The weekend is finally here, and the question of what to watch is as significant as ever. But with so many great titles coming and going from the best streaming services, narrowing down what is worth adding to your watchlist is a tall order.
That's why we've combed through the latest releases to highlight the best new movies that just landed on streaming. Leading the pack this week is Disney's latest animated musical, "Moana 2," on Disney Plus.
Any '80s music fans out there will want to catch a new documentary that was almost lost to time on Paramount Plus: "Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party." Meanwhile, Max just debuted "The Parenting," a new horror comedy that's part "Father of the Bride" and part "Poltergeist." And you can catch the Oscar-winning biographical drama "I'm Still Here" on paid video-on-demand platforms — just be sure to keep some tissues handy.
Finally, while it's undeniably the oddball out, "The Electric State" on Netflix is a big-budget sci-fi trainwreck that could be fun for a laugh this weekend. Who doesn't love a good bad movie now and again?
So without further ado, let's dive into the best new movies on streaming. For even more recommendations on what to watch, check out the top new TV shows that premiered on streaming this week.
'Moana 2' (Disney Plus)
One of Disney's biggest hits last year is finally coming to streaming, and all signs point to it dominating the charts for the foreseeable future. Set three years after the original, "Moana 2" sees Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reprise their roles in a new sea-faring adventure.
After breaking one ancient god's curse in the first movie, Moana (Cravalho) faces yet another. The storm god Nalo has doomed the peoples of the ocean to an eternity of isolation. It's up to Moana to assemble a crew of unlikely seafarers, rescue the shapeshifting demigod Maui (Johnson) from Nalo's clutches, and set out to long-lost waters to uncover a legendary island that holds the key to saving her people.
While it doesn't quite stack up to the first, "Moana 2" has enough earworms, gorgeous animation, and charming characters to keep you hooked.
Watch it now on Disney Plus
'The Parenting' (Max)
Haunted houses are scary, but getting stuck in one while visiting your parents? Now that's terrifying.
That's the premise behind Max's offbeat new horror comedy "The Parenting," a cross between "The Exorcist" and "Meet the Parents." Nik Dodani and Brandon Flynn star as a couple ready to take the next step in their budding relationship – introducing each other to their respective parents.
They rent the perfect country cottage to get everyone together, only to discover a 400-year-old poltergeist stalks its halls, and all hell breaks loose when the specter possesses one of the parents. "The Parenting" sounds like a fun mix of horror and humor, and the stacked cast, including Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris and Brian Cox, has me sold.
Watch it on Max now
'The Electric State' (Netflix)
Netflix's latest sci-fi adventure "The Electric State" has already been raked over the coals, an eye-wateringly expensive flop that at one point held a 0% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes (it's since climbed to a slightly less abysmal 18%) despite its $320 million budget. But you could throw it on for some popcorn fodder to laugh at this weekend.
Set in an alternate timeline where Disneyworld-esque animatronics entered mass production, the robots eventually rose up in a rebellion that ravaged the world. Humanity defeated them using new technology that put human consciousness into machines, exiling the robots to a 200,000 square mile, open-air prison known as "The Electric State."
Enter Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown), a teenage orphan who thought her brother died in the war against the machines but is now convinced he's somewhere among the bots. She teams up with a Han Solo-type (Chris Pratt) and his trash-talking robot sidekick (voiced by Anthony Mackie) to set out to find him.
Watch it now on Netflix
'Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party' (Paramount Plus)
"Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party" is a documentary that was almost lost to time.
It was originally shot in 1982-83 around when Petty and his band the Heartbreakers had just started touring again after their album Long After Dark, but the 16mm reel containing the footage was lost for decades. And now you can finally stream it from the comfort of your own couch.
The directorial debut of Academy Award winner Cameron Crowe, "Heartbreakers Beach Party" gained cult classic status after it was abruptly pulled from the air following its 1983 premiere on MTV. Deemed too experimental, it blends a collage of archive clips, interview snippets, and candid behind-the-scenes recordings to chronicle the rise of one of America's greatest rock and roll bands.
Even if you're not a Petty or Heartbreakers fan, this documentary is a time capsule of the early '80s, offering plenty of nostalgia for the early days of punk rock.
Watch it now on Paramount Plus
'I'm Still Here' (PVOD)
This year's Oscar winner for Best International Film "I'm Still Here" made its digital streaming debut this week, and I promise you it's not one to miss.
Fernanda Torres delivers a masterful lead performance, which earned her a well-deserved Oscar nod and Golden Globe win, in this biographical drama that transforms a miserable chapter in Brazil's history into a resoundingly heartfelt message about family and surviving despite impossible odds.
Directed by Walter Salles, "I'm Still Here" is set during the turbulent 1970s after a military dictatorship seized Brazil in a coup. When government agents abduct her dissident husband (Selton Mello) in broad daylight, Eunice Paiva (Torres), a mother of five, sets out on a lonely battle to obtain answers about his fate. All while shielding her children from cruelty and ugliness they're too young to understand.
Buy or rent on Apple TV or Google Play
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