Tammy Wynette and George Jones in “George & Tammy” (TV-MA). John Hillcoat directs the limited series, which dramatizes their successful careers (individually and together in chart-topping duets) and their rocky marriage. New episodes on Sundays. (Showtime Anytime)

Based on the Chief Inspector Gamache books by Louise Penny, the Canadian mystery “Three Pines: Season 1” (2022, TV-14) stars Alfred Molina as a Quebec police investigator who is exiled to a small community. New episodes on Fridays. (Prime Video)

The third and final season of “His Dark Materials” (TV-14) sends its adolescent heroes (Dafne Keen and Amir Wilson) on a mission to save their world. New episodes on Mondays. (HBO Max)

International pick: “Decision to Leave” (South Korea, 2022, with subtitles), directed by Park Chan-wook, is a slow-burn mystery about an obsessive police detective who falls in love with his prime suspect. It’s the official submission of South Korea for the Academy Awards. (MUBI)

Holiday highlights

The love lives of two couples are upended when gifts are mixed up in “Something From Tiffany’s” (2022, PG). (Prime Video)

Also new is the raunchy comedy “It’s A Wonderful Binge” (2022, TV-MA) (Hulu) and “CMA Country Christmas” (2022, TV-PG) hosted by Carly Pearce (Hulu and Disney+).

Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand

“Triangle of Sadness” (2022, R, with subtitles), Ruben Östlund’s scabrous satire of the rich and privileged, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.

HBO Max

The stories of three women seeking abortions make up “If These Walls Could Talk” (1996, R) starring Demi Moore, Sissy Spacek, and Cher.

Amazon Prime Video

The heirs to a black-owned cosmetics empire in the U.K. battle for dominance when the patriarch dies in “Riches: Season 1” (2022, TV-14).

New on disc and at Redbox: “Clerks III,” “Medieval”