November 2019’s Best Streaming Titles: Zombieland, The Irishman, Chinatown, Veronica Mars, Goldeneye

In this David Fincher noir/thriller, Michael Douglas plays a wealthy-yet-miserable man who finds himself caught up in a sinister conspiracy after he consents to play a mysterious game. Stripped of his wealth and identity, he must crawl back from the abyss to figure out the truth behind the game.

Bill Bob Thornton wrote, directed, and starred in this highly acclaimed film about a mentally challenged man who’s released from prison for killing his mother and her boyfriend as a child. He slowly begins to make a new life for himself, but the abuse and tragedy in his past threaten to lead him down another dark path. Sling Blade won several Oscars and numerous critics awards after it was released in 1996.

Along with Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland is proof that the best zombie movies are those that blend their undead gore with comedy. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as a ragtag group of survivors of the zombie apocalypse — oh, and Bill Murray in an inspired cameo — Zombieland is proof that you can find plenty to laugh about while watching the end of civilization.

Produced by some of the people behind Avatar: The Last Airbender, Netflix’s Dragon Prince series is an engaging fantasy series set in a magical land torn apart by war and hatred. But when two young princes and elf assassin discover the last remaining dragon egg, they realize that they might have a way to end all of the fighting for good, and restore the land.

If you want proof that Netflix sees itself as a major player in the movie business, look no further than The Irishman. The gangster epic, which is set in post-war America and deals with the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, cost $175 million to produce. Oh, and it stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, and is directed by Martin freakin’ Scorsese. The film was soundly praised by critics after its premiere at the New York Film Festival, who compared it favorably to Scorsese’s Goodfellas and Casino. Prior to its November 27th streaming debut, The Irishman will have a limited theatrical run starting November 1.

Before his Spider-Man movies helped launch our current fascination with big screen superheroes, Sam Raimi — who also established his cult cred with the Evil Dead movies — directed this excellent slow-burning noir about a some friends who stumble across a plane crash and a bunch of money. Of course, things soon go horribly wrong as suspicion and distrust mount, with disastrous consequences looming over everyone.

Chinatown may be overshadowed by the crimes committed by its director, Roman Polanski. Which is a shame, because Chinatown is considered one of the greatest movies, and certainly one of the greatest noir movies, of all time. A private investigator (Jack Nicholson) finds himself in a political conspiracy involving California water rights in the ’30s, only to discover an even deeper and more disturbing mystery.

Sometimes you just really want to watch Hugh Grant at his most British, and when that’s the case, you should definitely watch The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain. In this charming period piece set during WWI, Grant plays a cartographer sent to a remote Welsh village to measure its so-called mountain. What follows is a tale of colorful characters and community that has plenty of heart to go with its quirky, bawdy humor.

A philosophical comedy about a pair of existential detectives helping a miserable environmentalist and a shallow corporate executive that stars Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Isabelle Huppert, Naomi Watts, and Mark Wahlberg in what is arguably the funniest performance of his career. What more could you want? (Read my TIFF review.)

Set nine years after the end of the original series, Veronica Mars finds our titular detective compelled to return home to the perpetually corrupt town of Neptune, California when her former boyfriend is accused of murder. As with the series, the Veronica Mars movie is filled with solid performances by Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni, et al., lots of twists and turns, and plenty of the clever, whip-smart dialog that you’ve come to expect from Ms. Mars and her crew.

A slew of James Bond films are arriving on Amazon Video in November, including Diamonds Are Forever, Dr. No, and From Russia With Love, but I have a special fondness for 1995’s Goldeneye, which was Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as 007. Brosnan’s 007 is the perfect blend of charm, élan, menace, and edge, all of which are put to good use as Bond tries to stop a deadly Russian satellite from falling into the wrong hands. Goldeneye has everything you could want in a Bond film: gadgets, femme fatales, thrilling action sequences (like the tank chase through downtown St. Petersburg), and a couple of twists and betrayals. (The fact that Goldeneye also inspired one of the greatest video games of all time doesn’t hurt, either.)