This Week in Streaming (December 3rd)

Alien: Romulus (Hulu) Ridley Scott’s 1979  horror sci-fi touchstone has as many sequels as it does imitators. But not even James Cameron’s Aliens could rival its predecessor like Fede Alvarez’s take on the material did earlier this summer. Armed with Alvarez’s knack for resurrecting moribund horror franchises (2013’s Evil Dead), obsession with practical effects, and talent for creating a sense of compelling claustrophobia (2016’s Don’t Breathe), it’s the endlessly engaging  Big Pharma meets A.I. allegory we didn’t know we needed. Plus, Priscilla and Civil War star Cailee Spaeny proves Sigourney Weaver doesn’t have a monopoly on iconic rough-and-tumble heroines fighting oozing extraterrestrial monsters. 

The White Lotus (Max) With the first gust of winter here and the holidays fast approaching, there’s no better time to take in HBO’s light-class satire set against the backdrop of exotic locals. Borrowing a smarmy page from Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs, the series follows a rotating cast of characters vacationing at the various outposts of its titular travel and leisure group. Featuring everyone from Sydney Sweeney, Aubrey Plaza, and Alexandra Daddario to Steve Zahn and Emmy-winner Jennifer Coolidge, its navigation of wealthy white liberal insularity is unrivaled. Sure, the annoying binge-watchers at work have been talking about how much they are looking forward to season 3’s premiere early next year every chance they get. That doesn’t make it any less good. 

Hitchcock for The Holidays (Criterion) The best streamer in the business continues its annual tradition of bringing 19 of the canonical director’s finest works to our living rooms just in time for the box-office wasteland between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sublimate your holiday anxiety with Vertigo and Rear Window! Live vicariously through Cary Grant in North by Northwest! Prepare for the next era in Russo-American relations with Torn Curtain! There’s a Hitchcock entry for every holiday mood.