What’s Streaming This Week (6/7 – 6/14)

MICHAEL – $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Cast: Jaafar Jackson, Nia Long, with Miles Teller and Colman Domingo

Synopsis: The story of Michael Jackson, one of the most influential artists the world has ever known, and his life beyond the music. His journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world, highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career.

What we like:

• The film stars Jaafar Jackson, who is the real-life nephew of Michael Jackson. This is Jaafar’s first feature-film role, and rather than relying entirely on Michael Jackson’s original recordings, Jaafar performed some vocals himself. Some scenes blend his live singing with Michael’s original tracks, while other moments feature Jaafar singing on his own.
• It has some quality talent behind the camera. The director is Antoine Fuqua, known for films like Training Day, while the screenplay was written by John Logan, who also wrote Gladiator and The Aviator.
• The film has been a massive hit at the box-office, both domestically and abroad. The film sits at $345M in the US and $514M internationally. And it’s still going strong.

What we don’t like:

• A legal issue forced filmmakers to revise the third act and conduct extensive reshoots in 2025. Reports estimate the changes cost roughly $10–15 million and significantly altered the film’s ending.
• Janet Jackson is mentioned zero times in the film.

BLUE FILM – $15.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Cast: Reed Birney, Kieron Moore

Synopsis: Drawn by the promise of easy money and anonymous sex, queer camboy Aaron Eagle is shocked to discover a personal connection with the mysterious stranger who has paid for his company. Over the course of one night, the two men engage in a war of words and emotions as they wrestle with the impact of a tainted and shared past.

What we like:

• The film follows a camboy who agrees to meet an anonymous client and discovers a disturbing connection to his past. Critics described it as one of the most provocative independent films of 2025 because of its exploration of taboo subjects and trauma. 
• One of the most notable things about Blue Film is that its controversy stemmed less from graphic content and more from its willingness to explore morally uncomfortable themes that many films avoid altogether.
• The film marked the first feature-length directing effort from Elliot Tuttle, who also wrote the screenplay. Mark Duplass served as a consulting producer on the project.

What we don’t like:

• Before finally premiering at the 2025 Edinburgh Film Festival, the movie was rejected by multiple high-profile film festivals, including Sundance and SXSW. Its controversial subject matter was widely cited as a factor. 

FIND YOUR FRIENDS – Shudder

Cast: Helena Howard, Bella Thorne, Zión Moreno, Chloe Cherry and Sophia Ali

Synopsis: Amber and her four best girlfriends take a trip to escape the L.A. bubble and cut loose in Joshua Tree for the weekend. But upon arrival, they quickly realize the locals don’t want them there.

What we like:

• The film marks the first feature-length movie directed by writer-director Izabel Pakzad, who also wrote the screenplay. Pakzad previously wrote, directed and starred in the short film Don’t Worry, It’s Gonna Be OK, which won Best Short at the 2022 LA Film Festival.
• The ensemble includes a talented cast of young actresses, including Bella Thorne, Helena Howard, Zión Moreno, Chloe Cherry, and Sophia Ali.
• After its world premiere at the 2025 Fantasia Film Festival, the film received mostly positive reviews from critics.

What we don’t like:

• Pakzad has said the movie grew out of a frightening desert car chase she experienced, where a mystery driver reportedly pursued her at extremely high speed. She later transformed that fear into the film’s story. We’re all for using your life experience to make art…but that sounds absolutely terrifying!

I AM FRANKELDA – Netflix

Cast: Mireya Mendoza, Arturo Mercado Jr., Luis Leonardo Suarez

Synopsis: Frankelda, a frustrated young Mexican writer from the 19th Century, travels in the form of a ghost to a kingdom of her own invention inhabited by Spooks, which are all the monstrous characters she created in her horror tales. Her guide is Herneval, the Prince of Spooks, who takes her to help him save the balance between the Realm of Fiction and the Realm of Existence by using her talent as a writer.

What we like:

• This film is widely recognized as the first feature-length stop-motion animated film produced entirely in Mexico, making it a landmark achievement for the country’s animation industry.
• It is a prequel to the animated series Frankelda’s Book of Spooks (originally Los Sustos Ocultos de Frankelda), and reportedly began as a short HBO Max special. As the story expanded, the filmmakers transformed it into a full theatrical feature, and it was snapped up by Netflix.
• The directors, brothers Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz, were mentored by Guillermo del Toro. According to interviews, they first contacted him as teenagers through a cold email, and he became an important supporter of their careers and of I Am Frankelda itself.
• The Ambriz brothers have spoken about stop-motion as a highly human, handmade medium involving sewing costumes, painting faces, and physically moving puppets. They see stop-motion as the opposite of AI-generated art (Yes!).

What we don’t like:

• It’s a bummer Netflix isn’t giving this any kind of theatrical release in the US. Reviews so far have been very positive, and it would have been terrific to see it on the big screen.

KRAKEN – $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Cast: Sara Khorami, Mikkel Bratt Silset, Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes, Øyvind Brandtzæg, Jenny Evensen, Steinar Klouman Hallert

Synopsis: Marine biologist Johanne is doing research on a fish farm in Vangsnes, a rural community located by the fjord, when she encounters several strange occurrences. Along with the brutal deaths of two local teenagers, all signs point to the deep fjord; can there be more to the depths than the eye can see? At the bottom of the deepest fjord rests a mythical monster as large as a mountain, with a myriad of arms ready to crush and devour anything they can grab.

What we like:

• Unlike many Kraken stories set on the open ocean, this film places the monster in Norway’s fjords. The Kraken’s appearance is connected to human disruption of the marine ecosystem, particularly industrial fish farming and underwater sonic technology. Woke Kraken…we’re ready!
• The film should not be confused with the 2025 Russian film, also titled Kraken, nor should it be confused with the 2023 animated feature Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. Totally different vibe.
• Early reviews are pretty positive!

What we don’t like:

• Online discussions and industry coverage reported the use of AI-assisted tools during parts of post-production, particularly in workflows such as rotoscoping and image processing. Booooo!!

SACCHARINE – $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Cast: Midori Francis, Madeleine Madden, Danielle Macdonald, Robert Taylor and Showko Showfukutei

Synopsis: After succumbing to an obscure weight-loss craze involving the eating of human ashes, lovelorn medical student Hana finds herself haunted by the ghost of the person she’s eating.

What we like:

• The film was written and directed by Natalie Erika James, whose acclaimed debut horror film Relic earned praise for blending supernatural scares with emotional themes. Saccharine continues her interest in horror as a metaphor for personal trauma and social pressures.
• While the film features gruesome supernatural elements, many critics have noted that it is fundamentally about body image, self-worth, diet culture, and the pressure to change oneself in pursuit of acceptance.
• It had its world premiere in the Midnight section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where viewers described the film as particularly visceral and difficult to watch due to its graphic medical imagery, body-horror sequences, and examination of eating disorders and self-destructive behavior. Perfect for Shudder (where it’ll land later this summer)!

What we don’t like:

• We’ll continue to bang the drum: We love that the Independent Film Company gives many of these Shudder titles a proper (not perfunctory) theatrical release. Sadly…this one struggled to get any butts in seats. It grossed only $115K domestically.