Don’t let anyone tell you watching movies and dramas is mindless. According to PsychCentral, they’re more than temporary escapes. They can make you feel better, improve your mood, and motivate you. Additionally, laughter lowers cortisol and epinephrine levels, says a 2016 study in The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine. Here are our top streaming picks for September 2023.
New on Amazon Prime:
The Wheel Of Time Season 2
During Season 1, a mysterious, powerful woman claimed one of the five villagers from Two Rivers was the child of an ancient prophecy. Before the Dark One escaped from prison, they had to decide if they could trust her and each other with the world’s fate.
Season 2 finds the young friends scattered around the globe and facing new and familiar threats. Since the woman is now powerless, they must seek strength elsewhere, whether in the light or the dark. The cast includes Josha Stradowski, Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Zoë Robins, Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford, and Dónal Finn.
The Continental: From the World of John Wick
In the crime series adapted from the John Wick franchise, Winston Scott (Colin Woodell) must face his past as the owner of The Continental chain of hotels, all safe havens for assassins. Seeking power, he charts a deadly course through the hotel’s mysterious underworld. Mel Gibson makes a decent comeback as Cormac, Scott’s mentor and tormentor, and a dangerous member of the High Table.
Bringing down the wrath of New York’s entire assassin community, Ben Robson plays Frankie Scott, a reckless protagonist who steals something valuable from Cormac and the High Table. Mishel Prada plays KD, a New York City cop who should know better than to get involved with the High Table’s affairs.
New on Disney+:
The Little Mermaid
Rob Marshall’s live-action remake of the 1989 animated classic shines for a new generation of viewers with vibrant visuals set in an 1830s Caribbean island with merpeople, humans, and creatures, like Sebastian the crab (Daveed Diggs) and Scuttle, the birdbrained gull (Awkwafina).
Halle Bailey is 18-year-old Princess Ariel, who falls in love with a human prince (Jonah Hauer-King) and makes a deal with Ursula, the evil sea witch (Melissa McCarthy) to become human in exchange for her voice. Stream in to see what happens afterwards.
Elemental
Smart, witty, and suitable for both adults and kids, Element City takes place in a metropolis where fire, water, land, and air live in harmony. A quick-witted, young fire woman named Ember (Leah Lewis) has her beliefs challenged by her friendship with a fun go-with-the-flow water guy named Wade (Mamoudou Athie). It also stars the voices of Ronnie del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendy McLendon-Covey, and Catherine O’Hara.
New on HBO GO:
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, and Hugh Grant, this comedic action-packed adventure captures the spirit of the legendary role-playing game with a charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers who attempt to retrieve a lost relic but run afoul of the wrong people during their epic heist.
The Fabelmans
Directed by Steven Spielberg, this is a coming-of-age movie co-written by Spielberg and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner. Dedicated to his real-life parents, Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg, who died in 2017 and 2020, respectively, it is loosely based on Spielberg’s childhood.
The film follows Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), an aspiring young filmmaker who explores how films can help him understand his dysfunctional family. Of course, the plot thickens as he uncovers a shattering family secret. Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Judd Hirsch co-star.
New on Netflix:
The Pope’s Exorcist
Using Catholic Italian priest Father Gabriele Amorth’s actual files – the Vatican’s chief exorcist, who claims to have performed over 50,000 exorcisms – and referencing his books An Exorcist Tells His Story (1990) and An Exorcist: More Stories (1992), this follows Amorth, portrayed by Russell Crowe, as he investigates a young boy’s terrifying possession and uncovers a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden. Franco Nero plays the Pope.
The cast also includes Daniel Zovatto and Alex Essoe. As us locals would say, don’t be (too) scared. The Exorcist (1973), known as one of the most frightening films to this day, is far creepier and more jolting.
Bloodhounds
Binge-worthy and great for the guys, too, this emotional rollercoaster has become the new favourite of many K-drama viewers because of its tightly woven eight episodes that offer more substance than many dramas with more episodes these days.
During the height of the pandemic, two rising boxers join forces with their new employer to bring down lowly loan sharks who prey on the financially desperate. Major props to all the actors, including Woo Do-hwan, Lee Sang-yi, and Siwon, poured all their sweat, blood, and tears into this one
