Netflix Instant Watch September Preview
Before we begin, here are a few of the highlights from August’s Netflix Instant releases that you may have missed:
- Haywire – such a wonderfully underrated little action flick with a great cast
- Traffic – more greatness from Soderbergh
- Dark Tide – sure it was DTV, but a movie with Halle Berry in a bikini can’t be all that bad
- Super 8 – the best movie (that I saw) of 2011
- The Expendables – so much less fun than it should have been
- Piranha – so much more fun than it had any right to be
- Battle Royale – The Hunger Games but far more intense
- Wilfred – hilarious TV show starring Elijah Wood and a man in a dog suit
- Captain America – see more of what came before The Avengers
- God Bless America – Bobcat Goldthwait continues to be one of the most unique filmmakers working today
- ESPN’s 30 for 30 series – if you’re a fan of sports or documentaries, you should seek these out
Hold on to your butts, because we’re in for a HUGE month:
New on Netflix Instant Watch September 1st:
- Abduction – Taylor Lautner running around from people
- The Descent 2 – the first Descent is a classic, but the sequel is no slouch either
- Titan A.E. – Don Bluth brings his animation to space
- African Queen – Bogart + Hepburn
- Everybody Loves Raymond – the highly-rated TV show for old people comes to a service old people don’t use
- Coming to America – Eddie Murphy at just about his peak
- Mean Girls – apparently its sequel also hits Netflix on the 1st too
- Chaplin – RDJ before he became the world’s biggest movie star
- King Kong – the goofy Jeff Bridges version
- Clueless – kinda like Mean Girls but 10 years prior
- Beverly Hills Cop – the first and second movies hit Netflix as news is released that Murphy is trying to bring back his character in a TV show
- Tommy Boy – the perfect comedy?
- Pootie Tang – quickly becoming a cult classic
- Hot Rod – another great little comedy that flew in under the radar
- Eddie Murphy Raw – funny, but hard to view through today’s more politically correct worldviews
- The Omen – the original
- The Longest Yard – the Adam Sandler remake
- The Conversation – Coppola’s stealth masterpiece
- Beavis & Butthead Do America
- Footloose – the original
- Black Dog – Swayze.
- The Mummy – the original
- I.Q. – cute rom-com about Einstein
- Network – I’ve thrown out the word “great” a lot in this post, but this movie truly is one of the all-time greats
- Dog Day Afternoon – Al Pacino robs a bank
- The Night of the Hunter – I’ve thrown out the word “great” a lot in this post, but this movie truly is one of the all-time greats
- Braveheart – Mel Gibson at the peak of his abilities to be tortured
- A Night at the Roxbury
- Double Jeopardy – Ashley Judd in the most Ashley Judd “thriller” that ever existed
- Highlander – 1 and 2!
- Varsity Blues & Basic Instinct – movies known for one scene
- Insomnia – semi-early Christopher Nolan
- Passenger 57 – Wesley Snipes on a plane
- Sunset Blvd – I’ve thrown out the word “great” a lot in this post, but this movie truly is one of the all-time greats
- Exlporers – very strange, but kinda watchable, family sci-fi from the 80’s
- Mission: Impossible – 1 and 3
- Clue – proof that board games can make movies that are slightly watchable
- Shooter – insanely good Mark Wahlberg action movie
- What Women Want – Mel Gibson shows his sensitive side
- Face/off – I was just telling my wife Netflix needed more Nic Cage movies…
- Star Trek Insurrection – The Next Generation crew gets a movie
- We Were Soldiers – more Mel Gibson
- The Thing – Keith David is just the best
- Soapdish – RDJ behind the scenes of a soap
- Days of Heaven – Terrence Malick’s masterpiece
- South Park: Bigger Longer Uncut and Team America – that’s a strong double-feature for a lazy Sunday afternoon
- Ghost – Swayze.
- Deep Impact – so much better than Armageddon, but still pretty lousy
- Serpico – Al Pacino is a cop
New on Netflix Instant Watch September 3rd:
- Dinosaurs – the TV show from the 90’s
New on Netflix Instant Watch September 6th:
- Marley – the new Bob Marley doc
New on Netflix Instant Watch September 9th:
- There be Dragons – crazy great title, not so great movie
New on Netflix Instant Watch September 11th:
- Terra Nova – Netflix originally wanted to try and produce a second season of this failed series on their own. I guess we’ll just have to live with being able to watch the first season
New on Netflix Instant Watch September 12th:
- The Grey – Liam Neeson vs. wolves
New on Netflix Instant Watch September 25th:
- Alias – a fun spy TV show
New on Netflix Instant Watch September 29th:
- A Good Old Fashioned Orgy – great cast, not quite so great movie
*As always, these are totally subject to change at Netflix’s whim so they may not be 100% accurate…
Two more lesser-known but worthy films I’d recommend coming in September are The Bad Intentions, coming September 1, and Headhunters, coming September 27.
The Bad Intentions is a really dark comedy from Peru about a little girl who is convinced that she is going to die on the day her little brother is born. Along the same lines as Pan’s Labyrinth, though it’s admittedly not nearly as good. Similar tone, though.
Headhunters was one of my favorite festival films last year, a Norwegian thriller about a high level business recruiter who moonlights as an art thief – until he recruits and heists the wrong guy and ends up on the run for his life. It’s really incredibly good, and already due for an American remake, so check out the original first.
Those sound pretty fantastic! (I had to cut it off around 70 though before my fingers fell off)
I do the same thing when I do Netflix Instant posts on my blog (haven’t done it for a couple of months, though – glad there’s this post to fall back on!) – there’s only so many you can include!
I’d been interested in Headhunters, so I may have to subscribe to Netflix again at the end of the month.
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia topped a lot “best of” lists for the art house crowd last year. I haven’t watched it but it looks interesting.
It’s a reaaaaaaaally slow burn, so just be prepared for that when you watch it. I ended up liking it quite a bit, and there’s a lot of very dry humor in it, which pleased me. But yeah, it’s super-slow.