Now Stream This: ‘Wounds’, ‘Dolemite Is My Name’, ‘Lenny’, ‘The Departed’, ‘El Camino’, ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ and More

(Welcome to Now Stream This, a column dedicated to the best movies streaming on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and every other streaming service out there.)

In the mood to watch something this weekend? Good, because I spent hours putting together some recommendations, and I was worried they were all going to spoil I was going to have to throw them in the trash. Lucky for me you came along, stranger! These are the best movies streaming right now. Let’s get streaming!

The Best Movies Streaming Right Now

1. Wounds
Now Streaming on Hulu

Release Date: 2019

Genre: Horror

Director: Babak Anvari

Cast: Armie Hammer, Dakota Johnson, Zazie Beetz

Wounds debuted at Sundance earlier this year and was met with a somewhat tepid reaction. Perhaps that explains why a film that features Armie Hammer, Dakota Johnson, and Zazie Beetz ended up unceremoniously dumped onto Hulu. But that doesn’t mean you should skip it. It turns out Wounds is damn effective – and creepy, too. Set in New Orleans, the film follows an emotionally stunted bartender (Hammer) who lives with his girlfriend (Johnson), but lusts after his best friend (Beetz). One night, a group of teens flees the bar after a bar fight, leaving on their cellphones behind. Hammer’s character absentmindedly brings the phone home and decides to snoop a bit. What he finds on the phone are a series of disturbing photos that appear to show a decapitated, rotting head. And there’s a video, too. I’ll let you discover what it features. As Wounds unfolds, things grow progressively nasty and unpleasant, culminating in a skin-crawling climax that’ll have you wanting to take a shower as soon as the credits roll.

For fans of: The Ring, Videodrome, body horror.

 

2. Dolemite Is My Name
Now Streaming on Netflix

Release Date: 2019

Genre: Comedy Biopic

Director: Craig Brewer

Cast: Eddie Murphy, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Titus Burgess, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Wesley Snipes

Eddie Murphy has been on the verge of a potential comeback for a few years now, and with Dolemite Is My Name, that comeback is finally here. Murphy is hilarious and sharp as Rudy Ray Moore, a singer turned comedian turned actor. After struggling in the music biz, Rudy tries his hand at stand-up – and becomes a local hit. But he has bigger dreams. He wants to make a movie featuring the pimp character he’s created, Dolemite. And since no one big studios are knocking on his door, Rudy and his friends decide to do everything themselves. The end result is like a blaxploitation take on Ed Wood, which makes sense since Dolemite Is My Name comes from the same screenwriters as that film: Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The can-do spirit of Rudy and his friends is infectious – it’s hard not to root for these outcasts as they learn on the fly how to make a movie. Murphy is the highlight here, firing on all cylinders and reminding us that he’s one of the funniest people on the planet. But the rest of the cast is strong as well, especially Da’Vine Joy Randolph as a comic Rudy discovers in a bar, and Wesley Snipes as Dolemite director D’Urville Martin.

For fans of: Ed Wood, Dolemite, hearing Eddie Murphy say “mother fucker” at least 100 times.

 

3. Lenny
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Release Date: 1974

Genre: Biopic

Director: Bob Fosse

Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Valerie Perrine

Bob Fosse‘s black and white biopic of comedian Lenny Bruce is yet another reminder of what a remarkable filmmaker Fosse was, creating a movie that felt ahead of its time. Jumping around at various points in the life of the famed, troubled comedian, Lenny is a portrait of an artist who – like Fosse – was both brilliant and full of himself. Bruce’s vulgar comedy act got him in trouble with all the wrong people, but that constant trouble only fueled his inner fire, convincing him of his own greatness. Dustin Hoffman fully embodies Bruce, while Fosse intercuts interviews with people who knew the man.

For fans of: Star 80, Man on the Moon, wishing Bob Fosse made more movies.

 

4. The Departed
Now Streaming on Netflix

Release Date: 2006

Genre: Crime Comedy Drama

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Alec Baldwin

The Departed has this weird reputation as being thought of as the film that won Martin Scorsese an Oscar as a consolation prize. The logic was that Scorsese had been nominated for, but never won, Best Picture or Best Director, and he was long overdue. So the Academy took pity and finally gave him a bunch of awards for this. That implies that The Departed isn’t very good – but I say nuts to that. It’s a funny, fast, violent story of two very different young men pushed to extremes. Cop Leonardo DiCaprio goes undercover as a criminal, while the criminally-connected Matt Damon works as a mole inside the force. At the center of both of these men’s lives is Jack Nicholson, playing a ghoulish gangster – a part which enables Nicholson to go wild and ham it up.

For fans of: Infernal Affairs, GoodFellas, rats.

