Between big new prestige series and several film festival releases finally making their way to streaming, it’s a week overflowing with quality content. The headliners include Sofía Vergara, Austin Butler, Tom Cruise, and Nicole Kidman, but there’s plenty of talent in every title.
What to watch on Netflix
Griselda
A gripping series that isn’t so much true crime as it is heavily dramatized crime, Griselda tells the story of notorious drug queenpin Griselda Blanco. Sofía Vergara stars as the criminal mastermind, who dominated the city of Miami in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Griselda traveled from Colombia to the States with her kids, a brick of cocaine, and a fierce determination to make her own way, no matter the moral cost. As she rises through the ranks of the drug scene, she becomes a bigger target for her rivals and the law. Griselda premiered Thursday, January 25th. Read Observer’s review.
Shortcomings
While Sundance is currently ongoing, delivering snow and exciting indie movies in equal measure, why not enjoy one of last year’s festival favorites? Shortcomings marks the feature directorial debut of comedian and actor Randall Park, and it’s an adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel of the same name. The film revolves around Ben, a cinephile and film school dropout who has difficulty with the women in his life, to say the least. His girlfriend Miko is a proud member of their local Asian American community, a sentiment he can’t quite replicate himself, and a bevy of toxic internalized behaviors manifest from there. Shortcomings premieres Thursday, February 1st.
What to watch on Hulu
The Imitation Game
With the Oscar nominations earlier this week presenting a competitive race for Best Adapted Screenplay, why not watch a well-received winner from nearly 10 years ago? The Imitation Game stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, the brilliant man whose work served as the basis for the modern computer despite his tragic end. The film focuses on his time working with British intelligence during World War II, trying to crack the code that the Nazis used to send messages about their war plans. It’s a story about discovery, complex moral decisions, and the anxiety inherent in leading a gay life in the mid-20th century. The Imitation Game streams Friday, January 26th.
R.M.N.
From the director of the riveting, Palme d’Or-winning abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days comes this story about the frequent intersection of xenophobia and labor issues. R.M.N. takes place in a small Romanian village, where many people have looked outward for better employment and higher wages. That creates an issue for the local bakery, which can’t meet those standards without raising its prices. But when the owner hires some Sri Lankan workers from outside the small (and small-minded) community, long-simmering tensions about race and ethnicity boil over. R.M.N. streams starting Sunday, January 28th.
What to watch on Amazon Prime
Expats
Lulu Wang made quite an impression back in 2019 with her fantastic film The Farewell, and she returns with her biggest project since then this week. Expats is a new drama based on the novel of the same name, and it stars Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, and Ji-young Yoo as a trio of women living in 2014 Hong Kong whose lives intersect and fall apart. While each woman deals with her own personal baggage and family drama, the show also delves into the relationship between the wealthy and those they employ, the live-in help who are “like family” but will never be family. Expats premieres Friday, January 26th. Read Observer’s review.
What to watch on Apple TV+
Masters of the Air
Taking cues (and producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg) from critically acclaimed war miniseries like Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Masters of the Air stars some of today’s biggest names as members of the Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group during World War II. Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Barry Keoghan, and Ncuti Gatwa (among many, many others) make up the bomber squadron that conducted massive raids over Nazi Germany, and the epic historical series will explore everything from the difficult conditions pilots faced in aerial warfare to the toll that such battles took. Masters of the Air premieres Friday, January 26th.
What to watch on Paramount+
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
A blockbuster in every sense of the word, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning and all of its death-defying stunts are landing on streaming this week. Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt returns to fight perhaps his greatest enemy yet: a rogue artificial intelligence entity with the power to become the most dangerous weapon on the planet. As per usual, the team helping hunt includes the likes of Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson, with Hayley Atwell serving as a cunning newcomer to the franchise’s proceedings. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning premiered on streaming Thursday, January 25th. Read Observer’s review.
What to Watch is a regular endorsement of movies and TV worth your streaming time.
