It’s rare that more than a couple of movies ever make their way onto our weekly streaming roundups, which are often dominated by headline-grabbing TV shows backed by costly marketing campaigns. This week, though, three (yes, three!) feature-length projects have elbowed their way into our recommendations.
Among them is Kimi and I Want You Back on HBO Max and Prime Video, respectively; two movies that join the likes of Bel-Air, Inventing Anna and The Girl Before as new arrivals over the next few days.
But that’s not all there is to watch. Below, we’ve rounded up the seven biggest movies and TV shows available to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max and more this weekend.
- Check out the best Netflix shows to watch today
- Or read up on our top picks for the best Netflix movies, instead
- These are the best Amazon Prime shows to check out, too
Bel-Air (Peacock)
It’s safe to say that audiences weren’t thrilled to hear that NBC’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was getting the reboot treatment, and even its stars have since admitted that the backlash to the reinvention is “understandable.”
Still, Peacock’s aptly-titled Bel-Air isn’t a total waste of time. Based on Morgan Cooper’s 2019 parody film of the same name, this present-day take on the Will Smith-led 1990s sitcom (on which Cooper is a producer) sees Jabari Banks star as Smith himself – a confident West Philadelphian who is shipped off to Bel-Air to live with his wealthy relatives after a streetball game gone awry.
In our review, we described Bel-Air as a show with “a certain charm and emotional resonance” that “can’t escape the shadow of its predecessor,” but fans of the Fresh Prince may nonetheless find some nostalgic enjoyment here.
Available to stream from Sunday on Peacock (and via Sky in the UK on Monday, February 14).
Inventing Anna (Netflix)
Inventing Anna is the first Shonda Rhimes production to arrive on Netflix since the Bridgerton and Grey's Anatomy superproducer penned a multishow mega deal with the streamer.
Based on Jessica Pressler’s famous New York Magazine article, it tells the true story of serial fraudster Anna Sorokin, a young woman who, posing as Anna Delvey, conned New York’s elite into thinking she was a wealthy heiress. As part of the elaborate ruse, she successfully convinced the city’s upper crust to fund her extravagant lifestyle, before her true identity was revealed to the world.
Ozark’s Julia Garner stars as the titular crook in this nine-episode series, which will give fans of The Tinder Swindler documentary an immediate second dose of shocking criminality.
Now available to stream on Netflix
Kimi (HBO Max)
The latest movie from Ocean’s Eleven director Steven Soderbergh, Kimi stars Zoë Kravitz (who will also feature in The Batman) as an agoraphobic Seattle tech worker who uncovers evidence of a violent crime while reviewing a data stream.
For clarity, agoraphobia isn’t a chronic fear of spiders. Instead, it’s a type of social anxiety disorder that causes sufferers to fear and avoid places that might induce panic, embarrassment or distress (like large crowds and public transportation). It figures, then, that whistleblowing would be difficult for Kravitz’s character.
Scripted by Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp, Kimi plays on thriller tropes established by Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma, and critics have described the movie as a sleek and stylish crime caper that packs a biting contemporary relevance.
Now available to stream on HBO Max
The Girl Before (HBO Max)
In this four-episode thriller series, Loki star Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays a woman given the opportunity to live in a seemingly perfect house rent-free, as long as she agrees to abide by the strange rules set by its architect (David Oyelowo).
An adaptation of JP Delaney's novel of the same name, The Girl Before looks like it merges shades of Ex Machina, Panic Room and Black Mirror to chilling effect. Critics have said the show uses unconventional suspense to create a unique sense of tension, so we wouldn’t be surprised if viewers find it hard to resist bingeing all four of its hour-long entries in one go.
Those in the UK will find this one streaming on BBC iPlayer, while US audiences – and those in other newly covered territories – can access The Girl Before on HBO Max.
Now available to stream on HBO Max
Marry Me (Peacock)
It’s difficult to write a synopsis for Marry Me while resisting the temptation to take it to the cleaners. So we’re not going to resist.
Jennifer Lopez stars as a pop superstar (of course) who is humiliated by her cheating fiancé moments before getting married (on stage, for some reason). In response, she decides to betrothe herself to a random fan in the crowd (no, we don’t know why), who just so happens to be unsuspecting stranger Owen Wilson (that part, we might’ve guessed).
Perhaps it’s unfair to judge the movie without having seen it, but if the critical consensus surrounding Marry Me so far is anything to go by – “the corpse of Notting Hill reanimated” – viewers know exactly what to expect from this paper-thin rom-com.
Now available to stream on Peacock
Disenchantment season 4 (Netflix)
It’s been a good week for Matt Groening fans. Not only did news break that his beloved sci-fi sitcom, Futurama, is being brought back from the dead (a 20-episode eight season is coming to Hulu and Disney Plus in 2023), but season 4 of his latest animated comedy, Disenchantment, has also arrived on Netflix.
Continuing the adventures of Bean, Elfo and Luci in the medieval fantasy kingdom of Dreamland, new episodes find the gang rocked by the discovery of an underwater castle containing secrets that could threaten the realm.
Being exclusive to Netflix, Disenchantment has never garnered the same attention as The Simpsons and Futurama before it, but Groening’s fantasy satire nonetheless continues to improve with every new season.
Now available to stream on Netflix
I Want You Back (Prime Video)
Arriving on Prime Video just in time for Valentine’s Day, I Want You Back stars Charlie Day and Jenny Slate as two thirty-somethings who, after being dumped by their respective partners, team up to win over their exes.
Scott Eastwood and Gina Rodriguez also feature in this straight-to-streaming rom-com, which doesn’t sound like it’ll rock the genre boat too much.
That being said, critics have been surprisingly kind to I Want You Back – if “mostly entertaining” can be considered an endorsement for this sort of movie.
Now available to stream on Prime Video
