Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
28 Years Later (Danny Boyle)
Armed with a bevy of iPhones, 28 Years Later is definitely an “I’ve still got the moves” gesture from Boyle. It’s a case where his frenetic energy, paired with returning writer Alex Garland’s structurally odd screenplay, creates a film that one never feels a step ahead of––a deep compliment for something about to be unleashed on multiplexes. Even if that doesn’t necessarily result in a great film, per se. – Ethan V. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
All of You (William Bridges)
Many films have dared to ask if a man and a woman can ever just be friends, but very few have managed to answer in the affirmative. For most of its first half, All of You appeared destined to wind up another addition to this romantic canon, as journalist Simon (Brett Goldstein) slowly realizes his best friend since university, Laura (Imogen Poots), might be the love of his life. So far, so uninteresting, even if the conversational writing and grounded performances helped elevate it above the Richard Curtis brand of high-concept tearjerker. Then, around the midway point, Simon and Laura are prematurely forced to confront this elephant in the room––at which point the screenplay, written by Goldstein and director William Bridges, reveals itself far more emotionally intelligent and less-idealistic in its exploration of their changing relationship dynamics than the lovelorn first act would suggest. – Alistair R. (full review)
Where to Stream: Apple TV+
Il Dono (Michelangelo Frammartino)
After recently earning acclaim for his wondrously transportive Il Buco (aka The Hole), one has the opportunity to see an early, newly restored feature from Italian director Michelangelo Frammartino. His 2003 debut feature Il Dono (aka The Gift) finds the director capturing the stunning Calabrian countryside and the few that remained in the village of Caulonia. Following Kino Lorber’s theatrical release, this past summer, the new restoration has arrived digitally. The film was restored in 4K in 2022 by courtesy of Coproduction Office and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata and Augustus Color laboratories, from the original camera and sound negatives, with Michelangelo Frammartino’s supervision.
Where to Stream: VOD
The Goldfinger (Felix Chong)
Despite its Bond-adjacent title, The Goldfinger acts as something of a reunion from a different franchise. Re-teaming Andy Lau, Tony Leung, and writer (now writer-director) Felix Chong from the Infernal Affairs series, their newest film charts the rise and fall of a corrupt real-estate tycoon. Spanning decades, and inspired by the Carrian Group––a Hong Kong conglomerate that collapsed in the 1980s––The Goldfinger pits Lau and Leung on opposing sides, with the former playing Lau Kai-yeun, an investigator for the ICAC (Independent Commision Against Corruption) and the latter as Henry Ching, an engineer who works his way through a series of shady deals to run a multi-billion dollar business. – Christian G. (full review)
Where to Stream: VOD
Splitsville (Michael Angelo Covino)
Six years after their breakout feature The Climb, Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin have returned, with stars in tow, for Splitsville, a rom-com as unexpected as it his hilarious. After a Cannes premiere, it’s now in theaters. Luke Hicks said in his review, “Marvin and Covino have certainly carved a distinct path in this early phase of their careers. Apart, Covino caught the acting bug a bit more than Marvin, picking up roles in Oscar contender News of the World and starry ensemble dud Riff Raff, while Marvin won a significant supporting role in the Apple TV+ miniseries WeCrashed and launched his feature directing career with, of all things, 80 for Brady. Together they write whip-smart, Sorkin-quick buddy comedies that tee up the duo’s inimitable comedic chemistry and timing. Their relatable, down-to-earth brand of foolhardy, dipshit-driven, erratic comedy feels like the arrival of a style that could catch fire––a fresh comedic voice that harkens back to the emergence of Wes Anderson’s playfully dry indie tone in the ‘90s.”
Where to Stream: VOD
The Surfer (Lorcan Finnegan)
In The Surfer, an exploitation film set to pressure-cook, a mild-mannered man is pitted against a group who even Andrew Tate might find a touch extreme. It’s set in South Australia on fictional Luna Bay, the kind of place where if the heat doesn’t get you, something else probably will. The water shines turquoise-blue but the beaches look like scorched earth. Into this furnace arrives an unnamed man (Nicolas Cage) hoping for nothing more than to view a cliffside property and catch a wave, but the locals have other ideas: “Don’t live here, don’t surf here,” one says, offering about as much hospitality as a switchblade. – Rory O. (full review)
Where to Stream: Hulu
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To Kill a Wolf