The most anticipated title to hit Prime Video in June is season four of The Boys (June 13), the satirical superhero show adapted from the same-named comic book series and starring Billy Butcher as Karl Urban, leader of the titular group of super powered individuals. In the new season, Urban has only months left to live and must work to bring his team back together to save the world. Three episodes premiere on June 13, with additional episodes dropping weekly through mid-July.
Prime Video is also streaming two original sports documentaries in June. First up is Power of the Dream (June 18), a feature-length film that chronicles how WNBA team the Atlanta Dream's support of Black Lives Matter helped flip a Georgia Senate seat and led to the election of Rev. Raphael Warnock. Federer: Twelve Final Days (June 20) offers a behind-the-scenes look—using home video footage—of the last days of tennis star Roger Federer's career.
Finally, there's My Lady Jane (June 27), an eight-episode original series that tells an alternate history of Lady Jane Grey—played by Emily Bader—in which the British noblewoman avoids execution and instead lives a life of romance and adventure.
Here’s everything else coming to Prime Video and Amazon-owned, ad-supported Freevee in June, including the blockbuster, Oscar-winning Oppenheimer (June 18), from director Christopher Nolan.
What’s coming to Prime Video in June 2024
Arriving June 1
Animal Crackers (2020)
Annie (2014)
A Raisin In The Sun (1961)
At Close Range (1986)
Basic (2003)
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Bite The Bullet (1975)
Black Dynamite (2010)
Bloodsport (1988)
Blow Out (1981)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Brewster's Millions (1985)
Brick (2006)
Bruno (2009)
Buck And The Preacher (1972)
Class (1983)
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)
Cry Freedom (1987)
Dark Angel (1990)
Dark Blue (2003)
Dawn Of The Dead (2004)
Death At A Funeral (2007)
Diablo (2016)
Duck Soup (1933)
Edge Of Darkness (2010)
Eye Of The Needle (1981)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)
Finding Forrester (2001)
Fireproof (2008)
Gigli (2003)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2004)
Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah (1999)
Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla II (1999)
Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus: The G Annihilation Strategy (2003)
Godzilla Vs. Spacegodzilla (1999)
Godzilla, Mothra, And King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2003)
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2004)
Gridiron Gang (2006)
Guarding Tess (1994)
Hackers (1995)
Hellfighters (1968)
High Noon (1952)
I Am Ali (2014)
I Am Bolt (2016)
Down (2002)
Incendies (2010)
It Came From Outer Space (1953)
Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
Juan Of The Dead (2011)
Just Mercy (2020)
Kindergarten Cop (1990)
Kindergarten Cop 2 (2016)
Las Vegas S1-S5
Last Tango In Paris (1973)
Layer Cake (2005)
Little Man (2006)
Macarthur (1977)
Man's Favorite Sport? (1964)
Midnight Run (1988)
Milk (2009)
Money Train (1995)
No Country For Old Men (2007)
No Good Deed (2014)
No Stranger Than Love (2016)
Noah (2014)
Not Without My Daughter (1991)
Ong Bak - The Thai Warrior (2005)
Open Season (2006)
Outlaws And Angels (2016)
Overboard (1987)
Pariah (2011)
Paths Of Glory (1957)
Platoon (1987)
Precious (2009)
Predestination (2015)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Quantum Of Solace (2008)
Revenge (1990)
Saved! (2004)
Six Degrees Of Separation (1993)
Skyfall (2012)
Sleepover (2004)
Soapdish (1958)
Some Kind Of Wonderful (1987)
St. Elmo's Fire (1985)
Stomp The Yard (2007)
Superbad Unrated (2007)
Takers (2010)
Tangerine (2015)
Teen Wolf (1985)
The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1994)
The African Queen (1952)
The Animal (2001)
The Battle Of Britain (1969)
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1977)
The Brady Bunch Movie (1995)
The Danish Girl (2016)
The Haunting (1999)
The Hurricane (2000)
The Kids Are All Right (2010)
The Last Castle (2001)
The Man in the Moon (1991)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
The Mechanic (2011)
The Missouri Breaks (1976)
The Quiet Man (1952)
The Russia House (1990)
The War Wagon (1967)
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)
A highlight of Max's June lineup is the season two debut of House of the Dragon (June 16), the HBO Original drama that tells the story of House Targaryen, 200 years before Game of Thrones begins. New episodes will drop on Sundays at 9 pm ET through August 4.
Max's HBO Original documentary slate this month covers sports, Broadway, rock music, and psychiatric treatment. First up is Here to Climb (June 18), which tracks professional sport climbing champ Sasha DiGiulian over the course of her career, followed by Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play. (June 20), a behind-the-scenes look at the Broadway production that brought themes of race, sex, and interracial relationships to the stage.
Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple (June 22) is a feature-length look at the life of the musician, actor, and activist known as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and cast of The Sopranos. One South: Portrait of a Psych Unit (June 25) is a two-part film that goes inside Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens.
Fans of Hacks (and comedy) will appreciate Everything Must Go (June 13), the debut standup special from Hannah Einbinder.
Finally, there's Problemista (June 28), an A24 film starring Julio Torres—also the writer and director—as an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador navigating the art world and immigration system. Other cast include Tilda Swinton, RZA, Greta Lee, and James Scully. Julio Torres also created, wrote, and directed Fantasmas (June 7), an HBO Original comedy series of vignettes set in an alternate version of New York City.
Here’s everything else coming to Max in June.
What’s coming to Max in June 2024
Arriving June 1
50/50 (2011)
America's Sweethearts (2001)
American Heist (2014)
Bandits (2015)
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011)
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader (2010)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Demolition (2015)
The Disaster Artist (2017)
Evil Dead (2013)
Fright Night (1985)
Generation Por Que? (2021)
Hope Springs (2012)
House at the End of the Street (2012)
Into the Blue (2005)
Into the Blue 2: The Reef (2009)
The Invention of Lying (2009)
Jessica's Big Little World, Season 1D (Cartoon Network)
Krampus (2015)
Life After (2017)
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Marmaduke (2010)
Minari (2020)
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
Open Water (2003)
Open Water 2: Adrift (2006)
Open Water 3: Cage Dive (2017)
The Other Guys (2010)
Overlord (1975)
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)
Ride Along 2 (2016)
Shadows (2020)
Shining Through (1992)
The Skin I Live In (2011)
Spaceship Earth (2020)
Splice (2009)
Sugar (2008)
The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
Trixie Motel: Drag Me Home, Season 1
Uncut Gems (2019)
Urban Legend (1998)
User Zero (2020)
Wanted (2008)
Arriving June 2
Craig of the Creek, Season 6A (Cartoon Network)
Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse, Season 1 (Magnolia)
Mecum Presents: Automotive Archaeology, Season 1 (Motor Trend)
Ren Faire (HBO Original)
Total Drama Island, Season 1 (Cartoon Network)
Arriving June 3
Battle on the Beach, Season 4 (HGTV)
Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murders, Season 1 (ID)
Keanu (2016)
Mini Beat Power Rockers: Composirockers
Unexpected, Season 6 (TLC)
Arriving June 4
Deadliest Catch 20th Anniversary Special, Season 1
Arriving June 5
Backed by the Bros, Season 1 (HGTV)
Arriving June 6
Am I OK? (2022)
Arriving June 7
Fantasmas, Season 1 (HBO Original)
Arriving June 10
Bellator: Fight Week Dublin, Season 1 (Bleacher Report)
Paranormal Caught on Camera, Season 7 (Travel)
Six Schizophrenic Brothers, Season 1 (Discovery)
Arriving June 11
Deadliest Catch, Season 20 (Discovery)
Motel Rescue, Season 2 (Magnolia)
Arriving June 13
Hannah Einbinder: Everything Must Go (Max Original)
Arriving June 16
American Monster, Season 12 (ID)
House of The Dragon, Season 2 (HBO Original)
Arriving June 17
Bellator: Fight Camp Confidential Dublin, Season 2 (Bleacher Report)
Arriving June 18
Farmhouse Fixer: Camp Revamp, Season 1 (HGTV)
Here To Climb (HBO Original)
How It Really Happened, Season 8 (CNN)
Arriving June 19
Crimes Gone Viral, Season 5 (ID)
Arriving June 20
Slave Play. Not A Movie. A Play. (HBO Original)
Arriving June 21
Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood (WT)
Arriving June 23
Getting Lost with Erin French, Season 1 (Magnolia)
Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines, Season 8 (Magnolia)
Arriving June 24
Cris Miro (She/Her/Hers), Season 1 (WB)
Arriving June 25
One South: Portrait Of A Psych Unit (HBO Original)
Dolphin Tale 2 (2014)
High Speed Chase, Season 2 (ID)
Arriving June 27
Breaking New Ground (Max Original)
Arriving June 28
Beach Cottage Chronicles, Season 4 (Magnolia)
Problemista (2024) (A24)
Arriving June 30
The Great Food Truck Race, Season 17 (Food Network)
Beyoncé and Dua Lipa have swapped mirrorballs for rhinestones, while new stars such as Shaboozey and Dasha are making hay with uptempo hoedowns. Even the UK is enjoying its first rodeo – but can it last?
