The Best Movies and TV Shows New to Netflix Canada in May

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Every month, Netflix Canada adds a new batch of movies and TV shows to its library. Here are the titles we think are most interesting for May, broken down by release date. Netflix occasionally changes schedules without giving notice. (Unfortunately, streaming information provided in our Watchlist listings applies only to viewers in the United States.)

Before he slapped on the latex jowls for his Oscar-winning performance as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour,” Gary Oldman did superior work in heavy makeup as Count Dracula in this spectacularly ornate exercise in gothic horror from Francis Ford Coppola. The ensemble cast is notoriously shaky — Keanu Reeves takes most of the heat as his surfer-toned Jonathan Harker, but Anthony Hopkins’s bellicose Van Helsing is equally off — but Oldman embodies the feverish romantic spirit that animates the film, which frames vampire mythology as a love that crosses “oceans of time.” It is also a feast for the eyes, with beautiful in-camera effects by the cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and Oscar-winning costumes by Eiko Ishioka.
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In this semi-improvisational lesbian romance from Miguel Arteta, a struggling actress (Alia Shawkat) and a free-spirited singer (Laia Costa) attempt an experiment in relationship acceleration. After only one date, they agree to spend 24 straight hours together, having sex every hour. Though only a touch over 90 minutes, “Duck Butter” starts to feel as exhausting as the day becomes for them, but Shawkat, who wrote the script with Arteta, is determined to squeeze honest, uncomfortable insights out of a situation that brings out the best and worst from both women involved.
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After spending much of the ’90s in the wilderness, trying with mixed success to capitalize on his game-changing debut feature, “Sex, Lies and Videotape,” Steven Soderbergh reinvented himself as a Hollywood craftsman — first with “Out of Sight” in 1998, then with “Traffic” and “Erin Brockovich” in 2000. “Erin Brockovich” is pure movie-of-the-week docudrama material, based on the true story of a single mother (Julia Roberts) who becomes a legal assistant and helps make the case against a California power company that is polluting the groundwater. In Soderbergh’s hands, however, the film is transformed into a deft, brassy vehicle for its star, more like a modern-day “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” than inspirational fluff.
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One of two Nicole Holofcener comedy-dramas released to Netflix this month, “Friends With Money” exemplifies the virtues of Holofcener’s work, which resists catchy plot hooks in favor of carefully wrought female characters who coalesce, none-too-tidily, around down-to-earth situations. As in “The Good Girl,” Jennifer Aniston departs from her glamorous public image to play a cash-poor character, this time a former teacher who’s taken work as a housemaid in order to pay the bills. Her humble lifestyle introduces an awkward tension into her circle of well-to-do friends (Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack and Frances McDormand), but their lives are not as put-together as they seem.
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In the pantheon of stoner comedies, “How High” tends to get less respect than staples like Cheech & Chong’s “Up in Smoke,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” or “Smiley Face.” But there are moments of whacked-out inspiration in this Method Man-Redman collaboration, which has them discovering a magical strain of weed that increases their mental capacity and lands them in the Ivy League. In one crazily inspired moment, they dig up the remains of John Quincy Adams in a desperate effort to smoke up all the intelligence they can extract from his bones.
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With “Please Give,” writer-director Nicole Holofcener expresses a particular strain of liberal guilt, detailing the moral crisis of a woman who uses philanthropy to balance actions that could be viewed as exploitative. Holofcener’s favorite actress, Catherine Keener, stars as the co-proprietor of a Manhattan furniture store stocked with items bought off the children of the recently deceased, usually at well below their actual value. She and her husband (Oliver Platt), who also runs the store, are attempting the same strategy in waiting for a 91-year-old woman next door to die so they can double the size of their apartment. Her persistent feelings of shame lead her to act out in unexpected shows of generosity.
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Director Andrew Niccol has spent a career fretting about the ethics of technological advancement, from the genetically enhanced dystopia of “Gattaca” to the virtual Hollywood actress in “Simone” to the body clocks that control the aging process in “In Time.” Niccol’s new Netflix original thriller, “Anon,” plays around with topical themes of privacy and digital identity, examining a future in which the government uses surveillance and self-censorship to suppress the criminal instinct. Clive Owen stars as a policeman who starts to question the system after encountering a hacker who’s intent on maintaining her anonymity (Amanda Seyfried).
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Justin Simien’s 2014 film “Dear White People” started as a ragged slice of campus life, like an updated version of Spike Lee’s “School Daze.” But it has since found its groove as a Netflix series, which allows for a more expansive and funny treatment of social issues at an Ivy League university. Through the experiences of black students at a predominantly white school, Simien and his writers have been able to identify racial injustice and micro aggressions without losing the rowdiness and small moments of self-discovery that are part of the college experience. The new season picks up with the aftermath of the large protest that closed out the previous year.
