Films to stream while we wait for big-screen blockbusters

Like most industries, Hollywood has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks. The novel coronavirus pandemic shut stateside productions as early as mid-March, costing thousands of jobs, and movie studios have since scrambled to rearrange shooting and distribution schedules. Numerous titles slated for spring releases have been pushed to late summer, fall or, in one extreme case, spring of next year.

While there are far greater issues afflicting the world right now than the inability to witness Daniel Craig punching a bad guy, wouldn't it be nice to have the option?

To tide you over, here are movies similar to postponed titles that you can stream in the meantime.

• Wish you could see "No Time to Die"? Try "Mission: Impossible - Fallout."

Streaming on Hulu, "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" is the sixth installment in the Tom Cruise-starring spy series and introduces a mustachioed Henry Cavill and no-nonsense Angela Bassett into the mix. The parallels between the James Bond and M:I franchises are obvious - brooding agents, action-packed sequences, pretty co-stars, etc. - and films from each one are scattered across major streaming platforms.

• Wish you could see "Antlers"? Try "Pan's Labyrinth."

Streaming on Netflix, "Pan's Labyrinth's" most memorable character is Doug Jones's Pale Man, the monster whose eyeballs are located on the palms of his hands. The fantasy horror story takes place shortly after the Spanish Civil War and follows a 10-year-old girl through the labyrinth, where she encounters mythical creatures. "Pan's Labyrinth" was written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, who produced Scott Cooper's "Antlers," a supernatural horror film starring Keri Russell and Jesse Plemons.

• Wish you could see "Black Widow"? Try "Under the Skin."

Streaming on Netflix, Jonathan Glazer's "Under the Skin" marked one of indie studio A24's early successes among critics, if not at the box office. Time has been kind to the moody sci-fi film, which critics deemed among the best of the decade - largely due to a powerful lead performance from Scarlett Johansson, who was cleverly cast as a beautiful extraterrestrial who preys on men.

• Wish you could see "Candyman"? Try "Us."

Streaming on HBO, "Us" follows Lupita Nyong'o and her fictional family as they attempt to escape vicious doppelgängers on a trip to the beach. The film, Jordan Peele's follow-up to his monumental debut "Get Out," was made under his Monkeypaw Productions banner - as was "Candyman," director Nia DaCosta's sequel to the 1992 slasher flick sharing its name. The newer film stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris; original "Candyman" actors Tony Todd and Vanessa Estelle Williams reprise their roles.

• Wish you could see "Fast and Furious 9"? Try "Rush."

Streaming on HBO, "Rush" is a fictionalized account of the rivalry between Formula One drivers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) in the mid-1970s. The sports drama, directed by Ron Howard, depicts the same sort of testosterone-fueled drama that reportedly thrives behind the scenes of the "Fast and Furious" franchise. (We would have recommended the Oscar-winning "Ford v Ferrari" for this pairing - vroom hive, assemble! - but alas, it is only available to rent.)

• Wish you could see "First Cow"? Try "Meek's Cutoff."

Streaming on Hulu, "Meek's Cutoff" follows a group of settlers making their way along the Oregon Trail. It fits squarely into director Kelly Reichardt's minimalist oeuvre; as The Washington Post's Ann Hornaday wrote after the film's release, its characters reveal themselves "in what they do and how they do it rather than flowery monologues." Such is also true of "First Cow," Reichardt's touching tale of Old West milk thieves that played in some cities before A24 delayed its wide release due to the coronavirus.

• Wish you could see "Mulan"? Try "Tigertail."

Streaming on Netflix, "Tigertail" stars Tzi Ma as a Taiwanese man disillusioned with his life in the United States. The film, written and directed by Alan Yang, jumps back and forth between the character's middle age and young adulthood, and explores the factors contributing to his difficult relationship with his adult daughter. "Tigertail" joins the live-action "Mulan" and Lulu Wang's "The Farewell" - which is now streaming on Amazon - in cementing Ma's status as "Hollywood's go-to Asian dad."

• Wish you could see "The New Mutants"? Try "The Witch."

Streaming on Netflix, "The Witch" stars Anya Taylor-Joy as a teenager living in Puritan New England whose family suspects her to be a witch. Robert Eggers' supernatural film is one of several that gave rise to Taylor-Joy's reputation as a horror darling, which she strayed from with the most recent adaptation of "Emma" but will eventually return to with the X-Men film "The New Mutants."

• Wish you could see "The Personal History of David Copperfield"? Try "Much Ado About Nothing."

Streaming on Vudu, "Much Ado About Nothing" is one of Kenneth Branagh's many Shakespeare adaptations and probably the funniest. Like "The Personal History of David Copperfield," helmed by "Veep" creator Armando Iannucci, Branagh's film puts a modern spin on a beloved story and relies on the talents of its cast - including Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves and Michael Keaton.

• Wish you could see "A Quiet Place Part II"? Try "Annihilation."

Streaming on Hulu, "Annihilation" is the sophomore effort from director Alex Garland, who previously wowed critics with his psychological thriller "Ex Machina." This isn't a monster movie in the traditional sense, but it has alien- and sense-based horror components in common with "A Quiet Place." Garland's film follows a biologist (Natalie Portman) who embarks on a top-secret expedition into a quarantined land where, due to the presence of aliens, plants and animals have mutated into potentially dangerous beings.

• Wish you could see "Wonder Woman 1984"? Try the cursed "Imagine" video.

Streaming in your nightmares, this rendition of the John Lennon hit was orchestrated by Gal Gadot and features numerous famous people, including "Wonder Woman 1984" villain Kristen Wiig. The video clearly aimed to inspire but wound up a humbling reminder that even superheroes miss the mark sometimes.