What’s Streaming This Week (2/16 - 2/23)
Welcome to When To Stream’s Weekly Preview! Every week, we take a closer look at the major film streaming releases scheduled to launch in the next 7 days. As always, release dates are subject to change.
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Here are next week’s highlights:
Monday, February 17th, 2025
WATCHMEN: CHAPTER II - Max
Synopsis: Suspicious of the events ensnaring their former colleagues, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre are spurred out of retirement to investigate. As they grapple with personal ethics, inner demons and a society turned against them, they race the clock to uncover a deepening plot that might trigger global nuclear war.
What we like:
The second part of the animated adaptation of the DC Comics limited series Watchmen, co-created and illustrated by Dave Gibbons with co-creator and author Alan Moore, who chose to remain uncredited on these animated films.
The voice cast is stacked with talented actors: Matthew Rhys, Katee Sackhoff, Titus Welliver, Troy Baker, Adrienne Barbeau (!), Corey Burton, and Michael Cerveris.
Watchmen: Chapter 1 arrived on Max late last year, so it’s easier than ever to get into this animated saga.
What we don’t like:
We don’t love that Alan Moore wasn’t involved here. He’s such a likable character. His advice for young writers is fantastic:
Tuesday, February 18th, 2025
THE BRUTALIST - $19.99 Sale Only
Synopsis: Escaping post-war Europe, visionary architect László Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognizes his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost.
What we like:
Brady Corbet’s third feature as a director world premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival without distribution, but was snapped up by A24. It quickly became a critical and awards hit, eventually earning an impressive 10 Oscar nominations.
The film’s epic scale and impeccable craft are all the more impressive given its small budget. It reportedly cost a mere $9.6M.
The Brutalist is filled with terrific performances, but we’re particularly enamored with Guy Pearce’s turn as Harrison Lee Van Buren, the industrialist who becomes the problematic benefactor to the titular character (or is Van Buren the titular character? Hmm….).
What we don’t like:
The film has been dogged by some AI controversies, including using software to improve the authenticity of Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones's Hungarian dialogue, and the use of AI to conjure a series of architectural blueprints and finished buildings in the film's closing sequence. We’re not fans of AI, but this feels like a tempest in a teapot to us.
COMPANION - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental
Synopsis: During a weekend getaway at a secluded lakeside estate, a group of friends finds themselves entangled in a web of secrets, deception, and advanced technology. As tensions rise and loyalties are tested, they uncover unsettling truths about themselves and the world around them.
What we like:
Director Drew Hancock makes his feature debut, and Barbarian filmmaker Zach Cregger is a producer. Creggar was originally going to make this his Barbarian follow-up, but opted to make the upcoming Weapons instead.
The stellar cast includes Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Rupert Friend, and our favorite, Harvey Guillén, who’s absolutely fantastic on What We Do in the Shadows.
The film received generally positive reviews, and performed pretty well at the box office, earning nearly $30M worldwide so far on a $10M budget.
What we don’t like:
The film’s marketing materials (trailers, posters) give a bit too much away for our taste. This is a film that really can be enjoyed more when you know less about the plot. Try to avoid spoilers if you can.
DOG MAN - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental
Synopsis: When a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses the two of them together and Dog Man is born. Dog Man is sworn to protect and serve—and fetch, sit and roll over. As Dog Man embraces his new identity and strives to impress his Chief, he must stop the pretty evil plots of feline supervillain Petey the Cat.
What we like:
Both a spin-off and a story within a story of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017), this DreamWorks Animation hit is the second film in the Captain Underpants franchise.
Keeping in line with the source material, Dog Man does not speak, although voice actor Peter Hastings still provides his barks and expressions. Hastings also voices Officer Knight, a police officer whose body from the neck down is used to create Dog Man.
What we don’t like:
Our third week in a row with a ____ Man title. First it was Wolf Man, last week it was Better Man, this week we have Dog Man. Still to come in 2025: A Working Man, Superman, Roofman, and The Running Man.
THE LAST SHOWGIRL - $14.99 Sale Only
Synopsis: When the glittering Las Vegas revue she has headlined for decades announces it will soon close, a glamorous showgirl must reconcile with the decisions she’s made and the community she has built as she plans her next act.