Collins Obinna Chibueze, better known as Shaboozey, has to fit in interviews as and when he can; his schedule is “crazy”. He is peering into his phone’s camera, his dreadlocks silhouetted against the stark white of the photo studio where he is ensconced. He is answering questions about his eclectic musical passions – he loves the War on Drugs, Lil Yachty and the gruff-voiced Canadian country singer Colter Wall – and how growing up in the small town in Virginia where his Nigerian parents settled influenced his cocktail of hip-hop and country.
On the one hand, Virginia has its hip-hop heroes – Missy Elliott, Pharrell Williams, Timbaland and Clipse among them – but on the other, “Virginia is a southern state, very rural, a lot of emphasis on being outdoors. A lot of stories were made there, from the colonial days to civil war to political stuff, so I just wanted to continue that tradition of telling stories.”
Just a few short years ago, the pickings were extremely slim for horror movies with explicitly queer characters and themes—plenty of great movies with subtext (some of which we’ll get to), but very few that made that subtext into text. That, despite horror movies having legions of queer fans (seriously, the biggest horror movie lovers I know are anything but straight, including me). A recent rise in horror films with queer characters isn’t just a matter of diversity; it’s about giving audiences what they want. Some of these movies work distinctly queer coming-of-age stories (or metaphors) into their narratives, while others offer LGBTQ leads without fanfare. There’s “elevated” horror here, as well as serial killer movies and slashers.
And, hey, since we’re not about being exclusionary, straights are welcome to scream along. No one’s judging your lifestyle with a killer hanging about.
Knife + Heart (2018)
There are layers upon layers in director Yann Gonzalez’s slick and stylish slasher set in the world of ‘70s gay porn. Anne Parèze (Vanessa Paradis) runs a production company that makes the exploitation movies Knife + Heart centers on, but the series of murders that occurs on set barely draws the attention of the local police, who aren’t terribly torn up about the deaths of gay porn actors. Anne decides that her next film will be about the murders themselves, unfolding a movie-within-a-movie that only draws the attention of the killer (and his spiked dildo). The movie celebrates giallo, with plenty of deep cuts for fans of classic Italian horror, and ‘70s sleaze more generally, but with a look and feel that’s entirely unique.
Where to scream: Shudder, Tubi, Kanopy, Freevee
Knock at the Cabin (2023)
M. Night Shyamalan’s mind-bender sets up an impossible choice for married couple Eric and Andrew (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge): One of them will have to sacrifice the other, or the world might end. What looks like a home invasion lead by Dave Bautista becomes, increasingly convincingly, a warning of the necessity of the sacrifice. The movie’s growing sense of existential dread is heightened by the sense of cozy domesticity of the couple at the movie’s center, who just want to raise their daughter and relax in their cute little cabin.
I’ve seen Rocky Horror at least a dozen times (in various states of undress), and I still couldn’t really tell you what it’s about—something to do with Brad and Janet (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon) stopping at a creepy old house full of queers (lead by Tim Curry’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter) from outer space. The movie went from being a cult classic to a rite of passage for young queers, full of gleefully over-the-top characters who either start out as sex- and gender-fluid, or who get there by the end. It plays with a ton of old horror movie tropes and, while it might not be the most terrifying movie in queer cinema history, it’s a ton of fun, and a pretty good way to freak out the squares in your life.
Problematic? Sure! But queer horror kids of the 1980s (give or take) knew how to take our fun where we could get it. As a slasher, the one is particularly weird, with over-the-top goofy moments contrasted with some genuinely impressive kills. Somehow the fact that no two actors seem to be performing in exactly the same movie helps with the camp (pun intended) vibe. The ending, which, fair warning, I'm about so spoil, is the best and worst part: Our killer is revealed to be Angela (Felissa Rose)—who is then revealed to be Peter, who'd been traumatized after finding her father in bed with another man, and then further traumatized when goofy Aunt Martha (Desiree Gould) raised Peter as the girl she'd always wanted. Angela has been referred to as a trans villain—though I'm not sure it's possible to tell what's going on here. The movie's politics are not so much, but as a wild bit of slasher horror with enjoyably messy queer characters? It hits plenty of the right notes.
Where to scream: Peacock, Tubi, Crackle, Shout Factory TV, Fubo, The Roku Channel
Dracula's Daughter (1936)
Like father, like daughter in this direct sequel to the Bela Lugosi film, with Countess Marya Zaleska (Gloria Holden) running afoul of Edward Van Sloan's Van Helsing from the original. The two vampires share in common not just an archnemesis, but an eye for the ladies, as well, with Countess Zaleska seducing first despondent Lili and then kidnapping Janet. Producers and censors were worried about the lesbian of it all in the lead-up to the film's release, but also chose to hype it up in the marketing...especially with the tagline: "Save the women of London from Dracula's Daughter!"
Nicole Maines (Supergirl) stars here as Laurel, a trans teenage girl moving in with her brother in LA following her transition. A club afterparty leads to lots of making out and then some blood—it’s not long before Laurel is offered the chance to join a group of vampires dedicated to taking care of the many predatory men walking the city’s streets.
Where to scream:Prime Video, Tubi, Freevee, The Roku Channel
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The queer coding in the eerie, frequently hilarious Bride of Frankenstein is so over the top that you can hardly even call it subtext. There’s too much gay going on here to ignore. The plot revolves around gloriously flamboyant Dr. Septimus Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), a mentor of Victor Frankenstein’s from his school days who sweeps in on the eve of Victor’s wedding night to drag him away (with only mild convincing required) so that the two can conduct some experiments to determine if they can make life together. With that plot, and the queer rep in front of and behind the camera (including Thesinger and director James Whale) this one’s very much a gay horror fever dream.
A horror movie with echoes of the sexy thrillers of yore. Here, Pierre Deladonchamps plays Franck, a regular visitor to a nude beach and the surrounding woods, both popular cruising spots. Franck begins a passionate relationship (meaning: lots of fairly explicit sex in the woods) with Michel (Christophe Paou), who Franck later spots drowning someone in the lake. Which: awkward. As the investigation into that event heats up, Franck finds himself struggling to give up a good thing, even in the face of murder. As with the lead in any good erotic thriller, the better the sex, the more Franck will risk.
Where to scream: Kanopy
High Tension (2003)
Arguably the best film of the “New French Extremity” canon, High Tension does the seemingly impossible: It’s a slasher movie that doesn’t feel like a cliche, and is packed with brutal, tense, uncompromising, packed with references to 1970s horror classics—and it’s French, so you can pretend it’s elevated. The movie comes with a mega-twist ending that complicated (to put it mildly) what had seemed like a pretty progressive view of its lesbian main character—but complicated, problematic characters are nothing new for queer horror fans.
Where to scream: Tubi, The Roku Channel, Hoopla, Kanopy, Freevee, Plex, Pluto
Seed of Chucky (2004)
Gay Child's Play creator Don Mancini, who's written, directed, and/or produced every film in the main series, was sneaking in queer subtext from the beginning. The addition of Bound star and icon Jennifer Tilly as the voice of doll Tiffany in 1998's Bride of Chucky was a step in the right direction in terms of making the subtext text...but it wasn't until Seed of Chucky that things went really wild, with Tiffany teamed up with Chucky (Brad Dourif) to raise their non-binary child Glen-or-Glenda (referencing an Ed Wood film) while they try to possess the bodies of the real-life Tilly and Redman (playing themselves). If that's not enough camp appeal, there's an appearance by John Waters himself to provide a stamp of approval.
Where to scream: Starz
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
A lot of queer horror turns on the challenges of being other than straight, but Bodies Bodies Bodies leads with a queer couple, front and center: Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) and Bee (Maria Bakalova) are a pretty normal couple who find themselves in the middle of a pretty fucked-up scenario when Sophia brings her girlfriend home to meet her old friend. A murder-in-the-dark-type game takes a turn when someone actually turns up dead, and it very quickly starts to look like Sophie and Bee are the most well-adjusted people in the entire group.
