Streaming

5 must-watch movies & TV shows streaming right now

The best of what's new streaming on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and more.

From left: Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, and Teyonah Parris as Captain Monica Rambeau in "The Marvels." Laura Radford

By Kevin Slane

February 9, 2024

Welcome to Boston.com’s weekly streaming guide. Each week, we recommend five must-watch movies and TV shows available on streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+, and more.

Many recommendations are for new shows, while others are for under-the-radar releases you might have missed or classics that are about to depart a streaming service at the end of the month.

Have a new favorite movie or show you think we should know about? Let us know in the comments, or email [email protected]. Looking for even more great streaming options? Check out previous editions of our must-watch list here.

Movies

“The Marvels”

The release of “The Marvels” in November marked a turning point for the MCU. After the glut of Marvel movies and TV shows released over the last two decades, box office returns have been slowing down, and with “The Marvels,” Disney experienced its first certified flop. (The Nia DaCosta film was the lowest-earning MCU movie ever, grossing $206 million worldwide on a rumored $275 million budget.) That said, if you’re in the mood for superhero fun, “The Marvels” is a pretty decent movie. A rip in the time-space fabric has tangled the powers of Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), such that the slightest use of their abilities makes them swap places. If you were a fan of the Disney+ series “Ms. Marvel,” Vellani and her Indian-American family bring a great fish-out-of-water energy to the proceedings.

How to watch: “The Marvels” is streaming on Disney+.

“The Notebook”

With Valentine’s Day landing on a Wednesday this year, there are plenty of couples out there who are celebrating a few days early instead. Those looking to spark a little romance this weekend should revisit Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in “The Notebook,” which unbelievably turns 20 years old this year. Based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name, this time-jumping narrative chronicles a couple’s young love, as told by an old man in a nursing home. Whether you subscribe to Hulu or Max, you can cry your eyes out at the power of enduring love.

How to watch: “The Notebook” is streaming on Hulu and Max.

“Orion and the Dark”

It sounds like a “Saturday Night Live” sketch: Charlie Kaufman, the writer-director famed for darkly comic and deeply weird projects like “Being John Malkovich,” “Adaptation,” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” makes his first family-friendly movie, an animated tale of a clinically anxious child who meets the anthropomorphized concept of Darkness. Not only is “Orion and the Dark” real, it’s a lot of fun, and not nearly as dread-inducing as Kaufman’s other works to date. When Orion (Jacob Tremblay) meets Dark (Paul Walter Hauser) in his room, the film goes from “Monsters Inc.” to “A Christmas Carol,” as Dark forces Orion to spend a day with him in order to see that he and his associates — Sweet Dreams, Insomnia, and Unexplained Noises — aren’t so bad after all.

How to watch: “Orion and the Dark” is streaming on Netflix.

TV

“Curb Your Enthusiasm”

When you add up the nine seasons of “Seinfeld” and the 12 seasons of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” the world has been subjected to the nihilistic, aggravated humor of Larry David on and off for 35 years. To further put things into perspective, when “Curb” premiered on HBO in October 2000, Bill Clinton was president. And yet David’s perfectly churlish protagonist hasn’t shown any signs of personal growth or mellowed out even a little bit, as evidenced by his recent unprovoked attack on Elmo on live television. The final season of “Curb” brings more of David’s trademark overlapping plots, driven by misunderstandings and petty protests against societal norms. Some of the more “current” humor doesn’t totally land, but when Susie Essman, an all-time great yeller, screams at Larry for spoiling Wordle, you’ll feel right at home.

How to watch: “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is streaming on Max, with new episodes airing Sundays on HBO.

“Griselda”

If you’re bothered by biopics that play fast and loose with the truth, then Netflix’s new limited series “Griselda” is not for you. “Narcos” showrunners Eric Newman and Andrés Baiz take massive creative liberties while telling the story of drug queenpin Griselda Blanco (Sofia Vergara), weaving an underdog narrative that couldn’t be further from Blanco’s real-life exploits. Facts aside, Vergara gives a fantastic performance as the coldly calculating drug lord, showing a range that she never got to explore over 11 seasons of “Modern Family.”

How to watch: “Griselda” is streaming on Netflix.