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Every month, streaming services add movies and TV shows to their libraries. Here are our picks for some of July’s most promising new titles.(Note: Streaming services occasionally change schedules without giving notice. For more recommendations on what to stream, sign up for our twice-weekly Watching newsletter here.) More
Two-thirds of characters reflect stereotypes, and just 3.4 percent of movies had leads or coleads who were Asians or Pacific Islanders, the study of 1,300 movies found.Of the 1,300 top-grossing films released from 2007 through 2019, just 44 featured an Asian or Pacific Islander character in a leading role — and one-third of the roles went to a single actor, Dwayne Johnson, a study has found. More
A deal would add Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s 4,000 films to Amazon’s streaming library, including the James Bond, Rocky and “Legally Blonde” franchises.LOS ANGELES — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has been in talks to sell itself to Amazon, according to three people briefed on the matter. If completed, a deal would turbocharge Amazon’s streaming ambitions by bringing James Bond, Rocky, RoboCop and other film and television properties into the e-commerce giant’s fold. More
Our streaming picks for May, including ‘Puberty Blues,’ ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: Down Under’ and ‘The Underground Railroad’ More
Every month, streaming services add movies and TV shows to their libraries. Here are our picks from May’s new titles. More
The writer behind the Amazon Prime superhero show ‘Invincible’ shares the films, comic books and characters he drew on to create the new series.Comics-to-screen adaptations are tricky to pull off — and hard-core comic book fans can be exacting — but Robert Kirkman has now been the writer behind two of them.First, he masterminded the comic book “The Walking Dead,” then helped turn it into one of the most popular TV series of the 21st century. Now Kirkman is executive producer of “Invincible,” an animated Amazon Prime show based on a superhero he created with the illustrator Cory Walker. Loaded with top-shelf voice talent led by Steven Yeun as the title’s teenage superbeing (real name: Mark Grayson) and J.K. Simmons as his father, Omni-Man, the new series is irreverent and dramatic, funny and graphically violent, and never less than gleefully entertaining. The comic book was published from 2003 to 2018 by Skybound, an Image Comics imprint.In a video call from Los Angeles, Kirkman, 42, discussed some of what inspired him in his work on “Invincible.”Marvel ComicsAn interior page from “Amazing Fantasy” #15 (1962), by Stan Lee, writer, and Steve Ditko, artist.MarvelRight, Mark Grayson/Invincible (voiced by Steven Yeun), with his parents, Debbie Grayson (Sandra Oh), and Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons).Amazon Prime VideoNaturally, a superhero story is going to draw from one of the biggest publishers of the genre, but Kirkman zeroed in on a specific side of Marvel Comics. “Their big innovation in the ’60s was to treat the superhero characters as if they were human beings,” he said. “There were stories dealing with trouble at work and having to make rent. So ‘Invincible’ tries to dig deep on the family aspects and portray inhuman characters as deeply human.”“When superpowered characters go on dates they can have lunch in Rome or their favorite bistro in France. They’re not constrained by the same realities of time and distance as we are,” Kirkman said. If Mark is falling short as a boyfriend, he added, “it’s not because he forgot to text before he went out with the boys; it’s because he had to do a quick mission on Mars. We’re able to use the fantasy elements of a superhero world to heighten the everyday relatable drama.”The non-superheroic folks don’t get ignored, either. Invincible’s mother, Debbie (Sandra Oh), for example, has issues of her own. “Her main story line in the first season is a suspicion over her husband doing something that could be potentially very bad,” Kirkman said. “A wife suspicious of her husband is a very real thing that a lot of people deal with — a somewhat grounded conflict in this crazy superhero world.”DC Comics’ Silver AgeFrom “The Girl in Superman’s Past” (An Untold Tale of Superman) written by Bill Finger, penciled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye. #129 (May, 1959).DCFrom left, Invincible, voiced by Steven Yeun, with Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen), in “Invincible.” Amazon Prime