Where to scream: Netflix, Paramount+, Fubo, Showtime
The Jessica Cabin (2022)
OK, it’s not terrifying—and it’s not really meant to be—but The Jessica Cabin is a brisk, slight sad, but mostly charming ghost story that’s pretty perfect if you’re looking for something horror-adjacent, but aren’t in a mood for gore. Couple Nicky (Chase Williamson) and Preston (Will Tranfo) arrive at the title Airbnb—which we eventually learn was named for just one of the people who’ve been found dead there—and it’s quickly clear that their relationship is less than ideal. They’re also being observed by best friends Jackson (Daniel Montgomery) and Taylor (Riley Rose Critchlow), two ghosts haunting the cabin, living afterlives of endless boredom and monotony—at least until dead Jackson becomes enamored with living Nicky. It’s all a lovely, low-budget story about love and longing, as most of the best ghost stories are.
Erotic bisexual vampire movies had a moment in the 1970s, but few (if any) more successful, and more genuinely sexy, than Daughters of Darkness. While others were very into the hot-lesbians-for-straight-guys vibe, Daughters has a look and feel that borders on arthouse, with a grand and elegant style, as well as a willingness to go deeper. Delphine Seyrig plays Countess Elizabeth Báthory, who happens upon a newlywed couple honeymooning in a remote region, and immediately sets about seducing the wife away from human sexual and moral conformity.
Where to scream: Shudder, Tubi, Vudu
Spiral (2019)
Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman stars as Malik, who moves to a new town with his white partner, Aaron, and their teenaged daughter, each of them hoping for a little peace and quiet. Naturally, things get weird—first in recognizable ways (barbed comments, casual greetings not returned), and then in a more alarming fashion. Malik, both more assertively out and also Black, seems to be the only one who really notices the worst of it, and begins to question both his relationships with his family and his sanity. (Don't confuse this with the 2021 Saw movie of the same name.)
Where to scream: Shudder, AMC+
The Lost Boys (1987)
Directed by out gay director Joel Schumacher (several years before he made the gayest superhero movie, Batman & Robin), The Lost Boys finds brothers Sam (Corey Haim) and Michael (Jason Patric) Emerson moving with their family to sunny, sweaty Santa Carla, California just in time for Michael to be seduced into joining a sexy vampire gang by its blonde leader David, played by Kiefer Sutherland. The vamps bait Michael with Star (Jamie Gertz), but his desire with the girl gives way to a fascination with David, made very clear when a blood-drunk Michael's vision of Star fades in favor of David. Even the movie's theme song reminds us, repeatedly, that "Love is with your brother."
Where to scream: AMC+
The Babadook (2014)
The Babadook's place in the queer pantheon came as a bit of an accident: Netflix listed the movie in its LGBT section one time, probably by accident—but it kinda stuck, even if "the Babadook is gay" was mostly a joke at first. When looked at through that lens, the film works extremely well as queer allegory: Well-meaning but harried widow Amelia (Essie Davis) is struggling to raise her son Sam by herself, finding his behavior increasingly troubling. The imaginary monster that soon becomes real can represent grief, in that fighting it is far less effective than accepting it—but that's also a very potent metaphor for the experience of parents of queer children. The more Amelia tries to change her son and bury his behavior, the more powerful The Babadook grows, and the more eager to escape. It's only through acceptance, and by coming to terms with unchangeable reality, that Amelia's able to find some peace for herself and her son.
Where to scream: Netflix, Hulu, Shudder, AMC+
Rope (1948)
Fussy, fastidious roommates (if you know what I mean) are hosting a dinner party for friends, but there’s a twist: They’ve just strangled an old prep-school pal to death, and plan to serve the food off of the gorgeous antique wooden chest in which they’ve concealed his body. Like the worst upper-class gays you’ve ever met, Brandon and Phillip (John Dall and Farley Granger) are doing this pretty just to prove that their intellectual superiority. Filmed in one take (well, sort of), Hitchcock’s claustrophobic atmosphere and sharp dialogue rachet up the suspense nicely; the thriller was loosely based on a real-life murder committed by lovers Leopold and Loeb in the 1920s.
Taking on the essential role of the pop-culture savvy member of the “core four,” Jasmin Savoy Brown joined the Scream requel as Mindy Meeks-Martin, the one who might not know who the killer is, but who definitely understands the rules they’re playing by. She’s also an out lesbian, adding the first canonically queer character to a series that kicked off with a couple of murderers loosely based on lovers Leopold and Loeb. With a sense of humor and some brutal kills, the fifth Scream movie rebooted the franchise whose queer fans are legion, setting the stage for an even better follow-up.
Where to scream: Paramount+, Hulu
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Only the real ones knew what to do with Jennifer’s Body in 2009, and the film took a long time to become the cult classic it was probably always destined to be. Here, popular teenager Jennifer (Megan Fox) is turned into a succubus by abusive men, gleefully killing boys around school to the general horror of her friend, Needy (Amanda Seyfried). The movie’s main characters aren’t explicitly gay, but there’s a gleeful rejection of both toxic masculinity and heteronormativity about it that’s made it particularly beloved among queers. It also uses horror and violence to empower its teenage women characters.
The stop-motion animated ParaNorman was justifiably critically acclaimed (it’s fantastic), but only a modest box office success. The plot revolves around the titular Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who can communicate with the dead; nobody believes him, and he’s bullied for his claims about his abilities. Norman’s best friend’s older brother Mitch (Casey Affleck), is a stereotypical dumb jock in many ways, but we discover he’s gay at the same time as Norman’s sister. In contrast to Norman, who struggles with the best way to express his abilities in a hostile world, Mitch is entirely comfortable with who he is. It’s all-ages horror, for sure, but the movie is surprisingly smart and charmingly creepy.
Where to scream: Starz, The Roku Channel
The Fear Street Trilogy (2021)
We’re doing three movies at once here, as each film in the trilogy, adapted from the R. L. Stine books, shares a tone, quality, and director (Leigh Janiak, best known for Honeymoon prior to Fear Street). They also share lead characters: Deena and Sam (Kiana Madeira and Olivia Scott Welch), star-crossed girlfriends fighting an ancient curse across time. Fear Street Part One: 1994 kicks off the films by introducing the town of Shadyside, which the local kids call “Shittyside,” and has a dark history of multiple murders, most of them covered up. A group of teens upsets the grave of a witch, kicking off the revival of a murderous cult. The vibe here is a little bit Stranger Things, with some legit gore and scares (it’s YA, but definitely not kids’ stuff) as Janiak pays homage to a wide range of horror movies past. The series continues in Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and concludes (for the moment) with Fear Street Part Three: 1666.
Where to scream: Netflix
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
If it seems like a bit of a stretch to consider this movie—based on the Tennessee Williams play—a horror movie, consider that the entire plot turns on revelations of cannibalism and threats of forced lobotomies. It’s a wackadoo Southern Gothic mystery that involves a young man, the son of Katherine Hepburn’s memorably named Violet Venable, who dies under mysterious circumstances on a holiday in Spain. Though Violet had been happy to be his wingwoman in helping him to meet other men for sexual encounters, she’s less keen on the world finding out precisely how he died. She’s also perfectly happy to lobotomize one of her son’s best friends just to make sure she won’t talk; it’s a wild time, right up to the memorably off-the-wall finale.
Where to scream: The Criterion Channel
Titane (2021)
In a sea of superhero movies, be the film about a gender-fluid erotic dancer (Alexia/Adrien, played by Agathe Rousselle) who fucks a car, gets pregnant as a result, and is then taken in by a man (Vincent Lindon) who believes that he's found his long lost son. Oh, and our lead character is also a serial killer. There's a lot going on in writer/director Julia Ducournau's wildly unconventional love story, but what stands out is the ways in which Alexia/Adrien's gender nonconformity is not treated as a subject of horror, but, ultimately, one of love.
Where to scream: Hulu
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
The subtext here comes through so strongly that it can hardly even be considered subtext, but back in 1985, plenty of straight audiences still missed it. There’s a role reversal in the film’s basic premise, which puts Jesse (Mark Patton) in the position that would be taken up by the “final girl” in most slasher films of the era. Freddy toys with Jesse, at one point caressing his lips with those finger blades; Jesse flees from danger and his girlfriend in equal distress, and nearly always half-clothed. He runs into his gym teacher in a leather bar, and that same jerk later gets bare-ass spanked to death in a locker room. As a metaphor for the torments of being a closeted teen, you could do a lot worse.
Where to scream: Netflix
The Perfection (2018)
There are shades of Suspiria (and Black Swan) here as Charlotte Willmore (Allison Williams) returns to her prestigious music academy after an absence and finding that another woman (Logan Browning) has taken her place at the head of the class, the two beginning a sexual relationship—if that sounds a little tame, the intentionally disjointed narrative quickly careens into wildly claustrophobic body horror. It might not be the first film to mine dark thrills and gore out of arts education, but it goes as far as any of them, and even beyond.
