richard crouse movie reviews netflix

You are using an outdated browser. Upgrade your browser today or install Google Chrome Frame to better experience this site.

Richard Crouse

Bookography

This Week On Movies

Executive produced and written by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann of Sphinx Productions, and with series producer Robin Crumley overseeing, This Week On Movies is founded on Richard Crouse’s history and expertise as a featured film critic for notable shows such as CTV’s Canada AM and Rogers Television’s Reel to Real.

“It’s like having someone you know and trust recommend a movie for you, to see to help you make the right choice for you.” said Mann.

In addition to Crouse’s reviews, Brooklyn, NY based filmmaker Kendra Elliot will offer an offbeat installment of “Celebrity Picks”.

Kim Hughes on sympatico/ inmovies.ca wrote : “So it makes perfect sense that, along with noted documentary filmmaker Ron Mann (see Comic Book Confidential, Grass), Crouse has unleashed his encyclopedic movie knowledge on iTunes via a new video podcast. This Week on Movies showcases our man reviewing the latest movie releases available on the iTunes store while offering a caustic/hilarious grab-bag of film factoids and ephemera. Already the #1 video podcast on iTunes Canada (and free, BTW), This Week on Movies is appointment viewing for cinephiles seeking something with a bit more gravitas than the usual journo squib…”

Kris Abel, host of CTV’s App Central, had this to say : “Don’t leave your desk for lunch, stay and watch Richard Crouse ‘s new video podcast on movies. It’s so slick and funny, it gives podcasts a better name. Produced by Ron Mann (Comic Book Confidential), this is exactly the kind of content we in Canada should be making.”

Servitude director Warren P. Sonoda said this : “The always awesome Richard Crouse just increased his online footprint, and we – the movie-going public – are better for it! “This Week on Movies” on iTunes NOW!!!”

Brian McKechnie of Criticize This says this ! “With Crouse’s quick-witted cheeky demeanor, the show, which is the first subscriber-based content in the iTunes movie section, is quickly climbing the charts and putting Crouse out there as one of the leading personalities in the movie-talk game.”

Here’s what Adnan of The Arts Scene says ! “If you’re a movie buff & you haven’t heard of Richard Crouse, you need to get out more. The renowned and frankly brilliant film critic is best known for his TV stint as host of Reel to Real on RogersTV, Canada’s longest running tv show about movies, which was on air for 10 years between 1998 and 2008. Since then, he has hosted multiple shows and has been an avid contributor to various television shows, news channels and radio programs, providing his insight on the very latest in film.

“Now his insight can be seen in the form of a free video podcast called This Week on Movies, produced by well known documentary film-maker Ron Mann. Crouse will provide everything from reviews to revisiting must-see films from the past. This podcast will be available exclusively on iTunes, so go check it out today! There are already two podcasts out!”

Comments are closed.

Richard Crouse shares a toast with celebrity guests and entertainment pundits every week on CTV’s exciting talk show POP LIFE . Saturdays at 8:30 on CTV NewsChannel, midnight on CTV.

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, black writers week.

Now streaming on:

In the foreground, an 11-year-old girl lies asleep in bed. On the balcony beyond, seen through the plate-glass door, the girl's father struggles to light a cigarette, hampered by the cast on his right arm. Mission accomplished, he sways back and forth rhythmically, arms moving outwards and upwards and down, a dreamy approximation of Tai Chi moves, perhaps. It's not quite clear what is going on with him, since the camera doesn't move in closer, and there are barriers separating us from him. This is a moment of solitude for the father, snatched at the end of the day when his child is asleep. The daughter's deep breathing provides the rhythm for the father's movements, and there's something almost eerie about the moment. The 11-year-old daughter sleeps through it all.

But what is "it," exactly?

This question lies at the shifting center of Charlotte Wells' moving debut feature "Aftersun," detailing a father-daughter vacation at a cheap resort in Turkey, and the scene above—which comes early on, when we're still getting our bearings—is key. There's something unknowable about Calum ( Paul Mescal ), and maybe this is because Sophie (Frankie Corio) is a child, and he's her dad, and she's just about coming to the age where she's separating herself and becoming her own person.

There's an uneasiness in the sequence, but the source of it is hard to place, or even name, particularly since Calum and Sophie are enjoying their vacation, overall. The occasional friction is of the normal parent-child variety, nothing too toxic, nothing too traumatic. But the depths, as they say, are sounded. The child is perceptive, and senses things, even if she can't put it into words (although often she can). She perceives more than her father thinks she does. But children are resilient. It is possible to perceive a parent's existential anxiety and still have a great time making a new friend at the arcade. The two things even happen simultaneously. Consciousness operates on multiple tracks and "Aftersun" understands this. The multi-level awareness is not in the dialogue, but it's there in the film's gentle rhythms, the editorial choices, the patience and sensitivity of Wells' approach.

Sophie's parents are separated, and she lives mainly with her mother. Calum talks about getting a new place, where Sophie will have her own room, and maybe starting a new business with someone named "Keith," and from the way he talks about all this it's obvious he barely believes in any of it. Something's not gone right for him. Does he party too much? He became a father at a young age. There are "clues" that his life hasn't quite worked out the way he had hoped. He has brought books on meditation and Tai Chi, suggesting not so much a lifelong practice as a way to stave off anxiety. His worries weigh him down. Sophie senses this. It's tense when she loses her scuba mask, and she informs him she knows it's expensive and she's sorry. Calum is taken aback by her remark. He thought his worries were well-hidden. Calum may be a bit adrift, but he clearly loves his daughter. They have a little tiff at one point, and he apologizes to her later for his behavior. He's a good dad. Their energy together is comfortable, intimate, familiar.

"Aftersun" is clearly told from Sophie's point of view, but a perceptive viewer will notice there are scenes where Sophie is not present. The film, then, is from the adult Sophie's point of view, an adult—a new parent herself—looking back on this vacation, curious about what her father must have been going through. She knows her own memories of the vacation. But what was going on with him?

Wells intersperses the vacation with surreal dream-like "rave" sequences, where an adult Sophie ( Celia Rowlson-Hall , whose 2016 directorial debut " Ma " I so admired and reviewed for this site) stands on a crowded dance floor, catching glimpses of her father writhing to the music in the intermittent lightning flashes of the strobe lights. She wants to get to him, touch him, hold him. Sophie is an adult now. She understands him so much better now. What would it be like if she could talk to him? They would still have so much to say to one another. In a way, "Aftersun" is an act of imaginative empathy. Sophie can now look at the things that child Sophie could not see.

This once-removed point of view, this slightly distanced stance, gives the film its melancholy melody of an almost elegiac sweetness. In the present moment, all is sunshine and laughter, Calum and Sophie having ice cream, getting mud baths, swimming, where it doesn't matter that the resort is cheap and there's construction going on. What matters is being together. Mescal (so wonderful in "Normal People") gives such a tactile earthy performance, grounded in the details. There are fleeting glimpses of worry and self-loathing, his fears about not being good enough, not being a good provider or failing her ... all of the things he feels he must hide—and, for the most part—does hide.

Frankie Corio is a newcomer. She's alert, sensitive, and a totally natural presence. The dynamic between Corio and Mescal is nothing short of amazing—they are so comfortable with one another! They're playful and thoughtful, they get joy from one another, but are capable of hurting one another too. This dynamic is a tribute to both Mescal and Corio, of course, but also a tribute to Wells' gifts in both casting and working with actors.

Cinematographer Gregory Oke uses a soft rich palette, summery and saturated, and often keeps the frame off-center, destabilizing the point of view. Calum is often seen through a doorway, or as a reflection—in a mirror or a television screen—obscured, half-there, half not-there, similar to adult Sophie's glimpses of him at the rave: the strobe is so violent, it's impossible to see him in full, to perceive him as there and in the flesh. Sound designer Jovan Ajder also does fine work, particularly in a scene when Calum stalks down to the beach in the middle of the night for a swim. Calum is swallowed up by the blackness, and the gentle lapping of the waves slowly crescendos to the sound of thundering surf.

Wells' 2015 short film " Tuesday " could be seen as "Aftersun" in embryo. A college student spends Tuesday nights at her dad's, even though her mother seems against it. The girl wanders through her dad's empty rooms, not so much snooping as touching his belongings—his guitar, one of his sweaters. He is not there. Where is he? Did he forget it was Tuesday? "Tuesday" is such a strong short film, filled with a young person's ache to understand a man so close to her, so close and yet so far away he might as well not be there at all.

I remember the moment I realized—not just intellectually, but viscerally—how young my parents were when they had me. I was looking at a photograph of my father holding two-year-old me in his arms. He was about 26 years old at the time. I stared at his face, its youthful curves, the light in his eyes, the gentle way he held onto my hand (mainly so I wouldn't yank his glasses off his face). I had a strange sense of time telescoping out on both ends. I thought of myself at 26 years old, how young and wild I was. It still seems unbelievable to me that he was that young. He was such a good dad. I would love to ask him about his life. I would love to ask him what it all was like for him. "Aftersun" is Wells' beautiful attempt to do the same.

Now playing in theaters.

Sheila O'Malley

Sheila O'Malley received a BFA in Theatre from the University of Rhode Island and a Master's in Acting from the Actors Studio MFA Program. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

Now playing

Peyton Robinson

A Man in Full

Rendy jones.

Tiger Stripes

Monica castillo.

What Remains

Craig d. lindsey.

Film Credits

Aftersun (2022)

Rated R for some language and brief sexual material.

101 minutes

Paul Mescal as Calum

Francesca Corio as Sophie

Celia Rowlson-Hall as Adult Sophie

Sally Messham as Melinda

Ayse Parlak as Teen Girl 1

Sophia Lamanova as Teen Girl 2

Brooklyn Toulson as Michael

Spike Fearn as Olly

Charlotte Wells

Cinematographer

Gregory Oke
Blair McClendon
Oliver Coates

Latest blog posts

Kevin Costner: The Last of the Cornball American Directors

Leaving A Mark Behind: Kevin Costner on Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1

The Hard Way, Or My Way? RIP Bill Cobbs (1934-2024)

Catherine Breillat Wants You to Think About (Movie) Sex Differently

This new Netflix movie based on a true story has 92% on Rotten Tomatoes

May December is the movie to stream on Netflix this weekend

May December. (L to R) Natalie Portman as Elizabeth Berry and Julianne Moore as Gracie Atherton-Yoo in May December. Cr. Francois Duhamel / Courtesy of Netflix

When it comes to what you should watch this weekend on one of the best streaming services , Todd Haynes’ movie May December should shoot to the top of your list. The Netflix movie has been beloved by critics since its festival debut and the buzz has continued through the film’s theatrical run. And starting today (Dec. 1) you can stream this Oscar hopeful on Netflix as part of your subscription.

Starring Natalie Portman and Juliane Moore, May December is loosely based on the true story of Mary Kay Letourneau, an elementary school teacher who was arrested and convicted of rape of her 12-year-old student.

As she researches Gracie’s life and her relationship with Joe, Portman’s Berry becomes more and more drawn into the character she is becoming — possibly beyond the point of no return.

Now, that’s an interesting story in its own right, but the story gets much, much weirder. In May December, Moore plays Gracie Atherton-Yoo, a fictional version of Letourneau who, like Letourneau, goes on to have a child with her underage lover Joe Yoo (Charles Melton) while she is still in prison. Once she is out, they continue their relationship, which at the time of the movie’s start has lasted 23 years and produced two additional children.

Again, this could be interesting enough on its own — a loosely inspired retelling of a shocking true story. But May December takes it a step further by introducing Portman’s character, the actress Elizabeth Berry. Berry has decided to make Gracie the focus of her next movie, which will be about Gracie and Joe’s illicit relationship.

Critics and audiences are sold on Netflix’s May December

If this sounds like the beginning of a possible horror/thriller movie, you’re not crazy. There’s something deeply unsettling about May December, something that critics will quickly point out if you peruse Rotten Tomatoes .

But that hasn’t stopped the film from getting rave reviews. Critics rate May December 92% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, earning the film a certified fresh badge to go along with a critical rating score of 8 out of 100 across 193 reviews.

Sign up to get the BEST of Tom’s Guide direct to your inbox.

Upgrade your life with a daily dose of the biggest tech news, lifestyle hacks and our curated analysis. Be the first to know about cutting-edge gadgets and the hottest deals.

Portman and Moore are — unsurprisingly — praised for their performances, including by David Fear of Rolling Stone , who equates the two acting heavyweights as “immovable objects and irresistible forces.”

The movie also garners praise for its “satire of true crime and our fascination with tabloid criminality” in Richard Crouse ’s review and The New York Times 's Manohla Dargis says it does an excellent job of layering its movie within a movie construction.

Audiences are even more bullish on the Netflix hit, rating it 93% “fresh” and scoring it a 4.6 out of 10 on average. Here too, praise is heaped upon the talented acting of Portman and Moore, but there’s also praise for Melton’s portrayal of Yoo. One audience reviewer calls Melton’s performance “my favorite part of this film” and several others wax poetic about how much they were moved by his performance as Yoo.

So it should be no surprise that May December is already garnering Oscar buzz for Netflix. On top of the positive reception from critics and audiences, the film has won many of the awards it has been nominated for so far, including several acting awards for Melton. So watch May December on Netflix this weekend if you’re looking to stream one of the best movies this year.

More from Tom's Guide

Netflix 'Griselda' trailer is here — you’ve never seen Sofia Vergara like this
12 DC movies coming to Netflix this December — what to stream and what to skip
The best show you’re not watching is on Hulu — and audiences give it 96% on Rotten Tomatoes

Malcolm McMillan is a senior writer for Tom's Guide, covering all the latest in streaming TV shows and movies. That means news, analysis, recommendations, reviews and more for just about anything you can watch, including sports! If it can be seen on a screen, he can write about it. Previously, Malcolm had been a staff writer for Tom's Guide for over a year, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), A/V tech and VR headsets.

Before writing for Tom's Guide, Malcolm worked as a fantasy football analyst writing for several sites and also had a brief stint working for Microsoft selling laptops, Xbox products and even the ill-fated Windows phone. He is passionate about video games and sports, though both cause him to yell at the TV frequently. He proudly sports many tattoos, including an Arsenal tattoo, in honor of the team that causes him to yell at the TV the most.

