What To Watch This Weekend: 'Avatar: Fire And Ash,' 'The Housemaid,' 'Is This Thing On?,' And More

HOLLYWOOD, CA — From volcanic battles to haunted households, this weekend’s watchlist spans spectacle, satire, pulp thrillers and post-apocalyptic quests — streaming now or arriving in select theaters.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” sees James Cameron return to Pandora, where Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña confront grief and survival amid volcanic devastation. Oona Chaplin’s Varang emerges as a fierce new adversary, commanding the Ash People in fiery opposition.

“The Housemaid,” directed by Paul Feig, adapts Freida McFadden’s bestselling novel into a glossy domestic thriller. Sydney Sweeney stars as Millie, while Amanda Seyfried delivers a deliciously unhinged turn as Nina Winchester.

“Is This Thing On?” finds Will Arnett as a newly divorced man stumbling into stand-up comedy, with Laura Dern as his estranged wife. Directed by Bradley Cooper, the film balances humor and melancholy in a portrait of middle-age reinvention.

“The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” directed by Derek Drymon, splashes into theaters with SpongeBob chasing the Flying Dutchman into the ocean’s deepest depths. Tom Kenny returns as SpongeBob SquarePants, with Bill Fagerbakke voicing Patrick Star in their manic seafaring adventure.

“Fallout” Season 2 expands Prime Video’s wasteland saga, shifting the stage to New Vegas. Ella Purnell’s Lucy and Walton Goggins’ Ghoul anchor the chaos, while Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner direct with satire and spectacle.

Ready to dive in? Scroll down for the full lineup — and step into the shimmering world of storytelling, where every frame is an escape, with deeper explorations of each film below that unpack performances, themes and craft in greater detail.

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What To Watch This Weekend

“Avatar: Fire and Ash”

Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña’s; directed by James Cameron

James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” blazes with grandeur yet flickers in novelty. Pandora burns — forests ignite, embers scatter — as Cameron stages a volcanic epic of war and grief. His career of relentless innovation, from the paradigm-shifting “Terminator 2” to the oceanic sweep of “Titanic,” finds its fullest expression in the “Avatar” saga.

Technically, “Fire and Ash” is a marvel. Russell Carpenter’s cinematography drenches Pandora in flame and shadow, Simon Franglen’s score entwines Na’vi chants with percussive urgency, and Cameron’s high-frame-rate 3D renders waves and embers with startling tangibility. Battles are choreographed with precision, elemental juxtapositions of fire and bioluminescence lending visual lyricism.

Yet the story falters. Retracing familiar arcs of invasion, resistance and sacrifice, the film introduces grief, ecological devastation and Na’vi spirituality but rarely explores them with depth. At 192 minutes, spectacle stretches beyond narrative weight, momentum drags and dialogue lands flat.

Performances anchor the spectacle. Sam Worthington’s weary Jake and Zoe Saldaña’s ferocious Neytiri embody grief and rage with gravitas. The younger cast brings energy, though individuality blurs. Sigourney Weaver’s ethereal Kiri deepens her bond with Pandora, Stephen Lang’s Quaritch remains menacing in recombinant form, and Oona Chaplin’s Varang, fierce and enigmatic leader of the Ash People, lends a volatile edge to the conflict.

In the end, Cameron delivers flame and ash in abundance, but the embers of originality glow faintly. “Fire and Ash” dazzles visually, yet its familiar beats leave the spectacle smoldering instead of sparking anew.

“The Housemaid”

Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried; directed by Paul Feig

Paul Feig’s “The Housemaid,” adapted from Freida McFadden’s bestselling novel, is a glossy domestic thriller that revels in pulp and camp. Sydney Sweeney stars as Millie, a young woman desperate for a fresh start who accepts a live-in job with Nina Winchester, played by Amanda Seyfried. What begins as a dream opportunity quickly curdles into nightmare as Millie discovers her employer’s volatile moods and the secrets lurking inside the pristine Long Island home.

Feig stages the film with a knowingly over-the-top sensibility, leaning into melodrama while tightening the screws of suspense. Sweeney brings vulnerability and grit to Millie, grounding the story’s more outrageous turns. Seyfried, meanwhile, delivers a deliciously unhinged performance, oscillating between icy control and manic breakdowns, and she emerges as the film’s true force of nature. Their clash drives the narrative, with each twist escalating the tension and pushing the film toward lurid territory.

