If you’re looking for a new movie to watch this holiday weekend, you’re not going to find a blockbuster avalanche in theaters right now. Fortunately, streaming always keeps the hits coming, old and new, and we’ve put together a curated guide of the best movies streaming new on Netflix this month.
Whether you’re in the mood for an underrated 90s action-thriller (starring the great Meryl Streep, no less) or a brand-new take on exorcism horror from “Precious” filmmaker Lee Daniels, here are the best new movies on Netflix in August.
“The River Wild”
An undersung 90s adventure-thriller — an era when Hollywood valued and respected that genre, and sure as heck knew how to make them pulse-pounding. Oh, and it stars the great Meryl Streep, who spends much of the film fighting for her life while strapped into a boat, navigating also life-or-death white water rafting. A couple (Streep and an equally great David Strathairn) go on a family rafting trip when two armed men kidnap the family and force them to help them escape the law. Directed by Curtis Hanson (“L.A. Confidential”), with a score by Jerry Goldsmith, it’s a potent thrill ride with an arsenal of on-screen talent that also includes Kevin Bacon and John C. Reilly.
“The Union”
If you’re looking for a light-hearted action-adventure full of familiar faces — well, Netflix almost always has you covered on that front. This month brings “The Union,” starring Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry as high school sweethearts who have an unlikely reunion after she recruits him into a clandestine international operation she works for. Berry hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to have fun in films, which is a shame since she’s nothing less than magnetic when she does.
“Pearl”
Ti West and Mia Goth’s surprise prequel to “X,” which delighted horror fans when it rolled out to theaters just months after the original film, “Pearl” is now streaming on Netflix for all to enjoy as the sweltering summer months come to a close. Neither “X” nor “MaXXXine” are available to stream at the moment, so you’ll have to get your Pearl fix here. Goth gives an unforgettable, instantly iconic performance as the younger version of her twisted “X” character, finding her repressed and tucked away on her family’s isolated farm, where she dreams of being a star and slowly warps into the deviant diva fans know and love.
“Bride of Chucky”
While you won’t find the original “Child’s Play” on Netflix right now, you’ve got your pick of several sequels from the long-running horror franchise. But for my money, “Bride of Chucky” is the most outrageously entertaining of the bunch. Hong Kong filmmaker Ronny Yu directs, and with just two American horror installments between this and “Freddy vs. Jason,” established himself as a one-of-a-kind genre voice of the era. This one introduced Jennifer Tilly’s Tiffany — now equally as iconic as Chucky himself — and delivers the “Child’s Play” franchise at its camp comedy best.
“The Spectacular Now”
“The Spectacular Now” is the beautiful, emotional and unusually raw coming-of-age that helped establish A24 as a critical darling and level-up the careers of Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller. Directed by James Ponsoldt (“The End of the Tour,” “Shrinking”), with a knockout supporting cast that includes Bob Odenkirk, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Brie Larson, “The Spectacular Now” stars Teller as a wildcard, hard-partying popular kid on the rebound and Woodley as the timid schoolmate who falls for him after he wakes up hungover on her lawn one day. But that description doesn’t really do the film’s lovelieness or tenderness any justice. It’s one of the coming-of-age greats of the 2010s. Just bring a tissue. — HF
Monster House
As the summer season inches toward its close and the excitement for Spooky Season palpably grows, “Monster House” is one of those perfect in-between to bridge the gap. From a script by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab (“Rick & Morty”) and Pamela Pettler (“Corpse Bride”), the animated film is an inventive and heartfelt original tale about a sentient house with a hunger for humans and the three neighborhood boys who set out to defeat it.
“The Deliverance”
Speaking of all things spooky, “Precious” and “The United States vs Billie Holiday” filmmaker Lee Daniels puts his spin on the exorcism genre with “The Deliverance.” Losely, inspired by the true story of Latoya Ammons, the Netflix original horror movie stars Andra Day as Ebony, a single mother trying to keep her family together who struggles with personal and paranormal demons after they move into a new home. The bills, the booze, the born-again mother (played by Glenn Close) — it’s all driving Ebony to the brink, and that’s before dark spirits in her new home compel her and her family to hurt each other. It’s never particularly terrifying, but Daniels sure knows how to get big, bold performances out of his stars.
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