VideoKirkman is a fan of the lighter aspects of superhero stories, especially as they flourished at DC Comics in the 1950s through 1970s; he singles out Superman’s romance with the mermaid Lori Lemaris, and also mentioned his turning back time by flying around the Earth at super-speed in the Richard Donner film “Superman,” from 1978. “By embracing the sillier aspects of Silver Age comic books, we’re not telling silly stories — I don’t think anyone would ever say that ‘Invincible’ is silly,” Kirkman said. “But holding your breath and speaking telepathically while you fight around the orbit of the planet is goofy, a father and son playing catch by throwing a ball around the curvature of the Earth is ridiculous,” he continued, referring to events in his new show. “Playing those scenes straight shines a spotlight on how unique and how cool the world of superheroes can be.”‘The Transformers: The Movie’ (1986) by Nelson ShinSunbow ProductionsOmni-Man in a scene in Episode 1 in which the Guardians are killed.Amazon Prime VideoVisible behind Kirkman was a poster of this animated feature, which he saw when he was 8. The movie dispatches Optimus Prime, the heroic leader of the Autobots, early on, a storytelling decision that made a big impression on the future writer. “By giving the audience something they would tell you they absolutely don’t want, you can actually give them something that is really fulfilling and better than anything they could have imagined,” he said.“The Walking Dead” is famous for abruptly killing off fan favorites, and the first episode of “Invincible” ends in a startling massacre. “The stories that come after that are richer because of that loss,” Kirkman said.‘Dead Alive’ (1993) by Peter JacksonWingNut FilmsOmni-Man in the gore of the Guardians’ battle, a scene not unlike the shocking gore inspired by the movie “Dead Alive,” above.Amazon Prime VideoWith its crushed skulls and geysers of blood, “Invincible” does not shy from violence. Kirkman, however, claims that he gets queasy easily.“I’m not great at realistic gore, but I do enjoy the shockingness and startling aspect of when unrealistic gore happens,” he explained. Once again, a childhood experience proved formative.He was about 15 when his father came in with a VHS tape, saying, ‘I’m supposed to take this back to the video store, but this movie’s insane, you’ve got to watch it,’” Kirkman said fondly.It was this delirious low-budget zombie-comedy hybrid by the director who would later deliver the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Kirkman was not disappointed. “The climax is, there’s a house full of zombies and a guy ties a lawn mower around his neck and runs around hacking people up,” he said.Rob Liefeld“New Mutants” #100 by the artist Rob Liefeld.MarvelMonster Girl, far left, in a soap-opera moment.Amazon Prime VideoKirkman picked Liefeld not because he was one of the founders of Image Comics (which published both the “Invincible” and “The Walking Dead” comic books) but for his storytelling chops. “If you look at how fast-paced ‘Invincible’ is, that is something Rob very much established in his work,” Kirkman said.He also enjoys Liefeld’s taste for plotting antics, singling out a big reveal in issue 100 of “The New Mutants,” from 1991, in which the villainous Stryfe takes off his helmet, revealing himself to be the gun-toting warrior Cable — or is he?“Seeing that kind of stuff and how it works in comics has led to some of those bigger cliffhangers and wackier soap-opera moments in ‘Invincible,’” Kirkman continued, mentioning Monster Girl, “who is trapped in a youthful body,” as an example. She turns into a big beast, but each time she transforms, she returns looking even younger, which presents complications — it’s hard to date when you’re a 20-something who looks 12.‘Savage Dragon’ by Erik Larsen“Savage Dragon” #103 cover, art by Erik Larsen.Image Comics“Invincible” #113 interior page, art by Ryan Ottley.Image ComicsKirkman praises this comic book as his favorite of all time, and a big reason is that the title character aged over the years — just like the “Invincible” books introduce a 17-year-old Mark Grayson who eventually grows older, marries, becomes a father. “That’s something that’s definitely pulled from Erik Larsen,” Kirkman said.While the series has just started, he and Yeun already have Mark’s future in mind. “In the very earliest recording sessions, Steven pulled me aside and said, “I’m trying to play him as very young and naïve because I know where the character goes and I want to be able to change my voice over time,’ ” Kirkman said. “I don’t know exactly how many seasons the show will run at this point, but the goal is to tell that complete story.” More