This new superhero drama just crashed the Netflix top 10 — and it’s 100% on Rotten Tomatoes

'The Mole' season 2: The top suspects from the Netflix reality series

Latex mattress vs latex mattress topper — which should you buy in the 4th of July sales?

Letterboxd — Your life in film

Forgotten username or password ?

Start a new list…
Add all films to a list…
Add all films to watchlist

Add to your films…

Press Tab to complete, Enter to create

A moderator has locked this field.

Add to lists

List by Monsieur Flynn

Published 2013-03-14T20:12:03.042Z

Remove filters
Fade watched films
Show custom posters
Custom posters Any Theirs Yours None
Show watched films
Hide watched films
Show liked films
Hide liked films
Show rated films
Hide rated films
Show logged films
Hide logged films
Show rewatched films
Hide rewatched films
Show reviewed films
Hide reviewed films
Show films in watchlist
Hide films in watchlist
Show films you own
Hide films you own
Show films with your custom posters
Hide films with your custom posters
Show films with your custom backdrops
Hide films with your custom backdrops
Show short films
Hide short films
Show TV shows
Hide TV shows
Hide documentaries
Hide unreleased titles
Show obscure films
Hide obscure films
Show films with backdrop
Hide films with backdrop
Show Nanocrowd films
Hide Nanocrowd films
Reverse Order
Film Popularity
Newest First
Earliest First
Highest First
Lowest First
Based on films you liked
Related to films you liked
Shortest First
Longest First
Amazon Video US
Apple TV Plus US
Apple TV US

Upgrade to a Letterboxd Pro account to add your favorite services to this list—including any service and country pair listed on JustWatch—and to enable one-click filtering by all your favorites.

Powered by JustWatch
Documentary
Science Fiction

Richard Crouse's 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen

From his book , Richard Crouse's take on the same theme Leonard Matlin did a 151-take on here .

Later he wrote a sequel, Son of the 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen .

List-makers notes : Personally I love these kind of alternative lists, even thou a movie like M should be praised and acknowledged as the masterpiece it is, but I enjoy digging into less explored territory with movies like Cherish, Stage Door and even Pitch Black, and watch movies that never found the audience or praise it deserved. I won't always agree about the quality of these movies, but compared to pick a random one from Netflix or whatever, it's at least a better shot at finding gold...

Moderator dashboard
Block this member This member is blocked
Report this list

Select your preferred backdrop

Select your preferred poster, upgrade to remove ads.

Letterboxd is an independent service created by a small team, and we rely mostly on the support of our members to maintain our site and apps. Please consider upgrading to a Pro account —for less than a couple bucks a month, you’ll get cool additional features like all-time and annual stats pages ( example ), the ability to select (and filter by) your favorite streaming services, and no ads!

Join or Sign In

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy .

TV Listings

Richard Crouse

Commentator

My favorite underrated horror movie is coming to Netflix – here’s why you should ignore its low Rotten Tomatoes rating

It’s hip to be a square

A still from the movie American Psycho in which Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is wearing a suit and looking at an axe.

With so many movies at our fingertips, it’s hard to know what to watch and often we rely on aggregator sites like Rotten Tomatoes to help but the lower the score, the more likely we are to skip it, unless it’s very low and morbid curiosity takes over. Sometimes it’s trickier, especially if critics and audiences disagree. This is the case for American Psycho , a movie I will go to bat for whenever the opportunity arises.

I’ll do the same for the novel it's based on by Bret Easton Ellis, which received plenty of backlash at the time due to its exploration of some controversial topics. In my eyes, it’s a classic and a movie that horror fans in particular should absolutely watch, especially as it's part of everything new on Netflix in July 2024 in the US (those in Australia can already stream it).

American Psycho ’s critic rating is only 68% on Rotten Tomatoes, which means it doesn't make the cut for our best Netflix movies list (even though the audience gave it 85%), but it also doesn’t have a huge number of critic reviews logged, with only 154 entries at the time of writing. But if Christian Bale as an axe-wielding maniac dancing to Huey Lewis and the News while preparing to murder Jared Leto isn’t enough to convince you that it should be one of the best horror movies , there’s plenty more reasons you should add this to your watchlist.

Why you should watch American Psycho

Bale is joined by an all-star cast including Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny, Cara Seymour, Justin Theroux and Reese Witherspoon, so if a big cast influences you, there’s a brilliant one here. It was also directed by the brilliant Mary Harron, so it’s a win for female-directed horror.

Speaking of, it is a little tricky to define exactly what genre American Psycho is. Many regard it as a dark comedy, satirical horror or thriller, and I’d agree with all of these. It’s equal parts bloody as it is hilarious, and it does a very good job of pointing fun at 1980s yuppie culture and consumerism, with an investment banker slash serial killer as the protagonist.

It’s a truly unhinged performance from Christian Bale, miles away from what you might be used to seeing him in. Instead of being the caped crusader in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, he’s insufferable here in the best possible way. You’ll hate his character yet you won’t want to stop watching, and after all, isn’t a terrible protagonist often the most compelling?

Of course, we all have our preferences, and American Psycho won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s one every self-proclaimed movie lover should say they’ve watched at least once. Regardless of what you think, it’s one that sparks discussions even today.

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

4 horror movies on Peacock with 85% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes
8 new horror movies on Paramount Plus, Shudder, Max and more in June 2024
Prime Video has a hit new horror show with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes

Lucy is a long-time movie and television lover who is an approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes. She has written several reviews in her time, starting with a small self-ran blog called Lucy Goes to Hollywood before moving onto bigger websites such as What's on TV and What to Watch, with TechRadar being her most recent venture. Her interests primarily lie within horror and thriller, loving nothing more than a chilling story that keeps her thinking moments after the credits have rolled. Many of these creepy tales can be found on the streaming services she covers regularly.

When she’s not scaring herself half to death with the various shows and movies she watches, she likes to unwind by playing video games on Easy Mode and has no shame in admitting she’s terrible at them. She also quotes The Simpsons religiously and has a Blinky the Fish tattoo, solidifying her position as a complete nerd.

Netflix in 2024: the 9 most unmissable shows so far and what’s coming next

5 movies leaving Netflix with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes

KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor review: convenient but costly

More From Forbes

The 10 most underrated movies on netflix.

Share to Facebook
Share to Twitter
Share to Linkedin

Géza Morcsányi and Alexandra Borbély star in the film 'On Body and Soul'.

Netflix is awesome for having all the biggest, loudest, most-talked-about movies of the moment. From Originals like Rebel Moon and The Killer to outside films like Dumb Money and Aftersun , the streaming platform is constantly at the forefront of what moviegoers want and expect. But...what about all the other movies in such a massive digital library? What about the ones that don’t get as much love? The ones that were unfairly ridiculed upon release? Or just flat-out didn’t receive the same level of promotion that a blockbuster juggernaut normally gets? Those movies exist in spades on Netflix. But it’s hard to weed out which ones are actually worth watching.

Well, I’m here to help. I’ve sifted through Netflix’s expansive catalog to pick out ten movies that fit into one of those three questions I asked above. These are the movies we’ve forgotten about, or never started thinking about in the first place. These are movies that inspire and enthrall and captivate, that challenge what’s expected of cinematic stories, that force us to experience something different than the norm. Maybe you won’t love all of these movies, but I can practically guarantee that each of the ten movies below will look and feel much different than your average cinematic experience. These are ten movies I personally love, and I hope you’ll share that enthusiasm with me once you give them a chance.

10 Underrated Movies On Netflix

Baby boy (2001).

I feel like I’m constantly writing about John Singleton because, as was the case for much of his treasured career, he’s continued to go overlooked in the film community since his death in 2019. Up to that point, he had built one of the more eclectic careers in Hollywood, crafting incredibly tense, visually provocative tales in numerous genres, from hood movies ( Boyz n the Hood ) to romances ( Poetic Justice ) to full-on blockbusters ( 2 Fast 2 Furious ). But I would argue his best effort, and one of the best movies ever, period, was his 2001 triumph Baby Boy , in which a young man struggles to find his place amidst the demands of adulthood in the heart of South Central Los Angeles. Starring an Oscar-worthy performance from Tyrese Gibson as Jody, the aforementioned 20-year-old grappling with fatherhood, relationships and personal growth, the central journey of this moving film is complicated by his on-again, off-again girlfriend Yvette, played by Taraji P. Henson, and his mother’s tough-love boyfriend, Melvin, portrayed by Ving Rhames. Singleton’s film, which is filled with intimately relatable characters navigating the treacherous terrain of their urban settings and the eerie imagery that haunts their dreams, provides an unflinching look at the cycles of poverty and violence, offering a raw and powerful narrative about a young black man’s quest for identity and maturity.

‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 2, Episode 3 Recap And Review: Old Feuds And Bad Blood

Ranked: the 30 most walkable cities in the world, according to a new report, controversial christian bale movie coming to netflix in july, elena (2011).

I was surprised to see this movie even existed on Netflix. Back in 2011 when I was on the film festival circuit and watching hundreds of screeners from every which studio that would share them with me, I discovered a strange, otherworldly meta-documentary that felt unlike anything I’d ever seen. This was the poignant and deeply personal film Elena , an emotional and sensory experience in which director Petra Costa embarks on a journey to uncover the life and mysterious disappearance of her older sister, Elena. Through a blend of home videos, family photographs and intimate narration, Costa, who vulnerably self-expresses the hopes and disillusionments of an aspiring artist, paints a haunting portrait of a young woman who dreamed of becoming an actress in New York City but was ultimately consumed by her ambitions and inner demons. As Costa retraces Elena’s steps, the film evolves into a meditation on memory, loss and the enduring bonds of sisterhood (now that I’m thinking of it, it’s very akin to Sophie’s journey in Aftersun ). Elena is a visually poetic and emotionally resonant exploration of grief and the search for meaning in the shadow of tragedy, offering an unforgettable story that lingers long after the screen fades to black.

The Perfection (2018)

Allison Williams has quietly become a titan of horrors movies in the past decade. There was, of course, Get Out , in which she turns out a quietly maniacal performance. And last year she gave us M3GAN , an outrageous horror flick that doesn’t sacrifice its message about technology and connection for scares and thrills. But, to be honest, I would put another one of her performances above the rest—the one she gives in The Perfection . In the world of elite classical music, dark secrets and sinister motives come to light in this largely forgotten 2018 film directed by Richard Shepard that owns an intense, unmistakably unsettling atmosphere that subtly pulsates throughout, constantly leaving you in a state of apprehension and dread for what’s inevitably to come. In this spectacular horror-thriller, Williams stars as Charlotte, a troubled musical prodigy who seeks out her former mentor's new star pupil, Lizzie (played by Logan Browning). Their meeting sets off a chain of shocking events filled with insane twists you’ll never see coming and psychological horror that lingers with you for days. The film blends high tension with disturbing imagery, creating a gripping and unpredictable narrative layers that slowly peel away as the deception unravels. The Perfection is a uniquely awesome experience I never get sick of revisiting.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)

In retrospect, I find it unforgivable I went so many years of my life without watching a single S. Craig Zahler film. A heavy metal drama and singer, a writer of westerns and crime novels and horror stories, as well as a cinematographer who worked his way into a directing position with his debut film, a Western starring Kurt Russell...I mean, everything about Zahler intrigues and sounds awesome to me. So, to no surprise, I’ve loved discovering his unique aesthetic in film. From his debut Bone Tomahawk to Dragged Across Concrete to what I consider to be his absolute best film: Brawl in Cell Block 99 . This impressively minimalist story with deliberate pacing and a strong focus on character centers on a former boxer turned drug courier who finds himself in a fight of his life behind bars. Starring Vince Vaughn as Bradley Thomas, who is imprisoned after a drug deal goes wrong and is forced into a violent world of survival, where he must brawl his way through the prison’s underbelly to protect his loved ones on the outside. Zahler’s gritty direction and Vaughn’s intense performance (not to mention great showings from Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson and the legendary Udo Kier) create a brutal and visceral experience, blending raw action with deeply emotional stakes. You don’t just watch this movie—you feel it. You experience something bizarre and completely new.

Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

I’m including this one because, as far as I can tell...the movie came and went without any fanfare at all. It doesn’t help that this particular movie was relatively panned by critics (it currently owns a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes ) and was met with indifference by the general moviegoing public (it currently has a 5.5 rating on IMDB ). But as a major fan of the horror genre—and, in particular, smart horror movies in which the terror, the anxiety, the overbearing tension of everyday life is fused with the demons and malevolent forces that inevitably lurk—I was deeply moved by Insidious: The Red Door . Helmed by Patrick Wilson, the main star of the Insidious franchise in his directorial debut, this fascinating story further follows the Lambert family as they delve deeper into the terrifying realm of the Further. With Josh Lambert (Wilson) and his son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) both haunted by their past encounters, they must unlock hidden memories to defeat the evil prowling behind the “red door.” The film’s chilling atmosphere and relentless suspense are perfect matches for its thematic explorations, offering a shocking-yet-compassionate look at our troubled relationship with memory, how we overcome the trauma that plagues our past, that haunts our present, that prevents us from confidently stepping into the future. This is humanistic horror at its finest.

Blackhat (2015)

I’m a little ashamed to admit that, for many years, I wasn’t a huge fan of Heat . A film that would go on to inspire hoards of crime enthusiasts for years to come, I mistakenly confused director Michael Mann’s stylistic and narrative choices as familiar, as stale, as (man, I hate to say this) downright hackneyed. But now that I’m on the other side of watching almost every movie in Mann’s filmography, I can recognize Heat , as well as movies like Thief , Collateral and Miami Vice , for what they are: intelligent studies of moral ambiguity, of the isolation and loneliness of life, filled with philosophical questions bolstered by fluid movement and atmospheric lighting. All in all, his deeply layered narratives make astute observations about the existential our everyday—and that goes double for the critically panned Blackhat . This film that’s accrued a cult audience since its release stars Chris Hemsworth as Nicholas Hathaway, who is released from prison to help track down a cybercriminal targeting nuclear power plants. With a team that includes federal agents and a former lover (the stellar cast includes Tang Wei, Viola Davis and Ritchie Coster), Hathaway embarks on a high-stakes chase across the globe. The realistic, authentic depiction of computer hacking and cybersecurity is crucial to the movie’s character-driven thematic focus, along the way asking questions like: What is the nature of identity in the digital age? How does technology shape our understanding of power and control? And how do we balance privacy and security in a connected world? Like Mann’s other masterpieces, Blackhat has it all.

