Weekend Watchlist: What’s new on streaming

James Cameron is planning to adapt Charles Pellegrino‘s novel Last Train From Hiroshima and the author’s forthcoming book, Ghosts of Hiroshima, into one “uncompromising theatrical film,” he tells Deadline. The film, to be titled Last Train From Hiroshima, will focus partly on the true story of a Japanese man who survived the atomic blast at Hiroshima, got on a train to Nagasaki, then survived the nuclear explosion in that city, per the outlet. The project will be his first non-Avatar movie since 1997’s Titanic …

Summer isn’t quite over, but Great American Family has already revealed its 2024 holiday lineup, featuring 18 new films beginning Oct. 19. That includes the Candace Cameron Bure-led films A Christmas Less Traveled, Home Sweet Christmas and Let It Snow. Mario Lopez and his wife star in Once Upon a Christmas Wish, and R&B legend Gladys Knight leads the cast of a holiday adaptation of Louisa May Alcott‘s classic novel Little Women, titled Little Women Christmas. The entire list can be found at GreatAmericanFamily.com …

There’s no need to fear, a new CGI-animated version of the classic 1959 cartoon Underdog is here! Variety reports that, similar to its predecessor, the new Underdog series will mix humor with lessons about teamwork, courage and perseverance, among others. The reboot, being produced by Italy’s Red Monk Studios, will debut in Italy and France in 2025, followed by a global rollout shortly thereafter …

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Ahead of its official opening September 20, the animated prequel film Transformers One revved up $3.3 million in sneak previews on Wednesday and Thursday, according to Deadline. 

The Paramount Pictures release, which stars the voices of Chris Hemsworth as the voice of Orion Pax, the robot who will become Autobot leader Optimus Prime, and Brian Tyree Henry as D-16, who will become Optimus’ nemesis, Megatron, could be on its way to a $40 million opening weekend, the trade speculates. 

So far, the film has fans excited: As reported, a preview of footage at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France ended with a standing ovation, and it’s Certified Fresh by the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, at 88%. 

Deadline also cites exit polling from Screen Engine/PostTrak from those who saw the movie early, and Transformers One earned 5 out of 5 stars and a 75% “definite” recommend.

Transformers One also stars the voices of Hemsworth’s fellow Avenger Scarlett Johansson as the bot Elita-1, Steve Buscemi as the classic baddie Starscream, Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime and Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion. 

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Funnyman Billy Crystal is playing against type as a troubled psychologist in the creepy new trailer to Apple TV+’s thriller series Before. 

Crystal plays a grieving widower and former child therapist named Eli, who finds his wife, Lynn (Judith Light), dead — possibly by her own hand — and finds a disturbed young boy named Noah (Jacobi Jupe), who literally shows up at Eli’s doorstep. 

The little boy has scratched weird symbols into Eli’s door, bloodying his fingers in the process. As he questions Noah, he realizes Noah is plagued by troubling visions that seem to link to Eli’s past. 

Oh, and Eli’s wife is haunting him, too. 

“He was my first foster,” Rosie Perez says as Denise. “The other parents found him unnerving.” 

“Suffering from hallucinations, repeated expulsions from school,” Eli says of the boy. “I’m starting to think there’s a reason he found me. If we’re connected, maybe I can save him.”

In treating the boy, it becomes apparent Eli’s fixated on the image of a creepy-looking cabin that Noah repeatedly sketches. Eli asks him what makes him mad, and Noah says, “People who do bad things.” 

Then he says to Eli, “You know what you did.” 

With a montage of disturbing images, it ends with Lynn saying to her husband, “What have you done?”

Apple TV+ teases of the 10-episode series, “You’ve never seen Billy Crystal in a role like this.”

Before premieres Oct. 25.

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