From 'Final Destination' to 'Happy Gilmore 2,' 10 movies you need to stream right now

USA Today

4 days ago

The only thing that's more inevitable than death in a "Final Destination" movie is an ever-growing list of must-see movies hitting your favorite streaming services.
Embrace the air conditioning this first weekend of August and tuck into "Final Destination Bloodlines." That's new to HBO Max, and other services including Netflix, Peacock and Hulu have theatrical releases coming home, like an Anthony Hopkins/Bill Skarsgård thriller. Don't sleep on the original fare, either, like Netflix queen Sofia Carson's new romantic comedy. And there's a certain witchy Oscar-nominated musical that's switching services again to satisfy another subscriber base.
Here are 10 new and notable movies you can stream right now:
'The Assessment'
In a futuristic landscape wrecked by climate change, people have to get government permission to procreate to save resources. Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel play a scientific couple wanting a little one, and Alicia Vikander is the assessor sent to test them in extreme ways in the outrageously funny and extraordinarily bleak sci-fi thriller.
Where to watch: Hulu
'Borderline'
In this dark comedy set in the 1990s, a pop star (Samara Weaving) has recently returned home to her mansion when an escaped mental patient (Ray Nicholson) – and superfan – invades her home, hoping to wed his beloved. Charmingly unhinged, Nicholson is likable enough to root a little for the antagonist.
Where to watch: Peacock
'Death of a Unicorn'
In the trippily bonkers thriller, a widowed attorney (Paul Rudd) takes his estranged daughter (Jenna Ortega) on a work trip to a Rockies nature preserve for familial reconnection. That goes sideways when they hit a baby unicorn and the dad's pharmaceutical employers aim to use its blood for profit. Then the foal's parents show up and things get really gory.
Where to watch: HBO Max
'Final Destination Bloodlines'
The 2000s horror franchise is back after a long hiatus – and maybe better than ever? Kaitlyn Santa Juana plays a college student who learns that her grandmother cheated Death decades ago, and now that jerk is coming to take out her whole family via various creatively gnarly, Rube Goldberg-esque kills.
Where to watch: HBO Max
'Happy Gilmore 2'
This is the "Cannonball Run" of golf comedy sequels. The plot is a familiar one: Brash golfer Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) hits the links to raise enough money to send his daughter to ballet school. Come for the silliness, stay for the endless cameos, from women's hoopsters and pro wrestlers to musicians, gridiron stars and Sandler's old pals.
Where to watch: Netflix
'Locked'
Usually, Bill Skarsgård is the guy creeping people out. (Pennywise or Nosferatu, anyone?) But he's the one on the receiving end with this thriller. Skarsgård plays a young petty thief who jacks a car. But this souped-up vehicle is actually a trap, and its enigmatic owner (Anthony Hopkins) aims to teach him a lesson.
Where to watch: Hulu
'My Oxford Year'
Anna (Sofia Carson) is a New Yorker who fulfills her life's dream of going to Oxford University to study poetry. Things get complicated in the romantic drama, based on the Julia Whelan novel, when she falls hard for her TA, Jamie (Corey Mylchreest), who blows open her world but also comes complete with his own concerns.
Where to watch: Netflix
'The Phoenician Scheme'
Wes Anderson's comedy stars Benicio del Toro as a famed arms dealer who, after one assassination attempt too many, makes his estranged nun daughter (Mia Threapleton) his sole heir. Absurd shenanigans are afoot, though the real joy is watching a delightful del Toro and refreshing Threapleton navigating an oddly heartfelt family reconnection.
Where to watch: Peacock
'Until Dawn'
The "Until Dawn" video game is a freaky good time. The movie adaptation veers wildly from it, and not for the better. Clover (Ella Rubin) takes her friends along on a doomed trip to find her missing sister, and they wind up in a time loop where they have to stay alive till dawn to make it to tomorrow. It's a horror flick with a few cool moments but a ton more clichés.
Where to watch: Netflix
'Wicked'
If you didn't see the hit musical and "Wizard of Oz" prequel in theaters, on demand or on Peacock, maybe it's time to check it out on Amazon. Or simply to revisit the fantasy featuring Oscar nominees Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as pals Elphaba and Glinda before the highly anticipated sequel "Wicked: For Good" arrives in November.
Where to watch: Prime Video