For those of you smart enough not to have cable and unlucky enough that your parents aren’t HBO subscribers, you’re now in luck! HBO has now officially announced HBO Now, the standalone streaming service without being tied to a cable provider. Apple currently has a 3-month exclusive window, so if you want it sooner than later, you’ll have to stream on the web or through an Apple TV. For $15/month, you’ll get access to dozens of HBO original shows and hundreds of movies. Not to be outdone, Showtime quickly announced their plans for a standalone version of their Showtime Anytime app. Oh, and Sony launched Playstation Vue, which offers up to 85 streaming channels. They also debuted their first original show, Powers, which stars Sharlto Copley as a superhero criminal investigator. It’s a good time to be in the streaming game! While you decide if it’s time for you to cut the cord, here are some new titles streaming this weekend:

Netflix

Force Majeure (Ruben Östlund, 2014)

One of the best films of 2014, Force Majeure involves an idyllic family vacation that goes horribly wrong after an avalanche and a quick decision. The film is one of the most brutally honest films about marriage and masculinity, but with an incredibly funny black streak. If you missed this film last year or ignored it due to its Oscar snub, this is a perfect time to check it out.

Other titles new to Netflix this week:
3rd Rock from the Sun (complete series)
Bloodline (Season 1)
Life Itself (Steve James, 2014)
Saw (James Wan, 2004)
The Way He Looks (Daniel Ribeiro, 2014)

Amazon Prime

Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets (Florian Habicht, 2014)

Fans of Pulp and indie rock will love this quirky profile and concert film. The film is less of a history of the “Common People” band and more of a love letter to the band’s final UK performance. With frontman Jarvis Cocker’s strange personality and a number of interviews with odd superfans, the Pulp doc is as hip and kooky as the band’s catchy tunes.

Other titles new to Amazon Prime this week:
God’s Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
Jamie Marks Is Dead (Carter Smith, 2014)
The Zero Theorem (Terry Gilliam, 2013)

Video On-Demand

Song of the Sea (Tomm Moore, 2014)

The Oscar nominated animated film that nobody saw, here is your time to change that. Tomm Moore’s sparkling follow-up to The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea is about a young Irish boy dealing with the untimely death of his mother – and his odd sister who may happen to be a mystical sea creature. The film is both light and heartbreaking, with a wonderful story built from Irish myths and traditions. It also has one of the most adorable dogs you’ll see in any film, which makes Song of the Sea worth a watch on its own.

Other titles new to VOD this week:
Annie (Will Gluck, 2014)
Top Five (Chris Rock, 2014)
Tracers (Daniel Benmayor, 2015)
Spring (Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, 2015)

According to a recent report by CNN, 40% of households that have cable, also subscribe to a streaming service. As many Americans are cutting the cord in favor of Netflix, Amazon or Hulu, there are still many out there that use these services to supplement their regular TV watching. No denying it, we’re all streaming, but don’t think you have to do all the work. We’ve picked out the best of what you can stream this weekend.

Netflix

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Dean DeBlois, 2014)

The follow-up to 2010’s meg hit How to Train Your Dragon may have lost out on the Academy Award, but it is a big win for Netflix. The sequel expands this charming world, adds new characters to the mix, and enhances the stunning animation and flight cinematography for a bigger and better experience. Also, who couldn’t love Toothless, one of the cutest animated characters ever created. If you somehow neglected to see the film in theaters, this is the perfect chance to catch up with Hiccup and the gang.

Other titles new to Netflix this week:
After the Fall (Saar Klein, 2014)
Archer (Season 5)
Cesar Chavez (Diego Luna, 2014)
Crash (Paul Haggis, 2004)
Life of Riley (Alain Resnais, 2014)

Amazon Prime

Back Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story (Michael Lee Nirenberg, 2014)

For (ahem) fans of the popular pornographic empire, there is now a definitive biography for your viewing pleasure. First-time filmmaker Michael Lee Nirenberg, the son of an original art director for the magazine, gives us a look into the humble beginnings in the night club world to a world-wide million dollar corporation. Featuring interviews from editors, writers, models, cartoonists, even lawyers, the film has an incredible scope and insight. No matter your stance on the product or pornography in general, Larry Flynt has always been a remarkable cultural figure and worthy of more study.

