Every week, MobileSyrup goes over some of the most notable movies and TV shows that recently hit Canadian streaming platforms.
Our ‘Streaming in Canada’ 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
Little Women
Written and directed by Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), the latest adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1868 novel offers a retelling of the lives of the four March sisters during the 19th century.
Little Women features an ensemble cast that includes Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird), Emma Watson (Harry Potter franchise), Florence Pugh (Midsommar), Eliza Scanlon (Sharp Objects), Laura Dern (Marriage Story), Timothée Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) and Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady).
Original theatrical release date: December 25th, 2019
Amazon Prime Video Canada release date: July 30th, 2020
Genre: Coming-of-age drama
Runtime: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95 percent (based on 402 reviews)
Stream Little Women here.
24 (Seasons 1-8)
The original eight seasons of 24 are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
The series follows counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer as he races against the clock to thwart assassination attempts, weapons of mass destruction, cyberattacks, bioterrorism and more.
24 was created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran (La Femme Nikita) and stars British-born Canadian Keifer Sutherland (Designated Survivor), with an expansive supporting cast that includes Sarah Clarke (Bosch), Mary Lynn Rajskub (The Larry Sanders Show), Calgary’s own Elisha Cuthbert (The Ranch), Dennis Haysbert (Major League trilogy) and Carlos Bernard (The Young and the Restless).
Original TV broadcast run: November 2001 to May 2010
Amazon Prime Video Canada release date: August 1st, 2020
Genre: Action, drama
Runtime: 168 episodes (around 43 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 86 percent (series average)
Stream 24 (Seasons 1-8) here. It’s important to note that the series’ ninth season, which aired in 2014, is not on Prime.
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 hit Amazon Prime Video Canada in July can be found here. A roundup of August’s new content, meanwhile, is available here.
Apple TV+
The Oprah Conversation [Apple Original]
On the two-part premiere episode of #TheOprahConversation, @Oprah and @emmanuelacho talk through the uncomfortable conversations we all need to be having right now.
Now streaming on the @AppleTV app with an Apple TV+ subscription. https://t.co/YFiW1vtxjP pic.twitter.com/D5NnzbllyF
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) July 30, 2020
Media mogul Oprah Winfrey returns to a talk show format in the Apple TV+ exclusive The Oprah Conversation.
Filmed remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the series will talk with influential figures on a variety of social issues. In the series’ two-part debut, “Uncomfortable Conversations,” Winfrey talks with Emmanuel Acho, athlete, commentator, activist, and creator and host of the web series Uncomfortable Conversations.
Future guests include best-selling author and professor Ibram X and Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson.
Apple TV+ release date: July 31st, 2020
Genre: Talk show
Runtime: TBD
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream The Oprah Conversation here.
An Apple TV+ subscription costs $5.99/month in Canada.
Crave
Jojo Rabbit
During WWII, a German child whose imaginary friend is Hitler comes to question his beliefs after he discovers his mother is harbouring a Jewish girl in their attic.
Based on the 2008 novel Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, Jojo Rabbit was written and directed by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) and stars Roman Griffin Davis (breakout role), Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace), Waititi, Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story) and Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri).
Original theatrical release date: October 18th, 2019
Crave release date: August 1st, 2020
Genre: Comedy-drama
Runtime: 59 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 80 percent (based on 406 reviews)
Stream Jojo Rabbit here. Note that a $19.98/month Crave + Movies + HBO subscription is required.
The Weight of Gold
This documentary examines the mental health issues prevalent among Olympian athletes and the lack of resources available to help them.
The Weight of Gold was directed by Brett Rapkin (Randy Jackson), is narrated by Olympic gold medal record holder Michael Phelps and features a variety of Olympians, including Phelps, Jeremy Bloom, Lolo Jones and Shaun White.
HBO Canada/Crave: July 29th, 2020
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 59 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream The Weight of Gold 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 that hit Crave in July can be found here. A roundup of August’s new content, meanwhile, is available here.
Disney+
Black is King [Disney+ Original]
Inspired by The Lion King, Black is King tells the story of a young African king who’s cast out from his family and goes on a journey to reclaim his throne.
Black is King was directed by Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Beyoncé (who also starred in 2019’s The Lion King) and stars Beyoncé, Jay-Z (Watch the Throne), Lupita Nyong’o (Us), Pharrell Williams (Girl) and Toronto’s own Jessie Reyez (“One Kiss”).
Disney+ Canada release date: July 31st, 2020
Genre: Musical
Runtime: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent (based on nine reviews)
Stream Black is King here.
