January 16, 2025
Provided image/Ana Carballosa/Prime
The sports drama 'Unstoppable' is based on the life of Anthony Robles, a wrestler born with one leg who became an NCAA champion.
With the Eagles in the playoffs, the TVs of the Philadelphia region are more or less spoken for this Sunday. But if you need something to watch when the Birds aren't on the field, consider one of these movies or TV shows now streaming.
Stay in the sports arena with "Unstoppable," a new biopic of wrestler Anthony Robles, or dive into the quaint and kooky world of "Wallace & Gromit," back with their first feature film since 2005's "Curse of the Were Rabbit." Netflix recently acquired "Younger," the sitcom about a lovable liar cheating ageism in the publishing industry. There's also "MLK/FBI," an ideal documentary for history buffs with the holiday honoring the civil rights pioneer around the corner.
Here's how to watch all of them, and a little more on what to expect:
After playing the Philadelphia Film Festival last fall, "Unstoppable" debuts Thursday on Prime. The sports drama is based on the life of Anthony Robles, a wrestler born with one leg who became an NCAA champion. When he isn't on the mats, Anthony (Jharrel Jerome) is navigating a difficult home life with his endlessly supportive mother (Jennifer Lopez) and abusive stepfather (Bobby Cannavale). It's a story that could easily be sensationalized, but first-time director William Goldenberg — one of Philly's own Oscar winners — keeps the action grounded with help from the real Robles, who doubles for Jerome in his wrestling bouts.
Wallace and Gromit's biggest hater — an evil penguin named Feathers MacGraw — plots their downfall in this whimsical stop motion caper. "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" begins peacefully enough for the amateur inventor and his trusty dog, who live a cozy, optimized life in their British cottage of gizmos. But Feathers finds a way to manipulate the duo from behind bars (a zoo) when Wallace programs a robotic garden gnome to help around the house. Much of the Netflix movie toys with the question of automation and what we lose when we cede too much of our lives to machines, but it's ultimately hopeful about finding a happy medium. It's also just as silly as you'd expect. Enjoy the "Cape Fear" montage of Feathers getting ripped in his zoo prison cell.
"Younger" aired its final season on Hulu and Paramount+ back in 2021, but all 84 episodes are now streaming on Netflix. The comedy series follows Liza (Sutton Foster), a recently divorced mom struggling to get back into the publishing world. When a cute twentysomething in a Brooklyn bar mistakes her for a peer, she decides to fudge her age for a second shot at a career and a personal life. The lie adds constant drama to the story, but "Younger" approaches Liza's second coming-of-age with a light touch. Series creator Darren Star (who you might remember from "Sex and the City") surrounds her with fun side characters like demanding boss Diana (Miriam Shor), bohemian bestie Maggie (Debi Mazar) and, of course, not one but two major love interests (Nico Tortorella and Peter Hermann). Since it's a show about books, "Younger" also has fun spoofing the industry with thinly veiled caricatures of best-selling authors — see who you can spot.
There's no better Martin Luther King Day viewing than "MLK/FBI," a fascinating and infuriating documentary about the government's surveillance of the civil rights leader. Using recently declassified documents, the movie illustrates how FBI director J. Edgar Hoover harassed King as he rose to prominence, and attempted to smear his reputation. "MLK/FBI" is streaming through IFC Films Unlimited, which is available as an add-on on YouTube TV, Sling, Prime, the Roku Channel and Apple TV.
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