King Richard, Netflix’s Tick Tick Boom and 13 new movies to watch this weekend

Ghostbusters: AfterlifeAfter being delayed four times, “Ghostbusters: The New Ghostbusters” finally arrives in theaters. If you aren’t up to venturing out to your local theater to see whether there is indeed something strange in your neighborhood, not to worry: There are plenty of great new releases to watch via streaming and video on demand this weekend.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s feature-length adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical musical Tick, Tick… Boom! lands on Netflix this weekend, while a host of recent releases like Edgar Wright’s Last Night in SohoThe Political thriller There are zeros and onesStarring Ethan Hawke Jungle Cruise, CandymanVOD finally gets them all.

To help you get a handle on what’s new and available, here are the new movies you can watch with the click of a button this weekend.

Tick, Tick… Boom!

What to Watch:Netflix streaming available

Photo by Macall Polay/Netflix

Based on an autobiographical musical with the same name. Let me know if you are interested in renting creator Jonathan Larson, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tick, Tick… Boom!Andrew Garfield plays Jon, a talented theater composer trying to establish himself in the international stage. He is frustrated by his failures and worried about his 30th birthday. Jon continues to pursue his personal goal to make something extraordinary, but he remains oblivious of the fact that a medical condition will ultimately take his life. Our review shows that

However, from time to time this version of Tick, Tick… Boom!This is an emotional and touching note. It’s a generous two-hour thank-you note from Miranda to the man who helped make his career possible. Several of the songs are show-stoppers, including the ballad “Why” (a touching reflection on Jon’s lifelong friendship with Michael), the jaunty ditty “Boho Days” (which is like Let me know if you are interested in renting compressed into three minutes), the comedic “Therapy” (a dissection of a broken relationship, in the style of KanderAnd Ebb musicals like Chicago and Cabaret), and “Sunday” (a Sondheim-derived ode to brunch with an impressive list of cameos Netflix has asked critics not to reveal). The film has many great musical numbers that music-theater fans will want to see on repeat.

King Richard

What to Watch:On HBO Max, you can watch it live.

Warner Bros.

Biopic Drama 2021 King RichardWill Smith stars as Richard Williams. He is the father to future tennis star Venus (Saniyya Sydney) or Serena Williams(Demi Singleton), and tries to raise them and help them to achieve greatness. We review.

Without stating explicitly, this film is an adaptation of real events. That leads to friction between the glossy, wholesome triumphs common to most sports biopics, and the uneasy interrogation needed for a character like Williams, a vain leader who’s guiding his daughters toward tremendous triumphs, while feeding them uncomfortable and even disturbing messages. That push and pull between frankness and a spin that flatters Williams keeps Green’s King RichardThis film is truly a masterpiece. But it doesn’t inhibit it from being enjoyable. It’s tonally conflicted, but it’s an oddly compelling piece about an unlikely Black family succeeding in a white-dominated space.

Last Night in Soho

What to Watch:Rentable at $19.99 from Amazon, Apple and Vudu

Photo by Focus Features

Edgar Wright’s giallo-inspired psychological horror thriller Last Night in Soho stars Thomasin McKenzie (An Old Version, Jojo RabbitEllie (played by ), is an aspiring fashion designer, timid and romantic who dreams of being a model. After moving to London to attend college, Ellie begins to experience vivid dreams of living in ’60s Soho through the eyes of Sandie (The Witch’s Anya Taylor-Joy), a wannabe singer whisked into a whirlwind relationship with a charming manager named Jack (Matt Smith). These dreams are the beginning of some amazing effects, but they soon take an unexpected turn and begin to haunt her. Ellie must find a brutal killer in order to heal her wounds and not become a victim. Our review shows:

Soho feels like Wright’s most explicit interrogation of his own sentimental impulses, and simultaneously, his most stylistically grandiose work. The brutal and unconcerned exploiting of women is also central to the story. This is certainly Edgar Wright at his Edgar Wright-iest, but even as he’s arguing against celebrating the past in Last Night in Soho, he’s celebrating it himself, in ways that are hard to escape, and at times, harder still to enjoy.

There are zeros and ones

What to Watch:Amazon, Apple, Vudu and Vudu are all available for rent at $6.99

Lionsgate image

Set over the course of one night, Abel Ferrara’s gritty political-thriller There are zeros and onesEthan Hawke stars as J.J., the American soldier stationed to Rome and Justin his militant twin brother. J.J is called to action when the Vatican is under attack. The threat of terrorist bombings is imminent. He must find his brother’s information and stop the attacks before they can destroy the entire world. The trailer looks exciting, and the premise alone sounds eerily similar to Hawke’s previous performance in the 2014 sci-fi action thriller Predestination crossed with Ang Lee’s 2019 film Gemini Man. So if you’re a fan of either one of those movies, you should absolutely give this one a shot.

