Netflix’s Harder They Fall, Finch, and the 9 new movies to watch

This weekend EternalMarvel Cinematic Universe’s 26th movie, “The Incredibles,” is in theatres now. Spencer, Pablo Larraín’s biopic drama starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana. If you’re not feeling up to venturing out to see existential superhero dramas or a real-life horror story of the British aristocracy, there’s still plenty of movies coming to VOD and streaming to watch from home this weekend.

Jeymes Samuel’s American Western action drama The more they fall the harder it is is now out on Netflix, joining Apple TV Plus’ Tom Hanks sci-fi movie FinchAnd the much-anticipated (right?) The Movie: Paw PatrolParamount Plus. And that’s just the top of the stack of smaller releases hitting VOD for the first time, plus the highlights from last weekend.

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.

The more they fall the harder it is

You should be watching:Netflix streaming available

Image by David Lee/Netflix

A stellar ensemble of actors, including Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country), Zazzie Beatz (AtlantaRegina King (Watchmen), Idris Elba (Suicide Squad), LaKeith Stanfield (We are sorry to bother you), Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), and more, Jeymes Samuel’s Western They fall harder the harder they workThe story follows Nat Love, an outlaw (Majors), who embarks upon a journey for revenge against Rufus Black Elba (Elba) following his escape from prison. This film is known for its modern, contemporary Western style and predominantly Black cast. But how does the movie compare to other Black Western movies of its genre? Our review

The film is not only star studded, but also has some miscast actors. The fact that the device was intended for streaming is what makes it unique. Its visuals, while louder than fashionable or flashy, are not as stylish nor gaudy. The story of the film is not enough to support its long runtime. It lacks the vastness of the natural Western landscape. Samuel’s The more they fall the harder it is doesn’t rise to the epic scale of its spaghetti and Blaxploitation influences: The genre has never felt so small and streaming-friendly as it does in this tawdry misadventure.

Finch

You should be watching:Apple TV Plus is available for streaming

Photo by Apple TV Plus

Tom HanksCloud Atlas) stars in Miguel Sapochnik’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama FinchAn ailing inventor, who is left alone and isolated by climate change, creates an android that will help him keep company as well as care for his dog. Finch, a man driven by fear of the approaching storm, sets off on a trip across the country to seek refuge from his creation and protect it against the dangers in this new hostile world. Our review.

A tonally bizarre film that’s half motion-capture PinocchioStory, Half live-action adaptation Futurama’s infamously melancholy “Jurassic Bark” episode, Finch relies on Hanks’ instant likeability and genuine warmth to drive home the devastation of a post-apocalyptic world Movie lovers know Hanks’ expressions and intonations, his body language, and his physicality, and his familiarity is key to the immediate sympathy the character and film require. Director Miguel Sapochnik (a Game of Thrones veteran who earned attention for episodes like “Hardhome” and “Battle of the Bastards”) is betting on Hanks’ decades of accrued good will. With every one of Hanks’ aghast eye squints, bemused double looks, and easy laughs, Sapochnik is making the same gamble that the Wachowskis did with Hanks in their far superior sci-fi movie, Cloud Atlas.

Dead & Beautiful

You should be watching:Shudder is available to stream

Image by Shudder

Did you watch Netflix’s Evening TeethWhat is the answer? Imagine it from the viewpoint of the vampires. Set in China rather than Los Angeles. Director David Verbeek’s horror thriller Dead & BeautifulFollow five wealthy, spoiled twentysomethings (Gijsblom, Aviis Zhong. Yen Tao. Philip Juan. Anechka Marchenko), who are bored and complacent with their wealth and the vices that come along it. The group of privileged urbanites wake up from a night out and realize that they have vampire fangs. They also crave human flesh. They must navigate the many opportunities and challenges presented by their group of friends to become monstrous.

The Beta Test

You should be watching:Rentable at $5.99 from Amazon, $6.99 for Apple and Vudu

Image: IFC Films

Indie maven Jim Cummings (Thunder RoadIn his comedy thriller, he stars as? The Beta Test, his directorial follow-up to 2020’s The Wolf of Snow HollowJordan, a Hollywood success agent, accepts an invitation to an anonymous sexual liaison just before his marriage. Jordan, haunted and suspect that he is unwittingly in the middle of a plot of infidelity and murder, must locate the identity and partner of his anonymous lover before his life becomes a nightmare. The trailer gives off the vibe of David Fincher’s The GameYou can use this to your advantage 50 Shades Of Gray with a dash of incisive social commentary à la 2019 The Assistant

The Movie: Paw Patrol

You should be watching:Paramount Plus is available to rent or stream for as low as $4.99 at Amazon and Apple, and $4.99 at Vudu

Image: Paramount Pictures/Spin Master.

Based on the Canadian animated children’s series of the same name, The Movie: Paw PatrolFollow Ryder, a 10-year-old boy with his talking rescue and search dogs team as they journey to Adventure City to stop Mayor Humdinger’s evil plans. Author Brian Platzer wrote about the show for Vulture back in 2019 and described the series among other things as, “a moral and aesthetic catastrophe.” Ouch! Anyway, if you’re into cartoons about anthropomorphic puppies in police outfits or unmitigated train wrecks, The Movie: Paw Patrol might be just the thing you’re looking to watch this weekend.

