5 Best New Movies to Stream This Weekend (July 24-26): ‘The Dink’ and More

If you were let down by Will Ferrell’s recent Netflix series, The Hawk, The Dink will revive your faith in the sports comedy genre – and make you appreciate lead star Jake Johnson’s considerable comedic talents. The New Girl actor plays Dusty Boyd, a former tennis pro who teaches the sport at his father’s swanky country club. When his doctor suggests playing pickleball to heal his injured wrist, Dusty – who looks down on the popular sport, as most tennis professionals do – acquiesces and starts a May/December romance with club member Candace (Mary Steenburgen). When Dusty’s old rival, Andy Roddick (playing himself), returns and challenges him to a climactic round of pickleball, Dusty has to decide if he wants to reignite a competitive fire that made him a middle-aged burnout. 

Directed by Josh Greenbaum, the man who gave the world the underrated Kristen Wiig comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, The Dink delivers in the comedy department. Johnson is hilarious as a cynical pro who finds purpose and meaning in a sport he has no respect for, and comedy vets Ben Stiller, Chris Parnell and Patton Oswalt make the most of their screen time. The film’s biggest surprise is Steenburgen, who makes the most of her love interest role and makes her romance with Dusty more poignant.

Many Mortal Kombat fans were disappointed with the 2021 reboot. The movie introduced a new character, Cole Young (Lewis Tan), no one wanted and worse, didn’t have an actual Mortal Kombat tournament. Mortal Kombat II rectifies that by sidelining Cole, making the tournament fights front and center and casting Karl Urban as the vain movie star, Johnny Cage.

By using magic and treachery, the evil Shao Khan (Martyn Ford) now rules Edenia. He wants to take over the Earthrealm, too, but to do that, he has to stage a tournament that invites warriors from that dimension to battle Edenia’s finest – and lethalist – fighters. The fire-wielding Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and special forces agent Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) are strong contenders to win it all, but they need the help of the reluctant Cage to help them overtake combatants like Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and Shang Tsung (Chin Hun).

War is hell, but planning it is even worse. At least that’s according to the 2026 film Pressure, which depicts the tense lead-up to D-Day, which saw Allied troops land on Normandy Beach in France and turn the tide of war against the occupying Nazis. Pulling off that risky and massive operation involved a lot of strategy and negotiations and a little luck from Mother Nature. 

U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) is under immense pressure to execute this military maneuver without any problems – or mass casualties – which is why he relies on Scottish meteorologist James Stagg (Andrew Scott) to make sure the weather doesn’t interfere with the Allies’ plans. But Stagg’s intel indicates the possibility of storms on the horizon, which could hinder the invasion and risk all the soldiers’ lives. Given this inconclusive information, Eisenhower must decide to move ahead with D-Day or pause it and let a key strategic moment slip through his fingers.

Every once in a while, a big-budget movie based on a dusty 1980s pop culture artifact is released into theaters – and almost no one sees it. That happened to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves in 2023, and it just happened to Masters of the Universe this summer. Both films are better than they have any right to be and are perfect to enjoy in the comfort of your own home. 

After hiding on Earth for 15 years, Prince Adam is ready to return in the role he was born to be – He-Man (Nicholas Galitzine)! He reunites with his old friends Teela (Camila Mendes) and Fisto (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson) to take back their homeland of Eternia from the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto) and his minions.

Masters of the Universe is just like the ’80s cartoon series it’s based on – it’s silly, nonsensical and fun to look at. Director Travis Knight leans into the property’s wild fantasy elements, creating a fantastical world that’s not unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan films from the ‘80s. With his bronze skin and golden locks, Nicholas Galitzine is the perfect fantasy hero. This He-Man has the power to save Eternia, and the good looks to land a modeling contract with Prada.

What would you do for love? For Bear (Michael Johnston), he’d do just about anything to win the heart of Nikki (Inde Navarrette), a coworker he’s had a crush on for years. He even turns to the occult to get what he wants. He purchases a “One Wish Willow” trinket and wishes that Nikki would love him unconditionally. Bear gets his wish, but he soon discovers Nikki’s unconditional love carries a high price, and he might not be willing to pay it.

The movie story of the year has been the unexpected success of Obsession, which broke box office records throughout May and June by steadily increasing its gross weeks after its initial release – and becoming a pop cultural touchstone that everyone is still talking about. It helps that the movie is terrific, a confidently made horror-thriller that tackles serious questions about love, consent and toxic relationships. Johnston is wonderfully scummy as the pathetic Bear, while Navarrette is a revelation as a woman who is both driven and imprisoned by her lover’s selfish desire to be wanted and pleased.