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The veteran documentary filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (“The Celluloid Closet,” “Howl”) turn their attention to palliative care in “End Game,” a 40-minute short that details the intimate relationship between terminal patients and the doctors and administrators in charge of their care. Beyond the personal stories, “End Game” is most concerned with changing the way people think and talk about death, in hopes that it can be approached from a healthier, more life-affirming perspective.
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In this agreeably daffy comedy from Michael Showalter, Sally Field cuts loose as a shambling, eccentric, sixtysomething professional who starts to entertain romantic fantasies about a handsome, much younger co-worker (Max Greenfield) at the office. Their would-be May-December relationship, fueled by her addiction to self-help bromides, sends her on a quest to rediscover her lost youth and understand how urban millennials operate. Some of the fish-out-of-water situations are handled too broadly, but Field’s energetic performance keeps it from flagging, and Showalter, who went on to direct “The Big Sick,” is careful not to undercut her dignity or her humanity.
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A month after collecting mostly kind reviews at Tribeca Film Festival, this horror-drama from Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke emerges on Netflix as a compassionate twist on the zombie film, equally concerned with jump scares and matters of the heart. The “cargo” of the title is an infant whose zombie-infected father (Martin Freeman) is attempting to usher to safety in the Outback before he stops being her protector and transforms into a threat. As more about the zombie apocalypse is revealed, “Cargo” turns into an allegory for the mistreatment of Aborigines, alongside a story of parental love and perseverance.
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Dan Goor and Michael Schur’s Fox sitcom about the high jinks at a Brooklyn police precinct has been winning from the start, but it has also gotten funnier every season. The fifth season starts with the goof-off detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and his hard-nosed colleague Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) in jail, where Jake survives by smuggling ramen for a gang leader. At the same time, the experience solidifies Jake’s romantic relationship with straight-arrow Amy (Melissa Fumero), who’s settling into to a new promotion. The standout episode is “The Box,” which riffs on the interrogation scenes in “Homicide: Life on the Streets,” the series that inspired Andre Braugher’s casting here as the super-intense precinct captain.
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The comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short have been touring together all year with a show that combines new sketch material with musical performances and stories about their careers in show business. “An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life” was taped during an appearance in Greenville, S.C., and it appears poised to capture their sillier side. (They’ve emphasized their aversion to topical comedy on the tour, so don’t expect any Donald Trump zingers.)
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Darren Aronofsky’s gonzo horror-like thingumajig earned polarized reviews and a rare “F” CinemaScore from audiences, but no film from 2017 could rival its go-for-broke audacity or its ability to spark lively conversations. “Mother!” is about a young woman (Jennifer Lawrence) whose efforts to lead an idyllic life with her husband (Javier Bardem) in a country fixer-upper are thrown into chaos by two mysterious guests (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer) and other strangers to follow. It’s possible to leave “Mother!” with two or three credible theories on what it’s really about: Is it a biblical allegory? A statement about the birthing of an artistic idea? A comment on celebrity coupledom? The strong-stomached are encouraged to find out where they stand.
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With the exception of the wonderful “Inside Out,” Pixar has struggled recently with lesser cash-ins on previous hits like “Cars” and “Finding Nemo” and with original features like “Brave” and “The Good Dinosaur” that haven’t quite met the company’s high standards. The Oscar-winning “Coco” is a solid return to form, a technical marvel that also works hard to pay homage to the music and culture of Mexico and the Day of the Dead. The story follows young Miguel, an aspiring guitarist and singer who crosses over to the Land of the Dead in order to search for his great-great grandfather, whose legendary career as a musician came at his family’s expense.
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Also of interest: “28 Days” (May 1), “47 Ronin” (May 1), “Honey” (May 1), “John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous Live at Radio City” (May 1), “My Girl” (May 1), “A Little Help with Carol Burnett” (May 4), “Hari Kondabolu: Warn Your Relatives” (May 8), “Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist” (May 11), “Beatriz at Dinner” (May 19), “Money Monster” (May 21), “Tig Notaro: Happy to Be Here” (May 22), “Ibiza” (May 25), “The Break With Michelle Wolf” (May 27), “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” Season 4 (May 30).

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