What’s Streaming This Week (1/18 – 1/25)

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG – $19.99 Sale / $9.99 Rental

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff,Lindsay Mendez, Krystal Joy Brown, Katie Rose Clarke and Reg Rogers

Synopsis: Spanning three decades, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends — writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. Originally produced on Broadway in 1981, then becoming an inventive cult-classic ahead of its time, Merrily We Roll Along features some of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal songs.

What we like:

• This proshot movie captures the acclaimed 2023–24 Broadway revival directed by Maria Friedman starring Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe (who both won Tony Awards for their performances), plus Lindsay Mendez (who was Tony nominated).
• RadicalMedia, the same company that filmed the original cast of Hamilton for Disney+ and Come from Away for Apple TV+, shot this revival. They know what they’re doing.

What we don’t like:

• Fans of the musical will have to re-watch this staged version for the next 15 years or so. Richard Linklater’s film adaptation began filming in 2019, and won’t be hitting theaters until 2040 or 2041.

THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS – $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Cast: Tom Kenney, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, Mark Hamill, Regina Hall, Sherry Cola, Arturo Castro, George Lopez, and Ice Spice. 

Synopsis: Desperate to be a big guy, SpongeBob sets out to prove his bravery to Mr. Krabs by following The Flying Dutchman – a mysterious swashbuckling ghost pirate – on a seafaring adventure that takes him to the deepest depths of the deep sea, where no Sponge has gone before.

What we like:

• Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy), and Mr. Lawrence (Plankton) all reprise their iconic voices.
• Mark Hamill joins as the Flying Dutchman. Yes, Luke Skywalker’s voice is behind the spooky pirate ghost.
• Ice Spice appears both in the voice cast (as a ticket taker) and on the soundtrack with an original song that quickly sparked memes online (“SpongeBob big guy pants OK”).

What we don’t like:

• The last two SpongeBob movies, 2024’s Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie and 2025’s Plankton: The Movie, both went straight to Netflix. The one before that, 2021’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run went straight to Paramount+ and PVOD (for COVID reasons). But 2015’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water earned $350M worldwide, while Search for SquarePants has grossed less than half that total. Did the streak of streaming releases kill SpongeBob as a theatrical event?

VINCENT MUST DIE – $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Cast: Karim Leklou, Vimalas Pons, François Chattot, Michaël Perez, Emmanuel Vérité, Guillaume Bursztyn, Benoit Lambert, Jean-Rémy Chaize, Maurin Olles, Jean-Christophe Folly

Synopsis: Random strangers have suddenly started attacking Vincent with murderous intent in this nerve-shredding, ground-breaking movie riding the new wave of French horror. Vincent’s existence as a completely unremarkable man is overturned, and as things spiral violently out of control, he is forced to change his life completely.

What we like:

• The first full-length feature for director Stéphan Castang, who premiered the film at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the prestigious Critics’ Week sidebar.
• The film mixes absurdist dark comedy with horror, thriller, and even apocalyptic elements as its everyman protagonist suddenly finds everyone around him trying to kill him for no clear reason.
• Coming out of Cannes, the film received very positive reviews. It currently sits at 93% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

What we don’t like:

• Originally in French, the film got an English dubbed release in the U.S. (via an AI-assisted dubbing process called Flawless). Honestly…we don’t care how ‘flawless’ the dubbing is. We hate it. We’re hoping the digital release offers an original-language version with English subtitles. Otherwise, hard pass.

---

GABBY’S DOLLHOUSE: THE MOVIE – Peacock

Cast: Laila Lockhart Kraner, Gloria Estefan, Maria Bamford, Mimi Webb and Kristen Wiig

Synopsis: Gabby heads out on a road trip with her Grandma Gigi to the urban wonderland of Cat Francisco. But when Gabby’s dollhouse, her most prized possession, ends up in the hands of an eccentric cat lady named Vera, Gabby sets off on an adventure through the real world to get the Gabby Cats back together and save the dollhouse before it’s too late.

What we like:

• The movie blends live-action with animated sequences, letting Gabby (played by Laila Lockhart Kraner) interact with her fantastical Gabby Cats while also starring alongside real-life cultural icons like Gloria Estefan, who plays her grandma, Gigi.
• The film features the always hilarious Kristen Wiig as the quirky cat-obsessed Vera, plus voices from SNL alums like Ego Nwodim, Kyle Mooney, and Melissa Villaseñor.

What we don’t like:

• So yeah, this is clearly not for us. Selfishly, we wish Wiig would make another Barb and Star film. But we get it…she has two kids and they’re probably big fans of Gabby’s Dollhouse. But please…more Barb and Star films would be great.

LA GRAZIA – MUBI

Cast: Toni Servillo, Anna Ferzetti, Orlando Cinque, Massimo Venturiello, Milvia Marigliano, Giuseppe Gaiani, Giovanna Guida, Alessia Giuliani, Roberto Zibetti, Vasco Mirandola, Linda Messerklinger, Rufin Doh Zeyenouin

Synopsis: President Mariano De Santis’ term is coming to an end. Disparagingly nicknamed ‘Cemento armato’ (reinforced concrete) for his intractable nature and overly careful approach to politics, he has grown lonely in the echoing halls of the presidential palace, mourning the loss of his wife and listening to hip-hop. Before returning to civilian life, De Santis must make a series of bold decisions – a pair of presidential pardons and a groundbreaking policy bill – that will cement his legacy.

