Greetings, Polygon readers! Every week, we spherical up probably the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the most important and finest new motion pictures so that you can watch at house.
This week, Aquaman and the Misplaced Kingdom, the ultimate installment within the “Snyderverse” period of the DC cinematic universe and the sequel to James Wan’s 2018 unique starring Jason Momoa, splashes its manner onto VOD this month alongside Ferrari, the Enzo Ferrari biopic from director Michael Mann and starring Adam Driver. Badland Hunters, the sequel to the 2023 Korean dystopian drama Concrete Jungle, arrives on Netflix, and that’s not the one new film coming to streaming this week. Mission: Unattainable – Lifeless Reckoning Half One arrives on Paramount Plus this week and the brand new horror-thriller Trunk: Locked In involves Prime Video, amongst different thrilling new releases to select from.
Right here’s every thing new to observe this weekend!
New on Netflix
Badland Hunters
The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Netflix
Style: Dystopian actionRun time: 1h 47mDirector: Heo Myung-haengCast: Ma Dong-seok, Lee Hee-joon, Lee Jun-young
Ma Dong-seok (Practice to Busan, Eternals) stars in Heo Myung-haeng’s sequel to Um Tae-hwa’s 2023 movie Concrete Utopia as Nam San, a survivalist dwelling in a lawless wasteland following an apocalyptic earthquake. After being employed to thwart a mad scientist (Lee Hee-joon) hellbent on human experimentation, he and his trusted accomplice (Lee Jun-young) must face off in opposition to closely armed militia and ravenous zombie creatures as a way to save the day. Prooobably with some large punches.
Animal
The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Netflix
Style: Violent motion thrillerRun time: 3h 24mDirector: Sandeep Reddy VangaCast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol
One of many greatest and most controversial motion pictures out of India final yr lands on Netflix stateside. Animal is notable for its sprawling size, hyper violence, and “alpha male” themes which have introduced criticism of misogyny.
New on Prime Video
Trunk: Locked In
The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Prime Video
Style: Horror thrillerRun time: 1h 36mDirector: Marc SchießerCast: Sina Martens, Luise Helm, Artjom Gilz
This new horror thriller follows Malina (Sina Martens), a 28-year-old medical scholar who wakes up disoriented within the trunk of a transferring automobile. With nothing save her partially charged smartphone, Malina should depend on each ounce of her survival instincts to contact the police, deduce the id of her kidnappers, and safely escape.
New on Paramount Plus
Mission: Unattainable – Lifeless Reckoning Half One
The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Paramount Plus
Style: Spy motion thrillerRun time: 2h 43mDirector: Christopher McQuarrieCast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames
Ethan Hunt is again within the seventh (and presumably penultimate) installment within the Mission: Unattainable spy-action franchise. This time, Hunt and the IMF sq. off in opposition to a rogue AI.
From our evaluate:
Like its predecessors — significantly Christopher McQuarrie’s two earlier entries within the sequence — the movie has married its prospects to Tom Cruise, and to his well-known dedication to really doing his personal stunts. Ethan Hunt’s unbelievable feats typically look actual as a result of they basically are actual. Every little thing else in these motion pictures is in furtherance of that dedication. The supporting characters are there to make Hunt really feel sufficiently human; the villain is there to make Hunt really feel sufficiently examined; the plot is supposed to shuttle Ethan from one explosion to the subsequent.
New on Criterion Channel
Amanda
The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Criterion Channel
Style: Coming-of-age dramaRun time: 1h 33mDirector: Carolina CavalliCast: Benedetta Porcaroli, Michele Bravi, Galatéa Bellugi
Fremont screenwriter Carolina Cavalli’s directorial debut follows the story of a lazy 24-year-old who yearns for significant relationships and friendships. After rediscovering an outdated childhood buddy, she makes it her mission to rekindle their connection and develop nearer collectively.
New on Showtime
You Damage My Emotions
The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Showtime
Style: Comedy-dramaRun time: 1h 33mDirector: Nicole HolofcenerCast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies, Michaela Watkins
Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars on this grownup dramedy the place nobody appears to be having a great time. Beth (Louis-Dreyfus), a novelist with self-confidence points, will get right into a battle along with her husband (Tobias Menzies) after overhearing him pan her newest e-book. Because the couple attempt to kind by means of their baggage, they arrive to a deeper understanding of themselves, their relationship, and the way their lives introduced them up to now.
New on Shudder
Appropriate Flesh
The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Shudder
Style: Horror thrillerRun time: 1h 40mDirector: Joe LynchCast: Heather Graham, Judah Lewis, Barbara Crampton
Primarily based on H.P. Lovecraft’s 1937 quick story “The Factor on the Doorstep,” this new horror movie from director Joe Lynch stars Heather Graham as a psychiatrist who learns that certainly one of her sufferers is one way or the other related to an historic curse. Because the plot unfolds, she shortly finds herself on the epicenter of an insidious episode of loss of life, insanity, and seduction.
From our evaluate:
Appropriate Flesh is an intensely messy film. It strikes breathlessly from solidly plotted psychological thriller to virtually Military of Darkness ranges of slapstick violence — together with a scene involving a van’s backup digicam that’s a must-see for each true fan of grisly horror film results. Its broadest construction is basic horror, as Elizabeth tries to beat her personal doubts about what she’s experiencing, then tries to persuade different those that she isn’t simply having a psychotic break. And the whole time, she’s going through a assured, competent foe who is aware of excess of she does, and is sort of all the time three steps forward of her. (Purely by way of plotting, this movie would additionally make a strong double function with the unique Nightmare on Elm Road.) However on a scene-for-scene foundation, it’s all over tonally, as Lynch and Paoli hold shifting their intentions.
