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Tom's Guide
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
5 top new movies to stream this week on HBO Max, Disney Plus, Hulu and more (May 27-June 2)
This week sees plenty of new movies arriving across the best streaming services. The major players like Netflix and Prime Video are sitting out the next seven days, but their rivals are picking up the slack with HBO Max, Disney Plus, Hulu and Peacock offering new flicks for subscribers to enjoy. There's no contest when it comes to picking my personal highlight this week: HBO Max's 'Mountainhead' has all my attention. This sharp comedy-drama comes from 'Succession' creator Jesse Armstrong, and the trailer presents a similar tone to his award-winning black comedy series. Other noteworthy newcomers include the Disney Plus debut of 'Captain America: Brave New World' and family flick 'Dog Man' on Peacock. Here's a guide to the most noteworthy new additions across streaming platforms this week, and if you want to watch some TV instead, we have a rundown of the top new TV shows you can stream this week as well. Josh Hartnett stars in this sky-high action comedy that appears to take pretty clear cues from 'Bullet Train.' That's not a bad source of inspiration and Tom's Guide's own Martin Shore labeled it 'the wildest movie I've seen in 2025' and also called it 'an absolute riot.' This glowing write-up has definitely convinced me to add it to my watchlist this week. In 'Fight or Flight,' Hartnett plays a skilled mercenary who boards an international flight bound for San Francisco. But he's not on this plane to watch movies and eat questionable food, he's been tasked with identifying an elusive hacker known as 'The Ghost.' Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The job gets even trickier when it becomes clear the plane is filled with assassins, and these contract killers have both 'The Ghost' and Hartnett's Lucas Reyes in their crosshairs, forcing an uneasy alliance. Buy or rent on Amazon from May 27 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig' is one of the best movies of last year you (probably) didn't see. It's a gripping political thriller that competed for the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize. The work of writer/director Mohammed Rasoulof, the twisting narrative unfolds with almost unbearable tension, and the performances are electric. The movie centers on Iman (Missagh Zareh), a judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, who struggles with increasing paranoia as the Iranian city falls into a state of political unrest following the death of a young woman. As the outside situation deteriorates, things within Iman's home also take a turn when a handgun given to him for protection by the government goes missing. He suspects that his wife and daughter may have taken it, and things only go south from there. Watch on Hulu from May 27 The fourth Captain America solo movie sees the superhero mantle passed over to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) following the events of the Disney Plus series 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.' So long, Steve Rogers. While 'Captain America: Brave New World' is far from a truly vintage entry in the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's a step up from some of the franchise's recent duds. It's a mostly enjoyable blockbuster, even if it feels extremely routine after 30+ MCU movies. In this new world full of sinister threats originating from Earth and beyond, Sam is still finding his footing now that he's taken up the Captain America role. But he's forced to learn on the job as he's drawn into a major international incident when freshly elected U.S. president Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) is targeted in a mysterious assassination attempt. Watch on Disney Plus from May 28 The whimsical 'Dog Man' series by Dav Pilkey is a childhood staple for millions, so it's no surprise the canine police officer's first big-screen outing has been warmly embraced by viewers of all ages. Packing a charming but very silly story and vibrant animation courtesy of Dreamworks, it's got all the ingredients to be a firm family favorite, and this week it arrives on Peacock. Based on a graphic novel series, it sees a police officer and his faithful pooch fused together after an explosive injury (don't worry, it's less grisly than it sounds). Reborn as Dog Man, the human-dog hybrid must embrace his new identity while also stopping a feline supervillain, Petey the Cat, from unleashing chaos on Ohkay City. The movie includes the voice talents of Peter Hastings, Pete Davidson, Isla Fisher, Lil Rel Howery and Ricky Gervais. Watch on Peacock from May 30 I'm a 'Succession' superfan, so it's probably no surprise that 'Mountainhead' on HBO Max is my most anticipated new movie of the week. This satirical comedy-drama comes from Jesse Armstrong, the creator of the award-winning HBO show, and the man behind the excellent British comedy 'Peep Show.' Armstrong knows how to write biting dialogue and craft memorable and compelling characters, even if they're also often unlikable. 'Mountainhead' is a confined movie that sees a group of wealthy tech billionaires (Steven Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith and Ramy Youssef) meet in a plush mountainside lodge where an international crisis unfolds around them. Based on the trailer, it looks packed with snappy exchanges that scream vintage Jesse Armstrong. In many ways, it appears to be something of a spiritual sequel to 'Succession.' Consider me fully sold. Watch on HBO Max from May 31
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Fight or Flight' review: Josh Hartnett delivers in spirited espionage comedy
