The Upstream: October 2023
10 great movies new to streaming this month.
Coming up for air from the New York Film Festival, where it feels like practically every other film I watch is gunning for a spot on my top 10! More on those later because today is the usual top-of-the-month roundup for the best new titles to streaming.
Blindspotting, Max
If you’ve ever dreamed of a film where a climactic confrontation was delivered as a soulful rap, have I got a movie for you! Blindspotting feels like the heart and soul of real-life friends Daveed Diggs (of Hamilton fame) and Rafael Casal poured out on screen. It’s a tribute to Oakland in the way they see it, acknowledging what makes it special and eclectic while also mourning the way gentrification makes a cross-racial companionship like theirs increasingly unlikely.
Fair Play, Netflix
One good thing about a delayed send on this newsletter is that now I got to slot in the big Netflix original of the week, Sundance sensation Fair Play! This is a sizzling adult drama about a pair of ambitious hedge fund traders with a covert personal relationship that’s upended by Emily (Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor) getting a promotion that her fiancé Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) had anticipated for himself. Debut director Chloe Domont is great at capturing the subtle dynamics of gender and power that cause such fissures in their partnership. Dynevor commands as the film’s protagonist, but it’s Ehrenreich who owns the screen with his ability to embody so much of the twisted knots of modern masculinity. Even when the film’s script backs itself into a corner where the only way out is to devolve into screaming matches, I was hooked to the mic drop of a final line.
Gloria Bell, Max
“The world is hard. Movies are largely rising to the challenge of portraying that reality, which is wonderful – but the soul can only withstand so many depressing films. Sometimes, we need something that's just nice,” began my review of Gloria Bell out of TIFF 2018. This is not a naive, simplistic “nicecore” movie — but one where the joys of Julianne Moore’s titular character spring from the innate goodness she holds onto through hard times. It’s a tonic, truly.
Love Actually, Netflix
Consider this an early PSA for the holiday season — Netflix is where you’ll go to get your Love Actually fix. If you’re ready to feel old, this year marks the *twentieth* since its release!
Miss Juneteenth, Netflix
This is one of those unsung indie gems released during COVID that really deserves discovery (shockingly not even the release during the summer of protests around George Floyd’s murder could get this more traction). This mother-daughter tale set amidst the world Juneteenth pageantry in Texas handles race, class, and status with a really impressive nuance. While I love the chaos of The Morning Show as written by third graders (IYKYK), Nicole Beharie deserves more movies like this to showcase her talent. The quiet tragedy and triumph of her character’s life is rendered with such grace.
Moneyball, Amazon Prime Video
“How can you not be romantic about baseball?” asks Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane. If you need a break during the MLB playoffs (or you’re a Yankees fan and have nothing to watch), Moneyball ought to scratch your itch with its unsentimental yet altogether rousing look at the data behind America’s pastime.
Scooby-Doo, Amazon Prime Video
If a movie featuring a Sugar Ray musical number is wrong, I don’t want to be right. Given its recent meme-ification, I think it’s safe to say that Scooby-Doo has earned its spot as a younger millennial touchstone. Don’t expect Palme d’Or-contender Shrek levels of cinematic brilliance, but allow yourself to have a good time — and you’ll enjoy yourself.
Scream, Max
Pictured below is NOT Drew Barrymore learning that if she’d just held out a tiny bit longer, she could have avoided taking the heat for scabbing! I still haven’t caught up with this year’s entry into the Scream franchise, but frankly … I feel like practically *any* contemporary horror movie has some DNA from Kevin Williamson’s self-aware take on the logic of the genre. It’s still a gold standard all these years later.
Tropic Thunder, Hulu
Wild to think that the last time Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for an Oscar was … this. Mad respect for his commitment in Tropic Thunder, satirizing self-important actors taking extreme steps by playing a white actor donning blackface. It’s not “cancellable” if you understand how satire works!
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Max
If you need another bite of the original before Timothée Chalamet’s accent from … wherever … this holiday season, the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is still very much here for your enjoyment! Don’t be surprised if it’s much darker than you remember.
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.
This was a revelatory listen on what Disney’s rising and falling fortunes say about the business of entertainment.
Quite the headline from Vulture’s Alison Wilmore: “I Am Filled With Dread Whenever Netflix Buys a Movie I Love.”
If you’re looking for something very thoughtful and unique on the work of Wes Anderson, my dear friend Sophie Monks Kaufman poured her heart and mind into this two-part essay examining what the filmmakers’ meticulous worlds offer to the neurodivergent. (Featuring participation from Jason Schwartzman and Anderson himself, no less!) Promise you won’t want to miss this one.
I received an interesting pitch for Decider to participate in their Take 2 week back in late September where writers made the case for a reviled or misunderstood movie that deserves a second look. Guess what I made the case for?
For Decider, I said skip it to both Nowhere and Reptile on Netflix.
You can keep track of all the freelance writing I’ve done this year through this list on Letterboxd.
Have a great weekend!
Yours in service and cinema,
Marshall