Every month, streaming services add movies and TV shows to its library. Here are our picks for some of April’s most promising new titles.(Note: Streaming services occasionally change schedules without giving notice. For more recommendations on what to stream, sign up for our twice-weekly Watching newsletter here.)Ann Skelly in “The Nevers.”Keith Bernstein/HBONew to HBO Max‘Exterminate All the Brutes’Starts streaming: Apr. 7The filmmaker Raoul Peck, perhaps best-known for his Oscar-nominated 2016 documentary “I Am Not Your Negro,” tackles his most ambitious project yet with the four-part cinematic essay “Exterminate All the Brutes,” based in part on Sven Lindqvist’s book of the same name about Europe’s domination of Africa and in part on the scholarly work of the historian and Indigenous rights activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and the Haitian anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot. Relying on a mix of clips from old movies and new dramatizations of historical incidents — all overlaid with the director’s discursive narration — Peck considers how pop culture and the literary canon have shaped the narratives around Indigenous people and their colonial invaders. Equal parts informative and provocative, this project is aimed at changing the way viewers think about who history’s heroes and villains are.‘The Nevers’Starts streaming: Apr. 11There’s a bit of steampunk and a lot of X-Men-like energy in “The Nevers,” a semi-comic action-adventure series created by Joss Whedon, the man behind “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly.” Whedon’s contributions have been downplayed by HBO’s promotional departments, in part because he left the production in the middle of its first season — and perhaps because of recent accusations of mental abuse from his past employees. Nevertheless, “The Nevers,” set in Victorian Britain, very much feels like one of his shows, with its alternately angsty and witty characters. Laura Donnelly plays Amalia True, a superhero who leads a team of strange and powerful women referred to by London aristocrats as “the touched.” As the ladies tackle supernatural phenomena, they also clash with an establishment that wants to keep them marginalized, because of what they can do and because of who they are.‘Mare of Easttown’Starts streaming: Apr. 18Kate Winslet plays a dogged small-town Pennsylvania police detective with a messy home life in “Mare of Easttown,” a crime drama created by Brad Ingelsby, a screenwriter of the films “Out of the Furnace” and “The Way Back.” As with Ingelsby’s movies, this mini-series uses a pulpy premise — a murder mystery — as an entry point to a complex and absorbing study of a place at once familiar and unique. The director Craig Zobel and a top-shelf cast (including Jean Smart as the heroine’s opinionated mother and Julianne Nicholson as her former high school basketball teammate) capture the limitations and comforts of a community where everyone knows each other’s painful secrets. The gray tones and the procedural plot resemble those of a grim European cop show, but the performances and dialogue exhibit a lot of vitality.Also arriving:Apr. 1“Made for Love”Apr. 13“Our Towns”Apr. 15“Infinity Train” Season 4Apr. 16“Mortal Kombat”Supposed Sasquatch footprints, as seen in “Sasquatch.”HuluNew to Hulu‘WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn’Starts streaming: Apr. 2Like many stories about cutting-edge business ideas, the saga of the real-estate-sharing company WeWork ultimately comes down to the disconnect between its bosses’ public ideals and the ugly practical realities of making money. Directed by Jed Rothstein, “WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn” features a wealth of insider interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, all describing a start-up that began by touting a clever solution to the modern urban problem of overpriced office space but then tried to evolve into an entire unwieldy lifestyle brand. Rothstein’s film focuses mainly on the charismatic co-founder Adam Neumann, and how Neumann and his fellow execs were spending like billionaires while misrepresenting — even to their faithful employees — what was really happening.