All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. Forget James Bond, Jason Bourne, or Ethan Hunt. The secret agent at the heart of the Josh Hartnett-fronted Fight or Flight has more in common with Austin Powers or Brad Pitt's put-upon mercenary from Bullet Train, as he is highly skilled, hilariously eccentric, and nowhere near as suave as he thinks he is. Directed by James Madigan and written by Brooks McLaren (How It Ends) and D.J. Cotrona, Fight or Flight brings spiky fun to its espionage thriller framework by filling a fancy plane with contract killers, each brandishing their own set of skills, specialty weapons, and aesthetic quirks. With the madcap energy of Snakes on a Plane, Fight or Flight centers on one world-weary man-of-action who wants no part of the mayhem, but must master it to survive. SEE ALSO: Summer Movie Preview: What's coming to theaters and streaming? The resulting melee is outrageous, fun, and surprising, yet it is mostly confined to a cramped, sky-high cabin. Charithra Chandran as Isha in "Fight or Flight." Credit: Vertical Disgraced and disavowed, former American operative Lucas Reyes (Hartnett) has been living in hiding, and he's worse for wear. Introduced as scruffy, bedraggled, and day-drunk, he looks like he can barely handle his shift on a pedicab, much less sweep in to covertly recover a top-secret asset from an international flight. But when former colleague Katherine Brunt (an icy Katee Sackhoff) calls with a mission that could redeem him, how can he say no? Katherine needs Lucas to find "The Ghost," a "black hat terrorist" who's been suspected of destabilizing governments through corporate intrusion. This mysterious figure is on the run after an explosive collision with U.S. ops. And the closest agent they have to The Ghost's escape route is the down-and-out Lucas, so he's sent in to snag The Ghost alive. There are just a few problems. For one, no one knows what The Ghost looks like. So even a well-meaning flight attendant like Isha (Bridgerton's Charithra Chandran) is at a loss as to how to help. And two, Lucas isn't the only hired gun hunting this notorious Ghost. So, he'll not only have to capture his target, but also keep The Ghost alive as a fleet of assassins reveal themselves. Credit: Vertical Where Lucas may once have been a smooth operator in the field, he's become a messy drunkard who has no interest in doing this wet work sober. Champagne, whiskey, frog venom — you put it in front of Lucas, he'll give it a go. And this means his fighting style has a goofy looseness, whether he's going hand-to-hand in a spacious first-class bathroom, facing off against a cat-eyed killer (Nóra Trokán) in the aisles, or in full-on battle mode, using improvised tools and other passengers as weapons. SEE ALSO: How to watch 'Black Bag' right now: The sexy spy thriller comes to streaming With the help of a crack stunt team, Hartnett tackles most of these stunts himself. This means his face is front and center during much of the chaotic action, allowing him to mug in comic dismay, rage, or surprise for the camera. And as was hinted in Trap, Hartnett has a terrifically twisted sense of humor. Here it runs free as Lucas bumbles from one comically bloody confrontation to another and into a drug trip that turns reality into rainbows and fireworks, while his reality is much more fountains of gore. Surrounding his discombobulated hero are a cavalcade of killers who have little time to develop character. Instead, odd bits of business like dancing, details like facial tattoos or strange contact lenses, or costumes of martial artist robes signify a wider world of distinctive operatives. Fight or Flight doesn't have the time or inclination to get as into its world-building as the John Wick franchise or even Bullet Train, as most of the foes Lucas faces will be ejected from the plot after their first fight with him. Still, the supporting cast has a collective verve that suits Hartnett's chaotic energy, allowing the flow to be fast, furious, and entertaining. Katee Sackhoff and Julian Kostov play U.S. agents in "Fight or Flight." Credit: Vertical When on the plane, Fight or Flight delivers claustrophobic thrills, serving up exciting action built on sharp fight choreography and mindful use of every airplane in-flight element you could imagine. Biting banters — mostly between loopy Lucas and the annoyed Isha — keep the fun flying. Admittedly, Madigan struggles keeping the action on the ground — where Katherine delivers exposition with a snarling colleague (Julian Kostov) — as propulsive. But props to Sackoff, who brings intensity to everything, be it efficient plot point delivery or a hissed insult at a group of strangers meditating loudly in a public park. Beyond elevating such requisites of plot and genre, she smartly creates a foil to Lucas. Katherine, who is almost absurdly stern, is what Lucas might have been had he not flared out years back. That makes his bonkers attitude feel like a bit of a victory, a freedom from spy stuffiness that we get to enjoy vicariously — without the inevitable hangover. In the end, sure, Fight or Flight is not as richly built as Austin Powers movies or even Bullet Train, which got soap operatic in its characters and their connections. But it's deliriously fun, satisfying our craving for madcap mayhem, outrageous action, goofy gore, and Hartnett going ham. I mean, this is a movie where a disavowed spy fires up a chainsaw on an airplane in flight. Get on board, or be bored elsewhere. Fight or Flight opens in theaters May 9.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Where to Watch ‘Fight or Flight': Is Josh Hartnett's Gonzo Action Movie Streaming?