Hulk (2003)

These days, everybody is up in arms over Morbius , or Madame Web , or whatever Phase Four entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t meet their expectations. But back in my day, there was one movie that seemed to get more hate from comic book lovers than any other superhero film up to that point: Hulk . Well, as somebody who’s never cared for superhero movies, especially just about any of the entries into the modern MCU, I have always been fascinated by this bizarre and brazen triumph from Ang Lee—yeah, the guy who gave us masterpieces like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Brokeback Mountain and the incredibly underrated Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk —that embraces comic book aesthetics like no other movie before or after. The 2003 movie Eric Bana as Bruce Banner (still the best rendition of the character to date, in my opinion), whose exposure to gamma radiation transforms him into the monstrous green creature who can’t control his anger. As Bruce struggles to control his rage-fueled alter ego, he faces threats from the military—and, of course, his own past. The blending of genres, from psychological drama, to science fiction, to dynamic action, all accompanied by innovative special effects and an astounding focus on character depth, makes Hulk an anomaly in superhero cinema. You may not love Lee’s approach, but you can’t deny that you’ve never seen anything like it.

Holidate (2020)

Upon watching the box office winning, critically lauded, audience enthused reaction to Anyone But You —which is, don’t get me wrong, a great take on the rom-com formula, offering interesting characters amidst an absurd premise—I can’t help but wonder why another modern romantic comedy didn’t get the same level of love. I am talking, of course, about Holidate , the Netflix Original that stars two connoisseurs of underrated romantic comedies: Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey. Directed by John Whitesell, this loving, charming, hilarious film stars Roberts as Sloane and Bracey as Jackson, who agree to be each other's dates for all holiday events to avoid the pressure of finding real partners. For as ridiculous as that sounds, I love how relatable it ultimately is, as it taps into common social pressures of being single during the holidays, of feeling the need to project an image of togetherness when you could in fact be very lonely. As Sloane and Jackson’s friendship grows, so does the chemistry between them, leading to unexpected romantic developments that force them to confront their biggest insecurities. The chemistry between Roberts and Bracey is through the roof, and any fan of rom-coms will recognize that and appreciate it.

Burning (2018)

South Korean cinema has experienced quite the boon in recent years, but it seems like the only one that’s truly broken into the mainstream has been the Best Picture winner Parasite . But there’s another film that might be far more revered by critics and film enthusiasts—the one that was voted the best Korean movie of all time by a poll of over 150 critics from 28 different countries. That’s a movie called Burning . The film centers on a rural South Korean village where a young man's life takes a mysterious turn when he connects with an enigmatic woman and her wealthy, secretive friend. Directed by Lee Chang-dong, who gave us fantastically human films like Secret Sunshine , Poetry and Peppermint Candy , this piece of cinematic poetry stars Yoo Ah-in as Jong-su, who becomes entangled in a puzzling relationship with Hae-mi (played by Jeon Jong-seo) and Ben (Steven Yeun). As Jong-su's obsession grows, the film delves into explorations of class disparity, jealousy and existential uncertainty, themes all enhanced by Chang-dong’s deliberate pacing, his haunting use of visual metaphor, his incorporation of literary influences (particularly Haruki Murakami's short story “Barn Burning”). Burning is a calculated, atmospheric thriller that masterfully blends psychological depth with social commentary that critiques the growing disillusionment and alienation that continually grips the younger generation of South Korea.

On Body and Soul (2017)

This last movie is for the truly adventurous—those who don’t mind a film that steps completely outside what’s expected of clichéd Hollywood blockbusters and the same, tired old stories churned out ad nauseam by today’s movie climate. Completely naturalistic in its approach, heavily obsessed with visual poetry and symbolism through its dreamlike structure, and sparsely populated with minimalist dialogue, On Body and Soul is not your average movie—and that’s a good thing. In this utterly peculiar film that begs you to pay close attention to detail, we enter the sterile environment of a slaughterhouse, where two employees discover they share the same dreams each night. Directed by Ildikó Enyedi, who gave us other great outside-the-norm oddities like Simon, the Magician and My 20th Century , this atmospheric flick follows Mária (played by Alexandra Borbély), a shy quality inspector, and Endre (Géza Morcsányi), the reserved financial director, as they connect through their shared nocturnal experiences. Despite their differences and personal struggles, their unique bond blossoms into an unusual romance unlike anything you’ve seen in film. On Body and Soul ’s focus on themes of healing and transformation, as these two characters’ journey towards each other and their shared dream experiences serve as catalysts for personal growth and emotional healing, suggests that even the most isolated individuals can find connection and transformation through the most unexpected of means.

Editorial Standards
Reprints & Permissions

Join The Conversation

One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.

Forbes Community Guidelines

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's Terms of Service. We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

False or intentionally out-of-context or misleading information
Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kind
Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
Content that otherwise violates our site's terms.

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
Racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory comments
Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
Actions that otherwise violate our site's terms.

So, how can you be a power user?

Stay on topic and share your insights
Feel free to be clear and thoughtful to get your point across
‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ to show your point of view.
Protect your community.
Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's Terms of Service.

New Releases on Netflix & Top 10 Movies & Series: June 28th, 2024

26 new movies and series have or are still yet to touch down on Netflix this week.

Welcome to your weekly rundown of everything new on Netflix that’s been added over the past seven days. It’s been a busy week with many movies, series, and even a fantastic mobile game added to your subscription.

Next week marks the beginning of a new month, so be sure to familiarize yourself with all the exciting new arrivals scheduled for July 2024 . Recently, we received updates about several new titles. Check out our comprehensive list to stay informed about all the upcoming releases.

What to Watch on Netflix This Weekend

A family affair (2024).

Rating: PG-13 Language: English Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance Director: Richard LaGravenese Writer: Carrie Solomon Runtime : 111 min / 1h 51m

Netflix’s big new movie of the week, and probably for the entirety of June, is undoubtedly A Family Affair , led by three heavyweights: Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, and Joey King.

In our review published this morning , Andrew Morgan gave it a three-star rating, concluding:

“Overall, A Family Affair is more than its exaggerated rom-com marketing thanks to a cast & crew who cared enough for its story & characters to bring its audience in to the real coming-of-age arc it wants to present.”

Lovesong (2017)

Rating: TV-MA Language: English Genre: Drama, Romance Director: So Yong Kim Cast: Riley Keough, Jena Malone, Jessie Ok Gray Writer: So Yong Kim, Bradley Rust Gray Runtime: 84 min / 1h 24m

As we’re in the month of pride, Netflix has been (quietly, it must be said) adding a slew of LGBTQ movies, and one that came out today is a must-see.

The plot revolves around the relationship between two friends blossoming while on a long road trip.

When the movie first opened in theaters seven years ago, it was well-reviewed by critics. Many were impressed by the acting of the two leads and the story itself. For the Los Angeles Times, Katie Walsh said , “A character study of this relationship, casually yet carefully sketched out by Kim in subtle but meaningful gestures and glances. Much is communicated through the eyes, searching for answers in the void of what’s not said, but felt.”

Supacell (Season 1)

Number of episodes : 6 Rating: TV-MA Language: English Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama Cast: Tosin Cole, Nadine Mills, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Calvin Demba, Josh Tedeku, Adelayo Adedayo Writer: Rapman Runtime: 52 mins

The next big project from Netflix UK came out this week in the form of a superhero drama from Rapman. Set in South London, the series revolves around a group of people who all develop superpowers.

Reviews have been mostly positive across the board, with our friends at ReadySteadyCut handing it a four-star rating, saying the show “is not your average superhero show and is another bold win for Rapman, who clearly has important stories to tell about real people and places.”

The Flash (2023)

Rating: PG-13 Language: English Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy Director: Andy Muschietti Cast: Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle Writer: Christina Hodson, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein Runtime: 144 min / 2h 24m

Finally, ending on another superhero title, we come to The Flash, the big-budget DC movie that ultimately is one of the last movies that bookmarked an entire era at DC, with James Gunn now running the show.

The run-up to this movie was fascinating. Whether it was Tom Cruise’s bizarre intervention praising the title or the shitshow surrounding the movie’s lead , it’s a miracle this movie even made it out.

Here’s what you can expect if you missed The Flash in theaters alongside everyone else last year:

“When the Flash uses his unique powers to alter a tragedy in his past, he causes a time paradox that could devastate the present — and the future.”

As a final footnote: Yes, this movie features George Clooney for a matter of seconds, and that has justified our use of that image as our featured one. Sorry if you got your hopes up for another Clooney movie!

Full List of New Releases on Netflix This Week + What’s Coming on Sunday

9 new movies added this week.

A Family Affair (2024) Netflix Original – PG-13 – English
Bhaje Vaayu Vegam (2024) – TV-14 – Telugu
Drawing Closer (2024) Netflix Original – TV-14 – Japanese
GG (Good Game) (2024) – TV-MA – Filipino
Hate to Love: Nickelback (2023) – TV-MA – English
Juanpis González: The People’s President (2022) Netflix Original – TV-MA – Spanish
Late Bloomers (1996) – TV-MA – English
Lovesong (2016) – TV-MA – English
The Flash (2023) – PG-13 – English

14 New TV Series Added This Week

Black Forceps (Season 1) – TV-MA – Japanese
Kaulitz & Kaulitz (Season 1) Netflix Original – TV-MA – German
Little Angel (Volume 5) – TV-Y – English
Òlòt?ré: The Journey (Limited Series ) Netflix Original – TV-MA – English
Owning Manhattan (Season 1) Netflix Original – TV-MA – English
Rising Impact (Season 1) Netflix Original – TV-PG – Japanese
Savage Beauty (Season 2) Netflix Original – TV-MA – English
Supacell (Season 1) Netflix Original – TV-MA – English
That ’90s Show (Part 2) Netflix Original – TV-14 – English
The Mole (Season 2 ) Netflix Original – TV-MA – English
The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse (Season 1 – Part 2) Netflix Original – TV-14 – Japanese
The Whirlwind (Limited Series) Netflix Original – TV-14 – Korean
Unicorn Academy (Chapter 2) Netflix Original – TV-Y7 – English
Worst Roommate Ever (Season 2) Netflix Original – TV-MA – English

1 New Game Added to Netflix Games

Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit

Looking ahead to Sunday, Netflix has three series lined up for release:

Alone (Season 10)
NCIS (Seasons 16-17) – Reminder: Many early seasons are also leaving Netflix .
The Smurfs (Season 2)

Most Popular Movies on Netflix in the US This Week

Since premiering last Friday, Trigger Warning has been atop of the Netflix movie top 10s in the US all week after a pretty good start in viewership last . Next up is Home , which continues to be a consistent performer in the top 10s of DreamWorks.

Trigger Warning (70 points)
Home (66 points)
Fifty Shades of Grey (49 points)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (45 points)
The Lego Batman Movie (39 points)
Hit Man (38 points)
Minions (33 points)
Tell Them You Love Me (27 points)
The Flash (27 points)
Ultraman: Rising (19 points)
Shrek (19 points)
Hate to Love: Nickelback (4 points)
Under Paris (2 points)
Wonder (1 point)
The Boss Baby (1 point)

Most Popular Series on Netflix This Week

Can anything knock Bridgerton off of the top spot? Not this week, and maybe not even next week, either, given how the charts are currently shaping up. The series has been a consistent performer in the US and around the world for weeks now, and you can even see last year’s Queen Charlotte spinoff continuing to perform well, too.

Bridgerton (73 points)
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (68 points)
Your Honor (65 points)
Perfect Match (50 points)
Dexter (48 points)
Eric (28 points)
Gangs of Galicia (26 points)
Worst Roommate Ever (20 points)
Sweet Tooth (16 points)
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (11 points)
Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult (11 points)
Cold Case Files (9 points)
That ’90s Show (8 points)
Supacell (5 points)
Unicorn Academy (1 points)
King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch (1 points)

What have you been watching on Netflix this week? Let us know in the comments down below.

Founder of What's on Netflix, Kasey has been tracking the comings and goings of the Netflix library for over a decade. Covering everything from new movies, series and games from around the world, Kasey is in charge of covering breaking news, covering all the new additions now available on Netflix and what's coming next.

Newest Articles - What's New on Netflix

Netflix Releases 1994 Milestone Movie Collection Celebrating 30th Anniversaries

New Indian Movies & Series on Netflix: June 2024

New Releases on Netflix This Week & Top 10 Movies & Series: June 21st, 2024

Every A24 Movie on Netflix & When They Will Leave

Search What's on Netflix

Most recent tags, popular tags, notifications from what's on netflix.

Children's/Family
Documentary/Reality
Amazon Prime Video

More From Decider

'The Bear' Season 3 Review: Carmy Secures His Role as The Chairman of The...

R.I.P. Martin Mull: 'Clue' & 'Roseanne' Star Dead at 80

Every Kevin Costner Movie Is A Western (Even When They're Not)

Nicole Kidman Tore Zac Efron’s Shirt Off in One Take, Says ‘A Family...

Is Kevin Costner Dooming Himself To Be The Captain Ahab of Westerns With...

Heidi Klum Strips Down On 'Hot Ones', Leaving Host Sean Evans Speechless

Vanna White Struggles Working With Ryan Seacrest And May Exit 'Wheel Of...

'Hit Man' True Story: What to Know About the Real Gary Johnson Who...

‘Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution’ Is the Perfect Pride Movie to Watch on Netflix Today

Where to stream:.

Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘An Audience With Kylie’ on Hulu, A Career-Spanning, Celebrity-Packed Fete Of Kylie Minogue

‘a family affair’ director richard lagravenese says coming out late in life helped him relate to nicole kidman’s character: “you have this second adulthood”, stream it or skip it: ‘fancy dance’ on apple tv+, a thoughtful thriller held aloft by lily gladstone, ‘queer eye’ star jonathan van ness finally responds to explosive rolling stone report claiming they have “rage issues”.

If you’re not up for braving the crowds and corporations at New York City’s Pride parade today, there is another option: staying home and watching a Pride movie on Netflix. Luckily, Netflix has a great, new documentary that is now streaming , perfect for this very occasion: Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution.

