From intense dramas to fun comedies, this week has it all.
From likely awards contenders to high-concept horror, it’s a week with plenty of variety across all streaming platforms. Whether you want a cozy dramedy to ring in the new year, a thrilling new miniseries or a pulse-pounding survival film, you’re more than covered.
This new British series sends its characters down the path of a vast conspiracy. Fool Me Once stars Michelle Keegan as Maya, a former soldier who’s handling her life as a widow as best as she can—until she sees her supposedly murdered husband (Richard Armitage) on a nanny cam. Meanwhile, her niece and nephew are dealing with the aftereffects of the murder of their mother, and it doesn’t take the local detective sergeant to figure out that the two might be related. Action-packed and filled to the brim with twists and turns, it’s sure to be a bingeable new watch. Fool Me Once premieres Monday, January 1st.
An increasingly significant awards contender, Spain’s Society of the Snow is a gripping new survival thriller. The film documents the real-life Uruguayan Andes flight disaster of 1972, where a plane carrying 45 people crashed into the icy Andes mountains. With rescue efforts failing, the survivors struggled to stay alive in the brutal cold over the course of two months. 16 managed to make it off the mountain, and director J.A. Bayona (who has plenty of skill with disaster movies, courtesy of The Impossible) tells the story of this triumph of humanity masterfully. Society of the Snow premieres Thursday, January 4th.
High-concept, socially-conscious horror has become a favorite subgenre in recent years, thanks to the likes of Get Out and Parasite, and It Lives Inside is an exciting new entry. The film focuses on Sam, a teenager who wants nothing more than to shed her East Indian cultural upbringing and fit in with her white American classmates. So when her former best friend tells her she’s being haunted by a fearsome Hindu legend, Sam shrugs it off like she does with everything else that reminds her of her heritage—but this time, it’s at her own peril. It Lives Inside premieres Friday, December 29th.
One of this year’s steamiest and strangest movies has arrived on streaming, so settle in to watch the sprawling Saltburn. Oscar winner Emerald Fennell’s sophomore feature is a darkly satirical ode to England’s lasting landed gentry, as well as the culture of envy around that storied wealth. Barry Keoghan stars as Oliver, an awkward, dweeby Oxford student with minimal social skills who becomes enraptured by Felix (Jacob Elordi), a rich kid with a soft spot for those he can help. When Felix invites Oliver to his family estate for the summer, debauchery and a dastardly fun performance from Rosamund Pike ensue. Saltburn began streaming earlier this month. Read Observer’s review.
If you’re in the mood for a wild ride, give Zola a try. This A24 film is based on a true Twitter thread that covers love, death, betrayal—and stripping. Taylour Paige stars as Zola, a working woman who gets invited to a Florida club by Stefani (Riley Keough) to make a boatload of cash, but the trip is hardly that simple. What follows is seedy motels, sketchy roommates and a sex-fueled montage that would make even the most crass among us blush. Keough gives a laugh out loud performance, and her energy is matched by Paige and supporting players like Nicholas Braun and Colman Domingo. Zola streams starting Monday, January 1st.
With only a few days left on your holiday break, make the most of it like the characters of The Holdovers. Alexander Payne directs this ‘70s New England boarding school-bound film, which stars Paul Giamatti as a widely disliked teacher put in charge of the group of students stuck at the school over winter break. Chief among the troublemaking teens is Angus (a breakout Dominic Sessa), and the rivalry between him and Giamatti’s character is one for the ages. The beating, bleeding heart of the film comes from Da’Vine Joy Randolph, though, who plays the grieving head cook at the school. The Holdovers premieres Friday, December 29th. Read Observer’s review.
What to Watch is a regular endorsement of movies and TV worth your streaming time.
