Crossing the Streams is our series of guides looking at all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month. This time, we’re checking out what’s new to streaming on (HBO) Max in November 2023, including an Albert Brooks documentary, two films in The Thin Man franchise, and more!
Albert Brooks is a comedic institution, and his filmography as a director includes all-timers like the four-film run that includes Real Life (1979), Modern Romance (1981), Lost in America (1985), and (my personal favorite) Defending Your Life (1991). Add in some memorable acting turns in Taxi Driver (1976), Broadcast News (1987), and Finding Nemo (2003), and you have a guy who’s been making us laugh and feel for decades. So it’s about time he gets his own celebratory special. Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (premieres November 11th) is that new documentary from director Rob Reiner and features an extended interview with Brooks as well as appreciation from talents like Judd Apatow, James L. Brooks (no relation), Conan O’Brien, Steven Spielberg, Ben Stiller, and more. More legends deserve this kind of celebration while they’re still alive to appreciate it.
As alluded to in the Albert Brooks entry above, we too often sing the praises of older talents after they’ve already passed. Ideally, we’d switch that up and make sure those entering their twilight years and no longer in the spotlight are still hearing from fans, but for now, let’s play the cards we’re dealt and celebrate some movies by people who are long dead. Two entries in The Thin Man franchise — arguably cinema’s best mystery/comedy/romance film series — are landing on Max this month. There are six movies total in the series, and while the general opinion is that they grow lesser as they go along, I’m here to say that every damn one of them is fantastic and fun times.
William Powell and Myrna Loy are Nick & Nora Charles, characters created by Dashiell Hammett and then given extraordinary life on the screen. 1936’s After the Thin Man sees the lovable couple return home to San Francisco only to be immediately tasked with finding a missing man. James Stewart co-stars, and the film keeps the laughs and adventure rolling as a missing person case becomes a murder investigation with Nick & Nora smack dab in the middle. 1947’s Song of the Thin Man is the sixth and final entry in the series, and the couple find themselves embroiled in another murder mystery twisted up with greed, love, and gambling. A young Dean Stockwell plays Charles’ son, and it’s once again a fun and rollicking good time kicked off with murder and wrapped up with one last death.
Fans of James Stewart can make a double feature here as 1940’s The Shop Around the Corner hits Max this month, too. Remade as You’ve Got Mail in 1998, this original pairs Stewart with a delightful Margaret Sullavan for comedy royalty Ernst Lubitsch, and the result is a sweet and funny romantic comedy about the hazards and joys of communication and falling in love. It’s a sharp and immensely enjoyable watch, the kind of film that helps wash away the woes of your day.
As someone who believes horror movies are the right choice no matter the time of year, the arrival of November is a bit sad on the streamers as the horror content drops precipitously. Still, Max is tossing a few bones our way, so let’s dig in. First up is Don Coscarelli’s cult favorite, John Dies at the End (2013), a wild and wacky romp pitting two slackers against an interdimensional alien invasion. The imagination here is off the charts, and the visual splendor is matched with offbeat comedy, horrifying ends, and twisty sci-fi absurdities. Stephen King lands a spot here with Rob Reiner’s Misery (1990), the fantastically thrilling tale of a writer, his obsessed fan, and the “meet cute” that ends with one of them dead. It remains one of the finest King adaptations, aided no doubt by the A-caliber casting of Kathy Bates and James Caan, and while 2001’s Hearts in Atlantis isn’t a horror film, you could still use it for a King double feature.
James Wan gets his own double feature this month with the third entry in one franchise he created, Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), directed by Leigh Whannell, and the second in another, The Conjuring 2 (2016, arrives November 21st). Both franchises are still going strong a decade after their inception, and both have their stronger and weaker entries. Whannell’s film probably lands closer to the latter as his prequel moves away from the family unit at the center of the earlier films to focus on Lin Shaye’s medium and her own backstory. She’s still great, but we lose a little bit of the heart. Wan’s second Conjuring film, though, is arguably the best of that particular film series. The Warrens head to England to investigate a British haunting, and we get some spectacularly creepy set pieces, including one that introduces the Nun –who would later spin off into her own series that’s now two movies deep.
The 80s are considered by many of you to be the greatest decade in cinema, and while I’d argue that the 70s claim that top spot, I’m happy to admit that the 80s would be a close second. While Netflix continues to avoid films older than this millennium, Max knows that people crave that 80s goodness, and to that end, they’re dropping more than a few classics from the decade this month. So here are a few worth rewatching.
James Cameron’s Aliens (1986) remains a masterclass in delivering a sequel, particularly a sequel to someone else’s original. You want to set yourself apart from the claustrophobic sci-fi/horror masterpiece that precedes you? Make the follow-up a bombastic, action-forward blast from start to finish. Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story (1983) is light on action — although Ralphie does get into an epic scrap with Scott Fargus — but the laughs, heart, and nostalgia are turned all the way up to eleven. Most of us have watched this one dozens of times, and its effect is never less than magical.
David Ward’s Major League (1989) doesn’t have nearly the pop culture cache as the others here, so for some of you, this might be a first-time watch. It’s a rewarding one, though, as it’s a fun ensemble comedy that appeals to whether or not you care about baseball. Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Wesley Snipes, Rene Russo, Charles Cyphers, Dennis Haysbert, and Bob Uecker all bring the laughs alongside a cheer-worthy underdog tale. Patrick Swayze’s Dalton may not be an underdog, but he sits strong at the center of Rowdy Herrington’s Road House (1989). A remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal is due out next year, so find time to squeeze in a rewatch of this original to see how a simple little B-movie premise can blossom into something memorable.
Related Topics: Crossing the Streams, HBO Max
What’s New to Stream on (HBO) Max for November 2023
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06.11.2023
Crossing the Streams is our series of guides looking at all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month. This time, we’re checking out what’s new to streaming on (HBO) Max in November 2023, including an Albert Brooks documentary, two films in The Thin Man franchise, and more!
Albert Brooks is a comedic institution, and his filmography as a director includes all-timers like the four-film run that includes Real Life (1979), Modern Romance (1981), Lost in America (1985), and (my personal favorite) Defending Your Life (1991). Add in some memorable acting turns in Taxi Driver (1976), Broadcast News (1987), and Finding Nemo (2003), and you have a guy who’s been making us laugh and feel for decades. So it’s about time he gets his own celebratory special. Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (premieres November 11th) is that new documentary from director Rob Reiner and features an extended interview with Brooks as well as appreciation from talents like Judd Apatow, James L. Brooks (no relation), Conan O’Brien, Steven Spielberg, Ben Stiller, and more. More legends deserve this kind of celebration while they’re still alive to appreciate it.
As alluded to in the Albert Brooks entry above, we too often sing the praises of older talents after they’ve already passed. Ideally, we’d switch that up and make sure those entering their twilight years and no longer in the spotlight are still hearing from fans, but for now, let’s play the cards we’re dealt and celebrate some movies by people who are long dead. Two entries in The Thin Man franchise — arguably cinema’s best mystery/comedy/romance film series — are landing on Max this month. There are six movies........
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