What’s Streaming This Week (3/9 - 3/16)
Welcome to When To Stream’s Weekly Preview! Every week, we take a closer look at the major film streaming releases scheduled to launch in the next 7 days. As always, release dates are subject to change.
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Here are next week’s highlights:
Sunday, March 9th, 2025
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT - The Criterion Channel (8p ET/5p PT)
Synopsis: In Mumbai, Nurse Prabha's routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend. A trip to a beach town allows them to find a space for their desires to manifest.
What we like:
Payal Kapadia’s drama was a smash at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. It marked the first time in 30 years that an Indian film competed in Cannes' main competition.
It was named one of the top five international films of 2024 by the National Board of Review, and at the Golden Globe Awards, the film received two nominations, for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director.
The film will have a live premiere on the Criterion Channel at 8p ET/5p PT.
What we don’t like:
The film was not selected to be submitted by either France or India for the Best International Feature Oscar, with the former submitting Emilia Pérez, and the latter submitting Laapataa Ladies (which did not make the Oscar short list).
Tuesday, March 11th, 2025
BETTER MAN - Paramount+
Synopsis: Follow Robbie Williams' journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.
What we like:
You can’t say this unconventional music biopic played it safe. Brit pop star Robbie Williams is portrayed as an anthropomorphic chimpanzee, with Jonno Davies giving an energetic motion-captured performance.
The film was nominated for the Best Visual Effects Oscar, where it competed with fellow simian-adjacent nominees Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Wicked. All lost the award to Dune: Part Two.
What we don’t like:
Director Michael Gracey hit the jackpot with 2017’s The Greatest Showman, which was a slow-burn smash hit in theaters (and beyond). This one was probably doomed from the start in the US, as Robbie Williams doesn’t have much of a footprint over here. It flopped.
EVERY LITTLE THING - $12.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Synopsis: Amid the glamour of Hollywood, Los Angeles, a woman finds herself on a transformative journey as she nurtures wounded hummingbirds, unraveling a visually captivating and magical tale of love, fragility, healing, and the delicate beauty in tiny acts of greatness.
What we like:
Filmmaker Sally Aitken chronicles the life and work of Terry Masear, a dedicated hummingbird rehabilitator based in Los Angeles.
The film is inspired by Masear's 2016 book, "Fastest Things on Wings," and delves into her 18-year commitment to rescuing and nurturing injured hummingbirds.
What we don’t like:
In a recent interview, Masear discussed how events like the California wildfires have increased the number of calls she receives about injured birds, underscoring the importance of her work in the face of environmental adversity.
I’M STILL HERE - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental
Synopsis: In 1971, military dictatorship in Brazil reaches its height. The Paiva family — Rubens, Eunice, and their five children — live in a beachside house in Rio, open to all their friends. One day, Rubens is taken for questioning and does not return.
What we like:
Walter Salles’ drama scored a huge upset at last week’s Oscars, beating Emilia Pérez in the Best International Feature category. A well-deserved victory, and the first ever for Brazil.
Lead Fernanda Torres was nominated for Best Actress, following in the footsteps of her mother, Fernanda Montenegro. Montenegro, who appears briefly in I’m Still Here, was nominated in 1998 for her performance in Salles’ Central Station.
The film has been an arthouse hit for distributor Sony Pictures Classics, earning over $5M at the US box-office.
What we don’t like:
Marcelo Rubens Paiva, son of Eunice Paiva and Rubens Paiva and author of the book the film is based on, ended up paraplegic in 1979 at the age of 20 after diving into a shallow lake and fracturing his fifth cervical vertebra.
PARTHENOPE - $19.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Synopsis: Parthenope, born in the sea near Naples in 1950, is beautiful, enigmatic, and intelligent. She is shamelessly courted by many. However, beauty comes at a cost.
What we like:
Paolo Sorrentino’s coming-of-age drama world premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where is was in competition for the Palme d’Or. It lost to Anora.
The film’s cinematographer, Dario D’Antonio, did pick up an award at the festival. He won the CST (French: Commission Supérieure Technique de l’Image et du Son) Award for Best Artist-Technician.
What we don’t like:
Critics were not enthralled with the film, with The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw likening it to a long-form advertisement for an expensive cologne.
Wednesday, March 12th, 2025
THE KILLER’S GAME - Starz
Synopsis: When top hitman Joe Flood is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he decides to take matters into his own hands – by taking a hit out on himself. But when the very hitmen he hired also target his ex-girlfriend, he must fend off an army of assassin colleagues and win back the love of his life before it's too late.
What we like:
This action-comedy sports an appealing cast, including Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Pom Klementieff, and Ben Kingsley. Yes…the Oscar-winning star of Gandhi. Still gotta pay the bills.
A reunion of sorts for stars Bautista and Boutella. They co-starred in the 2018 film Hotel Artemis.
What we don’t like:
Hoo boy…another box-office bomb from Lionsgate. They had a rough 2024. Those John Wick/Hunger Games spin-offs can’t come soon enough.
We haven’t seen The Killer’s Game, but from the trailer, it’s clear the film uses CGI blood splatter when someone is shot. It looks terrible. It always looks terrible. Please, filmmakers, use squibs. The effect is tactile and visceral. CGI blood splatter is for video games. And it’s cheap-looking and annoying.
MOANA 2 - Disney+
Synopsis: After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana journeys alongside Maui and a new crew to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she's ever faced.
What we like:
This follow-up to Moana was originally developed as a miniseries for Disney+, but by February 2024, it had been reworked into a theatrical sequel. There are over a billion reasons why that was the right decision.
