It’s Friday, and you know what means. The weekend’s around the corner, and we have a list filled with new movies available for you to watch at home, either for rental or on streaming services like Netflix.
This week, two of our best movies of the year so far make their VOD debut: Belle, the modern anime adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, and the Indian historical action epic RRR. Also newly available digitally is the vampire Marvel movie Morbius, Paul Thomas Anderson’s most recent movie, Licorice Pizza, and the “startling” Finnish horror movie Hatching (yes, for real this time, after a false alarm earlier this month).
On the streaming side of things, there’s a new Chip ’n Dale movie on Disney Plus, a group of Netflix originals (including a new Jackass movie, kind of), a rom-com with Samara Weaving on Hulu, and much more.
Where to watch: Available to rent for $3.99 on Amazon, Google Play, Vudu; $4.99 on Apple
Image: GKIDS
Mamoru Hosoda’s sci-fi fantasy anime Belle follows the story of Suzu, a reserved high school student living in a rural village. Mourning the loss of her mother, Suzu finds solace and validation by escaping into the massive online world of “U,” where her virtual alter-ego “Belle” is a globally recognized pop singer. After one of her concerts is interrupted by a mysterious figure known as the Dragon, Suzu sets out in search of them in hopes of better understanding the unspoken connection they share with one another.
From our review:
The kid-friendly moral of Beauty and the Beast (or at least the 1991 Disney version) is a simple one: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” With the ambitious, decisively uncynical new anime movie Belle, writer-director Mamoru Hosoda adds to a long list of adaptations by updating the story for the internet age. Carefully fabricated online personas replace magical curses, and enchanted singing candlesticks transform into mewling AIs. But the director of Mirai and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time pushes the core message one step further by emphasizing how connection is a two-way street. It isn’t enough to recognize someone else’s true self without offering vulnerability in return. Produced by Hosoda’s Studio Chizu, this lush, spectacularly animated vision argues for the life-changing bonds that can develop when people shed their digital defenses.
Where to watch: Available for stream on Netflix (Hindi dub) and ZEE5 (Original Telugu version, as well as dubs in Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam)
Image: Variance Films
Baahubali director S.S. Rajamouli returns with RRR (“rise, roar, revolt”), an epic historical action drama following a fictionalized encounter between Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.), two revolutionaries who join forces to fight for Indian independence and cast off the yoke of British imperialism.
RRR is available to stream on Netflix, though only in the Hindi dub. If you want to experience Rajamouli’s latest epic with the original Telugu language audio track, or Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam dubs, you can stream the film on ZEE5.
From our review:
RRR is a busy movie, full of kinetic camerawork, bustling crowd scenes, elaborate set design, expensive-looking CGI, and loud sound effects. Rajamouli is skilled at balancing the film’s many elements, so “overstimulated” isn’t quite the word for how walking out of RRR feels. It’s more like the pleasant exhaustion after a good workout.
Where to watch: Available for digital purchase for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Sony Pictures
Sony’s latest Marvel movie is another anti-hero story, as Jared Leto plays the doctor-turned-vampire Michael Morbius. When he tests a cure for his rare blood disease on himself, he turns into the ungodly creation you see above.
From our review:
One of the important lessons of Venom’s success was that if unimaginative superhero franchise films must be churned out, they can still feel worthwhile if they’re fueled by smart, funny performances. Audiences do turn out for characters they love, but they also show up for characters played by people, by actors who give them weird quirks and specific mannerisms. Morbius is what happens when there’s a studio desire for another Venom, but without much thought as to how Venom connected with anyone. It’s only there to plug into a burgeoning crossover franchise. (As a pair of nonsensical mid-credits scenes indicate.)
Where to watch: Available to rent for $4.99 on Amazon, Apple, Google Play; $6.99 on Vudu
Photo: Sundance Institute
A Finnish horror movie that doubles as a satire of online culture, Hatching follows Tinja, a 12-year-old girl who has been the subject of her parents’ video blog for seemingly her entire life. When Tinja comes across a strange egg and brings it home, it quickly grows before … well, hatching into a creature nicknamed “Alli.”
From our review:
But Alli is a mesmerizing presence that gives the film a cultish shivery center. Bergholm tells Polygon that she literally Googled the world’s best specialist in movie animatronics, then reached out to him about working on the film. That bold choice paid off: Her animatronics supervisor, Gustav Hoegen, came directly to this film from running practical creature-effects teams for Lucasfilm, on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Solo, The Last Jedi, Rogue One, and The Force Awakens. Her SFX makeup head, Conor O’Sullivan, comes with a similar pedigree, as half of the Oscar-nominated effects duo who gave Heath Ledger his grotesque leer as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Together, they and their teams make Alli hideously visceral, with the familiar weight and conviction of a practical effect instead of a CG effect. And Solalinna’s performance with the puppet is convincing and distressing. Together, they carry the movie past its weaker points to a memorable ending.