Jungle Cruise

What to Watch:Rentable for as low $5.99 at Amazon, Apple and Vudu

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

All aboard the Jungle Cruise, Choo choo! The latest effort in Disney’s ongoing effort to spin every one of its notable theme-park rides into a sustainable theatrical franchise, Jungle Cruise stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Frank “Skipper” Wolff, a riverboat captain hired to transport Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) into the heart of the exotic jungle in search of the Tree of Life. It’s not exactly FitzcarraldoOder Z: The Lost CityBut it is. DoesZombies snake-men, CG-animated leopards and Jesse Plemons are all part of the story. Our review:

Jungle Cruise is beholden not just to the antiquated tropes of archaeological adventure movies, but also the ride’s own problematic legacy. They do try their best to alter that legacy. It is a smart decision to make the treasure a part of nature, rather than a remnant of an old civilization. But the best adaptation is that the indigenous people of the jungle are civilized, and they’re Frank’s buddies — they only attack the tourists because they have an agreement where he pays them to scare the travelers for extra thrills. The leader of the tribe — the infamous Trader Sam, originally an outdated park character — is a woman in the movie. She doesn’t get a lot of screen time, and is more of an Easter Egg than a woman of color with a story of her own, but at least the filmmakers are acknowledging the ride’s past and considering how to modernize their thinking.

The Ghostland Prisoners

What to Watch:Shudder streaming available

Image: RLJE Films

As anyone familiar with Nicolas Cage’s work knows, there’s no such thing as “over-the-top” to the Oscar-winning actor. When it comes to The Ghostland Prisoners, a neo-noir Western action movie starring Cage as a criminal mercenary named Hero sent to a parallel dimension to rescue a warlord’s granddaughter, it’s really just par for the course for Cage at this point. There’s samurai action, gore, and testicle-mounted explosives galore, and it absolutely, unequivocally The whips. .

The Ghostland PrisonersThis is the perfect movie for the late-night, packed-house screening. Presented in the less-than-ideal at-home venue, by nature of virtual Sundance, it’s a delightful love letter to action-movie excess. Like The Wachowskis’ Jupiter AscendingOder, a more literal translation: Roger Rabbit: Who Was It?, Sono embraces cartoon nonsense logic in order to whisk Cage to each of the film’s unexpected mile markers. So obviously, the Governor is American and walks out wearing all whites with a cowboy hat. The samurai warriors might as well be RPG NPCs engaging in a sword battle set to Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle.” A sequence depicting the accident that melted the countryside into a decaying shade of its former self flips across the screen like the pages of a manga. A star who has perfected the mouth-agape, raised-eyebrow “Wut?” face is the glue that keeps all the pieces stuck to the collage.

Candyman

What to Watch:Rentable for $5.99 at Amazon, Apple and Vudu

Universal Pictures

DaCosta’s 2021 sequel to the 1992 horror classic CandymanThe original movie is reinterpreted in unexpected (and divisive) ways. Candyman, the serial killer, is seen less as an individual specter and more as a collective trauma wrought by the death of Black victims of systemic violence. While the creative ambitions of DaCosta’s film are admirable, the film itself might leave something to be desired for some viewers. We have reviewed the film.

DaCosta is like Anthony and wants to convey something with her work. Her Candyman makes broad metaphorical strokes about the larger urban Black experience, but it’s aimed at an oblivious audience that needs didactic storytelling to understand racial politics. The film’s end is particularly muddled, doing more to set up a sequel than to smartly bind together Candyman’s varied, nascent themes. The film is missing out on a cohesive vision, to the point where the audience will spend the entire film waiting for the flashbacks and summaries to end, and for DaCosta’s movie to finally begin. But by the end, she’s only offered a visually stunning homage to the original film. For a director of her talent, that isn’t enough.

Multiverse

What to Watch:Rentable for $6.99 at Amazon, Apple and Vudu

Image: Saban Films

Do you like 2004’s Primer? Do you like watching actors argue with themselves, but don’t feel like watching There are zeros and ones or 1998’s Dead Ringers? MultiverseThis should appeal to you. Sci-fi thriller Loretta (Paloma Kawiatkowski), Danny, Amy (Sandra Mae Frank), Gerry (Munro Chambers), are four young scientists who are on the brink of finding a way to prove multiverse theory. After a terrible tragedy, they become more focused on their mission and find a way of traveling to other universes. They could endanger not only the lives of those they love, but also every universe in existence.

