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Hello, Yahoo Entertainment readers! My name is Brett Arnold, and I’m a longtime writer and editor at Yahoo who side-hustles as a film critic with my podcast, Roger (Ebert) & Me. I'm here to recommend what you should watch, whether you want to head to the movie theater and take in the latest flick on the big screen with a Coke and buttery popcorn or it's more of a Netflix and chill — or chill and pay $19.99 for a rental — kind of night.
Why should you trust me? Well, I watch everything, about 10 to 15 movies this week, and refuse to let all those hours of media consumption go to waste. So, behold: my guide for you on what to watch.
This week, there are no new streaming debuts, but there are more options than usual for the “movies newly available on streaming services you may already have” section, which is the good stuff, so it all balances out. Picks include Final Destination: Bloodlines, A Minecraft Movie, Snow White, The Brutalist, Novocaine, but that’s far from everything. Keep reading for reviews and a curated list of other top films.
🎥 What to watch in theaters
My recommendation: Final Destination Bloodlines
Why you should watch it: It has been 14 years since the surprisingly good Final Destination 5, and thankfully Final Destination: Bloodlines more than makes up for lost time with what has to be the most crowd-pleasing and ambitious entry yet. This movie got a sold-out crowd to cheer the death of a child in its opening scene, which is quite an impressive feat.
It’s an absolute blast, as nihilistic as it is laugh-out-loud hilarious, and finds a clever and fun way into slightly retooling its concept, which might’ve felt lame in any other franchise, but due to the premise, it works great here. Let me explain: In the franchise thus far, death always comes for a group of unrelated strangers after they survive some sort of freak accident, but in this entry, it’s hereditary.
It takes this idea a step further by incorporating a period-set element and suggesting that not only is everybody who survived the opening incident marked for death, so are their families, since they should technically never have been born, according to ‘death’s design,’ to use Final Destination parlance. That '60s-set extended opening sequence in a high-rise Seattle Space Needle-esque structure isn't just a highlight of the movie, by the way, but also one of best of the entire series.
The bread and butter of the franchise, cruelly funny Rube Goldberg-style death sequences that have a lot of fun teasing the audience with misdirects before landing on the ultimate mode of demise, is in top form here, one-upping itself as it goes with some truly jaw-dropping set pieces. Formula can really be such a comfort, even if it’s disgustingly gruesome! It also features an unexpectedly affecting send-off to the late Tony Todd, as it becomes that the scene was clearly written with the knowledge that he didn’t have much time left.
🍿 What critics are saying: As of now, it’s the highest-rated entry in the series with 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Radheyan Simonpillai at the Guardian raved that it “breathes new life” into the franchise, and Jacob Oller at the AV Club says it “honors a legacy of unrepentant silliness and gleeful gore with a knowing wink.”
👀 How to watch: Final Destination: Bloodlines is now in theaters nationwide.
💸 Movies newly available to rent or buy
My sort-of, caveated recommendation: A Minecraft Movie
Why you should maybe, possibly watch it: I am not the target demographic for A Minecraft Movie. As such, I did not enjoy it, despite appreciating how much personality director Jared Hess, the man behind the cultural phenomenon that was Napoleon Dynamite and also the less-successful Nacho Libre, manages to sneak into it.
It absolutely feels like a movie made by the guy who made those, and that’s fun, but there’s just something ironic to the idea of making a movie about the power of creativity and imagination that’s indistinguishable from similar formulaic fare about characters chasing a glowing orb. All you need to make a mega-budget movie these days is Jack Black and a green screen!
Despite feeling this way, I must acknowledge the movie is a colossal hit and that kids are going absolutely feral for it, so if you managed to avoid taking your children to a “chicken jockey” screening, renting or buying it at home may be the most cost-effective way to endure it.
🍿 What critics are saying: It’s no surprise that critics felt similarly, with a 47% “rotten” designation on Rotten Tomatoes — again, this is a movie for children, not critics. I echo the sentiment of the Atlantic’s David Sims, who agreed it’s good that kids are going to movie theaters, even if “the film occasionally made me want to pop an Advil.” Mark Kennedy at the Associated Press, however, liked it and praised Jason Momoa’s performance in particular.
👀 How to watch: A Minecraft Movie is now available to rent or purchase on digital and on-demand.
Rent or buy 'The Minecraft Movie'
It's also still playing in theaters nationwide.
