Check out my picks for the best things coming to Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Criterion Channel, and HBOMax in October. This month offers up a lot of great options, but the highlights include some of the most intriguing and exciting titles of 2020, which at this point are few and far between.

NETFLIX

Full list of everything coming to Netflix in October can be found here.

CAPE FEAR (Martin Scorsese, 1991)

One of Martin Scorsese’s most underrated movies and a top-tier Robert De Niro performance.

CAROL (Todd Haynes, 2015)

Todd Hayne’s beautiful, heartbreaking forbidden love story features career best work from Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.

DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD (Kirsten Johnson, 2020)

Tons of buzz swirled around this one at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, as this documentary looks at a daughter helping her father prepare for the end of his life.

FARGO (The Coen Brothers, 1996)

A Coen Brother masterpiece with a masterful screenplay and iconic performance from Frances McDormand.

THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANNER (Mike Flanagan, 2020)

The follow-up series to Mike Flanigan’s brilliant The Haunting of Hill House looks just as scary and twisted.

HUBIE HALLOWEEN (Steven Brill, 2020)

I love Adam Sandler in any form and though this looks the film Sandler threatened to make if he didn’t get an Oscar nomination for Uncut Gems (he didn’t), I’m still going to give it a watch.

HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (Taika Waititi, 2016)

Director Taika Waititi’s breakout is a sweet and hilarious adventure film.

MONEYBALL (Bennett Miller, 2011)

One of the best movies of the 2010’s and Brad Pitt’s best performance to date.

PARANORMAN (Chris Butler, Sam Fell, 2012)

A true stunner from the great team over at Laika.

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed this true account of the trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the best movies of the year.

PRIME VIDEO

Full list of everything coming to Prime Video in October can be found here.

A KNIGHT’S TALE (Brian Helgeland, 2001)

A rockstar performance by Heath Ledger leads this wildly entertaining film.

THE DEPARTED (Martin Scorsese, 2006)

Martin Scorsese won his sole Best Director Oscar for this cat-and-mouse cop thriller.

MUD (Jeff Nichols, 2013)

Matthew McConaughey is excellent in Jeff Nichols’ tale of two boys who encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the vigilantes that are on his trail.

THE PIANIST (Roman Polanski, 2002)

A harrowing Holocaust film led by Adrian Brody’s Oscar-winning performance.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE (Marc Forster, 2008)

On the lower end of the Daniel Craig-led Bond films, but still an entertaining entry in the franchise.

RAGING BULL (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

Robert De Niro gives the greatest performance I have ever seen on film in Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece about boxer Jake LaMotta.

SOUTHSIDE WITH YOU (Richard Tanne, 2016)

A charming account of the first date between former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE (Tim Miller, 2019)

The best Terminator film since T2.

TIME (Garrett Bradley, 2020)

Another documentary that got a lot of buzz of out this year’s Sundance Film Festival, this one looking a woman who is fighting for the release of her husband, Rob, who is serving a 60-year sentence in prison.

HULU

Full list of everything coming to Hulu in October can be found here.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND (Ron Howard, 2001)

This biopic of mathematician John Nash won four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director for Ron Howard, Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Connolly, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

BAD HAIR (Justin Simien, 2020)

Justin Simien’s cultural satire about a haunted weave.

BLADE/BLADE II/BLADE TRINITY (Stephen Norrington, 1998/Guillermo Del Toro, 2002/ David S. Goyer, 2004)

Wesley Snipes is iconic as the half man/half vampire superhero.

DEEP BLUE SEA (Renny Harlin, 1999)

Some good ol’ fashion 90’s shark attacks.

GOOD HAIR (Jeff Stilson, 2009)

Chris Rock takes us on an insightful journey about the wonders of African-American hairstyles.

THE HURT LOCKER (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)

Kathryn Bigelow’s became the first woman to win Best Director for her incredible intense war film.

SCREAM 4 (Wes Craven, 2011)

Shame the first three aren’t available here, but Scream 4 is an excellent entry in one of the best entries in a great horror franchise.

