Movie theaters are slowly reopening for the summer season, but new streaming films are still coming home to entertain you and your family during socially distanced times.
This weekend, Oscar nominee Anthony Hopkins leads a powerful best picture contender, Netflix debuts a Christian teen movie musical, another crop of youngsters mourns The Smiths in a new comedy drama, plus William Shatner and Jean Smart fall in love in a new romantic comedy.
If you’re planning to return to your local theater, the action thriller “Nobody” makes a middle-aged action hero out of “Better Call Saul” star Bob Odenkirk, who plays a suburban dad with deadly skills getting in a feud with the Russian mafia.
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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:
Anthony Hopkins stars as a man with dementia trying to make sense of his constantly shifting reality in Florian Zeller's "The Father." (Photo: SEAN GLEASON)
If you need a great movie that’ll stick with you: ‘The Father’
Back in the best actor Oscar race this year, Hopkins turns in a spectacular, wide-ranging performance as an elderly Londoner with dementia struggling to deal with time and reality as his mind deteriorates. The acting legend’s portrayal runs the gamut with rage to childlike vulnerability, Olivia Colman’s aces as his on-screen daughter, and director Florian Zeller adapts his own chamber drama into a memorable screen work that plays in parts as a gripping thriller, a tear-jerking family drama and a bit of a horror flick.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Fandango Now
Kevin Quinn and Bailee Madison lead the revelry in the faith-based Netflix musical "A Week Away." (Photo: NETFLIX)
If you’re in search of a heavenly pick-me-up: ‘A Week Away’
The faith-based teen musical is cheesy and predictable but nonetheless makes for some pretty joyful noise. Will (Kevin Quinn) is a troubled orphan headed to juvie after stealing a cop car but he gets a chance to right his path by attending a Christian summer camp, where he quickly falls for young Avery (Bailee Madison). The soundtrack’s plenty peppy, with Amy Grant and Steven Curtis Chapman hits mixed with earworm-y original numbers.
Where to watch:Netflix
Set in the summer of 1987, a group of youngsters (including Ellar Coltrane and Helena Howard) embark on a wild night of self-discovery after the sudden breakup of their favorite band, The Smiths, in "Shoplifters of the World." (Photo: RLJE FILMS)
If you absolutely love The Smiths: ‘Shoplifters of the World’
This meandering comedy/drama probably works best for the Morrissey uber-nerds out there, or at least those with open musical minds. Set in 1987, the film centers on a group of young friends in Denver who go out for a wild night of self-discovery on the day their music died – aka The Smiths breaking up – and one decides to take a rock station and its Kiss-adoring deejay (Joe Manganiello) hostage to play Smiths tunes round the clock.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Fandango Now
Freddie Highmore stars as a genius engineer recruited to break into an impossible vault in the action thriller "The Vault." (Photo: SABAN FILMS)
If you’re a fan of ‘The Good Doctor’ AND ‘National Treasure’: ‘The Vault’
Taking a break from playing a genius TV doctor, Freddie Highmore stars as a genius engineer recruited to break into a vault to steal lost 17th-century Spanish Armada treasure. The difficulty quotient rises considering it’s an impossible-to-crack vault underneath the Bank of Spain and all this is going on while Madrid hosts the World Cup final. It’s a solid heist movie for anyone needing an “Ocean’s 11”-type fix.
Where to watch:Apple TV, Vudu, Fandango Now
Eddie Izzard (with Judi Dench) stars as a new teacher at a finishing school filled with daughters of the Nazi High Command in the spy thriller "Six Minutes to Midnight." (Photo: AMANDA SEARLE/IFC FILMS)
If you adore old-school mystery thrillers: ‘Six Minutes to Midnight’
There’s a cool Hitchcockian bent to Andy Goddard’s espionage drama. In 1939, an all-girls finishing school along the coast of England houses the daughters of the Nazi High Command, and Eddie Izzard stars as a British agent sent undercover to convince the governess (Judi Dench) to hire him as the girls’ new English teacher. Suffice it to say, he discovers plenty of shenanigans and shady spycraft afoot on the eve of World War II.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Google Play
A retired NASA pilot (William Shatner) who doesn't act his age falls for an ace strudel chef (Jean Smart) in the romantic comedy "Senior Moment." (Photo: SCREEN MEDIA)
If you’re a William Shatner completist: ‘Senior Moment’
Let’s hope the final frontier for the “Star Trek” icon isn’t romantic-comedy cringe-fests. Shatner stars as a retired NASA test pilot in Palm Springs who doesn’t act his age, with a leering eye for young women and a lead foot with his vintage Porsche. After one too many instances of reckless driving, he has his license yanked but taking the bus leads him to meet a strudel-making love interest (Smart, who at least classes up the joint).
Where to watch:Apple TV, Google Play, Fandango Now
Vadhir Derbez plays a rookie exorcist with a haunting first case in "The Seventh Day." (Photo: VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT)
If you live for possession films: ‘The Seventh Day’
Like “Training Day” crossed with “The Exorcist,” the film stars Guy Pearce as an enigmatic and famous priest teamed up with a rookie holy man (Vadhir Derbez) to show him the ropes of exorcism. And his first case is one that will test him, involving a young boy who’s murdered his entire family, in a religious thriller that’s lean and mean, though not particularly scary.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Fandango Now
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