➕ Bonus recommendation: Snow White
Why you should watch it: Putting all the extra-textual controversies aside, Snow White is actually one of the better live-action remakes of a Disney classic. There’s infectious energy and charm here, almost entirely thanks to star Rachel Zegler, who appears alongside many very ugly CGI creatures, hideous backgrounds and all the usual stuff you see in modern blockbusters.
Zegler does a ton to elevate the material, and it's quite cute in its best moments; there’s one new song that’s so fun and flirty and you genuinely buy the relationship between her and the prince and root for them. Gal Gadot makes very little impression and disappears for a sizable chunk of it, which was probably for the best. The CGI dwarves sounded like a bad idea on paper but work well in context, and their lengthier rendition of “Heigh-Ho” is a highlight.
🍿 What critics are saying: Critics largely weren’t as kind to Snow White; it sports a rather brutal 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, though Stephanie Zacharek of Time magazine agrees with me that it’s better than anticipated, highlighting “little touches that show evidence of human thought and care” more so than similar fare. However Shirly Li, writing for the Atlantic, explained why the audience at her "screening seemed confused throughout most of the film.”
👀 How to watch: Snow White is now available to rent or purchase on digital and on-demand.
💸 Movies newly available on streaming services you may have
My recommendation: The Brutalist
Why you should watch it: Adrien Brody won the Oscar for Best Actor for his work in The Brutalist, and watching the film, it’s easy to see why. It’s a commanding performance in a movie of epic scale, essentially conveying an entire lifetime of his character’s experiences. His costars all deserve equal praise. Alessandro Nivola, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, everybody here is terrific.
It’s a movie about many things: the postwar period and the birth of the modern United States, the immigrant experience in our country and the dawn of brutalist architecture. It’s most fascinating as an allegory about the perils of making art, being careful about who funds that art and what those implications do to the meaning of that art. It gets shockingly literal in its depiction of the artist feeling screwed over by the moneymen, yet it’s profoundly moving.
🍿 What critics are saying: The Brutalist is one of the best-reviewed films of the year, though it’s not without a few detractors. The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey, though, gave it five stars out of five and called it a “colossal cinematic achievement,’ and there are hundreds more raves.
👀 How to watch: The Brutalist is now streaming on HBO Max. Make sure you have 3 hours and 35 minutes to spare!
➕ Bonus recommendation: Novocaine
Why you should watch it: Novocaine is an action-comedy star vehicle for Jack Quaid, with a high-concept premise that the movie, thankfully, lives up to. The film follows Nathan Caine, who is incapable of feeling physical pain, as he sets out to rescue the girl of his dreams (Sherry, played by Amber Midthunder) after she's kidnapped. He turns his rare physical condition into an unexpected advantage.
The movie is at its most charming and effective in its setup as we watch Nathan fall for Sherry. The two have terrific chemistry, and the romantic elements work far better than you’d expect for a movie that also features people getting killed in some of the most disgusting ways imaginable.
It’s an exciting blend of action, comedy and gross-out gore that also gets a laugh with the sheer audacity of the violence. Ray Nicholson, son of Jack Nicholson, is appropriately scary as the villain. It’s worth a watch for anyone who's not too squeamish — but take that warning seriously, as things do get pretty nasty!
🍿 What critics are saying: Novocaine sports an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the AP’s Lindsay Bahr noting how much better it is than recent action-comedies. Though Tim Robey at the Telegraph wasn’t amused, writing that it “feels like a brainstorming session for itself.”
👀 How to watch: Novocaine is now streaming on Paramount+.
🤔 If those aren’t for you...
Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Hard Truths. (Bleecker Street/Courtesy of Everett Collection)
Hard Truths: Acclaimed filmmaker Mike Leigh reteams with Secrets & Lies star Marianne Jean-Baptiste for this laugh-out-loud funny and also devastatingly human, sad movie that is one of the most underrated films of last year. In Leigh’s hands, a platitude as simple as “hurt people hurt people” cuts deep. Now streaming on Paramount+ w/ Showtime.
Paddington in Peru: Beloved children’s movie character Paddington returns after the wild success of Paddington 2 with this delightful, charming and funny family adventure. Beloved actors Antonio Banderas and Olivia Colman get to have a lot of fun! Now streaming on Netflix.
I’m Still Here: A powerful film that explores the true story of an ordinary family living under fascism in 1970s Brazil. It won the Oscar for Best International Film, and star Fernanda Torres got a surprise (and well-deserved!) Best Actress nomination for her performance. Starts streaming on Netflix this Saturday.
That's all for this week — we'll see you next Friday at the movies!
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