Streaming guide: What to watch this weekend

There have now been seven Spider-Man movies since the turn of the millennium. Nevertheless, this surprise winner at the last Oscars is clearly the most radical, freethinking and up-for-anything of them all. Here’s what else to watch this weekend.

THE ONE WITH A NEW WAY TO SURF AN OLD WEB

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (PG)

***1/2

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There have now been seven Spider-Man movies since the turn of the millennium. Do we really need another one? Probably not.

Nevertheless, this surprise winner at the last Oscars is clearly the most radical, freethinking and up-for-anything of them all.

It is also wholly animated, which could be a sticking point for some Spidey purists.

They needn’t worry on this front, as the visuals here are first-class, vibrantly mimicking the textures and shading of mass-produced comics of yesteryear.

Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) is a younger, hungrier and street-smart Spidey.

What drags Into the Spider-Verse into the modern era is how it brushes longtime central figure Peter Parker aside to focus on a younger, hungrier and street-smart Spidey.

His name is Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), a mixed-race honours student who needs to get the hang of his newly acquired Spidey powers ASAP. While this intriguing contemporary origin story has its problems staying coherent at key junctures, the inspired illustrative designs never once lose their appeal.

Fighting is a mix of Midnight Cowboy meets Rocky.

THE ONE THAT COMES OUT SWING AND EVENTUALLY CONNECTS

FIGHTING (M)

***

STAN

A long-forgotten Channing Tatum joint well worth the track-down, particularly if you have a soft spot (and hard head) for boxing movies.

It is a pronounced case of Midnight Cowboy meets Rocky for this basic-but-effective drama about scrapping for a living in New York City. Tatum plays a brawny’n’broke country boy who becomes a big hitter on the underground bare-knuckle fighting scene. Some very authentic stoush sequences certainly punch their weight, even if the script does not. Leaves its mark, and leaves it at that. Co-stars Terrence Howard.

David Dencik and Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

THE ONE TO WATCH WHERE EVERYONE IS BEING WATCHED

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (MA15+)

****

NETFLIX

While the sheer bulk of John le Carre’s classic espionage novel has been considerably thinned for the big screen, the complex array of flavours remains intact.

Those with a refined palate for challenging, intelligent and charismatic storytelling should unashamedly gorge themselves on the feast presented here.

Gary Oldman stars as retired master spy George Smiley, recalled by British intelligence at the height of the Cold War to identify a double-agent in their midst.

Smiley’s dogged quest for the truth — as filtered through Oldman’s immovably stoic performance — is never less than an addictively immersive experience.

With the period production design awash in a sea of 70s browns and second-hand cigarette smoke, you can only just make out who is who.

This only adds to the lean-forward magnetism of Tinker Tailor … as the mysteries deepen and multiply inside all that murk. Co-stars Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and John Hurt.

The same level of endearment and excitement is at the fore of this third instalment of How to Train Your Dragon.

THE ONE BREEDING FLIERS BREATHING FIRE

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD (PG)

***

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The same winning blend of endearment and excitement is once again to the fore in this quality third instalment in the animated series based on the books by Cressida Cowell.

However, this occasion also comes with a distinct pang of sorrow for fans, as this will definitely be the final instalment. As The Hidden World begins, the Isle of Berk — over which Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) rules in place of his late father — is getting way overcrowded.

Hiccup’s utopian concept of mankind and the various dragon species all living together in harmony needs more room, and fast.

Elizabeth McGovern in The Chaperone.

THE ONE THERE TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE BEHAVES

THE CHAPERONE (PG)

***

GOOGLE, ITUNES

This true-ish tale (scripted in lively fashion by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes) tracks silent movie siren Louise Brooks’ first steps on the road to fame and (mis)fortune during a tumultuous trip to New York City.

The thankless task of keeping tabs on the headstrong, capricious and man-magnetising Louise (well played by rising star Haley Lu Richardson) falls to her dowdy hometown chaperone Mrs Norma Carlisle (Elizabeth McGovern).

Not a lot of note happens, but the energy given off by the movie is upbeat, and the lush, early-1920s production design is not short on sights for sore eyes.

Jersey Boys.

THE ONE WITH FOUR SEASONS IN ONE WAY

JERSEY BOYS (M)

***

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This is the movie of the stage show that has packed out theatres all over the globe during the past decade.

Powered by the irresistibly catchy back catalogue of Sixties pop superstars Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons — whose colourful career is charted here — Jersey Boys is very much a crowd-pleasing jukebox musical.

However, this well-crafted screen adaptation is not about to let the hits (Sherry, Oh What a Night, Big Girls Don’t Cry etc.) do all the heavy lifting, allowing the storytelling to get off lightly.

Director Clint Eastwood focuses intently on how the group’s smooth sound was achieved in direct contrast to their rough-and-tumble personal lives.

Angela Bassett, Felicity Huffman, Patricia Arquette in Otherhood.

THE ONE THAT’S A MOTHER ONE NOT LIKE THE OTHER ONES

OTHERHOOD (M)

**1/2

NETFLIX

It’s the day after Mother’s Day, and longtime close friends Carol (Angela Bassett), Gillian (Patricia Arquette) and Helen (Felicity Huffman) have just discovered something new they share in common.

Not one of their adult sons felt the need to send a card, make a phone call or even text them a flowery emoji to commemorate the big occasion.

So much for all those years of cooking, cleaning and caring, huh? The three mums aren’t having any of that.

So they get in a car, drive to New York City, and make it their mission to teach their boys a lesson.

Though Otherhood can sometimes feel like a failed pilot for a TV series, Bassett, Arquette and Huffman (recently in the headlines for a real-life parenting misdemeanour during California’s college admissions scandal) summon a certain special something that keeps you on their side.

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