What’s Streaming This Week (9/17 - 9/24)
September 19, 2023
GOLDA - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental
Bleecker Street Films had its biggest hit of the year with Golda, as it successfully used Fathom Events’ marketing machine to create buzz around Helen Mirren and the subject matter. Critics were more muted in their enthusiasm, with the Metacritic score coming in at exactly 50. Praise for Mirren’s performance was consistent, though she’s likely a long shot for an Oscar nomination.
THE GOOD MOTHER - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental
Hilary Swank leads a talented cast (Olivia Cooke, Jack Reynor) in what looks like a generic crime thriller, though it’s the kind of meat-and-potatoes release that usually does well on demand. The film received a perfunctory theatrical release at the beginning of the month, probably to justify the hefty PVOD price tag. Critics were unimpressed (45 on Metacritic). But for die-hard Swank fans, this will be a must-see.
NANDOR FODOR AND THE TALKING MONGOOSE - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Properly titling a movie must be tough. Here’s one that avoids being the worst titled movie of the summer because LANDSCAPE WITH INVISIBLE HAND is an all-time terrible title. We don’t want to discourage creative titles…there are too many forgettable ones. So we’ll give Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose credit for standing out. And the titular talking mongoose is voiced by Sandman/Coraline author Neil Gaiman, so that’s worth checking out.
SLOTHERHOUSE - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental
If a talking mongoose is too benign for your taste, have we got a movie for you. Slotherhouse is a new horror comedy that features a cute/lazy sloth that goes on a killing spree in a sorority house. In the year of COCAINE BEAR and M3GAN, why not? If you’re able to wait a few weeks, the film will be available on Hulu as part of their Huluween programming offering.
TIL DEATH DO US PART - $12.99 Sale / TBD Rental
‘From the Creator of Final Destination’ proclaims the poster. And yes, Final Destination co-screenwriter Jeffrey Reddick is a credited producer on Til Death Do Us Part. But it’s unclear how much he contributed to this thriller, which follows a runaway bride who must fight for survival against her vengeful former fiancé and his seven deadly groomsmen. Still…a runaway bride movie that stars Jason Patric? That sounds familiar.
September 21, 2023
SANCTUARY - Hulu
No one wants to designate anything a COVID movie. It sounds reductive and too much of a reminder of a painful and miserable time in our history. But Sanctuary feels like a COVID movie. It takes place primarily in one location. It basically has only two actors. It feels like it was made under quarantine. But great art often comes from challenging circumstances. Sanctuary may or may not be great art, but it certainly is entertaining. Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott are terrific, and the ending is very memorable. Good movie to check out on Hulu!
September 22, 2023
THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER - Shudder, AMC+
The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster is inspired by Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein and is both written and directed by Bomani J. Story, who wanted to adapt the story through the black lens, with a lead character as smart as his sister. Well received after its world premiere at South By Southwest this year, Bloody Disgusting called it a "righteous reinterpretation" of Mary Shelley's novel.
BOTTOMS - Sale Only (Price TBA)
After last week’s no-show of SOUND OF FREEDOM, we’re a little nervous about Bottoms. Our source is, once again, Redbox. They posted the date last week, but then removed it after our announcement. Still, we’re comfortable with keeping it in our preview and on our streaming release calendar. The date is consistent with MGM’s windowing on their other releases. Needless to say…if the date is incorrect…we will not be using Redbox as a source again. Here’ s the screenshot of last week’s listing:
CASSANDRO - Prime Video
A hit out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, we’re excited to catch up with Cassandro. The director, Roger Ross Williams, is having a big year. He directed the Donna Summer documentary LOVE TO LOVE YOU and he just premiered his new doc STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING to great acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival (it hits Netflix in November). Cassandro stars Gael Garcia Bernal as gay wrestler Saúl Armendáriz, who crosses the border to Ciudad Juárez in Mexico to participate in lucha libre wrestling matches. Can't wait.
GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT - Prime Video
The second Guy Ritchie movie of the year (after the long-delayed OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE), The Covenant did not make much of an impact in theaters this spring. But for its target audience, it’ll be the perfect film to catch up with on Prime Video. Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim co-star.
NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU - Hulu
We’re suckers for a home invasion thriller. We also love alien invasion thrillers. No One Will Save You combines the two, and stars Kaitlyn Dever, so we’re pretty damn excited. No reviews yet, so we have no idea if it’ll be any good. But the trailer is promising, and it comes from a major studio (20th Century), so fingers crossed.
SPY KIDS: ARMAGEDDON - Netflix
The fifth installment in the Spy Kids series, Spy Kids: Armageddon stars Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Everly Carganilla, and Connor Esterson, and is again co-written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It’s Rodriguez’s second film of the year, after the Ben Affleck starring misfire HYPNOTIC. It’s been 22 years since the original Spy Kids, so it’ll likely attract a lot of nostalgic Millennials.
September 23, 2023
THE MACHINE - Netflix
We have to admit, we had never heard of Bert Kreischer before the release of The Machine. In 1997, he was featured in an article in Rolling Stone while attending Florida State University, and the magazine named Kreischer the top partyer at the Number One Party School in the country. His successful stand-up routine was adapted in to this unsuccessful feature film. We want better things for Mark Hamill.
WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? - Hulu
Can we put a moratorium on films that share titles with hit pop songs? Rom-coms especially? What’s Love Got To Do With It has a terrific cast and is directed by Shekhar Kapur, who guided Cate Blanchett to two Oscar nominations for Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. But What’s Love Got to Do With It will always belong to Tina Turner (and Angela Bassett).
Happy Streaming Everyone!
