Newly Available on VOD this September
- The Elephant Six Recording Co. (available now)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (PVOD, available now)
- The Adults (PVOD, September 5)
- Strays (PVOD, September 5)
- Landscape With Invisible Hand (PVOD, September 8)
- Barbie (PVOD, September 12)
- Final Cut (September 12)
- The Unknown Country (September 12)
- Dreamin’ Wild (September 26)
*PVOD titles are fresh from theatrical release and generally rent or sell digitally for $19.99 (or higher). All dates subject to change.
Criterion Channel
- Hal Hartley: A Retrospective – American auteur Hal Hartley has always been an acquired taste. His quirky films of the late 1980s and early 90s are wildly unique with a droll sense of humor. Every feature length film he’s directed along with his short films are part of this series. Of note: ‘Amateur’ starring Isabelle Huppert and ‘The Book of Life’ with PJ Harvey as Mary Magdalene. (available now)
- Dry Ground Burning – Filmmakers Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós blend narrative and documentary elements for a Brazilian import making its streaming debut. (available now)
- The Eight Mountains – Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch (The Broken Circle Breakdown) won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2022 for this drama set in the Italian Alps. (available now)
Disney+
- The Little Mermaid (2023) – Far from unwatchable, but this live-action remake mostly made me wish I was watching the 1989 version. Halle Bailey is very engaging and I did genuinely love the Ursula fx, but this is a bit of a slog. On the big screen, the effects work occasionally felt unfinished (but perhaps it will look better on televisions). Rob Marshall doesn’t really do much to change things up, but when he does (like Scuttle’s hip-hop number), the choices are puzzling. That said Halle and Melissa McCarthy clearly are having a lot of fun and your kids are still gonna watch it a thousand times. (September 6)
Hulu
- Corsage – Vicky Krieps gives a divine performance as Empress Elizabeth of Austria in this irreverant period drama. (September 10)
- Theater Camp – Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman have made one of the most hysterical films I’ve seen in a long time. With a freewheeling mockumentary style, we meet the staff and young thespians at a summer theater camp that is experiencing financial difficulties. The cast, which includes Molly Gordon, Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Ayo Edebiri, nails the awkwardness for comic gold. (September 14)
- Bad Axe – I’ve raved multiple times about David Siev’s directorial debut, which is a film that has stuck with me since viewing it during the SXSW Festival last year. He chronicles his Asian-American family and the perils they face while operating a restaurant during the early days of COVID-19 in rural Michigan where they are surrounded by callous Trump supporters. This is vital and intensely personal filmmaking. (September 18, our review)
- Sanctuary – Zachary Wigon’s sophomore feature ‘Sanctuary’ is a dialogue-driven erotic thriller that harkens back to the best work of Neil LaBute. Set almost entirely inside a hotel room, the film explores the dark and twisted dynamic between a dominatrix named Rebecca (Margaret Qualley) and her soon-to-be ex-client, Hal (Christopher Abbott). (September 21, our review)
Netflix
- El Conde – Pablo Larrain (‘Spencer’) directs a black-and-white satire that depicts former Chilean dictator Agosto Pinochet as a 250-year-old vampire. (September 15)
- Love at First Sight – Haley Lu Richardson and Ben Hardy star in this tale of missed connection after they meet on a transatlantic flight and then lose track of each other. (September 15)
- The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar – The first of four short films for the streaming service directed by Wes Anderson and adapted from the stories of Roald Dahl. Expect it to clock in at just 39 minutes and star Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, and Dev Patel. (September 27)
Peacock
- Hypnotic – Ben Affleck and Robert Rodriguez teaming up should have been a hit, but its tiny distributor and poor critical reception led to a film that sank from view shortly after opening weekend. (available now)
- Fast X – With a reported production budget of $340 million, this is one of the most expensive films ever made. The tenth film in the main ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise, you know what to expect by now! (September 15)
Prime Video
- Sitting in Bars with Cake – Yara Shahidi, Odessa A’zion, Ron Livingston, and Bette Midler star in this twentysomething tale of two best friends in Los Angeles who bake cakes and take them out on the town to meet new people (September 8)
- Cassandro – Based on a true story, the new film from Roger Ross Williams (‘Love to Love You, Donna Summer’) stars Gael García Bernal as a gay amateur wrestler who becomes known as the “Liberace of Lucha Libre.” (September 22)
- Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant – Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this action thriller as a U.S. Army Green Beret sergeant and his Afghan interpreter as they fight to survive in Taliban territory. (September 22)
Starz
- John Wick 4 – The latest installment of the action-packed series is far too long, but still delivers the goods. Not sure how Mr. Wick remains so invincible, but it’s hard not to root for him. The first three films are currently only streaming through AMC+, but they’re all cropped from their original aspect ratios there, so…avoid like the plague. (September 15)
- Sisu – This brilliantly blood-soaked tale of revenge is not for the faint of heart. The Finnish import (shot in English) finds a former soldier who takes on Nazi soldiers as they leave Finland during World War II. (September 29, our review)
Can’t get enough of our September streaming suggestions? Check out last month’s recommendations here!
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