Other titles new to Amazon Prime:
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (Phil Alden Robinson, 2014)
Center Stage: Turn It Up (Steven Jacobson, 2014)
The Single Moms Club (Tyler Perry, 2014)

Video On-Demand

The Liberator (Alberto Arvelo, 2013)

Édgar Ramírez stars as complex historical figure Simón Bolivar in this biopic about his early years as a liberator in South America. The man led over 100 battles to drive Spain out of his territories, a remarkable achievement in the history of war. A profile of Bolivar is long overdue, and Ramírez plays him with as much charisma as one would expect.
After a limited release in 2014, the film is now available on DVD and to rent on demand. We saw The Liberator at the 2014 L.A. Film Fest and said the film “earns its place easily among other war and revolution behemoths like Braveheart or Saving Private Ryan.”

Other titles new on VOD this week:
The Cobbler (Thomas McCarthy, 2014)
Cymbeline (Michael Almereyda, 2014)
Son of a Gun (Julius Avery, 2014)

Welcome to this week’s edition of Weekend Streaming Recommendations! It’s a bit of a grab bag this week, but I rep each of these films to the fullest. From little-known indie gem Funeral Kings, to the delightful doc Kings of Pastry, to two bonafide monuments of cinema, Rio Bravo and Bicycle Thieves, I’ve got lots of goodies to get you through your Saturday and Sunday morning hangovers. Don’t even try to defend yourself. I know your type! LUSH. Enjoy!

Funeral Kings

With SF Indiefest right around the corner (it runs from February 6-20), I thought I’d lead off this week’s list with a pick from last year’s festival that I think deserves more streaming love. Funeral Kings, directed by siblings Kevin and Matthew McManus, is one of the most authentic movies about stinky 14-year-old boys you’ll see. Three vulgarity-spewing friends are suddenly saved from the malaise of their suburban Rhode Island town when they come into possession of a footlocker trusted to them by one of their older brothers. When they crack the lock, they find everything any self-respecting adolescent boy would want: porn, fireworks, booze, cigarettes, and even a gun! The trio is headed up by newcomer Alex Maizus, who’s genuinely funnier than most adult actors with his oversized swagger and pinpoint timing. Great for fans of ’80s nostalgia flicks.

Rio Bravo

Rio Bravo is arguably Howard Hawks’ crowning achievement and harbors, in my opinion, one of John Wayne’s very best performances. One of the best examples of the Western genre, the film stars John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson play three gunslingin’ peacekeepers who defend a small, covered-wagon town from outlaws. It’s one of the oldest and most recycled American stories there are, but Hawks’ masterpiece emanates a warmth and wit few others can claim. Wayne and the lovely Angie Dickinson have excellent romantic chemistry, and Dean Martin’s musical interlude never fails to evoke a fuzzy feeling, no matter how many times I watch it. Quentin Tarantino considers the climactic shootout sequence to be movie perfection, and I’d expand that sentiment to encompass all 141 minutes of the damn thing. If you haven’t seen Rio Bravo, or you haven’t seen it in a long time, git to streamin’!

Bicycle Thieves

Vittorio De Sica’s postwar Italian neorealist parable (whew!) is one of those movies you hear all of these great things about: “Masterpiece!” “Transcendent!” “Perfection!” It’s enough to make you sick! You sit down to watch it, cross your arms, and think, “Okay. Prove it.” Then, it fucking proves it. The film is about a jobless family man who, with his good-natured son, searches for the stolen bike he desperately needs to keep his family fed. The key to canonized films like this and Citizen Kane are that they don’t pander or condescend to us. De Sica pulls no punches when it comes to exploring the true nature of the desperate, and fewer films have ever felt so in touch with humanity.

Kings of Pastry

Following three French pastry chefs during their grueling preparation for a test where, if they pass, they will have earned the title of Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (or “MOF”), the highest honor attainable in the field. MOF’s are adored in France and incredibly respected across the country. (If you get caught pretending to be a MOF, you could be thrown in jail!) Watching the unbelievably rigorous training the chefs go through in their preparation for the MOF’s is riveting, and the cakes, chocolate and sugar sculptures, tiny bites, and candies they make are divinely beautiful (and tasty looking). The finale is brimming with both triumph and heartbreak, and after taking a glimpse into the wacky world of pastry chefs, you just might want to enroll yourself in pastry school.