USA TODAY International Edition
Oscar star power fuels weekend viewing
New streaming movies are coming to entertain you and your family during socially distanced times.
This weekend is pretty packed with star power: Oscar winners Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto tussle in a 1990- set cop thriller; Justin Timberlake shows his serious side in a big- hearted, down- home story of redemption; Naomi Watts nurses a magpie back to health in an Australian family tale; and Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes go digging for historical artifacts in a Netflix period drama.
If you’re feeling the itch to get back to the movies in person, and there’s a drive- in or it’s safe enough to return to your local theater, there are a couple of fresh offerings. Morfydd Clark stars as a devout nurse disturbingly obsessed with saving souls in the religious horror film “Saint Maud,” plus Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth play a longtime couple in the tear- jerking drama “Supernova.”
But if you’d rather stick closer to home, here’s a rundown of new movies hitting streaming and on- demand platforms this weekend, for every cinematic taste:
If you’re a Denzel Washington completist: ‘ The Little Things’
The throwback neo- noir thriller has big names, but that’s about it. Washington at least is pretty good as a disgraced former LAPD detective who teams up with a hotshot cop ( Rami Malek) to investigate a bunch of serial killings, and Jared Leto is the shaggy murder suspect out to toy with them in a crime drama that tries way too hard to be “Seven.”
Where to watch: HBO Max
If you pine for a feel- good story: ‘ Palmer’
Sweet and at times heartbreaking, the family drama focuses on ex- con Eddie Palmer ( Timberlake), who leaves jail and moves in with his grandma ( June Squibb). While his hometown is a constant reminder of his violent past, Eddie begins to turn things around as a school
janitor and a father figure to a neighbor boy ( Ryder Allen), who’s also an outcast.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
If you think the archaeology in ‘ Indiana Jones’ is too exciting: ‘ The Dig’
The period drama goes to extremes to make dirt excavation the coolest thing ever, with mixed results. In 1939, just as Britain readies to go to war, a wealthy country widow ( Mulligan) hires a self
taught archeologist ( Fiennes) to go to town on burial mounds on her estate, and the two make a historic discovery of ancient goodies. While too many characters and subplots muddy the works, the two leads are a treasure when together.
Where to watch: Netflix
If you love Australia and birds: ‘ Penguin Bloom’
There’s a ton of family melodrama Down Under in this film, about an athletic Australian mom ( Watts) who’s paralyzed in a freak accident and struggles to snap out of her depression. Fortunately, an absolutely adorable injured magpie comes into her life, and woman and bird share a journey of getting better amid various metaphors and beautiful beach scenery.
Where to watch: Netflix
If you want ‘ Rocky’ but with more martial arts: ‘ Haymaker’
Like Sylvester Stallone in the 1970s, Nick Sasso does it all – writing, directing, starring, editing, producing, visual effects and even songwriting – in this surprisingly effective sports drama/ love story. Sasso plays a retired Muay Thai fighter and bouncer who saves a transgender pop star ( Nomi Ruiz) from a handsy brute. She hires him to be her bodyguard on a globe- trotting tour, and he gets the eye of the tiger back.
h Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, FandangoNOW
If you yearn for a good scare: ‘ The Queen of Black Magic’
Written by Joko Anwar ( who did last year’s very cool “Impetigore”), the Indonesian horror film features a brutal bunch of unnerving imagery and freaky moments in the story of three men who return to the orphanage where they grew up, learn about past atrocities committed that literally haunt the place, and have to deal with gory repercussions for them and their loved ones.
Where to watch: Shudder
If you dig ghost stories with a multicultural twist: ‘ The Night’
There’s a bit of a “Shining” vibe to the Farsi- language thriller in which an Iranian couple ( Shahab Hosseini and Niousha Noor) check into a freaky L. A. hotel with their baby after a tiring night out with friends. It just gets more exhausting from there, as they become trapped inside with strange visions and odd noises in a film that explores dark secrets and what we keep from our loved ones.
h Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu,
Google Play
If you could use a different sort of Civil War tale: ‘ Savage State’
A French family with three daughters living in Missouri – and doing some questionable perfume smuggling – in 1863 runs afoul of Union soldiers and needs to hightail it out east so they can return to Paris. The Western- tinged action drama is a so- so effort, with a somewhat forced romance between the mercenary escort ( Kevin Janssens) and one of the daughters ( Alice Isaaz), plus a voodoo element that seems out of place.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, FandangoNOW