New to hire
Aquaman and the Misplaced Kingdom
The place to observe: Accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Style: Superhero actionRun time: 2h 4mDirector: James WanCast: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Jason Momoa dons the green-and-yellow tights of the king of Atlantis as soon as extra within the follow-up to James Wan’s 2018 superhero movie Aquaman. When his nemesis Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) returns to actual revenge, Aquaman should forge an alliance together with his estranged brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) as a way to save the day as soon as once more.
From our evaluate:
The sequel to Aquaman is a complete bummer for these of us who loved Aquaman. Wan has confirmed himself on each scale, however in attempting to carve out one other journey on this universe, he feels a bit caught. There’s extra thrown on the wall but once more — a Jabba’s Palace sequence with some fishy ruffians, an undead military that appears straight out of Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings — however little sticks, and comedy is the crutch. (Did I point out there are three piss jokes on this film for some cause?) This could be the predicament of an ongoing Aquaman franchise, if DC ever tries once more: When your sequel is caught within the ocean, the one method to go is down.
Ferrari
The place to observe: Accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Style: Biographical sports activities dramaRun time: 2h 10mDirector: Michael MannCast: Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley
The brand new sports activities biopic from Michael Mann stars Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari, the race automobile driver turned automotive tycoon who in the summertime of 1957 is confronted together with his biggest problem but because the destiny of his firm hangs within the stability. Pushing his drivers to the sting, in addition to straining his relationship together with his spouse, Laura (Penélope Cruz), Ferrari prepares to wager his life and legacy on Mille Miglia, a treacherous 1,000-mile race throughout Italy.
From our New York Movie Competition preview:
Mann has been attempting to get this Ferrari biopic since at the least 2000, and seeing his imaginative and prescient for the story makes it clear why. The film is an unbelievable portrait of a person who was an ideal concoction of a few of Mann’s favourite issues: obsessive, good, terrible, indifferent, and a winner by means of and thru. The movie, and Driver’s distinctive efficiency, make Ferrari’s ambition and fervour deeply clear. The painful willpower driving him is completely electrical to observe — and much more thrilling than the races, which is actually saying one thing.
American Star
The place to observe: Accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Style: Motion thrillerRun time: 1h 47mDirector: Gonzalo López-GallegoCast: Ian McShane, Nora Arnezeder, Thomas Kretschmann
Ian McShane (John Wick, Deadwood) stars as an over-the-hill contract killer who embarks to the tropical island Fuerteventura to meet his final project earlier than retirement. Whereas ready for his goal, he finds himself drawn to the individuals of the island and their lives there, and begins to ponder what life he want to construct after he places his profession as an murderer behind him.
Migration
The place to observe: Accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Style: Journey comedyRun time: 1h 23mDirector: Benjamin RennerCast: Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key
This computer-animated comedy from the studio behind Despicable Me, Minions, and The Secret Lifetime of Pets follows a household of mallard geese who embark on a migration from New England to Jamaica for the winter. Shenanigans inevitably ensue because the household turns into misplaced from the remainder of the migratory flock and should discover their very own method to the holiday of a lifetime.
Evening Swim
The place to observe: Accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Style: Horror thrillerRun time: 1h 38mDirector: Bryce McGuireCast: Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Amélie Hoeferle
Wyatt Russell (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) stars on this supernatural horror movie as a significant league baseball participant who, after being compelled into retirement, strikes into an expensive new house together with his spouse and youngsters. When a malevolent pressure emerges from the waters of the home’s yard pool, the household is compelled to face a horror past their deepest fears.
From our evaluate:
All of the strengths of its household story apart, it’s in all probability truthful to need a little bit extra horror out of a film a couple of killer swimming pool. There are a number of enjoyable bits of pool horror in Evening Swim, like seeing one other world behind the flap of the skimmer or the spring of an empty diving board taking part in like a warning signal to run. Exterior of its opening scene, although, Evening Swim isn’t the scariest film about hungry spirits and historic gods. However hey, it’s January. Horror followers will take what we will get. Typically that simply means a number of good scares in an in any other case fascinating household film about magic swimming pools and baseball — which is greater than sufficient to make Evening Swim a worthy addition to the record of fascinating, watchable January horror.
Want
The place to observe: Accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Style: Animated adventureRun time: 1h 35mDirectors: Chris Buck, Fawn VeerasunthornCast: Chris Pine, Ariana DeBose, Alan Tudyk
This animated fantasy journey movie created to have a good time the Walt Disney Firm’s one hundredth anniversary follows Asha (Ariana DeBose), a younger woman dwelling in an island kingdom dominated by a strong sorcerer named Magnifico (Chris Pine). After making a want one evening, Asha befriends a dwelling magical star that falls from the sky and agrees to assist her obtain her coronary heart’s biggest want.
From our evaluate:
The principle downside with Want is that the filmmakers lean so onerous on Disney’s legacy and the nostalgic parts that they fail to really add a lot new. Each single element in Want is a deliberate reminder of one other film that got here earlier than it — normally one thing higher and extra distinctive. That’s significantly true for all of the characters, a few of whom are actually simply strolling nods to earlier Disney motion pictures. They’re all obscure concepts of what a Disney Character™ needs to be, from snarky speaking goat Valentino (voiced by Wreck-It Ralph’s Alan Tudyk) to the heroine herself, with out a lot to make them memorable.