‘Sasquatch’Starts streaming: Apr. 20The journalist David Holthouse has spent much of his career investigating odd American subcultures, spending time with people whose lives have revolved around drugs, violence or the arcane. In the three-part docu-series “Sasquatch,” Holthouse heads into Northern California’s so-called Emerald Triangle — one of the most storied cannabis-growing regions of the world — to look into a legend he heard decades ago, about a trio of farmers who were dismembered by the infamous cryptid known as Bigfoot. The director Joshua Rofé follows Holthouse into the wild as he interviews locals who are enthusiastic about both marijuana and the paranormal. The stories they unearth are partly about eerie phenomena and partly about the very real dangers of a community teeming with crime.Also arriving:Apr. 3“Hysterical”Apr. 8“Glaad Media Awards”Apr. 9“The Standard”Apr. 12“Spontaneous”Apr. 15“Younger” Season 7Apr. 16“Fly Like a Girl”“Songbird”Apr. 21“Cruel Summer”Apr. 22“Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World”Apr. 25“Wild Mountain Thyme”Apr. 28“The Handmaid’s Tale” Season 4From left, Deborah Ayorinde, Melody Hurd, Shahadi Wright and Ashley Thomas in “Them.”Amazon StudiosNew to Amazon‘Them’Starts streaming: Apr. 9The first season of the new horror anthology series “Them” has the subtitle “Covenant,” referring to the rules for residents of a middle-class suburban subdivision in the early 1950s. Deborah Ayorinde and Ashley Thomas play a married couple with two young daughters, who move from North Carolina to an all-white neighborhood in Los Angeles looking for their piece of the American dream. They meet open hostility from their new neighbors (including the local housewives’ cruel ringleader, played by Alison Pill), while also being haunted by strange supernatural forces. Created by Little Marvin and produced by Lena Waithe, “Them” uses the discomfiting facts of racial discrimination to unsettle the audience, even before the nonhuman monsters arrive.Also arriving:Apr. 2“Moment of Truth”Apr. 16“Frank of Ireland”Apr. 30“Without Remorse”Justin Theroux and Melissa George in “The Mosquito Coast.”Apple TV+.New to Apple TV+‘The Mosquito Coast’Starts streaming: Apr. 30Justin Theroux is both a producer and the star of the mini-series “The Mosquito Coast,” an adaptation of an acclaimed 1981 novel by his uncle Paul Theroux. The show’s co-writers Neil Cross and Tom Bissell, with the director Rupert Wyatt, have updated the story to the 21st century, but its still about the idealistic and eccentric inventor Allie Fox, who hates modern technology as much as he detests American materialism. Chasing his dreams — and dodging the federal authorities — Allie packs his family onto a rickety boat and floats them down to Latin America, where he plans to live off the land. The TV version deviates sometimes significantly from the book, but its heart is the same: a rich portrait of a brilliant madman, and of the people he’s dragged into his delusions.Also arriving:Apr. 2“Doug Unplugs” More
#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThe Best Movies and TV Shows New to Netflix, Amazon and Stan in Australia in MarchOur streaming picks for March, including ‘Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell,’ ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ and ‘Coming 2 America’‘Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell’Credit…NetflixMarch 2, 2021, 12:05 a.m. ETEvery month, streaming services in Australia add a new batch of movies and TV shows to its library. Here are our picks for March.New to NetflixMARCH 1‘Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell’, Director Emmett Malloy draws on a wealth of rare home videos and in-depth interviews in this revealing documentary, finding some fresh angles on rapper Christopher Wallace (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls and the Notorious B.I.G.). “Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell” devotes a lot of its running time to Wallace’s teenage years in Brooklyn, where he made money as a crack dealer while honing his musical style. Malloy doesn’t focus as much on Wallace’s tragic murder, except to frame his story as a case study in wasted potential.MARCH 3‘Moxie’Unlike the typical Netflix adaptation of a Young Adult novel, the movie “Moxie” isn’t so much about relationships and romance (though there’s plenty of both) as it is about high school girls standing up for themselves. Based on Jennifer Mathieu’s book, “Moxie” stars Amy Poehler (who also directed) as the divorced mother of Vivian (Hadley Robinson), who discovers her mom used to be a feminist punk rocker in the ’90s. Frustrated with her sexist male peers, Vivian channels her mother’s spirit and starts an anonymously authored ‘zine in hopes of starting a revolution.MARCH 