May 22, 2025
Heart-warming family fun? Three-plus hour Oscar-nominated films? Tom Cruise defying gravity in wild stunts?
The latest edition of the PhillyVoice streaming guide has it all ...
RELATED: Former Eagles star Terrell Owens to get feature-length documentary on Amazon Prime
Nominated for three Academy Awards this year (best animated feature, best sound and best original sound), "The Wild Robot" is based on a 2016 young adult sci-fi novel by Peter Brown. The DreamWorks Animation production is an all-ages affair that touches upon loneliness, found family and themes that hit for both the young and the young at heart.
"The Wild Robot," which features a talented voice cast including Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal and Mark Hamill, hits Netflix on Saturday, May 24.
If you didn't want to sit through a 215-minute epic film in theaters, it's hard to blame you, but "The Brutalist" is worth seeing regardless and is now available to stream at home.
The film, directed by Brady Corbet, tells the tale of László Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor who immigrates to America in the 1940s. With the story set partially in Philadelphia and Doylestown, "The Brutalist" brings a local element to the table, too.
A stark contrast to "The Wild Robot," throw this one on after the kids go to bed. Featuring jaw-dropping cinematography and a rousing score, both of which netted the film Academy Award wins this year, "The Brutalist" chronicles the harrowing journey of immigrant life and the price of being a true artist.
"The Brutalist" was released on the (rebranded) HBO Max on May 16.
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to binge-watch the entirety of the Tom Cruise-fronted "Mission: Impossible" film franchise ahead of the supposed final installment in the series, aptly titled "The Final Reckoning," which releases in theaters this weekend.
From the old-school spy elements from the first film in 1996 to the chaotic stuntman extraordinaire role Cruise has assumed in recent films, particularly in the standout "Fallout," "Mission: Impossible" is classic summer popcorn flick fun.
The first seven films in the franchise are available to stream on Paramount+. "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning" releases exclusively in theaters on Friday, May 23.
Looking to laugh through the pain of your high school misadventures? "Freaks and Geeks," the seminal teen dramedy that was released in 1999 and canceled way too soon, is right there and ready for a first watch or a comforting umpteenth rewatch.
Featuring future big-name stars like Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jason Segel in early roles, "Freaks and Geeks" follows high schoolers in 1980 in suburban Detroit. Despite the period setting, those young adult experiences are timeless across the generations for both old and new audiences.
Executive produced by Judd Apatow, who would come to dominate the mainstream comedy scene in the 2000s, "Freaks and Geeks" can make you laugh and cry in equal turns.
"Freaks and Geeks" is available to stream on Paramount+.
The classic Criterion Channel released a collection entitled "Coastal Thrillers" this month, which bears the description, "Sun-dappled waves and swirling ocean depths reflect psychological turmoil in these moodily atmospheric tales of seaside suspense set against rugged shorelines and restless water."
There's "Shutter Island" from Martin Scorsese, "The Long Goodbye" from Robert Altman, "The Fog" by John Carpenter and much more. These are some of the truly great American directors. If you want something more than the traditional Netflix offerings, the Criterion Channel could be up your alley.