While “The Housemaid” sometimes falters in pacing and subtlety, it succeeds as a guilty pleasure, a modern riff on the female-driven thrillers of the 1990s. Clever, trashy and entertaining, it’s a film that knows exactly what it is and plays its hand with wicked confidence.

“Is This Thing On?”

Will Arnett, Laura Dern; directed by Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper’s “Is This Thing On?” is a tender comedy-drama that finds humor and heart in the aftermath of divorce. Will Arnett stars as Alex Novak, a middle-aged man reeling from separation who stumbles into New York’s stand-up scene almost by accident. Laura Dern plays Tess, his estranged wife, whose own sacrifices and frustrations surface as they navigate co-parenting. Inspired loosely by the life of British comic John Bishop, the film balances laughter with melancholy, charting Alex’s rediscovery of self through performance.

Arnett delivers a career-defining turn, blending vulnerability with sharp comedic timing. His Alex is both broken and resilient, a man who finds therapy in the spotlight. Dern matches him with quiet strength, portraying Tess as more than a foil — she is a woman reclaiming her own identity. Cooper directs with restraint, letting Matthew Libatique’s cinematography capture the intimacy of dimly lit clubs and fractured domestic spaces. James Newberry’s score underscores the bittersweet rhythms of reinvention.

“Is This Thing On?” avoids melodrama, instead offering a mature portrait of middle-age reinvention. It is a film about second chances, about how comedy can illuminate pain, and about how love, even fractured, can evolve.

“The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants”

Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke; directed by Derek Drymon

“The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” splashes into theaters with the familiar mix of absurd humor and heartfelt friendship. This fourth big-screen outing sends SpongeBob (voiced by Tom Kenny) on a quest to prove his bravery to Mr. Krabs by following the Flying Dutchman, a ghostly pirate, into the ocean’s deepest depths. Alongside Patrick Star (Bill Fagerbakke) and the rest of the Bikini Bottom crew, SpongeBob confronts zombie sailors, undersea monsters and his own insecurities in a seafaring adventure that blends slapstick with surreal spectacle.

Director Derek Drymon leans into the franchise’s manic energy, delivering rapid-fire gags and visual inventiveness. The animation bursts with color, especially in sequences set against volcanic seas and eerie ghost ships. Kenny once again embodies SpongeBob’s boundless optimism, while Fagerbakke’s Patrick provides comic counterpoint. Cameos, including Mark Hamill and a musical turn from Ice Spice, add pop-culture sparkle.

At 88 minutes, the film moves briskly, though the barrage of bathroom humor and chaotic plotting may overwhelm adults. Still, for kids and longtime fans, “Search for SquarePants” offers buoyant fun, proving that SpongeBob’s pineapple under the sea remains a reliable source of laughter and lunacy.

“Fallout” Season 2

Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins; directed by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner

“Fallout” Season 2 returns to Prime Video with a bigger, brasher vision of the wasteland, shifting its stage to the irradiated lights of New Vegas. Picking up directly after the first season’s finale, Lucy (Ella Purnell) and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) continue their uneasy alliance as they search for Lucy’s father Hank, while navigating the city’s devious ruler Mr. House and the Mojave’s fractured factions. Two hundred years after nuclear apocalypse, the series expands its scope without losing the twisted humor and pulp energy that made its debut a surprise hit.

Purnell anchors the chaos with resilience and vulnerability, while Goggins revels in grotesque charisma, his Ghoul both terrifying and oddly sympathetic. Kyle MacLachlan, Aaron Moten and Moisés Arias round out the ensemble, each adding texture to the wasteland’s moral ambiguity. Robertson-Dworet and Wagner lean into crassness and satire, critiquing capitalism and survivalism with equal bite. The production design brims with Easter eggs for gamers, from Pip-Boys to power armor, yet remains accessible to newcomers.

At eight episodes, “Fallout” Season 2 delivers spectacle, grit and dark comedy in equal measure. New Vegas proves a fertile stage, ensuring the wasteland feels more alive — and more dangerous — than ever.