Where to watch: Available to rent for $5.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Photo: MGM Studios
Paul Thomas Anderson returns with Licorice Pizza, a coming-of-age comedy-drama set in the San Fernando Valley during the 1970s. Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman star as Alana Kane and Gary Valentine, a photographer’s assistant in her 20s and a high school sophomore aspiring to become an actor, who navigate the confusing highs and tumultuous lows of an unlikely romance.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Disney Plus
Image: Disney
The newest Disney live action/animation hybrid pays homage to Who Framed Roger Rabbit and is absolutely filled to the brim with references to other animated properties. The movie follows Chip and Dale’s reunion after years of estrangement following the cancellation of their show as they band together to save an old friend from a dark fate.
From our review:
But the movie actually lampshades that simplicity. Most of the plot just exists to get Chip and Dale to another fun place, introduce another surprising character, or make another clever joke about Hollywood. And that’s all fine, really. The heartwarming end message about friendship is on par with other family movies, and also not so cloying that it overpowers the witty jokes.
Where to watch: Available to rent for $5.99 on Amazon; $4.99 on Apple; $6.99 on Vudu
Image: IFC Films
Stefan Forbes’ 2022 documentary Hold Your Fire recounts the story of the longest hostage siege in NYPD history. After four young African American men in Brooklyn steal guns to defend themselves during a standoff with police that results in the death of an officer, police psychologist Harvey Schlossberg is called in to do what was thought impossible — negotiate the release of 12 hostages and defuse the situation nonviolently. Featuring never-before-seen footage and interviews with the survivors, Forbes’ film offers a unique perspective of a landmark event in American policing.
Where to watch: Available to rent for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Open Road/Briarcliff Entertainment
The latest Liam Neeson action movie sees him playing an assassin dealing with memory loss who refuses an assignment to kill a child. Instead, he finds himself having to kill those that hired him before they get to him first.
From our review:
Neeson reads as if he’s operating in the same mode of desperate competence he originally perfected in Taken. Yet in Memory, the thrill is gone — his intensity is no longer surprising, and as committed as Neeson is to remaining on screen and present for most of his character’s stunts, his limitations appear more apparent than usual, given Campbell’s clear shot blocking and the clean cuts that stitch the film’s action scenes together so neatly. Arguably, the film suffers from these two men being too good at their jobs, so one’s commitment overexposes the others’ shortcomings.
Where to watch: Available to rent for $4.99 on Apple; $3.99 on Google Play and Vudu
Photo: RLJE Films
Riley Stearns (The Art of Self-Defense) wrote and directed this science fiction movie about Sarah (Karen Gillan), a woman who, after receiving a terminal diagnosis, chooses to clone herself in order to spare her loved ones from the grief of losing her. When she makes an unexpected recovery, Sarah attempts and fails to decommission her clone. With no other option, Sarah is forced to fight her clone in a court-mandated duel to the death to decide which of them will be allowed to exist.
From our review:
That premise is absurd on a thousand levels, but Stearns leans straight into the absurdity, particularly with that ad for the cloning service, which presents a deadpan scenario where a depressed man clones himself so he can commit suicide in peace without making any of his family members suffer. This kind of brutally caustic humor defines the film. Anyone who can’t see themselves chuckling at least a little bit at the bleak prospect of a new clone calmly coming across his progenitor’s corpse and taking his place would be advised to steer clear.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Image: Netflix
This Spanish family drama follows a clash of two very different families — one rich and uptight, one Very Much Not. When the son of the wealthy family brings home a girlfriend from the other, tensions mount.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Image: Netflix
A food-centric romance, Toscana follows a Danish chef who falls in love while visiting Tuscany to sell his dad’s company.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Photo: Vince Valitutti/Netflix
The second travel-based romance from Netflix this week follows a wine company exec from LA who falls in love in Australia while working as a ranch hand.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Photo: Sean Cliver/Paramount Pictures
This is not exactly a new Jackass movie, but it kind of is! How’s that, you ask? Well, this is simply a compilation of outtakes and another footage from the cutting room floor of Jackass Forever.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu
Image: Bleecker Street Media
Tim Roth and Charlotte Gainsbourg star in the 2021 drama Sundown as Neil and Alice Bennett, the eldest siblings of a wealthy family on vacation in Mexico — until an emergency back home calls on them to leave earlier. Feigning the loss of his passport to stay behind, Neil undergoes an emotional journey that forces him to confront hard truths about himself and those close to him in order to learn and grow.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu
Image: Hulu
This rom-com follows a movie star (Samara Weaving) who is accidentally caught by the paparazzi with her married lover. When her PR team notices a valet (Eugenio Derbez) was also caught in the picture, they decide to pretend that was the real couple all along.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu
Image: Lionsgate
The remarkable rags-to-riches story of Kurt Warner, a quarterback who was stocking shelves at a grocery store not long before becoming a Super Bowl MVP, comes to the screen with Zachary Levi in the lead role. It’s directed by the Erwin brothers, who make faith-based films, so expect this movie to focus as much on Warner’s Christianity as on the football.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Shudder
Image: Shudder
Shudder’s new feature-length documentary focuses on the found footage subgenre of horror, including closer looks at iconic entries like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, and Unfriended.
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