Morbius, Netflix’s Spiderhead, and more new movies to watch at home

Joyful Friday, Polygon readers! This week brings a bevy of recent film releases on streaming companies and for rental or buy on VOD.

Main the best way this week is Netflix’s Spiderhead, the brand new film from Joseph Kosinski. Kosinski directed High Gun: Maverick, one in all our picks for the most effective motion pictures of 2022, and Polygon readers can also keep in mind his well-known Gears of Battle industrial from 2006. This outing, he’s working with Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, and the writing staff behind the Deadpool motion pictures and 6 Underground on a cerebral sci-fi.

We’d be remiss to not point out Morbius, which is now obtainable at a decreased rental worth of $5.99. Please Morb responsibly.

There are additionally the long-awaited launch of Phil Tippett’s nightmarish horror Mad God, two latest Oscar nominees making their streaming debuts, a bunch of recent Netflix motion motion pictures, and rather more!

Spiderhead

The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Netflix

Picture: Netflix

“High Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski and the writers of Deadpool staff as much as adapt a dystopian brief story by George Saunders” is an actual description of an actual film that basically exists. Set in a state-of-the-art penitentiary the place inmates are pressured to bear a collection of mind-altering drug trials in trade for commuted sentences, Spiderhead follows the story of Jeff (Miles Teller) and Lizzy (Jurnee Smollett), two take a look at topics who type an unlikely connection below the watchful eye of Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth), an elusive tech visionary whose deranged philosophy of “higher dwelling via chemistry” threatens the sanity (and lives) of everybody within the facility.

From our overview:

Regardless of the dystopian premise, Kosinski brings a lightweight contact to Spiderhead. Colourful cinematography and spirited enhancing distinction with the characters’ tragic backstories and bleak dwelling situations, and spotlight the disparity between the chemically induced highs and nightmarish lows of Abnesti’s experiments. Halfway via the movie, Abnesti asks Jeff to explain the worst day of his life as the 2 journey on a feel-good drug. Jeff remembers the day his father deserted him, laughing hysterically the complete time. That normal vibe of emotional whiplash runs all through Spiderhead, and Kosinski successfully mines its sinister undertones.

Morbius

The place to observe: Accessible to lease for $5.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu

Picture: Sony Footage

Sony’s newest Marvel film is one other antihero story, as Jared Leto performs the doctor-turned-vampire Michael Morbius. When he assessments a treatment for his uncommon blood illness on himself, he turns into the ungodly creation you see above. And now you’ll be able to lease it on the decreased worth of $5.99.

From our overview:

One of many necessary classes of Venom’s success was that if unimaginative superhero franchise movies should be churned out, they’ll nonetheless really feel worthwhile in the event that they’re fueled by sensible, humorous performances. Audiences do prove for characters they love, however in addition they present up for characters performed by individuals, by actors who give them bizarre quirks and particular mannerisms. Morbius is what occurs when there’s a studio want for one more Venom, however with out a lot thought as to how Venom linked with anybody. It’s solely there to plug right into a burgeoning crossover franchise. (As a pair of nonsensical mid-credits scenes point out.)

The Worst Individual within the World

The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Hulu

Picture: Neon

The third movie in what’s been described as director Joachim Trier’s “Oslo trilogy,” The Worst Individual within the World is a romantic black comedy centered on Julie (Renate Reinsve), a medical pupil stumbling via an underwhelming love life and a troubled profession path. Following her via 4 years of her life, the movie explores Julie’s delayed progress into maturity and her emotional hang-ups over love, life, {and professional} success.

From our roundup of the most effective motion pictures of 2021:

Trier peppers in magical-realist touches that additional enliven an already irresistible screenplay buoyed by nuanced, three-dimensional characters. Reinsve’s breakthrough efficiency offers the movie its most putting ingredient. She brings throughout her character’s conflicted state in fascinating methods, with an alluring effervescence and real character. The always-memorable actor Anders Danielsen Lie, an everyday collaborator of Trier’s, enhances her work in a heartrending, however nonetheless intellectually difficult function as one in all her companions.

Mad God

The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Shudder

Picture: Tippett Studio

Almost 30 years within the making, VFX artist-director Phil Tippett’s Mad God is a nightmarish odyssey via a dystopian world of Boschian grotesqueries and phantasmagorical landscapes. Whereas the movie’s plot takes a backseat to its visuals, the story roughly follows a mysterious determine often called “The Murderer” who descends right into a world of titans and monsters on an unspecified quest.

Father of the Bride

The place to observe: Accessible to stream on HBO Max

Picture: HBO Max

The third film adaptation of Edward Streeter’s 1949 novel, this one stars Andy Garcia and Adria Arjona as the daddy and the bride, respectively. Not like the 1950 model with Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, and Elizabeth Taylor, or the 1991 film with Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, and Kimberly Williams, the brand new adaptation focuses on a Cuban American household.

Lunana: A Yak within the Classroom

The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Netflix

Picture: Dangphu Dingphu/Samuel Goldwyn Movies

A nominee for Greatest Worldwide Characteristic Movie at this 12 months’s Oscars, Lunana: A Yak within the Classroom is a drama from Bhutan a few instructor with desires of being a singer who’s assigned to a classroom in a small mountain village.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Hulu

Picture: Searchlight Footage

Director Sophie Hyde (Animals) and comedy author Katy Model staff up for this intercourse comedy starring Emma Thompson as a retired widow who hires a intercourse employee (Daryl McCormack), hoping to spice issues up and expertise one thing new.

Jerry & Marge Go Giant

The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Paramount Plus

Picture: Jake Giles Netter/Paramount Plus

The Satan Wears Prada director David Frankel helms this true-story comedy written by Arrested Growth author Brad Copeland. Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening star as a pair who win the lottery utilizing math after which use the cash to enhance their city.

Cha Cha Actual Easy

The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Apple TV Plus

Picture: Apple TV Plus

This Sundance darling stars writer-director Cooper Raiff as a person working as a “social gathering motivator” who kinds a friendship with a mother (Dakota Johnson) and her daughter (Vanessa Burghardt) at a bar mitzvah.

Collision

The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Netflix

Picture: Netflix

This South African crime thriller comes from French director Fabien Martorell, who beforehand labored on documentaries and brief movies. Set in Johannesburg, the film follows the kidnapping of a younger girl by a gangster and the efforts of her mother and father to avoid wasting her.

Centauro

The place to observe: Accessible to stream on Netflix

Picture: Netflix

This crime thriller from Spain follows Rafa (Àlex Monner), knowledgeable motorbike racer. When his mother will get in bother with some unhealthy individuals, he makes use of his distinctive set of abilities to assist her out, however will it jeopardize his profession within the course of?

Downton Abbey: A New Period

The place to observe: Accessible to lease for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu

Picture: Ben Blackall/Focus Options

The sequel to the 2019 Downton Abbey film, this new installment within the long-running franchise arrives on VOD for rental. On this one, the Crawley household travels to France after a mysterious inheritance.

Father Stu

The place to observe: Accessible to lease for $5.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu

Picture: Karen Ballard/Sony Footage

Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson star on this faith-based image a few former boxer who turns into a Catholic priest. It’s now obtainable for lease at a decreased worth of $5.99.

Blowback

The place to observe: Accessible to lease for $5.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu

Picture: Saban Movies

Former UFC champion Randy Couture stars alongside Cam Gigandet and Louis Mandylor on this crime thriller a few thief in search of vengeance in opposition to the crew that betrayed him. There’s additionally a cryptocurrency subplot, apparently.