This week's list of new movies to watch online is full of surprises, but it also packs comfort food viewing too. So let's start with the easiest watch, as Netflix's latest big movie stars Gabrielle Union as a woman trying to revitalize her career. Unfortunately, she accidentally hooks up with her boss's son.
Looking for something more scintillating? Sanctuary offers an intense evening inside a hotel that turns caustic, The Machine pits Mark Hamill against Russian mobsters, and Hulu gets the wild Infinity Pool.
Meanwhile, Max brings the Evil Dead franchise's latest film to its first streaming service, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus's latest film offers a more meditative and relatable situation.
The Perfect Find (Netflix)
Ready for the summer rom-com that will whisk you away to meet-cute heaven? Well, Netflix and Gabrielle Union have the fix, with The Perfect Find. Jenna (Union) finally pulled herself out of a spiral and into the new career move she's needed.
Unfortunately, that came right after she hooked up with a younger colleague (Keith Powers), who just so happens to be the son of her boss (Gina Torres). Adapted from Tia Williams's book, The Perfect Find looks like the perfect pairing for a hot summer night.
Watch on Netflix starting Friday (June 23)
Sanctuary (Digital)
This sexually charged comedy tracks a very troublesome night for Hal (Christopher Abbott), who's on the verge of a big moment for his career. And when his unusual dominatrix Rebecca (Margaret Qualley) gets wind that he's cutting her out of his life, she begins to unleash a list of demands.
Twisted and hilarious, with a tension that will leave you hanging on the edge of your seat, Sanctuary is filled with twists and turns. Oh, and while it's got a sexual energy, don't expect much actual sex. That's all a part of the game. If you like Sanctuary, but want something darker, look up Piercing on Netflix — it also stars Abbott, but it's more screwed up and subversive.
Buy or rent digitally on Amazon Prime Video and other services right now (released today, June 20)
The Machine (Digital)
The Machine offers a bonkers plot that's based on an actual true story that helped make comedian Bert Kreischer's career. The original tale involves a young Kreischer who fell in with the Russian mafia in 1999, who found him humorous.
Now, an adult Kreischer (playing himself) is dealing with both his judgmental father (Mark Hamill) and Russian mobsters. They think he stole a priceless heirloom, and Bert's refusal to comply means he and his dad get thrown on a flight to Russia.
Buy digitally on Amazon and other digital retailers right now (released today, June 20)
Evil Dead Rise (Max)
Not exactly a direct sequel to the classic Evil Dead movies, Rise puts the cursed book of the dead (i.e. the Necronomicon) into an urban environment where the wrong kids make the wrong choices. What's the old saying, the more things change, the more they stay the same?
The first target for the spectral force is Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), a mother of three who tells her own children that "mommy's not here anymore." Those kids and their aunt Beth (Lily Sullivan) do what they can to stop this demonic force, all the while trying to avoid it taking over their own bodies.
Oh, and if you love this, check out Evil Dead II, one of my 7 favorite new to Max movies for June 2023. The whole Evil Dead trilogy is on Max, but the second shot's the all-time best.
Watch on Max starting Friday (June 23)
Infinity Pool (Hulu)
Missing Alexander Skarsgård now that Succession is over and his blood-obsessed Lukas Matsson is gone? Well, you might want to take a dip into Infinity Pool, which is far weirder than anything the GOJO exec ever said. Struggling author James (Skarsgård) meets the bizarre Gabi (Mia Goth) while on vacation with his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman), and their new friend pulls them into a depraved group of tourists.
Infinity Pool comes from Brandon Cronenberg, son of iconic filmmaker David Cronenberg, and it bears many familial fingerprints. Not only is there cloning and other fantastical peculiarity that might remind you of the senior Cronenberg's Crimes of the Future, but the vacationers are dealing with odd island laws that take "eye for an eye" way too far.
Watch on Hulu starting Friday (June 23)
The Stroll (Max)
HBO's excellent documentary team delivers an important story this Pride Month, allowing director Kristen Lovell to explain how her life fell apart when she transitioned in New York City in the 1990s. After her decision, she was fired from her job and fell into sex work in Manhattan's Meatpacking district.
She'll show us the area known as The Stroll, where trans women formed a community to help each other survive the violence they still endure to this day. Kristen and other trans women use the film to share their own first-hand experiences, and we couldn't think of a more topical film to watch right now.
Watch on HBO and Max starting Wednesday (June 21) at 9 p.m. ET / PT
You Hurt My Feelings (Digital)
Director Nicole Holofcenter's latest work brings Julia Louis-Dreyfus back from the MCU and into a more humble and modest movie. Here, writer Beth (Louis-Dreyfus) is in a career low, as her voice is getting lost in a sea of more sensational and controversial stories.
But one day things get worse when she happens to overhear her husband badmouthing her work. This pushes her to reexamine the little lies she and others tell each other.
Buy digitally on Amazon and other digital retailers starting Thursday (June 22)