 

5. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Story
Now Streaming on Netflix

Release Date: 2019

Genre: Drama

Director: Vince Gilligan

Cast: Aaron Paul and several surprising cameos

I was a little warry of El Camino. “Did we really need a follow-up to Breaking Bad?” I asked. Of course, I asked a similar question when Better Call Saul was announced. “Did we really need a Breaking Bad prequel?” The answer to both of those questions might be no, but the results speak for themselves. I like Better Call Saul more now than Breaking Bad, and I found El Camino to be wonderful. The film is a redemption story – something that was lacking in the series. It lets Aaron Paul shine as the long-suffering Jesse Pinkman. Bryan Cranston’s Walter White became an anti-hero that people inexplicably rooted for – even though he was a monster. But Jesse was the heart of the show. Yes, Jesse did terrible things, but those terrible things were all at the behest of Walt. El Camino reminds us that deep down, Jesse is a good person who made bad choices. And he deserves his second chance. Vince Gilligan directs the hell out of this thing, using great overhead shots, sped-up scenes, and most memorable of all, a Western-inspired shoot-out that’s incredible.

For fans of: Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Aaron Paul looking very upset.

 

6. Total Recall
Now Streaming on Hulu

Release Date: 1990

Genre: Sci-Fi Action

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside

Paul Verhoeven‘s pulpy sci-fi action flick Total Recall kicks ass. There’s probably a classier way of saying that, but screw it. If bluntly stating Total Recall kicks ass is wrong, then I don’t want to be right. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a construction worker in 2084 who just wants a more exciting life. The chance for excitement presents itself with Rekall, a company that implants memories of exciting vacations in your brain. You’ve never taken the vacation in question, but your mind tricks you into thinking you did. Almost as soon as the procedure begins, things go wrong. Soon, Arnold is in the midst of a secret agent-style story that has him fighting for his life. Is this really happening? Or is this all part of the Rekall implant? Decide for yourself and get your ass to Mars.

For fans of: RoboCop, Starship Troopers, ass-kicking.

 

7. The Devil’s Rejects
Now Streaming on Shudder

Release Date: 2005

Genre: Horror

Director: Rob Zombie

Cast: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, Ken Foree, Matthew McGrory, Lew Temple, William Forsythe

I know Rob Zombie has his defenders, and god love ’em. But for my money, the only thing approaching a good movie that Zombie ever made was 2005’s The Devil’s Rejects. This sequel to House of 1000 Corpses feels like Zombie finally clicking with the right material – a grungy, gory road trip through hell. Serial killing family the Fireflys –  Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), Otis (Bill Bill Moseley), and Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie) head out on the open road, killing anyone who gets in their way. Meanwhile, a sadistic lawman (William Forsythe), the relative of one of their victims, is on their trail. The end result is nasty, and that’s just the way Zombie wants it.

For fans of: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, House of 1000 Corpses, abundant violence.

 

8. Tell Me Who I Am
Now Streaming on Netflix

Release Date: 2019

Genre: Documentary

Director: Ed Perkins

Cast: Alex Lewis, Marcus Lewis

When he was 18-years-old, Alex Lewis was in a terrible motorcycle accident that left him in a coma. When he finally regained consciousness the first face he saw was his own. Sort of. It was actually the face of Marcus, his twin brother. And while Alex immediately remembered his twin, he had no memory of anything or anyone else in his life, including his parents and his girlfriend. Because of this, Alex relied on Marcus to fill in the blanks – which Marcus did, painting a portrait of an idyllic family. But as the years went on, Alex began to realize something was amiss here. And it slowly dawned on him that Marcus was lying about nearly everything. Because there’s a dark secret at the heart of the Lewis family; a secret Marcus wanted to hide. Tell Me Who I Am unfolds in three parts: first Alex’s story, then Marcus’, then finally the moment when the two brothers reunite, and Alex demands Marcus explain himself. It makes for a disturbing, emotional saga that will leave you stunned.

For fans of: Three Identical Strangers, The Imposter, jaw-dropping revelations.

 

9. Brimstone
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Release Date: 2017

Genre: Anti-Western

Director: Martin Koolhoven

Cast: Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Kit Harington, Carice van Houten, Emilia Jones

Martin Koolhoven‘s Brimstone is one of the bleakest movies you’ll ever see, so if you’re feeling a little down you might want to skip this one. This anti-Western follows a young woman (Dakota Fanning) who is being haunted, and hunted, by a sadistic Preacher, played by Guy Pearce. Clocking in at almost 150 minutes, Brimstone takes its time slowly revealing just why this vile man of the cloth has it in for Fanning. The answer is revealed through flashbacks and chapters, all of them awash in brutality. This is closest any film has come to capturing the raw Western violence at the heart of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.

For fans of: Hostiles, Touch of Evil, misery.

 

10. Return of the Ghoul Log
Now Streaming on Shudder

Release Date: 2019

Genre: Streaming jack-o’-lantern

Director: Larry Fessenden

Cast: Ghoul Log

Last year, Shudder launched the Ghoul Log – a Halloween twist on the TV Yule Log people pop on during the holiday season. It features a jack-o’-lantern out on the street on a dark and windy night, with occasional spooky sounds. Now here comes Return of the Ghoul Log, which was directed by indie horror legend Larry Fessenden. This is a lot more active than the previous Ghoul Log, and I personally prefer the original – it’s more relaxing. This version is full of moments where items in the background come to life for a quick spooky moment. It’s the perfect thing to turn on in the background on Halloween while stuffing your face with Kit Kats.

For fans of: Halloween.

The post Now Stream This: ‘Wounds’, ‘Dolemite Is My Name’, ‘Lenny’, ‘The Departed’, ‘El Camino’, ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ and More appeared first on /Film.

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