September is an important time for pop culture. It is, after all, the month both Beyoncé and Will Smith (read: timeless stars of stage and screen) were born. And it's the month during which some people celebrate the birth of Adam Sandler (read: *disappointed in your last decade of work emoji*). September is also the time when screen junkies transition from hitting the movies for entertainment to firing up the flatscreen. Netflix knows this. So, as summer turns to fall, the streaming service is giving subscribers new episodes of Narcos and Chef's Table as well as some great action flicks and powerful documentaries. Oh, there's also a little show called Luke Cage that we're pretty excited about. Here's everything you need to watch on Netflix next month.
Come for the Tom Cruise/Val Kilmer Machismo-Off; stay for the "Playing with the Boys" volleyball montage. Maverick (Cruise) and his wingman Goose (Anthony Edwards) are given the chance to train at the Navy's Top Gun school in San Diego. Maverick is a great pilot who wears aviators and doesn't play by the rules. Iceman (Kilmer) is his biggest rival who also wears aviators and also doesn't play by the rules. The Tony Scott-directed action flick/love story/flight school drama is still perfect. And it's still the best plane-flying, bar-serenading, motorcycle-riding performance Cruise ever gave. Get on the highway to the danger zone!
In a year when movies have struggled to raise the public's collective pulse, it's worth rewatching the Most Important Summer Blockbuster of Them All. Steven Spielberg's *Jaws *was powerful enough to scare the hell out of multiple generations of beachgoers, and while the shark itself doesn't look as convincing/menacing as it once did, it hardly matters. Title be damned, this story isn't just about the shark, it's about the three men—Brody (Roy Scheider), Quint (Robert Shaw), and Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss)—who went to hunt it down on one very rickety boat.
This Tom Hanks/Vin Diesel/Giovanni Ribisi war film tells the story of a group of soldiers searching behind enemy lines for a paratrooper whose brothers have all been killed in action. Steven Spielberg won Best Director for the World War II epic and, besides Diesel, the film also featured impressive performances from Matt Damon (the titular private), Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Paul Giamatti, and Barry Pepper. Also, Spielberg's recreation of the landing at Omaha Beach during the Invasion of Normandy is absolutely breathtaking.
It seems like food television is everywhere nowadays—from Top Chef all the way down to Guy's Grocery Games. If you're not full off it yet, give Chef's Table a try. Each episode delves into the life of a world-renowned chef and in so doing offers a much more intimate look at food and the people behind it than your average cook-off show. Season 2 was split into three parts, with the first six episodes premiering in May. The next offering will focus on four French chefs: Alain Passard, Adeline Grattard, Alexandre Couillon, and Michel Troisgros. Chef's Table does an amazing job of humanizing the expert chefs and the food—made by masters and shot dramatically—looks like fine art.
Netflix claims more people watch their Pablo Escobar original series than Game of Thrones. Though we're more than a bit wary of that claim, that doesn't mean the show isn't worth checking out. Narcos is a plagued by a liberally employed voiceover from DEA Agent Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrock), but Wagner Moura's portrayal of the brutal and complicated Colombian drug kingpin is incredible. Here's hoping the show can get out of its own way in Season 2. **
Raiders of the Lost Ark changed a lot of lives when it was released in 1981, but probably none more than those of Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, and Jayson Lamb, three 12-year-olds who spent seven years shooting a shot-for-shot remake of the Indiana Jones film. Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made catches up with the three kids 30 years later as they set out to finally complete their movie. The moving documentary follows the kids' incredibly close and then rocky friendship, and offers an amazing window into fan culture. **
One of the few bright spots in a tough year for movies, Disney's animated buddy cop film is the perfect thing to watch as you wind down your summer. In order to solve a conspiracy in town, rabbit police officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) is forced to team up with fox conman (confox?) Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), and—naturally—a whole lot of comedy and camaraderie ensues. The rest of the cast is stacked with insanely likable actors like Jenny Slate, Idris Alba, and J.K. Simmons. Also, Shakira voices a gazelle, because why not?
This harrowing documentary, which debuted at Sundance, tells the story of two teenage girls in two different towns across the country who come forward after being sexually assaulted by classmates they thought of as friends. Both young women face social media bullying and troubling responses from law enforcement after coming forward, but even though the story is a tragic one, it's also incredibly important and definitely worth watching.
This Netflix original documentary dives deep into the case of Amanda Knox, the study-abroad student who became the prime suspect for the murder of her apartment-mate. After being held for four years in Italian prison, becoming tabloid fodder for the Italian and American press, she was eventually acquitted. Now five years after her release, the documentary reexamines her strange and tragic case.
Luke Cage (Mike Colter), one of the highlights of Netflix's exceptional Jessica Jones, finally has a show of his own. Luke Cage, which tells the story of a wrongfully accused black man who gains superhuman strength after a botched experiment, is the right show for right now and continues Netflix's streak of bringing Marvel's street-level heroes to the small screen. This show cannot come soon enough.
