What to Watch This Weekend: Best Movies & TV Shows on Netflix, HBO & More

The Underground Railroad Amazon Prime Video

This week’s streaming guide is teeming with harsh environments, from rugged Montana landscapes to claustrophobic cryochambers. Award winning directors Ryan Murphy, Sam Pollard and Barry Jenkins document historic epochs through the Civil War, the Civil Rights movement and the 1970s luxury fashion world to bring a new visual perspective to the past. And who could pass up the chance to see Angelina Jolie suited up as a fireman in Those Who Wish Me Dead? Check out the latest streaming releases in this week’s guide from Observer Entertainment.

Those Who Wish Me Dead

Starring Angelina Jolie, Finn Little, Nicholas Hoult and Jon Bernthal, Those Who Wish Me Dead tells the story of Hannah, a firefighter transferred to a Montana forest where she discovers a teen fleeing from hitmen following the murder of his father. From director Taylor Sheridan, the film centers on Jolie as its rugged, resilient heroine. Watch Those Who Wish Me Dead on HBO Max. 

Oxygen

Netflix’s latest science fiction film Oxygen takes the suffocating seclusion of quarantine to a new level as actress Melanie Laurent plays a woman trapped in a cryochamber with a finite amount of time to save her life and memory before breathable air is extinguished. The fight for survival becomes increasingly abstract as Laurent decides whether she wants to continue breathing in the first place. Anne Hathaway stars in the film as well. Watch Oxygen on Netflix.

MLK/FBI

From director Sam Pollard, Hulu documentary MLK/FBI draws on previously hidden government documents and David J. Garrow’s book The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr.: From ‘Solo’ to Memphis to unravel the FBI’s repeated attempts to sabotage Martin Luther King Jr. at Herbert Hoover’s behest. Using authentic footage of wiretaps and surveillance tapes, the documentary offers insightful interpretations of the dark paranoia that led to the propaganda campaign against the Civil Rights movement leader. Watch MLK/FBI on Hulu. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCgdWHwEnrg

Halston 

Director Ryan Murphy’s five part biopic Halston tells the unbelievable story of Iowa-born fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick and his journey to fashion fame, from designing Jackie Kennedy’s inauguration dress to fraternizing with Andy Warhol at Studio 54. Starring Ewan McGregor, Liza Minnelli, Bill Pullman, Krysta Rodriguez and Vera Farmigaon, the series also depicts the designer’s struggle to protect his legacy in the midst of a brand takeover. Watch Halston on Netflix.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is back for an encore with stars Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo reprising their roles as Ricky Bowen and Nini Salazar-Roberts. Glee-style drama ensues as the East High students run up against competition from another school’s musical theatre department. The season comes fresh on the heels of Rodrigo’s hit debut single Driver’s License, assumed to detail her off-screen relationship with co-star Basset. Watch High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 2 on Disney+. 

The Underground Railroad

From Academy Award winning director Barry Jenkins, The Underground Railroad depicts the harsh physical realism of the underground network which helped enslaved individuals reach safety. Starring Thuso Mbedu, Benjamin Walker and Sheila Atim, the series is a distinctly visual and sensory experience. Watch The Underground Railroad on Amazon Prime. 

Keeping Watch is a regular endorsement of TV and movies worth your time.