This weekend brings a flurry of new releases to streaming platforms like Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, and Movistar Plus+. Movistar Plus+ is leading the charge with the most diverse selection of titles. Viewers can enjoy the remake-reboot of ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer,’ featuring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr., or ‘Return to Me,’ a 2025 horror hit. ‘The Tigers,’ nominated for awards this year, is as well available.
The weekend is packed with suspenseful stories and thrillers. ‘Fireproof,’ debuting on Netflix, stars Belén Cuesta and Enric Auquer. ‘You Stole My Heart,’ featuring Óscar Casas, is a romantic comedy that unfolds as a road movie. Also available are the first spin-off of a Brazilian Netflix series, ‘Brotherhood: State of Terror,’ and the sci-fi classic ‘Prometheus,’ which also lands on Netflix.
Fireproof
Synopsis: After her husband’s death, Mara (Belén Cuesta) travels with her daughter Lide, her brother-in-law, his wife, and their son to the summer house in the forest to heal old wounds. What begins as an attempt to grieve turns into a nightmare when Lide disappears as a forest fire breaks out. Desperate, the family ventures into the woods to find the girl. Isolated, without official help, and with the fire closing in, their only hope is Santi (Enric Auquer), the forest ranger. But as the situation worsens, Mara suspects the fire isn’t the only threat: someone is lying.
Starring Belén Cuesta and Enric Auquer, ‘Fireproof’ creates an unsettling atmosphere marked by the anguish of a desperate search and the emotional impact of loss. David Victori directed the film, which also features Joaquín Furriel and Diana Gómez. The film is produced by Anxo Rodríguez and Ferran Tomás. It’s a psychological thriller that could be compared to Angelina Jolie’s ‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’. Forest fires provide a compelling backdrop for fiction, and Victori excels at creating tension, as demonstrated in his previous work. It premieres on February 20th and is a strong contender from Netflix, on par with other Spanish productions like ‘The Hole’ or ‘Nowhere’.
“I would say he is a solitary type, basically. He dedicates himself to being alone in the forest, with which he feels some kind of connection. With him, I wanted to create a character that might border on some kind of pathology, although I don’t quite know how to define it… He is a special type, but who has a hard time connecting with other people. He is outside the norm, so to speak: he is shy, not very sociable, but at the same time he has his own world. I liked that he was someone dedicated to his hobbies, immersed in the things he likes,” Enric Auquer said in an interview with GQ about his character. The film, according to Auquer, has a heartbreaking starting point. “A giant terror that consumes everything: that of a mother who has lost her daughter. I think We see the perfect excuse for a film like this, because it is something like the greatest fear we can harbor. A fear that justifies any response.”
Platform: Netflix
You Stole My Heart
Synopsis: Eric, a young engineer, meets Vera through a dating app and deceives her into being his driver. They flee to Galicia after robbing a bank in Madrid, although the police pursue them.
Óscar Casas and Ana Jara star in this romantic comedy, which ultimately becomes a road movie directed by Chus Gutiérrez. The film is based on an original idea by Alberto Arruty, inspired by a real event in the US. The cast includes Luis Zahera, Antonio Pagudo, Miguel de Lira, Ana Milán, Arturo Valls, Alba Gutierrez, Mario Marzo, Pol Granch, Juan Amoedo, Xurxo Carreño, and Francis Lorenzo. Despite being considered a heartthrob, Óscar Casas recently confessed in an interview with Fotogramas that he doesn’t use dating apps. “I’ve never used a dating app, I’d be very embarrassed, but I have friends who use them to meet people because they don’t have time to do it the traditional way.”
“It’s one of the shoots I’ve enjoyed the most because it allowed me to bring out the inner child I have very latent, and that sometimes I have to control. I’m already a 27-year-old guy and I want to seem more adult. Plus, I came from doing ‘The Big Jump,’ which was a very hard job, especially emotionally, and here there were no traumas or tears… I had the feeling I could breathe, vibrate,” the actor confessed in the same interview, about filming ‘You Stole My Heart’, which didn’t perform well at the box office. However, it may find a new audience on streaming.
Platform: Prime Video
The Tigers
Synopsis: Antonio and Estrella are brothers. Their father was a diver, as are they. They have spent their lives in the sea. Antonio is “The Tiger,” an unbeatable diver, the companion everyone wants down there, when your life is at stake in seconds every day. Estrella assists her brother on the boat they work from. She keeps him grounded, outside the water Antonio is a disaster. He has always lived for the moment, without thinking about the future, and his financial situation is precarious. Antonio has an accident and is told his diving days are numbered. The future looks bleak and complicated. A situation that could change when they discover a stash of cocaine hidden in the hull of an oil tanker. Antonio sees no other option, his sister Estrella is not convinced. As always.
Filmed in the province of Huelva, the film explores the difficult work of commercial divers (the second most dangerous profession in the world), under the direction of Alberto Rodríguez, a three-time Goya winner. Featuring Antonio De la Torre and Bárbara Lennie, it’s a hard-hitting drama with thriller elements that explores family, debt, and more. “I’ve been thinking about making this film since we learned about the profession of the diver,” the director said in an interview with RTVE. “The idea of the thriller came when we saw a pipe coming out of the Ría de Huelva and going eight miles into the sea, to where the giant oil tankers arrive, which divers link and take care of.”
