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Drac’s back. So are the two fists of Gal Gadot.
This weekend, a horror legend gets new life in a seafaring 19th-century thriller inspired by a single chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic “Dracula” novel. Speaking of icons, Gadot trades Wonder Woman’s gauntlets and lasso of truth for superspy firearms in a Netflix action thriller, Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor have a pod baby in a futuristic satire and Amazon rolls out a politically themed gay romantic comedy.
Here’s a guide to new movies that will satisfy every cinematic taste, plus some noteworthy theatrical films making their streaming and on-demand debuts this weekend:
If you live for vampire flicks: ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’
Director André Øvredal’s period horror film is a seafaring slasher where a monstrous Dracula (Javier Botet) gets loose on a Russian schooner bound for England and the sailors – including a ship-shape British doctor (Corey Hawkins) looking for a way home – are not ready for the king bloodsucker. The creature effects aren’t bad and the literary inspiration is pretty nifty but it’s way more chatty than it needs to be and it skimps on the claustrophobic carnage.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you miss Gal Gadot kicking large amounts of posterior: ‘Heart of Stone’
The “Wonder Woman” star gets her own superspy franchise starring as Rachel Stone, an undercover operative working for a secret global peacekeeping organization. She’s embedded on an MI6 team but has her world blown up when a young hacker (Alia Bhatt) attempts to steal a powerful AI technology. Rachel gets knocked down and keeps getting up again in a decent action movie boosted by Gadot’s charisma and likability.
Where to watch: Netflix
If you could use a feel-good romantic comedy: ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’
Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) and the U.S. president’s son Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez) don’t like each other, and their rivalry causes an international incident via a wedding cake disaster. But it turns out these two guys are actually crushing hard on each other and a relationship forms that threatens both of their high-profile status quo in a politically idealistic, often touching and absolutely enjoyable gay rom-com.
Where to watch: Prime Video
If you dig futuristic satires (or are having a baby): ‘The Pod Generation’
Rachel (Clarke) works at a high-end tech company and signs up for a popular perk: Instead of a natural pregnancy, couples can have a baby through an artificial womb. She’s all for the “pod” experience, her botanist husband Alvy (Ejiofor) bristles, though their mindsets shift as the due date grows closer. The sci-fi comedy offers an intriguing exploration of gender dynamics amid a strange futuristic world that feels eerily possible.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you want to see Ben Kingsley pal around with an alien: ‘Jules’
The sweet sci-fi comedy riffs on “E.T.” with Kingsley as an elderly man living in rural Pennsylvania who has a UFO crash-land in his backyard. Not sure what to do, he takes in the gray-skinned, apple-chomping alien (Jade Quon) and two neighbors (Jane Curtin and Harriet Sansom Harris) lend a hand to help get the visitor back home in a thoughtful film about aging and finding purpose in one’s twilight years.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you like twists on the usual time-travel story: ‘Aporia’
Judy Greer puts being everyone’s best friend aside and takes the lead in this heady sci-fi drama about a woman grieving the death of her husband (Edi Gathegi) from a drunk-driving accident. Their scientist friend (Payman Maadi) offers to help with a machine that bends time and can alter the past, though by saving her love she dooms someone else (and changes her life), in a quietly intense tale with a thought-provoking premise.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you’re all about unconventional murder mysteries: ‘Medusa Deluxe’
It’s shear madness – sorry not sorry – when a stylist is scalped and murdered at a London hairdressing competition, causing a paranoid and backstabbing array of master coiffurists, models, designers, security guards and other staff to scramble to find the killer. While more stylish than substantial in a storytelling sense, Thomas Hardiman’s directorial debut uses inventive cinematography to give the murder mystery a fashionable makeover.
Where to watch: In theaters and Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon, Google Play
If you love young adult romance and ‘Crazy Rich Asians’: ‘Love in Taipei’
Before she starts medical school, Ohio youngster Ever Wong (Ashley Liao) is sent by her parents to a cultural immersion program in Taiwan and soon discovers the “Loveboat” is more about hookups than homework. Ever embarks on a summer of self-discovery, and is wooed by both popular “wonder boy” Rick (Ross Butler) and artsy rich kid Xavier (Nico Hiraga), in a breezy and predictable romantic comedy based on an Abigail Hing Wen novel.
Where to watch: Paramount+
Also on streaming:
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