The one thing more powerful than Dwayne Johnson in a superhero movie? The combined star power of Julia Roberts and George Clooney.
This weekend, Johnson makes his DC debut as an antihero with a mean streak, while Roberts and Clooney star as clashing exes in a new romantic comedy. Also on tap: Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke play brothers forced to bury their dad in an Apple TV+ dramedy, while Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington play teachers at a fairy-tale school in a Netflix fantasy.
Here’s a guide to new movies that will satisfy every cinematic taste, plus some noteworthy theatrical films making their streaming and on-demand debuts:
‘Fate does not make mistakes’: Dwayne Johnson finally brings ‘Black Adam’ to the big screen
If you smell what ‘The Rock’ is cooking: ‘Black Adam’
Well, at least the DC superhero films had a good streak before this big and boisterous dud, with Johnson as the super-powered title dude who escapes 5,000 years of imprisonment and starts laying the smackdown on a bunch of heroes. The new good guys (including Pierce Brosnan’s Doctor Fate) lack character development, but at least Johnson’s intriguingly dark persona stands out in his otherwise forgettable star vehicle.
Where to watch: In theaters
‘Black Adam’ review: Dwayne Johnson’s DC superhero movie rides the lightning, fizzles out
If you live for old-school rom-coms: ‘Ticket to Paradise’
Clooney and Roberts start off great playing two former lovers who can’t stand being around each other. But the friction doesn’t last in this mediocre comedy as the middle-age divorced couple travels to Bali and puts their parental rivalries on hold to keep their daughter (Kaitlyn Dever), a recent college graduate, from marrying a seaweed farmer she just met.
Where to watch: In theaters
‘Ticket to Paradise’: Julia Roberts, George Clooney captain a forgettable rom-com trip
If you love ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Cinderella’ equally: ‘The School for Good and Evil’
Imagine a fairy-tale Hogwarts, and you’d get this solid if overlong fantasy adventure about two friends (Sophia Anne Caruso and Sofia Wylie) who are plucked from their village and taken to a magical academy that trains storybook heroes and villains. Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington (as teachers of evil and good, respectively) offer some A-list cred, but the youngsters give the flick a fun electricity.
Where to watch: Netflix
‘School for Good and Evil’: Patti LuPone not retiring despite leaving Actors Equity
If you dig quirky sibling rivalry: ‘Raymond & Ray’
McGregor and Hawke are a top-notch combo playing half-siblings who find out their abusive father died and, according to his will, are tasked with burying the old man themselves. But to move on from their troubled pasts, they have to reconnect and meet a bunch of oddballs who loved their dad and knew a totally different man than the brothers did.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Ranked: All the best movies we saw at Toronto Film Festival
If you’re a total ’90s kid: ‘V/H/S/99’
The found-footage horror anthology series delivers one of its strongest installments yet with five new tales that scare like it’s 1999 (literally). A bunch of punk rockers wake some unfriendly musical spirits, a bit of sorority hazing goes gravely wrong, a “Double Dare”-style show spawns an act of gruesome vengeance, gawking dudes run afoul of their hot next-door neighbor and a Y2K ritual turns into a comedically hellish trip.
Where to watch: Shudder
Horror movies: Peep these 15 new films to prep for Halloween, from ‘Smile’ to Hulu’s ‘Hellraiser’
If you live for freaky body horror: ‘Matriarch’
This eerie British thriller stars Jemima Rooper as a worker in the stress-inducing advertising world who almost dies of an overdose. When she develops a strange sickness (black stuff coming out of her nose), she goes back to the remote English village she once called home to visit her estranged mother (Kate Dickie) and discovers her connection to the place’s seriously creepy secret.
Where to watch: Hulu
If you’re down for new-school vampire movies: ‘Slayers’
In this gonzo horror comedy, Thomas Jane plays a gruff vamp slayer out for revenge against some powerful secret bloodsuckers (including a decidedly dark Malin Akerman). They have designs for world domination that involve using a bunch of mega-popular but dippy social influencers, and to save the day, our hero partners up with a famous gamer girl (Kara Hayward).
Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu
‘Day Shift’: 10 new-school vampire films you can stream tonight
If you enjoy movie kids with fight in them: ‘Slash/Back’
This indie sci-fi thriller takes a well-worn concept – youngsters battling terrifying monsters – and gives it an interesting spin with indigenous characters and culture. On an island in northernmost Canada, near the Arctic Ocean, a crew of teen girls wields makeshift weapons and a no-nonsense attitude when alien shapeshifters show up out of nowhere and threaten their town.
Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon
Also on streaming
- The gay rom-com “Bros,” co-written by and starring Billy Eichner, is now available on Apple TV and other VOD platforms.
- The extended edition of Marvel’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” with Tom Holland as Spidey and 11 minutes of deleted scenes added to the theatrical cut, is also streaming on VOD.