What to stream this Oscars weekend: HBO Max's 'Mortal Kombat,' Netflix's 'Stowaway'
Movie theaters are slowly reopening for the summer season, but new streaming films are still coming home to entertain you and your family during socially distanced times.
This weekend, a famous fighting game gets another cinematic redo on HBO Max, Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim and Toni Collette star in a Netflix space drama, Morgan Freeman and Ruby Rose team up for an action thriller, plus fans of vampires and werewolves each have a new horror movie to watch.
And it's also Oscar weekend, so you have a limited time to catch up on the nominated best pictures – which are all available at home – before the big night Sunday. (Spoiler alert: Top to bottom, they're quite good.)
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Once you're all set for awards fare, here's a rundown of new movies hitting streaming and on-demand platforms this weekend, for every cinematic taste:
If you live for Sub-Zero, Scorpion and the gang: 'Mortal Kombat'
Good news: The new adaptation of the uber-popular, ultraviolent fighting game is better than the wretched '90s movies. Many of the favorite arcade-ready characters return in a fantasy action film that finds MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan) brought into an ages-old feud between the champions of Earth and dangerous baddies from Outworld. True, there's barely a plot and it's best to not expect Oscar-ready character development, but get ready for tons of kung fu fighting, plenty of gory fatalities, some techno music (obviously), decent special effects and even a little emotional depth.
Where to watch: HBO Max
If you're hankering for a space movie: 'Stowaway'
In the near future, a mission to a Mars colony takes a bad turn for a three-man crew (Collette, Kim and Kendrick) when they discover an unconscious engineer (Shamier Anderson) hidden in their ship. Getting him out damages a life-support system, and the ensuing issues cause a moral conundrum about who lives and who dies. That part is interesting, yet what starts as a cool cosmic mystery thriller, unfortunately, turns into a sci-fi drama both confusing and pedestrian.
Where to watch: Netflix
If you're curious about Canada's weed history: 'The Marijuana Conspiracy'
Based on real events, the drama follows a group of five young Toronto women all needing fresh starts of some sort who sign up for a 98-day experiment studying the effects of daily marijuana usage. Internal strife, hooking up, female friendship and many, many joints ensue. The acting's solid enough (especially Julia Sarah Stone as a street kid), but the running time (this didn't need to be over two hours) and a subplot involving the government make it a slog.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Fandango Now
If you howl for werewolf flicks: 'Bloodthirsty'
The old Faustian bargain for fame gets a furry twist with this tale of an indie singer/songwriter (Lauren Beatty) haunted by visions of herself tearing apart and wolfing down an animal. (Which is weird since she's vegan.) Hoping to follow up her hit debut album, she decides to work with an infamous music producer (Greg Bryk), heads to his house with her skeptical girlfriend (Katharine King So) and is forced to deal with dark secrets and decisions about what she'll do for success.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Fandango Now
If you're a Morgan Freeman completist: 'Vanquish'
Known for his good-guy roles, Freeman plays the heavy in this awful action thriller that's over-stylized within an inch of its life and a narrative mess. "Vanquish" casts Ruby Rose as Victoria, a mother and caretaker whose daughter is kidnapped by her corrupt retired cop boss (Freeman). The only way to get the kid back is for Victoria to use her old skills as a Russian drug courier and do his criminal bidding for one night, and she leaves a bunch of dead gangster bodies in her wake.
Where to watch: Amazon, Vudu, Fandango Now
If you're wondering what Natasha Henstridge has been up to: 'Night of the Sicario'
Henstridge, who broke through in the '90s with the cool "Species" films, is back in action and dealing with drug cartel thugs in this lackluster thriller. Drug Enforcement Administration agents (including Costas Mandylor) get ambushed by villainous goons, and the family of a federal witness they were escorting winds up in an assisted-living facility run by a goodhearted, financially strapped owner (Henstridge). There's a faith-based vibe, old-person comedy and an obvious twist in a film that fails to reach so-bad-it's-good levels.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Fandango Now
If you dig bloodsuckers and Irish accents: 'Boys From County Hell'
The horror comedy centers on the small Irish town of Six Mile Hill, where Eugene (Jack Rowan) and his pals punk tourists by taking them to the grave of Abhartach, the legendary vampire that inspired Dracula. (Bram Stoker's said to have visited the town pub.) They bulldoze the pile of rocks that make up the tomb, and after unleashing this ancient creature of the night, Eugene's crew has to figure out the best way to take him down, even using Stoker's classic as a how-to guide. While not particularly scary, it does offer up some goofy vamp fun.
Where to watch: Shudder
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Mortal Kombat,' 'Stowaway': What to stream this Oscars weekend
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