This week on streaming brings action and adventure across time and space. For the first time, you can rent the Best Animated Feature Oscar nominee Arco, a time-travel story from French illustrator Ugo Bienvenu, which moves between a dark vision of 2075 and an idyllic 29th century. On Hulu, In the Blink of an Eye explores human nature Cloud Atlas style, jumping between story threads about a Neanderthal family, a present-day romance, and a future space mission where Kate McKinnon tries to launch a new home for humanity on a distant planet.
The Bluff, a hybrid between John Wick and a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, has sailed onto Prime Video. Pyramid Head haunts a twisted, deserted town in Return to Silent Hill, Christophe Gans’ adaptation of Silent Hill 2, which arrives on VOD.
Here’s a rundown of the most notable new releases on streaming and VOD, including the biggest, best, and most popular new movies you can watch at home right now.
New on Hulu
In the Blink of an Eye
- Genre: Science fiction
- Run time: 1h 34m
- Director: Andrew Stanton
- Cast: Rashida Jones, Kate McKinnon, Daveed Diggs
An ambitious drama from WALL-E and Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton, In the Blink of an Eye covers all of human history in less than two hours. The story connects the experiences of Claire (Rashida Jones), an anthropology professor studying Neanderthals, with the lives of a prehistoric family, and a space mission to a new home for humanity.
New on Prime Video
The Bluff
- Genre: Action thriller
- Run time: 1h 41m
- Director: Frank E. Flowers
- Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Karl Urban, Ismael Cruz Córdova
The ruthless pirate Ercell Bodden (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) has settled down and started a family in the late 19th-century Caribbean. But when pirate captain (Karl Urban) brings his search for stolen gold to her doorstep, Ercell has to unleash a John Wick level of violence to fight for her loved ones, in this film that feels like a lost Pirates of the Caribbean spin-off.
From our review:
What’s missing is a greater sense of purpose, whether that would be high-flying adventure or a stronger sense of elegiac loneliness in the lives of post-peak pirates. Instead, the filmmakers can’t resist turning Ercell into a highly contemporary (and very actor-flattering) noble badass, one who can dispatch plenty of bad guys with quick-thinking agility, and gets righteously feral whenever her family is threatened.
New on Shudder
Crazy Old Lady
- Genre: Psychological horror
- Run time: 1h 34m
- Director: Martín Mauregui
- Cast: Carmen Maura, Daniel Hendler, Agustina Liendo
Pedro (Daniel Hendler) tries to help his ex-girlfriend take care of her mother, Alicia (Carmen Maura), who is living with dementia. But Alicia refuses to take her medication, knocks Pedro out, chains him to a chair, and starts torturing him in a claustrophobic “hagsploitation” film about abuse and generational violence.
New to rent
Arco
- Genre: Science fantasy
- Run time: 1h 29m
- Director: Ugo Bienvenu
- Cast: Juliano Krue Valdi, Mark Ruffalo, Romy Fay
Arco (Juliano Krue Valdi), a 10-year-old from a peaceful distant future, steals a time-travel device and accidentally winds up in 2075. Stuck in a world where most people rely on robots to raise their children and fires are constantly raging, Arco befriends a lonely girl (Romy Fay) and gives her hope that things can get better.
From our review:
Bienvenu’s sense of whimsy uses 2D animation to its fullest potential, especially in the time-travel sequences. Not only is the use of a crystal-powered leotard far different than any other means of time travel we’ve seen before, when a time traveler really gets going, they’re usually represented by what looks like a shooting star followed by a rainbow streak. It’s a simple effect that conveys a real sense of wonder.
Bring the Law
- Genre: Crime thriller
- Run time: 1h 35m
- Director: Scout Taylor-Compton
- Cast: Brendan Fehr, Nicky Whelan, Danielle Harris
A grieving LA homicide detective (Brendan Fehr) is put in charge of a task force to take down a criminal syndicate responsible for drug and sex trafficking throughout the city. But his investigation is undermined by corruption within his own team, and he’ll have to figure out who he can trust in order to change things.
Dead Man’s Wire
- Genre: Crime thriller
- Run time: 1h 45m
- Director: Gus Van Sant
- Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo
Oscar-winning director Gus Van Sant worked with the makers of the documentary Dead Man’s Line on Dead Man’s Wire, a dramatization of the same real-life story about Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård), an Indianapolis man who became a folk hero in 1977 by holding the son of a wealthy mortgage broker (Dacre Montgomery) hostage in an attempt to get money and an apology from the company he claimed had manipulated the market against him.
In Cold Light
- Genre: Crime thriller
- Run time: 1h 37m
- Director: Maxime Giroux
- Cast: Maika Monroe, Troy Kotsur, Helen Hunt
Ava (Maika Monroe) is looking to reclaim her drug business after getting out of prison, but corrupt cops frame her for murder and she’s hunted by a ruthless crime boss (Helen Hunt) who wants her dead. Otherwise out of options, Ava is forced to reunite with her estranged father (CODA and Primate star Troy Kotsur) and go on the offensive.
Playdate
- Genre: Action comedy
- Run time: 1h 34m
- Director: Luke Greenfield
- Cast: Kevin James, Alan Ritchson, Benjamin Pajak, Banks Pierce
Brian Jennings (Kevin James) is looking to connect with his stepson (Benjamin Pajak), and is excited when a trip to the park leads to an invitation for a playdate with Jeff (Reacher star Alan Ritchson) and his kid CJ (Banks Pierce). But when armed men attack the group, Brian learns his new friend isn’t who he seems to be.
Return to Silent Hill
- Genre: Supernatural horror
- Run time: 1h 46m
- Director: Christophe Gans
- Cast: Jeremy Irvine, Hannah Emily Anderson
Silent Hill director Christophe Gans returns to the franchise to adapt Silent Hill 2, though with big changes to the game’s characters. When his ex-girlfriend, Mary (Hannah Emily Anderson), encourages him to return to Silent Hill, James (Jeremy Irvine) has to confront his demons in an abandoned town filled with monsters.
Shelter
- Genre: Action thriller
- Run time: 1h 47m
- Director: Ric Roman Waugh
- Cast: Jason Statham, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Naomi Ackie
Michael Mason (Jason Statham), a former elite assassin, lives in seclusion on an island off the coast of Scotland, only talking to Jessie (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), a teenager who brings him supplies each week. When Michael rescues Jessie from a bad storm, she winds up caught in the crosshairs as his past catches up to him, and he has to fight for both their lives.
