Greetings, Polygon readers! Each week, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.
This week, The Boy and the Heron, Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning fantasy and his first film in over a decade, is finally available to watch on VOD this weekend. If that doesn’t entice you, might I interest you in A Family Affair, the new age-gap rom-com starring Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron and streaming on Netflix? Don’t worry, there’s tons of other exciting new releases to choose from this week, including the VOD debut of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Problemista streaming on Max, Fancy Dance on Apple TV Plus, and more.
Here’s everything new that’s available to watch this weekend!
New on Netflix
A Family Affair
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Genre: Rom-comRun time: 1h 51mDirector: Richard LaGraveneseCast: Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King
Another age-gap romance à la Prime Video’s The Idea of You, A Family Affair follows a personal assistant (Joey King) to a Hollywood star (Zac Efron). When she finds out he’s having a relationship with her mother (Nicole Kidman), things get awkward. A Family Affair is the first feature from director Richard LaGravenese since 2014’s The Last Five Years.
New on Hulu
Red Right Hand
Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu
Genre: Action thrillerRun time: 1h 51mDirectors: Eshom Nelms, Ian NelmsCast: Orlando Bloom, Garret Dillahunt, Andie MacDowell
In this new action thriller from directing duo Eshom and Ian Nelms, Orlando Bloom stars as Cash, a man with a checkered past struggling to provide a safe life for his orphaned niece (Chapel Oaks). When a violent local crime boss (Andie MacDowell) forces him back into her employment, Cash finds himself unable to discern the moral light between right and wrong.
New on Max
Problemista
Where to watch: Available to stream on Max
Genre: Surrealist comedyRun time: 1h 44mDirector: Julio TorresCast: Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton, RZA
This irreverent comedy follows the story of Alejandro (Julio Torres), a struggling toy designer from El Salvador who accepts a job from an erratic artist (Tilda Swinton) in order to qualify for a work visa. Polygon had the opportunity to catch up with writer-director Torres and Swinton in the lead-up to the film’s release to discuss Problemista’s themes and the importance of nurturing curiosity.
New on Prime Video
I Am: Celine Dion
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
Genre: DocumentaryRun time: 1h 42mDirector: Irene TaylorCast: Celine Dion
An intimate documentary about aging, ability, and stardom, I Am: Celine Dion promises to be different from other pop icon documentaries this year by shining a closer light on the Canadian superstar’s autoimmune disorder and how it impacts her life.
New on Apple TV Plus
Fancy Dance
Where to watch: Available to stream on Apple TV Plus
Genre: DramaRun time: 1h 30mDirector: Erica TremblayCast: Lily Gladstone, Isabel DeRoy-Olson, Ryan Begay
Oscar-nominated actress Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) stars in Reservation Dogs writer-director Erica Tremblay’s latest film as Jax Goodiron, a Native American woman who takes on the responsibility of caring for her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) when her sister goes missing. In a race to keep custody, the pair embark on a search to find her last-known whereabouts in the days leading up to a major powwow.
New on Paramount Plus
Out of Darkness
Where to watch: Available to stream on Paramount Plus w/ Showtime
Genre: Horror thrillerRun time: 1h 28mDirector: Andrew CummingCast: Iola Evans, Arno Lüning, Rosebud Melarkey
Remember 2022’s Prey, the Predator prequel about a young warrior named Naru who faces off against an extraterrestrial headhunter? Out of Darkness is a lot like that, but instead of a Comanche woman living in the Great Plains circa 1719, it’s a Stone Age tribe of humans who wash ashore a strange land in search of food. And instead of being hunted by a Predator, they’re being stalked and hunted by… well, something else.
New on Shudder
The Devil’s Bath
Where to watch: Available to stream on Shudder
Genre: Period horrorRun time: 2h 1mDirectors: Severin Fiala, Veronika FranzCast: Anja Plaschg, Maria Hofstätter, David Scheid
An Austrian-German co-production from Austrian directing duo Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, The Devil’s Bath follows a young married woman unhappy with her new life. The movie is based on historical research about the practice of “suicide by proxy” in the region in the 17th and 18th centuries.
New on EDGLRD
AGGRO DR1FT
Where to watch: Available to purchase on EDGLRD
Genre: Psychedelic actionRun time: 1h 20mDirector: Harmony KorineCast: Jordi Mollà, Travis Scott, Joshua Tilley
What is there to say about AGGRO DR1FT, really? Filmed entirely in infrared photography, Harmony Korine’s latest experimental feature follows a melancholic assassin (Jordi Mollà) on a mission to murder a demonic, katana-wielding crime lord known as “The Beast” in nightmarish Floridian hellscape populated by eccentric gangsters and bikini-clad strippers. It’s a visually abrasive and unconventional film, but is it actually any good?
From our review:
AGGRO DR1FT is an obtuse, ridiculous, headache-inducing movie to watch. It’s nearly impossible to tell whether any moment of the movie is entirely a joke or entirely sincere — it’s called AGGRO DR1FT, for God’s sake. It’s a meaningless phrase, rendered in all capital letters with a 1 standing in for an I; for all we know, it might as well be Travis Scott’s Gamertag. But the movie is more than that too. It’s as clear a depiction of a certain kind of distinctly male-coded interior life as I’ve ever seen, and there is value to making that in such a weirdly unfiltered way. AGGRO DR1FT isn’t an enjoyable or particularly well-made movie, but it is the movie I’ve thought about most this year. For better or worse, that’s worth something.
