Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.
TIE: 10. Saw X (Lionsgate movie streaming on VOD and Amazon Prime)
The most critically-acclaimed Jigsaw movie in the franchise went toe-to-toe with Taylor Swift and lived to tell the tale. The same cannot be said for those who land in these telltale traps, however. This film takes a lengthy voyage back to the earlier days of this horror franchise where Tobin Bell gets to show off his range for days. This is quite unlike any other Saw movie but also doesn’t totally skimp on the requisite gore quotient that fans are used to seeing.
TIE: 10. Loki (Disney+ series)
Tom Hiddleston’s trickster antihero is coming full circle with a realization that ties back into the Thor movies. Also, I’m pretty sure that Miss Minutes is plotting to murder everyone while cheering as time ceases to exist, but don’t take my word for it. What matters at the moment is that Loki and Mobius are together and that Loki is in also love with a multiversal Loki variant, Sylvie. We’re still receiving the most graceful exposition that the MCU has ever seen (or heard) in this show, but the He Who Remains/Kang/Victor Timely aspect of this series continues to be supremely awkward.
9. Fair Play (Netflix movie)
Sure, Bridgerton has a legion of viewers who will turn into every season, but Phoebe Dynevor can do much more, and the same goes for Alden Ehrenreich, who has fully shaken off Solo and is having an incredible 2023 that includes both Cocaine Bear and Oppenheimer. This erotic thriller won’t make you think any better of hedge funders, but it does present a rather startling perspective on shifting relationship dynamics that can happen in the blink of an eye. One day, an in-love couple is getting engaged, and the next, someone gets promoted, and the other person loses their sh*t. There’s also a lot of blood and a lot of espresso going on, fortunately not at the same time.
8. Old Dads (Netflix movie)
Ain’t nothing like a mildly offensive Bill Burr movie to divide audiences, which is likely a big reason why this movie has is sparking so much interest. The presence of Bokeem and Bobby Cannavale doesn’t hurt, and although no one will ever accuse this film of being cerebral or affecting a real message, it’s decent counterprogramming for the crush of Halloween movies.
7. The Devil On Trial (Netflix documentary)
If you’ve seen The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), then you already know a lot about what transpires in this documentary. There shall be no Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga to be found, however, but we do get to see a failed exorcism that happened at the hands of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Those paranormal investigators didn’t quite manage to put a lid on a supposed Satanic possession of David Glatzel. The demon then allegedly jumped into the body of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, who committed homicide, only to literally invoke “the devil made me do it” as an attempted criminal defense strategy.
6. Lessons In Chemistry (Apple TV+ series)
The book-club crowd continues to turn in weekly for the adaptation of Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel. Brie Larson took a little breather from comic book movies for this feminist take on a brilliant female chemist who finds zeitgeist-straddling success in the most unexpected place. As always, that deadpan sense of humor shines through as Larson cooks her way into influencing her at-home audience of housewives.
5. The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Netflix series)
Mike Flanagan and Edgar Allan Poe fans shall be overjoyed to watch this delightful meeting of the minds, albeit in a posthumous manner for one side of the horrifying equation. Once you’re done watching, do come back and read our death ranking and also wonder, exactly, how Carla Gugino can not only pull off a wealth of Flanagan characters in various shows but also various forms in this one climactic series. This isn’t a literal telling of the Poe story but one that successfully incorporates modern ills while skewering the concepts of wealth, privilege, and power.
4. Long Shot (Lionsgate movie streaming on Netflix)
This under-remembered Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron movie is enjoying new life on Netflix. And why not? He took a little downtime from his weed empire, spinning pottery, and producing duties to star alongside an Oscar winner and one of the greatest action stars of this era. She portrays the Secretary of State, and he’s a journalist who recognizes his old baby sitter in her. Their comedic chemistry is pretty high on the charts, and seldom does either miss on their own, let alone together.
3. Gen V (Amazon Prime series)
This week’s penultimate episode changed everything about the hierarchy of Godolkin University. As well, we learned that Homelander isn’t (yet) getting off scot free after (again) committing murder in broad daylight. His actions also play into the motivations of a key crossover character who makes an appeal to Marie, and things are getting sadly complicated for Emma and Sam. Is love dead? Nope, we’ve still got Jordan and Marie. Next week, we find out what cliffhanger is in store for us to be frustrated about until Season 2 arrives.
2. Bodies (Netflix series)
This sleeper series dives headfirst into a mind-melting take on multiple detectives who try to solve (and stop) the same murder in different decades. This show was only intended to be a limited series and is based upon a Si Spencer graphic novel, but given the audience turnout — and how the show actually leaves the door slightly ajar — it wouldn’t be entirely surprising to hear of another round in the works. In the meantime, enjoy this twisty show that will keep you guessing, even after you find out the identity of the killer.
1. No Hard Feelings (Sony Pictures movie streaming on Netflix)
It’s back. After hitting theaters and doing the VOD rounds, Jennifer Lawrence is doing her part to resurrect raunchy comedies. She portrays Maddie, who needs to make some money, fast, so she answers a Craigslist ad from parents who would really like a nice woman to boink their 19-year-old unsociable son. Cue the R-rated shenanigans that we’ve been missing in movies with a side of Ebon Moss-Bachrach for The Bear fans. Long live the filth, y’all.
