Every week, MobileSyrup goes over some of the most notable movies and TV shows that recently hit Canadian streaming platforms.
This column typically focuses on new content from Amazon Prime Video Canada, Crave and Netflix Canada, but other services like Apple TV+ and Disney+ will be mentioned when relevant.
We’ll also highlight shows or movies that are made in Canada, involve notable Canadian cast or crew and/or are filmed in Canada.
Finally, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing movies to hit digital platforms much sooner than planned, we’ll make note of any major films that fall into this category when applicable.
Amazon Prime Video
A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood
Loosely based on Tom Junod’s 1998 Esquire feature “Can You Say … Hero?,” A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood follows a cynical journalist who’s tasked with profiling beloved children’s TV icon Fred Rogers.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood was directed by Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and stars Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan), Matthew Rhys (The Americans), Susan Kelechi Watson (This Is Us) and Chris Cooper (Adaptation).
Original theatrical release date: November 22nd, 2019
Amazon Prime Video Canada release date: June 18th, 2020
Genre: Biographical drama
Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent (based on 339 reviews)
Stream A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood here.
LOL: Australia [Amazon Original]
Hosted by Pitch Perfect star Rebel Wilson, LOL: Australia brings together 10 of the country’s best comedians to see who can keep a straight face while trying to make each other laugh.
Amazon Prime Video Canada release date: June 19th, 2020 (first two episodes, new episodes every Friday)
Genre: Unscripted comedy
Runtime: Six episodes (around 30 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream LOL: Australia here.
7500 [Amazon Original]
A young co-pilot tries to save a hijacked plane while forging a surprising connection with one of the terrorists.
7500 was directed by Patrick Vollrath (Everything Will Be Okay) and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50), Omid Memar (Tatort) and Murathan Muslu (Tatort).
Amazon Prime Video Canada release date: June 19th, 2020
Genre: Thriller
Runtime: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 65 percent (based on 77 reviews)
Stream 7500 here.
Amazon Prime Video is included at no additional cost in a $79 CAD/year Amazon Prime subscription.
The full list of movies and shows that are hitting Amazon Prime Video Canada this month can be found here.
Apple TV+
Dads (Apple TV+ Original)
In her feature-length directorial debut, Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World) takes a look at the joys and challenges of fatherhood. The film features interviews with several celebrities, including Howard’s own father Ron (the Oscar-winning director of A Beautiful Mind), Will Smith (Ali), comedian Jimmy Kimmel and director Judd Apatow (Knocked Up).
With Father’s Day falling on Sunday, June 21st, this might be the perfect film to watch with your dad.
Apple TV+ Canada release date: June 19th, 2020
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93 percent (based on 13 reviews)
Stream Dads here.
An Apple TV+ subscription costs $5.99/month in Canada.
Crave
The Chi (Season 3)
In the third season of The Chi, series creator Lena Waithe (Queen & Slim) appears in a multi-episode arc as a Chicago mayoral candidate.
The Chi stars Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (Queen of Katwe), Jacob Latimore (Detroit) and Alex Hibbert (Moonlight).
Showtime/Crave release date: June 21st, 2020 at 9pm ET (first episode, new episodes every Sunday)
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 10 episodes (around one hour each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream The Chi (Season 3) here.
Crossing Swords
A peasant named Patrick puts his dreams of becoming a knight to the test as he tries to protect his beloved kingdom from a group of royals, jesters and crooks.
The series was created by Robot Chicken directors and producers John Harvatine IV and Tom Root and features the voices ofNicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road), Adam Ray (American Vandal), Toronto’s own Tara Strong (Teen Titans Go!), Tony Hale (Veep), Yvette-Nicole Brown (Community) and Robot Chicken co-creator Seth Green.
Original TV premiere date: June 12th, 2020 (first episode, on Hulu)
Crave release date: June 18th, 2020 (first episode, new episodes every Thursday)
Genre: Animated comedy
Runtime: 10 episodes (around 30 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 18 percent (based on 11 reviews)
Stream Crossing Swords here.
I Still Believe
I Still Believe is based on the true story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp and his journey of love and loss.
