Looking to settle in with a good movie? Me too. That's why I've pored over the release schedules of major streaming services to bring you the best original and new-to-streaming movies you can watch right now.
My stream-of-the-week pick is Fancy Dance. This Apple TV+ original is the kind of thoughtful, quiet film you used to have to go to an arthouse to see. If you're like, "Dude, it's summer; what else ya got?" you could check out surprisingly good cartoon Kung Fu Panda 4, or do a diva-double-feature with documentary I Am: Celine Dion and biopic Judy.
Fancy Dance
I've been reading hot-takes about the death of small, smart, indie cinema for my entire life, but the spirit lives on in movies like Fancy Dance. Lily Gladstone stars as Jax, whose life on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma consists of caring for her niece Roki, played by Isabel Deroy-Olson, and searching for her missing sister. When custody of Roki is threatened by Roki's father, Jax grabs her niece and goes hunting for Roki's mother, a search that becomes a deeper investigation of the place of Indigenous women in a colonized world.
Where to stream: Apple TV+
Kung Fu Panda 4
It seems impossible that the fourth movie in a series about a Panda who knows martial arts would be good enough to have a Rotten Tomatoes audience score 87%, but Kung Fu Panda 4 smashes through conventional ideas of cinematic quality like they're wooden planks at a strip mall dojo. Jack Black is back as Po, and this time he's looking for a protege to take over as Dragon Warrior so he can be promoted to Grand Head Poobah or something. To find the right animal, Po heads out on one last (yeah, right) adventure. The search puts Po and his pal Zhen in the crosshairs of the wicked sorceress Chameleon and tests the limits of his kung fu skills. If you have kids, they'll like it, and if you happen to catch a scene or two when you're not looking at your phone, you won't mind it.
Where to stream: Peacock
I Am: Celine Dion
This original Prime documentary explores singer Celine Dion's struggle with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological disease. Described in a press release as an "emotional, energetic, and poetic love letter to music," I Am: Celine Dion takes viewers from the dressing room to the recording studio to the stage and captures an intimate look at the superstar singer's private life and struggles.
Where to stream: Prime
A Family Affair
Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, and Joey King lead the cast of A Family Affair, a romantic comedy that begins with Zara (King) walking in on her mom (Kidman) and her ex-boss (Efron) in the middle of a passionate tryst. The ex-boss is an impossibly self-centered celebrity—so Zara is not at all sure how to deal with the new relationship. This exploration of love, sex, and identity is the kind of charisma-powered, crowd-pleasing movie that romantic comedy fans can't get enough of.
Where to stream: Netflix
Judy (2019)
Judy explores the oversized life of iconic movie star Judy Garland—specifically, her last years in London, when films like The Wizard of Oz were a distant cultural memory and Garland was too broke to pay her hotel bill. Trying to stage another in an endless series of "comebacks," Garland juggles her professional responsibilities with her fierce protectiveness over her children, all while battling alcoholism and drug addiction. Darci Shaw plays young Judy, but the movie really belongs to Renée Zellweger, whose portrayal of time-has-caught-up-with-her Judy is heartbreaking.
Where to stream: Prime
Breakin' On The One
This documentary tells the story of how the Black and brown kids from New York’s poorest neighborhoods spawned a worldwide musical and cultural revolution through dance, music, and fashion. On August 15, 1981, New York breakdance crews the Rocksteady Crew and the Dynamic Rockers appeared at the Out-of-Doors Festival to settle their differences through a breaking battle. Ripples from the showdown reverberated all over the world, and Breakin' On The One explores that epic breakin’ battle and the significance of breakdancing and hip-hop through archival footage and interviews with the dancers, DJs, MCs, and B-boys and girls who were there. If you’re into hip-hop, or fascinated with how cultural revolutions begin, check out Breakin’ on the One.
Where to stream: Hulu
Last week's picks
Monkey Man
Mumbai isn't usually associated with martial arts, but first-time director Dev Patel's Monkey Man is a punch-in-the-face action movie that may change minds. Patel plays the title character, named for the mask he wears, a scrapper who makes a brutal living in underground fight pits where he's beaten up nightly for money. When he figures out how to infiltrate the secret society of rich jerks who pull the strings, Monkey Man unleashes a torrent of rage and revenge so satisfying it earned an 83% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Where to stream: Peacock
Oppenheimer (2023)
Christopher Nolan's biopic about the inventor of atomic weapons took home seven Oscars, including best picture, and it also made over $900 million at the box office. Cillian Murphy stars as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, a complex, driven visionary tasked with creating the most destructive weapon in human history to fight the Axis powers during World War II. Spoiler: he succeeds, but Oppenheimer, both the movie and man, end up wondering if atomic weapons were actually such a great idea.
Trigger Warning
For her role as Parker in Netflix original action movie Trigger Warning, Jessica Alba learned Indonesian knife fighting skills to make the flick's intense hand-to-hand combat scenes extra real. Parker is a Special Forces commando who returns to her home town her father's funeral, only to discover a dangerous conspiracy that might be responsible for his death. Does she confront the evil men behind the plot with Indonesian knife-fighting skills? Goddamn right she does. Mark Webber, Tone Bell, Jake Weary, Gabriel Basso, and Anthony Michael Hall also appear in this treat for action movie fans.
Where to stream: Netflix
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution
This Netflix original documentary tells the story of LGBTQ+ stand-up comedy through interviews, stand-up performances, archival materials, and verité footage featuring huge comedians like Lily Tomlin, Sandra Bernhard, Wanda Sykes, Eddie Izzard, Hannah Gadsby, Tig Notaro, and Rosie O'Donnell. Outstanding explores the history of queer comics, the societal changes that came from their work, and the future of LGBTQ+ stand-up.
Where to stream: Netflix
Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play.
Jeremy O. Harris' Slave Play was one of the most celebrated, provocative, and fearless plays ever staged on Broadway. In this documentary, Harris takes us behind the scenes of the groundbreaking production, showing us the actors workshops, run-throughs, and rehearsals that brought it to life. But Harris goes deeper and uses the documentary to comment on his own part of Slave Play's creation.
Where to stream: Max
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