The 5 Movies and TV Shows You Should Be Watching on Streaming Right Now

Welcome to Boston.com 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 MaxPeacock, Paramount+ and more.

Many recommendations are for new shows, while others are for under-the-radar releases you may have missed or classics that will be leaving a streaming service at the end of the month.

Do you have a new favorite movie or show that you think we should know about? Let us know in the comments or via email [email protected]. Looking for even more great streaming options? Check out previous editions of our Must-watch list here.

Stream new movies

“My old ass”

It seems impossible to describe Aubrey Plaza as “middle-aged,” and yet the “Parks and Recreation” actress turns 40 early this year. That’s the role Plaza plays in “My Old Ass,” in which a free-spirited Teenage girl (Maisy Stella) makes contact with her adult self (Plaza) during a mushroom trip on her 18th birthday. After returning to Earth, adult Elliott can still call teenage Elliott and warn her about any decisions she should avoid – like hanging out with her any Boy named Chad – so she doesn’t end up like adult Elliott.

Plaza has developed such an edgy on-screen persona over the years that the moments of tenderness she shares with Stella can strain credibility. But “My Old Ass” has its heart in the right place and the emotional highs and lows blend well as the credits roll.

How to watch: “My Old Ass” is streaming on Prime Video.

“Paddington 2”

If you go to the movies this weekend, be sure to check out “Heretic,” a slow-burn horror film in which a very creepy Hugh Grant subjects two missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) to his own version of religious truth. However, if you want to see Grant in the role of a mustache-twirling villain who also has him soliloquizing from the comfort of his own home, there’s always Paddington 2.

In the beloved children’s film, Paddington settles in with the Brown family in London before a local theater legend (Grant) frames him for stealing a pop-up book. Despite being surrounded by some of England’s wildest prisoners, Paddington maintains a sunny attitude and a jar of jam for every occasion.

How to watch: Paddington 2 is streaming on Prime Video.

“Unforgivable”

For some reason, Clint Eastwood’s latest film, Juror #2, is only playing in 50 theaters nationwide – and only one theater in the Boston area. Until Warner Bros. comes to its senses, you’ll have to make do with a Clint classic like 1992’s Unforgiven.

After winning the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director and two other Oscars for Unforgiven, Eastwood vowed that he would never direct a Western again because he feared he would start repeating himself or attracting attention from other directors copy. Although some of Eastwood’s films have titles that sound like westerns (“The Mule,” “Space Cowboys,” “Gran Torino”), Eastwood has remained true to his word. And more than 30 years after its release, Unforgiven remains unsurpassed and remains one of the genre’s all-time greats. Eastwood plays retired bounty hunter Will Munny, who becomes embroiled in one last job that puts him on a collision course with Sheriff “Little” Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman).

How to watch: “Unforgiven” is streaming on Paramount+ and Max.

New TV streaming

“The Penguin”

If you’ve never seen Matt Reeves’ 2022 film The Batman, you might be surprised at how Normal Colin Farrell stars in The Penguin. Farrell has almost nothing in common with the grotesque villain played by Danny DeVito in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. First of all, he’s just Oz Cobb, not Oswald Cobblepot. And he’s a mid-level crime boss, not an independent villain who lives in the sewers with penguins.

This is your last chance to watch the surprisingly rich HBO series, whose season finale airs this Sunday. Oz attempts to fill the power vacuum left by the death of his former boss, Carmine Falcone. However, there are others who want the same influence in the criminal underworld, including Carmine’s children Sofia (Cristin Milioti) and Alberto (Michael Zegen), as well as the head of a rival crime family (Clancy Brown). “The Penguin” has more in common with “The Sopranos” (or, given Oz’s facial disfigurement, “Scarface”) than with most “Batman” films. You won’t see Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader here. Instead, “The Penguin” is a compelling mob drama that showcases Farrell’s talents to the fullest.

How to watch: “The Penguin” is streaming on Max.

“Veep”

Regardless of your political leanings, a series like Armando Iannucci’s Veep exposes the hypocrisy and underhandedness of Washington DC Vice President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and her army of minions (Matt Walsh, Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale). ) inherent , Gary Cole) are never explicitly revealed to be part of one political party or another – and considering how low they stoop to lobbyists and elected officials of all Kind of appeasing ideologies, it hardly matters.

Some people may no longer want to watch a show about politics after Tuesday’s results. Others may derive dark pleasure from watching a British satirist (Iannucci) hold up a funny mirror to what some people still ironically call the world’s greatest democracy. Put me in the latter camp.

How to watch: “Veep” is streaming on Max.

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