Written and directed by Page Hurwitz, this new documentary is centered on a showcase performance of over 20 LGBTQ+ comedians at Los Angeles’s Greek Theater back in May 2022. Big names in comedy like Lily Tomlin, Sandra Bernhard, Wanda Sykes, Eddie Izzard, Hannah Gadsby, Tig Notaro, Rosie O’Donnell, Margaret Cho, Bob The Drag Queen, and Trixie Mattel, and more all got up on stage with a stand-up routine. Some spoke about their lives as queer comedians, while others told unrelated jokes. But the real meat of the documentary is not the present-day performers, but the queer history lesson that Hurwitz weaves in.

Through talking head interviews and archival clips, Hurwitz walks viewers through a history of queer comedy, starting with the “anything goes” vaudeville days, to the aggressively heterosexual post-WWII regression, to the out-and-proud post-Stonewall movement. Younger viewers may be surprised to learn that, before the days of the internet and cell phone video, many gay comedians in the ’60s and ’70s weren’t afraid to talk about their queer personal lives—in certain spaces. Lily Tomlin, for example, fondly remembers working an LGBT activist show with Richard Pryor, in which he happily admitted to the crowd, “I have sucked a dick,” before going on to berate them for not caring about Black lives. (Hurwitz comes through with the archived clip of Pryor doing that show—truly a treasure of comedy history.)

Then there are inspiring interviews with Robin Tyler, the first lesbian comedian to do a set about being a lesbian comedian on television in 1978; and with Todd Glass, one of the first major comedians who had already made a name for himself as a “straight” comedian, before coming out as gay in 2012.

Hurwitz also includes the ways comedy has been weaponized against queer people, including a startling clip of a young Eddie Murphy slinging slurs and making cracks about AIDS, in which he implied that gay men deserve to die for their so-called lifestyle choice. It’s certainly not a good look for Murphy, who is currently promoting his own Netflix project, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F , coming to the streamer next week.

Outstanding closes out with a section on trans comics, featuring interviews with Eddie Izzard (who also goes by Suzy in her personal life), Patti Harrison, Mae Martin, and more. They all reflect on the harm inflicted by transphobic comedians like Dave Chappelle, who recently got his own Netflix special in 2022. In one tense moment, Martin pointedly says, “My issue is less with Chappelle, and more about the people in charge of platforming his ideas.”

The entire documentary is a powerful and informative reminder as to how crucial comedy has been—and will no doubt continue to be—to the queer movement. And it’s perfect the example of why it matters to be out and proud.

Martin Short Jokes That Melania Trump Only Had One Expectation In Her Marriage To Donald Trump — And He Didn't Meet It

Vanna White Struggles Working With Ryan Seacrest And May Exit 'Wheel Of Fortune' Early: Report

What Time Will 'Down In The Valley' Be on Starz? Release Date, Streaming Info, How To Watch

'The View' Stumbles Into A Commercial Break As Whoopi Goldberg Pretends Her Mic Was Cut By Producers: "Is This What We're Doing?"

R.I.P. Martin Mull: 'Clue' & 'Roseanne' Star Dead at 80

'Live's Kelly Ripa Complains That Mark Consuelos Expects Her To "Keep Up" While On Runs Together: "Makes It Deeply Unpleasant For Me"

Stranger Things Season 5
Deadpool and Wolverine
The Batman 2
Spider-Man 4
Yellowstone Season 6
Fallout Season 2
The Last of Us Season 2
Entertainment

3 underrated Netflix movies you should watch this weekend (June 28-30)

Emotions are running high in America. No, I’m not talking about politics; I’m talking about Inside Out 2 . The Pixar animated movie about the inner life of a pre-teen’s emotions has reigned supreme in June, grossing so much money that it’s already on the list of the 10 most successful animated movies ever.

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (2022)

The squid and the whale (2005), unbroken (2014).

Not everyone is interested in that movie, or another Bad Boys sequel, or even The Bikeriders . There are those who prefer to stay home and see what’s on Netflix . But instead of watching the dreadful Jessica Alba action flick Trigger Warning , try these three older movies that are almost as good, if not better, than what you can find at the movie theater.

Hollywood just doesn’t make summer movies anymore. No, I don’t mean the usual summer blockbusters that consist of the world being threatened by terrorists or natural disasters; I mean movies that feel like summer. The sunny season is one of lightness and laziness, when days drift along at a leisurely pace and the night sky is populated with a million stars. There’s only been one movie recently that’s captured that lackadaisical feeling: 2022’s Apoll0 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, a fanciful adventure movie about a lonely kid in late 1960s Houston with a wild imagination.

In Richard Linklater’s charming, rotoscoped animated film, pre-teen Milo recounts the story of the famous Apollo 11 moon landing, which saw Neil Armstrong and company make history by taking one small step for mankind. Milo claims that he was the one who landed on the moon first when NASA recruited him to pilot a space shuttle they mistakenly built too small for grown men.

Of course, this is an absurd claim, but it allows Linklater to explore what life was like in Texas in the summer of 1969: the sweet sound of an ice cream truck on a hot day; the cool wind on Milo’s back as he and his siblings sit in the back of a pickup truck; and all the majesty and promise that a trip to outer space holds for people as a decade of social upheaval winds down. Apollo 10 1/2 is a beautiful movie to look at and to absorb, as it captures the sweet spot between childhood and becoming a grownup when a kid’s imagination can be the most powerful thing in the universe.

Apollo 10 1/2 is streaming on Netflix .

Divorce is difficult for anyone to deal with, but it’s especially hard for the Berkman family. The father, Bernard, a once-famous author, is an asshole, and the mother, Joan, whose books have started to gain acclaim, has had enough. Her decision to separate is understandable, but no less painful for her two sons, 16-year old Walt and 12-year old Frank, who both idolize their father, but begin to understand why their mother has to leave him. Walt, in particular, witnesses how Bernard just can’t accept his own failures, and decides to make everyone in his life is miserable.

The Squid and the Whale isn’t a fun movie to watch, but it’s always captivating due to the performances. As Bernard, Jeff Daniels gets a rare leading role to showcase his talents, and he never makes Bernard’s actions, however wrong they may be, irredeemable.

Just as good is Laura Linney as Joan, whose patience with Bernard has worn thin, but who understands that he is still an important person to her sons. At an economical 81 minutes, The Squid and the Whale doesn’t overstay its welcome, but it still provides enough depth to create a portrait of a bohemian New York family fractured, but not completely broken.

The Squid and the Whale is streaming on Netflix .

“Oscar bait” is often used as pejorative term, one thrown at movies that either have obvious ambitions to be nominated for Academy Awards or have all the qualities to be loved by a committee of industry professionals. And certainly, Unbroken falls under both categories.

Based on a best-selling book about a real-life incident, the movie tells the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympian who is captured by Japanese soldiers during World War II and endures several years of punishment in various prisoner of war camps.

Unbroken was eventually nominated for three Oscars in minor categories, but it was dismissed by some as a typical Hollywood “triumph over tragedy” tale that’s been done to death. Yet the movie rises above its cliches through its solid direction by Angelina Jolie (yes, the same actress who was in Tomb Raider and Marvel’s Eternals ) and its powerful lead performance by Jack O’Connell as Zamperini, who endures endless abuse but whose spirit never breaks. Unbroken is a powerful movie to watch, and one that deserves more attention and respect than it’s received in the last decade.

Unbroken is streaming on Netflix .

Editors’ Recommendations

3 underrated Kevin Costner movies you should watch right now
3 underrated (HBO) Max movies you should watch this weekend (June 28-30)
3 Hulu movies you need to stream this weekend (June 28-30)
Streaming Services

The NBC-owned Peacock streaming service is home to tons of live sporting events, including the Paris Olympics this month, along with a wonderful selection of movies and TV shows. You can watch everything from Community and Parks and Recreation to originals like Twisted Metal and Poker Face. Just want to put something entertaining on in the background? Tap into the streaming service to check out new episodes of the latest seasons of America's Got Talent and American Ninja Warrior. There's a lot of choices on Peacock, more than you may realize if you don't have a subscription.

Why should you sign up? Browse this list of the best shows on Peacock right now and you'll likely see a few you've heard others talking about, some classics that have great re-watch value, and new shows with new seasons and episodes worth checking out. With so much content from the NBC vault and beyond, like the new show Those About to Die starring Anthony Hopkins, Peacock is a major contender in the streaming TV space.

Apple TV+ is the type of high-caliber streaming platform that consistently releases new content. These breakout movies and shows are often Apple exclusives, and feature top-notch talent both onscreen and behind the camera. Remember the movie CODA? That incredible Apple film won Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards.

It can be difficult to keep up with any streaming platform’s releases, especially a service as prolific as Apple TV+. But that’s where we come in! Your pals at Digital Trends make it our duty to share our ever-evolving knowledge of what’s new and cool to watch on platforms like Apple TV+.

Screen Rant

A family affair review: fun, flawed entertainment captures what it means to be a netflix movie.

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

A Family Affair Ending Explained

A family affair cast & character guide, the incredible 3-hour western epic that united john wayne, james stewart & henry fonda.

A Family Affair balances comedy and drama, excelling in its casting and humor, but lacking chemistry between romantic leads.
The film explores the value of seeing others beyond their roles and personal growth, while highlighting Netflix's limitations in visual storytelling.
A Family Affair 's success and shortcomings hint at the changing landscape of Netflix movies, emphasizing the importance of engaging visuals.

Watching A Family Affair really got me thinking about what it means to be a Netflix movie. The streaming giant has released many daring projects, including some of my favorite films of the past few years, but those don't end up defining the brand. They ask for all of our attention, and even benefit from the close rewatches that streaming makes easy. A Netflix movie, as it's culturally understood, is much less demanding. It accepts, or perhaps embraces, that the audience's eyes won't always be on the screen.

A Family Affair (2024)

As a critic, watching whatever I'm assigned with undivided attention is my job, and movies of this type don't always survive that level of stress test. But we should still expect them to – accepting that not all entertainment wants to be art doesn't mean anything gets a pass for shoddiness. This brings me to A Family Affair, which you could just listen to without ever feeling lost. Under the weight of watchful eyes, it creaks and groans. But it doesn't collapse. It stays light and fun, whether experienced actively or passively.

A Family Affair Works Best When Going For Laughs

And when zac efron and joey king share the screen.

That's largely because, at least in my experience, it gets the comedy part of its premise right. Zara (Joey King) works for movie star Chris Cole (Zac Efron) as his personal assistant, an infamously challenging job in the ego-driven Hollywood ecosystem. She's an aspiring producer and took the role on the promise of industry training, but after two years, she's still mostly running his errands, managing his breakups, and dealing with his petty tantrums. When the film begins, she's near her breaking point.

King and Efron are the best pairing in A Family Affair. They give their characters a personal connection bubbling beneath their turbulent professional relationship that makes them feel like siblings (except with Zara playing the elder sister to her infantilized-by-fame boss), which turns their arguing into bickering. The script is clearly invested in sending up this kind of Hollywood personality, and Efron is locked in, selling every joke at his own character's expense.

Meanwhile, Zara's mother, Brooke (Nicole Kidman), is at a turning point of her own. An accomplished author, she's starting to try and write personally again, with the once-overwhelming death of Zara's father now years behind them. Leila (Kathy Bates), her editor and also her mother-in-law, is encouraging Brooke to start dating again, too. Kidman and Bates, next in line for best duo, get most of those expository scenes required to keep the passive viewers engaged, but they breeze along on the strength of their star power.

It's not exactly a great sign when a rom-com's romantic leads are at best its #3 actor pairing, but it speaks to a stark divide in what A Family Affair does and doesn't do well.

These storylines collide when Chris meets Brooke by chance, having come looking for Zara when she wasn't home. They realize how little they know about each other and get to talking, discover they have more to talk about than they expected, and one thing leads to another. This is, naturally, a hell Zara could not have imagined for herself. The three actors intermingle to form A Family Affair 's rom-com energy, with Kidman a grounded presence swept up in romance, King leaning into comedic exaggeration, and Efron bouncing between the two poles.

It's not exactly a great sign when a rom-com 's romantic leads are at best its #3 actor pairing, but it speaks to a stark divide in what A Family Affair does and doesn't do well. Their first scene (which is also the one most played for laughs) is by far their best, but as much as we understand why their characters are drawn to one another, Kidman and Efron lack that critical spark that keeps us invested in the push-and-pull of their relationship.

It could be a chemistry issue, but it could also be script, since the movie leaning into drama in its second half nearly sinks the whole thing .

A Family Affair Suffers From A Common Netflix Movie Problem

Even if it ultimately still holds itself together.

Its strengths, however, kept it afloat for me. The benefit of this three-headed structure is that when I wasn't so invested in Chris and Brooke, I still cared about how their fling would affect their relationships with Zara . And, as the title suggests, the film is smart enough not to suddenly ignore those character dynamics when the new couple emerges. If A Family Affair has a larger point, it's about the value of seeing others beyond the roles they occupy in your life, and of letting yourself be more than the roles you play, even if willingly.

So, while it has its weak spots, A Family Affair holds together well enough to entertain. In doing so, however, it also suffers from the hamstringing of visual storytelling that comes with this kind of Netflix movie . Much like in the classic approach to TV, the camera exists to see, not to speak. There can be additive visual moments (such as a good sight gag involving an absurdly heavy door), but if you're trying to keep an inattentive audience engaged, the movie can't hinge on something you have to watch to catch.

This is, undoubtedly, limiting. It can also sometimes translate into a sort of bland aesthetic, as if attention to the image beyond its most basic function no longer has value. It got me thinking about how Nancy Meyers almost made a Netflix movie, and how this film seems to try and mine the same vein as her work, but without her knack for opulent design. Its absence is notable, for this active viewer at least.

Netflix reportedly moved on from Meyers' star-studded Paris Paramount in 2023 for budget reasons, and the project was unable to find new studio backing in time to film with its planned cast.

What it means to be a Netflix movie is likely changing. The streamer hired a new head of their film division this year, and with him, the era of industry-beating volume and sometimes exorbitant budgets is reportedly coming to an end. But the emphasis on passive viewing won't be going away anytime soon. So, I hope executives learn from what works about A Family Affair , and realize that even if the visual language of filmmaking must be secondary, the image must still be cared for.

A Family Affair is available to stream on Netflix Friday, June 28. The film is 111 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for sexual content, partial nudity and some strong language.