Where to scream: Netflix
The Latent Image (2022)
Making the most of its budget, The Latent Image is one of those isolated-cabin-in-the-woods slasher movies, but with a few artful and surreal twists. Ben (Joshua Tonks), a novelist in the throes of writer’s block and away from his boyfriend, is visited by a stranger who maybe just needs a place to stay for the night (Jay Clift)? Ben’s active imagination blurs the lines between what’s real and what isn’t, and the maybe sexual/maybe murderous chemistry between the two leads.
Where to scream: Tubi, Dekkoo, Vudu
Diabolique (1955)
Diabolique involves a married woman and her husband’s mistress, who both conspire to murder the man and to conceal his death—the sexual tension, and the sense of a love triangle, is just barely beneath the surface. He’d been headmaster of a gossipy boarding school, and the two are pressed to keep things on the down-low through a deliciously twisty-turny plot. Simone Signoret and Véra Clouzot play one of cinema’s most enduring couples, even if their more explicit relationship in the original novel was stripped out of the film version. Still, the closeness between Nicole and Christina is remarked upon by the students and faculty of the boarding school where the two live. They travel together, sharing rooms and even a bed. A climactic moment is played very much as a breakup scene. The movie’s gritty realism inspired Hitchcock to make Psycho.
Where to scream: Max, The Criterion Channel
They/Them (2022)
It’s a little more tame, perhaps, than its forthright title (pronounced “They Slash Them”) might suggest, but only because of its commitment to treating its queer characters with respect. That doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine and flowers, though, at the conversion camp (lead by Kevin Bacon’s appropriately unpleasant Owen Whistler) where a serial killer is stalking the woods, likely out for a bit of bloody revenge.
Where to scream: Peacock
What Keeps You Alive (2018)
It starts when a young married couple, Jackie (Hannah Emily Anderson) and Jules (Brittany Allen), head off to a remote cabin belonging to Jackie’s family. Everything seems fine until a childhood of hers calls her “Megan.” Jules becomes suspicious, with good reason, and comes to learn, gradually, that her wife might not be who she says she is—and might not have her best interests at heart. That premise is chillingly executed.
Where to scream: AMC+
Pitchfork (2016)
Listen: gays deserve silly little slashers, too, and this stylish one is a cut (ahem) above. What starts as a coming-of-age story about Hunter returning home to come out to his conservative father gets bloody fairly quickly, as Hunter and his supportive friends are hunted through the woods by the title killer.
Paramount+ with Showtime is premiering new seasons of two of its anchor series in June. First up is Mayor of Kingstown (June 2), the Paramount+ original drama starring Jeremy Renner as Mike McLusky. Season three offers a deeper look into McLusky's past and justice in the Michigan prison town.
Criminal Minds: Evolution (June 6) is season two of the reimagined CBS procedural, and picks up two weeks after the finale cliffhanger with the FBI’s elite team of profilers investigating the Gold Star mystery.
The service also has some music-focused content streaming in June, including Let the Canary Sing (June 4), a documentary about Cindy Lauper's career and advocacy, and How Music Got Free (June 11), a two-part doc executive produced by Eminem and LeBron James that tells the story of how technology—like file sharing—changed music in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
If you have Paramount+ with Showtime, there's I.S.S. (June 3), a sci-fi thriller that premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. In the film, a crew of American and Russian astronauts aboard the International Space Station witness a nuclear war on Earth and receive orders to take over the station. Paramount+ with Showtime users can also watch livestreams of the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (June 7) and the 77th Annual Tony Awards (June 16), which will both be available to all subscribers the next day.
Here’s everything else coming to the service in June. Note that titles with an asterisk are exclusive to Paramount+ With Showtime; everything else is also available to subscribers on the ad-supported plan. Those with two asterisks are available to Paramount+ With Showtime users streaming live on CBS and to all subscribers the following day.
Paramount+ Originals and premieres coming in June 2024
Arriving June 2
Mayor of Kingstown, season three premiere
Arriving June 3
I.S.S., premiere*
Arriving June 4
Let the Canary Sing, premiere
Arriving June 6
Criminal Minds: Evolution, new season premiere
Arriving June 7
The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards®**
Transformers: EarthSpark, season two premiere
Arriving June 11
How Music Got Free, premiere
Arriving June 16
The 77th Annual Tony Awards® **
Arriving June 24
Out of Darkness, premiere*
TV shows coming to Paramount+ in June 2024
Arriving June 5
Peppa Pig: Peppa's Adventures Around the World
Arriving June 12
Jersey Shore Family Vacation (Season 6)
Arriving June 14
The Greatest @Home Videos (Season 4)
Arriving June 19
Nick Cannon Presents: Future Superstars (Season 1)
It has been a tumultuous run for Netflix's popular adaptation of The Witcher novels and games. A series of setbacks and controversies led to a long delay after the show lost its star, Henry Cavill. Now a brief season four teaser gives us our first look at Cavill's replacement in the role of Geralt of Rivia, Liam Hemsworth.
The video above reveals little about the direction for the season beyond establishing that, yes, Hemsworth is now Geralt, and here's what it looks like. He looks the part, though it's hard for some fans to imagine him matching Cavill's pitch-perfect presence and delivery for the character.
See, Cavill is famously a passionate gamer. He's talked at length about his deep fandom of Warhammer 40K, his experiences playing World of Warcraft, and yes, his experiences with 2015's immensely popular open-world RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. He even has appeared in a video building a gaming PC.
Netflix has an extensive documentary lineup in June, highlights of which include Black Barbie (June 19), a Shondaland film that tells the story of Beulah Mae Mitchell, Kitty Black Perkins, and Stacey McBride Irby—the three Black women at Mattel responsible for the debut of the first Black Barbie in the 1980s.
Viewers who liked the Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War may want to catch Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial (June 5), a docuseries examining the rise of the Nazis through the Nuremberg trials. There's also true-crime series How to Rob a Bank (June 5), which tells the story of Scott Scurlock, the man behind dozens of bank robberies in 1990s Seattle.
Sports docs releasing in June include season two of Tour de France: Unchained (June 11) and AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (June 20), directed by Emmy Award winner Greg Whiteley and the crew responsible for Cheer and Last Chance U. The series follows the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders through the 2023–24 season.
For comedy fans, there's Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution (June 18), a documentary exploring the history of LGBTQ+ comedians, including Lily Tomlin, Wanda Sykes, Suzy Eddie Izzard, Rosie O'Donnell, Scott Thompson, and Margaret Cho as well as new specials from Jo Koy (Live from Brooklyn, June 4) and Keith Robinson (Different Strokes, June 11).
At the end of the month, catch season two of The Mole (June 28), the competition show hosted by Ari Shapiro, and Owning Manhattan, a reality series that looks inside the luxury real estate market in New York City.
Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) Netflix in June, including part two of season 3 of Bridgerton (June 13).
A highlight of Hulu's June lineup is season three of FX's The Bear (June 27), the Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning chaotic comedy-drama starring Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as chefs and staff of the Chicago beef sandwich shop. The season sees the crew trying to elevate The Bear to the highest level of fine dining.
Hulu is also dropping several original documentaries in June, starting with BRATS (June 13), which dives into the culture of Brat Pack actors (including director Andrew McCarthy) and films (St. Elmo's Fire, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, to name a few) by bringing together members of the crew. There's also Breakin' on the One (June 24) about the 1981 Out-of-Doors Festival featuring the break dance battle between the Rocksteady Crew and the Dynamic Rockers, and Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge (June 25) about the life and career of the designer and her fashion empire.
In the same vein is the limited biographical series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld (June 7), which stars Daniel Brühl as the famous designer in his early years. The story is adapted from the Raphaëlle Bacqué book Kaiser Karl and also features Arnaud Valois as rival designer Yves Saint Laurent, Alex Lutz as businessman and backer Pierre Bergé, and Théodore Pellerin as companion Jacques de Bascher.
For true crime fans, there's the Hulu original docuseries Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini (June 20) about the 2016 disappearance and supposed abduction of a California woman and the case that followed.
Finally, June brings Pride Month content such as livestreams of the 2024 LA Pride Parade (June 9) and Pride Across America (June 30).
Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) Hulu in June, including comedy specials from the likes of Eddie Izzard, Mike Birbiglia, and Margaret Cho and library films ranging from the Anchorman duo to the full Saw series.
