9 top new movies to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max and more (August 13-19)
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It’s set to be a huge week of new movies across the best streaming services with Netflix, Prime Video, Max and more offering subscribers new flicks that you won’t want to miss. Plus, some of the biggest theatrical hits of the year are arriving on premium streaming platforms.
Picking a headliner this week is tricky, but the home debut of “Twisters” is sure to delight the disaster movie’s passionate fans. A standalone sequel to the ‘90s original, “Twisters” continues the Summer of Glen Powell, and sees the charismatic star square off against the most visually-impressive tornadoes you'll see in any blockbuster this year. It also features the ever-excellent Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Other movies to keep an eye on this week include the criminally overlooked thriller “Mothers’ Instinct”, a new Prime Video comedy from Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids”) and “Daughters,” a Netflix documentary that has managed a rare 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Now let’s dive into the full list, without further introduction, here are the top new movies you need to stream this week. And also check out our guide to the best new TV shows this week.
‘Mothers’ Instinct’ (PVOD)
“Mothers’ Instinct” received a surprisingly lowkey theatrical release earlier this summer considering its two bankable stars, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. Perhaps the studio’s reluctance to heavily promote this thriller was down to its relatively muted critical reception, but I'm happy to go against the grain and say that this twisting drama has a lot going for it. Its two leads are in top form, Hathaway especially is fantastic, and it builds to a memorable finale that lingers long after the credits have rolled.
Alice (Chastain) and Celine (Hathaway) are best friends and neighbors in an affluent American suburb in the 1960s. Both are happily married to successful husbands and are raising young boys of the same age. They are living the American dream. But when a tragic accident occurs, their perfect lives are thrown into turmoil, and feelings of guilt, suspicion and paranoia soon surface. The situation further escalates as their close bond unravels. I'm being purposefully vague here to avoid spoilers!
Buy or rent on Amazon now
‘Twisters’ (PVOD)
The breakout blockbuster smash hit of the summer, “Twisters” has become a cultural movement with audiences delighting in its trademark disaster movie thrills and its “if you feel it, chase it” philosophy (which can be applied to both storm chasing and life in general). Pitched as a standalone sequel to 1996’s “Twister," it doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it’s an adrenaline-spiking good time with a cast of very likable characters and overall strong direction. Plus, the titular twisters look absolutely excellent.
Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is a researcher still reeling from an encounter with a tornado that turned tragic in her past. But convinced to return to the storm-chasing game by fellow survivor and friend Javi (Anthony Ramos), she meets Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), a charismatic and fearless stormer chaser with a large social media following. Starting at odds, Kate begins to warm to Tyler as she learns what drives him, and the two eventually join forces to help the people of Oklahoma during an especially brutal storm season.
Buy or rent on Amazon now
'The Fabulous Four' (PVOD)
You might initially mistake this for a Beatles biopic, but rather than a chronicling of the career of The Fab Four, “The Fabulous Four” is an easy-watching comedy movie about a group of older gals who travel to Key West, Florida to be bridesmaids at the surprise wedding of their best friend from college. At the swanky event, these women definitely don’t act their age, and a wild streak of chaos follows them pretty much everywhere. But as they rekindle their sisterhood, past tensions and grudges also resurface. Starring Susan Sarandon, Bette Midler, Megan Mullally and Sheryl Lee Ralph, “The Fabulous Four” looks, well…fabulous.
Buy or rent on Amazon now
‘Daughters’ (Netflix)
Netflix has already dropped one must-watch documentary with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes this month, and the streamer is now gearing up for another. “Daughters” arrives on the service this week following a wildly successful premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January of this year, it looks set to be one of the best documentaries of the year. Like many great docs, “Daughters” balances human stories with a criticism of the society around us.
Directed by Natalie Rawe and Angela Patton, “Daughters” looks at the work of Patton’s non-profit group Girls for Change, specifically its Date with Dad program, which holds father-daughter dances with a twist. The dads involved are incarcerated. For one day they swap state-issued clothing for formal wear and get crucial bonding time with their daughters. It’s an emotional and memorable day for all involved. But this documentary goes beyond the feel-good nature of the program and also looks at how the American prison system so often fails its inmates and their families.
