Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To GeekNetflix can sometimes do a really great job at making you feel like there’s nothing to watch, even though it has a cavernous library of movies and TV shows to keep you busy scrolling for a lifetime. Unless it’s top of the Netflix charts or top of the streaming service’s algorithmically-decided offerings—The Four Seasons, the Michael Jackson doc, and Office Romance are in everyone’s face, currently—the problem was never too few options; it’s finding the right ones.
That’s where we come in. For this week, skip the scroll and consider these suggestions: a musical romance dramedy loaded with Neil Diamond tunes, an animated oddball movie the kids will love, and a crime caper with a lead actor better known for wanting his martinis shaken, not stirred.
3
Song Sung Blue
Warm up your Sweet Caroline for this love story
Song Sung Blue was an audience hit, and a critical one, too, for its feel-good vibes, bittersweet emotional turn, and a too-strange-to-be-true story that will keep you glued. Set in 1990’s Milwaukee, Son Sung Blue is the true story of Mike (Hugh Jackman) and Claire Sardina (Kate Hudson), two downtrodden musicians who’ve both done some living—him a Vietnam vet and mechanic, her a single divorced mom who sings Patsy Cline covers—who find love and a second chance when they form a Neil Diamond tribute band called Lightning & Thunder.
What starts from their garage as a bit of a lark turns into a huge local following and a chance of a lifetime gig where they share the stage with Pearl Jam, which elevates their fame. However, when a tragic accident strikes and upends their lives, it puts their love and everything they built to the test. Song Sung Blue is a certified crowd-pleaser of a movie, with a stellar supporting cast that includes Michael Imperioli, Jim Belushi, and Fisher Stevens. It also earned Hudson her first Oscar nomination since Almost Famous, 25 years earlier.
Cast
Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, Ella Anderson, King Princess, Mustafa Shakir, Shyaporn Theerakulstit, John Beckwith, Jayson Warner Smith, Cecelia Riddett, Sean Allan Krill, Jim Conroy, Kena Onyenjekwe, Jackie Cox, Chacha Tahng, Faye Nightingale, Darius De Haas, T. Oliver Reid, Charles Gray, Carey Van Driest, Eva Kaminsky, Beth Malone, Leah Curney
Runtime
133 minutes
Director
Craig Brewer
Writers
Craig Brewer
Producers
Craig Brewer, John Davis, John Fox, H.H. Cooper
Main Genre
Drama
Executive Producer(s)
Greg Kohs, Erika Hampson
2
Bee Movie
An animated oddity that buzzes with Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld’s Bee Movie was a passion project of his for years before its 2007 release, but, sadly, it didn’t quite buzz with critics when it came out. Fascinatingly, though the quirky comedy found a wild second life online years later, as countless memes, YouTube edits, and other oddities made it a hit on streaming platforms, like Netflix, where it’s been in the Top 10 this month.
Seinfeld voices Barry B. Benson, a young bee disenchanted by the fact that he’s about to live a long life doing one thing—making honey. Wanting more, he goes on an adventure out of the hive, where he hits it off with a sweet, empathetic human, Vanessa (Renée Zellweger)—yes, he can talk. When Barry learns that humans have been profiting off free bee labor to sell their honey to the masses, he decides to sue the entire human race.
QuizYes, the premise is ridiculous, but in a hilarious Seinfeld way, full of observational humor, snide sarcasm, and an excellent supporting voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, and Chris Rock, with cameos from Sting, Oprah Winfrey, and Ray Liotta as themselves. Nearly two decades later, it’s become an animated cult classic that’s somehow only gotten funnier.
Cast
Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Patrick Warburton, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, Barry Levinson, Larry King, Ray Liotta, Sting, Oprah Winfrey, Larry Miller, Megan Mullally, Rip Torn, Michael Richards, Mario Joyner, Jim Cummings, Tom Papa, Andy Robin, David Pimentel, Chuck Martin, Conrad Vernon, David Herman, Carol Leifer
Runtime
91 minutes
Director
Simon J. Smith
Writers
Andy Robin, Barry Marder, Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten
Producers
Christina Steinberg
Main Genre
Animation
Budget
$150 million
Studio(s)
DreamWorks Animation, Columbus 81 Productions
Distributor(s)
Paramount Pictures
1
Fast Charlie
An aging hitman’s final job goes very wrong
Pierce Brosnan’s cold, calculating mob fixer Charlie Swift could be a glimpse into what the golden years of a guy like John Wick or Ray Donovan might be—and I’m pleased to report that the silver-haired badass still has it. Set in New Orleans, Charlie has been loyal muscle for mob boss Stan Mullen (James Caan) for decades. When one of Stan’s guys botches a hit designed to eliminate evidence that could incriminate rival mob boss Beggar Mercado (Gbenga Akinnagbe), Beggar decides to take no chances and just massacre Stan and his entire crew.
But Charlie survives, and he’s not happy. With the target’s ex-wife, a taxidermist named Marcie (Deadpool‘s Morena Baccarin), now dragged into the whole mess, Charlie decides that the only way to secure his safety, and Marcie’s, is to take down Beggar’s entire crew himself, one by one, turning the whole ordeal into a big revenge mission.
Deals
Score big savings on TV, audio and streaming gear deals
Directed by Phillip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger) and written by Richard Wenk (The Equalizer), Fast Charlie is an adaptation of Victor Gischler’s 2001 novel Gun Monkeys, and marks the legendary Caan’s final film before his death in 2022. Fast Charlie is on the Netflix Top 10 and has an 83% RT critics’ score.
Cast
Pierce Brosnan, James Caan, Morena Baccarin, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Toby Huss, Jacob Grodnik, Sharon Gless
Runtime
90 Minutes
Director
Phillip Noyce
Writers
Richard Wenk
Budget
$16 Million
Studio(s)
Thomasville Pictures
Distributor(s)
Vertical Entertainment
Pop some corn, sink into the couch
Whether you decide on one of these picks, or prefer to keep searching for something just right, How-To Geek published loads of weekly streaming guides for Netflix, Prime Video, Paramount+, Hulu, and more.
Subscription with ads
Yes, $8/month
Simultaneous streams
Two or four
Live TV
No
Price
Starting at $8/month
