Summer streaming options continue to grow with the biggest new movies to watch online this week. We've got nine big films from a super-hyped comic book movie to a sports biopic, with some very interesting other films that you might not have noticed coming in from the edges. And those include a highly-important documentary and a drama that critics praise as one of the best of the year.
In the "fresh from the theater" category, we've got two movies that will hopefully do better with home audiences. The first is DC's The Flash, which was praised by some critics but failed to find success. Then, we've got a new family-friendly animated adventure that could have spawned a new series.
Over on Netflix, the big red streaming machine's play to still be one of the best streaming services is buoyed by two very different movies. The recuperating Jamie Foxx stars in a sci-fi Blaxploitation movie, while a deep-sea diving documentary looks just as thrilling.
Apple TV Plus joins the sports documentary trend with its Steph Curry movie, and those who love to get meta, we've also got a new documentary about the shark horror genre that looks like a must-watch.
The Flash (Digital)
Andy Muschietti's The Flash felt like one of those movies that was never going to come out. First there were all of the delays. Then there was star Ezra Miller's repeated run-ins with the law.
Eventually, DC started screening the film, following new DCU head honcho James Gunn's raves about its superb quality. And then, as you may have heard, it tanked at the box office. Worse than Black Adam. Yet, there's some chance that The Flash will do well at home (if not now, then on Max once it arrives there in the coming weeks and months).
As for the movie itself? Well, Barry Allen (Miller) aka The Flash is so dead-set on saving his mother from dying and his father from going to jail that he winds up shaking our world up into a failed state ripe for General Zod (Michael Shannon) to ruin things. The only hero that can help Barry is Batman (Michael Keaton). Oh, and that other Batman (Ben Affleck) is around too. As is Supergirl (Sasha Calle), as well as a second Flash (Miller, again).
Buy digitally on Amazon and other services right now (released Tuesday, July 18)
They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix)
Jamie Foxx, who's recently been absent while recovering from medical complications, stars alongside Teyonah Parris (Ms. Marvel) and John Boyega (Attack the Block) in this trippy flick. The trio manage to find themselves inside a massive government conspiracy that includes Boyega's character being cloned.
It's all (apparently) about a series of tricks put upon the Black community. Someone's been putting the wrong substances inside of a bunch of stereotypical favorite foods. Kiefer Sutherland and David Alan Grier co-star.
Watch on Netflix starting Friday (July 21)
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (Digital)
Ruby (Lana Condor of the To All The Boys films) is experiencing a fairly standard amount of high school drama. She wants to fit in, she has a crush on the skater guy she's tutoring and she feels invisible. Well, the good news is that there's a solution for that last part.
It turns out she's the latest in a long lineage of kraken warriors who grow to enormous size. Now, we're guessing understanding her powers will be key to figuring out how to live a life she can enjoy. Voice cast includes Annie Murphy, Jane Fonda and Will Forte.
Buy or rent digitally on Amazon and others right now (released Tuesday, July 18)
The Deepest Breath (Netflix)
Free-diving may have simple rules — win by going deeper than anyone else — but its champions are much more complicated. The Deepest Breath examines one such story, the career of of Italian diver Alessia Zecchini
Starting out in the sport as a child prodigy, pursuing goals at age 13, Alessia began to push herself too far for the sake of success. One reason why we're especially curious about this film is that it's an A24 production, and the studio's output is often in a class of its own.
Watch on Netflix right now (released Wednesday, July 19)
Tori and Lokita (Criterion Channel, Digital)
An under-the-radar gem, Tori and Lokita comes from Belgian directors Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne — who turn their cameras to the lives of those lost in the edges of society. Tori (Pablo Schils) and Lokita (Joely Mbundu) have escaped to Belgium from West Africa, and found that bureaucracy doesn't have room for them.
Critics praise Tori and Lokita for making a naturally thrilling drama that provides social commentary through strong performances.
Watch on Criterion Channel and buy or rent digitally on Amazon and other digital retailers right now (released Tuesday, July 18)
Every Body (Digital)
Every Body, the latest movie from director Julie Cohen (RGB) might be how many discover the term 'intersex,' the label given to those who are born with bodies that don't easily fit into male or female bodies. Sometimes, doctors try and change these bodies, even though it's not medically necessary.
To enlighten those uneducated on the matter, Every Body focuses on three intersex persons — actor/ screenwriter River Gallo (they/them), political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel (she/they) and Ph.D. student Sean Saifa Wall (he/him) — who have led the conversation on what they've gone through.
Buy or rent digitally on Amazon and others right now (released Tuesday, July 18)
Stephen Curry: Underrated (Apple TV Plus)
The unassuming Stephen Curry showed up in the NBA and faced a ton of jokes. He didn't have LeBron James' frame. He didn't have the charisma of his other contemporaries. But then he started to break out thanks to his sharp-shooting skills, taking the Western Conference Rookie of the Month title three times (a first for any rookie), all while he kept scoring. Then, the championships happened.
But what of the man behind the threes? Apple TV Plus' documentary gives fans an intimate view of the once 'underrated' star, tracking his career from his earliest years on the court to today.
Watch on Apple TV Plus starting Friday (July 21)
De Humani Corporis Fabrica (Digital)
Having previously explored the depths of the North American fishing industry in Leviathan, ambitious directors Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel turn their cameras to an equally complex region: the human body. The film delivers footage from inside the human body unlike anything we've ever seen.
Critics say De Humani Corporis Fabrica is immersive, profound and utterly gross. Expect to see everything from cancerous tissue to spinal operations.
Buy digitally on Amazon and other retailers right now (released Tuesday, July 18)
Sharksploitation (AMC Plus, Shudder)
This Shudder Original from director/producer Stephen Scarlata (Jodorowsky's Dune) looks at the history of sharks on screen, and the public's obsession that began with films such as Jaws and Roger Corman's She Gods of Shark Reef.
It features interviews with Corman, Jaws films writer Carl Gottlieb and Jaws: The Revenge cast member Mario Van Peebles, Piranha director Joe Dante and conservation advocate Wendy Benchley.
Watch on Shudder (via Amazon Prime Channels) and AMC Plus starting Friday (July 21)
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