Ahead of the holidays come more new movies streaming this week on Netflix, Max and the other major streaming services.
The week's new arrivals are led by Blue Beetle, which features the DC universe's first Latino superhero, and the biopic Rustin about the titular civil rights hero who was unfairly sidelined in history books.
Also on the docket is the sci-fi comedy Biosphere pairing Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass and the holiday romp Best.Christmas.Ever pairing Brandy and Heather Graham.
Some titles are newly available via digital release, so you can purchase them for a premium price, but for others, all you need is the right streaming subscription. Here are the top new movies streaming this week.
The Creator (PVOD)
Our robot overlords are the villains in this sci-fi action epic from filmmaker Gareth Edwards (Rogue One, Godzilla). Set during a future war between humans and artificial intelligence, the story follows Joshua (John David Washington, an ex-special forces agent grieving his missing wife (Gemma Chan). He’s tasked with hunting down and killing the Creator, the elusive architect of the AI who has developed a weapon that could end the war by obliterating humanity. Joshua and his team of operatives journey across enemy lines to destroy the weapon, only to discover it is an AI in the form of a young child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles).
Buy on Amazon or Apple starting Nov. 14
Best. Christmas. Ever! (Netflix)
It’s a wonderful life … for Jackie (Brandy). She seems to have it all — handsome husband, beautiful home — which she recounts in detail in her annual holiday newsletter. It makes her old college friend Charlotte (Heather Graham) feel like a lump of coal. When Charlotte “accidentally” turns up on Jackie’s doorstep days before Christmas with her husband (Jason Biggs) and kids, it’s a chance for Charlotte to find the truth behind the perfect facade. But Charlotte soon discovers that the grass holly is not always greener on the other side.
Watch on Netflix starting Nov. 16
Biosphere (AMC Plus)
This sci-fi buddy comedy has a farfetched premise — and gets even weirder as it goes along. Buddy (Mark Duplass) and Ray (Sterling K. Brown) have been best friends since childhood. Now, they are the last two humans on Earth following an apocalypse. They have survived in a dome built by Ray, eating fish and vegetables they grow. But when the last female fish dies, their food supply seems doomed — until one of the male fish exhibits signs of “accelerated evolution.” What happens next is something the two men could never have predicted.
Watch on AMC Plus starting Nov. 17
Blue Beetle (Max)
The DC movie-verse’s first Latino superhero is Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), a recent college grad with big dreams. His future takes an unexpected turn when he comes into possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology called the Scarab. It chooses him to be its symbiotic host, granting him an exoskeleton armor with extraordinary (but unpredictable) powers. As he becomes a superhero, he relies on his family for support. But an unscrupulous businesswoman (Susan Sarandon) schemes to steal the Scarab from him.
Watch on Max starting Nov. 17
Please Don't Destroy: The Legend of Foggy Mountain (Peacock)
Known for their outlandish Saturday Night Live sketches, the Please Don’t Destroy trio of Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, and Ben Marshall have graduated to movies. They play versions of themselves, childhood friends who live and work together at an outdoor supply store. John Goodman narrates the tale, which sees them go on a treasure hunt using a mysterious compass. It could lead them to a golden bust of Marie Antoinette that’s rumored to be buried in the forest. Along the way, they’ll have to fend off park rangers (Meg Stalter, X Mayo) and a cult leader (Bowen Yang).
Watch on Peacock starting Nov. 17
Rustin (Netflix)
This biopic centers on Bayard Rustin, the architect of the momentous 1963 March on Washington — where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream” speech. Yet, Rustin was relegated to a footnote in history, mostly due to his homosexuality. As the activist, Colman Domingo gives a fiery performance that will likely draw many accolades during awards season. The film chronicles how Rustin conceives and plans the largest nonviolent protest in the United States, joining forces with King (Aml Ameen) and other civil rights moment leaders like A. Philip Randolph (Glynn Turman) and Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (Jeffrey Wright).
Watch on Netflix starting Nov. 17
See You on Venus (Netflix)
The next entry in Netflix’s thriving YA category is this movie based on the debut novel of the same name by Victoria Vinuesa. Mia (Virginia Gardner) is a misfit American teen who convinces her pal Kyle (Alex Aiono) to accompany her on a trip to Spain. Once they arrive, she reveals that she’s searching for her birth mother. As they trek through the picturesque cities of Andalusia, they begin to fall in love and discover that what’s important isn’t who gave you life but what you decide to do with it.
Watch on Netflix starting Nov. 17