What’s coming to Hulu in June 2024
Arriving June 1
Ace of Cakes: Complete Season 9
Alaskan Bush People: Complete Seasons 5-7
The Amazing Race: Complete Seasons 18-21
Bahamas Life: Complete Season 4
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (Dubbed)
Caribbean Life: Complete Season 14
Chopped: Complete Seasons 51 and 54
Hawaii Life: Complete Season 1
House Hunters International: Complete Season 139
House Hunters: Complete Season 171
Island Life: Complete Season 17
Maine Cabin Masters: Complete Season 7
Survivor: Compelete Seasons 9-10, 26-27
Welcome to Plathville: Complete Seasons 2-3
About Last Night, 1986
Annapolis, 2006
Aquamarine, 2006
Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy, 2004
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, 2013
The Batman, 2022
Betsy's Wedding, 1990
Blades Of Glory, 2007
Blue City, 1986
Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation ..., 2006
The Boss, 2016
Boys Don't Cry, 1999
Brown Sugar, 2002
Click, 2006
Coyote Ugly, 2000
The Croods, 2013
The Day After Tomorrow, 2004
Death on the Nile, 2022
The Duke, 2020
Eight Millimeter, 1999
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, 2019
Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986
Fight Club, 1999
Freddy Got Fingered, 2001
Fresh Horses, 1988
The Girl Next Door, 2004
Hide and Seek, 2005
Hitchcock, 2012
Independence Day, 1996
It Follows, 2015
Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story, 2021
Joker, 2019
Kill Your Darlings, 2013
Life of Pi, 2012
Little Black Book, 2004
Lord of War, 2005
Mirrors, 2008
The Missing, 2003
Money Monster, 2016
The New Guy, 2002
Office Space, 1999
Over The Hedge, 2006
Prayers for Bobby, 2009
Saw, 2004
Saw 2, 2005
Saw 3, 2006
Saw 4, 2007
Saw 5, 2008
Saw 6, 2009
Saw: The Final Chapter, 2010
Skyscraper, 2018
Silent Hill, 2006
Slums Of Beverly Hills, 1998
Split, 2017
St. Elmo's Fire, 1985
Taps, 1981
Van Helsing, 2004
Volcano, 1997
The Vow, 2012
Weird Science, 1985
Wild Tales, 2015
Working Girl, 1988
Arriving June 3
World Eats: Bread: Complete Season 1
Bullet Train, 2022
Cameron Esposito: Marriage Material, 2023
Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill, 1999
Eddie Izzard: Wunderbar, 2022
Gina Yashere: Skinny Bitch, 2008
Jinkx Monsoon: Red Head Redemption, 2023
Monét X Change: Fist of Glory, 2023
Peppermint: So-Sigh-Ety Effects, 2023
Todd Glass: Talks About Stuff, 2012
Arriving June 4
FX's Clipped: Two-Episode Series Premiere
Erased: WWII Heroes of Color: Complete Docuseries
Name That Tune: Season 4 Premiere
The Real Red Tails: Special Premiere
Arriving June 5
An Audience With Kylie: Special
Arriving June 6
Jungle Bunch: Operation Meltdown, 2023
Perfect Days, 2023
Arriving June 7
Becoming Karl Lagerfeld: Complete Limited Series (Subbed & Dubbed)
Queenie: Complete Season 1
Beautiful Wedding, 2024
Step Up, 2006
Step Up 2 The Streets, 2008
Step Up 3D, 2010
What Comes Around, 2023
Arriving June 8
Love Island U.K.: Season 11 Premiere
Protecting Paradise: The Story of Niue
Candis Cayne's Secret Garden: Complete Season 1
OUT 100: 2021, 2022, 2023 Specials
Arriving June 9
2024 LA Pride Parade: Livestream
Arriving June 10
Restaurant Startup: Complete Series
Rich Kids of Beverly Hills: Complete Series
WAGS: Complete Series
WAGS Atlanta: Complete Series
WAGS Miami: Complete Series
Origin, 2024
Arriving June 11
Wreck: Complete Season 2
Arriving June 12
GO! GO! Loser Ranger!: Series Premiere (Dubbed)
iHeart Radio & P&G "Can't Cancel Pride" Special: Livestream
From Tomorrow: Complete Season 1
Arriving June 13
BRATS: Documentary Premiere
Pirates: Truth Behind Legends
Rose's War, 2023
To Kill a Stepfather, 2023
Trapped in the Farmhouse, 2023
Arriving June 14
Blood Free: Complete Season 1 (Dubbed)
Chewing Gum: Complete Series
Jeff Dunham: Unhinged In Hollywood, 2015
Joel McHale: Live from Pyongyang, 2019
Lavell Crawford: Home for the Holidays, 2017
Lavell Crawford: New LookSame Funny (Extended Edition), 2019
Margaret Cho - PsyCHO, 2015
Mike Birbiglia: What I Should Have Said Was Nothing, 2008
Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, 2013
Thee Lavell Crawford, 2023
Tom Segura: Completely Normal, 2014
Whitney Cummings: Money Shot, 2010
Arriving June 15
I Kissed a Boy: Complete Season 1
In the Fade, 2017
Arriving June 17
Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown: Complete Limited Series
Mission: Yozakura Family: Series Premiere (Dubbed)
Arriving June 18
Clotilda: The Return Home
Arriving June 19
Cesar Millan: Better Human, Better Dog: Complete Season 4
To Catch a Smuggler: Complete Season 7
Wicked Tuna: Complete Season 13
Arriving June 20
Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini: Complete Documentary Series
Arriving June 21
Shoresy: Complete Season 3
Marmalade, 2024
Arriving June 22
Prey, 2024
Arriving June 24
Breakin’ On The One: Documentary Film Premiere
The Invitation, 2022
Arriving June 25
Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge: Documentary Premiere
The biggest thing coming to Disney+ in June is, of course, a Star Wars show: Lucasfilm's The Acolyte will drop a two-episode premiere on Tuesday, June 4 at 6 p.m. PT, with additional episodes arriving weekly after that. The series stars Lee Jung-jae as a Jedi Master battling Amandla Stenberg's character Mae, a former Padawan learner turned dangerous warrior, while investigating a series of crimes. Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss also star.
Viewers also get ongoing weekly episodes of the latest Doctor Who installment, which premiered in mid-May and stars Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as his companion Ruby Sunday. New episodes drop every Friday through June 21.
Here’s everything coming to Disney+ in June 2024, including season one of Disney Jr.'s Ariel (June 28), an animated musical series for preschoolers starring 8-year-old Ariel.
Disney Plus series with new episodes weekly in June 2024
The Acolyte—Tuesdays starting June 4
Doctor Who—Fridays
Movies and complete series/seasons coming to Disney Plus in June 2024
Arriving June 1
For the First Time in Forever: The Making of World of Frozen
Arriving June 3
World Eats Bread (S1, 3 episodes)
Arriving June 4
Erased: WW2's Heroes of Color (S1, 4 episodes)
Arriving June 5
Disney Jr.’s Ariel: Mermaid Tales (Shorts) (S1, 10 episodes)
Arriving June 7
Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation
Arriving June 8
Protecting Paradise: The Story of Niue
Arriving June 9
Celebrating Donald Duck’s 90th Anniversary: Crazy Over Daisy, Out on a Limb, DIY Duck
Arriving June 12
Fiennes Return to the Wild (S1, 2 episodes)
SuperKitties (S2, 4 episodes)
Arriving June 18
Clotilda: The Return Home
Arriving June 19
Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog (S4, 11 episodes)
Meet Spidey and His Amazing Friends (Shorts) (S3, 5 episodes)
To Catch a Smuggler (S7, 8 episodes)
Wicked Tuna (S13, 12 episodes)
Arriving June 26
Beaches
Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal (S3, 7 episodes)
Tiny House Nation (S1, 8 episodes, special episode “Tiny Haunted Houses”)
Two voice actors say an A.I. company created clones of their voices without their permission. Now they’re suing. The company denies it did anything wrong.
Football joins pro wrestling and comedy specials in an expansion of the streaming service’s live offerings, a key step in the company’s overall live TV strategy.
In an ironic twist, cable TV and Internet provider Comcast has announced that it, too, will sell a bundle of video-streaming services for a discounted price. The announcement comes as Comcast has been rapidly losing cable TV subscribers to streaming services and seeks to bring the same type of bundling that originally drew people away from cable to streaming.
Starting on an unspecified date this month, the bundle, called Streamsaver, will offer Peacock, which Comcast owns, Apple TV+, and Netflix to people who subscribe to Comcast's cable TV and/or broadband. Comcast already offers Netflix or Apple TV+ as add-ons to its cable TV, but Streamsaver expands Comcast's streaming-related bundling efforts.
