The Pope’s Exorcist on Netflix, Elemental, and every new movie to watch

Happy Friday, Polygon readers!

Each week, we spherical up essentially the most notable releases new to streaming and VOD, highlighting the most important and finest new motion pictures for you to watch at dwelling. This week we now have a new supernatural horror movie starring Russell Crowe, a raunchy intercourse comedy starring Jennifer Lawrence, and way more.

The Pope’s Exorcist lastly comes to streaming on Netflix after premiering in April, as properly The Monkey King, a new animated fantasy comedy from the director of The Boxtrolls. Miguel Wants to Fight lands on Hulu alongside the new serial killer crime thriller To Catch a Killer starring Shailene Woodley and Ben Mendelsohn. Then there’s all of the new releases on VOD this week, just like the romantic comedy No Hard Feelings and Pixar’s newest animated movie, Elemental.

Let’s dive in!

New on Netflix

The Pope’s Exorcist

Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix

Image: Sony Pictures

Genre: Supernatural horror
Run time: 1h 43m
Director: Julius Avery
Cast: Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe

One of the shock finest motion pictures of 2023 lands on Netflix this week, bringing the exorcism thrills and laugh-out-loud jokes solely a hyper-Italian Russell Crowe may deliver to a horror movie. And while you’re achieved, we ranked movie exorcists in celebration of this occasion.

From our assessment:

The huge shock is that The Pope’s Exorcist is extraordinarily properly made, with continuously artistic photographs and setups from Avery, who has beforehand turned B-movie materials into one thing exceptionally enjoyable. (See: 2018’s Overlord.) The scares are thrilling and ingenious, whereas Crowe hams up his Italian accent to full-on prosciutto. And by the point the demons actually arrive, they give the impression of being and sound nice — the latter thanks to the dependable, gravelly voice of The Green Knight’s Ralph Ineson.

The Monkey King

Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix

Image: Netflix

Genre: Fantasy action-comedy
Run time: 1h 32m
Director: Anthony Stacchi
Cast: Jimmy O. Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Nan Li

The Boxtrolls director Anthony Stacchi takes on the traditional Chinese story of the Monkey King on this co-production between Netflix and China’s Pearl Studio, which labored with DreamWorks on Kung Fu Panda 3. The sprawling voice forged stars Jimmy O. Yang because the Monkey King himself, with Bowen Yang, Stephanie Hsu, BD Wong, and Hoon Lee among the many many different skills featured.

New on Hulu

Miguel Wants to Fight

Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu

Image: Hulu

Genre: Coming-of-age comedy
Run time: 1h 15m
Director: Oz Rodriguez
Cast: Tyler Dean Flores, Christian Vunipola, Imani Lewis

This new coming-of-age comedy follows Miguel (Tyler Dean Flores), a fun-loving teenager who loves hanging out together with his associates and watching anime. After studying his dad and mom plan on shifting away from his hometown, Miguel turns into self-conscious over the truth that he has by no means gotten right into a combat — a standard incidence in his neighborhood that’s seen as an unofficial ceremony of passage. Determined to get into and win a combat, Miguel begins coaching, however the actuality of truly getting right into a combat is far tougher than it appears.

To Catch a Killer

Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu

Image: Vertical Entertainment

Genre: Crime thriller
Run time: 1h 59m
Director: Damián Szifron
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn, Jovan Adepo

Shailene Woodley (Divergent) stars on this new crime thriller as Eleanor, a promising but troubled Baltimore police officer. After a sequence of sniper assaults and bombings rocks the town, Eleanor is tapped by the FBI’s chief investigator (Ben Mendelsohn) so as to observe down the offender and deliver them to justice.

New on Peacock

Every Body

Where to watch: Available to stream on Peacock

Photo: Matt Licari/Invision/AP

Genre: Documentary
Run time: 1h 32m
Director: Julie Cohen
Cast: Sean Saifa Wall, Alicia Roth Weigel, River Gallo

Julie Cohen’s newest documentary facilities on the tales of three intersex people who reject societal stigma and come out to overtly advocate for the rights of the intersex inhabitants.

New on Shudder

Bad Things

Where to watch: Available to stream on Shudder and AMC Plus

Image: Shudder

Genre: Horror
Run time: 1h 23m
Director: Stewart Thorndike
Cast: Gayle Rankin, Hari Nef, Annabelle Dexter-Jones

This new horror movie follows a gaggle of associates who keep at a resort for a free weekend getaway, solely to understand that the historical past of the resort is riddled with tales of girls who unexpectedly lose their minds and do, properly, dangerous issues. The trailer offers off the vibe of “The Shining, but make it about female intergenerational trauma,” which is an attention-grabbing premise to say the least.

New to hire or purchase

No Hard Feelings

Where to watch: Available to buy for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu

Photo: Macall Polay/Sony Pictures Entertainment

Genre: Comedy
Run time: 1h 43m
Director: Gene Stupnitsky
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti

Jennifer Lawrence stars on this raunchy, hilarious intercourse comedy as Maddie, a annoyed and financially insecure bartender and Uber driver in New York. When Maddie responds to an uncommon Craigslist advert to “date” Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), the socially awkward son of a rich couple, in an effort to enhance his confidence forward of school, she pulls out all of the stops to change into the boy’s new beau.

From our assessment:

Mostly, No Hard Feelings is a reminder that Lawrence — an actor who exploded in reputation thanks to the energy of unforgettable dramatic roles in movies like Winter’s Bone, Silver Linings Playbook, and the Hunger Games sequence — is extraordinarily humorous. Whether it’s the bodily comedy of Maddie’s over-the-top come-ons, her quippy and sweary put-downs directed towards ex-boyfriends and different youngsters, or her barely simmering rage on the wealthy vacationers that flood her hometown every 12 months, Lawrence is humorous in a number of registers, and your entire movie is held collectively by her sheer charisma.

Elemental

Where to watch: Available to buy for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu

Image: Pixar/Disney

Genre: Romantic comedy-drama
Run time: 1h 41m
Director: Peter Sohn
Cast: Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie Del Carmen

Set in a world inhabited by the anthropomorphic manifestations of the 4 components, Pixar’s newest animated comedy facilities on Ember (Nancy Drew’s Leah Lewis) and Wade (Archive 81’s Mamoudou Athie), a hearth and water aspect, respectively, who unexpectedly meet and fall in love regardless of their cultural variations.

From our assessment:

The core of Elemental is about cross-cultural relationships and the stress of being a second-generation immigrant dwelling up to parental expectations, whereas attempting to determine what you truly need out of life. The characters and their relationships are vibrant and absolutely fleshed out. Visually, Elemental is up there with Inside Out in simply how dang cool it seems to be. But every tender, heartfelt second in Elemental instantly raises 1,000,000 world-building questions. While fantasy motion pictures actually don’t have to deal with every single wrinkle of their settings, there comes some extent the place the cool aesthetic and zany components erode the center of a narrative.

Kokomo City

Where to watch: Available to hire for $7.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu

Image: Magnolia Pictures

Genre: Documentary
Run time: 1h 13m
Director: D. Smith
Cast: Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell

The first movie from Grammy-nominated producer D. Smith follows the tales of 4 transgender intercourse employees dwelling in New York and Georgia. Shot in black and white, the movie presents perception into the embattled nature of not solely their career, however the cultural fault traces of gender and id that intersect with their each day lives.