And here’s what dropped last Friday:

Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings

What to Watch:Disney Plus is available to stream

Image: Marvel Studios

Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten RingsFollow the story of Shang Chi (Simu Luu), a humble man who works in San Francisco as an valet. Unbeknownst to his best friend Katy (Awkwafina), he’s both a formidable martial-arts master and the son of the notorious leader of the Ten Rings criminal empire. Hunted by his father’s underlings, Shang-Chi has to confront his past if wants to save both the world and his family. According to our review

The heart of it all is Shang-ChiThis isn’t a tale of heroes or villains but rather a drama about three families trying to deal with their long-buried anger and grievances. Destin Daniel Cretton, DirectorJust Mercy, short term 12), who co-wrote the script alongside Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham, unspools this drama tenderly and with plenty of humor — anchored by a tremendous performance from Tony Leung, who brings a level of subtle humanity to every moment he’s on screen.

No Time To Die

What to Watch:Rentable for as low as $19.99 at Amazon, Apple and Vudu

Photo: Nicola Dove/MGM

Set several years after the events of 2015’s Spectre, You have no choice but to live.It centers on James Bond (a former retired spy) being re-recruited for the rescue of a kidnapped scientist. Lyutsifer Sfin (Rami Malak), a terrorist who threatens all those Bond loves, entraps him with her. How does Daniel Craig’s final outing as Bond compare to previous entries in the series? Our review.

If you were less cynical, it would be much easier. You have no choice but to live. convincingly delivered on its commitments to Bond’s humanity, rather than nudging it into a handful of scattered scenes, around a lumbering, half-baked drama spiked with explosions and car chases. The film might be the best. really is “about family and relationships,” but to the extent that it is, it underscores the dearth of imagination that’s just barely fueling the biggest blockbusters, the inevitability that all our modern heroes will eventually feel as stale as the smug ladykillers they once replaced.

Suicide Squad

What to Watch:Rentable for as low $5.99 at Amazon, Apple and Vudu

Warner Bros.

Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn’s standalone sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad features returning stars Margot Robbie (I, TonyaJoel KinnamanThe KillingViola Davis (WidowsJai Courtney (Terminator GenisysIdris Elba, a series newcomer to the show (Beasts of No NationJohn Cena, (Fast Saga: F9), David Dastmalchian (The Dark KnightYou can also use the following: After the last movie is finished, set aside indeterminate time. NewTo ensure that national security is maintained, Suicide Squad travels to Corto Maltese in South America. This mission is to reduce the prison sentence by a couple of years. One starfish could be able to tell the difference. Our review shows that

Comparing Suicide Squad To Guardians of the GalaxyIt is difficult to avoid Gunn, particularly since Gunn has such an innate sensibility that it has been used to create unlikely crowd pleasers at two competing mega-franchises. Mostly, as above, the comparison is favorable — but other times it isn’t. Suicide Squad is at its best when it’s doing things that Marvel Studios will not: R-rated action comedy, setpieces that prioritize performers over computer effects, and a story that isn’t afraid to gesture at real-world geopolitical conflict. It’s at its weakest when it embraces a Marvel-style ending, filing away its rough edges to deliver a sentimental finish that leaves the status quo more or less intact for potential future projects.

Clifford the Big Red Dog

What to Watch:Paramount Plus is available to stream

Image: Paramount Pictures/Scholastic Entertaiment

Based on the beloved Scholastic children’s book series, Clifford the Big Red DogFollow Emily Darby Camp, a middle-schooler who struggles to make friends at school. She is then introduced to Clifford, a tiny red dog named Clifford, by an eccentric man/magician who sets up tents in Central Park for kids to adopt. This is kinda bizarre. As Emily’s love for Clifford grows, so does the puppy’s size. As a large, lovable creature, he frolics through New York City. He also warms all those he meets. Casey (Jack Whitehall), Emily’s grouchy homeless uncle, wants nothing to do with the dog, but when a nefarious biotech company aims its sights on the big red pup, he and Emily will have to team up to rescue Clifford and get him back home safely. Weirdly, it’s kind of like The Day That the Earth Still Stood. No one understands Clifford! Yet, they are determined to take him out. Poor pup.