Ida Red

You should be watching:Amazon: $5.99; Apple: $6.99

Photo: Saban Films

Josh Hartnett stars in writer-director John Swab’s action crime thriller Ida Red as Wyatt, the son of notorious crime boss Ida “Red” Walker (Melissa Leo). Following a botched heist job, Ida learns that she is set to be executed and requests the assistance of both her son and nephew Dallas (Frank Grillo), the acting head of Ida’s crime family. With no other options, Dallas and Wyatt must pull off one last heist in order to save Ida’s life, but the consequences of their actions may inevitably lead to the destruction of everything they hold dear. The trailer looks intense and gritty, and Hartnett convincingly portrays himself as a relatable albeit hardened family man trying to do the “right” thing in a situation where everything as gone horribly wrong.

And here’s what dropped last Friday:

Army of Thieves

You should be watching:Netflix streaming available

Photo: Stanislav Honzik/ Netflix

Ludwig Dieter, the safe-cracking savant first introduced in Zach Snyder’s 2021 zombie heist film Army of the DeadReturns in this decidedly not-zombie-related movie about heists Army of ThievesThis was a placeholder page for. This was six years prior to the events in Army of the DeadThe film shows Dieter during his early years in safecracking. Recruited by a mysterious woman named Gwendoline (Nathalie Emmaneul) to take part in a high-stakes heist involving the cracking of three notoriously impenetrable safes across Europe, Dieter will have to rise to the occasion if he has any hope of becoming a legend among thieves — let alone making it out of the job alive. Directed by and starring Matthias Schweighöfer, Army of Thieves looks like an appropriately explosive and entertaining enough follow-up to Snyder’s original film, but is there more beneath the surface? Based on our review

Franchising’s narrow vision of success is a distraction. Army of ThievesAll the way to the end. The origin of Sebastian’s eventual Ludwig Dieter pseudonym is tied to a comic book, with cringeworthy abandon. Sebastian has nightmares of zombies attacking him and setting the scene for the storybeat. Army of the DeadHe locks himself into a safe to protect his identity. And the film’s prologue connects directly to Snyder’s flick, through a flash-forward sequence. The only variation Schweighöfer takes is in the look and the feel of his movie: It isn’t nearly as bleak. Brightly lit and with far less gunplay, it also isn’t as gruesome — or as entertaining, for that matter. Its quirky humor is a drowning symptom of its maudlin content.

Paranormal Activity

You should be watching: Paramount Plus streaming available

Image: Paramount Players

The Paranormal Activity franchise is back — likely thanks to the pandemic dent in the entertainment industry — straight to streaming. Directed by a William Eubanks who’s made some lower-budget, visually stunning genre movies like Underwater and The Signal, Next of Kin A documentary filmmaker descends into an Amish community and follows her. Paranormal Activity style, all goes wrong in this god-fearing community. You can expect a few fewer flashing lights because there isn’t electricity. However, the formula has many 2021-friendly variations.

The Spine Of Night

You should be watching:Rentable for as low as $6.99 via Amazon Prime Video and Apple.

Image: RLJE Films

If you’re desperately yearning for an animated dark fantasy horror epic in the vein of Ralph Bakshi’s Ice and fire Or, if you really want to. It is really Do not miss Metalocalypse The Spine Of NightIt is the type of movie that you deserve. This film was directed by Love, Death & RobotsWritten by Philip Gelatt, and animated by Morgan Galen King. The Spine of Night follows several generations of heroes and warriors who battle demonic forces unleashed on the world through a crime against Gods. Hand-rotoscoped animated animation is featured. The film features performances from Richard E. Grant (Lucy Lawless), Patton Oswalt (Patton Oswalt), Joe Manganiello and many others. The Spine Of NightIt promises an extraordinary experience that is worth the effort.

Lamb

You should be watching:Rentable for as low as $19.99 at Amazon Prime Video and Apple.

Image by A24

Noomi RapacePrometheus) and Hilmir Snær Guðnason star in Valdimar Jóhannsson’s dark fantastical Icelandic drama Lamb as a couple who discover a strange half-human, half-lamb creature born in their sheep born. With no children of their own, the couple adopt the young “child,” naming it Ada and attempt to raise it as their own with love, all while dark unseen forces conspire to lure the strange newborn back to the wilderness. As critic Alison Willmore wrote in her review for Vulture, “Lamb isn’t a horror movie. It’s more like a fairy tale, with all the darkness that most fairy tales have before they’re tidied up for contemporary consumption.”

Snakehead

You should be watching:Rentable for as low as $6.99 via Amazon Prime Video and Apple.

Image: Samuel Goldwyn Films/Roadside Attractions

Shuya Chang (Sword of Destiny, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) stars in director Evan Jackson Leong’s action suspense drama SnakeheadTse plays the role of Sister Tse, an immigrant young woman trying to find a job in New York. Tse, who is being manipulated by Dai Mah (Jade Wu), a matriarch of an abrasive Chinese crime family, becomes a Snakehead (aka human trafficker) and rises through the ranks. However, when the ruthless realities of the job become too much to bear, Tse will be forced to choose what kind of life it is she wants to live in America — and how far she’s willing to go in order to realize it. This trailer is exciting with impressive editing and action. Chang exudes both determination and a strong command of the circumstances in which she finds herself.