The Downstream: November 2023
10 great movies to watch before they leave streaming this month.
Happy Thanksgiving, American readers! (This is the part where Che Diaz tells you Happy Thanksgiving back.)
If you’re not quite ready to curl up with the old Christmas favorites yet, perhaps it’s time to consider one of these movies that are about to leave their current streaming homes. It’s a bit quiet because most streaming contracts run through EOY — so brace yourselves as the turnover into 2024 will be tremendous.
Badlands, Max
50 years later, every movie that skews poetic about young lovers on the run — cough, Bones and All — owes a huge debt to Terrence Malick’s Badlands. (For those that wax political, the gold standard is still Bonnie & Clyde.) Something about the dreamy narration underscores the childlike nature of the improbable couple trying to find independence on the open road. That innocence serves to underscore their youthful naivete … as well as the danger they face from an uncaring world.
First Reformed, Max
“First Reformed is an essential parable for the Trump era about the role of the church in the most pressing moral and political issues facing our world,” I wrote in my 10/10 review for /Film singing the film’s praises out of TIFF. “Through the tortured consciousness of Ethan Hawke's Reverend Ernst Toller, a former military chaplain turned custodian of a historical Calvinist church, [writer/director Paul] Schrader explores a country's moral malaise and the seeming inability of mainline Christianity to mobilize against it.” Don’t miss your chance to take this movie in if you haven’t yet.
The Fly, Max
If you can’t handle the creepiness of the YouTube thumbnail below, then you should just steer clear of The Fly altogether. This David Cronenberg creature feature puts a distinctively ‘80s spin on the Cold War-era sci-fi spectacle with some help from spectacular makeup. You’ve seen stories of scientists losing control of their creations in spectacular fashion, but have you seen them turn into a human-fly hybrid by accident … and featuring a lot of Jeff Goldblum just doing Jeff Goldblum things? I think not!
Gaslight, Criterion Channel
When you aren’t ready to girlboss or gatekeep, just stick to the 1944 classic Gaslight. Learn the origin of the phrase in this chilling studio-era noir featuring a deceitful husband slowly convincing his wife she’s going mad. Come for the vocabulary lesson, stay for Ingrid Bergman’s range.
Kinetta, MUBI
We’re headed into a big Yorgos Lanthimos season with the impending release of his latest wacky film, Poor Things. (On that note: watch this space.) If you want to see where it all began, his first “Greek Weird Wave” feature Kinetta streams for a limited time only on the great platform MUBI. Not long ago, this movie was very hard to see … and could one day be difficult to track down again! It’s fun to see vintage Lanthimos working with fewer resources but many of the same artistic tricks that he’s since honed to the point of mastery.
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Hulu
I’m not going to make the case that this is anywhere near as good as the original Princess Diaries. But, hear me out: 1) young Chris Pine, 2) a Julie Andrews duet with Raven, 3) the expert deployment of Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” during an emotional flashpoint. It’s better than you remember.
Sneakers, Criterion Channel
This one mostly gets a shoutout because a good friend’s dad is in it, playing a young Robert Redford to boot! But Sneakers is good ‘90s fun even if I didn’t have that personal connection. This hacker-heist thriller is sturdy Sunday afternoon on TNT fare at its finest.
Team America: World Police, Max
Has there ever been a better skewering of clueless, self-important actors posturing on politics than Team America: World Police? (Nice try, Ryan Murphy’s The Prom.) The South Park gang spares no one in its satire of Bush-era geopolitics is irreverent, immature brilliance. Puppets will go farther than you ever thought they could.
Unfriended, Criterion Channel
Man, it’s just so cool that a “screenlife” genre film like Unfriended made it onto the Criterion Channel. I think this gets a lot more credit than it perhaps deserves because it was the first major release to do this, even if they didn’t entirely crack the form here. But don’t let me knock this — it’s still a remarkable piece of work that proved a watershed moment for depictions of technology on screen. If institutions like Criterion really want to live up to their mission of recognizing game-changing cinema, giving Unfriended its flowers achieves that.
V for Vendetta, Amazon Prime Video
Well, you might have missed the timely 5th of November watch for Guy Fawkes’ day, but V for Vendetta still hits most other days. Beyond just being the movie Natalie Portman shaved her head for, this Wachowski-penned dystopian political drama is more than just the mask adopted by antiestablishmentarians. It’s a tale of gripping intrigue and features political commentary with real heft.
You can always keep up with my film-watching in real-time on the app Letterboxd. I’ve also compiled every movie I’ve ever recommended through this newsletter via a list on the platform as well.
Ah, a new Sondheim recording for a new year of thirtysomething ennui … if you’ll be in NYC between now and February 29, I promise Merrily We Roll Along is worth whatever absurd amount they’re charging you.
For all the Houstonians out there (or just Wes Anderson fans, I suppose), here’s a great oral history about Rushmore at 25 from our local rag.
Also, what a pan by Wesley Morris on Saltburn. In awe!
Two fun interviews for Slant Magazine since my last newsletter!
The first is with Dream Scenario writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, whose Nicolas Cage-starring wild satire of everything from meme-ification to cancel culture should be high on your watchlist.
The second is an extended conversation with 93-year-old documentarian Frederick Wiseman, who just put out his *44th* feature film Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros. (It took me many times typing that to do without searching.) This four-hour look inside a legendary Michelin-starred French restaurant is consistently riveting, probing, and artful. I think this is worth a read even if you don’t intend to fork over your time for the film — pun fully intended. Wiseman is a legend for a reason.
You can keep track of all the freelance writing I’ve done this year through this list on Letterboxd.
Enjoy your feasts!
Yours in service and cinema,
Marshall