10 New Movies to Watch this Weekend on Netflix, Prime Video, and Peacock
Overview & Key Takeaways
Minions and Monsters, Michael, and more on this week's streaming column.
The summer of movies continues! Over the past month, the box office has been reaping the benefits of The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This weekend, there's even more to watch with the release of The End of Oak Street and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Still, if you prefer to stay at home, we've got some suggestions.
Minions & Monsters is now available to rent. The most recent movie in the Despicable Me and Minionsfranchise follows the adorable yellow creatures as they get up to more hijinks, this time, in old Hollywood.
Michael is also available to rent, providing a sterilized look at Michael Jackson and his rise in the entertainment world.
10 Minions & Monsters
Image: Universal
- Available on VOD
- Genre: Animation
- Run time: 1h 30m
- Director: Pierre Coffin
- Cast: Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Jesse Eisenberg
Minions & Monsters follows a tribe of Minions as they take over Hollywood, becoming major silent film stars. Their story takes a turn when the talkies come into the picture, with the Minions' inability to speak English concluding their rise. Then, jobless, they come in contact with some monsters.
From Polygon’s interview with director Pierre Coffin:
Prior to working for Gru, the Minions pledged their loyalty to the most despicable characters throughout history, both fictional, like Dracula, and real-life “big bosses” like an Egyptian pharaoh and Napoleon Bonaparte. So if the Minions continued this trend into the 1940s, it would have meant they were working for Adolf Hitler during World War II, right?
9 Michael
- Available on Starz
- Genre: Drama
- Run time: 2h 7m
- Director: Antoine Fuqua
- Cast: Jaafar Jackson, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Colman Domingo
Michael follows the life and career of Michael Jackson, at least the first part, before his life got too complicated with legal scandals and disturbing sexual assault allegations. The story follows his childhood as a member of the Jackson 5 following through to his success as a solo artist during his Bad World Tour.
8 Hamlet
Image: Focus Features
- Available on Prime Video
- Genre: Drama
- Run time: 1h 53m
- Director: Aneil Karia
- Cast: Riz Ahmed, Morfydd Clark, Joe Alwyn
Led by Riz Ahmed, this new adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays is set in modern London, following Hamlet's return home for his father's funeral. There, he discovers that his uncle Claudius will be marrying his mother.
7 Jackass: Best and Last
MTV Films/Paramount Pictures
- Available on VOD
- Genre: Comedy
- Run time: 1h 32m
- Director: Jeff Tremaine
- Cast: Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius
Johnny Knoxville and his friends are back for another big screen outing, billed as their last. The documentary compiles some of the franchise’s best stunts while treating fans to new ones, all the while mourning some of the cast members they've lost.
Per Polygon’s interview with Tremaine:
Even from the trailer, it’s clear this movie will not only deliver the typical insanity expected from the Jackass crew, but that it will also feature a good dose of heartfelt nostalgia. Johnny Knoxville gets visibly choked up in the trailer, and decades-old archival footage can’t help but tug at the heartstrings of those who grew up with these guys. Particularly emotional are the moments from the trailer featuring departed cast member Ryan Dunn, who passed away in 2011, and Bam Margera, who left the crew years ago due to his battles with substance abuse.
6 Our hero, Balthazar
Image: WG Pictures
- Available on VOD
- Genre: Drama
- Run time: 1h 36m
- Director: Oscar Boyson
- Cast: Jaeden Martell, Asa Butterfield, Chris Bauer, Jennifer Ehle
A rich and lonely boy in New York travels to rural Texas to impress his activist crush and prevent a shooting from happening. He ends up forming a bond with the troubled local teen who's been planning it.
5 Night Nurse
Image: Independent Film Company
- Available on VOD
- Genre: Thriller
- Run time: 1h 35m
- Director: Georgia Bernstein
- Cast: Cemre Paksoy, Bruce McKenzie, Eleonore Hendricks
Night Nurse follows the twisted relationship between a young night nurse and one of her senior patients, who ropes her in a scam targeting the residents at a luxury retirement community.
4 The Invite
- Available on VOD
- Genre: Drama
- Run time: 1h 47m
- Director: Olivia Wilde
- Cast: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton
Set over the course of a dinner party in an apartment, The Invite follows the eventful meeting between two couples, one who appears to be on the cusp of a breakdown, and the other, who appears more in love than ever.
3 Jack Ryan: Ghost War
Photo: Attila Szvacsek/Prime Video
- Available on Prime Video
- Genre: Action
- Run time: 1h 45m
- Director: Andrew Bernstein
- Cast: John Krasinski, Sienna Miller, Wendell Pierce
Now available on all streaming rental platforms, Jack Ryan: Ghost War continues the story of CIA operative Jack Ryan. This time around, he's brought back into the fold to track a string of suspicious bank transfers across Europe and the Middle East, starting another cat and mouse chase.
2 Girls Like Girls
Image: Focus Features
- Available on Peacock
- Genre: Romance
- Run time: 1h 35m
- Director: Hayley Kiyoko
- Cast: Maya DaCosta, Myra Molloy, Zach Braff
Girls Like Girls follows a well-trod story, following Coley, the new girl in town, who forms an instant connection with popular girl Sonya. Through the summer, the two analyze their relationship and what it really means to them.
1 Don’t Say Good Luck
Image: Netflix
- Available on Netflix
- Genre: Drama
- Run time: 1h 35m
- Director: Julia Hart
- Cast: Sunny Sandler, Melanie Lynskey, Max Greenfield, Jack Champion
Netflix’s latest coming-of-age story stars Sunny Sandler, Adam Sandler’s daughter, as she gets the lead in her high school musical production. Meanwhile, at home, she learns that her mother’s cancer has reappeared.