SNAKES ON A PLANE (David R. Ellis, 2006)

A camp classic with a locked-in Samuel L. Jackson.

SUPERBAD (Greg Mottola, 2007)

One of the funniest comedies of the 2000’s.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO + JULIET (Baz Luhrmann’s, 1996)

Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Dane’s became stars in Baz Luhrmann’s wild interpretation of the iconic story.

DISNEY+

Full list of everything coming to Disney+ in October can be found here.

MALEFICENT (Robert Stromberg, 2014)

The movie itself might not be great, but Angelina Jolie is perfect for the part.

THE MANDALORIAN (SEASON 2) (Jon Favreau, 2020)

The Emmy-winning show is back with more space adventures and Baby Yoda.

THE RIGHT STUFF (SEASON 1) (Various, 2020)

Based on the Oscar-winning film, I am excited to see how this show turns out.

X2 (Bryan Singer, 2003)

The best X-Men movie to date.

CRITERION CHANNEL

Full list of everything coming to Criterion Channel in October can be found here.

*The Criterion Channel does things a little differently than every other streaming service. The Criterion Channel, a wonderful streaming service that focuses on independent, foreign, and under-appreciates movies, doesn’t just throw a bunch of random movies to stream. They get more creative by having categories like “DOUBLE FEATURES” or “FILMS FROM…”, giving us curated lists of films that somehow blend together or feature a specific artist.*

DOUBLE FEATURE – PRYING ODDS

PEEPING TOM (Michael Powell, 1960)

ODD OBSESSION (Kon Ichikawa, 1959)

Two eerie, controversial films looking at voyeurism and obsession.

DOUBLE FEATURE – TWISTED SISTERS

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (Robert Aldrich, 1962)

SISTERS (Brian De Palma, 1972)

A perfect double bill for the Halloween season, with Baby Jane looking at a former child star tormenting her paraplegic sister, and Sisters being director Brian De Palma’s twisted look at the relationship that forms between a fashion model, her former conjoined twin, and a hotshot reporter who suspects the latter of murder.

DOUBLE FEATURE – WOMAN ON THE EDGE

CHRISTINE (Antonio Campos, 2016)

KATE PLAYS CHRISTINE (Robert Greene, 2016)

Two films, one a narrative featuring a masterful performance by Rebecca Hall, the other being an unconventional documentary, that look at Florida newscaster Christine Chubbuck, who in 1974 committed suicide on national television.

DOUBLE FEATURE – TWICE BITTEN

NOSFERATU (F.W. Murnau, 1922)

NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE (Werner Herzog, 1979)

The original is a vampire classic, the other is a stellar Werner Herzog reimagining.

SHORT + FEATURE

INFLUENZA (Bong Joon Ho, 2004) + CACHÉ (Michael Haneke, 2005)

Two eerie films from masters Bong Joon Ho and Michael Haneke.

SHORT + FEATURE

IT’S NOT JUST YOU, MURRAY! (Martin Scorsese, 1964) + THE PUBLIC ENEMY (William A. Wellman, 1931)

One of Martin Scorsese’s earliest short films paired with one of the greatest gangster movies ever made is a perfect double feature.

70’s HORROR

– A showcase for 70’s horror films, featuring classics like The Wicker Man, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Crazies, and The Hills Have Eyes.

