New Movies Streaming on Netflix, HBO Max, and Hulu for the Weekend of August 21

Weekend viewing options offer plenty of variety, whether heading out to see new theatrical releases like Insidious: Out of the Further or exploring other movies directly from home through digital rentals and streaming platforms. From major animated sequels to independent horror and tension-filled dramas, here are notable selections available to watch this weekend.

Toy Story 5

• Available on VOD
• Genre: Animation
• Run time: 1h 42m
• Director: Andrew Stanton
• Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Tony Hale, Greta Lee

Longtime Pixar filmmaker Andrew Stanton, who co-wrote the original film, directs and co-writes this entry alongside McKenna Harris. The story finds Woody, Buzz, and Jessie confronting the digital era when a tablet named Lilypad, voiced by Greta Lee, captures all of Bonnie’s attention and threatens the relevance of classic toys.

From the Polygon review:

Unlike the previous four movies that mostly put Woody at the center, Toy Story 5’s lead is Jessie, and the shift works very well. Besides Woody, Jessie is really the only other Toy Story character with the emotional complexity to carry a film. Right at the beginning, director Andrew Stanton makes the shift in focus clear with a flashback scene featuring Jessie with her first owner, Emily. The sequence is reminiscent of the emotional flashback scene in Toy Story 2 where Jessie is abandoned and even features a quiet instrumental version of “When Somebody Loved Me.” If anything, Toy Story 5 is pretty much a direct sequel to Toy Story 2, as it picks up on Jessie’s feelings of abandonment established in that movie and explores them even more deeply.

Mother Mary

• Available on HBO Max
• Genre: Drama
• Run time: 1h 51m
• Director: David Lowery
• Cast: Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel

Director David Lowery explores the fractured bond between a world-famous pop musician and her former fashion designer as they reunite for a high-profile comeback project while navigating their unresolved past.

From the Polygon review:

Mother Mary comes closer to the genre than anything Lowery’s done so far, trailer protestations notwithstanding. The set-up initially resembles the dynamics of a stage play, with estranged besties Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) and Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel) reuniting unexpectedly and chatting, mostly alone in a cavernous farmhouse on Sam’s property. The twist in their relationship is that Mary, as you might guess from her lofty moniker, is actually a globally famous pop star. Sam, a fashion designer, was her creative collaborator until Mary abruptly curtailed their partnership years ago. Now, Mary has turned up on Sam’s doorstep, desperate for a new dress to wear for her comeback concert.

Atlas King

• Available on VOD
• Genre: Thriller
• Run time: 1h 30m
• Director: Nika Agiashvili
• Cast: Michael Bisping, Sarah Wayne Callies, Cuba Gooding Jr

A former mixed martial arts competitor travels back to his hometown for his best friend’s funeral, only to get pulled into a dangerous heist targeting a local mobster alongside his godson.

Bury the Devil

• Available on VOD
• Genre: Horror
• Run time: 1h 26m
• Director: Adam O’Brien
• Cast: Dawn Ford, Emmanuelle Lussier Martinez, Bill Rowat

While attending to an elderly dementia patient inside an isolated residence, a hospice nurse begins suspecting that her client’s erratic actions stem from something far darker than medical decline.

The Christophers

• Available on Hulu
• Genre: Comedy
• Run time: 1h 40m
• Director: Steven Soderbergh
• Cast: Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, Jessica Gunning, James Corden

Steven Soderbergh directs this comedy about an aging, celebrated artist whose estranged children attempt to protect their financial future. In their bid to capitalize on his name, the children hire an art restorer and forger to sneak into his residence and finish an incomplete painting series titled The Christophers.

I Swear

• Available on Netflix
• Genre: Drama
• Run time: 2h
• Director: Kirk Jones
• Cast: Robert Aramayo, Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson

This biographical drama traces the life of Scottish advocate John Davidson, highlighting his experiences with Tourette syndrome and the circle of allies who helped him become a prominent community figure.

Passenger

• Available on Paramount plus
• Genre: Horror
• Run time: 1h 34m
• Director: André Øvredal
• Cast: Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo

A couple living on the road inside their van find themselves pursued by a shapeshifting entity after stumbling upon the scene of a brutal vehicle collision.

Rosebush Pruning

• Available on MUBI
• Genre: Thriller
• Run time: 1h 35m
• Director: Karim Ainouz
• Cast: Callum Turner, Elle Fanning, Pamela Anderson, Riley Keough

Household dynamics unravel inside a wealthy American family’s home in a Catalan village after one member insists that his partner move in with them.

Buffet Infinity

• Available on Shudder
• Genre: Horror
• Run time: 1h 40m
• Director: Simon Glassman
• Cast: Kevin Singh, Claire Theobald, Donovan Workun

Constructed entirely from 1990s television advertisements, news segments, and public service announcements, this horror feature charts the conflict between local shopkeepers when a massive buffet operation overtakes their small town.

The Fence

• Available on AMC plus
• Genre: Drama
• Run time: 1h 49m
• Director: Claire Denis
• Cast: Isaach De Bankole, Matt Dillon, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Tom Blyth

Claire Denis sets this drama across a single night at an isolated West African construction zone, where an American manager and an engineer face off against a man demanding the return of his late brother’s body following a fatal workplace accident.

Source: Polygon