Stop scrolling and check out Spike Lee’s scathing attack on social media Highest 2 Lowest, which arrives on Apple TV Plus this weekend. The update of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic High and Low follows a rich man measuring social sentiment as he decides how much to sacrifice to save his chauffeur’s son. For a less serious crime story, rent The Naked Gun. Liam Neeson proves a worthy successor to Leslie Nielsen in a revival of the spoof series, where he has to stop a group of evil billionaires from speeding up the apocalypse.
If you’re looking for something family friendly, the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch was a smash hit at the box office and the cute alien critter is now rampaging on Disney Plus. Ghost Cat Anzu, a tale of an 11-year-old who befriends a talking cat at the temple where her grandfather lives, is now haunting HBO Max.
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 Apple TV Plus
Highest 2 Lowest
- Genre: Crime thriller
- Run time: 2h 13m
- Director: Spike Lee
- Cast: Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera
Kidnappers demand a $17.5 million ransom from New York music mogul David King (Denzel Washington) for his son’s safe return, but when David learns they mistakenly grabbed his kid’s best friend instead, he’s a lot less interested in paying. He weighs his own goals and social media opinion in this remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film High and Low, from Inside Man and Do The Right Thing director Spike Lee.
New on Disney Plus
Lilo & Stitch
- Genre: Science fiction comedy
- Run time: 1h 48m
- Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
- Cast: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Hannah Waddingham
A dangerous experimental alien (Chris Sanders) escapes custody and lands in Hawaii, where he’s taken in by a young girl (Maia Kealoha) living with her sister (Sydney Elizebeth Agudong) in the live-action adaptation of Disney’s 2002 film. The family finds themselves having to deal with the CIA, the United Galactic Federation, and a mad scientist, all looking for the mischievous critter.
New on HBO Max
Friendship
- Genre: Black comedy
- Run time: 1h 41m
- Director: Andrew DeYoung
- Cast: Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara
Making friends as an adult is hard and particularly awkward in this A24 film starring Paul Rudd and I Think You Should Leave’s Tim Robinson. New neighbors bond and have adventures including mushroom hunting and tunnel exploring, but as the relationship sours, it sends both of their lives spiraling out of control.
Ghost Cat Anzu
- Genre: Anime
- Run time: 1h 35m
- Director: Yôko Kuno, Nobuhiro Yamashita
- Cast: Mirai Moriyama, Noa Gotō
Based on Takashi Imashiro’s manga of the same name, Ghost Cat Anzu follows an 11-year-old living at her grandfather’s shrine with a carefree anthropomorphic ghost cat. While the emotional beats don’t always hit, the captivating characters and the expressive animation make this a fun watch.
From our review:
Ghost Cat Anzu works best when the mix of the mundane and the mythical is balanced. For instance, Anzu inviting a host of forest spirits to his temple for a party is a hilarious setup that gives Karin a chance to relate her feelings to the ragtag group. But the eventual journey to the land of the dead ends up dragging and muddling the movie’s message.
New on Prime Video
A Working Man
- Genre: Action thriller
- Run time: 1h 56m
- Director: David Ayer
- Cast: Jason Statham, David Harbour, Michael Peña
Entertaining on a screen of any size, Jason Statham’s latest thriller follows Levon Cade, an ex-black ops soldier trying to start a new life as a Chicago construction foreman while fighting to retain custody of his daughter. But when his boss’s daughter is kidnapped, Cade must put his old skills to use by running and gunning his way through the Russian mob.
New on Shudder
Dangerous Animals
- Genre: Survival horror
- Run time: 1h 38m
- Director: Sean Byrne
- Cast: Jai Courtney, Hassie Harrison, Josh Heuston
A surfer (Hassie Harrison) is abducted by a shark cage diving boat captain (Jai Courtney), who turns out to be a serial killer obsessed with feeding women to sharks. She’ll have to use all her wits to avoid being turned into chum.
New to rent
Heads of State
- Genre: Action comedy
- Run time: 1h 53m
- Director: Ilya Naishuller
- Cast: Idris Elba, John Cena, Priyanka Chopra Jonas
John Cena plays an action star elected president of the United States who has to team up with the Prime Minister of the UK (Idris Elba) to unravel a conspiracy after an attack on Air Force One leaves them stranded in Belarus. With the help of an MI6 agent (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and a CIA officer (Jack Quaid), they’ll need to put aside their differences to stay alive.
The Naked Gun
- Genre: Action comedy
- Run time: 1h 25m
- Director: Akiva Schaffer
- Cast: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser
Liam Neeson revives the Leslie Nielsen spoof series as Frank Drebin Jr. of the LAPD Police Squad, who must unravel the dastardly plot of tech mogul Richard Cane (Danny Huston) and a group of other evil billionaires. The film is jam-packed with rapid-fire jokes poking fun at everything from Mission Impossible to Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.