A young woman discovers her mother is having an affair with her boss, complicating her professional and personal life. As she navigates the emotional fallout, unexpected relationships and family secrets come to light. The film delves into the complexities of love, loyalty, and the ties that bind, offering a blend of drama and comedy as the characters confront their intertwined fates.

Really clicks when it's going for laughs
Script has a real perspective on the coddled male movie star
Zac Efron & Joey King's comedic chemisrty
Struggles to generate genuine drama
Zac Efron & Nicole Kidman lack a spark as romantic leads
Visually bland

‘A Family Affair’ Director Richard LaGravenese Explains What’s Different About Making a Rom-Com in 2024

“I think we’re a much more cynical time right now,” the director tells TheWrap

Netflix’s next rom-com has arrived in the form of “A Family Affair,” and it’s directed by a veteran of on-screen love stories in Richard LaGravenese. And, according to the director, making a rom-com in 2024 is indeed different than it was when he made “P.S. I Love You” in 2007.

The movie, now streaming, centers on Zara Ford (Joey King), a 24-year-old assistant to mega-movie star Chris Cole (Zac Efron). When Chris strikes up a romantic relationship with her mom Brooke (Nicole Kidman), Zara promptly freaks out, having had a front row seat to how horrible Chris is to women over the years.

Zara actively works to separate the two, but as the story progresses, she comes around to seeing that the pair just might be good for each other.

LaGravenese has plenty of experience in the romance arena — he wrote 1995’s “The Bridges of Madison County” and 1998’s “The Horse Whisperer,” and wrote and directed 2013’s YA romance “Beautiful Creatures.” TheWrap spoke with the filmmaker about his journey with “A Family Affair” and how the experience of making a rom-com in 2024 contrasts with his prior films.

Note: This interview does contain spoilers for “A Family Affair.”

I want to start at the very beginning with this one. How does this movie come across your desk? How do you get involved in this project?

My agent Brian Kend at CAA sent me the script. And I was very taken by Carrie Solomon’s writing and her voice. She was 24 when she wrote the script, and I thought that her voice is very smart, and fresh, and it was a fresh take to me, an opportunity to take a romantic comedy genre and make it a little bit more than just about a romance, but also a coming of age story between three different characters at three different stages of life.

I’m glad you said that, because there really are a lot of rom coms out there. We’re in this nice little renaissance.

We’re back! I know, they’re back.

They are! So I’m wondering, was there one specific thing in the script for “A Family Affair” that really made you want to make this movie?

Well, the first thing that comes to mind, I just loved that she was bold enough to go for slapstick. When the daughter walks in on her mother and her boss, and walks into a wall and knocks herself out — I’ve got to stage that. (laughs). I’ve got to figure out how that works. Because that just cracked me up, and we don’t often go that far. And it was all very real and very honest. And the three actors do it beautifully. Joey did that scene about seven times and every time, just knocked it out of the park.

When I saw it in the trailer, it’s the thunk. You can hear the thunk, and I was concerned for her!

I know! (laughs) She did such a great job, Joey. It was great seeing that on set. We’d laugh every time, it was wonderful.

I love it. Well, we’re talking about how rom-coms are back, and obviously you are responsible for one of the great love stories that we have in cinema with ‘P.S. I Love You.’ What are the challenges of making a rom-com now? Have things changed since when you did it then?

Well, one thing is you have to always be careful of too much sentimentality, I think we’re a much more cynical time right now. You have to be honest. I think every moment has to be questioned and say, ‘Well what would really happen? What would people really feel? What would they really say?’ And Carrie [Solomon, the film’s writer] and I were both very cautious about an ending that was too tied up, or too romantic.

I’ve always been fearful of romantic comedies, of perpetuating a myth that actually disturbed or confused people into thinking, ‘Well, if my relationship doesn’t look like that, then I don’t really have a great love.’ Where, you know, romantic comedies are not realistic in that way. They’re sort of fairy tales. But I’ve always tried to be a little bit more honest at the ending of movies. You know, relationships don’t always work out. And they’re not the be all and end all. So we wanted this ending to be, ‘Hey, we really love each other. We’re really great together. We don’t know what the future is going to bring. And we’re not going to make those promises. But let’s just go for it and see what happens.’

And that, to me is the most honest way of doing a romantic comedy today.

I like what you say about ‘How would people actually respond? ‘ Because I felt that with Joey King’s character, she really is that perspective in this movie , and I’m curious what kind of conversations you had specifically with her to hone that? She is kind of the voice of the audience at times .

Oh she absolutely is. And that’s Carrie Solomon’s voice. That’s the writer’s voice. Carrie and Joey, it was like a perfect symbiosis of writer and actress. There wasn’t really a lot of discussions to have with Joey. She’s so intelligent, and so instinctually funny. And also honest, she never sells a false note, she never acts. It’s always just being. So there weren’t a lot of discussions. She just understood this character right away. It was a voice that she slipped into very, very easily.

You also have some bonafide legends on this film. You have Nicole Kidman and Kathy Bates, and I just want to know about working with them. I have to imagine it makes your life as a director that much easier.

Well, Kathy I’ve worked with before, and I wanted her for this. She’s just one of the greatest actresses. I’ve loved her since her theater days in the late 70s, early 80s. She just one of the most solid, smartest, everything she says is honest. And she’s also very funny and instinctually comic, come up with really smart stuff.

And Nicole, well, of course, I was a little intimidated in the beginning, because she’s Nicole Kidman. And then getting to know her and work with her, she’s such a professional and intelligent partner. She’s not just this great actress who’s giving it to you 100 different ways whenever you want. She also partners with you and what’s best for the overall film.

And there were a couple of moments in the film that she would come up to me and say, ‘You know, I don’t think we have this moment. I think it’s important for these characters to have this beat before we go to here,’ and [she’d] go with Carrie to write it. She was just brilliant, and a wonderful force of calm, and professionalism, and grace, and talent. She’s just the best.

I also want to talk about Zac Efron, because I recently spoke to director Peter Farrelly, he just worked with him on a movie called ‘ Ricky Stanicky.’ And when I spoke to him, he said that ‘Zac Efron is the kind of actor that any director would like to work with.’

Absolutely.

Because when you come at him with notes, he’s like, ‘OK, what do you have?’ Talk to me about this, how was that aspect of Zac on set?

Zac understood this character from the word go. He understood that the heart of this character was to be dead honest about his self-centeredness. So there’s this sweetness to Zac, that he says everything with such honesty, that it’s funny. He never pushes any of the humor, it’s all very sort of deadpan and earnest, which makes him even funnier, and makes him more empathetic.

And letting Zac go, giving him a safety net and letting him just improvise, and come up with stuff, he comes up with the greatest ideas and lines in each take. I mean, we did the car scene, many, many times where he would just come up with different lists of things that he would leave at his girlfriend’s house and stuff like that.

Letting him go, and trusting him and all the actors, Joey and Nic and Kathy, was the best way to work with them because they’re so talented. You know, only get in their way that much. So just giving them adjustments here and there. But really, it’s just trusting them.

Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell in Anyone But You

Well, my favorite aspect of this movie was the one-on-one character moments, when two characters are sitting down, just having conversation, like four inches from each other. How did you bring those all together?

I guess because I love theater, and I love actors. So having two great actors act with each other, being in a scene where they relate to each other, is one of my favorite things, whether it’s a fast-paced comedy thing — like, I love the scene between Joey and Zac, when she quits, which is a very back and forth kind of rhythm that I love. They did it so beautifully.

And then there’s the quieter moments like Kathy and Nic on the couch, and the two of them [were] so wonderful with each other. They did that scene, maybe three or four times, and each time they found something deeper and richer. And it was, again, so honest, they just were so honest with each other. I don’t know. I just loved it. That’s when I sit back and I’m just a fan and I just watched the actors do their thing.

We’ve talked a lot about the love story of this, but there is also this underlying story with Joey’s character where she is an assistant, and she joined up with Chris because he promised her all of these things, but she’s under appreciated. And I think it hits even more after the strikes, because you see what it takes to get a movie made. So how important was having that plotline?

Very important! And it’s not really about the industry, as it is about a millennial, and the importance of finding your place, of finding your identity, of finding your own voice. And Carrie understood this very well, which is why she was adamant about Joey’s character not having any romantic entanglements. It was really about that character finding herself before anything else.

I love this story, because I mean, having a daughter myself who is a millennial, I feel like this generation is having a more difficult time finding themselves. Because there’s so much pressure, with social media and judgment out there, and people in their 20s becoming billionaires so quickly that, you know, you’re 24 years old, and if you haven’t made it yet you feel like a failure, which is, in my generation, ridiculous. Because for me, the 20s were all about taking risks, and failing and trying and trying different things.

No one expected you to have your life all figured out in your 20s. So, Joey’s character, to me, symbolizes that. She’s like, ‘When is my life gonna start?’ She’s only 24! But there’s a lot of pressure in this time for that. And I love that storyline of her finding herself.

I do too. Well, we are getting close to my time here, but I do need to ask before I go: Did you shoot Icarus, any of those scenes, for real?

(laughs). No. I wish we had, it would have been really fun. I mean I have no idea how those kinds of movies are made. I’m a fan , but I wouldn’t have any idea how to make them. But it was a really fun idea to play with.

And Zac had a great contribution with all that. I remember walking into set, he wanted to show me the hair. And he and his designer came up with the hair, which I thought was a perfect look.

It’s very Jack Frost, and it’s what makes me want to see these scenes! And you even have the marks on his back for —

Where the wings would be! (laughs)

Yeah! And so I’m like, these scenes have to be somewhere.

No, we never shot them. It would’ve been fun.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity

“A Family Affair” is now streaming on Netflix.

‘A Family Affair’ Review: Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman’s Hollywood-Set Rom-Com Has No Heat

With a puzzlingly uncinematic look and clumsily paced relationship beats, Richard LaGravenese’s dull Netflix offering fizzles.

By Tomris Laffly

Tomris Laffly

‘A Family Affair’ Review: Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman’s Hollywood-Set Rom-Com Has No Heat 4 days ago
‘Jazzy’ Review: Morrisa Maltz Fashions a Beautiful Sequel to ‘The Unknown Country’ 3 weeks ago
‘Summer Camp’ Review: Star-Studded Comedy Preaches Fun, but Forgets to Cut Loose Itself 1 month ago

Reviewed online, June 26, 2024. Running time: 111 MIN.

Production: A Netflix release of a Roth/Kirschenbaum Films production. Producers: Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum. Executive producers: Alyssa Altman, Michelle Morrissey, Carrie Solomon.
Crew: Director: Richard LaGravenese. Screenplay: Carrie Solomon. Camera: Don Burgess. Editor: Melissa Bretherton. Music: Siddhartha Khosla.
With: Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King, Liza Koshy, Kathy Bates.

More from Variety

Sunny deol’s ‘gadar 2,’ manoj bajpayee’s ‘silence 2’ popular as zee5 global audiences choose sequels (exclusive), tony ratings have a long gap to clear, despite efforts to mimic larger shows, fawad khan, sanam saeed’s ‘barzakh’ sets streaming date (exclusive), fawad khan, sanam saeed’s ‘barzakh’ unveils trailer (exclusive), what media & entertainment execs are saying about using gen ai: the vip+/harrisx spring 2024 survey, more from our brands, the legacy of saint cecilia, this sleek new 197-foot superyacht evokes the sunny vineyards of tuscany, man united and snapdragon unveil 2024-25 home jerseys, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, house of the dragon episode 3 surprise: someone we thought we wouldn’t see again returns — read recap, verify it's you, please log in.

Supported by

Stream These 9 Movies Before They Leave Netflix in July

A bunch of major titles are leaving for U.S. subscribers this month, including films by George Lucas and Ang Lee. See them while you can.

Share full article

An animated donkey and ogre converse in front of a sunflower field and under a blue sky.

By Jason Bailey

Two of the biggest movies of the 1970s and one of the biggest of the ’80s are among the movies leaving Netflix in the United States in July; other highlights include a family favorite, a comic book oddity and an unconventional biopic. (Dates indicate the final day a title is available.)

‘Abducted in Plain Sight’ (July 14)

Stream it here .

This true-crime documentary became such a must-watch ( and must-discuss ) sensation on Netflix, it ended up spawning a limited series dramatization on Peacock . It’s not hard to see why: This is truly stranger-than-fiction stuff, detailing how the 12-year-old Jan Broberg was abducted by a neighbor and family friend, Robert Berchtold — and then, somehow, abducted again by the same man several years later. The internet outrage surrounding the film (and blaming Broberg’s parents) missed the point; the director Skye Borgman sensitively and intelligently explores how Berchtold used brainwashing and grooming to commit his shocking crimes.

‘Big Eyes’ (July 23)

In an era of increasingly dreary, paint-by-numbers biopics, the works of the screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski seem like oases in the desert — witty, insightful, poignant and frequently cockeyed portraits of unconventional subjects like Larry Flynt , Andy Kaufman and Rudy Ray Moore . This 2014 effort reunited the writers with their “ Ed Wood ” director, Tim Burton, telling the story of the artist Margaret Keane , whose wildly popular and undeniably distinctive paintings were originally believed to be the work of her monstrous husband, Walter. Amy Adams plays Margaret with sympathy and grace, while Christoph Waltz’s turn as the egomaniacal Walter is the best work he has done outside of the Tarantino-verse.

‘American Graffiti’ (July 31)

This 1973 coming-of-age comedy-drama was a mind-boggling launchpad. First and foremost, it started a movement of ’50s nostalgia (even though it is set in 1962, it still feels like the ’50s) that continued through the decade with the likes of “Grease” and the film’s unofficial TV spinoff, “Happy Days.” It was also a big break for several members of its then-unknown cast, including Candy Clark, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Mackenzie Phillips, Charles Martin Smith and Cindy Williams. And perhaps most important, it was the first big hit for its co-writer and director, a quiet young California filmmaker named George Lucas, who based the picture on his own youth as a Modesto hot-rodder. Its critical and commercial success allowed him to take on his dream project, a sci-fi epic called “Star Wars,” and well, you know the rest.