I Still Believe was directed by the Erwin Brothers (I Can Only Imagine) and stars KJ Apa (Riverdale), Britt Robertson (Tomorrowland), famed Windsor, Ontario-born country singer Shania Twain and Vancouver’s Melissa Roxburgh (Diary of a Wimpy Kid).
Original digital release date: March 27th, 2020 (theatrical run ended after two weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
Crave release date: June 19th, 2020 (first episode, new episodes every Thursday)
Genre: Christian music romantic drama
Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 51 percent (based on 43 reviews)
Stream I Still Believe here. Note that a $15.98/month Crave + Starz subscription is required.
Perry Mason
In Los Angeles in 1932, a struggling private investigator is hired to look into the brutal kidnapping of a one-year-old.
Perry Mason is based on Erle Stanley Gardner’s detective novel series of the same name, was created by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald (Weeds) and stars Matthew Rhys (A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood), Regina, Saskatchewan’s own Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire) and John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun).
HBO Max/Crave premiere date: June 21st, 2020 at 9pm ET (first episode, new episodes every Sunday)
Genre: Drama
Runtime: Eight episodes (around one hour each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 81 percent (based on 37 reviews)
Stream Perry Mason here. Note that a $19.98/month Crave + Movies + HBO subscription is required.
A standard Crave subscription costs $9.99/month, with Starz adding another $5.99/month and HBO an additional $9.99/month.
The full list of movies and shows hitting Crave this month can be found here.
Netflix
Disclosure [Netflix Original]
Leading transgender creatives and thinkers discuss Hollywood’s impact on the trans community.
Disclosure was executive produced by Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black) and features other trans stars, including Lilly Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy), MJ Rodriguez (Pose) and Yance Ford (Strong Island).
Netflix Canada release date: June 19th, 2020
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94 percent (based on 17 reviews)
Stream Disclosure here.
Floor is Lava [Netflix Original]
Based on the ‘Floor is Lava’ game of the same name, Netflix’s new reality series has contestants try to get across rooms without touching the “lava” on the ground.
Netflix Canada release date: June 19th, 2020
Genre: Reality
Runtime: 10 episodes (25-38 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream Floor is Lava here.
The Politician (Season 2) [Netflix Original]
Payton’s campaign for state Senate gets complicated by throuples and double agents.
The Politician comes from Scream Queens creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan and stars Ben Platt (Pitch Perfect), Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man) and Jessica Lange (American Horror Story).
Netflix Canada release date: June 19th, 2020
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: Seven episodes (29 to 50 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 60 percent (based on five reviews)
Stream The Politician (Season 2) here.
Wasp Network [Netflix Original]
Inspired by the novel “The Last Soldiers of the Cold War” by Fernando Morais, Wasp Network follows a group of spies in the 1990s as they try to stop terrorists in Cuba.
Wasp Network was written and by Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper) and stars Penélope Cruz (Vicky Christina Barcelona), Édgar Ramirez (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story) and Ana De Armas (Knives Out).
Netflix Canada release date: June 19th, 2020
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 2 hours, 3 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 45 percent (based on 40 reviews)
Stream Wasp Network here.
A ‘Basic’ Netflix subscription costs $9.99/month, a ‘Standard’ subscription (HD-supported) costs $13.99/month and a ‘Premium’ membership is priced at $16.99/month (4K-supported).
The full list of movies and shows hitting Netflix Canada this month can be found here.
Video on demand (VOD)
You Should Have Left
Kevin Bacon (Footloose) and Amanda Seyfried (Les Misérables) star as a middle-aged man and his younger wife who go with their daughter to a vacation home, only to discover the place is haunted.
You Should Have Left was written and directed by David Koepp (Jurassic Park) and is based on Daniel Kehlmann’s 2017 novel of the same name.
Notably, You Should Have Left is one of many films that skipped theatres and went straight to digital amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
VOD release date: June 19th, 2020
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 1 hours, 33 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 47 percent (based on 49 reviews)
You Should Have Left can be rented on iTunes and Google Play for $19.99.
What are you planning on streaming this week? Let us know in the comments! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!
Image credit: Warner Media
