Looking to settle in with a good movie? Me too. That's why I've pored over the release schedules of major streaming services to bring you the best original and new-to-streaming movies you can watch right now.
There's something for any taste this week. Netflix's Power is a hard-hitting documentary about the relationship between the people and the police. Disney's remastered version of 1970s documentary Let it Be details the making of the last creative gasp of The Beatles. And you could even watch a movie about a singing unicorn, if you're into that.
Power
The big-ticket Netflix originals this month may be comedy and historical costumes, but there's a serious side too, embodied by Power, a hard-hitting, critically acclaimed documentary that looks at our relationship with the cops and asks "Who is more powerful, the people or the police?" Directed by Academy Award nominee Yance Ford, Power examines the history of policing and asks tough questions about whether and how we're being oppressed by the boys and girls in blue.
Where to stream: Netflix
Let It Be (1970)
Let it Be was meant as "Beatles in the studio" TV documentary, but director Michael Lindsay-Hogg captured the biggest band ever just as they were about to break up instead. After a limited release in theaters, Let it Be was mothballed, and couldn't be seen legally for 50 years, so Disney's restored and remastered version is eagerly awaited by fans; even if you only kind of like The Beatles, it's worth a watch. Let it Be it clocks in at under 90 minutes, and, unlike Peter Jackson's exhaustive, eight-hour documentary Get Back, it focuses on the music instead of the internal friction that would soon break up the band, leaving "the band is going to break up soon after this recording session" as subtext.
Where to stream: Disney+
Madame Web
There's a Hollywood saying that goes "behind every bad movie is a good mortgage," and Madame Web is a perfect example. It definitely isn't the best movie you could watch this weekend but there's something fascinating about dissecting high-profile failures. Dakota Johnson plays Cassandra “Cassie” Webb AKA Spider-Woman, and she's a good actor. Madame Web is a co-production between Marvel and Sony, so it had real money behind it. Superhero origin stories are inherently interesting. So what went wrong? Watch it to find out, and console yourself that many people who worked on it bought houses.
Where to stream: Netflix
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal
When hackers called "The Impact Team" took over find-an-affair website Ashley Madison in 2015, they told its owners "welcome to your worst fucking nightmare"—but the nightmare extended beyond the business owners. All of Ashley's Madison's users, from ordinary Joes to political figures and entertainment industry leaders, had their sordid details spilled to anyone who wanted to take a look. Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal tells the entire sleazy story, but doesn't shy away from the real-world emotional devastation the imbroglio wrought.
Where to stream: Netflix
59th Academy of Country Music Awards
All your favorite country stars will be on-hand to do-si-do at the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards. Billed as "Country Music’s Party of the Year," this year's event will be hosted by Reba McEntire, who is also slated to perform new music during the show. It's an interesting time in country music, as the often-staid genre confronts a new wave of performers. The "entertainer of the year" category, for instance, pits neo-traditionalists like Cody Johnson against new school iconoclasts like face-tattooed, hip-hop influenced artist Jelly Roll.
Where to stream: Prime
Thelma the Unicorn
This animated feature was directed by Jared Hess, whose first film, Napoleon Dynamite, is a quirky masterpiece, so Thelma the Unicorn has the potential to be more interesting than a typical computer-animated, streaming-only kid flick. Based on the best-selling books by Aaron Blabey and starring Brittany Howard in the title role, Thelma the Unicorn tells the story of a pony who masquerades as a unicorn to fulfill her dream of musical stardom. It features the voices of Jemaine Clement, Edi Patterson, Fred Armisen, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Heder, and Shondrella Avery, a more-than-solid crew.
Where to stream: Netflix
Last week's picks
The Iron Claw (2023)
Even though The Iron Claw was nearly universally lauded by critics, it wasn't nominated for a single Oscar. Rip-off! Maybe a movie about professional wrestling is too lowbrow for "The Academy," but their loss. Yes, The Iron Clawis about wrestling, but it's also about mourning, loss, and the resilience of family. Plus, The Iron Claw features fantastic performances from Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White (The Bear), and Harris Dickinson as the real-life Von Erich brothers, a wrestling dynasty beset by so much tragedy they come to believe they've been cursed. After watching this flick, it's hard to argue with them.
Where to stream: Max
Roast of Tom Brady
Most football fans are eager to see ex-Patriots quarterback Tom Brady get taken down a few pegs, and this roast brings in Jeff Ross, Kevin Hart, and a host of the most vicious comedians on Earth to hit Brady harder than a 260-pound linebacker. And they don't make helmets for your feelings. The Roast of Tom Brady was broadcast live and unedited, ensuring an anything-might-happen evening of insults and comedy.
Where to stream: Netflix
Fire in the Sky (1993)
I recently went on a bender of movies where people are abducted by aliens, and Fire in the Sky is the best of them. Despite the mixed reviews from Rotten Tomatoes, this movie makes the most clichéd version of an alien kidnapping story terrifying by keeping everything as grounded and realistic as as possible, until main character Travis Walton takes a traumatic UFO ride (with probing). Then everything goes batshit. Fire in the Sky leans into the inscrutable, impossible-to-understand nature of aliens in a way I found deeply unsettling. The fact that everything in the movie can be fact-checked against real life (except the UFO trip, of course) makes it extra creepy.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Picnic at Hanging Rock's director Peter Weir went on to make The Truman Show, but I prefer this film's mysterious vibe and slow burn. Set in the early 1900s, the picnic of the title is a Valentine's day excursion to Australia's Mt. Macedon undertaken by a group of students from a nearby girl's boarding school. While on the rock, something happens—it's not possible to say what, exactly—and only some of the party returns. Beautifully photographed and shot through with mystery, Picnic at Hanging Rock is must-watch.
Where to stream: Criterion Channel
Living with Leopards
I'm a sucker for nature documentaries, so I'm psyched for this made-in-the-UK movie that details the lives of a pair of leopard cubs, from birth to adulthood. Living with Leopards promises an up-close-and personal look at a the coming-of-age of some of the most majestic creatures on earth.
Where to stream: Netflix
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