This week doesn't boast the strongest lineup for new movies, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some worth checking out across the top streaming services. Whether you’re into chilling horror or an explosive action thriller, there’s a bit of something for every taste.
The top new movie release is “The Actor” on Hulu, a moody, surreal psychological drama about a 1950s New York performer who loses his memory after an assault and tries to rebuild his identity in a small Ohio town.
Other notable picks include “The Ritual,” arriving on premium video-on-demand (PVOD) streaming platforms, and “A Working Man,” coming to MGM Plus, which sees Jason Statham trying to take down a dangerous criminal network.
If you’re after something new to watch over the next few days, you’re in the right spot. And don’t forget to check out our guide to the best TV news shows coming up this week, too.
‘Trainwreck: Poop Cruise’ (Netflix)
What was meant to be a luxurious four-day cruise from Galveston, Texas, to Cozumel, Mexico, quickly turned into a nightmare for the more than 4,000 passengers and crew aboard.
An engine room fire damaged critical electrical cables, leaving the ship powerless with no engines, no refrigeration, no lights, no air conditioning, and most disastrously, no working toilets.
As the days passed, untreated sewage began flooding the ship, food supplies started running low, and frustration boiled over into passenger unrest.
“Trainwreck: Poop Cruise” is the latest entry in Netflix’s “Trainwreck” documentary series. This episode revisits the infamous 2013 Carnival Triumph disaster, where passengers were stranded at sea without power or plumbing, leading to unsanitary conditions and earning the event its nickname.
Watch on Netflix from June 24
‘A Working Man’ (MGM Plus)
Following the surprising charm of last year’s “The Beekeeper,” Jason Statham teams up again with director David Ayer for “A Working Man.”
However, this new collaboration plays it much more straight, delivering a fairly conventional action thriller. That’s where it loses some points. Still, if you enjoy the familiar formula of Statham’s gritty heroes, this will hit the mark.
“A Working Man” follows Levon Cade, a hardworking construction foreman trying to move past his shadowy history as a decorated black ops operative. But when his employer’s daughter is abducted by a human trafficking ring, Levon returns to his old, lethal ways. His quest to save her drags him back into a brutal criminal world and places his own family in danger.
While critics were lukewarm on the movie, audiences responded far more positively, clearly enjoying the familiar thrills and Statham’s intense presence.
Watch on MGM Plus from June 26
‘The Ritual’ (PVOD)
“The Ritual” is probably one of the worst-reviewed movies of the year, currently holding a mere 6% on Rotten Tomatoes. I’m not surprised, given it stumbles for a few reasons, most notably its heavy reliance on familiar exorcism clichés that make the story feel predictable and somewhat flat. Even with big names like Al Pacino and Dan Stevens, the performances don’t quite land.
That said, user reviews suggest audiences found it more enjoyable than critics did. It’s not a movie you need to completely avoid, but don’t expect many scares, as it feels more like a dark thriller than a traditional horror flick.
“The Ritual” dramatizes the 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt (portrayed by Abigail Cowen), one of the most documented cases in U.S. history. Set in Earling, Iowa, the story follows two priests — Father Theophilus Riesinger (Pacino), a seasoned exorcist, and Father Joseph Steiger (Stevens), a younger priest grappling with his faith, as they perform a harrowing series of exorcisms to save Emma.
In the end, this movie will likely appeal to those interested in its topic, but for others, it may fall short on delivering scares or entertainment.
Buy or rent on Amazon from June 27
‘The Woman in the Yard’ (Peacock)
“The Woman in the Yard” is a movie I went into hoping for more than it delivered. But unfortunately, this Blumhouse effort doesn’t quite live up to that standard. While it does offer a few genuinely unsettling moments, it mostly hovers around the “average” rating.
If you love horror, you’ll probably still find something to like in this one, especially if you enjoyed both the film and book versions of “The Woman in Black.”
In “The Woman in the Yard,” Danielle Deadwyler stars as Ramona, a grieving and physically injured mother coping with the loss of her husband after a serious car crash. Living in a remote farmhouse with her two children, Ramona’s fragile hold on reality is tested when a mysterious woman clad in black suddenly appears on her front lawn.
At first dismissed as a stranger in distress, the figure soon becomes a relentless and sinister presence, creeping ever closer to Ramona’s home.
Watch on Peacock from June 27
‘The Actor’ (Hulu)
Duke Johnson proves himself to be a filmmaker with a distinct visual and creative sensibility, something that was already apparent in his collaboration with Charlie Kaufman on the Oscar-nominated “Anomalisa.”
With “The Actor,” Johnson steps out on his own for his first solo live-action feature, adapting Donald Westlake’s novel "Memory," which was written in the 1960s but only published decades later. That sense of temporal disorientation seeps into nearly every frame of the movie. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the source material, Johnson’s artistic touch is unmistakable.
“The Actor” centers on Paul Cole (André Holland), a New York actor who awakens with no memory in a small 1950s Midwestern town after a violent assault. Struggling to piece together his identity, he takes up work at a tannery and begins a tentative romance with local costume designer Edna (Gemma Chan) as fragments of his past gradually resurface.
This psychological drama plays out like a haunting, noir-tinged identity mystery where no face or place feels quite real, and even Paul’s own recollections are filtered through a dreamlike, stage-like aesthetic.
Watch on Hulu from June 30
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