What we like:

• Written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, one of Italy’s most acclaimed filmmakers. He’s best known stateside for The Great Beauty, which won the Best Foreign Language Film (as it was called then) Oscar in 2013.
• Legendary Italian actor Toni Servillo stars as President Mariano De Santis. Servillo picked up the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival for his performance.

What we don’t like:

• It’s been a rough go at the arthouse box-office for MUBI. After picking up a number of high-profile festival titles in 2025 (Die My Love, The History of Sound, The Mastermind), none have broken out they way 2024’s The Substance did. La Grazia didn’t break the trend. The film has earned only $130K in the US to date.

MOTHER OF FLIES – Shudder

Cast: John Adams, Lulu Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser

Synopsis: When a young woman faces a deadly diagnosis, she seeks dark magic from a witch in the woods – but every cure has costs.

What we like:

• Mother of Flies was written, directed, edited, shot, scored, and starred in by the same filmmaking family…the Adams Family: John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser. They essentially run the whole production from top to bottom together.
• Despite its title, the movie isn’t a creature feature about insects. Instead, it’s a deeply atmospheric folk horror about life, death, and dark magic set deep in the woods.
• The film made history at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival by becoming the first U.S. feature film to win the Cheval Noir Award for Best Film.

What we don’t like:

• Really nothing not to like here! Maybe we have some envy that the Adams Family are a talented, prolific bunch that create interesting art together. We can hardly get through a Thanksgiving dinner with our family.

THE SMASHING MACHINE – HBO Max

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Lyndsey Gavin, Oleksandr Usyk, Bas Rutten, Ryan Bader, Satoshi Ishii, James Moontasri, Yoko Hamamura

Synopsis: MMA fighter Mark Kerr struggles with addiction, winning and love during his peak era in the UFC.

What we like:

• The film premiered in competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival last September, and won the Silver Lion for direction for Benny Safdie.
• Emily Blunt received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the film. She lost to Teyana Taylor for One Battle After Another.
• The film was primarily shot on 16 mm film, with some scenes shot on 70 mm and even VHS cameras to give it a visual texture that mirrors the documentary feel of MMA broadcasts.

What we don’t like:

• Despite its festival acclaim and awards buzz, the film had a modest theatrical run, earning around $21 million worldwide on a roughly $50 million budget. No one was expecting The Rock to match his Fast & Furious or Jumanji numbers, but audiences pretty much rejected it.

SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE – Hulu

Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Odessa Young, Stephen Graham, Gaby Hoffmann, and David Krumholtz

Synopsis: Visionary musician Bruce Springsteen embarks on an emotional journey to record “Nebraska.”

What we like:

• Rather than spanning his entire career, the film focuses on a short but hugely significant period in the early 1980s, when Springsteen withdrew from the spotlight to record his stark, acoustic Nebraska album on a simple 4-track recorder in his New Jersey home.
• The screenplay was adapted from Deliver Me from Nowhere by Warren Zanes, which explores Springsteen’s creative process and emotional state during this period.
• Jeremy Allen White, whose performance as Springsteen earned him a Golden Globe nomination, contributed covers of Springsteen classics to the official film soundtrack

What we don’t like:

• 20th Century Studios didn’t quite replicate the success of last year’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, both critically or commercially. The film earned about $22M domestically and currently sits at 59 on Metacritic. Audiences who did go liked it better, giving it a B+ CinemaScore. It should hopefully find more of an audience now that it’s hitting Hulu.

---

ELEANOR THE GREAT – Netflix

Cast: June Squibb, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht, and Erin Kellyman

Synopsis: 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.

What we like:

• Scarlett Johansson’s feature film directorial debut had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section.
• The title character, Eleanor Morgenstein, is played by 94 year-old June Squibb. Amazing! Even Clint Eastwood stopped starring in films at 91.
• The film has earned two AARP Movies for Grownups Awards nominations, including Best Actress (Squibb) and Best Intergenerational Film.

What we don’t like:

• After Squibb’s triumph in 2024’s Thelma (which actually won AARP’s Best Intergenerational Film award), this one was a bit of a letdown, both critically and commercially. It currently sits at a 52 on Metacritic, and earned only $2.6M at the domestic box-office.

THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 2 – Starz

Cast: Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath

Synopsis: On the final day of their cross country road trip, a couple’s vehicle breaks down, forcing them to take refuge in a remote Airbnb. As night falls, three masked strangers terrorize them until dawn.

What we like:

• The fourth overall film in The Strangers franchise and the second installment of a trilogy that was shot all at once in Bratislava, Slovakia back in late 2022.
• The trilogy is directed by Renny Harlin, who’s made some terrific schlock (Die Hard 2, Deep Blue Sea, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Cliffhanger) and some terrible schlock (The Strangers: Chapter 1, The Strangers: Chapter 2).
• Fans of the trilogy will be able to catch up on Starz in time for the release of The Strangers: Chapter 3, which hits theaters on February 6th.

What we don’t like:

• After Chapter 1 premiered in 2024, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 received ‘additional photography’, including new flashbacks, based on audience feedback from the first film. Always a terrific sign of high quality.

Happy Streaming Everyone!

---