On Netflix, Hulu and Disney+
The weekend is here. Do you need a break from all the TV you’re watching during the week? Are you looking for a Saturday night movie? Regardless of what streaming service you subscribe to, we’re here to help. We’ve gone through Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ to find the best movies and TV shows on each service. |
Here’s one of the 50 best movies on Netflix |
 | | From left, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Norm Lewis, Clarke Peters, Delroy Lindo and Jonathan Majors in “Da 5 Bloods.”David Lee/Netflix |
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Spike Lee’s latest is a genre-hopping combination of war movie, protest film, political thriller, character drama and graduate-level history course in which four African-American Vietnam vets go back to the jungle to dig up the remains of a fallen compatriot – and, while they’re at it, a forgotten cache of stolen war gold. In other hands, it could’ve been a conventional back-to-’Nam picture or “Rambo”-style action/adventure (and those elements, to be clear, are thrilling). But Lee goes deeper, packing the film with historical references and subtext, explicitly drawing lines from the civil rights struggle of the period to the protests of our moment. A.O. Scott called it a “long, anguished, funny, violent excursion into a hidden chamber of the nation’s heart of darkness.” |
Here is one of the best TV shows on Netflix. |
 | | Malia Baker, left, and Momona Tamada in “The Baby-Sitters Club.”Kailey Schwerman/Netflix |
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Too often, when a new creative team revives an old favorite from pop culture’s past, it tries to update the material by making it more edgy. That’s not the case with the latest TV adaptation of Ann M. Martin’s “The Baby-Sitters Club” book series, which retains the easygoing charm and engaging plotting of the novels. The show’s creator, Rachel Shukert, doesn’t shy away from the unique modern pressures on teenage girls and the younger kids they look after; but the episodic stories here are bright and breezy, first and foremost. Our critic called the show “sweet but not cloying, smart but not cynical, full-hearted and funny enough to please both grown readers of the original books and the young target audience of the new series.” |
Have a Hulu subscription? It’s a lot to wade through. We can help! |
 | | Cho Yeo Jeong in “Parasite.”Neon |
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The South Korean director Bong Joon Ho, who previously smuggled trenchant class commentary into genre movies like “The Host” and “Snowpiercer,” takes a more direct route with this story of a household of grifters who smooth-talk their way into the home of a clueless upper-class family. What begins as a clever con comedy turns into something much darker (and bloodier), a “brilliant and deeply unsettling ”examination of privilege and power, orchestrated by a filmmaker working at the top of his craft; the results were thrilling enough to win not only the Palme d’Or at Cannes, but the first best picture Oscar for a film not in English. |
Amazon Prime Video doesn’t make it easy to find stuff. Luckily, we have done the work for you. |
 | | Gugu Mbatha-Raw in “Fast Color.”Jacob Yakob/Codeblack Films |
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Most superhero movies clobber the viewer with special effects, smirking quips, and strained world-building; Julia Hart’s indie drama is barely a superhero movie at all, but a rich, tender character study of three women who just so happen to move objects with their minds. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is remarkable as Ruth, who has smothered her “abilities” in addiction and irresponsibility, returning home to join her mother (Lorraine Toussaint) and daughter (Saniyya Sidney) in an attempt to, well, save the world. Hart’s rich screenplay (written with Jordan Horowitz) vibrates with small-town authenticity and hard-earned emotion; our critic called it “a small, intimate story that hints at much bigger things.” |
Disney+ is full of the obvious classic movies. But there are a lot of newer ones as well. |
 | | Robert Downey Jr. in “Iron Man.”Zade Rosenthal/Paramount Pictures |
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The Big Bang event that started the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Iron Man” established the template for more than 20 superhero movies and counting. But it owes much of its success to Robert Downey Jr.’s performance as Tony Stark, an arrogant military contractor who turns himself into the most advanced weapon in creation. While later Marvel movies were burdened by mythological baggage, “Iron Man” still feels as sleek and fleet as the superhero himself. A.O. Scott called it “an unusually good superhero picture.” |
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