New to Streaming: The Ugly Stepsister, The Ballad of Wallis Island, One to One: John & Yoko, Warfare & More

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

The Ballad of Wallis Island (James Griffiths)

You know when you hear a song and it transports you back to an era or a memory or a moment? It’s this involuntary mental reflex that can be marvelous, painful, or some combination of the two; all intensified by the emotion of the music that triggers it. This familiar phenomenon provides the backbeat for The Ballad of Wallis Island, a comedy that envelops you in its charm while plucking a serenade on your heartstrings. The film itself is an evocation of a memory for writers/stars Tim Key & Tom Basden and director James Griffiths––a feature shot in eighteen days based on a short film they made eighteen years ago. – Kent W. (full review)

Where to Stream: VOD

Bob Trevino Likes It (Tracie Laymon)

A crowd-pleasing film inspired by director Tracie Laymon’s experience talking with a stranger online at a low point in her life, Bob Trevino Likes It is a moving story that proves good people do exist in this world. With two wonderful performances from Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo––playing two strangers who share the same last name but are otherwise unrelated––the film progresses into a moving yet somewhat predictable affair. And that’s okay. It’s also not just a work of cinematic comfort food: Ferreira expresses an incredible amount of emotional vulnerability, humor, and at times a youthful naivety in a performance that’s more complex than initially meets the eye. – John F. (full review)

Where to Stream: VOD

Black Bag (Steven Soderbergh)

If a James Bond or Mission: Impossible film excised all its action scenes––save a stray explosion or gunshot––while employing a script with a pop John le Carré sensibility, it might resemble something like Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag. A hyper-slick, suave spy thriller, it’s mainly relegated to dinner tables and office rooms as stages for rapid-fire, gleefully barbed verbal sparring scripted by David Koepp, returning to the genre after Ethan Hunt’s first outing. Primarily focusing on a trio of couples working in British intelligence, Koepp’s script poses the question: it is possible to have a healthy relationship when there’s no such thing as separating work from life, particularly when your job description is one of a professional liar? – Jordan R. (full review)

Where to Stream: Peacock

The Empire (Bruno Dumont)

Playing his signature brand of rural French absurdity in stark counterpoint to the grandiose strains of a space opera, Bruno Dumont returns with The Empire: his Barbarella bourguignon, his dijionnaise Dune. The Empire is the story of two warring factions: one whose mothership resembles the palace of Versailles; the other’s as if someone glued together two Notre Dames, crypt to crypt. It follows their envoys on earth, now in human form and attempting to capture a toddler who they believe to be the Chosen One––whose mere presence makes them bow down like bodies in rigor mortis. There are blasé beheadings with lightsabers, a group of men on Boulonnais horses who call themselves the Knights of Wain, and, for no apparent reason, the commandant (Bernard Pruvost) and lieutenant (Philippe Jore) from P’tit Quinquin. – Rory O. (full review)

Where to Stream: VOD

Henry Johnson (David Mamet)

The abyss stares back––that’s the overwhelming feeling of David Mamet’s new film Henry Johnson. It’s based on his play of the same name from 2023, and with both that date and Mamet’s recent public persona, one would probably have some assumptions about this story’s political bent. Watching the film, you’re reminded that we can come to some kind of mutual understanding with those on the other side. Comprising essentially four scenes in three locations, Henry Johnson has theatrical origins that are always clear but never distracting. The titular character is portrayed by Evan Jonigkeit––Mamet’s real-life son-in-law, who, wearing similar glasses, suggests something of an onscreen avatar that might be revealing of the theater world tough guy’s actual persona. Across the film, Henry is put through three confrontations: a boss (Chris Bauer), a cellmate (Shia LaBeouf), and a prison guard (Dominic Hoffman). – Ethan V. (full review)

Where to Stream: Official Site

Marcella (Peter Miller)

A staple in my home as well as numerous others, Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking has endured as the bible of the finest culinary offerings the country has to offer, yet conveyed in the simplest of terms. A new documentary profile on the late cook and writer seems to take her ethos to heart, with a humble approach that smartly takes pauses from the biographical recounting to show off her recipes in action. While the ramshackle perhaps could be a bit more polished, Hazan’s fiery spirit lovingly comes through each passage. As with all great documentaries cooking, it’ll also have you clamoring to track down her writing and get a sauce going. – Jordan R.