The film is a dark horse at the Goya Awards, but Alberto Rodríguez and Antonio De la Torre are both nominated for their work. It arrives on Movistar Plus+ just a week before the 40th Goya Awards gala.
Platform: Movistar Plus+
Return to Me
Synopsis: After the death of their son, Diana and Martín decide to reunite during a weekend at their old lake house. She specializes in Artificial Intelligence, he left the profession to live a secluded life. When an enigmatic young man with a mysterious resemblance to their deceased son appears at the house, old secrets and new suspicions come to light. The family’s past may hold the key to the future.
Directed by Alberto Gastesi, the film stars Patricia López Arnaiz and Javier Rey. Though it didn’t have a large theatrical run, critics praised its novel approach to grief: Artificial Intelligence. At times, it feels like an episode of ‘Black Mirror,’ with its impossible twists. Despite a script that circles around the same points and gets somewhat trapped in a contrived loop, the film is visually well-crafted, anchored by a remarkable performance from Patricia López Arnaiz.
“The emergence of AI in our lives as it is happening in recent years, I think puts us in front of a mirror and the way of talking about AI is to look at ourselves and look at what our particularity is that will always differentiate us from technology and perfection“
Platform: HBO MAX
Prometheus
Synopsis: Late 21st century. A group of scientists and explorers embark on a more than two-year space journey on the Prometheus spacecraft to a newly discovered remote planet, where their physical and mental abilities will be tested. The mission’s objective is to find answers to the greatest mystery: the origin of life on Earth.
The ‘Alien’ saga, created by Ridley Scott fifty years ago, is still thriving, thanks to its series ‘Alien: Planet Earth,’ and the films directed by its creator in the past decade. This revival of the xenomorphs in cinema was sparked by ‘Prometheus,’ which is now available on Netflix and has become one of the platform’s most-watched titles. The film was controversial and divisive among fans, as it introduced new elements to Scott’s established canon. Starring Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, and Michael Fassbender, the film boasts impressive special effects and tense moments. However, the script in ‘Prometheus’ meanders and gets lost in too many plot holes, diminishing the quality. Nevertheless, it’s a grand spectacle.
“This film is not a religious or scientific lesson. Although there is some of that. This is simply an entertainment film,” the director said in an interview with El Mundo after the film’s release.
Platform: Netflix
Brotherhood: State of Terror
Synopsis: The members of the Brotherhood face a critical moment when the transfer of key leaders to maximum-security prisons threatens the group’s balance. Elisa, Edson’s daughter, is an 18-year-old girl raised outside of crime and kidnapped by corrupt police officers. While her aunt Cristina tries to rescue her, the faction orders the “Salve Geral”: a wave of violent attacks against police stations and security forces, plunging the city of São Paulo into chaos. Amid this scenario, Elisa and Cristina face dilemmas about justice and violence in a story that questions the decisions and legacy that shape their lives.
Brazilian cinema is gaining popularity, earning nominations for major awards like the Oscars. This film is a spin-off of the Netflix series ‘Brotherhood.’ Pedro Morelli, the series creator, directs this feature film, which can be enjoyed independently of the series. Starring Naruna Costa and Camilla Damião, with Seu Jorge reprising his role.
Platform: Netflix
Bikeriders: The Law of the Asphalt
Synopsis: Set in the 1960s, the film follows the rise of a Midwestern motorcycle club, “The Vandals.” Over a decade, the club transforms from a gathering place for local outsiders into a more sinister gang, threatening the unique way of life of the original group.
Finally, ‘Bikeriders’ arrives on our platforms, after its US release in 2023. Featuring Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, and Mike Faist, the film offers a compelling mix of handsome bikers and the 1960s. Jeff Nichols, director of ‘Take Shelter,’ returns to portray the American Midwest, this time with speed and gangs as the perfect excuse. But don’t expect an ‘Straightforward Rider’; it’s a story about how a group of misfits find their own family.
“Before reading the script, I quickly Googled and looked at these images [from Danny Lyon’s book], and then I read it with those images in mind. Then I spoke on the phone with Jeff Nichols [the director] and we spent a couple of hours talking only about her [Kathy, the protagonist] and all my instincts and feelings about it. It felt like we were completely in sync. And he said, ‘Actually, I have 30 minutes of audio of her being interviewed by Danny.’ And I replied, ‘How come you haven’t sent it to me yet? Send it to me now!’ And he did,” Jodie Comer explained in Vanity Fair about her first ‘encounter’ with the main character.
Platform: Prime Video
Singular
Synopsis: Twelve years after the death of their son, Diana and Martín decide to reunite during a weekend at their old lake house. She specializes in Artificial Intelligence, he left the profession to live a secluded life. When an enigmatic young man with a mysterious resemblance to their deceased son appears at the house, old secrets and new suspicions come to light. The family’s past may hold the key to the future.
Directed by Alberto Gastesi, the film stars Patricia López Arnaiz and Javier Rey. Though it didn’t have a large theatrical run, critics praised its novel approach to grief: Artificial Intelligence. At times, it feels like an episode of ‘Black Mirror,’ with its impossible twists. Despite a script that circles around the same points and gets somewhat trapped in a contrived loop, the film is visually well-crafted, anchored by a remarkable performance from Patricia López Arnaiz.
“The emergence of AI in our lives as it is happening in recent years, I think puts us in front of a mirror and the way of talking about AI is to look at ourselves and look at what our particularity is that will always differentiate us from technology and perfection“
Platform: HBO MAX
