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, Trigger Warning, the new action thriller starring Jessica Alba as a hardened Special Forces commando, premieres on Netflix. That’s not all, as plenty of other exciting new releases make their streaming debuts this week, including a documentary on tennis legend Roger Federer on Prime Video, Kung Fu Panda 4 on Peacock, Sometimes I Think About Dying on MUBI, and more. There’s also several highly anticipated releases on VOD this week, including animated sci-fi noir mystery Mars Express and dystopian sci-fi romance The Beast starring Léa Seydoux.
Here’s everything new that’s available to watch this weekend!
New on Netflix
Trigger Warning
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Genre: Action thrillerRun time: 1h 46mDirector: Mouly SuryaCast: Jessica Alba, Anthony Michael Hall, Mark Webber
The Alba-naissance is here. Five years after her last film role (crime thriller Killers Anonymous), the onetime Sue Storm is teaming up with Indonesian director Mouly Surya in an action-packed movie inspired by the John Wick franchise (and produced by John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk). Trigger Warning is Surya’s English-language debut and was filmed three years ago, but is finally dropping on Netflix this week.
Black Barbie
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Genre: DocumentaryRun time: 1h 40mDirector: Lagueria Davis
This doc from Shondaland digs into the first Black Barbie and three Black women at Mattel who made it happen: Beulah Mae Mitchell, Kitty Black Perkins, and Stacey McBride-Irby.
New on Prime Video
Federer: Twelve Final Days
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
Genre: DocumentaryRun time: 1h 40mDirectors: Asif Kapadia, Joe SabiaCast: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic
Arguably the greatest men’s tennis player to ever live, Roger Federer finally hung up his racket for good in 2022. This documentary, co-directed by Senna and Amy director Asif Kapadia, focuses on the final 12 days of the Swiss legend’s illustrious career.
New on Peacock
Kung Fu Panda 4
Where to watch: Available to stream on Peacock
Genre: Martial arts comedyRun time: 1h 34mDirector: Mike MitchellCast: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Bryan Cranston
The fourth entry in the Kung Fu Panda saga sees Po taking on a new apprentice to succeed him as the Dragon Warrior. When a mysterious sorceress plots to resurrect Po’s past adversaries, he’ll need to call upon all his strength and allies to save the day.
From our review:
While the individual scenes and moments in Kung Fu Panda 4 are entertaining (and sometimes even great), it never quite gels as an enjoyable movie on its own. The message of change tying it together is flimsy, and the plot feels strung along, trying to get the characters in the right place to launch a few seconds of cool action. After four movies, it isn’t really a surprise that the Kung Fu Panda machine is running out of steam — thankfully, though, it has just enough power left to churn out some genuine laughs at the end.
New on MUBI
Sometimes I Think About Dying
Where to watch: Available to stream on MUBI
Genre: Romantic dramaRun time: 1h 34mDirector: Rachel LambertCast: Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena
Star Wars icon Daisy Ridley takes a dramatic turn in this new existential drama, playing the role of a socially awkward office worker who tentatively attempts to come out of her shell. It’s dark, funny, awkward, and achingly human.
From our review:
Not much happens in Sometimes I Think About Dying, but that’s the point of the movie. Even the smallest thing, like Fran mustering up the courage to say goodbye to someone after work, is given huge weight. The movie lingers on the mundane, using it to paint a thorough portrait of who she is, without having her say or act much. The steps she takes to help overcome her social anxiety might seem small, but they’re all hurdles to her. It’s a movie made up of quiet moments: pauses in conversation, lingering glances, and outstretched hands. Lambert emphasizes the importance of these small interactions, and the ways they build up to connections. It’s a quiet story that aches in the best sort of way.
New on Metrograph at Home
Last Night I Saw You Smiling
Where to watch: Available to stream on Metrograph at Home
Genre: DocumentaryRun time: 1h 18mDirector: Kavich Neang
In the final days of a condemned, iconic building, director Kavich Neang follows three families who live there (including his own). This is the streaming premiere of the movie, which first came out in 2019 and won awards on the international festival circuit, and is a part of Metrograph’s “Davy Chou Selects” series.
