For Netflix subscribers, the upcoming week brings an all-new pile of streaming content to enjoy — more than 20 titles in all, from Netflix original movies like the science fiction-themed Uglies (starring Joey King and Laverne Cox) to a live event with Hollywood medium Tyler Henry as well as documentaries like What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates.
Really, though, there are only two titles that stand out to me as must-watches amid everything else that’s set to hit the streaming giant between now and Sept. 21. And it’s not that my standards are astronomically high. Uglies, for example, just looks a little too YA for me. I also don’t want to get sued for saying what I think about the aforementioned medium, and even Gates himself hasn’t been all that interesting to me of late.
The Microsoft co-founder recently made news for revealing to CNBC his bleak prediction that humanity is likely to confront “a major war” or another pandemic within the next 30 years. What a prophetic voice, this guy! Warning us rubes about a war or disease emerging somewhere on Earth at some point in the next few decades … kind of like how those things have always done every few decades, for like forever.
Twilight of the Gods (Sept. 19)
For me, the streaming needles in the upcoming week’s haystack of content are a pair of titles that couldn’t be more different from one another. And we’ll start with a new Netflix release from the director you all know and loved from Rebel Moon (I kid, I kid). Zack Snyder, everybody!
The love-him-or-hate-him auteur superhero director is back, this time as creator and executive producer of the eight-episode Twilight of the Gods from The Stone Quarry and Xilam animation studios. It’s basically a Snyder-infused adaptation of Norse mythology, which means plenty of sex appeal, battles, hardcore action, and blood splatter galore. Stylistically speaking, think 300 but animated.
“In a mythical world of great battles, great deeds, and great despair, Leif (voiced by Stuart Martin), a mortal king, is saved on the battlefield by Sigrid (Sylvia Hoeks), an iron-willed warrior with whom he falls in love,” Netflix explains about the series. “On their wedding night, Sigrid and Leif survive a wrath of terror from Thor (Pilou Asbæk), which sets them — and a crew of crusaders — on a merciless mission for vengeance, against all odds.
“This heroic story of love, loss, and revenge is a journey to hell and beyond … across fantastical lands, battlefields fierce and bloody, and wars waged against deities and demons.”
His Three Daughters (Sept. 20)
One day later, meanwhile, you can also check out one of the best movies Netflix has released in goodness knows how long — and it’s anchored by three fantastic actresses, to boot.
You can read our fuller coverage of writer-director Azazel Jacobs’ His Three Daughters right here, but long story short: Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, and Carrie Coon play three grown sisters who’ve returned to their father’s home as his health begins to fail. The movie is as much about their reaction to their father’s impending death as it is their reactions to each other and to the different lives they now lead.
Years ago, someone I was writing a story about explained to me why a certain forensic autopsy facility in a certain city was so important — it’s because understanding why we’re dying, he said, helps us figure out how better to live. That’s sort of what’s going on in His Three Daughters, with the sisters dutifully coming together to tackle the mundanity of saying goodbye to a loved one. Tasks like writing the obituary, dealing with hospice care workers, and arranging a DNR order ground the women in the present; hanging over them is how and whether they’ll remain in each other’s lives after their father is gone.
I could have watched these actresses playing these characters for hours more than the movie gives us. I was also amazed by the fact that, while the movie is largely confined to an apartment in the Bronx, it never felt claustrophobic. This is a movie about that special bond that exists between sisters, and how it might be healed after it’s been allowed to fray.
One other thing I’ll say: If the two new titles I’ve mentioned above aren’t up your alley, we’ve still got you covered. For a more comprehensive look at Netflix’s new release slate, including every title that’s being added on each day, our monthly Netflix guide is the perfect resource to consult. That list includes a slew of other Netflix originals and third-party titles hitting the streamer next week, such as Season 2 of Lopez vs. Lopez and Ridley Scott’s 2007 American Gangster.
Or, you could do what I do: Zero in on the best, which for this week is Jacobs’ quiet, dreamy wonder. Or give Snyder’s over-the-top animated hack-and-slash adventure romp a chance, if that’s your thing.