Trog, Freddie Francis, 1970
The Vampire Lovers, Roy Ward Baker, 1970
Daughters of Darkness, Harry Kümel, 1971
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, John D. Hancock, 1971
The Nightcomers, Michael Winner, 1971
Dracula A.D. 1972, Alan Gibson, 1972
Images, Robert Altman, 1972
Death Line, Gary Sherman, 1972
Season of the Witch, George A. Romero, 1972
The Crazies, George A. Romero, 1973
Don’t Look Now, Nicolas Roeg, 1973
Ganja & Hess, Bill Gunn, 1973
Sisters, Brian De Palma, 1973
Theater of Blood, Douglas Hickox, 1973
The Wicker Man, Robin Hardy, 1973
Black Christmas, Bob Clark, 1974
Deathdream, Bob Clark, 1974
It’s Alive, Larry Cohen, 1974
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Tobe Hooper, 1974
Shivers, David Cronenberg, 1975
The Tenant, Roman Polanski, 1976
The Witch Who Came from the Sea, Matt Cimber, 1976
The Hills Have Eyes, Wes Craven, 1977
Rabid, David Cronenberg, 1977
Coma, Michael Crichton, 1978
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Philip Kaufman, 1978
Long Weekend, Colin Eggleston, 1978
The Brood, David Cronenberg, 1979
The Driller Killer, Abel Ferrara, 1979

WATCHING THE POLLS

– Six politically-focused movies to watch before next month’s elections.

Primary, Robert Drew, 1960
The Best Man, Franklin J. Schaffner, 1964
Shampoo, Hal Ashby, 1975
The Last Party, Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin, 1993
The War Room, Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker, 1993
Election, Alexander Payne, 1999

NEW KOREAN CINEMA

– One of the most exciting film movements of the last thirty years, New Korean Cinema features a number of great, brilliantly made films from filmmakers like Bong Joon Ho and Park Chan-wook.

Nowhere to Hide, Lee Myung-se, 1999
Barking Dogs Never Bite, Bong Joon Ho, 2000
The Foul King, Kim Jee-woon, 2000
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Park Chan-wook, 2002
A Tale of Two Sisters, Kim Jee-woon, 2003
Crying Fist, Ryoo Seung-wan, 2005
Lady Vengeance, Park Chan-wook, 2005
The Host, Bong Joon Ho, 2006
Mother, Bong Joon Ho, 2009

STARRING JOAN CRAWFORD

– A plethora of films from a screen icon.

The Unknown, Tod Browning, 1927
Our Dancing Daughters, Harry Beaumont, 1928
Our Modern Maidens, Jack Conway, 1929
Possessed, Clarence Brown, 1931
Grand Hotel, Edmund Goulding, 1932
Dancing Lady, Robert Z. Leonard, 1933
Sadie McKee, Clarence Brown, 1934
Love on the Run, W. S. Van Dyke, 1936
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, Richard Boleslawski, Dorothy Arzner, and George Fitzmaurice, 1937
Mannequin, Frank Borzage, 1937
The Women, George Cukor, 1939
Strange Cargo, Frank Borzage, 1940
A Woman’s Face, George Cukor, 1941
Above Suspicion, Richard Thorpe, 1943
Mildred Pierce, Michael Curtiz, 1945
Humoresque, Jean Negulesco, 1946
Possessed, Curtis Bernhardt, 1947
The Damned Don’t Cry, Vincent Sherman, 1950
Harriet Craig, Vincent Sherman, 1950
Sudden Fear, David Miller, 1952
Queen Bee, Ranald MacDougall, 1955
Autumn Leaves, Robert Aldrich, 1956
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Robert Aldrich, 1962
Strait-Jacket, William Castle, 1964
Trog, Freddie Francis, 1970

CAT PEOPLE (Jacques Tourneur, 1942)

A horror classic from the 1940’s.

VIDEODROME (David Cronenberg, 1983)

One of the David Cronenberg’s best films.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (Lynn Ramsey, 2011)

Lynn Ramsey’s deeply disturbing look at a mother struggling to love her increasingly dangerous son is one of the best directed movies of 2010’s.

HBOMAX

Full list of everything coming to HBOMax in October can be found here.

AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY/AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME (Jay Roach, 1997/1999)

Austin Powers is one of my favorite movie characters ever and the first two films are classic.

BOOGIE NIGHTS (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s breakout is an epic look at the porn industry in the 1970’s.

CHARM CITY KINGS (Angel Manuel Soto, 2020)

One of the most hyped movies out of Sundance this year follows a young Black kid an who wants to join an infamous group of Baltimore dirt-bike riders who rule the summertime streets.