New to rent
Handling the Undead
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Horror dramaRun time: 1h 37mDirector: Thea HvistendahlCast: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Bahar Pars
There’s tons of horror movies about the dead coming back to life. None of them are quite like Handling the Undead, though. Based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s 2005 novel, the film follows the story of three families living in Oslo whose loved ones all mysteriously rise from the dead as semi-sentient corpses. How will they handle this new phenomenon, and is it a second chance to say goodbye… or a curse?
I Used to Be Funny
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Comedy dramaRun time: 1h 45mDirector: Ally PankiwCast: Rachel Sennott, Olga Petsa, Jason Jones
Rachel Sennott (Bodies Bodies Bodies) stars as Sam, a stand-up comedian living in Toronto who takes on a nannying job in order to earn some cash. After the young girl she was caring for goes missing, Sam is stricken with PTSD and no longer performs comedy, haunted by the loss of her charge and her own helplessness.
IF
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Fantasy comedyRun time: 1h 44mDirector: John KrasinskiCast: Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski
Remember Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends? Well, imagine that, but set in New York and starring Ryan Reynolds and not so imaginative. IF follows Bea (Cailey Fleming), a young girl who works alongside her neighbor to help imaginary friends whose real-life friends have grown up. It’s ostensibly a kids’ movie, but with a message that’s slightly… off.
Mars Express
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Sci-fi actionRun time: 1h 25mDirector: Jérémie PérinCast: Léa Drucker, Mathieu Amalric, Daniel Njo Lobé
This sci-fi noir thriller follows a private detective and her android partner who are hired by a wealthy businessman to track down an elusive hacker. Their investigation dovetails into a search for a missing woman before inadvertently spiralling into a vast conspiracy that threatens to unravel the fabric of human civilization.
From our review:
Mars Express is the rare example of an animated feature that warrants an almost immediate rewatch upon completion, if only to appreciate the craftsmanship of its presentation. It’s a densely layered sci-fi story that’s light on proper nouns, but heavy on subtext. It’s set in a world that doesn’t tell so much as it shows the depth of its narrative and worldbuilding, by trusting its audience to pay close attention and connect the dots alongside the film’s characters. In short, it’s a rare example of “adult” animation that treats its audience like adults, and its execution elevates its premise until it stands confidently as one of the year’s best animated features.
The Beast
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Sci-fi romanceRun time: 2h 26mDirector: Bertrand BonelloCast: Léa Seydoux, George MacKay, Guslagie Malanda
Imagine Cloud Atlas meets The Age of Innocence meets Mulholland Drive. That’s about the simplest way of describing The Beast, Bertrand Bonello’s sci-fi romance drama. Léa Seydoux (Spectre) stars as Gabrielle, a woman living in the near-future who undergoes a process to “purify” her DNA of strong emotions by reliving her past lives. Her procedure becomes more complicated after crossing paths with Louis (George MacKay), a man whom — in a past life — she may or may not have loved.
From our review:
The Beast’s three timelines play with seemingly unmixable genres: a classic period romance, a gripping horror-thriller, and dystopian sci-fi. That places them at a logistical disconnect, but Bonello binds them aesthetically and emotionally. Through his lengthy, thought-provoking close-ups of Gabrielle and Louis in each section, he creates a sense of longing and isolation across time, binding together human experiences of the past, present, and future, and putting them into sharp and chilling context.
We Grown Now
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: DramaRun time: 1h 33mDirector: Minhal BaigCast: Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson
Set in Chicago in the early ’90s, We Grown Now centers on the story of Malik and Eric, two young boys growing up in a housing complex who survive the mundanity of school life and the perils of their environment through the strength of their friendship. When a sudden tragedy threatens to strain their bond, Malik and Eric will have to grow up fast and make a choice between what to hold on to and what to let go of.
The post Netflix’s Trigger Warning, The Beast, and every movie new to streaming this week appeared first on Polygon.
