Each week, we highlight the notable titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the U.S. Check out this week’s picks below and previous roundups here.
Drive-Away Dolls (Ethan Coen)
The kind of film that is made to stumble upon at 2 a.m. in a half-awake, half-drunk state while zapping the cable TV: Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls sets lower artistic standards than anything the director (and certainly his brother) have tackled before, which is a big part of its charm. Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke first completed the screenplay about two decades ago – with the title Retractable dikes both then and now, if the credits are anything to go by – and the appeal of the pleasure-first B-movie lies in the feeling that they simply dusted off a copy and started production immediately. A sloppy narrative populated by eminently likable characters who can best be described as joke-telling caricatures, this wonderfully queer road trip comedy is a brisk ride designed to pack as much sex, violence and psychedelic mind trips as an 84-minute running time will allow. – Jordan R. (full review)
Where to stream: Prime Video
Evil does not exist (Ryuukō Hamaguchi)
The typically loud films at this year’s Venice Film Festival include Evil does not exista work in which tensions rise over little more than the placement of a septic tank. It is the latest work from director Ryusuke Hamaguchi and his first since 2021’s miraculous double whammy Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy And Drive my car. Devilish is about a clash of urban and rural feelings: a story about a small but brave group of people who want to prevent the development of a glamping site. Fans of Kelly Reichardt’s woodsy melancholy will feel at home here. – Daniel L. (full review)
Where to stream: VOD
Green border (Agnieszka Holland)
Before the premiere of her latest work at the New York Film Festival, Green borderlegendary director Agnieszka Holland wished everyone a good screening: “I would tell you to enjoy the film, but that would be inappropriate.” It was a fitting warning given the harrowing but exquisite film that unfolded. Green border focuses on the treatment of migrants trying to cross from Belarus to Poland to seek asylum in the European Union. As a result, Holland is now on the blacklist of almost all high-ranking Polish politicians, from the President to the Minister of Science and Higher Education. It’s a pity that they are so blinded by their position that they cannot even appreciate great works of art. Green border is a gripping, carefully crafted and deeply humane reckoning with the atrocities we allow in the name of nationalism. – Lena W. (full review)
Where to stream: VOD
Hellhole (John Adams, Toby Poser)
The parasitic creature at the center of the Adams family Hellhole (consisting of John Adams and Toby Poser as directors/co-writers/stars, with daughter Lulu as the screenwriting duo, while Zelda sits out here) doesn’t mess around. Once it seems its host is under threat, it simply blasts its way out to find a new one. That means lots of blood and brutality and a few effective shock moments — you never know how much threat is too much. Sometimes the beast simply wiggles a tentacle or two out of its victim’s orifices. Sometimes it stages a prison break. The only constant is that it takes over the next, next human male in the hopes of finally growing up. — Jared
Where to stream it: Shudder, AMC+
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (Kevin Costner)
Everything that was done in advance of the horizon––the scope of the project, its running time (181 minutes), the colon And Hyphen in the title – pointed to a word; but calling something “epic” has less to do with quantity than some films would have us believe. In the most comprehensive sequences of Dances with WolvesCostner left the character all alone on the plain, where he is overshadowed by the landscape and becomes increasingly aware of his own place in it. horizonrarely takes so much time to think. Here, too, there is a clear lack of cinematic urgency, the feeling that the film, regardless of its length, has to go somewhere. The resulting feeling, horizon will be familiar to anyone who has ever watched a prestige series in one sitting; but if the viewer is willing to overcome this hurdle, Costner leaves much more to enjoy. – Daniel L. (full review)
Where to stream: Max
Inside Out 2 (Kelsey Mann)
Similar to the previous film, Inside Out 2 has a predictably entertaining time traveling through the various corners of Riley’s brain. It also plays it pretty safe, being careful not to disrupt too much of what its predecessor established, filtering in Michael Giacchino’s quirky and soulful score to create more of its connective tissue. One could argue it’s a more homogenous version of To redden without the film’s vivid Chinese heritage, cultural details and more pressing physical metaphors. But the idea that universal emotions – from the perspective of a young, overachieving white girl – offer a more “recognizable” viewing experience (or a better understanding of puberty) is a little tricky in this context. – Jake K. (full review)
Where to stream: VOD
The Killer (John Woo)
After last year’s silent Night—a return to Hollywood film that was perhaps more successful in idea than execution—John Woo returns once again, this time remaking his own action classic. The Killer. Despite being moved straight to streaming on Peacock, Woo still proves an eye for thrills with a number of impressive scenes. Yet throughout the overly long two-hour runtime, weighed down by the dull, weightless digital look, you can’t help but feel that the film would have been better off had it not been compared to its masterful predecessor. Without that baggage, this is a serviceable action thriller that rises above the heap of streaming garbage.
Where to stream: Peacock
Long-legged (Osgood-Perkins)
Perkins’ earlier films, such as The Daughter of the Black Cloak And I am the pretty thing that lives in the houseworked because they renounced the pretense of a story that would otherwise drag them down. By living and dying by tame procedures, Long-legged fails to evoke strong emotions. Perhaps that is partly intentional: Perkins seems intent on imitating his protagonist in style and form, if not particularly carefully. Harker is quiet and attentive, and the staging invites the audience to do the same. The problem is the extent to which the script introduces and discards bits of itself. Those Zodiac-like letters? Far too quickly resolved and vanished from the film. – Matt C. (VOD
The Passengers of the Night (Mikhael Hers)
Charlotte Gainsbourg delivers one of the best performances of 2023 in Mikhaël Hers’ new drama The Passengers of the Night. It follows a woman wandering aimlessly in 1980s Paris (and even references one of the best films of that decade, Éric Rohmer Full moon in Paris) is reeling from a divorce while juggling her career prospects, her relationship with her two teenage children, and a new teenager entering her life. The drama is carefully attuned to the emotions of everyone seen on screen. Passengers exudes mature poetry in every scene. – Jordan R.
Where to stream: MUBI (30 days free)
Stress positions (Theda Hammel)
Between The sweet east and to a certain extent American fictionthe appetite of cinephiles for politically incorrect commentary seems to be increasing. Even if you are not such a moviegoer, Stress positionsthe feature film debut of Theda Hammel, doesn’t give a damn. That’s a plus before it becomes a problem, but its aimless narrative and discordant visual styles undermine this film’s sharpness. – Lena W. (full review)
Where to stream: Hulu
The Village Detective: A Song Cycle (Bill Morrison)
It is hard to overstate how important Bill Morrison’s work is to the language and history of cinema. As well as being a filmmaker, Morrison is a historian, seeking out long-lost works and bringing them back to life. By often combining these rescued images with beautiful, intellectual music, a new work of art is built upon the old, celebrating both what has been found and what is to come. Morrison’s new feature film The Village Detective: A Song Cycle is a slight departure, but no less effective. This time, the rediscovered film is one that was never lost. In fact, it is quite well known in its native Russia. – Dan M. (full review)
Where to stream: Kino Film Collection
Also new in streaming
Hulu
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat
Prime Video
Baraka
Jackknife
MUBI (30 days free)
Forty shades of blue
Netflix
Logan Luck
migration
pearl
Video on Demand (VOD)
Crumb catcher
curiosity
