Stream on Demand: Matt Bomer becomes ‘The Last Tycoon’ for Amazon
Matt Bomer is “The Last Tycoon,” a visionary movie producer who collides with the studio boss (Kelsey Grammer), in the Amazon original series adapted from the unfinished F. Scott Fitzgerald novel about 1930s Hollywood. Lily Collins and Dominique McElligott co-star in the lavish period piece developed by Oscar-nominated writer/director Billy Ray. 9 episodes.
Here’s what else is streaming this week:
Pay-Per-View / Video-On-Demand
The American live-action version of “Ghost in the Shell,” based on the Japanese animated feature and set in a “Blade Runner”-esque future, stars Scarlett Johansson as a cybernetically enhanced government agent whose latest case leads to the secret behind her identity. The film was tangled in controversy for the casting of Johansson in a role that was originally created as an Asian character but the casting (purposefully or not) plays into the film’s exploration of alienation and identity. The multinational cast includes ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, and Danish star Pilou Asbæk (PG-13). Also on DVD and Blu-ray and at Redbox.
Alec Baldwin voices “The Boss Baby” in the animated comedy based on the illustrated book by Marla Frazee (PG). Also on DVD and Blu-ray.
Also new: the drama “Gifted” with Chris Evans as a single father raising a child prodigy (PG-13), thriller “Unforgettable” with Katherine Heigl and Rosario Dawson (R), and celebrity chef documentary “Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent” (R).
Available same day as select theaters nationwide are dramas “The Last Face” with Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem and “Strange Weather” with Holly Hunter and Carrie Coon (both R), the ensemble comedy “Person to Person” with Michael Cera (not rated), and French romantic drama “From The Land Of The Moon” with Marion Cotillard and Louis Garrel (R, with subtitles).
Netflix
The romantic comedy “The Incredible Jessica James” (2017) stars Jessica Williams as an aspiring New York playwright who stumbles into a romance with a recent divorcee (Chris O’Dowd). It comes to Netflix direct from the film festival circuit (not rated).
Jackie Chan stars in the action comedy “Railroad Tigers” (China, 2016), a colorful heist/mission movie set in World War II (not rated, with subtitles).
The superior Canadian crime drama “Intelligence: The Complete Series” (2006-07) explores the intersection between the Vancouver crime underworld and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
More streaming TV: the nonfiction series “Daughters of Destiny” follows a group of disadvantaged children in India for seven years, and for kids there’s the animated “The Adventures of Puss in Boots: Season 5.”
Stand-up: “Joe Mande’s Award-Winning Comedy Special.”
Amazon Prime Video
New episodes of the end-of-the-world thriller “Salvation” stream on Amazon Prime a week after they debut on CBS.
Jon Favreau directs and stars in the indie comic drama “Chef” (2014), about a four-star restaurant chef who starts again with a gourmet food truck managed with friends and family. He made this small, personal film between the “Iron Man” movies and “The Jungle Book” (R).
John Wayne is “Big Jake” (1971) in his final western with co-star Maureen O’Hara (re-rated PG-13), and Alejandro Jodorowsky directs the surreal cult psychodrama “Santa Sange” (Mexico, 1979, R).
Also new: “The Other Half” (2017) with Emmy-winning actress Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”) as a bipolar woman (not rated), comedy “The Perfect Family” (2011) with Kathleen Turner and Emily Deschanel (PG-13), and Australian D.H. Lawrence adaptation “Kangaroo” (1986) with Judy Davis (R).
Hulu
Elijah Wood and Samuel Barnett star in the comic mystery “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency: Season 1” developed by Max Landis for BBC America.
Also new: murder mystery “The Oxford Murders” (2008) with Elijah Wood and John Hurt (R) and documentary “Good Ol’ Frieda” (2013) about the lifelong secretary to The Beatles (not rated).
HBO Now
Andrew Garfield stars in “Hacksaw Ridge” (2016), Mel Gibson’s Oscar-nominated World War II drama inspired by the true story of a pacifist who saved the lives of countless men as a battlefield medic (R).
The sons of Princess Diana pay tribute to their mother in the documentary “Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy” (2017) on the 20th anniversary of her death (not rated).
The anthology series “Room 104,” created by Jay and Mark Duplass, debuts this week, along with “Insecure: Season 2” and “Ballers: Season 3.”
Arriving Saturday night is the dysfunctional family comedy “Almost Christmas” (2016) with Danny Glover and Omar Epps (PG-13).
Showtime Anytime
“Risk” is a documentary portrait of Julian Assange from Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (not rated).
FilmStruck / The Criterion Channel
Two of the great big screen fairy tales come to FilmStruck: Michael Powell’s “The Red Shoes” (1948), starring Moira Shearer as a ballerina torn between art and love, and Jean Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast” (France, 1946), a lush fantasy poised between poetry and horror (with subtitles).
At Redbox:
“Kong: Skull Island,” “Ghost in the Shell” (2018), “The Belko Experiment”
Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and TV can be found at http://streamondemandathome.com.