“Love, Victor” (not rated) follows a gay Latinx student (Michael Cimino) who faces a bumpy road to self-acceptance as he struggle comes out to his friends and his Catholic family. This spinoff of the 2018 film “Love, Simon” was originally developed for Disney+ but the 10-episode series now debuts on Hulu.
In the second season of the Ryan Murphy-created satire “The Politician” (TV-MA), the ambitious high school kid (Ben Platt) gets into state politics. Bette Midler and Judith Light join a cast that also includes Gwyneth Paltrow. 10 episodes on Netflix.
Based on a true story, the espionage thriller “Wasp Network” (2019, not rated) Netflix Film) follows a group of Cuban spies who infiltrate exile groups in 1990s Florida that threaten the island nation. Cuban authorities gave filmmaker Olivier Assayas access to locations by but his portrait of life on island is far from idealized. Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramírez, Gaël Garcia Bernal, and Ana De Armas star in the multilingual film on Netflix.
In “Crawl” (2019, R), a young woman and her injured father (Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper) are trapped in the crawl space of their Florida home with a vicious alligator during a raging hurricane with rising floodwaters. Alexander Aja directs this modern drive-in horror. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.
The documentary “Disclosure” (2020, not rated) looks at the effects of film and TV portrayals of transgender people on trans identity and American culture. It debuted at Sundance and now streams on Netflix.
Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand
Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried move into a vacation home possessed by a sinister force in “You Should Have Left” (2020, R), a film from horror studio Blumhouse that debuts directly to Premium VOD. Also debuting on VOD:
- romantic comedy “Babyteeth” (2019, not rated) with Eliza Scanlen as a terminally ill teenager living as if there’s nothing to lose (it won two awards at Venice);
- road movie drama “The Short History of the Long Road” (2019, not rated) with Sabrina Carpenter, Maggie Siff, and Danny Trejo.
Netflix
A lovesick girl transforms into a cat to get a boy’s attention in “A Whisker Away” (Japan, 2020, not rated), an animated romantic fantasy that also touches on issues of depression and identity.
Michael Sheen and Frank Langella go head-to-head in the Oscar-nominated “Frost/Nixon” (2008, R).
Streaming TV: Anna Friel returns as the brilliant London police detective in “Marcella: Season 3” (TV-MA). Also new:
- the sixth and final season of “How to Get Away With Murder” (2019-2020, TV-14) with Viola Davis;
- supernatural melodrama “The Order: Season 2” (TV-MA).
Family friendly: a washed-out Broadway dancer coaches a small-time team of misfits in the comedy “Feel the Beat” (2020, not rated). Also new:
- high school comedy “Mr. Iglesias: Part 2” (TV-14) with Gabriel Iglesias;
- feel-good comedy “Alexa & Katie: Part 4” (TV-G);
- family competition series “Floor Is Lava” (not rated);
- animated musical series “Rhyme Time Town: Season 1” (TV-Y) for young kids.
True stories: “Father Soldier Son” (2020, R) follows an injured Afghanistan vet’s journey to reconciliation with his sons. Also new:
- music documentary “The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story” (2020, not rated);
- “Babies: Part 2” (TV-PG) continues to explore the development of infants in their first year.
A collection of classics directed by the great Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine is now available, including his international breakthrough “Cairo Station” (1958), a riveting mix of neorealism and melodrama, and his autobiographical trilogy “Alexandria… Why?” (1979), “Alexandria: An Egyptian Story” (1982), and “Alexandria Again and Forever” (1989). All from Egypt, with subtitles.
Amazon Prime Video
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a pilot on a Berlin to Paris airliner in the hijacking thriller “7500” (2019, R), an English language film from Germany.
Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart star in Woody Allen’s “Café Society” (2016, PG-13), a touching story of how first love never leaves us even as we’ve moved on to other relationships, wrapped in a wry comedy of celebrity and glamor in 1930s Hollywood and New York City.
Hulu
Tom Hanks writes, directs, and stars in “Larry Crowne” (2011, PG-13) as a middle-aged man who goes back to school and starts over after getting downsized. Julia Roberts costars as one of his teachers.
The drone warfare drama “Eye in the Sky” (2015, R) stars Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, and Alan Rickman in his last screen performance.
“Pan” (2015, PG) is a lavish fantasy that imagines the origins of the boy who never grew up with Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard and Levi Miller as Peter.
“Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi: Season 1” (not rated) features the cookbook author and “Top Chef” host exploring the cuisine of immigrant and indigenous cultures across the country. 10 episodes.
HBO Max / HBO Now
Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan engage in a battle of wits in “The Good Liar” (2019, R).
The documentary “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” (2020, TV-14) profiles the infamous political fixer and New York power broker.
The family-friendly competition series “Karma: Season 1” (TV-PG) sends kids from ages 12 to 15 on a series of puzzles and physical contests.
Other streams
The fifth season of the French espionage thriller “The Bureau” (France, TV-MA, with subtitles) begins on Sundance Now, with new episodes each Thursday.
Welsh crime drama “Hidden: Series 2” (not rated, in Welsh and English with subtitles) begins on Acorn TV; new episodes each Monday.
“Imma Tataranni” (Italy, with subtitles) is a colorful prosecutor who solves crimes with flair and attitude in this crime drama set in Basilicata. Streaming on MHz.
Criterion Channel offers a collection of queer cinema going back decades, from Stephen Frears’ “My Beautiful Laundrette” (1985, R) with Daniel Day-Lewis and James Ivory’s “Maurice” (1987, R) with Hugh Grant to Gus Van Sant’s “My Own Private Idaho” (1991, R) with River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves and three films from American indie maverick Gregg Araki including his breakthrough “The Living End” (1992, not rated) and “Mysterious Skin” (2004, not rated) with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and TV can be found at http://streamondemandathome.com.
