What’s Streaming This Week (12/28 – 1/4)

WICKED: FOR GOOD – $29.99 Sale / $24.99 Rental

Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Bowen Yang, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum

Synopsis: With the Wizard and the entirety of Oz framing her as wicked, Elphaba’s righteous crusade comes into conflict with Glinda’s struggle for power. As a mysterious cyclone brings in an unwitting young outsider, the former friends will soon discover how much their actions have changed each other, and all of Oz, for good. The second part of a two-part feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical phenomenon.

What we like:

• The whole gang is back together for the second half of the beloved Wicked musical. Instead of using a generic ‘Part Two’ for the sequel, the filmmakers added ‘For Good’. It’s a better (and more resonant!) title.
• Rather than relying on CGI for big moments (like the Tin Man transformation or the Yellow Brick Road), the production leaned into practical set pieces and effects to create a tactile Oz.
• Colman Domingo joins to cast as the voice of the Cowardly Lion.

What we don’t like:

TOGETHER – Hulu

Cast: Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Damon Herriman

Synopsis: With a move to the countryside already testing the limits of a couple’s relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their lives, and their flesh.

What we like:

• Michael Shanks’s directorial debut turns the idea of being “inseparable” into haunting body horror. After a mysterious cave encounter, Millie and Tim, played by real-life couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco, begin to physically fuse, serving as a gruesome, literal metaphor for emotional entanglement and the pitfalls of codependency.
• The film premiered in the Midnight section at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, quickly generating buzz for its inventive concept and execution. Neon then acquired U.S. distribution rights for (reportedly) around $17 million.

What we don’t like:

• Are the needle drops in the film a little too on the nose? The film features tracks like the Spice Girls’ “2 Become 1,” Golden Suits’ “Another One,” and The Turtles’ “Happy Together.” Alright…we’ll admit it…the Spice Girls song is a good choice.

AMERICANA – Starz

Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, Halsey, Simon Rex, with Eric Dane, and Zahn McClarnon

Synopsis: A gallery of dynamic characters clash over the possession of a rare Native American artifact in this wildly entertaining modern-day western. After the artifact falls onto the black market, a shy waitress with big dreams (Sweeney) teams up with a lovelorn military veteran (Hauser) to gain possession of it, putting them in the crosshairs of a ruthless criminal (Dane) working on behalf of a Western antiquities dealer (Rex). Bloodshed ensues when others join the battle, including the leader of an indigenous group (McClarnon) and a desperate woman fleeing her mysterious past (Halsey).

What we like:

• The feature directorial debut of Tony Tost, who just served as the showrunner for the second season of the Rian Johnson’s mystery show Poker Face on Peacock.
• The film has a stellar cast of talented actors, including Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, Halsey, Eric Dane, and Simon Rex.

What we don’t like:

• Though it premiered at SXSW in March 2023, the film sat on the shelf for over two years before reaching theaters. Its release coincided with Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Good Jeans’ controversy, which probably should have raised its profile. Alas, it pretty much tanked.

THE HOME – Starz

Cast: Pete Davidson, Marilee Talkington, Matthew Miniero, Jagger Nelson, Jimmy Gary Jr.

Synopsis: A troubled man starts working at a retirement home and realizes its residents and caretakers harbor sinister secrets. As he investigates the building and its forbidden fourth floor, he starts to uncover connections to his own past and upbringing as a foster child.

What we like:

• This horror thriller was written and directed by James DeMonaco, best known for creating The Purge franchise.
• Star Pete Davidson described acting in horror as “so embarrassing” because his comedic instincts sometimes clashed with serious scenes.
• The eerie setting isn’t CGI or a studio: production shot at the closed Saint Francis Residential Community in Denville, New Jersey.

What we don’t like:

• Davidson nearly suffered actual eye damage during the needle-scare sequence prominently featured in the marketing materials. Ironically, the director later admitted using Davidson’s real eye wasn’t necessary.

DRACULA – $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Cast: Adonis Tanța, Oana Maria Zaharia, Gabriel Spahiu, Ilinca Manolache, Alexandru Dabija, Andrada Balea, Doru Talos, Serban Pavlu, Lukas Miko, Alexandra Harapu

Synopsis: A frustrated filmmaker, facing creative paralysis, turns to an A.I. chatbot in order to make his latest movie a hit. The result: a Dracula film made in Transylvania. What does it contain? A vampire hunt. Zombies and Dracula crashing a strike. A science-fiction story about Vlad the Impaler coming back. An adaptation of the first Romanian vampire novella. A love story. A montage reusing a classic vampire film. A vulgar folktale. AI-generated kitsch stories. And many delights in a film dealing with this cinema myth.

What we like:

• Instead of a straight gothic horror, Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude’s Dracula is a satirical comedy-drama that deconstructs the Dracula legend through absurd and irreverent vignettes. It blends humor, politics, and surreal imagery rather than sticking to a traditional narrative.
• The plot centers on a fictional filmmaker who uses AI to generate Dracula movie sequences, resulting in bizarre, grotesque, hilarious, and intentionally ugly AI visuals. The film uses these AI elements as both plot device and satirical content, poking fun at technology’s role in creativity.
• Is this the first Dracula movie made by an actual Romanian? Jude shot in over 40 locations across his home country (including medieval sites like the Sighișoara Citadel and Bethlen Castle) and parts of Bucharest, and filmed entirely on an iPhone.

What we don’t like:

• With a runtime of 170 minutes, the film’s length itself is part of the joke…a deliberate challenge to conventional storytelling and audience expectations. This will definitely not be everyone’s cup of tea. But for fans of Jude, it’s a must-watch.

Happy Streaming Everyone!