Comcast didn't say how much the streaming bundle would cost, but CEO Brian Roberts said that it will “come at a vastly reduced price to anything in the market today" when announcing the bundle on Tuesday at MoffettNathanson’s 2024 Media, Internet and Communications Conference in New York, per Variety. If we factor in Peacock's upcoming price hike, subscribing to Apple TV+, Netflix, and Peacock separately would cost $39.47 per month without ads, or $24.97/month with ads.
The 2000s, in some ways, feel, culturally, neither here nor there: They don’t have the strong neon vibe we associate with the 1980s, and lack the grunge appeal of the ‘90s. There’s plenty to appreciate, however, in movies over the decade that was bookended by blockbusters: Lord of the Rings in the early years, and Iron Man, Dark Knight, and Avatar at the end. None of those feel particularly cookie-cutter in the way that their successors would often be, and, in the middle years, there were many successful movies of the kind they don’t really make anymore: mid-budget movies with personal, rather than galactic, stakes, that still managed to do brisk business at the box office. It was a decade on the cusp of our mega-blockbuster era, and that tension between the indie-loving ‘90s and the present kept things interesting.
What are some of your favorites?
Ghost World (2001)
Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) face high school graduation, and a crush on Steve Buscemi, in Terry Zwigoff’s indie dark comedy.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Tubi, MGM+, The Roku Channel
Dreamgirls (2006)
The cast here is incredible: Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, and Beyoncé, just for starters. Even more incredible are the absolutely electric musical numbers, including, and especially, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.”
Where to stream: Paramount+
Almost Famous (2000)
Cameron Crowe’s ‘70s-era comedy/drama about a young music journalist going on the road with a major band is a funny, touching crowd pleaser that’s not afraid to veer off in some unexpected and idiosyncratic directions. Hold me closer, tiny dancer.
Where to stream: Paramount+
The Incredibles (2004)
This Pixar triumph hit before the superhero movie wave really crested, and is all the better for it. If only they were all this good.
Where to stream: Disney+
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Ang Lee’s cowboy drama has a big heart and a minimal understanding of the mechanics of gay male sex, while also deserving far better than its fate as an Oscar also-ran to the inferior Crash.
Where to stream: Starz
Love & Basketball (2000)
Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps play next-door neighbors who, over the course of several years, struggle with their growing attraction to each other, even while their basketball ambitions pull them apart. Off-the-charts chemistry here.
Only the real ones knew what to do with Jennifer’s Body in 2009, and the film took a long time to become the cult classic it was probably always destined to be. Here, popular teenager Jennifer (Megan Fox) is turned into a succubus by abusive men, gleefully killing boys around school to the general horror of her friend, Needy (Amanda Seyfried).
Given the movie’s impressive longevity, it’s tempting to call Mean Girls a cult classic—except that it made boatloads of money back in the day, as well. When Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) gets accepted into the cool clique at her public school, she quickly realizes that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
Where to stream: Paramount+, MGM+
Barbershop (2002)
Everything from sex, to relationships, to O.J. and civil rights is on the agenda in this comedy/drama, and the cast of lively and entertaining characters make it a fun place to spend time.
Where to stream: Max
American Splendor (2003)
Starring greats Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis as underground comic creators Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner, Splendor is a stylish portrait of a couple of everyday people who also happen to be great American artists.
Where to stream: Max
The Departed (2006)
Martin Scorsese’s remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs finds Leonardo DiCaprio going undercover in a crime organization, while Matt Damon infiltrates the police. It’s all very twisty-turny, and provides a last, great performance from Jack Nicholson (barring a surprise un-retirement).
Or you could watch the Hong Kong original from directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak—a smart, emotional crime thriller in its own right.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Casino Royale (2006)
Daniel Craig’s first Bond outing is one of the series’ very best, introducing a leaner, meaner 007 in the first formal adaptation of the very first Ian Fleming book.
There’s genuine heat here between Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader—but also a sense of humor that makes the passionate intensity of their relationship that much more titilating.
Where to stream: Tubi, Freevee, Plex
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Proving there’s still a place for traditional animation at Disney, the gorgeously animated film set in New Orleans of the 1920s introduced Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) to the pantheon of Disney princesses.
Where to stream: Disney+
Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
Two teenage boys set out on an impromptu road trip with the slightly older (and married) woman on whom they both have a crush. Alfonso Cuarón’s film is a sweet, funny, and sad coming-of-age movie.
Where to stream: IFC Unlimited via Apple TV
Brown Sugar (2002)
Brown Sugar finds Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan as friends, and sometimes rivals, in the music industry who very gradually come to recognize their mutual attraction.
Where to stream: Starz
Rec (2007)
This Spanish import is top-tier found footage, involving a group of firefighters on an emergency call who wind up trapped inside a building at the center of a creeping zombie infection. That limited, specific geography is key to the movie's brisk, efficient, and nerve-jangling effectiveness.
The filmmakers behind Shrek turned the Disney formula on its ear by blending some slightly crass, but very funny humor with a genuinely heartfelt story about self-acceptance. In the process, they won the inaugural Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and the movie picked up an Adapted Screenplay nomination—the first ever for an animated film. Not bad for a gassy ogre. Plus: The movie opens with a montage set to Smash Mouth, and it doesn't get more 2000s than that.
Where to stream: Netflix
Legally Blonde (2001)
Reese Witherspoon was charming and funny enough here as unlikely law student Elle Woods that it birthed a franchise that continues over two decades later. The fun here is that Elle only looks like a stereotypical dumb sorority girl...all she lacks is the confidence to show everyone how smart she is. Once you've seen the sequels, the reboot, the TV movie, the musical, and the reality show, c'mon back here to the still-superior original.
Where to stream: Max
How High (2001)
Pals Method Man and Redman get some help from their dead friend after smoking his ashes, acing their college entrance exams and winding up at Harvard. A goofy stoner classic.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
In plenty of other stoner-type comedies, Indian- and Korean-Americans are most likely to show up as secondary characters and broad stereotypes—here they’re in the lead. It doesn’t hurt that the movie is pretty damn funny.
A bona fide horror cult classic, Session 9 stars David Caruso as part of an asbestos abatement crew working at abandoned mental asylum. The location is appropriately creepy, but the movie is ultimately a psychological mind-bender, with the experiences of the work crew beginning to parallel those of former patients.
Bruce Campbell plays an aged Elvis Presley alongside Ossie Davis’ John F. Kennedy in a nursing home plagued by an ancient Egyptian mummy. For that offbeat premise, the movie can be surprisingly moving.
Where to stream: Tubi, MGM+
Eating Out (2004)
The kick-off to a series, this one’s a convoluted, Three’s Company-esque series of mix-ups involving gay guys pretending to be straight and straight guys pretending to be gay, with the right amount of dorky charm and nudity that this kind of movie needs to succeed.
Where to stream: Tubi, Here TV
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Sofia Coppolla's candy-colored historical drama is positively loaded with willful anachronisms—all of which serve to erase the distance between us and the story of France's clever, tragic queen (Kirsten Dunst).
Yeah, it's a monster movie—but, in Cloverfield, we got something unique. There are plenty of low-budget, scrappy found footage-style movies; this is a big budget spectacular, and a very effective one at that.
Where to stream: Max
Unbreakable (2000)
M. Night Shyamalan's take on superheroes was seen as a slightly disappointing follow-up to the director's breakthrough with The Sixth Sense. Time, though, has been kind to the distinct and deliberately paced story of a man (Bruce Willis) who discovers that he's nearly indestructible following a train crash. Samuel L. Jackson is fabulous as his extremely brittle counterpart.
Diablo Cody won an Academy Award for her screenwriting debut in this sweet and quirky story about a very independent-minded teenager dealing with an unplanned pregnancy and the various ways in which it complicates her life. Elliot Page stars, with Michael Cera, Allison Janney, and J. K. Simmons are among the pretty flawless cast.
Where to stream: Hulu
The Descent (2006)
Getting lost in those caves is scary enough, even before we discover that we're not alone down there. The ultimate in spelunking horror.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Gladiator (2000)
Ridley Scott's sword-and-sandals revival didn't spark a new flourishing of the genre, but it did make a ton of money and win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. And inspire a two-decades-later sequel.
Where to stream: Paramount+, Apple TV+, AMC+
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
The Clint Eastwood-directed boxing picture felt like a throwback, even in 2004, but a good old-fashioned boxing drama is always welcome, especially as they've become more rare. The movie won four Academy Awards, including for lead Hilary Swank.
This Barbershop spin-off follows widowed hairstylist Gina Norris starting over in Atlanta with her daughter, and opening her own shop when a job doesn't pan out. Queen Latifah is as delightful as ever, and is joined by a great cast including Alfre Woodard, Della Reese, Alicia Silverstone, Andie MacDowell, Kevin Bacon, and Djimon Hounsou.