5‘City of Ghosts’In this odd and charming children’s show, a band of young Angelenos investigate paranormal activity around the city by interviewing friendly ghosts and the people they haunt. The episodes aren’t exactly plot-driven; they’re more like mini documentaries, teaching kids about the history and residents of L.A.’s neighborhoods. Animation fans should note that the series was created by Elizabeth Ito, who previously worked on “Phineas and Ferb” and “Adventure Time.” Here she’s come up with something visually striking, combining simplified characters with photographed backgrounds.MARCH 12‘The One’ Season 1In our era of advanced genetic testing, DNA can reveal everything from people’s ancestry to their criminal culpability. But can it connect soul mates? That’s the question posed by the John Marrs novel “The One,” now adapted by the writer-producer Howard Overman into a TV series. The show features multiple interwoven story lines, following both the troubles faced by the CEO of a DNA-matched dating service and the problems her customers encounter as they get to know their scientifically determined true loves.MARCH 17‘Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal’The documentary filmmaker Chris Smith should be well-known to Netflix subscribers as the director of “Fyre,” a fascinating expose of what went wrong at an infamous music festival. Smith now turns his attention to another tale of hubris and privilege with “Operation Varsity Blues,” an examination of the 2019 scandal in which several wealthy Americans were caught trying to buy their kids’ way into elite colleges. The documentary details the nuts and bolts of a scheme that involved expensive tutors, cheating on exams and bribing university staff.‘The Irregulars’Credit…NetflixMARCH 26‘The Irregulars’Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mythology gets a radical reimagining in this crime series, which focuses on the gang of streetwise youngsters known as “the Baker Street Irregulars.” Created by Tom Bidwell, “The Irregulars” imagines an irreverent version of the Holmes saga in which the detective stays in a constant drugged-out fog while his disreputable assistants do all the actual mystery-solving. Bidwell also adds some supernatural elements to the story.Also arriving: “Murder Among the Mormons” (March 3), “Pacific Rim: The Black” (March 4), “Sentinelle” (March 5), “Bombay Rose” (March 8), “The Houseboat” (March 9), “Dealer” (March 10), “Last Chance U: Basketball” (March 10), “Marriage or Mortgage” (March 10), “Paper Lives” (March 12), “Yes Day” (March 12) “The Lost Pirate Kingdom” (March 15), “Zero Chill” (March 15), “RebellComedy: Straight Outta the Zoo” (March 16), ‘Waffles + Mochi” (March 16), “Under Suspicion: Uncovering the Wesphael Case” (March 17), “Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American” (March 18), “Country Comfort” (March 19), “Sky Rojo” (March 19), “Navillera” (March 22), “Who Killed Sara?” (March 24), “Bad Trip” (March 26), “Nailed It!: Double Trouble” (March 26), “A Week Away” (March 26).New to Stan‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’Credit…StanMARCH 2‘My First Summer’Katie Found wrote and directed this film about the bond between two teenage girls, who find each other right when they’re on the precipice of emotional maturity and caught between love and friendship. The accomplished young Australian actresses Markella Kavenagh and Maiah Stewardson play Claudia and Grace, who try to keep their relationship hidden away from anxious adults and their prying questions for as long as possible. With its striking visual style and its rich performances, “My First Summer” captures the beautiful fragility of adolescent romance.MARCH 4‘Shirley’Elisabeth Moss plays the reclusive author Shirley Jackson in the disturbing and moving period drama “Shirley.” The story is told largely from the perspective of a young faculty wife named Rose (Odessa Young), who becomes an aide and confidant to the acerbic and depressive Jackson, slowly becoming overwhelmed by the writer’s cynicism. The director Josephine Decker and the screenwriter Sarah Gubbins adapt a Susan Scarf Merrell novel, which is mostly fictional yet heavily influenced by Jackson’s life and work — capturing her sour, soulful take on human weakness.MARCH 9‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’The long-awaited third movie in the “Bill & Ted” series re-teams Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter — for the first time since 1991 — as the fun-loving, dimwitted, time-traveling best buds Theodore Logan and