Weekend streaming guide offers ‘Black Widow’ and more
Thrillers fill the bill along with an experimental musical and songs by whales.
Need a new movie to watch this weekend? There are plenty of places to see them with theaters back up and running for the summer season and new films still streaming at home to entertain you and your family.
Here’s a guide to movies that’ll satisfy every cinematic taste, whether you want to mask up for a trip to the nearest big screen, or you’re fine hunkering down on the couch:
If you want to see Marvel’s next huge star: ‘Black Widow’
Director Cate Shortland’s spy thriller is a rousing and surprisingly funny dysfunctional family drama while also an intriguing examination of trauma and abuse. Scarlett Johansson’s title character is still trying to rectify past sins, though this time she has her old Russian spy family helping.
• Where to watch: In theaters and on Disney+ (via Premier Access)
If you live for old-school horror villains: ‘Fear Street Part 2: 1978’
After setting up her main characters in the ’90s-set first film, director Leigh Janiak takes audiences to a bloodsoaked summer camp to flesh out the trilogy’s larger mythology. Oh, and she also increases the “Fear Street” body count massively in this gory and referential ode to slashers of yesteryear.
• Where to watch: Netflix
If you like your good guys with French accents: ‘How I Became a Superhero’
The thriller puts an over-the-top spin on a cop drama, and ends up halfway successful. Pio Marmaï stars as a Parisian detective – and former liaison to a
French superteam – on the case when a mysterious street drug is found to give ordinary people powerful abilities.
• Where to watch: Netflix
If you enjoy twisty sci-fi thrillers with French accents: ‘Meander’
A young woman with a past tragedy gets picked up by a strange man and wakes up in a life-or-death situation. That familiar setup gets a tweaking in this film, where the victim (Gaia Weiss) has to navigate constantly changing, claustrophobic tubes and deadly traps before her timer bracelet goes off – that is, until the film goes a decidedly unconventional direction.
• Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu, Fandango Now
If you dig experimental storytelling: ‘Summertime’
Imagine the colorful, energetic sliceof-life opening of “La La Land” spread over a full day and a 90-minute movie, and that’s the propulsive, inclusive and uplifting vibe of this spoken-word musical directed by Carlos López Estrada (“Blindspotting”) and executive-produced by “Star Wars” actress Kelly Marie Tran.
• Where to watch: In theaters
If you love sea creatures AND Leo: ‘The Loneliest Whale’
This informative and thoughtful documentary boasts the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Adrian Grenier as executive producers, though all you’re going to care about is a whale singing on a whole different frequency – 52 hertz, to be precise. Director Joshua Zeman seeks to find this sea mammal that captured global attention in a film with an unexpected ending that speaks volumes about us as well.
• Where to watch: In theaters (and on video on demand July 16)