‘Fatal Attraction’ (July 31)

This erotic thriller from Adrian Lyne was one of the most successful pictures of 1987 — and one of the most controversial , prompting heating conversations about its depictions of adultery and mental illness that moved from movie listings to opinion pages and magazine covers. The story is simple: Michael Douglas stars as a family man whose seemingly offhand weekend extramarital affair with Glenn Close turns into a matter of literal life and death. It is a deeply flawed picture — Close’s nuanced characterization outclasses the paper-thin caricature she’s given, and critics of the era were right to call out the cheap-thrills ending as a cop-out — but a nevertheless fascinating snapshot of the era’s sexual mores and moral paranoia.

‘The Great Wall’ (July 31)

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

Want all of The Times? Subscribe .

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Upcoming Movies and TV shows
Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

What's the Tomatometer®?
Login/signup

Movies in theaters

Opening this week
Top box office
Coming soon to theaters
Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

Fandango at Home
Netflix streaming
Prime Video
Most popular streaming movies
What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

A Quiet Place: Day One Link to A Quiet Place: Day One
Inside Out 2 Link to Inside Out 2
Daddio Link to Daddio

New TV Tonight

Star Trek: Prodigy: Season 2
Grace: Season 4
Down in the Valley: Season 1
The Great Food Truck Race: Season 17
SPRINT: Season 1

The Outpost Reviews

It is, at best, a somewhat average war film. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Jan 27, 2024

The Outpost will shake your core and rattle your bones.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 1, 2022

While the first half of “The Outpost” is a borderline disservice, the second half is a fitting tribute to the soldiers who fought the Battle of Kamdesh.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 24, 2022

Action scenes felt random and deaths felt emotionless. Caleb Landry Jones is probably the only good thing about this film. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Oct 22, 2021

Set in treacherous terrain, it's tightly wound, inventively shot, disorientating and distressing. Thrilling and depressing at the same time.

Full Review | Oct 1, 2021

All in all, a really good war/action film.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 20, 2021

A triumph of authenticity, The Outpost is as close to war as you want to get.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 18, 2021

As a stark comment on the cost of war it is a powerful and award worthy effort.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Mar 4, 2021

The Outpost is the visceral, often-gripping experience Lurie designed it to be.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 28, 2021

The Outpost honors this particular group of soldiers while still recognizing the pointlessness of their mission. There's no entertainment value in its brutality, but it's still a worthy addition to the war film canon.

Full Review | Feb 5, 2021

It's a true-life story, masterfully directed by Rod Lurie who instinctively captures the danger, risks and moments of desperation and humanity of the event.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 18, 2020

... an unsparing look at the frustrations of fighting against hundreds of invisible enemies armed to their teeth.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 6, 2020

When the action comes, as it frequently does, it is viscerally effective, conveying the fight between internal discipline and external chaos.

Full Review | Nov 20, 2020

The Outpost is crafted with precision, expertise and experience. It's a war drama that transports you to the battlefield in all its cinematic brilliance.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 19, 2020

I think this beautifully depicts the uncertainty of combat and the moments before and after, too.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 12, 2020

The Outpost is a cleverly, and respectfully, crafted war film that uses a segmented, episodic approach to help you invest in the characters while building up to a very impressive battle sequence.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Oct 9, 2020

I can't say enough about the performance of Caleb Landry Jones.

Full Review | Oct 8, 2020

Filled with fear, tension, blood, bravery. The way the battle is shot is ripe with realism.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 2, 2020

The Outpost ... may wind up being the defining movie of the Afghanistan War.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 1, 2020

Even when we grip our seats at the taut action sequences or smile at the band-of-brothers camaraderie, there's something hollow and disconnected about the whole.

Full Review | Jul 30, 2020

Movie reviews: 'The Son' is vulnerable, but the script mutes its emotional power

Hugh Jackman is seen here in a scene from 'The Son'. (Sony Pictures Classics)

THE SON: 2 STARS

“The Son,” director Florian Zeller's follow-up to the Oscar winning “The Father,” is the story of a fractured family and a son struggling with mental illness.

The drama, adapted for the screen by Christopher Hampton from Zeller’s stage play, involves Peter (Hugh Jackman), a high-flying New York City lawyer with political aspirations. He is the father of 17-year-old Nicholas (Zen McGrath) and ex-husband of Kate (Laura Dern), but has rebooted his life, marrying Beth (Vanessa Kirby), a much younger woman who is the mother to their baby, Theo. Peter has a new baby and a new life that doesn’t leave much room for his older son.

When Nicolas begins skipping school, acting out and cutting himself as a way to channel his pain, Kate asks if Peter can step up and give the boy some guidance and a place to stay. “He needs you Peter,” she says. “You can’t abandon him.”

Life is weighing Nicholas down. “I can’t deal with any of it,” he says. “I want something to change, but I don’t know what.”

With Nicolas in the spare room, Peter attempts to “fix” him, searching for an explanation for his son’s behaviour, trying to be a better father to the teen than his own father, played by Anthony Hopkins, was to him. An unapologetically bad father, Hopkins snarls, “Your daddy wasn’t good to you or your mama. Who cares? Get over it.”

“The Son” is the story of intergenerational trauma, of the sins of a father (Hopkins is despicable in a fiery cameo) being visited upon his son and grandson, and a child’s cry for help.

Compassion abounds in “The Son,” and Jackman astounds with work that is tinged with vulnerability, tragedy and guilt, but the script offers few surprises. Zeller telegraphs the film’s biggest moments, as if he doesn’t trust the audience to follow along. Those early revelations mute the story’s emotional power, despite the fine, compassionate performances.

There are compelling moments in “The Son.” A showdown between Peter and Nicholas packs emotional heft, and Jackman’s struggle to understand his son’s acute depression is tempered with equal parts empathy and frustration.

Jackman delivers a remarkable and authentic portrait of a desperate father in a well-intentioned film, that, by and large, feels manipulative by comparison.

MISSING: 3 ½ STARS

In “Missing,” a new high tech missing person thriller now playing in theatres, the main character turns to her computer server when the police fail to protect and serve.

A sorta-kinda sequel to the 2018 high-tech missing person movie “Searching” starring John Cho, “Missing” tells its story through a series of browser windows, on a screen or through a computer, security or surveillance camera.

Storm Reid is June Allen, a typical Los Angeles teen tethered to her phone, screens and social media. When her mother Grace (Nia Long) and newish boyfriend (Ken Leung) jet off for some alone time in Colombia, June is put in charge. But just because Grace will be basking in the sun almost 4000 kilometers away, doesn’t mean she won’t be keeping a digital eye on her daughter. “Keep your location on the entire time I’m away,” she instructs the teen.

As soon as the plane lifts off June looks up articles on-line like “How to Throw a Rager… On a Budget” like any teenager left in charge would do, but when Grace goes incommunicado, June becomes concerned. Calls to her mother’s hotel don’t provide any comfort.

“I’m calling about a guest you had,” she says. “Does anyone speak English?”

“I’m sorry,” comes the reply.

With no information forthcoming she contacts the F.B.I. who inform her they have no jurisdiction to investigate in Columbia. “The best thing you can do is wait by your phone,” says Agent Park (Daniel Henney).

But why should June wait by the phone when she has an arsenal of the latest technology at her fingertips? Doing a deep dive, she looks for clues as a kind of digital Dick Tracy, and finds out more about her mother’s past than she bargained for.

“Missing” is almost as anxiety inducing as the three dots that come up when you’re waiting for someone to text you back.

Because this is a technological thriller, the usual visual genre tricks don’t apply. There are no darkly lit alley ways, shadowy corners or smoke-shrouded backrooms.

Instead, the screen is filled with dialogue boxes, blown-out YouTube videos, FaceTime pop-ups and Google search bars. The information gathering aspect of the story may look like something that would confuse and confound Philip Marlowe, but the procedural is the same as other, classic Private Eye movies. One bit of information leads to another, and June pieces the mystery together with the panache of a seasoned detective.

There are one or two obvious plot holes that defy logic, but mostly the techno presentation conveys both the backstory and the procedural aspects of the plot in an effective and inventive way.

Providing the all-important human connection is Reid, who, as June, is a resourceful heroine who takes matters into her own hand. Best known as Rue's younger sister on the HBO drama series “Euphoria,” she brings a daughter’s concern to the tale that warms up the movie’s overwhelming, cool techno vibe.

Whether the screenshot style of “Missing” will one day be regarded with the same side eye as found footage movies are today remains to be seen, but in the here and now, it is an exciting format, at once familiar and yet completely new.

LIVING: 4 STARS

A reimagining of “Ikiru,” the 1952 film Roger Ebert called Akira Kurosawa’s greatest movie, “Living” transplants the action from Tokyo to London, but maintains the thoughtful emotionalism that earned the original accolades.

Bill Nighy plays Mr. Williams, a post-World War II veteran bureaucrat in the county Public Works department, who leads a life of quiet desperation. Widowed, and living with his son and daughter-in-law, Michael (Barney Fishwick) and Fiona (Patsy Ferran), his life has a “Groundhog Day” regularity.

From the train commute and boring paper shuffling at work, to the long nights in the company of his disinterested son and his wife, he is sleepwalking through a rinse and repeat rut. One of his employees,Miss Margaret Harris (Aimee Lou Wood), has even nicknamed him Mr. Zombie.

“You need to live a little,” he’s told. “I don’t know how,” comes the reply.

But when he is diagnosed with a terminal illness, given just months to live, he breaks free of the shackles of his former life to seize each and every day.

Despite his quiet, internalized performance, Nighy is the center of attention. Mr. Williams is buttoned-down and repressed, but as he lets the inner light shine, a long-lost warmth emerges. Whether he’s singing a sentimental song in a pub or teaching Miss. Harris how to use an arcade game, Nighy blossoms. He never allows grief to enter the picture, instead he’s introspective, looking back at a life left unfulfilled.

“It’s a small wonder,” he says, “I didn’t notice what I was becoming.”

It’s a heartbreaking performance, but one that bristles with life the closer Mr. Williams comes to death.

“Living” is a restrained movie, “A Christmas Carol” of a sort about a man visited by two spirits, in this case a very real novelist (Tom Burke) and Miss. Harris, who teach him to embrace whatever time he has left on earth. With beautiful mid-century period details, director Oliver Hermanus tells a simple story of regret, sadness and a last attempt at doing something meaningfu.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

'We need new leadership': Liberal MP writes to caucus, says Justin Trudeau should resign

A sitting Liberal MP has written to the federal caucus to say he thinks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should resign. 'For the future of our party and for the good of our country we need new leadership and a new direction,' said New Brunswick MP Wayne Long in the brief note.

WestJet warns of travel disruption as mechanics union opts to 'continue with strike action'

WestJet says its mechanics went ahead with their previously threatened strike on Friday evening, and the airline is 'outraged.'

Minivan slams into a Long Island nail salon, killing 4 and injuring 9, fire official says

A minivan slammed into a Long Island nail salon Friday, killing four people and injuring 9, a Suffolk County fire official said.

Ontario MPP removed from PC caucus over 'serious lapses in judgment'

Premier Doug Ford has removed a member of his caucus due to what he’s describing as 'serious lapses in judgment.' In a statement released Friday morning, the premier’s office said MPP Goldie Ghamari had been removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus 'effective immediately.'

Martin Mull, hip comic and actor from 'Fernwood Tonight' and 'Roseanne,' dies at 80

Martin Mull, whose droll, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms including 'Roseanne' and 'Arrested Development,' has died, his daughter said Friday.

Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan to become first woman to lead Canadian Armed Forces

Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan will be named Canada's new Chief of the Defence Staff, CTV News has learned, making her the first woman to lead the Canadian Armed Forces.

Multivitamins don't help you live longer, study suggests

Millions of people who take multivitamins everyday may not be reaping the perceived health benefits, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Is marriage harder than it was 10 years ago? Why one psychologist thinks so

Marriage might be the oldest institution in the world, but it's struggling to adapt to the pressures of modern life. Registered psychologist Adisa Azubuike explains why it's more difficult today.

Five survivors from Sudbury, Ont., rescued in human trafficking investigation

Six people have been charged in a provincial human trafficking investigation that identified five survivors from Greater Sudbury.

Judge approves $9.5-million settlement in Calgary Stampede sex abuse lawsuit

A judge has approved a $9.5-million settlement for complainants in a class action lawsuit that accused the Calgary Stampede of allowing a performance school staffer to sexually abuse young boys.

Ore slide at Yukon's Victoria Gold mine not the first this year: government officials

A recent slide of ore at a gold mine in central Yukon was the second such failure this year, the territorial government said.

New charges against Frank Stronach involve 7 additional complainants: court documents

Billionaire businessman Frank Stronach stands charged with sexually assaulting seven additional complainants from 1977 to as recently as February, court documents filed Friday show, bringing the total number of accusers in his case to 10.

Human remains discovered at recycling facility in B.C.'s Lower Mainland

Workers discovered human remains at recycling facility in New Westminster, B.C., on Thursday, CTV News has learned.

Navy facility in Canadian Arctic 'could be finished this season,' a decade overdue

Nearly a decade behind schedule, the Canadian military’s long-promised naval refuelling station in the High Arctic could open as early as this summer, albeit with restrictions on the facility's operations and serious questions about its long-term viability.

Critics say end of safe consumption services in northern Ont. will strain health system, lead to more deaths

The northeast’s only remaining supervised consumption site, Safe Health Site Timmins, is shutting down its safe consumption services at the end of the month.

Here's why it would be tough for Democrats to replace Joe Biden on the presidential ticket

U.S. President Joe Biden's halting debate performance has led some in his own party to begin questioning whether he should be replaced on the ballot before November.

Driver convicted in deaths of 8 people struck by SUV outside migrant shelter sentenced to 60 years

A Texas jury on Friday found a driver guilty of intoxication manslaughter over the deaths of eight people who were struck by an SUV that plowed into a crowded bus stop outside a migrant shelter on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Harris rushes to Biden's defence after disappointing debate

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris knew she had to go to bat for President Joe Biden as devastating reviews of the president's debate performance rolled in late Thursday night, aiming to strike a balance between sounding reasonable about the president’s performance while also hammering home the contrast between the two candidates, two sources told CNN.

NASA astronauts will stay at the space station longer for more troubleshooting of Boeing capsule

Two NASA astronauts will stay longer at the International Space Station as engineers troubleshoot problems on Boeing's new space capsule that cropped up on the trip there. NASA on Friday did not set a return date until testing on the ground was complete and said the astronauts were safe.

