The best new streaming movies this week: Madame Web, Thelma the Unicorn, and more

Welcome back to this week’s movie roundup — where we find the newest hidden gems so you don’t have to. We’ve got a movie about a Marvel character this week (always exciting) and two slick thrillers to keep you up at night, followed by an animated movie to ease the tension.

The best new streaming movies this week

We’ve rounded up the best of Netflix and Hulu this week. Feel free to click the links below to explore what piques your interest first.

• Wanted Man
• Madame Web
• The Book of Clarence
• Monster
• Thelma the Unicorn

Wanted Man – May 10, Hulu

• Release date: January 19, 2024
• Genre: Action, Thriller
• Rating: NR
• Director: Dolph Lundgren
• Cast: Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Michael Paré, Roger Cross, Aaron McPherson, Christina Villa, Rocko Reyes

Get set for some gritty, sun-baked excitement in Hollywood legend Dolph Lundgren’s most challenging role yet. Wanted Man features Lundgren as Travis Johansen — an old-fashioned California cop who uses fists or guns to get out of anything. After a routine mission goes awry (protecting two key witnesses in a cartel murder case), Travis is left injured and alone in Mexico.

Trapped inside their sanctuary and forced to associate with people he had never understood or trusted before — he must confront his own deeply rooted prejudices. Especially if they have to survive the ruthless killers closing in on every side.

With the body count rising fast and time running out, Travis has to fight back to save innocent people, as well as figure out what really happened to him. 

Madame Web – May 14, Netflix

• Release date: February 14, 2024
• Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
• Rating: PG-13
• Director: S.J. Clarkson
• Cast: Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor, Tahar Rahim, Kerry Bishé, Adam Scott

Dakota Johnson stars as a Marvel character in this movie. It’s important to note this movie is not part of the MCU universe. She plays an ordinary girl, Cassandra, who can see into the future of the spider world, though she doesn’t understand all that she sees.

Cassandra’s life is twisted beyond belief when she interacts with three other strange young women — Mattie, Anya, and Julia. All of them will one day become great Spider-Women.

But Ezekiel Sims suddenly returns from her past, determined to stop these three women from becoming what they are meant to become and fulfilling their destinies. Cassie has no choice but to embrace her role as a reluctant hero. She has to become involved in their lives, get them to trust her, and stop Ezekiel from hurting them.

But is all as it seems? Does Ezekiel know something about these women that she does not?

Madame Web weaves a tangled web of suspense, action, and supernatural intrigue that will leave audiences eager for more.

The Book of Clarence – May 11, Netflix

• Release date: January 12, 2024
• Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
• Rating: PG-13
• Director: Jeymes Samuel
• Cast: LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin

This is going to change how we see Biblical films forever. It’s 33 AD in Jerusalem and while Jesus Christ is busy turning water into wine and crossing the desert on foot, another unlikely savior is about to emerge from the shadows. Enter Clarence, a wisecracking street hustler who’s got a lot to prove, but hasn’t figured out how to do it. Yet. He resorts to scamming his way up the celestial pecking order.

With his newfound “miracles” (and a little help from his wisecracking best friend), Clarence soon amasses a ragtag group of followers, including Barabbas, a fierce gladiator with a heart of gold, and Mary Magdalene, a street-smart siren with a few secrets of her own.

But as Clarence’s antics start to attract the attention of the Powers That Be — including a ruthless Roman governor and a scheming high priest — he soon finds himself on a collision course with destiny that will test his faith, his friendship, and his ability to talk his way out of anything. 

Monster – May 16, Netflix

• Release date: May 16, 2024
• Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
• Rating: TV-MA
• Director: Rako Prijanto
• Cast: Marsha Timothy, Alex Abbad, Anantya Rezky Kirana, Sulthan Hamonangan

Monster is a retelling of The Boy Behind the Door, and it takes you on a suspenseful journey without using any dialogue. A girl is kidnapped along with her best friend and taken to a creepy house in the middle of nowhere. This place holds dark secrets that reveal their fate — they’re going to die horribly if they don’t figure out how to escape.

By making the choice not to have any dialogue at all in this movie, you get to experience some serious tension as these two kids try desperately to escape from their worst nightmare.