What we like:
Pamela Anderson’s comeback vehicle got some nice awards buzz and decent arthouse box-office, grossing about $4.5M.
Writer Kate Gersten adapted the screenplay from her own unproduced play Body of Work (developed at Roundabout Theatre), which she had been inspired to write in conjunction with her visits to the Las Vegas show Jubilee! before it closed in 2016.
What we don’t like:
Nepo Baby Discourse alert! Director Gia Coppola is the granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola, the niece of Sofia Coppola, the cousin of Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman.
LOVE ME - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Synopsis: In a story that spans billions of years, a buoy and a satellite meet online long after humanity’s extinction. As they learn what life was like on Earth, they discover themselves and what it means to be alive and in love.
What we like:
Two of the most talented actors working in film, Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun, team up for a sci-fi romance in which they play a weather buoy (Stewart) and a satellite (Yeun).
The film received the 2024 Alfred P. Sloan Prize, bestowed annually by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to "an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character."
What we don’t like:
Unfortunately, the film received middling reviews, and earned only $350k at the domestic box-office. Still, it’s an unusual premise with appealing stars, we’ll definitely be checking it out.
MUFASA: THE LION KING - $29.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Synopsis: Mufasa, a cub lost and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny.
What we like:
We love Barry Jenkins. We hope Barry Jenkins made enough money here to give him complete financial freedom for the rest of his life. We can’t wait for the next Barry Jenkins movie.
Aaron Pierre is the voice of the titular lion, and he is a major star in the making. How do we know that? We know that because we’ve seen Rebel Ridge. We have not seen Mufasa: The Lion King.
What we don’t like:
This was never going to be our cup of tea. We don’t even have a particular fondness for the original 1994 The Lion King. But these ‘photo-realistic’ live-action talking (and singing) animal movies are our kryptonite. We just can’t.
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR - TBD Sale / TBD Rental
Synopsis: Ingrid and Martha were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. Ingrid went on to become an autofiction novelist while Martha became a war reporter, and they were separated by the circumstances of life. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.
What we like:
Pedro Almodóvar’s first full-length English language film unites two of our finest actresses, Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. It is an adaptation of Sigrid Nunez's novel "What Are You Going Through."
The film premiered at last year’s Venice International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Golden Lion, a first for a Spanish film. The film received ten nominations at the 39th Goya Awards (Spain’s Oscars), and won three: Best Adapted Screenplay (Almodóvar), Best Cinematography (Edu Grau), and Best Original Score (Alberto Iglesias).
What we don’t like:
In an interview for ELLE's 2024 Women in Hollywood issue, Swinton said The Room Next Door might be her last film. While she often mentions retirement and thankfully has yet to follow through, we’re still terrified every time we hear it. Please don’t stop, Tilda.
VALIANT ONE - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental
Synopsis: With tensions between North and South Korea, a US helicopter crashes on the North side. The survivors must work together to protect a civilian tech specialist and find their way out without the help of US military support.
What we like:
Two actors featured in popular Netflix originals get their shot at the big screen. Chase Stokes is best known for the teen drama series Outer Banks, and Lana Condor is the star of the streaming service’s popular To All the Boys film series.
While this looks like a pretty standard military action movie, we have to give them props for the setting. North Korea is rarely used as a location in these types of films.
What we don’t like:
We don’t expect the filmmakers to actually shoot on location in North Korea. That would be impractical for obvious reasons. But to hear the film was shot in Vancouver, Canada, just feels like mis-casting. Canada, more than ever, is a country that exudes anti-authoritarian vibes. You know what country feels more like North Korea these days? Canada’s neighbor to the South.
Wednesday, February 19th, 2025
THE CROW - Starz
Synopsis: Soulmates Eric and Shelly are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.
What we like:
It’s a double dose of Bill Skarsgård this week, with this launching on Starz and Nosferatu hitting Peacock.
We sure are glad co-star FKA Twigs got away from Shia LaBeouf.
What we don’t like:
Between this, Borderlands, The Killer’s Game, Never Let Go, Megalopolis, and White Bird, Lionsgate had one of the most disastrous runs at the box-office in a long time. Lucky for them, they only paid a reported $10M to distribute this film, with a bit more than that for P&A. Still, this was a rough one.