Up to 125 Atlantic white-sided dolphins stranded in Cape Cod waters

As many as 125 Atlantic white-sided dolphins became stranded Friday on Cape Cod and at least 10 died, prompting an intensive rescue effort, according to an animal rescue organization.

TREND LINE | Trudeau Liberals 'under siege' across the country, with Conservatives cracking red 'fortresses' like Toronto and Vancouver: Nanos

Hot on the heels of the Conservatives' stunning byelection victory in the riding of Toronto—St. Paul's, new seat projection data from Nanos Research show ridings considered previously safe for the Liberals are increasingly up for grabs.

Dad's bid to prevent children's HPV vaccinations rejected by B.C. court

A vaccine-fearing father has been ordered not to discuss the HPV vaccine – or even the human papillomavirus itself – with his children after losing a battle against their mother in B.C. Supreme Court.

Is homemade sunscreen safe to use? Here's why it's 'a horrible idea,' according to experts

If you could make sunscreen with items found in your kitchen pantry, should you do it? Posts from social media influencers and bloggers including recipes to make your own sunscreen have been wildly circulated online, but the dermatologists who spoke to CTVNews.ca call it a 'horrible idea.'

A harmless asteroid will whiz past Earth Saturday. Here's how to spot it

Called 2024 MK, the space rock will make its closest approach to Earth Saturday morning, passing by at about three-quarters the distance from Earth to the moon. It was first spotted two weeks ago by a South African observatory and is about 393 feet to 853 feet (120 metres to 260 metres) wide.

Canadians can soon fix their Apple products. Here's how

Has your iPhone screen cracked, or does your MacBook battery not charge like it used to? Instead of sending it in to an Apple repair centre or scheduling an appointment with a Genius Bar, Canadians will soon be able to fix their own devices at home.

Entertainment

Alec Baldwin's case on track for trial in July as judge denies request to dismiss

A court ruling on Friday put an involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin on track for trial in early July as a judge denied a request to dismiss the case on complaints that key evidence was damaged by the FBI during forensic testing.

'A Family Affair' unites Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron in a slim idea for a rom-com

While the Nicole Kidman-Zac Efron pairing should provoke curiosity, the tired beats of this romantic (and only occasional) comedy don’t rub together well enough to generate many sparks.

Beef farmers worry about impact of ongoing Cargill strike in Guelph, Ont.

The strike at the Cargill Dunlop meat processing plant in Guelph, Ont. has now entered its second month. We find out how farmers are coping with the disruption.

Nike plots US$100-and-less sneakers to lure price-conscious shoppers

Nike will roll out new US$100-and-under sneakers in countries around the world, its chief financial officer said Thursday, as the sportswear giant tweaks its product lineup in a plan aimed at getting sales back on track.

An analyst ordered 75 Chipotle burrito bowls to test portion sizes

Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem went out to Chipotle to do some investigative work. Fadem and his team ordered and weighed 75 burrito bowls with white rice, black beans, chicken, pico de gallo, cheese and lettuce across eight Chipotle locations in New York City.

Getting rid of poison ivy is a serious matter. What you should and shouldn't do

For all the time I spend digging, planting, pulling and weeding, one would think I’d have some poison ivy horror stories to tell, but I do not. I can’t say for sure whether I’m immune to the rash that tortures so many of my fellow gardeners or if I’ve just been lucky, but one thing is for sure: The plant does pose a serious problem for many who come into contact with it.

Sharks take forward Celebrini first overall at NHL draft

Macklin Celebrini is a member of the San Jose Sharks after the club selected the centre from Vancouver with the top pick at the 2024 NHL draft.

Canadian PGA star promoting fire safety in new provincewide campaign

Corey Conners isn't promoting a new putter or golf brand with his newest commercial. He's lending his name and prestige to promote fire safety across Ontario.

Argentina coach suspended for Copa America match against Peru for being repeatedly late

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has been suspended for one match and will miss his team's last Copa America group match against Peru on Saturday.

Buying a car? Why you may have to pay more at some dealers if you use cash

It used to be cash was king and that you could get a better deal if you paid for a car in full, but now many dealers want you to finance your purchase so they can make more money.

3 charged in Alta. auto theft ring connected to organized crime

Several stolen vehicles believed to have been used in organized and serious crime, including one homicide, have been found in Alberta during an investigation into an auto theft ring.

Are car dealership employees linked to auto thefts in Canada? CTV News investigates

Data from Statistics Canada suggests that a vehicle is stolen every five minutes in the country. Now, police are investigating whether there's a connection between when and where a vehicle was last serviced, and the date it was stolen, they revealed to CTV National News.

Local Spotlight

'I am very proud': Manitoba grandfather and grandson graduate high school in same class

A grandfather and grandson duo proudly graduated alongside each other at the same northern Manitoba school.

'Absolutely amazing video': Basking shark spotted along eastern shore of Nova Scotia

A large basking shark was captured close to the shoreline on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.

World's largest hockey stick in B.C. to be chopped up, sold to collectors

The world's largest hockey stick could soon become the world's most in-pieces hockey stick as a Vancouver Island community prepares to tear down and carve up the Canadian landmark.

'Hanging on for her life': Sask. family desperate to bring home sick niece from Philippines

For half a decade, a Saskatoon family has been trying to bring their orphaned niece to Canada, they say now it’s a matter of life or death.

'Really disappointed': Painting at Winnipeg Art Gallery found to be a forgery

The Winnipeg Art Gallery- Qaumajuq recently discovered that one piece in its collection is a fake and part of a massive art forgery ring that included more than 1,500 pieces.

Six-year-old Montreal boy triumphs in Canadian math competition

Six-year-old Bruce Arthur Chang is the new grand champion of Canada in the UCMAS math competition, and says he is hoping to make a mark on the international stage.

Halifax icon who wore high heels with pride dies at 86

Harold Brenton Anderson, who wore high heels for decades in Halifax and loved to travel, has died.

This Ottawa 'fat cat' on a weight loss journey has become a TikTok star

An Ottawa cat has morphed into a TikTok star, as he's slimming down from weighing 43 pounds.

'I just really like the sport': Meet the 90-year-old local slo-pitch player still living out his passion

Bill Neald is still living out his passion of playing baseball at the age of 90 in Regina’s Senior Mixed Slo-Pitch League.

B.C. Liberal MPs call for Trudeau's leadership to be assessed as ex-premier calls for his resignation

The chorus of calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down as Liberal leader includes former B.C. premier Christy Clark.

Abbotsford student's speech about accessibility challenges at her school censored by administrators

As part of her Grade 12 art activism class, Lexis De Meyer was tasked with investigating accessibility challenges faced by people with disabilities in her community of Abbotsford.

Surrey Police Service offering $10K signing bonus to bolster staff

Just months away from taking over as the police of jurisdiction, the Surrey Police Service is putting up some cash in hopes of recruiting more officers.

Group which operates Revue Cinema obtains court injunction to stay open

The non-profit group which runs Toronto's oldest operating movie theatre says it will remain open after receiving a court injunction halting an eviction next week.

Toronto police investigating after man shot in Yorkville

Toronto police are investigating a shooting in Yorkville that injured a man Friday night.

Flames choose Zayne Parekh in first round of NHL draft

The Calgary Flames selected defenceman Zayne Parekh with the ninth overall pick in the NHL draft Friday night.

Tenants in 16-floor apartment building in Ottawa's west-end served eviction notices

More than 100 people in Ottawa's west-end are in the process of receiving eviction notices to vacate their 50-year-old apartment building for renovations.

Braeside's Dean Letourneau expected to be drafted into the NHL

It's a big moment for Ottawa Valley hockey player Dean Letourneau, who is expected to be selected in tonight's NHL draft.

Carleton MPP removed from PC caucus over 'serious lapses in judgement'

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has removed Carleton MPP Goldie Ghamari as a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus due to "serious lapses in judgement."

3 dead, multiple injured after fiery crash on Laval roadway

Three people are dead after a fiery crash involving a large truck and three other vehicles north of Montreal Friday afternoon.

Habs choose forward Ivan Demidov with 5th pick in NHL Draft; Celine Dion makes the announcement

The Montreal Canadiens selected forward Ivan Demidov fifth overall in the NHL Entry Draft on Friday night at The Spere in Las Vegas.

Child psychiatry patients sue over sex abuse allegations by two former Montreal hospital employees

Montreal's Jewish General Hospital finds itself at the heart of a class action lawsuit for sexual abuse allegedly committed against children by two former social workers employed by its Child Psychiatry Department, Gino Londei and Steve Trowbridge.

Police report 12 incidents of objects thrown at vehicles from west Whitemud overpasses

Edmonton police on Friday said they're investigating several incidents in which objects were thrown at vehicles on Whitemud Drive on the city's west end.

Nenshi, Smith hit Ponoka Stampede in wake of UCP attack ads on new Alberta NDP leader

This year's Ponoka Stampede parade marked the first time Premier Danielle Smith and new Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi attended the same event since Nenshi won his party's leadership contest nearly a week ago.

Charges pending after 3-year-old Edmonton boy struck, killed by truck in marked crosswalk

Police say charges are pending after a boy was killed and his mother and sister were injured in a crash in south Edmonton on Thursday.

Steel officially cut for new Navy ships in Halifax

The Irving Shipbuilding shipyard has started cutting steel for the next fleet of the Royal Canadian Navy’s next generation of warships.

'As I turned around, he lunged and grabbed me': Fredericton woman recovering after attack in parking lot

The Fredericton Police Force has laid three charges against a Fredericton man in connection with an alleged assault in a public parking lot on Wednesday.

‘I’m terrified to go downtown again Halifax’: woman recovering after altercation with group of men who allegedly made homophobic slurs

A birthday celebration turned into a nightmare for a same-sex couple in downtown Halifax on Saturday after they got into a violent altercation with a group of men.

Plan to improve section of Route 90 clears hurdle at Winnipeg City Council

A $586-million plan to widen and improve a section of Route 90 has cleared a hurdle at city hall, though it still remains unclear how the upgrades will be paid for.

'His heart still beats on': Young track star remembered for giving the gift of life

Not a day goes by when Scott and Amanda Cadman don’t think about their son Kirk.

Southern Manitoba gets soaking Friday

Some parts of the province got as much as 52 millimetres of rain Friday.

Domestic violence resource card initiative develops in southern Saskatchewan

A new domestic violence resource card initiative is taking the lead in Yorkton and is quickly expanding in southern Saskatchewan.

'It's problematic': Frustration growing as Regina city council meetings drag on, tabled items pile on

Frustration is growing amongst the public and members of Regina city council as marathon meetings drag on.

Missing Moose Jaw man found dead, no foul play suspected: Police

An 80-year-old Moose Jaw man who was reported missing earlier this week has been found dead.

Occupy UW calls university's court order a 'scare tactic' to silence students

Members of a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Waterloo have broken their silence surrounding a lawsuit and injunction filed by the school.

Motorcyclist seriously injured in Cambridge crash

A Kitchener woman was taken to hospital after her Kawasaki motorcycle was involved in a collision with a Dodge pickup truck in Cambridge.

Showdown momentarily delays – but doesn’t stop – Stratford council meeting

Drama is usually reserved for the Stratford Festival stage, but on Thursday night, it played out at Stratford City Hall.

Saskatoon city council votes in favour of housing accelerator fund after two days of contentious debate

Following a 12-hour marathon meeting on Thursday which saw nearly 50 speakers both in favour and against the fund, councillors were back at City Hall Friday to ask administration what they were being faced with and vote on the changes.

Family of nine unharmed after Saskatoon house explosion

The Saskatoon Fire Department is investigating the cause of a house explosion Thursday night.

Historic Saskatoon bakery hands ownership to its Ukrainian employees

A Saskatoon staple, Nestor's bakery, which was founded nearly a century ago and has served Ukrainian baked goods on 20th street, will be changing ownership.

Northern Ontario

Sudbury senior to be homeless after apartment eviction

A Greater Sudbury senior says she will be homeless after being evicted from her apartment.

Fallen tree damages fence, allowing 50 bison to escape in northern Ont.

Anyone travelling along Highway 64 near Lavigne, Ont., should be on the lookout for bison crossing the road.

Sentencing delayed for London man who crashed stolen pick-up truck, killing one

The sentencing hearing for a London man found guilty of crashing a stolen pick-up truck and killing a woman has been delayed. Earlier this year 39-year-old Shawn Tinning plead guilty to criminal negligence causing death and leaving the scene of a crash.

Expanding basic needs supports for homeless Londoners on hold until federal funding approved

City council has delayed the expansion of outreach service that provides basic needs to Londoners experiencing homelessness because the timeline to receive new federal funding for the program remains unknown.

Western says 'patience is wearing thin' over pro-Palestinian encampment

Western University says its patience is wearing thin. It also says it’s exploring options to shut down a pro-Palestinian protest on campus. In its latest message to the community, Western says it’s grappling with concerning and illegal behaviours.

Investigation closes access to highway from Bayfield Street in Barrie

Access to the highway from one of Barrie's busiest roads has been temporarily closed by police.

'It just doesn't add up': Barrie bistro owner faces $38,000 landlord debt dispute

A Notice to Terminate posted on the front door of a downtown Barrie establishment shortly after its closure states the owner owes thousands in rent and utilities, but the owner argues he paid for more than his fair share before closing up shop.

Victim of head-on crash caused by impaired driver gives emotional statement

The woman who nearly died in a crash involving an impaired driver on Highway 26 in Springwater in 2022 gave an emotional victim impact statement on Friday.

Lake St. Clair rebounds to offer plush fishing for world championship

Andrea Cavallini is one of 52 competitors at the Hobie Fishing World Championships in the town of Tecumseh. He is here from Tuscany, Italy and caught a 21 inch bass this morning, one of the biggest catches of the day.

Wheatley demolition complete, but cleanup continues as businesses reopen following 2021 explosion

Another small business in downtown Wheatley has reopened it's doors nearly 3 years after the 2021 hydrogen sulfide gas leak explosion.

Vancouver Island

Pedestrian struck and killed in Courtenay, B.C.

A 44-year-old man is dead after he was struck by a vehicle early Friday morning in Courtenay, B.C.

Man stabbed in Kelowna, suspect at large: RCMP

Mounties in Kelowna say a suspect is at large after a man was stabbed in the city Sunday afternoon.

