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Happy Friday, Polygon readers. This week is an exciting one in new movies to watch at home: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the thrilling sequel to 2018 Oscar-winning smash hit Into the Spider-Verse and one of the best movies of 2023, finally drops digitally and is available to purchase online.
That’s not all: Asteroid City, Wes Anderson’s latest adventure (and another of our best movies of 2023) premieres on Peacock. Netflix also has the new Gal Gadot spy thriller Heart of Stone, the folk horror Enys Men debuts on Hulu, Chinese blockbuster The Wandering Earth II arrives on Prime along with the Red, White & Royal Blue adaptation, and there’s a group of intriguing docs now available to watch at home, too.
Let’s get into it.
New on Netflix
Heart of Stone
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Photo: Robert Viglasky/Netflix
Genre: Spy thrillerRun time: 2h 2mDirector: Tom HarperCast: Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt
Gal Gadot and Netflix aim to start a franchise with this spy movie modeled after the more realistic thrills of the Bourne, Bond, and Mission: Impossible franchises. She plays superagent Rachel Stone, who has to stop a dastardly plot to take over the all-powerful artificial intelligence that guides her agency. It’s a pretty fun time, with grounded, in-camera action, and Gadot’s best movie in years.
New on Prime Video
The Wandering Earth II
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
Image: Well Go USA
Genre: Sci-fiRun time: 2h 53mDirector: Frant GwoCast: Wu Jing, Andy Lau, Hao Feng
The prequel to the 2019 Chinese sci-fi action adventure film The Wandering Earth centers on a team of scientists tasked with building enormous engines designed to propel the Earth safely outside the radius of an impending solar flare in search of a new solar system. Time is running out, and the scientists must survive the elements and their own interpersonal conflicts in order to survive.
From our review:
Classic disaster movies offer something similar to the feel of a horror movie: the terror of annihilation and the catharsis of survival, but spread over a larger canvas. Maybe that model just doesn’t work anymore. Skillfully made as it is, Wandering Earth II feels more like immersion therapy for the modern onslaught of apocalyptic news from around the world. Like franchises, global disasters no longer really end.
Red, White & Royal Blue
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
Photo: Jonathan Prime/Prime Video
Genre: RomanceRun time: 1h 58mDirector: Matthew LópezCast: Nicholas Galitzine, Taylor Zakhar Perez, Uma Thurman
This LGBTQ romance novel made waves when it was published in 2019, and now the movie adaptation is here! Red, White & Royal Blue follows the romance between a British prince and the son of the U.S. president.
New on Peacock
Asteroid City
Where to watch: Available to stream on Peacock
Image: Focus Features
Genre: Sci-fi dramedyRun time: 1h 45mDirector: Wes AndersonCast: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks
Wes Anderson’s latest follows an eccentric cast of characters who, brought together through the combined forces of personal tragedy and a space cadet convention, find their lives turned upside down by an unexpected visit from an extraterrestrial. There’s a lot more going on than what’s apparent on the surface, both for the film and the story behind the film, but saying any more would spoil the surprise.
From our review:
Anderson’s ingenious framing device, which has actors playing actors playing actors, sets all these characters against each other in ways that boost Asteroid City, turning it into something richer than the perfectly amiable desert charmer that the trailers convey. Anderson is focusing on the great cosmic mysteries of existence — some in outer space, some terrestrial, and based in human emotion. His recent films have made it clear that he’s a richly philosophical filmmaker, and that he enjoys studying his artistic preoccupations from a distance — through the fog of memory in The Grand Budapest Hotel, and by turning storytelling itself into a subject in The French Dispatch.
New on Hulu
Enys Men
Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu
Image: Neon
Genre: HorrorRun time: 1h 36mDirector: Mark JenkinCast: Mary Woodvine, John Woodvine, Edward Rowe
If you thought Skinamarink (also on Hulu) was 2022’s only breakout experimental horror feature, think again: Mark Jenkin’s experimental folk horror set on an uninhabited island off the Cornish coast is here to give Kyle Edward Ball a run for his money. Shot entirely on 16mm film, Enys Men (Cornish for “Stone Island”) follows a wildlife volunteer (Mary Woodvine) in 1973 who is plagued by strange and unsettling visions after repeated contact with a rare psychotropic flower. The trailer for the film certainly looks terrifying, with scenes of the volunteer exploring the quiet and menacing recesses of the island interrupted by blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shots of leering men and giggling flower girls à la 1973’s The Wicker Man.
New on Shudder and AMC Plus
The Communion Girl
Where to watch: Available to stream on Shudder and AMC Plus
Image: Atresmedia Cine/Ikiru Films/Warner Bros Entertainment España
Genre: HorrorRun time: 1h 38mDirector: Víctor GarciaCast: Carla Campra, Marc Soler, Carlos Oviedo
Two best friends encounter a haunted doll on a spooky night out in the town in 1980s Spain. The Communion Girl comes from veteran horror director Víctor Garcia (Hellraiser: Revelations).
New to rent or buy
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Where to watch: Available to buy for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Sony Pictures
Genre: Multiversal actionRun time: 2h 20mDirectors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. ThompsonCast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry
The long, long wait is finally over. Across the Spider-Verse is coming to Netflix eventually, but first it makes its home viewing debut via the usual VOD platforms after a big box-office run.
The first movie changed American animation forever, and the sequel seeks to do the same. Across the Spider-Verse is part one, and the follow-up has been delayed. Get ready for breathtaking animation, an onslaught of cameos, and our multiversal review.
Cobweb
Where to watch: Available to rent for $14.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Lionsgate
Genre: HorrorRun time: 1h 28mDirector: Samuel BodinCast: Woody Norman, Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr
Another new horror movie to watch at home this week, Cobweb tells the story of a young boy who hears an odd noise from inside the walls of his bedroom, and his efforts to try and convince his parents that the noise is real. The movie is Samuel Bodin’s directorial debut, made from a former Black List script.
The Last Rider
Where to watch: Available to rent for $5.99 on Amazon and Vudu
Image: Roadside Attractions
Genre: Sports documentaryRun time: 1h 36mDirector: Alex HolmesCast: Greg LeMond
This year’s Tour de France just finished (and was extremely exciting) — why not revisit one of the greatest Tours ever? This documentary from frequent sports documentarian Alex Holmes digs in on the legendary Greg LeMond and his incredible 1989.
Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)
Where to watch: Available to rent for $5.99 on Amazon
Genre: Art documentaryRun time: 1h 41mDirector: Anton CorbijnCast: Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Jimmy Page
Dutch photographer and director Anton Corbijn (The American, A Most Wanted Man) makes his second straight doc about the music industry here after 2019’s Depeche Mode concert movie Spirits in the Forest. This time, he turns his eye on the album art design studio Hipgnosis, with the help of some rock ’n’ roll luminaries.
The YouTube Effect
Where to watch: Available to rent for $4.99 on Amazon and Vudu
Image: Olive Hill Media/Time Studios/Trouper Productions/Valhalla Entertainment/Zipper Bros Films
Genre: Culture documentaryRun time: 1h 39mDirector: Alex Winter
You may remember Alex Winter as Bill from the Bill & Ted series, but he’s also an accomplished director, with a long history in music videos and TV. Recently, he’s been working in the doc space, and his latest goes deep on the cultural phenomenon of YouTube.
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