Friday, February 21st, 2025
ELEVATION - Max
Synopsis: A single father and two women venture from the safety of their homes to face monstrous creatures to save the life of a young boy.
What we like:
We’re big Anthony Mackie fans here, and it’s always nice to see him as the lead of a non-Marvel project. Let’s get him some middlebrow airport paperback movies to star in!
The film’s Colorado landscapes are a breath of fresh air here. Most post-apocalyptic action thrillers tend to take place in gutted cities or dusty deserts. A nice change of pace.
What we don’t like:
Reviews have been mixed for this one, so we’re going in with slightly lowered expectations. Still, we’re excited to check it out now that it’s hitting Max.
GRAND THEFT HAMLET - MUBI, TBD Sale Only
Synopsis: Two unemployed friends have a fresh idea: they want to stage Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' in Grand Theft Auto. But even in a virtual world, reality intrudes in a wild and trippy film shot entirely inside the ultra-violent video game.
What we like:
This British documentary was directed by Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls, who produced the film during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
The film premiered at the 2024 South by Southwest Film Festival, where it won the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature.
What we don’t like:
Memories and reminders of the COVID lockdowns are still tough to take. We salute artists who used that terrible time in history to make innovative art. This doc definitely fits that description.
MILLERS IN MARRIAGE - $14.99 Sale Only
Synopsis: Eve Miller, a former indie rock singer, struggles with her toxic marriage while growing attracted to a music journalist. Her sister Maggie, a bestselling author, faces marital discord as her career overshadows her husband's.
What we like:
Edward Burns entering his Nancy Meyers era, with rich people navigating champagne problems in beautiful settings. We’re not complaining.
The cast is stacked with talented actors we love: Minnie Driver, Julianna Margulies, Campbell Scott, Patrick Wilson, Benjamin Bratt. Edward Burns is also in it.
Burns married supermodel Christy Turlington in 2003, and they are still together. Honestly…that’s way more impressive than his filmography. Good for them.
What we don’t like:
The is Burns’s 14th film as a director. His films are fine, though we admit we lost interest a long time ago. But somebody must be watching his movies, right? He keeps getting money to make more. Can you name three Edward Burns films off the top of your head that aren’t The Brothers McMullen or She’s the One?
NOSFERATU - Peacock
Synopsis: A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
What we like:
Robert Eggers’s adaptation of the classic vampire tale has become a smash hit for Focus Features. It’s poised to become the studio’s highest grossing film of all time.
The talented cast absolutely crushes it here: Bill Skarsgård is a fantastic Count Orlok, Lily Rose Depp is a ferocious (almost feral) Ellen Hutter, and Nicholas Hoult is an appropriately cuck-ish Thomas Hutter. Plus it features our favorite ultra-deep-voiced actor Ralph Ineson!
The castle scenes were filmed in the Pernstejn Castle in the Czech Republic, the same location that was used for Werner Herzog's 1979 film Nosferatu the Vampyre.
What we don’t like:
Peacock is also releasing the ‘never-before-seen-in-theaters extended cut’, which was part of the film’s digital offering. This is not officially a ‘Director’s Cut’, and includes only a few extra minutes of run time.
THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT - Hulu
Synopsis: In order to escape the police after a robbery, two estranged siblings lay low in a metaphysical farmhouse that hides them away in a different time. There they reckon with a mysterious force that pushes their familial bonds to unnatural breaking points.
What we like:
The feature directorial debut of Michael Felker, whose inspirations for this trippy sci-fi thriller include Rian Johnson’s Looper and the Coen Brothers’ Blood Simple. Felker also wrote the screenplay.
Irish actress Sarah Bolger has a supporting role in the film. We’ll do our ‘Wanna feel old?’ here: Sarah Bolger played one of the young daughters in Jim Sheridan’s Oscar nominated 2003 film In America.
What we don’t like:
This well-reviewed indie got a day-and-date streaming release last fall and really got lost in the shuffle. Now that it’s hitting Hulu, we’re hopeful more people are able to check it out.
Happy Streaming Everyone!
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