Where to Stream: VOD

One to One: John & Yoko (Sam Rice-Edwards, Kevin Macdonald)

If there’s one thing you absolutely cannot miss in Kevin Macdonald’s electrifying ’70s-set New York City music documentary One to One: John & Yoko, it is, unsurprisingly, the music. Thanks to son Sean Ono Lennon’s supervision, the remastering of the iconic couple’s only full concert––and what would be John’s final performance, eight years before his assassination––sounds like an avalanche of near-mythical music history. And, as if hearing it anew isn’t enough, for the first time we can see it. What could only be partially heard on Lennon’s posthumous 1986 album Live in New York City can now be seen and heard in crisp, clear beauty across one giant, riveting, unforgettable cinematic experience. – Luke H. (full review)

Where to Stream: VOD

Santosh (Sandhya Suri)

After the riot-induced death of her policeman husband in the badlands of North India, 30-something widow Santosh Saini (Shahana Goswami) is told she has nothing. Her house, provided by the State, belongs to the State and will be reclaimed, along with nearly everything else she needs to survive. She has no choice but to take advantage of a government program referred to as “compassionate appointment,” in which the bereaved can take on the job of the one they lost. In this case, a housewife becomes an officer of the law overnight. – Luke H. (full review)

Where to Stream: VOD

The Ugly Stepsister (Emilie Blichfeldt)

If the disheartening lack of creativity in Disney’s live-action remakes leaves one thinking these timeless stories have, in fact, run their course, leave it to Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt to find new life (and blood) with the Cinderella tale. Her impressively mounted, darkly macabre first feature follows Elvira (Lea Myren, in a fantastic feature-debut performance) living in the shadow of her stepsister Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess) as they vie for the attention of the Prince (Isac Calmroth). A twisted body horror take on the classic tale for how it explores the costs of beauty, The Ugly Stepsister is not afraid to dive into the unflinchingly gruesome while packing an impressive sense of empathy. – Jordan R. (full review)

Where to Stream: Shudder, VOD

Union (Brett Story and Stephen Maing)

Amazon Labor Union (ALU) president Chris Smalls is not the star of the documentary Union. He is just one part of the congregation in Brett Story and Stephen Maing’s co-directed film. An early glimpse of Smalls finds him discreetly flipping burgers and hot dogs at a grill. It took an employee to ask Smalls if he’s the “low-key famous” Smalls for the leader to list his media recognitions. He doesn’t want clout for his union organizing, but rather to be known for making laborers heard, enabling a better society for his children and comrades, and proving to white executives that he can manage a flock in his distinguished streetwear outfits. – Edward F. (full review)

Where to Stream: VOD

Warfare (Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza)

Warfare’s first images are from the ’80s aerobics-throwback music video for Eric Prydz’s “Call On Me” from 2004, an obnoxious-albeit-undeniable dancehall earworm that paired well with Madonna’s last great track, “Hung Up,” in terms of sound and iconography. The brief wave of Daft Punk-sounding Top 40 is probably a metric of many a millennial for “The Bush Era,” which was eight years perhaps largely defined by images of American imperialistic hubris taking place alongside the gaudiest pop culture imaginable. Possibly the natural culmination of this was Green Day’s extended “Wake Me Up When September Ends” video that functioned as a mini-movie about little midwesterner Jamie Bell signing up for Iraq. – Ethan V. (full review)

Where to Stream: VOD

Watermelon+

A new streaming platform has launched by Watermelon Pictures celebrating Palestinian and world cinema. Watermelon+ features Palestine’s Oscar entry this year, From Ground Zero, along with The Teacher, The Present, Omar, Theeb, and 5 Broken Cameras, as well as The Encampments arriving later this summer, and more to come. Jared Mobarak said in his TIFF review of The Teacher, “Writer-director Farah Nabulsi brilliantly showcased the abject futility of living under occupation with her Oscar-nominated short The Present a couple years ago. By taking the seemingly mundane act of going shopping for an anniversary gift and portraying how cruelly impossible it can become when people with guns take it upon themselves to make it so, she evoked the tired frustration and unavoidable rage that Palestinians must endure on a daily basis. It should come as no surprise, then, that her feature debut The Teacher would follow suit, mirroring the additional runtime with a much more robust example.”

Where to Stream: Watermelon+

Also New to Streaming

Hulu

Summer of ’69

Kino Film Collection

Half a Chance
Girl on the Bridge

Netflix

Heart Eyes

VOD

The Luckiest Man in America
The Moogai

The post New to Streaming: The Ugly Stepsister, The Ballad of Wallis Island, One to One: John & Yoko, Warfare & More first appeared on The Film Stage.