The snow just won’t stop in much of the nation, but fortunately, the nation’s top streaming services won’t stop adding new movies, either. So if we have to stay home this weekend, at least we can watch a good film or two.
The new films premiering Friday through Sunday on Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime and Disney+ include:
* I Care a Lot, a Netflix original film starring Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) as a woman whose plan to steal from the elderly goes awry when she learns one of her targets is connected to a ruthless gangster. Rottentomatoes.com, which tracks critical reviews, gives I Care a Lot a score of 93 out of a possible 100, based on 29 reviews.
“I Care a Lot is a sleekly unnerving thriller,” writes Owen Gleiberman of Variety. “It’s built around a scam just plausible enough to give you pause, and a protagonist who’s so efficient in her diabolical ruthlessness that you can scarcely take your eyes off her vicious amoral glow.”
* Argo, the 2012 Academy Award-winning film (on HBO Max) starring Ben Affleck (who also directed) as a CIA operative who posed as a Hollywood producer in 1979 Iran to try to rescue six diplomatic hostages. Based on real-life events, this is the extended version of Argo, which means it’s 10 minutes longer than the theatrical release. (The extended version previously had only been available on Blu-ray.)
* Nomadland, a 2020 film (on Hulu) which stars Frances McDormand as a woman who decides to travel the countryside looking for gainful employment. Rottentomatoes.com gives the movie a score of 94, based on 256 reviews.
“A poetic character study on the forgotten and downtrodden, Nomadland beautifully captures the restlessness left in the wake of the Great Recession,” the site states, summarizing the reviews.
* The Book Of Life, the 2014 animated film (on Disney+) about a bullfighter who, on the Day of the Dead, goes on an afterlife adventure to find his lost love and family. Rotten Tomatoes gives the movie a score of 83 based on 126 reviews.
“Drawing on Mexican folklore and other Latin American traditions, Jorge R. Gutirrez’s version of death in his beautiful, witty 3D-animated debut The Book of Life is bursting with vibrant colours and magic — a constantly expanding, neverending party,” writes Sight and Sound.
Here is the complete list of new movies coming this weekend to the top streaming services:
Netflix
Friday, February 19
I Care A Lot — Netflix Film
Saturday, February 20
Classmates Minus — Netflix Film
Sunday, February 21
The Conjuring (2013)
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
HBO Max
Saturday, February 20
Argo, 2012 (Extended Version) (HBO)
Hulu
Friday, February 19
Nomadland (2021)
Disney+
Friday, February 19
The Book of Life
Cheaper by the Dozen
Cheaper by the Dozen 2
Flora & Ulysses
Note: Amazon Prime is not premiering a new film this weekend.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann