Another weekend is here, and with it comes tons of new options for what to watch across the best streaming services. I'm here every weekend shouting out which new movies on streaming are worth adding to your queue. This week, Jessica Chaplain is coming for our watchlist with two marquee films: Netflix's latest neo-noir mystery "Heartland" and the unsettling and campy "Other Mommy" on paid video-on-demand platforms.
For an easy crowd-pleaser for family movie night, look no further than "The End of Oak Street" on HBO Max, one of Anne Hathaway's many stellar performances this year. Over on Apple TV Plus, you'll find an irreverent and inspirational drama about speaking truth to power in "Being Heumann." Or if you'd rather keep the spirit of spooky season alive a little longer (who could blame you), Netflix just got the psychological horror movie "Smile" that'll really mess with your head.
So without further ado, let's dive into the best new movies to watch this weekend.
'The End of Oak Street' (HBO Max)
If you liked: "Super 8," "Jumanji," "The Mist,"
From David Robert Mitchell, the writer-director behind cult horror hit and one of my favorite movies "It Follows," comes a swing for the fences with this chaotic dinosaur adventure that doesn't take itself too seriously. Set in a quiet 1982 suburb, "The End of Oak Street" follows the Platt family, led by Denise (Anne Hathaway) and Greg (Ewan McGregor).
They're propelled by the narrative into a "Jurassic Park" style nightmare when their entire neighborhood gets warped into a prehistoric world. Now stranded and surrounded by apex predators, the family and their neighbors must put aside their differences and work together if they hope to survive. For a fun 99-minute shot in the arm of nostalgia this weekend, you could do far worse than this Spielbergian fever dream.
Watch "The End of Oak Street" on HBO Max now
'Heartland' (Netflix)
If you liked: "Chinatown," any of Taylor Sheridan's shows
Jessica Chastain continues her streak as one of Hollywood's most bankable actors in Netflix's "Heartland," playing a former country star turned detective searching for her niece. A neo-noir mystery from writer-director Shana Feste ("Country Strong," "The Greatest"), "Heartland" sees the reclusive singer Misty Jones (Chastain) whisked back to Nashville to explore its darker corners while confronting her own troubled past.
The ever-prickly Misty speedruns one girl failure after another, all spit and vinegar as the slow drip of clues takes her to an old ex (Ross Lynch) and a seedy manager in Roy Combs (Garrett Hedlund). With an Oscar-winner in the lead role is a huge draw, and its promising 82% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes and #1 spot in the Netflix Top 10, "Heartland" has all the makings of this weekend's biggest hit.
Watch "Heartland" on Netflix now
'Other Mommy' (PVOD)
If you liked: "Coraline," "Host," "The Babadook"
If one Jessica Chastain movie wasn't enough for you, by do I have news for you. Her unnerving supernatural horror flick "The Other Mommy" is available to rent or purchase this weekend. If it were me, I'd wait until it comes to Peacock (likely around February), but this one was a lot of fun when I saw it in theaters. Director Rob Savage ("Host") leans into his horror roots with plenty of jump scares, grotesque transformations and scenes that will haunt your nightmares.
Chastain also looks like she's having a blast pulling double duty as both the loving, picture-perfect mom and her demonic lookalike. Seven-year-old Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark) has an imaginary friend that's anything but harmless. A sinister shape-shifter known as Other Mommy emerges from her closet, taking on the appearance of Bela's mother (Chastain) and pleading to be let into her heart. As the creature's threats become increasingly terrifying, Bela's parents (Jay Duplass and Chastain) do everything they can to keep their daughter safe.
Buy or rent "The Other Mommy" on Amazon or Apple
‘Being Heumann’ (Apple TV)
If you liked: "Then Barbara Met Alan," "Music Within," "Coda"
"Being Heumann" is one of those movies that restores your faith in humanity for a while yet. "CODA" director Siân Heder brings this remarkable true story to the screen about a group of people who, when there was no seat for them at the table, forged their own. In 1977, disability rights activist Judy Heumann (Ruth Madeley) leads a coalition of frustrated protesters in a 28-day occupation of a San Francisco federal building.
Their demand? That the government finally enforce their civil rights under Section 504. Mark Ruffalo plays the bureaucrat standing in their way, with Dylan O'Brien as a reporter on the ground while history is made. It'd take a heart of stone not to be moved by Madeley's fiery performance here; Heumann ain't exactly winning any popularity contests, but she surges with the kind of infectious spirit needed to bring about meaningful change.
Watch "Being Heumann" on Apple TV now
'Smile' (Netflix)
If you liked: "Oculus," "The Ritual," "Black Phone" (also all on Netflix)
Spooky season may be over, but Netflix has a particularly stellar crop of horror movies right now, including one of my favorites that got added this month: "Smile." It's a thoroughly unnerving ride that leverages horror movie tropes to screw with your head and land some solid scares.
Sosie Bacon stars as Rose, a therapist at a psychiatric ward in New Jersey who, in the movie's opening moments, witness a new patient kill herself with an eerie smile on her face. That kicks off a curse that stalks her relentlessly, one smiling stranger at a time. With all her friends and family writing her off as a mental breakdown in progress, she'll have to carve her way out of this nightmare on her own.
Watch "Smile" on Netflix now
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