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.
My pick for best movie of the week: Monkey Man, a slick-but-brutal action-revenge flick set in India. Speaking of action movies, Trigger Warning, an original action movie starring Jessica Alba is streaming on Netflix. If your idea of entertainment doesn’t involve ass whoopin’, you could watch (or rewatch) critically lauded biopic Oppenheimer, or check out LGBT+ comedy documentary Outstanding: a Comedy Revolution.
Monkey Man
Mumbai isn’t usually associated with martial arts, but first-time director Dev Patel’s Monkey Man is a punch-in-the-face action movie that may change minds. Patel plays the title character, named for the mask he wears, a scrapper who makes a brutal living in underground fight pits where he’s beaten up nightly for money. When he figures out how to infiltrate the secret society of rich jerks who pull the strings, Monkey Man unleashes a torrent of rage and revenge so satisfying it earned an 83% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Where to stream: Peacock
Oppenheimer (2023)
Christopher Nolan’s biopic about the inventor of atomic weapons took home seven Oscars, including best picture, and it also made over $900 million at the box office. Cillian Murphy stars as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, a complex, driven visionary tasked with creating the most destructive weapon in human history to fight the Axis powers during World War II. Spoiler: he succeeds, but Oppenheimer, both the movie and man, end up wondering if atomic weapons were actually such a great idea.
Trigger Warning
For her role as Parker in Netflix original action movie Trigger Warning, Jessica Alba learned Indonesian knife fighting skills to make the flick’s intense hand-to-hand combat scenes extra real. Parker is a Special Forces commando who returns to her home town her father’s funeral, only to discover a dangerous conspiracy that might be responsible for his death. Does she confront the evil men behind the plot with Indonesian knife-fighting skills? Goddamn right she does. Mark Webber, Tone Bell, Jake Weary, Gabriel Basso, and Anthony Michael Hall also appear in this treat for action movie fans.
Where to stream: Netflix
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution
This Netflix original documentary tells the story of LGBTQ+ stand-up comedy through interviews, stand-up performances, archival materials, and verité footage featuring huge comedians like Lily Tomlin, Sandra Bernhard, Wanda Sykes, Eddie Izzard, Hannah Gadsby, Tig Notaro, and Rosie O’Donnell. Outstanding explores the history of queer comics, the societal changes that came from their work, and the future of LGBTQ+ stand-up.
Where to stream: Netflix
Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play.
Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play was one of the most celebrated, provocative, and fearless plays ever staged on Broadway. In this documentary, Harris takes us behind the scenes of the groundbreaking production, showing us the actors workshops, run-throughs, and rehearsals that brought it to life. But Harris goes deeper and uses the documentary to comment on his own part of Slave Play‘s creation.
Where to stream: Max
Last week’s picks
Am I OK?
In this heartfelt romantic comedy, Dakota Johnson plays Lucy, a receptionist at a Los Angeles spa who starts to suspect, at 32 years old, that she might be gay. As Lucy discovers more about herself, she’s also dealing with the imminent departure of her longtime best friend Jane, played by Sinoya Mizuno. Am I OK? is sitting at 83% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising the cast’s nuanced performances and the writing talent of first-time screenwriter Lauren Pomerantz, who eschews cliches and well-worn tropes in favor of honesty.
Where to stream: Max
Let the Canary Sing
Everyone loves Cyndi Lauper for her massive singing talent and her flamboyant style, but not enough people know the person behind behind the act. Through archival footage and interviews, Let the Canary Sing explores Lauper’s meteoric ascension to superstardom, her unique and ever-changing fashions, her uncompromising artistic vision, and her lifelong advocacy.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Brats
To teenagers in the 1980s, no one was cooler, sexier, or more famous than The Brat Pack, that cadre of young actors that starred in every teen movie and seemed to rule Hollywood. Directed by original brat-packer Andrew McCarthy, Brats gives us a view from inside the fame fishbowl through interviews with brat packer Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy and more. (Spoiler: being in the Brat Pack wasn’t as much fun as you probably imagined.)
Where to stream: Hulu
Keith Robinson: Different Strokes
Keith Robinson is a very funny comic, but his new Netflix stand-up special should be extra hilarious and/or poignant because of its subject matter. In 2020, Robinson popped a Viagra on an airplane and had a stroke, and in Keith Robinson: Different Strokes he tells the whole story with his distinctive, no-bullshit style.
Where to stream: Netflix
