Are you ready to get to work this summer?
Not literally, of course, unless you count watching great movies on Hulu and HBO Max work.
Watch With Us doesn’t, which is why we can’t wait to stream these three new films that were just added to the popular streamers.
Trust us, it’s worth canceling those weekend plans to watch the Anne Hathaway comedy The Intern, the gothic thriller Stoker and the Steven Spielberg sci-fi adventure Ready Player One.
Why? Well, keep reading to find out why watching Nicole Kidman terrorize her teenage daughter is better than going outside with your friends and family.
‘The Intern’ (2015) – Hulu
By all accounts, Ben Whitaker (Robert De Niro) should be happy. He just retired after a satisfying career, and he’s still healthy and curious at age 70. Instead, Ben is bored, really bored, and he longs for the communal spirit and easy camaraderie that only a workplace offers. That’s why he applies to be an intern at an e-commerce fashion company in Brooklyn. His direct supervisor, CEO Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), isn’t so excited about overseeing someone old enough to be her grandfather. But as Ben acquits himself well at work, Jules realizes he has a lot to offer the company – and her.
Written and directed by rom-com veteran and fancy kitchen enthusiast Nancy Meyers, The Intern is a sweet-natured comedy that is better than you might think. The admittedly cutesy set-up could’ve been played for broad laughs or cheesy, sentimental melodrama, but Meyers instead opts for subtle observational humor that lets her well-developed characters shine through. De Niro dials down his Meet the Parents mugging and gives one of his best performances in years as a simple man who enjoys working, no matter what title he holds or position he’s in. Equally good is Hathaway as an overworked girlboss who is trying her best to balance her professional ambitions with her personal obligations.
The Intern is streaming on Hulu.
‘Stoker’ (2013) – HBO Max
Strange things happen to teenager India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska), especially after her beloved father, Richard (Dermot Mulroney), dies in a mysterious car accident. At his funeral, India is surprised to see Charlie (Matthew Goode), an uncle she never knew she had. Charlie immediately shows an unhealthy interest in her and her mother, Evelyn (Nicole Kidman), who isn’t as sad by her husband’s death as she should be. What does Richard want from them? And was Richard’s death really an accident?
Stoker is a hypnotic slice of American Gothic, written with gusto by Prison Break actor Wentworth Miller and stylishly directed by Korean auteur Park Chan-wook. It’s almost impossible to pin down what this movie is since it blends elements of horror, drama, thriller and romance so seamlessly. What I can safely say is that it’s always captivating, even when characters do odd things that don’t make much sense. As the not-so-bereaved widow, Kidman gives a stand-out performance, with a third-act monologue so searing and vicious, you might feel she’s directing her venom at you. Don’t take it personally.
Stoker is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Ready Player One’ – HBO Max
Steven Spielberg is about to release his latest sci-fi extravaganza, Disclosure Day, so now is a good time as any to watch one of his more underrated films in the genre, Ready Player One. In 2045, the bulk of humanity uses virtual reality to escape their dystopian present. When James Halliday (Mark Rylance), the inventor of the VR universe OASIS everyone plugs into, dies, he leaves behind one final gift: a scavenger hunt open to all, wherein the winner will inherit full control of OASIS. Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) thinks he can win, but he’ll have to overcome fierce competition and a rival VR company that wants full ownership of mankind’s digital world.
Adapted from the bestselling novel by Ernest Cline, Ready Player One is full of Easter eggs that will delight most boomers and millennials. From an adventure in The Shining’s Overlook Hotel to cameos from Donkey Kong, Godzilla and Batman, the film is a pop culture fever dream. It’s also an exciting sci-fi story, with a rousing underdog narrative that will make even the most cynical viewer crack a smile by the end.
Ready Player One is streaming on HBO Max.
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