New to rent
Ezra
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Comedy dramaRun time: 1h 41mDirector: Tony GoldwynCast: Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Robert De Niro
A struggling comedian takes his autistic son on an impromptu cross-country road trip in a story inspired by screenwriter Tony Spiridakis’ relationship with his own son.
The First Slam Dunk
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Sports dramaRun time: 2h 4mDirector: Takehiko InoueCast: Shugo Nakamura, Jun Kasama, Shinichiro Kamio
Legendary mangaka Takehiko Inoue (Vagabond, Slam Dunk) steps up to direct his feature debut based on his critically acclaimed coming-of-age sports manga. Picking up directly after the conclusion of the 1993 anime, The First Slam Dunk follows the Shohoku High School basketball team as they prepare for their biggest challenge yet: facing off against Sannoh Kogyo High for the inter-high school basketball championship.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Sci-fi actionRun time: 2h 28mDirector: George MillerCast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke
Mad Max director George Miller has returned with another explosive entry in his post-apocalyptic action series. Set an indeterminate amount of years before Mad Max: Fury Road, Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit) stars as Furiosa, a young woman who struggles to reclaim her freedom after being kidnapped by Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), the ruthless leader of an army of bikers. Along the way, she’ll cross paths with Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), her future boss turned adversary, and Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke), her mentor and ally.
From our review:
An epic, nearly 20-year saga likely isn’t what most people were expecting from Furiosa, but the approach allows the world to expand in pleasing ways. The MCU-ification of cinema means that franchise blockbusters often reveal characters, important MacGuffins, narrative loose ends, and potential sequel nods in bite-size teases that are less and less likely to lead anywhere. But with Furiosa, Miller widens the scope of the Mad Max landscape exponentially, as characters old and new blast their way onto the screen, giving clearer insight into the setting of the Wasteland, its societal hierarchies, its gasoline-fueled wars, and its steampunk-hued reality.
In a Violent Nature
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: HorrorRun time: 1h 34mDirector: Chris NashCast: Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love
What if there was a slasher movie where everything was seen from the perspective of the killer? Wonder no more, because that’s exactly what director Chris Nash’s new film delivers. In a Violent Nature is easily one of the gnarliest horror movies of the year, with enough gruesome gore to keep your eyes peeled to the screen and your hands firmly gripped on your seat.
Summer Camp
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: ComedyRun time: 1h 35mDirector: Castille LandonCast: Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Diane Keaton
Three lifelong friends (Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Diane Keaton) reunite at the summer camp they attended as children in a reunion for attendees. The sprawling ensemble cast also includes Dennis Haysbert, Eugene Levy, Josh Peck, and Nicole Richie.
The Boy and the Heron
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Fantasy dramaRun time: 2h 4mDirector: Hayao MiyazakiCast: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon
After more than a decade, Hayao Miyazaki has returned with a new fantasy follow-up to his 2013 historical drama The Wind Rises. Inspired by Miyazaki’s favorite childhood novel, as well as his own experiences growing up in post-WWII Japan, The Boy and the Heron follows Mahito, a young boy who loses his mother in a tragic fire. After moving to the countryside with his newly remarried father, Mahito crosses paths with a mysterious anthropomorphic bird that entices him with the promise of being reunited with his mother.
From our review:
On the surface, all of this is par for the course for a Miyazaki film, with trace elements from Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, or Kiki’s Delivery Service. The confusion starts when viewers try to square that with the parakeets, causality-breaking out-of-time characters, and the heron turning out to be a small gnomelike man wearing a living bird like a suit. Could all those elements be purposeful trolling from a director known for his, to put it delicately, acerbic personality? Maybe, but there seems to be a statement behind the madness: It’s as if Miyazaki is declaring, “This is my life’s work. I don’t care if you’ve enjoyed it. Goodbye.”
The Watchers
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: HorrorRun time: 1h 42mDirector: Ishana Night ShyamalanCast: Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré
Dakota Fanning stars in The Watchers, the debut horror feature from Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of M. Night Shyamalan. The film follows Mina, an American immigrant living in western Ireland who is tasked with delivering a parrot to a zoo in Belfast. After losing her way in a vast forest, Mina finds shelter in a strange bunker alongside three other strangers who are being held captive by strange malicious entities who observe them through a mirrored window.
From our review:
Most of The Watchers’ appeal comes from all the mysteries in this setup: wondering what the Watchers are and what they want, what secrets the other three captives are hiding, who will inevitably crack first under the pressure the eerie situation puts the group under, and how Mina’s arrival will upset the status quo. The sharp, high-contrast cinematography (from Lamb’s Eli Arenson) gives these opening chapters a winningly oppressive look, with the golden glow of the Coop extending out into the deep blues and blacks of the nighttime woods. The constant effect of the Coop’s mirrored wall gives the characters an eerie set of duplicates hovering nearby at all times, which Shyamalan and Arenson use to create a hyper-real but still fable-like atmosphere that’s often haunting and unsettling.
The post Furiosa, Netflix’s A Family Affair, The Boy and the Heron, and every movie new to streaming this week appeared first on Polygon.
