Weekend Preview: ‘The King Of Staten Island’ And ‘Da 5 Bloods’ Deliver A Double Dose Of Streaming Greatness

Social distancing continues this weekend amid the global pandemic, and several new TV seasons are here for the binging. If nothing here suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

The King Of Staten Island (VOD) — Judd Apatow’s upcoming comedy starring Pete Davidson (in a role that takes inspiration from his pre-SNL life) comes straight to your living from from Universal Pictures. Both Davidson and Bill Burr are fantastic in this movie that also stars Marisa Tomei and Steve Buscemi.

Da 5 Bloods (Netflix film) — The New Joint from Spike Lee can be found nowhere else but the streaming giant. The movie looks to put an unusual twist on the standard war epic movie in a few ways. We’ve got a split timeline that flashes between the past with Chadwick Boseman’s character, a fallen squad leader, and the present, which sees four of his charges go back to Vietnam, where buried treasure taunts them, along with a quest for their leader’s remains.

Knives Out (Streaming on Amazon Prime) — Not only is Rian Johnson’s stellar, star-studded whodunnit streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime this month, but it’s also free to Prime users. This gem’s got Smug Chris Evans and many more delightfully eccentric players, and it builds to a masterful crescendo, so do pencil it into your schedule.

Artemis Fowl (Disney+ film) — Five years after Disney announced plans to adapt the Artemis Fowl book series, the 12-year-old genius comes to life, even if the film might be a muddled mess. Fowl descends from a family of criminal masterminds, and he must battle a fairy race that may have engineered the kidnapping of his father. Kenneth Branagh directs and Judy Dench narrates.

Crossing Swords (Hulu series) — This adult-oriented animal series (from Robot Chicken producers John Harvatine IV and Tom Root) pulls out the visual stops with some of the finest stop-motion animation techniques. Sadly, those beautifully crafted visuals get lost in a sea of gratuitous vulgarity.

F is for Family: Season 4 (Netflix series) — Comedian Bill Burr is having quite a weekend, and the latest season of his latest animated comedy series continues in the 1970s with the voices of Burr, Laura Dern, Justin Long, Sam Rockwell and more.

Jo Koy: In His Elements: (Netflix comedy special) — Koy heads to the Philippines in this special that celebrates his heritage with jokes about Manila’s culture and his experience as a Filipino-American.

Here’s the rest of this weekend’s notable programming:

Friday Night In with The Morgans (Friday, AMC 10:00 p.m.) — Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton are back, hopefully with more insight into The Walking Dead.

Billions (Sunday, Showtime 9:00 p.m.) — Axe finds inspiration in unlikely sources while Wendy attempts to maneuver through some rocky situations, one involving Niko the artist, as Chuck’s attempting to exploit someone again for his own ends.

Quiz (Sunday, AMC 9:00 p.m.) — Part three puts a bow on this limited series, in which the Ingrams have been accused of a million-pound game show heist. As the jury learns, everything is not cut and dried.

Snowpiercer (Sunday, TNT 9:00 p.m.) — Melanie stages a trial for the train’s murderer while class tensions continue to come to a boil.

I Know This Much Is True (Sunday, HBO 9:00 p.m.) — Finally, Mark Ruffalo’s (well-acted) portrayal of two identical twins with a troubled, miserable relationship (between themselves and to the world) comes to an end.

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (Sunday, Showtime 10:00 p.m.) — Linda receives an asylum visit, a dangerous outing goes down for Townsend and Kurt, and Frank gets down the business of terror.

Insecure (Sunday, HBO 10:00 p.m.) — Issa’s still searching for happiness in the season finale, and a distressing phone call arrives while Molly and Andrew have issues.

I May Destroy You (Sunday, HBO 10:30 p.m.) — Michaela Coel’s newest series is a fiery and fearless exploration of sexual consent. This week, Arabella starts to mull over that fateful night’s hazy events and pieces moments together with help from friends.

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