Where to stream: Max
Pitch Black (2000)
The resulting franchise gets weird very quickly, but the first Riddick movie is a smart, and very effective sci-fi horror story. A prisoner transport goes down on a desolate planet full of creatures that feed after dark. And an eclipse is coming. Fortunately for the survivors, convict Vin Diesel also works better with the lights out.
Where to stream: Peacock
Ray (2004)
Jamie Foxx gives a memorable performance (and won an Oscar) in this biopic covering three-or-so decades in the life of legendary musician Ray Charles.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this memorable emo mind-bender about a troubled teenager who dodges disaster thanks to a bit of sleepwalking. An instant cult classic, it's the movie all the cool kids were talking about back in the day.
Where to stream: Tubi, Shudder, AMC+, The Roku Channel
Training Day (2001)
Director Antoine Fuqua and company crafted a tense, brutal crime drama that won Denzel Washington his single Best Actor Oscar. Is it his best performance? Probably not, but he's memorably over-the-top as thoroughly corrupt cop Alonzo Harris.
The sweetest, most charming movie about the romance between a man and his life-like love doll that you're likely to encounter.
Where to stream: Tubi, MGM+, The Roku Channel
Waitress (2007)
Before catching another performance of the popular musical adaptation, revisit the source material starring Keri Russell as a small-town diner waitress with a secret pregnancy and an obnoxious husband. An affair with town doctor Nathan Fillion might be just the thing.
Where to stream: Hulu, Starz
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
A fascinating cultural artifact, Napoleon Dynamite was a legit pop sensation for a year or two, and there wasn’t a soul on the planet who didn’t have a take on Jon Heder’s memorable line delivery. All that aside, it’s a cute, funny, and sometimes surprisingly astute take on high-school awkwardness.
Where to stream: Hulu
Spider-Man (2002)
In an era when superhero movies were mercifully fewer and far(ther) between, Sam Raimi’s inaugural Spider-film felt like a revelation: a fast-paced, enjoyably quirky story of a nerd who becomes a hero. Its 2004 sequel was even better.
Where to stream: Disney+, Fubo, FX Now
American Psycho (2000)
With an over-the-top satirical style, director and co-writer Mary Harron came to mock and bury misogyny, not to praise it. And yet still some audiences came away thinking that Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman was a cool guy.
Where to stream: Peacock
Super Troopers (2001)
A movie of patchwork scenes that somehow birthed not only a bevy of in-jokes but a couple of decades worth of sequels and side-quels (Super Troopers 2, Beerfest, Club Dread, The Slammin’ Salmon, etc.).
Where to stream: Starz
Cinderella Man (2005)
Teamed with Russell Crowe, director Ron Howard was at his crowd-pleasing best with this film inspired by real-life Cinderella Man, James J. Braddock.
Where to stream: Starz
Mulholland Drive (2001)
This love/hate letter to Hollywood has come to be (justly) regarded as one of director David Lynch’s best, and most oddly crowd-pleasing, works: an L.A. noir about murder and obsession and a blue box that’s very significant of, well, something or other.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
Lost in Translation (2003)
A declining American movie star in the midst of a midlife crisis and a young grad student facing a similarly uncertain future meet while staying at an upscale hotel in Tokyo. The movie that cemented director Sofia Coppola’s spot in the filmmaker pantheon.
Where to stream: Max
Drumline (2002)
A classic comedy-drama set in the high-stakes world of college marching bands, starring Nick Cannon as a guy with more talent than social skills.
Where to stream: Starz
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
A movie musical about a gender-queer punk rocker with a title referring to the results of a botched gender affirmation procedure, the movie has a huge heart and a score that genuinely rocks.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
The Great Debaters (2007)
Set in 1930 and directed by, and starring, Denzel Washington, this genuinely engaging drama brings inspirational-sports-movie tropes to the more unlikely theme of college debate societies.
Where to stream: Freevee
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
It’s not necessarily Spielberg’s best-loved film, but this sweet and poignant story of a robot boy (Haley Joel Osment) searching for a family at the end of the world is as heartbreaking as it is humane.
Where to stream: Paramount+, Prime Video
Whale Rider (2002)
Pai is a 12-year-old Māori girl and the direct descendant of their tribe’s traditional notable ancestor, the Whale Rider—except that, traditionally, women can’t lead. Star Keisha Castle-Hughes became the youngest nominee for a Best Actress Oscar for her open, genuine performance.
Where to stream: Starz
Josie and the Pussycats (2001)
Josie gained an audience over time because of its goofy charm, but also because it came to feel increasingly more relevant in its satirizing of the crass commercialization of mass entertainment.
High school is awkward as hell, and Superbad is another classic of the genre: a movie about two nerds (Michael Cera and Jonah Hill), each looking to have sex before graduation, but with a surprising amount of heart.
Where to stream: Fubo, USA
Star Trek (2009)
J.J. Abrams’ kinda-reboot brought a blockbuster budget to Trek, giving the then-sleeping franchise the kick in the pants it needed to fly into the 21st century.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Children of Men (2006)
Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian thriller is a truly great high-concept science fiction film, and offers up as depressingly prescient a vision of the near future as we’ve seen. Still: it’s beautiful, exciting, and often moving.
Where to stream: Starz
High Tension (2003)
A slasher movie that kicked the “New French Extremity” genre into high gear, this one doesn’t feel like a cliche. It’s brutal, tense, and uncompromising—even if it doesn’t always make perfect sense.
Where to stream: Tubi, Freevee, The Roku Channel
District 9 (2009)
With parallels to South African apartheid, writer/director Neill Blomkamp crafted the kind of smart, pointed sci-fi film that studios think audiences don’t care for—except that District 9 was a blockbuster, earning many times its budget at the box office.
Where to stream: AMC+
Spirited Away (2001)
After her parents are turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba, 10-year-old Chihiro takes a job working in her bathhouse with the hope of finding a way to free them. This might be my favorite Hayao Miyazaki movie, but I say that a lot.
Where to stream: Max
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)
Tyler Perry (who wrote and starred in this one, but didn’t direct) introduced the street-smart Madea, brought over from his stage plays featuring the character. The box office hit kicked off a franchise that’s still going strong.
People like to neg James Cameron’s film (right before buying tickets), but he’s the only director operating at this budget point who can make exactly the movie he wants. There’s something very cool about that, whether you love the finished product or not.
A science video maker in China couldn’t find a good explanation for why hot and cold water sound different, so he did his own research and published it.
The offering from Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery shows how rival companies are willing to work together to navigate an uncertain entertainment landscape.
For an hour each week for the past 11 months, Brenden Lake, right, a psychologist at New York University, with his wife Tammy Kwan, has been attaching a camera to their daughter Luna and recording things from her point of view.
For an hour each week for the past 11 months, Brenden Lake, right, a psychologist at New York University, with his wife Tammy Kwan, has been attaching a camera to their daughter Luna and recording things from her point of view.
The company’s revenue was 15 percent higher compared with last year, and it solidified its standing as the entertainment company’s dominant streaming service.
The $700 Ai Pin, funded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Microsoft, can be helpful — until it struggles with tasks like doing math and crafting sandwich recipes.
If you're looking for a new show to watch this week, streaming has you covered. Some of them are even worth your time!
This is a particularly great week for television shows. Netflix's Eric is the choice for you if you're in the mood for something dark, or you love Benedict Cumberbatch. If you'd rather a breezy comedy that crackles with youthful energy, check out the second season of We Are Lady Parts on Peacock. Or you could dive into a new season of Vatican-based horror on Evil, make Prime's Outlaws your new favorite show just because Christopher Walken is in it, or check out a new cult documentary with Netflix's Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult.
Eric
Benedict Cumberbatch stars in this thriller series created by BAFTA and Emmy Award-winner Abi Morgan. Cumberbatch plays Vincent, a puppeteer who created the wildly successful kids' show Good Day Sunshine. But when his nine-year-old son goes missing on the way to school, Vincent's world unravels and he descends into a personal nightmare of guilt, anger, obsession, and madness. According to Morgan, "Ericis a dark and crazy journey into the heart of 1980s New York—and the good, bad, and ugly world of Vincent." Sounds good to me.
Where to stream: Netflix
We Are Lady Parts, season 2
We Are Lady Parts is my favorite show on streaming, and I'm not the only person who loves it: season one is sitting on a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If you're not familiar, Lady Parts is a British comedy series about an all-female, all-Muslim punk rock band. How could you not love a show with this premise? Season two sees Lady Parts trying to record an album, dealing with local fame, and navigating the contrasts between their culture and their profession in charming, hilarious, awkward, and heart-warming ways.