Police still investigating cause after woman found dead in Kelowna park

Police are remaining tight-lipped about a woman’s death in a Kelowna park on Friday.

Man shot dead in Princeton, B.C., was high-ranking gang member, court records suggest

Police have identified a man found dead in B.C.’s Interior last weekend as Donald “Donnie” Lyons.

Tourists expected to hit the road this Canada Day

Plenty of tourists will descend on Lethbridge to see what the city offers. Locals, too, will have no shortage of activities this weekend.

'A lot of work': Raymond Stampede ready to kick off in new location

The 122-year-old Raymond Stampede is set to get underway this weekend, but this year’s event will occur at a new location.

'Our last stand': Murder-conspiracy trial sees phone texts from Coutts blockade

A picture of rage and determination among COVID-19 protesters at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., was spelled out in text messages shown Thursday at a murder-conspiracy trial.

Sault Ste. Marie

Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards return

The Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards have returned for the first time in four years to celebrate arts in the region.

Sault police chase fleeing suspect, discover $56K in drugs

A wanted suspect who tried to flee police in Sault Ste. Ste Marie on Thursday has been charged with numerous offences after police seized a large cache of drugs.

Offences during northwestern Ont. deer hunt net men $9,500 in fines

Two hunters from northwestern Ontario have been fined a total of $9,500 in connection with a deer hunt two years ago.

Judge acquits Newfoundland lawyer on sexual assault, interference charges

A judge dismissed all sexual misconduct charges against a Newfoundland lawyer Thursday, saying repeated inconsistencies and falsehoods in the complainant's accounts eroded her credibility and left him unable to believe her allegations.

Threat from Churchill Falls wildfire eases, officials say 'promising' forecast ahead

With rain coming down in central Labrador and temperatures dropping, the wildfire near Churchill Falls has been downgraded, although fire officials say there's still work to be done to keep the flames at bay.

'The weather conditions are favourable,' N.L. premier says as wildfire remains away from Churchill Falls

The wildfire that forced the evacuation of Churchill Falls remains three kilometres from the community as the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador signalled cautious optimism.

Shopping Trends

The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

Editor's Picks

Canadians, ready your carts: amazon prime day deals are on the way (and 20+ discounts you can snag already), 17 stylish things from gap that’ll help you complete your summer capsule wardrobe, this waffle weave shower curtain is a best-seller on amazon canada — here's why, 17 kitchen products from amazon canada you'll use all the time, the 5 best hammocks in canada in 2024 (and where to get them), 16 gardening products that'll help you transform your yard for summer, 18 of the best gifts for kids with summer birthdays, if you have no idea what to get them for their birthday, try one of these gifts, 13 brilliant budget-friendly gifts that cost less than $25, 14 summer makeup essentials that cost less than $25, this botanic hearth rosemary hair oil has thousands of 5-star reviews — here's why, if you want smooth, glowy skin, you'll want to order at least one of these 15 products, health & fitness, 13 of the best pieces of fitness equipment for small spaces, these natural deodorants will actually keep you smelling fresh this summer, 15 of the most comfortable camping mats you can get online right now, stay connected.

COMMENTS

Richard Crouse Movie Reviews & Previews
Read Movie and TV reviews from Richard Crouse on Rotten Tomatoes, where critics reviews are aggregated to tally a Certified Fresh, Fresh or Rotten Tomatometer score.
Film Review « Richard Crouse
CAST: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, Hunter Schafer. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. REVIEW: Director Yorgos Lanthimos follows up the Academy Award winning success of "Poor Things" with another study of the dark side of humanity. The film, "Kinds of Kindness" is a ...
Movie reviews: Richard Crouse's best movies of 2020
Film critic Richard Crouse reviews some of his favourite movies from 2020 including 'Tenet,' 'Honey Boy', and 'One Night in Miami.' ... "Da 5 Bloods," now streaming on Netflix, ... Movie reviews ...
Movie reviews: Richard Crouse's best and worst of 2021
Unfortunately, it's less fun when the vigilante mob endlessly chants "evil dies tonight." The first movie was an over-the-top mish mash of exotic locations, violence, jokes and romance. The sequel ...
Movie reviews: 'The Holdovers,' 'Priscilla,' 'NYAD,' 'Sly'
This week, pop culture critic Richard Crouse reviews new movies 'The Holdovers,' 'Priscilla,' 'NYAD' and 'Sly.' ... "Sly," a new, reverent Netflix documentary directed by Thom Zimny, is an ...
Lancaster
Netflix; Prime Video; Apple TV; Certified fresh pick ... Rated: 3/5 May 29, 2022 Full Review Richard Crouse Richard Crouse A picture may be worth a thousand words, but the words of ...
Netflix « Richard Crouse
Richard joins NewsTalk 1010's Jim Richards on the coast-to-coast-to-coast late night "Showgram" to play the game "Did Richard Crouse like these movies?". This week we talk about the Marvel family drama "Black Widow" (on Disney+ with premium access), the all-star Crave film "No Sudden Move" and the Netflix slasher flick "Fear ...
Doors
Richard Crouse Richard Crouse Doors is ambitious, lo-fi sci fi that works as an entry way to new ideas but never quite gets over the threshold. Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Mar 25, 2021
RICHARD'S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY ...
RICHARD'S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY JUNE 10 2022. Richard joins CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres. Today we talk about the brontoborus "Jurassic World Dominion," Adam Sandler in dramatic mode in "Hustle" (Netflix) and, just in time for Pride Month, "Fire Island" (Disney+).
This Week On Movies « Richard Crouse
Very New! Really Fun! This Week On Movies, (the number one video podcast on movies on iTunes), hosted by Canadian film critic Richard Crouse is now available exclusively on iTunes. An irreverent weekly video podcast highlighting and reviewing the latest movie releases available on the iTunes store, This Week on Movies offers a lively mix of reviews, facts and clips.
Aftersun movie review & film summary (2022)
In a way, "Aftersun" is an act of imaginative empathy. Sophie can now look at the things that child Sophie could not see. This once-removed point of view, this slightly distanced stance, gives the film its melancholy melody of an almost elegiac sweetness. In the present moment, all is sunshine and laughter, Calum and Sophie having ice cream ...
This new Netflix movie based on a true story has 92% on Rotten Tomatoes
The movie also garners praise for its "satire of true crime and our fascination with tabloid criminality" in Richard Crouse's review and The New York Times's Manohla Dargis says it does an ...
Richard Crouse's 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen
From his book, Richard Crouse's take on the same theme Leonard Matlin did a 151-take on here.. Later he wrote a sequel, Son of the 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen. List-makers notes: Personally I love these kind of alternative lists, even thou a movie like M should be praised and acknowledged as the masterpiece it is, but I enjoy digging into less explored territory with movies like ...
8 Best New Movies on Netflix in July 2024
The Imaginary (2024). Coming to Netflix: July 5th Boy, Netflix has some fantastic animation this year. The Imaginary, directed by Yoshiyuki Momose (best known for working on Spirited Away, Modest Heroes, and NiNoKuni), kicks off a new long-term relationship with Studio Ponoc, with multiple feature films coming in the years to come.. The magical new fantasy film has all the hallmarks of a ...
Richard Crouse List of Movies and TV Shows
Appearing. 3 Credits. The Marilyn Denis Show. 2016. Maple Flavour Films. Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione Story. See Richard Crouse full list of movies and tv shows from their career. Find where ...
'Horizon: An American Saga
In the first of a projected four-film cycle, Kevin Costner revisits the western genre and U.S. history in a big, busy drama.
Richard Crouse
Year. 63%. 25%. Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione Story. Unknown (Character) -. 2013. Explore the filmography of Richard Crouse on Rotten Tomatoes! Discover ratings, reviews, and more.
Movie reviews: The Color Purple, Ferrari, The Boys in the Boat
This week, pop culture critic Richard Crouse reviews new movies 'The Color Purple,' 'Ferrari' and 'The Boys in the Boat.'
My favorite underrated horror movie is coming to Netflix
American Psycho's critic rating is only 68% on Rotten Tomatoes, which means it doesn't make the cut for our best Netflix movies list (even though the audience gave it 85%), but it also doesn't ...
The 10 Most Underrated Movies On Netflix
Allison Williams has quietly become a titan of horrors movies in the past decade. There was, of course, Get Out, in which she turns out a quietly maniacal performance.And last year she gave us ...
New Releases on Netflix & Top 10 Movies & Series: June 28th, 2024
What to Watch on Netflix This Weekend A Family Affair (2024). Rating: PG-13 Language: English Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance Director: Richard LaGravenese Writer: Carrie Solomon Runtime: 111 min / 1h 51m. Netflix's big new movie of the week, and probably for the entirety of June, is undoubtedly A Family Affair, led by three heavyweights: Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, and Joey King.
'Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution' is the perfect Pride movie to watch
If you're looking for Pride movies on Netflix, try this documentary about queer comedy, Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution. This new documentary is a must-watch queer history lesson. Skip to main ...
3 underrated Netflix movies you should watch this weekend (June 28-30)
Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (2022) Netflix. Hollywood just doesn't make summer movies anymore. No, I don't mean the usual summer blockbusters that consist of the world being ...
A Family Affair Review: Fun, Flawed Entertainment Captures What It
A Family Affair Review: Fun, Flawed Entertainment Captures What It Means To Be A Netflix Movie A Family Affair (2024) ... Richard La Gravenese Release Date June 28, 2024 Writers Carrie Solomon ... however, it also suffers from the hamstringing of visual storytelling that comes with this kind of Netflix movie. Much like in the classic approach ...
'A Family Affair' Director Richard LaGravenese Explains What's
Netflix's next rom-com has arrived in the form of "A Family Affair," and it's directed by a veteran of on-screen love stories in Richard LaGravenese. And, according to the director, making ...
Movie reviews: 'Napoleon,' 'Dream Scenario,' 'Leo,' 'Wish'
This week, pop culture critic Richard Crouse reviews new movies 'Napoleon,' 'Dream Scenario,' 'Leo' and 'Wish.'
'A Family Affair' Review: Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman's Tepid ...
Despite the promising pairing of Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman, Richard LaGravenese's dull Netflix romantic comedy 'A Family Affair' fizzles.
Stream These 9 Movies Before They Leave Netflix in July
A bunch of major titles are leaving for U.S. subscribers this month, including films by George Lucas and Ang Lee. See them while you can.
The Outpost
Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Jan 27, 2024. The Outpost will shake your core and rattle your bones. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 1, 2022. While the first half of "The Outpost ...
Movie reviews: 'The Son' and more
Get over it.". "The Son" is the story of intergenerational trauma, of the sins of a father (Hopkins is despicable in a fiery cameo) being visited upon his son and grandson, and a child's ...

Richard Crouse

This Week On Movies

Movie Reviews

Sheila O'Malley

Now playing

Peyton Robinson

A Man in Full

Tiger Stripes

What Remains

Film Credits

Aftersun (2022)

Cinematographer

Latest blog posts

Kevin Costner: The Last of the Cornball American Directors

Leaving A Mark Behind: Kevin Costner on Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1

The Hard Way, Or My Way? RIP Bill Cobbs (1934-2024)

Catherine Breillat Wants You to Think About (Movie) Sex Differently

This new Netflix movie based on a true story has 92% on Rotten Tomatoes

Critics and audiences are sold on Netflix’s May December

Sign up to get the BEST of Tom’s Guide direct to your inbox.

More from Tom's Guide

Most Popular

Letterboxd — Your life in film

Add to your films…

Add to lists

List by Monsieur Flynn

Richard Crouse's 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen

Select your preferred backdrop

Richard Crouse

Commentator

My favorite underrated horror movie is coming to Netflix – here’s why you should ignore its low Rotten Tomatoes rating

Why you should watch American Psycho

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

You might also like

Most Popular

More From Forbes

10 Underrated Movies On Netflix

‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 2, Episode 3 Recap And Review: Old Feuds And Bad Blood

The Perfection (2018)

Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)

Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

Blackhat (2015)

Hulk (2003)

Holidate (2020)

Burning (2018)

On Body and Soul (2017)

Join The Conversation

Forbes Community Guidelines

New Releases on Netflix & Top 10 Movies & Series: June 28th, 2024

What to Watch on Netflix This Weekend

Lovesong (2017)

Supacell (Season 1)

The Flash (2023)

Full List of New Releases on Netflix This Week + What’s Coming on Sunday

14 New TV Series Added This Week

1 New Game Added to Netflix Games

Most Popular Movies on Netflix in the US This Week

Most Popular Series on Netflix This Week

More on A Family Affair

Newest Articles - What's New on Netflix

Search What's on Netflix

More From Decider

'The Bear' Season 3 Review: Carmy Secures His Role as The Chairman of The...

R.I.P. Martin Mull: 'Clue' & 'Roseanne' Star Dead at 80

Every Kevin Costner Movie Is A Western (Even When They're Not)

Nicole Kidman Tore Zac Efron’s Shirt Off in One Take, Says ‘A Family...

Is Kevin Costner Dooming Himself To Be The Captain Ahab of Westerns With...

Heidi Klum Strips Down On 'Hot Ones', Leaving Host Sean Evans Speechless

Vanna White Struggles Working With Ryan Seacrest And May Exit 'Wheel Of...

'Hit Man' True Story: What to Know About the Real Gary Johnson Who...

‘Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution’ Is the Perfect Pride Movie to Watch on Netflix Today

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘An Audience With Kylie’ on Hulu, A Career-Spanning, Celebrity-Packed Fete Of Kylie Minogue

Martin Short Jokes That Melania Trump Only Had One Expectation In Her Marriage To Donald Trump — And He Didn't Meet It

Vanna White Struggles Working With Ryan Seacrest And May Exit 'Wheel Of Fortune' Early: Report

What Time Will 'Down In The Valley' Be on Starz? Release Date, Streaming Info, How To Watch

'The View' Stumbles Into A Commercial Break As Whoopi Goldberg Pretends Her Mic Was Cut By Producers: "Is This What We're Doing?"

R.I.P. Martin Mull: 'Clue' & 'Roseanne' Star Dead at 80

'Live's Kelly Ripa Complains That Mark Consuelos Expects Her To "Keep Up" While On Runs Together: "Makes It Deeply Unpleasant For Me"

3 underrated Netflix movies you should watch this weekend (June 28-30)

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (2022)