The film was Golden Globe nominated for Best Animated Feature, but did not go on to be Oscar-nominated. There are over a billion reasons why Disney execs don’t really care.
What we don’t like:
Lin-Manuel Miranda did not return to write the original songs, which were an integral part of the success of the first Moana. Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear handled songwriting duties on the sequel, and we’ll see if they stand the test of time. Miranda is a tough act to follow. Bear has been around a while, though. Check this cutie out on The Ellen Show:
Thursday, March 13th, 2025
CONTROL FREAK - Hulu
Synopsis: A motivational speaker, plagued by an uncontrollable itch on her head, becomes infected with a parasitic demon from her homeland.
What we like:
This body-horror psychological thriller stars Kelly Marie Tran as someone whose itchy scalp starts driving her insane. Relatable, actually.
The film was written and directed by Shal Ngo, expanding his 2021 horror short “Control” featured in the second season of Hulu’s Bite Size Halloween.
What we don’t like:
While effective, the poster for the film makes our skin crawl. Body-horror related to the eyes is tough for us. And isn’t this story scalp-focused??
KRAVEN THE HUNTER - Netflix
Synopsis: Kraven Kravinoff's complex relationship with his ruthless gangster father, Nikolai, starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared.
What we like:
Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as the titular hunter, and he’s an appealing actor we hope finds the right role to showcase his talents. This ain’t it.
What a supporting cast! Russell Crowe. Ariana DeBose. Fred Hechinger. Alessandro Nivola. Chrisopher Abbott. We hope they all got paid very well!
What we don’t like:
Look…we don’t begrudge any director wanting to jump on the superhero gravy train. It’s lucrative, and when done right, can lead to bigger budgets and opportunities. But what a waste of J.C. Chandor’s time. The man brought us Margin Call, All is Lost, A Most Violent Year, and Triple Frontier (one of the better Netflix originals). That’s a banger four movie run! Here’s hoping this is just a blip on his resume.
THE PARENTING - Max
Synopsis: Young couple Rohan and Josh plan a perfect weekend getaway in the country to introduce their parents. As tensions begin to flare between the more traditional Sharon and Frank and the laid-back Liddy and Cliff, the families soon realize that their rental is haunted by the presence of a 400-year-old poltergeist.
What we like:
Director Craig Johnson is at the helm here, and we’re big fans of his 2014 Bill Hader - Kriten Wiig comedy The Skeleton Twins.
The cast is stacked with talent: Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Dean Norris, Vivian Bang. And while we’re less familiar with them, Nik Dodani and Brandon Flynn look like appealing leads.
What we don’t like:
The film was shot all the way back in 2022, and has been sitting on the shelf since. No festival screenings either. We’re hoping for the best, but it sure doesn’t seem like the studio has much confidence in this one.
Friday, March 14th, 2025
BORDERLINE - $16.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Synopsis: A helplessly romantic sociopath escapes from a mental institution and invades the home of a '90s pop superstar. He just wants to be loved; she just wants to survive.
What we like:
Cocaine Bear writer Jimmy Warden makes his directorial debut in this 90s-set comedy thriller. We’re hoping he brings some of that Cocaine Bear gonzo energy, though this film doesn’t have Margo Martindale, so it’s already working at a deficit.
Warden’s real-life wife Samara Weaving is the lead, and she’s proven to be a capable scream queen in films like Ready or Not, Scream VI, and last year’s Azrael.
What we don’t like:
Nepo-baby discourse alert! Ray Nicholson, son of Jack, is the sociopathic stalker. He’s clearly inherited his father’s menacing grin, which he used to great effect in Smile 2. And Samara Weaving is the niece of Matrix-star Hugo Weaving. We bring it up not because these actors aren’t talented, only that it reminds us of our favorite Fran Lebowitz quote:
DAAAAAALI! - MUBI
Synopsis: A young French journalist repeatedly meets iconic surrealist artist Salvador Dalí for a documentary project that never came to be.
What we like:
Director Quentin Dupieux has been called an ‘absurdist’ director, previously helming films like 2010’s Rubber, which is about a tire with telekinetic powers that goes on a killing spree, and 2020’s Mandibles, in which two friends find a giant fly stuck in the trunk of a car and then train it to earn money with it. In other words, the perfect director to handle the story of a surrealist like Salvador Dali.
To hell with search engine optimization! The title contain 6 "a"s for the 6 different actors playing Dali.
What we don’t like:
Is there a market in the US for this type of French experimentation? Distributor Music Box films has done its best to get the word out on this title, but it’s earned less than $100k at the domestic box-office. Adventurous movie lovers should give it a chance.
THE ELECTRIC STATE - Netflix
Synopsis: An orphaned teen hits the road with a mysterious robot to find her long-lost brother, teaming up with a smuggler and his wisecracking sidekick.
What we like:
A cast that features actors we adore: Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito, Jason Alexander, and Woody Norman. He’s the kid from the great Mike Mills film C’mon C’mon. Plus the voices of Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Alan Tudyk, Hank Azaria, Colman Domingo, and Rob Gronkowski.
The film is loosely based on the 2018 illustrated novel of the same name by Simon Stålenhag.
What we don’t like:
Honestly, we don’t really care how much a film cost to make. Movies with big budgets can be great, and they can be terrible. The Electric State reportedly cost Netflix $320M. That’s a jaw-dropping figure, especially for a film that will reap $0 box-office dollars. And early word indicates it’s not good.
Happy Streaming Everyone!
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