Coming straight off of his fearless, peerlessly playful performance in M. Night Shyamalan's 'Trap,' Josh Hartnett is carrying another wild and playful genre experiment with 'Fight or Flight.' Hartnett stars as an exiled American agent, Lucas Reyes, who gets a shot at redemption aboard a flight from Bangkok to San Francisco. All he has to do is track down and identify the 'mysterious, international high-value asset known as The Ghost.' Oh, and the plane is full of assassins trying to kill both of them. The film marks the feature debut of director James Madigan, who has an extensive background in visual effects, from 'The Da Vinci Code' to the 'Red' films, as well as second unit credits on films including 'The Meg' and 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.' It's also a showcase for Hartnett, who threw himself into doing '100% of his stunts,' as Madigan recently told Jimmy Fallon. Along with Hartnett, the film stars Katee Sackhoff, Charithra Chandran and Julian Kostov. Here's where you can watch 'Fight or Flight' right now. The film lands on May 9, 2025. 'Fight or Flight' is headed exclusively into theaters nationwide for the time being. No streaming details have been confirmed for this one yet, but it's a Vertical picture and most of their recent releases have wound up on Hulu ('The Order,' 'The Damned,' 'Lee') or Max ('Your Monster,' 'Elevation'). The post Where to Watch 'Fight or Flight': Is Josh Hartnett's Gonzo Action Movie Streaming? appeared first on TheWrap.
San Francisco Chronicle
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Review: Josh Hartnett crashes and burns in weak, empty ‘Fight or Flight'
It must be difficult deciding whether to star in a movie as bad as 'Fight or Flight.' On the one hand, you're being asked to make a movie, and that's a good thing. There's the money to consider, plus the sheer fun of working with people on a project and anticipating its release and reception. On the other hand, there's the near certainty of embarrassment. Unfortunately for Josh Hartnett, he made the wrong choice. A script like this one makes nobody look good. 'Fight or Flight' is also the first feature film of director James Madigan. To lend your talents to a bad script and a first-time director is tantamount to announcing either that you have no sense or no better offers, or both. It's not a career enhancer. But Hartnett does do the movie some good. He takes a film that could have been horrible and makes it merely lousy — a subtle distinction, but it matters if you're stuck watching it. Hartnett plays Lucas, who used to work for the CIA and now is stuck in Bangkok, where he doesn't do much other than drink. His ex-girlfriend, Katherine (Katee Sackhoff), also a government operative, offers him a chance at redemption in the form of a job: He is to get on a plane from Bangkok to San Francisco and make sure that a mysterious entity known as The Ghost arrives alive. No one knows what The Ghost looks like, so Lucas has to improvise. He also has to look out because half the passengers want to kill The Ghost and that same half wants to kill him, too. But right away this movie is in trouble. The opening conversations in 'Fight or Flight' consist entirely of hostile banter between Lucas and Katherine, but the audience has no investment at all in their relationship. And the dialogue is so amateurish that we don't believe in it anyway. What we want to know are the stakes. That is, why do we need to care if Lucas brings The Ghost to safety? Why should that matter to us? The movie delays answering those questions for about three-quarters of its running time. But by that time, it's too late and done too clumsily for it to matter. The film just runs counter to the way action movies are supposed to work: The first job is to make the audience care. Their second job is to escalate the action so that it gradually builds in intensity, to the point that the tension becomes almost unbearable. 'Fight or Flight' does exactly the reverse. The violence gets cranked up to 11 after about 30 minutes, before we have anything resembling a rooting interest, and the violence stays there for most of the remaining hour. None of it has impact. It's just empty spectacle that becomes monotonous long before the halfway point. To hold the audience, it tries humor as a last resort. Apparently, we're to understand that the sight of some characters getting killed is supposed to be funny, while the sight of others being murdered is supposed to be sad. Overall, there's an impression that something is being made fun of, but we never quite know what it is, until we realize: 'Fight or Flight' is making fun of itself, and maybe of the audience, too, for watching it. Hartnett is naturally engaging, and one can see why, with the movie plummeting to earth, the filmmakers might decide to pull the humor ripcord. But here it smells of desperation.
Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Fight or Flight movie review: Josh Hartnett brings the ‘josh' in glorified Ajay Devgn actioner
The thing about movies that are easy to pitch is that they're also highly unoriginal. You could imagine the writers of Fight or Flight strolling into an executive's office and giving them an animated breakdown of the story, describing it as 'Speed meets Bullet Train', and promptly being given a green light. Directed by James Madigan and starring Josh Hartnett, Fight or Flight borrows liberally from B-movies past, struggling and failing to come up with something novel. It isn't a long movie, but it doesn't feel as short as its 90-minute run-time might suggest either. Hartnett plays Lucas Reyes, a mercenary who is hiding out in Bangkok after a job gone wrong. He is awoken from a liquor-induced slumber one morning by his ex, who operates some sort of shady organisation dedicated to world peace or something. Lucas is instructed to hightail it to the airport and board a flight bound for San Francisco. Aboard the flight is a mysterious, high-value target known only as 'The Ghost'. Needless to say, Lucas isn't the only person after them. He discovers mere moments after boarding the flight that virtually every other 'passenger' is an assassin of some kind, determined to identify and eliminate The Ghost. It's like when the High Table put out an open hit on John Wick at the end of the second movie. It became a free-for-all. But while the John Wick movies grew in scale with every passing instalment, Fight or Flight takes place entirely aboard a plane. This would push a brighter creative team to devise ingenious ways to keep the story moving, but the folks behind Fight or Flight fail to weaponise these restrictions to their advantage. The Brad Pitt-starrer Bullet Train took off from the exact same premise, confining a cast-full of colourful assassins inside a high-speed Japanese locomotive. It made for a mildly diverting time at the movies, struggling to do justice not only to a star of Pitt's magnetism, but also old-school B-movies. Fight or Flight is an even smaller project, bound together by the most fragile of scripts. It takes off, so to speak, only when the plane does. It doesn't take Lucas too long to identify The Ghost, but circumstances force them to team up. Allies are revealed to be adversaries, and adversaries are transformed into allies. Because the movie doesn't exactly need to flesh its characters out, it conveniently coasts by on autopilot. But, after a point, even a movie as ridiculous as this needs some sort of emotion to ground it. Hartnett is a committed performer; he projects 'has-been' really well on screen. But perhaps this has something to do with the comeback that he is trying to mount. Lucas appears to be rather lackadaisical at the beginning of the movie, but it is soon revealed that his proactive sense of justice is what got him exiled to Bangkok in the first place. To be clear, he isn't an entirely amoral person. And this itch to do the right thing compels him to guide The Ghost towards safety. Fight or Flight is standard-issue fare, but it comes alive in the action scenes. Thankfully, they aren't edited to within an inch of their life, which is something that the Karan Johar-produced action film Kill was guilty of doing. That movie was geographically incomprehensible, which was a huge issue because understanding the lay of the land is critical to a viewer's enjoyment. Plus, Hartnett is a far more charming actor than Lakshya. Bridgerton's Charithra Chandran, on the other hand, plays a stewardess who may or may not have a secret up her sleeve. The others, including the two pilots, are reduced to comic relief. Fight or Flight finds an audaciously lazy excuse to keep the flight airborne despite an incident that, in real life, would've forced governments to scramble jets and shoot it out of the sky. The only reason why the pilots don't ground the plane immediately is because they sense that the hijacking could get them a movie deal. 'I like Hanks,' one of them tells the other, making a reference to Clint Eastwood 's Sully. But the movie isn't quite as straight-faced as the John Wick films, nor is it as tongue-in-cheek as the stuff inspired by them. Barring the action scenes, which are admittedly done rather well, Fight or Flight struggles to smoothen out some of its budget -related restrictions. The lighting is flat, supporting performances are stilted, the whole thing has a distinct 'Direct-to-DVD' vibe. Fittingly, it's the kind of movie that you'd discover aboard a flight, only to swiftly fire up your favourite Friends episode instead.
