Best New Movies on Netflix This Week: August 15th, 2020

It’s been an unexpectedly great week for new movies on Netflix in the US particularly if you’re a fan of your small independent movies from the past decade or two. Below, we’re going to be running down our favorite new movies added over the past 7 days.

If you missed any of last week’s top movie highlights, we’d recommend you’d take a look at them as we recap the best movies released on the first of the month.

Now let’s take a look at our top picks of what’s new on Netflix this week:

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Project Power (2020)

Genre: Action, Crime, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jamie Foxx, Rodrigo Santoro, Machine Gun Kelly
Writer: Mattson Tomlin
Runtime: 111 min

The big new Netflix movie of the week is Project Power and no doubt the title that will dominate the Netflix top 10s this weekend.

The movie is about what would happen if you could gain superhero powers from a pill. We referred to it as a mix between Limitless and The Boys when it was added to Netflix yesterday.

Reviews have been generally positive with viewers being much kinder than critics.

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Freak Show (2017)

Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director: Trudie Styler
Cast: Alex Lawther, Ian Nelson, AnnaSophia Robb, Celia Weston
Writer: Patrick J. Clifton (screenplay by), Beth Rigazio (screenplay by), James St. James (based on the book by)
Runtime: 91 min

IFC Films seem to be heading on Netflix a number of years after their theatrical release and we’re excited to see that trend continue with the release of Freak Show on Thursday.

The LGBTQ+ movie is about a teen that’s trying to run for homecoming queen but facing hostility within his new high school.

Reviews are split down the middle on this one with most critics praising its interesting characters but some saying it follows familiar cliches.

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Fearless (2020)

Genre: Animation, Kids
Director: Cory Edwards
Cast: Yara Shahidi, Miles Robbins, Miguel J. Pimentel, Gabrielle Union, Jadakiss, Tom Kenny

We could’ve gone for the easy pick for new kids movie this week and told you about Mr. Peabody and Sherman but we’ve opted for an underpromoted new animated movie exclusive to Netflix that dropped on Friday instead.

From Cory Edwards comes an animated feature about a gamer who soon becomes a baby sitter when three superhero babies land into his lap that he needs to look after.

The movie features a relatively simplistic script with this clearly aimed at a younger audience than perhaps a Pixar feature for example. It features a clean art style and has picked up a few good scores so far on IMDb.

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The Lost Husband (2020)

Genre: Romance
Director: Vicky Wight
Cast: Sharon Lawrence, Josh Duhamel, Leslie Bibb, Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Moving on, this movie has done well all week in the top 10 after it was added to Netflix on Tuesday.

The movie featuring Josh Duhamel is about a woman putting her life back together and moves out to a farm in Texas to do so.

Many have been dubbing the movie as a great COVID-19 feel-good story with one IMDb viewer saying it’s “A film that’ll make you forget you’re trapped in your house”.

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Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Lauren Carlos, Basil Harris, Mary Lynn Rajskub
Writer: Derek Connolly
Runtime: 86 min

Our final pick of the week and my personal choice is Safety Not Guaranteed which is a superb comedy featuring familiar faces.

It’s a blend of sci-fi, romance, and comedy as three journalists plan to talk to someone who is prepping for a time travel expedition but listed in a local newspaper for a companion (just like Doctor Who) to accompany him.

Both critics and audiences are overwhelmingly positive towards the movie.

What’s your favorite new movie on Netflix this week? Let us know in the comments.