It is our duty to stay abreast of all the latest releases hitting theaters and streaming services week after week to deliver What to Watch. But I’m going to be honest here and say that this is a strange week considering that no major new releases are hitting theaters this week, aside from Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Honk for Jesus will be released in theaters but also on Peacock simultaneously on Friday, Sept. 2, but aside from that, there’s nothing new on the box office agenda. The satire comedy starring, Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown, is about two church leaders looking to regain their large following after a major scandal. The film is definitely worth a watch if you’re into the kind of films that examine and dissect certain parts of our society the way films like Get Out have done in the past.
If that’s not your cup of tea, Sony is rereleasing Spider-Man: No Way Home in theaters across the country this Labor Day weekend with a whole 11 minutes of extra footage. The film has already grossed $1.9 billion globally, and due to the lack of any major releases arriving on Friday, it might just return to the No. 1 spot again after it dominated the domestic box office when it was released in December.
Thanks to National Cinema Day on Saturday, Sept. 3, movie lovers will be able to pay just $3 for tickets for any screening, in any format. That amount makes it easy to catch a movie this weekend that you have already seen this summer like Bullet Train, Top Gun: Maverick or Nope, or it may be an incentive to check out movies you weren’t so sure about like Beast or Three Thousand Years of Longing.
On the other hand, streaming services are having a massive week. The first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are available now on Prime Video, and so far, it looks like the amount of cash they spent on it might just pay off. If you’re looking for more of a thrill, FX’s The Patient, starring Steve Carell, is now available to stream on Hulu. For real-life chills, House of Hammer about the accusations against Armie Hammer will also hit Discovery+ on Friday. HBO’s Rap Sh!t had its season finale this week and it was intense, while Industry and House of the Dragon are still in full swing.
Check out our choices for what you should be checking out this holiday weekend, but don’t spend too much time inside, go outside and bask in whatever is left of summer.
'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'
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When: Thursday, Sept. 1
Where: Prime Video
Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is finally here and people are already talking about it. The series is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Amazon bought the television rights for The Lord of the Rings in 2017 for $250 million and made a five-season production commitment that was said to be worth S$1 billion—making it the most expensive TV series ever made. Episodes 1 and 2 of the eight-episode first season arrived on Prime Video this week, and the show is already getting a warm reception from fans. The show is receiving praise for its incredible cinematography, visuals, and musical score, and we went more in-depth with our review of the first two episodes, now available to stream, here.
'Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
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When: Friday, Sept. 2
Where: Peacock and in theaters
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is a satirical comedy that aims to show the behind-the-scenes of megachurches and megachurch culture. Regina Hall plays Trinitie Childs who is the proud first lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch, but after her husband Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) gets caught in a scandal, they lose their congregation that used to be in the tens of thousands. The husband and wife duo must do whatever it takes to reopen their church and rely on their faith to keep their marriage and their lives together. Read our interview with the hilarious Hall and Brown about the film here.
'The Patient'
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When: Tuesday, Aug. 30
Where: FX and Hulu
The Patient is a psychological thriller about a therapist who is kidnapped by a patient named Sam Fortner who happens to be a serial killer. With time running out, therapist Alan Strauss fights desperately to stop Sam before Alan becomes complicit in Sam’s murders or becomes one of his victims. The first two episodes hit FX and Hulu this week and it is already off to a strong start. The show features Steve Carell as the therapist, and this role is a far cry from the actor’s iconic role as Michael Scott in The Office, and he really leans in to make this story as thrilling and nerve-wracking as can be.
'House of Hammer'
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When: Friday, Sept. 2
Where: Discovery+
Armie Hammer’s recent headlines have not been about the movies or shows he has starred in. The actor has been plagued by accusations of abuse, cannibalism and other allegations. This new Discovery+ show aims to show that Hammer’s alleged crimes are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his family’s history. And will unpack that over the course of five generations, the men in the Hammer family have had “more secrets and scandals than any vault can contain.” The series will look through archives and interviews with survivors and family members, that they say will bring the dark and twisted secrets of the Hammer family to light. If you don’t have the time to devote to this madness, check our timeline of the Armie Hammer controversy here.
'Jurassic World: Dominion' on Peacock
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When: Friday, Sept. 2
Where: Peacock
Two of the biggest box office hits this past year are available with extra footage this week. Spider-Man: No Way Home is hitting theaters while Jurassic World: Dominion is roaring into streaming services on Friday. The film was initially released in theaters in June but you can now see extended footage on Peacock. This is the sixth and final film in the Jurassic franchise and they ended with a bang by bringing back the beloved stars of the original movies including Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum. They teamed up with the current franchise’s stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and DeWanda Wise for what I think has been one of the most exciting movies to hit theaters this year. The dinosaur-packed Jurassic world may be over, for now, but now we can watch it all again and again on Peacock.