William Preston. In “Face the Music,” the boys have grown into middle-aged men, but still believe they’ll one day change the world through rock ’n’ roll. When they hear reality itself will be destroyed if they don’t get their act together immediately, Bill and Ted (and their daughters, Thea and Billie) have another adventure across the timeline, with the help of some of humankind’s greatest musicians.MARCH 10‘She Dies Tomorrow’Written and directed by Amy Seimetz, this arty horror film takes an unusual approach to a post-apocalyptic story, dramatizing the eerie premonitions that herald the end of everything. Kate Lyn Shell plays an ordinary woman who becomes convinced she’s living through her last day on Earth. Her strange behavior proves infectious, passing from friend to friend, leaving them either devastated, agitated or oddly calm. “She Dies Tomorrow” has the quality of a dream, but it’s a disturbingly realistic one.‘The Legend of Baron To’a’Credit…AmazonMARCH 14‘The Legend of Baron To’a’In the energetic action-comedy “The Legend of Baron To’a,” Uli Latukefu plays a Tongan New Zealander named Fritz who found his fortune in Australia but has returned home to defend his family’s legacy. The movie’s title refers to Fritz’s father: a former pro wrestler who also served as his neighborhood’s unofficial protector. When gangsters start bullying the locals, Fritz has to learn the fundamentals of combat in order to finish the job his dad started.MARCH 19‘Save Me Too’In the sequel to the thrilling crime drama “Save Me,” the British actor Lennie James returns to a role he wrote for himself, playing a luckless lad named Nelly who has a habit of being accused of crimes he didn’t commit. “Save Me Too” picks up about a year after the events of the first series and sees Nelly tying up some loose ends from old mysteries, while also trying to prove that he’s innocent of a murder. Part procedural and part character sketch, James digs deep into the soul of a stubborn individualist.MARCH 29‘City on a Hill’ Season 2The first season of this Boston-set crime series told a complete story, about an ambitious attorney (Aldis Hodge) and a corrupt FBI agent (Kevin Bacon), reluctantly working together and navigating the choppy waters of local politics to take down a local gang in the early 1990s. In season two the two lawmen are back to being rivals, but their paths cross again when trouble erupts at a drug-plagued housing project. Though the show takes place nearly 30 years ago, the issues it raises — about policing, race relations and institutional rot — remain timely.Also arriving: “The Affair” Season 5 (March 1),“The Handmaid’s Tale” Season 3 (March 1), “Sick of It” Season 2 (March 2),“Secret Safari: Into the Wild” (March 3), “Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable” (March 4), “A Murder of Crows” (March 4),“Manhunt: Deadly Games” (March 5), “Bloods” (March 11), “Cryptid” (March 11), “Black Hands” Season 1 (March 17), “Close to the Enemy” Season 1 (March 18), “The Disappearance” (March 18), “Safe House” Seasons 1 & 2 (March 25), “Between Black and Blue” (March 26), “Outback” (March 29).New to Amazon‘Coming 2 America’Credit…AmazonMARCH 5‘Coming 2 America’Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall reprise their roles from the hit 1988 comedy “Coming to America” in this sequel, which picks up the story of an African ruler and his trusty aide decades later. Like the original, “Coming 2 America” is filled with comic situations that allow Murphy and Hall to play multiple roles that riff on Black culture from the perspective of insiders and outsiders. The film also features appearances by some very funny comics — like Leslie Jones and Tracy Morgan — who have followed in the footsteps of Murphy and Hall.MARCH 26‘Invincible’The superhero cartoon “Invincible” looks charmingly retro, like something that would’ve aired on TV in the 1990s. But the series has a much more adult vibe than the likes of “X-Men” and “Superman.” Based on a long-running comic book written by Robert Kirkman (who also cocreated “The Walking Dead”), “Invincible” has Steven Yeun voicing a famous superhero’s teenage son, who’s enlisted into a series of fights to save the world almost as soon as he starts developing superpowers of his own. Like the comic, the show is fast-paced, colorful and clever — and also incredibly violent and shockingly bloody.Also arriving: “Honest Thief” (March 12), “Making Their Mark” (March 12), “Words on Bathroom Walls” (March 19), “La Templanza (The Vineyard)” (March 26).AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More
