Jennifer “from the block” Lopez leads off this week’s list of the best new movies to stream this week. Her musical-autobiographical film This is Me…Now: A Love Story is streaming on Prime. If that’s not up your alley, check out The Space Race, a documentary about race and the space program, or Players, a Netflix original romantic comedy.
This Is Me… Now: A Love Story
A few weeks ago, singer/super diva Jennifer Lopez dropped the trailer for This is Me…Now: A Love Story, a big-budget, visually arresting, autobiographical, musical film/vanity project that made viewers ask, “why is J-Lo working in a factory in outer space?” and “what even is this?” This is Me…Now has the kind of swinging-for-the-fences artistic ambition and total commitment that either results in great art or failures so spectacular that they’re entertaining for unintended reasons. Watch This is Me…Now and see which side of the coin comes up for J-Lo.
Where to stream: Prime
The Space Race
Produced by National Geographic, The Space Race tells the story of the pioneering Black pilots, engineers, and scientists who became NASA astronauts and were otherwise integral to the American space program. Told through archival footage and interviews with the people who were there, The Space Race details the unique challenges and triumphs of these unsung American heroes.
Where to stream: Disney+
Players
If you’re looking for a movie to put on for Valentine’s Day, consider this Netflix-original rom-com. In Players, Gina Rodriguez plays Mack, a sports writer whose hobby is hooking up with men through enacting elaborate “plays” with the help of her friends. The main rule of their little game: no long-term relationships can come from a play. When Mack falls for Nick, a charming war correspondent, the game becomes serious.
Where to stream: Netflix
Bottoms (2023)
If you’re friends with “that guy” who laments that tasteless, gross-out comedy isn’t allowed in movies anymore, suggest Bottoms. It’s as edgy, horny, and scatological as anything but it doesn’t aim at targets that don’t deserve it. Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri play “ugly, untalented gays” who try to “get cooch” by starting a fight club at their high school. Like the best teen comedies, Bottoms captures the oily mixture of awkwardness and hormones that make adolescence such a nightmare.
Where to stream: Prime
The Lost City
Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum star in this romantic-comedy-adventure. Bullock is a pampered romance novelist; Tatum is the self-absorbed male model who appears on the covers of her books. The mismatched couple find themselves in a dangerous jungle, without any idea how to do anything. It’s the kind of movie that survives on the chemistry and likability of its stars, and Tatum and Bullock are as charismatic as they come.
Where to stream: Netflix
Joan Baez: I Am a Noise
This documentary about folk music and civil rights giant Joan Baez has earned a 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes by going beyond a just-the-facts retelling of Baez’s life and exploring the nature of pop culture and personal mythology. A combination of archival footage and fearless interviews with Baez draw a picture of Joan Baez the person and Joan Baez the icon.
Where to stream: Apple TV+
Home for Rent (2023)
If you’re in the mood for something completely different, stream this straight-out-of-Thailand horror movie in which new tenants move into a landlord’s rental property and reveal themselves as a spooky cult. Before long, her husband has fallen under their spell and they set their deadly sights on her daughter.
Where to stream: Netflix
The Lego Movie (2014)
The cast, writing, animation, and story of The Lego Movie fit together as solidly as the plastic bricks on which this movie is based. The end result is a perfect movie: funny, breezy, surprisingly smart, and enjoyable for both kids and adults.
Where to stream: Stan, Netflix
Older picks
Suncoast
Get a box of tissues ready for this Hulu original coming-of-age comedy/drama. In Suncoast, Nico Parker plays Doris, a teenager living in the shadow of her brother Max’s terminal illness. When Max is moved to hospice, Doris finds an unlikely friend in Paul Warren (Woody Harrelson) whose wife, Teri Schiavo, is at the center of a national culture war over the right to die.
Where to stream: Disney+
Lover, Stalker, Killer
Lover, Stalker, Killer is the perfect counter-programming to all the romantic movies that clog up the airwaves around Valentine’s Day. This true-crime original documentary from Netflix tells the story of Dave, an average guy who turns to online dating when his long-term relationship ends. The single dad connects with a couple of women for some casual dating, but things turn sinister when one of his new pals goes off the deep end, kicking off a four-year nightmare of stalking, paranoia, and violence.
Where to stream: Netflix
Upgraded
In this genial romantic comedy, Camila Mendes plays Ana, an intern at a high-end art auction house. After a chance meeting in the first class section of an airplane, Ana falls for Max, but Max thinks Ana is the director of her prestigious organization. Upgraded features a likable cast, glamorous locations, and a pair of mismatched romantic leads—all you need in a frothy romantic comedy.
Where to stream: Prime
Surrounded (2023)
Set just after the end of the Civil War, Surrounded tells the story of Moses “Mo” Washington, a freed slave and former Buffalo Soldier who journeys west to claim a goldmine that was left to her by her deceased father. After her stagecoach is ambushed, Washington’s life hinges on holding a notorious bank robber captive.
Where to stream: Prime
The Lost King (2023)
The Lost King tells the true story of amateur Scottish historian Philippa “King-Finder” Langley. After seeing a production of Shakespeare’s Richard III, Langley becomes obsessed with the disgraced monarch and vows to track down his long-lost grave and redeem his good name.
Where to stream: Binge
Lead Image Credit: Netflix/Prime Video/MGM
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