Thelma the Unicorn – May 17, Netflix

• Release date: May 17, 2024
• Genre: Animation, Adventure
• Rating: PG
• Director: Jared Hess
• Cast: Brittany Howard, Will Forte, Jemaine Clement, Edi Patterson, Maliaka Mitchell, Ally Dixon, Fred Armisen

Get to know Thelma, a plain little pony with a heart of gold and undiscovered singing prowess. She’s a…well, pretty ordinary pony, but dreams of making it in the music industry one day. She’s just waiting for her lucky break, which never seems to arrive.

Until one day, an accident with a truck packed with glitter turns her into a dazzling pink “unicorn”, morphing her into an overnight star — because who can say no to a singing unicorn? Before you know it, Thelma gets swept away into Picstagram fame and TubeTube.

But soon she discovers that everything that glitters isn’t gold and being a unicorn isn’t all that. Fighting with a glitching moral compass that has gotten a taste of fame, she has to decide whether clinging to stardom is more important than her friends.

What was new and worth watching over the last month

Prom Dates – May 3, Hulu

• Release date: May 3, 2024
• Genre: Comedy
• Rating: R
• Director: Kim O. Nguyen
• Cast: Antonia Gentry, Julia Lester, Chelsea Handler, John Michael Higgins, Kenny Ridwan, JT Neal, Jordan Buhat

Two best friends agree to make a memorable prom night, but their plans go hilariously wrong after both have to dump their boyfriends the night before the dance. Can they find new prom dates 24 hours before the dance — ones they actually like and make their prom fantasies come true? Watch Jess and Hannah come into their own in this hilarious comedy about friendship and love.

The Peanut Butter Falcon – May 5, Netflix

• Release date: August 9, 2019
• Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
• Rating: PG-13
• Director: Tyler Nilson
• Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Zack Gottsagen, Dakota Johnson, Thomas Haden Church, John Hawkes, Bruce Dern, Jon Bernthal

In this heartwarming adventure, Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome, travels away from his assisted living facility with dreams of becoming a professional wrestler like his role model, The Saltwater Redneck (Thomas Haden Church).

During his journey, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), a small-time outlaw, who becomes his unlikely ally and coach. Together, they flee across North Carolina’s outer banks from the authorities trying to bring him back. It is a modern-day Mark Twain-style adventure about oddballs and outcasts, fighting for your dreams no matter how insurmountable they seem, and why you need to see people as individuals instead of their labels.

With stars like Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, and Duncan Skiles, this uplifting indie story will make you cheer as it redefines heroism.

Mother of the Bride – May 9, Netflix

• Release date: May 9, 2024
• Genre: Romance, Comedy
• Rating: TV-PG
• Director: Mark Waters 
• Cast: Brooke Shields, Miranda Cosgrove, Benjamin Bratt

Mother of the Bride is a hilarious and heartwarming roller coaster ride that you will not want to miss. When Emma (Miranda Cosgrove), a free-spirited individual returns home from London with an unexpected announcement that she is getting married in Phuket, Thailand after one month, her mother Lana (Brooke Shields) is thrown off balance.

Lana works round the clock to organize what might be called “the wedding of the century” while learning a surprising fact — Emma’s husband-to-be is her college boyfriend’s son, a man who had once broken her heart into pieces. As the story intensifies, Lana has to work through past trauma without risking her daughter’s relationship and ensuring the marriage takes place as usual.

Watch as the family reaches boiling points of tension under the sun. Will she reconcile with her past love and find peace? This movie promises lots of fun as it tackles one complicated situation after the next.

The Iron Claw – May 10, Max

• Release date: December 22, 2023
• Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
• Rating: R
• Director: Sean Durkin
• Cast: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, Holt McCallany, Maura Tierney, Lily James

In this searing biographical sports drama, you witness the triumph and tragedy behind one of wrestling’s most legendary families — the Von Erichs. The Iron Claw follows the rise and fall of the Von Erich dynasty as patriarch Fritz grooms his sons Kevin, David, Kerry, and Mike for superstardom in his World Class Championship Wrestling league.

Though the brothers find fame in the ring with their signature iron claw move, a dark cloud looms over the family, threatening to consume Fritz’s empire.

