This week, a large variety of movies will finally be available for streaming.
Since digital releases on Tuesdays are boosted by streaming services releasing titles throughout the week, new movies are regularly available to watch online at the start (and throughout) of each week. This week’s releases include a highly anticipated anime picture, a terrifying horror thriller sure to thrill horror fans, a Netflix animated feature for the whole family, and even a musical film.
In terms of entertainment value, Belle, a sci-fi anime film, is the most intriguing. HBO offers a treat for musical theatre aficionados, and Netflix has a YA movie that takes place during that wonderful summer before college among the other offerings this week. Also, if you’re still hungry for more, here you go. This weekend’s new series and movies are still available for your viewing pleasure.
Without further ado, here are this week’s seven must-see movies:
Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known (HBO Max)
Fans of Spring Awakening had a lot to be happy about when November 2021 rolled around. In addition to Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, John Gallagher Jr., and many more famous names, the popular musical brought back many of its original cast members for a special one-night-only performance. Because tickets and flights were expensive, HBO understands that many people are interested in seeing the performances as well as the passion that goes on behind the scenes.
An evening of performances from that night is combined with conversations with the cast and glimpses behind the curtain in Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known. For anyone interested in learning how to put on a production like Spring Awakening, a musical that no one expected to succeed because of its many third-rail subjects, we’ve got you covered. Archival video from the play’s early days is also shown in this documentary.
It will be available on HBO Max beginning at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 3.
Belle
There’s a lot of talk about the metaverse these days, and much of it is uninteresting or pointless. However, a metaverse world is shown in the sci-fi anime film Belle.
Suzu, who is struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother, seeks solace in a virtual world called U. A very successful singer, she transforms into the pink-haired Belle when there.
The mystery of one’s true identity is at the heart of the fantasy film Belle, which looks so fanciful that you’ll wish you’d seen it in cinemas. To avoid her audience recognising she’s simply a normal teenager, Suzu plans to investigate who is behind the hazardous dragon persona that’s ripping her and her friends apart.
Apple and other video-on-demand services have it available now.
Last Survivors (Hulu)
One of the most common pastimes of prepper and survivalist types is imagining what life would be like for Jake (Drew Van Acker) and Troy (Troy’s younger brother) (Stephen Moyer). Troy grew up in a world where battles led to cataclysmic catastrophes, and the two miraculously survived. Jake has taught his kid to be fearful, but he has also taught him to marry the first woman he meets.
Alicia Silverstone’s Henrietta (Henrietta’s father) is a kind-hearted person who wants to assist Troy receive the medications he needs for his father. As a result, Troy’s worldview is shattered, as it seems that his father has been feeding him a diet of falsehoods. Thematically, it resembles The Last of Us, but with a lot more gaslighting involved.
Hulu will have it available to watch beginning on Thursday (May 5)
Along for the Ride (Netflix)
Emma Pasarow’s (Auden) road to college has been meticulously laid out, and she has no idea how much of a joyride she needs. Eli (Belmont Cameli), a sexy guy who wants to assist Auden break away from her mother’s suffocating environment, enters the picture.
Eli’s accidental introduction opens up a new universe of possibilities for Auden, whose mother (Andie MacDowell) assumes she’s spending the summer with her father. We still have to figure out exactly who Eli is. Eli, not Auden’s friends, is the one who is concerned about her privacy. Dermot Mulroney and Kate Bosworth feature in the film.
This Friday, Netflix will have it available to watch (May 6)
Marmaduke (Netflix)
Every now and again, the beloved pooch of the 1950s makes a triumphant return to the public eye. This time around, Marmaduke returns in a computer-generated animated adventure with a distinct visual style that makes no attempt to approach the uncanny valley. Marmaduke’s family sends him to training and tournaments in order to keep him in condition, and the film’s premise is quite predictable.
The casting may be the only thing that works for you. Marmaduke is voiced by none other than Pete Davidson. Possibly Scooby Snacks were involved? Zeus, Marmaduke’s arch-rival, is played by Whiplash’s J. K. Simmons, while Marmaduke’s owner Phil is played by Anchorman’s David Koechner.
Netflix will begin streaming it on May 6th.
Hatching (Hulu)
As children, we were taught to feel good about ourselves by lending a helping hand to those in need, like the neighbourhood birds. Hatching, a body horror film from Finland, tells an entirely different narrative. During Tinja’s first encounter with a crow, she learns a great deal about the perils of becoming friends with birds of prey.
In addition to Sophie Heikkilä’s brutal disposal of the bird, Tinja is pushed into the forest by this event where she discovers an egg. Tinja takes this egg home with her, as though she feels responsible for it (could it be from the same bird that just flew by?).
Tinja, on the other hand, begins to understand that this is no ordinary egg. It emits a crimson light, and even becomes greater than Tinja in size. Hatching is going to remain a topic of conversation for horror aficionados for years to come, thanks to the shock value of what happens afterwards.
On Friday, Hulu will begin streaming it (May 6)
Dear Evan Hansen (HBO Max)
HBO Max is doubling down on this week’s Spring Awakening documentary, if that wasn’t enough for theatre kids and grownups. When Steven Levenson’s Dear Evan Hansen is released on Friday, it will be the cinematic version of the Dear Evan Hansen narrative about an uncomfortable youngster who needs to write his own words of encouragement in the morning. Following the terrible death of a fellow student as the result of bullying, the rest is musical theatre history.
In fact, no one is claiming that Ben Platt, who plays the title character, nailed it. There’s a popular belief that not only was Platt miscast, but that Platt’s father Marc (a producer on the film) might have been responsible for his son earning the part, in a piece of nepotism, as a result of the film’s success.
That being stated, what do you think? An 88 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, an A- CinemaScore, and a 78 percent favourable rating on PostTrak confirmed the film’s popularity with the audience.
HBO Max will have it available to watch beginning on Friday (May 6)