Stream on Demand: Sam Mendes’ ode to cinema, ‘Empire of Light,’ comes to HBO Max
What’s new for home viewing on Video on Demand and Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services.
Top streams for the week
“Empire of Light” (2022, R) stars Olivia Colman as the manager of a once-grand cinema on the south coast of England. While struggling with depression, she befriends a new usher (Michael Ward), a young black man who helps her open up to the life she keeps at arm’s length. Writer/director Sam Mendes sets his story of the healing power of cinema and friendship against the rise of racist gangs in 1980s England. It earned an Oscar nomination for cinematography. (HBO Max)
Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher star as longtime friends and personality opposites who swap homes for a week in “Your Place or Mine” (2023, PG-13). Of course, this peek into one another’s lives paves the way for romance. It’s from Aline Brosh McKenna, the writer of “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Morning Glory,” and debuts in time for Valentine’s Day. (Netflix)
The romantic comedy “Sam & Kate” (2022, R) stars Dustin Hoffman and Sissy Spacek as the onscreen parents of their real-life children (Jake Hoffman, Schuyler Fisk). While the younger generation falls in love, the father becomes interested in the mother, which creates complications for them all. (Peacock)
The family comedy “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” (2022, PG), based on the popular series of kids’ books by Bernard Waber, follows the adventures of a singing reptile who lives in the attic of a Manhattan brownstone and becomes friends with his human downstairs neighbors. Shawn Mendes provides the singing voice. (Netflix)
News: Netflix announced it will start cracking down on password sharing outside of immediate households at the end of March, along with plans to accommodate extra users for an added monthly fee.
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
A young, troubled mother is put on trial for the murder of her infant child in “Saint Omer” (France, 2022, PG-13, with subtitles), a drama inspired by a true story. It won three awards at the Venice Film Festival.
Hulu
Gina Rodriguez stars as a newly single woman attempting to restart her life and old career in the sitcom “Not Dead Yet: Season 1” (TV-14). New episodes on Thursdays.
HBO Max
The Oscar-nominated documentary “All That Breathes” (2022, TV-14) follows two brothers who struggle to save the dying black kite, a bird of prey, with their bird hospital in New Delhi, India.
Amazon Prime Video
Alison Brie stars as a workaholic who returns home and reevaluates her life in “Somebody I Used to Know” (2023, R), a romantic comedy she co-wrote with director Dave Franco.
Paramount +
An actress (Monica Barbaro) reeling from a bad breakup falls for a charming hotel manager (Diego Boneta) in the romantic comedy “At Midnight” (2023, R).
Showtime Anytime
Christoph Waltz plays a bounty hunter with a code in “Dead for a Dollar” (2022, R), a western from filmmaker Walter Hill.
The three-part documentary series “Murder in Big Horn” (TV-MA) follows the struggle of Native families and activists to get justice for missing Indigenous women and girls ignored by Montana law enforcement.
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and TV can be found at https://streamondemandathome.com.