The Upstream: September 2023
10 great movies new to streaming this month.
Greetings from Budapest! An abbreviated newsletter today as I’m still traveling, but nonetheless, I was still able to find 10 movies of note to start your fall with on their new streaming streaming homes.
Duel, Criterion Channel
Proof that Steven Spielberg had it from the beginning. This simple thriller about a man being chased by a truck that tails him with merciless logic shows his command of the filmmaking process to produce nerve-wracking tension. Maybe it’s the prologue to a great career, or maybe it’s just the epilogue to The Fabelmans you just haven’t seen yet…
The Exorcist, Max
Who knows what the upcoming return to The Exorcist franchise will hold, especially given how fans soured on director David Gordon Green’s take on the Halloween series last year. (At least the original film’s nonagenarian star Ellen Burstyn came back, which has me at least somewhat optimistic.) But they can’t take the 1973 chiller away from us, a tale of spiritual haunting in Georgetown that still frightens 50 years later. RIP to director William Friedkin,
The Faculty, Criterion Channel
Maybe one of the best and based additions to the hallowed annals of the Criterion Channel streaming service … ever?! Their “High School Horror” section this month includes some very enjoyable entries, including Robert Rodriguez’s wild and very ‘90s The Faculty. Starring Oppenheimer breakout Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, and USHER (he of Keke Palmer-relationship breaking fame), this cult hit from the screenwriter of Scream has a lot of fun with the concept of teens discovering their teachers have been taken over by alien parasites.
The LEGO Movie, Hulu
This had to jog so Barbie could run. As I wrote in my review, “Gerwig builds on the irreverent legacy of 2014’s The LEGO Movie, the first movie to crack the key of how to make branded entertainment that doesn’t feel like a commercial, to operationalize her ideas. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller discovered beloved consumer products could become cinematic if they functioned as conduits for children to have generation-spanning relationships. Film’s ability to reclaim lost time can produce a rush of nostalgic sentiment, which recreates a bygone mental state within their parents.” I think you can feel the impact of 10 years of branded entertainment in how Barbie ends with a more ambivalent take on consumer products … while the end of The LEGO Movie is basically an ad.
Gangs of New York, Max
New Martin Scorsese is imminent! His upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon has him back in historical epic territory like Gangs of New York. This 2002 film, which is tied for the most Oscar losses of all time, frequently ranks at the low end of the director’s filmography. But I still think there’s a lot of value here, especially when you consider the film like an origin story for so many of Scorsese’s classic New York movies.
The Manchurian Candidate, Amazon Prime Video
How many times did you hear the phrase “Manchurian candidate” mentioned from roughly 2016-2020 in regards to the Russia stuff and perhaps not entirely know what the phrase meant? Find out in this gripping Cold War-era thriller of a foreign sleeper agent turned dangerous political figure! Somehow in college, I wrote a paper about this in conversation with The Terminator of all things.
No, Amazon Prime Video
For those fascinated by history, politics, advertising, and/or Gael García Bernal, No is a movie tailor-made for you. Pablo Larraín’s tale of the political messaging gurus who helped sell the Chilean public on voting to oust dictator Augusto Pinochet in a referendum vote is catnip for wonks who like to have a little fun. An added fun bonus: it’s shot on the magnetic-tape video technology of its time frame. So if you ever had to watch an old video like Destinos in Spanish class, this is going to feel viscerally real to you.
Se7en, Hulu
We’ve also got a new David Fincher killer movie coming to Netflix this fall! Reports indicate his darkly comedic crime caper, featuring Michael Fassbender’s triumphant return to the screen, will be on the lighter side of the genre. If you want pure darkness and an utterly grim assessment of humanity, however, seek out his breakthrough Se7en. This tale of two cops, an eager rookie alongside a grizzled veteran, on the hunt for a brutal murderer killing in the style of the seven deadly sins is about as bleak as they come.
Stand by Me, Netflix
Unfortunately, you just missed watching Stand By Me during its Labor Day weekend setting. But this coming-of-age touchstone is surely good just about any other time, too. I know multiple people absolutely obsessed with this film, and I probably owe it another watch to see if I can get on their level.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Hulu
You don’t need my endorsement on this one — just ask Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan: “Some of the great comedies [are a remote drop] too, I mean ‘Talladega Nights,’ I’m never gonna be able to switch that up. If you ain’t first, you’re last.”
Back to you later with a travelogue as perhaps only I could provide.
Yours in service and cinema,
Marshall