Where to stream: Peacock
Evil, Season 4
Equal parts terrifying and thought-provoking, horror/thriller series Evil has been earning nearly universal critical and audience raves since its first season in 2019. The show follows a skeptical female forensic psychologist, a priest-in-training, and a blue-collar contractor as they explore the unexplained mysteries of the Catholic Church. This season, the trio will be confronting witches, possessions, robot dogs, and the anti-Christ itself—if it's even a real thing.
Where to stream: Paramount+
The Outlaws, season 3
Created by and starring Steven Merchant, co-creator of the U.K. version of The Office, The Outlaws serves up very British comedy with a side order of Christopher Walken. It follows a pack of minor scofflaws from different walks of life who come together to do community service for their crimes. Things get complicated when they discover a cache of hidden money and decide to keep it, angering the drug dealer it belongs to. Now is an excellent time to catch up on the first two seasons if you are unfamiliar.
Where to stream: Prime
Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult
At the time of this posting, Netflix hasn't released a ton of details about original documentary Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, but the Instagram post announcing it by co-creator Katie Paulson describes the doc as shining a light on "the exploitation that occurs in Hollywood" by nefarious people preying on "talented dancers and entertainers." There's also mentions of a lawsuit to shut the documentary down, and there are hints of a huge, tangled mess of internet drama too. As a super-fan of cult-related documentaries, I am compelled to watch this one.
Where to stream: Netflix
Last week's picks
The Kardashians, season 5
The members of the Kardashian-Jenner family continue documenting their glamorous, beige-tinted, opulent lives in the fifth season of The Kardashians. According to Hulu, the Kardashians will “punch it into overdrive” for season five, adding, “From the big screen to baby bliss, the family continues to defy expectations in all their endeavors.” That’s not a lot to go on, but a highlight of the season is likely to be the story of Kourtney Kardashian-Barker's first child with Travis Barker. It is reality TV, so you don’t know what will happen—maybe they’ll all be abducted by aliens or something.
Where to stream: Hulu
Trying, Season 4
Forget Ted Lasso; this gentle British family dramedy is Apple TV+'s real hidden gem. At the end of Trying's third season Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall) were granted full custody of their foster children Princess and Tyler. Season 4 flashes forward six years, and digs into the drama and comedy of raising teenagers. It's well-walked ground for a TV show, but Trying gets the details right, so its blend of wit and realism makes the familiar seem fresh. There's a reason it earned 93% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Where to stream: AppleTV+
Tires
I love Netflix's strategy of releasing smaller, more personal comedy series. Last month, it was Baby Reindeer. This month, it's Tires. Stand-up comic Shane Gillis stars in this six-episode comedy series about the crazy goings-on inside an auto repair shop in Valley Forge, PA. Gillis is also Tires' executive producer and co-creator, so this has the potential to be one of those idiosyncratic, sleeper-hit shows that streaming is made for.
Where to stream: Netflix
Stax: Soulsville USA
Stax was the greatest record label in music history, and Stax: Soulsville USA examines how it came to be. Through archival performances footage and interviews with musicians, producers and others that made up Stax, this four-part HBO original music documentary series explores the history and impact of the legendary Memphis record label that brought us Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, The Staple Singers, and many more iconic artists.
Looking to settle in with a good movie? Me too. That's why I've pored over the release schedules of major streaming services to bring you the best original and new-to-streaming movies you can watch right now.
This week's best new movie releases are heavy on documentaries. Jim Henson: Idea Man digs into the unique vision and legacy of the iconoclastic artist, MoviePass, MovieCrash explores the corporate skullduggery behind the once-popular MoviePass, and there's a new rock doc about The Beach Boys over on Disney+. On the non-doc side, there's a new special episode of South Park that takes on weight-loss drugs that's hilarious in that special South Park style.
Jim Henson: Idea Man
Ron Howard directed this Disney+ original documentary about Jim Henson, the creator of the muppets. Idea Man explores the work and legacy of this visionary artist, from his humble beginning in local kiddie TV to his complete re-imagining of the genre of children's television with Sesame Street, and on to mainstream success with The Muppet Show and the many movies his creations starred in.As of this posting, Jim Henson: Idea Man is sitting at a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, so you literally could not watch a better movie this week.
Where to stream: Disney+
South Park: the End of Obesity
South Park has been around for such a long time, I sometimes forget it exists, but then I catch an episode and remember that it's still hilarious, smart, and fearless, nearly 30 years into its journey. In this 50-minute episode, Cartman is prescribed Semaglutide for weight loss and hilarity/social satire ensue as the gang navigates the American healthcare system.
Where to stream: Paramount+
The Beach Boys
I love The Beach Boys. Their music is great, and the band's behind-the-scenes madness rivals the excesses of any rock band ever, despite their squeaky clean image. The Beach Boys documentary from Disney+ probably won't delve too deeply into their darker days—too many actual band members are in it—but the music is peerless, and the Boys' relationship with their nightmarish father/manager Murry Wilson is fair game for pop culture ghouls like me.
Where to stream: Disney+
MoviePass, Moviecrash
On paper, a documentary about a dead movie ticket subscription service might not sound interesting, but MoviePass's meteoric rise and plunge back to Earth is a fascinating study in bad business ideas, hubris, and corporate double-dealing, and the positive early reviews from Rotten Tomatoes are evidence that this documentary lays the facts out with style. MoviePass, Moviecrash is told by the men who started the company and later had to watch from the sidelines as new executives piloted the aircraft straight into the ground.
Where to stream: Max
Last week's picks
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Dune: Part Two is a massive, beautiful, triumph of world building, but director Denis Villeneuve doesn't ignore the details to focus on spectacle. The story picks up where Dune left off. Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), are the last survivors of the House Atreides and they find refuge with the Fremen, many of whom regard Paul as their prophesied messiah, destined to lead them to freedom. The evil Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), has more diabolical plans in mind. While Dune: Part Two is the kind of spectacle film best seen in theaters, watching it on streaming lets you pause and rewind to catch the details you might have missed on first viewing.
Where to stream: Max
Ferrari (2023)
In Ferrari, director Michael Mann tells the story of the man behind the iconic car. Enzo Ferrari, played by Adam Driver, is an former Formula 1 driver whose company, racing team, and marriage are all poised on the edge of financial disaster. In response, Ferrari puts everything he has behind the effort to win the Mille Miglia, a 1,000-mile race across Italy. Ferrari also stars Penèlope Cruz as Laura Ferrari, and race-car driving actor Patrick Dempsey as Piero Taruffi.
Where to stream: Hulu
Atlas
In Atlas, Jennifer Lopez beats up AI. She plays agent Atlas Shepard, a wisecracking badass who has devoted her life to hunting down rogue artificial intelligence Harlan. Trapped on a distant planet with her life in danger, Agent J-Lo is forced to rely on a computer program named Smith to survive. But in classic Odd Couple style, agent Shepard hates all AI, so it's not going to be an easy friendship. I didn't have "Jennifer Lopez plays a science fiction action hero battling super computers" on my bingo card, but now that I've heard about it, it makes a weird kind of sense.
Where to stream: Netflix
Queen of the Deuce
This Apple original documentary tells the "wait, what?" story of Chelly Wilson, a holocaust survivor who became a porn magnate in 1960s, '70s, and '80s New York. From her apartment above the Adonis Theatre on 42nd street, Wilson built an adult entertainment empire, first by producing films like Come Ride the Wild Pink Horse, then by buying up the notorious Times Square movie houses that screened them, all while doting over her beloved grandchildren.
Where to stream: AppleTV
Rachel Feinstein: Big Guy
The comedy will just absolutely not stop this month on Netflix, no matter how you might beg. Rachel Feinstein is a comedians' comedian who has won fans for her whip-smart observational comedy. She's the kind of always-on-it pro who gets laughs whether she's playing some dinky club on a Wednesday night or co-hosting The View. Don't miss her Netflix special.
Where to stream: Netflix
The Straight Story (1999)
Director David Lynch is known for his surreal, often confrontational cinematic excess in films like Mulholland Drive, but in The Straight Story, Lynch plays it, well, straight. The story is so simple it's practically a non-plot—an old man drives a lawn mower from Iowa to Wisconsin to visit his estranged brother who recently suffered a stroke—but it's told with such subtlety and gentleness that the end result is breathtaking. The Straight Story is part of a Criterion collection of films from 1999, and really all of them are brilliant: Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Ratcatcher, Go, The Virgin Suicides, Summer of Sam—I mean, comeon.
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