As Kevin, the lone surviving son fights to carry on the Von Erich legacy, he must confront his father’s obsession, the crushing weight of expectations, and the so-called Von Erich “curse” that has claimed the lives of his brothers.

Featuring breathtaking in-ring action performed by the actors themselves and career-defining turns from Efron, White, and Dickinson, The Iron Claw is a bone-crunching, emotionally bruising powerhouse of a film.

War Dogs – May 8, Netflix

• Release date: August 19, 2016
• Genre: Biography, Comedy, Crime
• Rating: R
• Director: Todd Phillips
• Cast: Miles Teller, Jonah Hill, Ana de Armas, Bradley Cooper, Kevin Pollak, Patrick St. Esprit, Shaun Toub

This satirical crime film is based on an incredible true story. Two twenty-something stoners got themselves a $300 million deal with the American government for supplying arms during the Afghan war. It’s incredibly smart and highly entertaining (albeit because of a few creative liberties taken from the truth) — this is a lurid tale of greed, intrigue, and ambition.

Broke – May 6, Netflix

• Release date: October 2, 2012
• Genre: Documentary, Biography, History
• Rating: TV-G
• Director: Connor Schell, Bill Simmons, John Dahl
• Cast: Bill Walton, Morgan Freeman, Wayne Gretzky, Walter Gretzky, Janet Jones, Jim Matheson, Bruce McNall

They earned tens of millions in their playing careers, but shockingly, many pro athletes end up financially broke shortly after retiring. In this fascinating documentary, director Billy Corben explores the complex factors that cause 78% of NFL players and 60% of NBA players to face bankruptcy or serious financial stress within just a few years of hanging up their cleats.

More than just reckless spending on mansions and bling, Broke reveals a perfect storm that includes a lack of financial knowledge, dishonest business managers, high-risk investments gone bad, and other pitfalls that drain even the biggest fortunes.

Through candid interviews with the athletes themselves, this eye-opening film unpacks the surprising, multifaceted truth behind the all-too-common stories of stars going from riches to rags.

Down the Rabbit Hole – May 1, Netflix

Tochtli leads a charmed and cultured life with access to exotic animals, samurai weaponry, and so much more. This life stands in stark contrast to the reality of his situation: he’s the son of a powerful criminal lord. Not a whole lot is revealed in the trailer, if we’re being honest, but if you’re looking for something different, this could be it. 

Beautiful Rebel – May 2, Netflix

Beautiful Rebel tells the story of Gianna Nannini, one of the most famous Italian rock stars in history. The film stars Letizia Toni as the famous rock star and has great casting throughout as it takes us through the star’s early life and eventual rise to fame. If you’re a fan of Nannini or just rock in general, this film could be worth the watch. 

Secrets of the Neanderthals – May 2, Netflix

I’ve personally been fascinated by Neanderthals since childhood, but in the last few years, we’ve learned so much more about them. Once portrayed as brutish beasts, the reality is that these early humans had their own culture, including art and burial rituals, and there are signs that had their own language as well.

So what went wrong for the Neanderthals, and why aren’t they here today? That’s what this new documentary series from Netflix aims to explore. I’ve yet to check this one out myself, but I know it’s at the top of my playlist this weekend. 

Turtles All the Way Down – May 2, Max 

Turtles All the Way Down is a romantic drama about a 16-year-old girl with major OCD who reunites with an old friend from camp and immediately finds herself falling for him. Of course, struggling with a mental health condition can make everything a bit harder, including romance. The film explores anxiety and ADHD, I’m thrilled that there are more films like this hitting the scenes. 

Unfrosted – May 3, Netflix

Based loosely on the invention of the Poptart, this film takes a lot of creative liberties, including making a fake Poptart creator named Bob Cabana (played by Seinfeld). But can you expect a completely by-the-books story about a breakfast pastry? I didn’t think so. This fun flick is set back in the 1960s during the war between Kellog and Post, the two biggest giants in cereal. If you’re looking for something playful and fun to watch, you might want to give this one a look. 

The Holdovers – April 29, Amazon Prime

Set at a boarding school in the 1970s, this Christmas film centers around a boy who is left alone for the holidays after his father’s death, and a sour, bitter teacher who gets stuck watching him over the break. At first, the two don’t see eye to eye in any way, but over time, their relationship changes as they get to know each other.