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We’re cruising toward Halloween and we’re also nearing the rest of the Fall holiday season, which means some interesting streaming options. Below is a look at the new movies I caught this week. If you want to keep up with everything I’m watching, follow me on Letterboxd @knighthawk7734.

Brothers (Prime Video)
Starring: Josh Brolin, Peter Dinklage, Taylour Paige, Brendan Fraser, and Glenn Close
Synopsis: This new comedy is set near Thanksgiving, so it feels like Prime Video sprung it on us a little early. That being said, it’s a fun cast and an interesting premise. It focuses on unlikely twin brothers (Brolin and Dinklage) who were born into a family of criminals. Jady (Dinklage) is just out of prison from his last job gone wrong. He sprung his release thanks to a corrupt guard (Fraser) who wants a piece of his next job. He looks up his brother, Moke (Brolin), who is trying to go straight. Moke is married (Paige) and expecting a child. But he’s recently lost his job, so his brother cajoles him into pulling one final job. That involves their estranged mother (Close), who has a rocky relationship with her sons. All of it leads to one wild adventure as Moke tries to get the job done, stay out of hot water, and make it back for Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws. It’s a fun premise and the cast here is great. There are some fun moments as actors like Marissa Tomei and M. Emmet Walsh make cameo appearances. I liked the pacing and the action here. This movie ends up being a lot of fun. It’s not incredible but it’s a solid, little streaming ride.
Rating: Rated R for language throughout, some crude sexual content and drug use.
Verdict: Three stars out of five

Exhibiting Forgiveness (Theaters)
Starring: Andre Holland, Andra Day, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and John Earl Jelks
Synopsis: It’s been said that great trauma makes for great art. While that can be true, if we can’t get past that trauma, it can hold us down in our lives. That’s a subject that’s richly explored in the new film Exhibiting Forgiveness, which opens Friday. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier in 2024 and now is getting a theatrical release. It comes from Titus Kaphar, a talented artist who brings a great visual eye to the material. That sets the stage for a film that grabs you visually and emotionally. In the film, Tarrell (Holland) is a talented artist. His muse is the difficult memories and trauma he suffered as a boy—trauma he can’t let go. It weighs on him in his relationship with his wife (Day) and his own young son. She urges him to find a way to move past this hurt. That doesn’t get any easier when they return to Tarrell’s hometown to pack up his mother, Joyce (Ellis-Taylor), it brings up painful memories. That’s compounded when it turns out Joyce has arranged a reunion with Tarrell’s estranged father, La’Ron (Jelks). Tarrell is taken back and filled with panic and rage at the site of the man who has long haunted his memories. La’Ron has changed. He wants to reconcile with his son, but is it possible? The process brings up a lot from the past, causing Tarrell to clash with his mother, his father, and struggle to be the man he needs to be for his own family. As issues continue to swirl, Tarrell fights the demons from his past to learn to let go and move forward in freedom. This is a beautiful and powerful story about trauma, forgiveness, and the freedom of moving on. Kaphar beautifully paces and shoots this film. The integration of real art pieces adds to the aesthetic feel and brings you fully into the world. The way the paintings help to tell the story is beautifully integrated as well. I really enjoyed Holland in the lead role here. So much of the narrative flows through his performance and his story, and he carries the drama well. I also appreciated Day as his wife in some strong supporting scenes. Her track to close the film is also beautiful. What helps make this go is Ellis-Taylor and Jelks, as Tarrell’s parents. Each of them have some solid, emotional sequences opposite Holland that get at the heart of the story. This is an emotional journey as much as a story to experience, and it works well here. This is a well-crafted film that touches on some serious topics in a beautiful way. It’s a journey worth taking, especially for those who are battling their own ghosts from the past and looking for freedom.
Rating: Rated R for language and brief drug material.
Verdict: Three and a half stars out of five

Woman of the Hour (Netflix)
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, and Tony Hale
Synopsis: This latest film from Netflix stars Kendrick, who also directed the film. It’s a biopic based on the amazing true story of a serial killer, Rodney Alcala (Zovatto), who made an appearance on The Dating Game in the midst of his crime spree in the 1970s. There, he comes across Sheryl (Kendrick), an aspiring actress who takes a spot on the show as a job. She asks some edgy questions, but Rodney’s answers win him the job. But when he gives her the creeps, she declines to give him a date. It ends up being for the best as Sheryl remains off the list of victims. While the show appearance is at the heart of the film, much of it follows Rodney’s other crimes, including the one that leads to an arrest. His story is a tough and sad one as authorities let him go numerous times, leading to a long crime spree that left untold victims in his wake. The film works well when it’s set at the show in the middle of the film. But in the sequences where it tries to add context to Sheryl’s story, or follows Rodney on his crime spree, it’s slightly less engaging. Kendrick does a great job in front of the camera, and a strong job putting together this film as the director. It’s an interesting subject that makes for a decent streaming film. I enjoyed it for what it was, and I think is worth checking out on Netflix.
Rating: TV-MA
Verdict: Three stars out of five