The 8 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend

It’s around the time of year where some notable art-house Oscar contenders are slowly being rolled out to the normies, a.k.a audiences outside of New York and L.A. The schedules for some of these movies are complicated, but this week sees a larger opening for Hard Truths and The Last Showgirl, waking up a previous sleepy in-theater release week. Meanwhile, some of you are still going to have to wait for The Brutalist and Nickel Boys. If you’re on line, stay on line! Now, here’s the best in-theater and at-home picks for the week.

Featured Presentations

Hard Truths

There was no greater performance last year than the one Marianne Jean-Baptiste gave as Pansy Deacon, the vitriolic, unhappy Londoner at the center of Mike Leigh’s latest. —Alison Wilmore

The Traitors season three

One of Peacock’s hottest reality shows is returning, with Alan Cumming hosting a whole new cast of reality stars competing to win a cash prize of up to $250,000. Set in a Scottish castle, everyone is divided into two groups, with “the Faithful” trying to find “the Traitors.” Contestants this season include notables from Survivor, Big Brother, the Real Housewives franchise, and Bob the Drag Queen from RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

A sequel to the 2018 action film, Pantera brings Gerard Butler back as the asshole sheriff hunting down O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s criminal robber. It’s a junk-food action movie that will do the job if that’s what you’re craving.

The Last Showgirl

It may be a Coppola feature (directed by Gia, who made Palo Alto), but The Last Showgirl is a full-on Pamela Anderson vehicle as the actress stars as a showgirl facing the end of her 30-year-long show. Anderson has already received Golden Globe and SAG nominations for her performance, so you might as well see what the fuss is about it. Additionally, this drama features a fun cast with Jason Schwartzman, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Billie Lourd, Kiernan Shipka, and Jamie Lee Curtis, who also just received a SAG nom.

American Primeval

Peter Berg directs this period piece set in the early days of western expansion starring Taylor Kitsch. The duo (who last teamed up for 2023’s Painkiller) is joined by Mark L. Smith, who wrote the screenplay for The Revenant. American Primeval’s vibe is described as “raw,” “violent,” and “lawless and untamed.” —Roxana Hadadi

Reality Bites

Deal or No Deal Island

NBC’s Deal or No Deal Island, which Vulture critic Nicholas Quah calls “kind of ingenious,” is back for its second season. It’s the Deal or No Deal game you know, but with people competing with a Survivor flair. Everyone needs a gimmick these days.

Finally Streaming

Flow

This tender animated film from Latvia just won a Golden Globe for Best Animated feature, beating out heavyweights Inside Out 2, The Wild Robot, and Moana 2. Directed and co-written by Gints Zilbalodis, Flow follows a lonely black cat who after a personal devastation has to band together with a group of animals. It’s now out on digital and will arrive on the Criterion Channel sometime soon, but if you prefer to see it in theaters, that’s still an option too. Pick your preferred venue, but don’t skip.

Want more? Read our recommendations from the week of January 3.

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