Streaming Originals [August 2022 Edition]
Streaming services are all competing for our eyeballs and dollars by investing insane amounts of money into creating original programming for their services. Whether this strategy is sound or not, I lean towards it not being sound, remains to been seen.
However, given that streaming services continue to spend and create, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite original movies from different services – movies that I have rated 8 or higher out of a 10. These are movies that were released directly to a streaming service – not movies that had a theatrical run – and these are movies that are exclusive to a specific streaming service.
Let me know what original movies you’ve enjoyed on your favorite streaming services.
Apple TV+
Finch
Post-apocalyptic movies mostly drift towards showing the worst in what humanity is capable of doing to each other. Finch takes a different approach by showing a robot discovering his own humanity. 8 out of 10. [Full Review]
Amazon Prime Video
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
I came into The Map of Tiny Perfect Things thinking that it would be a lite take on the time loop trope – a young adult spin of Palm Springs. But, when the credits started to roll, I was surprised at how much I liked this film and how different it is when compared to other time loop films. 10 out of 10. [Full Review]
Disney+
Luca
If you have any doubts about firing up Disney+ and watching Luca, tell those doubts: Silenzio Bruno! Stop reading now and go watch this charming coming-of-age animated movie. 8 out of 10. [Full Review]
HBO Max
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a four hour behemoth that moves at an amazing pace and kept my attention throughout. The storytelling in Zack Snyder’s Justice League is clear, impactful and even emotional. Much like the Ultimate Edition of Dawn of Justice, it is not a perfect film, but it is well worth spending time with. 9 out of 10. [Full Review]
Hulu
Prey
Prey is the best film of all the Predator franchise’s five movies. 10 out of 10. [Full Review]
Palm Springs
Palm Springs is light, bright, sweet and highly entertaining film that totally took me by surprise. I will be watching this film again soon. And if you haven’t seen it yet, you don’t really have to read any further: Go and watch it on Hulu. 10 out of 10. [Full Review]
Boss Level
Remember action movies from the 80s and 90s where it was pure unadulterated action without all the frills of character development? That’s what Boss Level is and this is ultimately a very good thing. 8 out of 10. [Full Review]
Netflix
The Adam Project
I was pleasantly surprised by The Adam Project Heart as it is heartfelt and touching. The Adam Project is also immensely funny and there are enough special effects and action to keep an audience engaged with the movie. 8 out of 10. [Full Review]
Army of Thieves
I found Army of Thieves to be a very enjoyable film, even more so than Army of the Dead. Army of Thieves is one of those special films that outshines the film which brought it about. 8 out of 10. [Full Review]
I Am Mother
While the film was running, I was completely absorbed. Though I really liked the movie while it was running, once I was done with it and thought about what happened, things began to unravel a bit. 8 out of 10. [Full Review]
Oxygen
I enjoyed (though under great anxiety) watching Oxygen. 8 out of 10. [Full Review]
The Old Guard
The Old Guard is a kind of action film that is so sure of itself that it is unafraid to slow down. And because of that, I really liked the film and enjoyed every minute of it. 8 out of 10. [Full Review]
Paramount+
Honor Society
Honor Society is a surprisingly sweet movie and I really enjoyed it. 8 out of 10. [Full Review]