Watch on Netflix now
They Shot the Piano Player (Netflix)
Netflix is no stranger to champing arthouse animation, and “They Shot the Piano Player” comes from a creative time with real pedigree. This docudrama is co-directed by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, with the duo also collaborating on 2010’s “Chico and Rita” which was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. This surreal and colorful trip explores the strange disappearance of Brazillian pianist Tenório Jr. in 1976, with Jeff Goldblum playing an American music journalist looking for answers and inspiration across Rio de Janeiro.
Watch on Netflix now
‘Jackpot!’ (Prime Video)
If movies were rated and ranked solely based on their core premises then “Jackpot!” would have a strong claim to be labeled one of the very best Amazon Prime Video movies. Of course, the final execution is practically always more important than the starting ideas, but all the same, on paper, this action-comedy boasts a plotline that is genius. It’s set in a world where the winner of a state-run “Grand Lottery” has to survive until sundown to receive their multi-million dollar prize. However, if they are killed before then, their murderer can legally claim the money for themselves.
Naturally, this leads to a cat-and-mouse deathgame where bounty hunters and desperate people looking to steal the grand prize are rampant. Katie (Awkwafina) is the lucky (or should that be unlucky?) winner of the latest lottery drawing, and to make it to sundown alive she hires a so-called “jackpot protector” named Noel (John Cea), who will defend her in return for a share of the prize pool. Directed by Paul Feig and also featuring the lovable Simu Liu, “Jackpot!” looks like an absolute hoot.
Watch on Prime Video from August 15
‘Immaculate’ (Hulu)
“Immaculate” was the victim of unfortunate timing. It was released in late March and just a few weeks later along came “The First Omen” which happened to pack a spookily similar plot and had the clout of a major horror franchise to give it the edge in the showdown. That’s a great shame because having seen both, I’m picking “Immaculate” every time. It sees Sydney Sweeney play against type and goes to some very dark, but very thrilling, places. Though, the scares are disappointingly tame.
Sweeney plays Cecilia, an American woman who has come to Italy to take up her vows and become a nun at a remote convent in the stunning Italian countryside. While settling into her new surroundings, Cecilia starts to feel uneasy, noticing several strange oddities and having recurring nightmares. Before long, the convent's dark past comes to light, and Cecilia learns that this supposedly holy place is harboring sinister secrets and evil intentions.
Watch on Hulu from August 16
‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ (Max)
After almost a decade in development, director George Miller welcomes viewers back to the wasteland for the latest installment in the “Mad Max” saga. This time the eponymous anti-hero is nowhere to be found with the spotlight instead thrush onto “Fury Road” supporting character Furiosa (now played by Anya Taylor-Joy instead of Charlize Theron). This prequel tells her previously untold story as she rises from a child taken from her home against her will to an Imperator in Immortan Joe's army, fighting off the unhinged warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) along the way.
There’s no denying that “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” was made for the big screen, but even when watched at home its stunning set pieces shine brightly, and the deliciously devilish performance of Chris Hemsworth loses none of its impact on the smaller display. Sure, questions about the narrative necessity of this prequel are valid (and the ending lacks punch), but Furiosa makes for a compelling leading character, and it’s a pleasure to be back in Miller’s orange-tinted wasteland.
Watch on Max from August 16
‘The Union’ (Netflix)
Action comedies that see an average person forced to enter the world of spies are persistently popular on streaming services, so it’s a good bet that Netflix’s latest blockbuster “The Union” will be warmly embraced by subscribers when it debuts this later week. I reckon critics won’t take to this Netflix original quite so much (a rotten score seems a given), but audience reception will be what matters most, and if the playful trailer is any indication Netflix may have a crowd-pleaser on its hands here.
Jersey-based Mike (Mark Wahlberg) is a salt-of-the-earth construction worker, who runs into his former high school sweetheart, Roxanne (Halle Berry), after 25 years separated. But this isn’t a regular meeting between former flames and Mike finds himself waking up in London, England following a tranquilizer dart to the neck. The blue-collar worker is soon thrown into a world of super spies and forces to take on a high-stakes mission that requires street smarts and a fresh approach to sleuthing.
Watch on Netflix from August 16