Muppets Now [Disney+ Original]
Muppets Now is an unscripted take on the classic puppets featuring three segments: a game show, cooking show and talk show.
The series features veteran Muppets actors Bill Barretta, Dave Goelz, Eric Jacobson, Peter Linz, David Rudman and Matt Vogel, as well as various celebrity guests, including Vancouver’s own Seth Rogen (Superbad), Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race) and Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me).
Disney+ Canada release date: July 31st, 2020 (first episode, new episodes every Friday)
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: Six episodes (around 23 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 72 percent (based on 29 reviews)
Stream Muppets Now here.
A Disney+ subscription costs $8.99/month or $89.99/year in Canada.
The full list of movies and shows that hit Disney+ Canada in July can be found here. A roundup of August’s new content, meanwhile, is available here.
Netflix
Connected [Netflix Original]
Toronto radio producer Latif Nasser explores the unexpected connections between humans and the rest of the world. The series tackles subjects ranging from clouds and surveillance to animals and poop.
Netflix Canada release date: August 2nd, 2020
Genre: Docuseries
Runtime: Six episodes
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream Connected here.
Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons (Season 4) [Netflix Original]
Investigative journalist Raphael Rowe (BBC Panorama) profiles a new batch of dangerous prisons, this time located in Paraguay, Germany, Mauritius and Lesotho.
Netflix Canada release date: July 29th, 2020
Genre: Docuseries
Runtime: Four episodes (47 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons (Season 4) here.
The Speed Cubers [Netflix Original]
Directed by Sue Kim (directorial debut), this documentary short looks at the “extraordinary twists and turns” in the lives of Rubik’s Cube-solving champions Max Park and Feliks Zemdegs.
Netflix Canada release date: July 31st, 2020
Genre: Documentary short
Runtime: 40 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream The Speed Cubers here.
Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet [Netflix Original]
The third season of Sugar Rush sees teams racing to bake the best-tasting sweets.
Some of this season’s celebrity judges include Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf), comedian Fortune Feimster and the late Naya Rivera (Glee). Extra Sweet‘s second episode, “Birds of a Feather,” is believed to be Rivera’s final TV appearance after her death earlier this month.
Netflix Canada release date: July 31st, 2020
Genre: Food
Runtime: Six episodes (52 to 53 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet here.
Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (Siege) [Netflix Original]
A new animated take on the origin story of Hasbro’s popular Transformers brand.
Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy features the voices of Jake Foushee (Transformers: Cyberverse), Jason Marnocha (Transformers: Combiner Wars), Bill Rogers (Pokémon), Linsay Rousseau (The Bonfire of Destiny) and Joe Zieja (Fire Emblem: Three Houses).
Netflix Canada release date: July 30th, 2020
Genre: Animated action/sci-fi
Runtime: Six episodes (22 to 23 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent (based on six reviews)
Stream Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (Siege) here.
The Umbrella Academy (Season 2) [Netflix Original]
Five’s time travel goes awry as his siblings wind up in different years in 60s-era Dallas.
Based on Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s comic series of the same name, The Umbrella Academy was created by Edmonton’s own Steve Blackman (Fargo) and stars Halifax’s Ellen Page (Juno), Tom Hopper (Game of Thrones), David Castañeda (Sicario: Day of the Soldado), Emmy Raver-Lampman (Hamilton) and Robert Sheehan (Mortal Instruments).
It’s worth noting that the series involves a predominantly Canadian crew and is filmed in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario.
Netflix Canada release date: July 31st, 2020
Genre: Superhero
Runtime: 10 episodes (40 to 50 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91 percent (based on 56 reviews)
Stream The Umbrella Academy (Season 2) 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 that hit Netflix Canada in July can be found here. A roundup of August’s new content, meanwhile, is available here.
Video on demand (VOD)
Random Acts of Violence
A comic book creator’s works inspired a string of real-life murders.
Based on the 2010 comic of the same name by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, Random Acts of Violence was co-written and directed by Ottawa’s own Jay Baruchel (How To Train Your Dragon trilogy) and stars Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy), Jordana Brewster (The Fast and Furious franchise), Oakville, Ontario’s Niamh Wilson (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and Baruchel.
The film was shot in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario.
VOD release date: July 31st, 2020
Genre: Slasher-horror
Runtime: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent (based on eight reviews)
Random Acts of Violence is available on iTunes for rent ($5.99) and purchase ($9.99) and Google Play for rent ($4.99) and purchase ($12.99).
What are you planning on streaming this week? Let us know in the comments!
Image credit: Netflix
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