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5 must-watch movies & TV shows streaming right now
The best of what's new streaming on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and more.
Welcome to Boston.com’s weekly streaming guide. Each week, we recommend five must-watch movies and TV shows available on streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+, and more.
Many recommendations are for new shows, while others are for under-the-radar releases you might have missed or classics that are about to depart a streaming service at the end of the month.
Have a new favorite movie or show you think we should know about? Let us know in the comments, or email [email protected]. Looking for even more great streaming options? Check out previous editions of our must-watch list here.
Movies
“The Holdovers”
From the very first frame, “The Holdovers” is a love letter to a bygone era. Featuring a throwback studio logo and grainy film stock, the movie takes place in 1970 at the fictional Massachusetts prep school Barton Academy, where curmudgeonly teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) is stuck babysitting a precocious student (newcomer Dominic Sessa) over Christmas break, while the school’s cook, Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), watches from a healthy distance. During an early screening at the Somerville Theatre (where part of the movie was filmed), Director Alexander Payne talked with the audience about showing Sessa a number of ’70s films to prepare for his role, including Hal Ashby’s “Harold & Maude” and “The Last Detail.” It’s fitting, then, that “The Holdovers” feels like a tribute to the New Hollywood-era filmmaker: A film that prioritizes quirky, flawed characters over plot and leaves your heart full when the credits roll.
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How to watch: “The Holdovers” is streaming on Peacock.
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” is 206 minutes of stomach-turning drama featuring a career-best performance from Leonardo DiCaprio — which is saying a lot. The true story of white men who married or killed off wealthy Osage tribe members who inherited oil rights is the story of America’s past, present, and future. DiCaprio’s plain-spoken Ernest endears himself to Mollie (Lily Gladstone), and the pair marry, as per the plan of Ernest’s uncle, William (Robert De Niro). DiCaprio is an avatar of greed no different than Henry Hill of “Goodfellas” or Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and seeing the way he destroys Molly’s life is tragic and unmissable.
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How to watch: “Killers of the Flower Moon” is streaming on Apple TV+.
“Maestro”
From the moment he steps on screen, Bradley Cooper is utterly magnetic as composer Leonard Bernstein. The life of the party wherever he goes, “Lenny” quickly begins a courtship with Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan), each glance and one-liner delivered like he’s starring in his own sitcom. Even after decades of marriage, Bernstein still feels like he’s putting on a performance at all times, a function of both his gargantuan ego and the massive pressure of hiding his relationships with other men. As Montealegre, Mulligan sublimely captures a woman who willingly discards her own needs to support a generational talent. When Bernstein takes the stage to conduct Gustav Mahler’s “Resurrection Symphony,” with Montealegre watching in the wings, we understand why.
How to watch: “Maestro” is streaming on Netflix.
TV
“Echo”
“Echo” represents a pair of firsts for Disney+: It’s the first TV-MA show to debut on the family-friendly streaming platform, and the first Disney/Marvel series to release all of its episodes at once rather than every week. In other ways, however, “Echo” is business as usual. You really need to watch at least one prior MCU series to appreciate it (in this case, “Hawkeye”). Early episodes follow the standard Marvel playbook, whizzing from one action setpiece to the next as Maya Lopez, a deaf Choctaw woman with a prosthetic leg, beats down baddies on behalf of Kingpin (a sublime Vincent D’Onofrio, reprising his role from 2015’s acclaimed Netflix show). Stick around for the final two episodes, when “Echo” dives into Maya’s Choctaw ancestry and engages with her varying identities in an authentic way that ties the story together in unexpected ways.
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How to watch: “Echo” is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
“Julia”
In a major hit to the local film industry, HBO decided to cancel the Massachusetts-based “Julia,” which provided hundreds of jobs over months of filming its first two seasons. The news is unfortunate for audiences as well, as the Julia Child biopic was rounding into fine form in its second season. As the ubiquitous chef, Sarah Lancashire (“Happy Valley”) effortlessly captured Child’s spirit, while David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”) provided warmth and security as her husband, Paul. Knowing that HBO has embraced the unfortunate habit of removing its own shows from Max to save a buck, stream “Julia” before it’s too late.
How to watch: “Julia” is streaming on Max.
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