What's New To Streaming In October 2020
Featuring a rom-com (and fall weather) classic and a crime drama starring McConaughey
October is here and that means fall, even in this deeply strange year. There are a bunch of great movies new to streaming this month, but we wrote about two that anyone can enjoy, one an absolute classic and the other an underseen gem. See below for more notable new to streaming in October picks. And, as always, read, subscribe to, and share our little newsletter!
Drew recommends…
When Harry Met Sally (streaming on HBO Max)
I don’t know why it took me so long to watch When Harry Met Sally. I was familiar with the famous “I’ll have what she’s having” diner scene, but much of the significance of the movie escaped me until last year, when my wife told me it was a must-watch. Only then did I realize that this wonderful movie kicked off the modern romantic comedy and remains totally timeless over 30 years later.
When Harry Met Sally has the distinction of not just being one of the best rom-coms ever made, but also one of the best autumn movies. Has fall in New York City ever looked more glorious than in this film? If you watch this enough times you might find yourself involuntarily moving there. This quality is only a little of what makes When Harry Met Sally so timeless, thanks, in part, to director Rob Reiner.
In fact, it’s Reiner’s collaboration with screenwriter Nora Ephron that is the secret to When Harry Met Sally’s sauce. Their working relationship spawned a classic that wades curiously into much-debated topics, such as gender, sex, and friendship, with an open mind and an open heart. Ephron would go on to write and direct two more certified rom-com classics, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, but she truly set the standard with this film. Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) are given equal screen time and consideration as characters, displaying the balance that is at the very center of the movie and its makers. You can sense the productive give-and-take of the men and women behind the scenes.
The other two figures that deserve credit for creating this rom-com standard-bearer are the two lead actors. Meg Ryan became a true movie star during the 90s, but she was not yet a name brand actor at this time. It’s no surprise she took off after When Harry Met Sally. Her performance as the finicky and bright Sally is impossible to dislike, even as Sally’s dessert order becomes a ten-part instruction manual. Similarly, Billy Crystal’s Harry is an idiosyncratic charmer. His darkly neurotic nature clashes with Sally’s optimistic outlook the first few times the two meet. Their run-ins are separated by years, which lends the movie a groundedness that most recent rom-coms don’t even try to replicate. By the time Harry and Sally start to grow close, over ten years have passed since they first met.
Sure, the hairstyles and landlines are dated, but it’s the delightful chemistry between Ryan and Crystal that will never get old. Because of their entertaining back-and-forth, When Harry Met Sally is genuinely funny and lively from start to finish. For most of the movie, you’re enjoying a smart and light-hearted New York romance, until Ephron and Reiner drop the emotional sledgehammer on you in the final scene on New Year’s Eve. It’s cinematic bliss that you don’t stumble upon often.
Billy recommends…
Mud (streaming on Amazon Prime and Hulu)
Mud intrigues me as an amazing film and also the legacy it has left for director Jeff Nichols. Nichols was on a similar trajectory as other early to mid-2010s breakout directors like blockbuster genius Denis Villeneuve. Villeneuve definitely had loftier goals with his films, but Nichols had more appeal as an old-school director, an aesthetic that almost felt timeless. Somewhere along the way his movies did not catch on, but Mud has an old-school Spielberg or Rob Reiner (shout out When Harry Met Sally) feel that will put any audience into a trance.
Matthew McConaughey stars as the titular Mud who is a beautiful drifter in the middle of nowhere Arkansas. Nichols brilliantly navigates a coming-of-age story with a fast pace crime drama. Our breakout star is actor Tye Sheridan who is mature beyond his years while playing Ellis. Ellis deals with angst, young love, and naive confidence all in one little performance. Mud acts as a mentor who has his own demons along the way. Trying to move past the dangers he has brought upon himself and is trying to move forward so he enlists Ellis to help reunite him with his long-lost love. This sweet, yet somewhat manipulative relationship, brings in the cops, bounty hunters, and a classic long-lost love story. Creating an incredibly simple, but exciting ride.
Mud’s ex-girlfriend is played by the always reliable Reese Witherspoon. Witherspoon’s character is not fleshed out enough in this one, but her girl next door quality makes all the characters around her stronger. That is the strength of this movie. The pace is fantastic and while other characters deserve to be fleshed out more, Nichols does not waste the time that they do have on screen. The emotion is strong and the thrills are abundant. A perfect fall movie to propel you into a season that is often dreary.
Other movies new to streaming in October
Netflix
Cape Fear
Fargo
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Stranger Than Fiction
Superman Returns
The Longest Yard (1974)
Troy
Moneyball (on October 14th)
Amazon Prime
The Da Vinci Code
The Departed
The Pianist
Raging Bull
The Wedding Planner
Hulu
A Beautiful Mind
The Hurt Locker
Kicking and Screaming
Spaceballs
Superbad
Romeo + Juliet
HBO and HBO Max
Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery
Boogie Nights
Dirty Dancing
Galaxy Quest
Hairspray
Man of Steel
The Matrix
Million Dollar Baby
The Perfect Storm
Se7en
Sherlock Holmes
Cats (on October 10th)
Emma (on October 24th)
It: Chapter Two (on October 27th)
Links
A movie about the making of The Godfather? With Oscar Isaac playing Francis Ford Coppola? Sure, sign me up!
Yup, Borat is back. You can see what new hijinks he will be getting up to almost 15 years after the original film on Amazon Prime October 23rd.
Disney is greenlighting another Lion King movie, this time directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins (Moonlight). It’s an odd fit for Jenkins, but we can’t wait to see what he does with the franchise.