Passing

What to Watch:Netflix streaming available

Netflix Photo

Based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel, actor Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut stars Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga as Irene and Clare, two childhood friends who reunite in adulthood, having been radically affected by their respective lived experiences as African-American woman. While Irene (Thompson) lives as a Black woman, Clare’s lighter skin allows her to “pass” for a white woman, escaping and inadvertently enforcing the prejudices of her time. The weight of their mutual secrets causes their friendship to break down. They must both face the difficulties that comes with their individual identities. Shot in exquisite black-and-white — which quickly goes from obvious metaphor to integral lens — Hall charts the course of two women with a deep sense of psychology. New York is home to more than one million movies. Passing It reveals a completely new part of the globe in its streets.

Red Notice

What to Watch:Netflix streaming available

Netflix Photo

Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, and Dwayne Johnson star in the action-comedy-heist-adventure Red Notice Nolan Booth (Reynolds) is a wisecracking international art thief, competing with Sarah “The Bishop” Black, his Carmen San Diego-esque rival and nemesis. John Hartley (Johnson), the FBI’s top criminal profiler, is tasked with bringing them to justice. When Black frames Hartley, he has to team up with Booth to clear his name and stop her from stealing Queen Cleopatra’s bejeweled eggs. Is the movie good? Uhhhhhhhhhh. To our review,

These characters and the plot are not the focus of the movie, the screenplay, or the actors. How important is it that they have all three eggs? The world isn’t on the verge of ending. There are no governments being attacked. No one’s life is in danger. This film, instead, is an incoherent preamble. It is not a star vehicle with jalopy quality. The film eventually winds toward a legend involving Hitler’s art dealer, with a dreadfully shot car chase set underground, caked in hideous visual effects. This grand finale seems so unlikely, that it is almost impossible for the incomprehensible screenwriting logic to justify selling it. It causes whiplash-inducing coma.

Wonderful White

What to Watch:Shudder streaming available

Shudder

Australian Horror Adventure Film Wonderful White stars Katrina Bowden (Tucker & Dale vs. Tucker & Dale vs.) and Aaron Jakubenko (The Shannara ChroniclesKaz and Charlie are expecting parents, which leaves them stranded on the shores of California with their three children when their seaplane gets attacked by a shark. (Yes, really.) The group is left with only an inflatable liferaft and few supplies, but must survive to get to safety before they are bitten by the shark. If you liked Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Shallows or Jon Turteltaub’s The Meg, you’ll probably dig Wonderful White, which isn’t brilliant cinema, but does deliver the required “who will get eaten first?” tension of a shark movie. This is our review.

Martin Wilson is a commercial director and makes his feature film debut. Wonderful White There is some gravitas. Michael Boughen, the screenwriter, is awash in angst and the characters are clearly all struggling to navigate their own heavy turmoil. Filmmakers are sure to be aiming for something even closer. Jaws More than just Ghost SharkTheir large-scale views suggest that the sequences of early times in Jaws Imagine what it would have looked like had Steven Spielberg’s drone camera been around in 1975. Wilson’s film rarely looks cheap: It’s colorful and vibrant, full of cool turquoise-water vistas and aerial shots that feel like they’re selling tropical vacations.

Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago — The Ultimate Director’s Cut

What to Watch:You can rent it for $5.99 from Amazon or Apple and $3.99 on Vudu

MGM Pictures

You ever just sit back and wonder, “Hey, what would Rocky IV be like if it didn’t have Paulie’s birthday robot, or if Apollo Creed’s fight and resulting death at the hands of Ivan Drago was motivated by something other than blind hubris?” No? Sylvester Stallone is certain. So much so that he re-edited the entire movie while in quarantine last year, adding an additional 42 minutes of footage — nearly doubling the film’s original run time. What is the difference between this version and the original? Based on our analysis,

The film’s remarkable narrative length of just 91 minutes is impressive. Rocky IV This is more training montage that movie. So when Stallone announced an “extended director’s cut” this past September, the notion sounded like grist for an SNL Digital Short. However, the actor-director took his responsibilities seriously. Rocky IV. This once gaudy touchstone of ‘80s cinema has been transformed into a strangely grim rumination on the warrior’s code. Visually and tonally, it’s a much different experience. And let’s get this straight: those “42 minutes of new footage” promised in the press announcement are in there, but at 93 minutes (with credits), it also means a third of the movie that’s been a cable mainstay since the beginning of the glasnost era is gone. This is not your bearded Gen X uncle’s Rocky IV.