Here Are the Must-Stream Movies of November 2016
While multiplexes will be the primary source of movie excitement for the next two months–thanks to numerous Oscar-hopeful releases and big-ticket blockbusters like Rogue One and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them–the streaming services aren't simply taking November off. Entire collections of beloved franchises will make their way to Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes, alongside the usual assortment of old-school classics, recent favorites, and brand-new hits. For those uninterested in leaving home (or pulling their eyes away from their favorite handheld device), the below rundown should point you in the right cinematic direction.
Streaming on Netflix:
The African Queen (Nov. 1)
Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn take a trip down an African river, all while being pursued by German military forces during WWI, in John Huston's 1951 classic.
Cujo (Nov. 1)
Dogs may be man's best friend, but as evidenced by this adaptation of Stephen King's best-selling novel, they're far less friendly when rabid.
The Doors (Nov. 1)
Oliver Stone goes overboard mythologizing Jim Morrison and his 70s-rock bandmates in this trippy, entertaining 1991 biopic starring Val Kilmer and Meg Ryan.
Pervert Park (Nov. 1)
A hit at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Frida and Lasse Barkfors' documentary casts a keen eye on the Florida Justice Transitions trailer park, which is populated by over 100 sex offenders.
Ravenous (Nov. 1)
Arriving just after Halloween, this 1999 cult hit starring Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle tells a gruesomely amusing tale of nineteenth-century cannibalism that's reportedly inspired by the Donner Party.
Tales From the Darkside: The Movie (Nov. 1)
It may not be quite as good as its two Creepshow predecessors, but this sturdy 1990 horror anthology does feature one short ("Cat From Hell") written by Stephen King and directed by George A. Romero.
Just Friends (Nov. 4)
Arguably the best pre-Deadpool Ryan Reynolds starring vehicle, this 2005 comedy features the star as a former fat kid who returns home and tries to start up a romance with his childhood crush (Amy Smart).
Men Go to Battle (Nov. 15)
This unconventional, haunting indie–about two brothers (Tim Morton and David Maloney) who find themselves at odds over their land during the Civil War–remains one of 2016's best films.
Burn After Reading (Nov. 16)
Unjustly considered a "minor" effort from Joel and Ethan Coen, this all-star comedy about CIA mischief and mayhem–starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, and Brad Pitt–is a consistently bleak riot.
Jackass 3.5: The Unrated Movie (Nov. 16)
You thought that the Jackass crew couldn't get any more extreme–but this unrated cut of their third (and, to date, final) big-screen outing will prove otherwise.
Paddington (Nov. 16)
It's no surprise that this 2015 film is scheduled to receive a 2017 sequel. In just about every way, it's a witty, touching adventure fit for all ages.
Boyhood (Nov. 25)
Richard Linklater spent over a decade making this intimate opus, about the maturation of one boy (Ellar Coltrane) into a young college-bound man.
The Jungle Book (Nov. 30)
Creating everything other than his lead actor with computers, John Favreau pushes technology into astounding new territory with this update of Disney's classic tale of a young boy (Neel Sethi) raised by jungle animals.
Premiering on Amazon Video:
A View to a Kill, Diamonds Are Forever, Die Another Day, Dr. No, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia With Love, Goldeneye, Goldfinger, License to Kill, Live and Let Die, Man with the Golden Gun, Moonraker, Never Say Never Again, Octopussy, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Living Daylights, The Spy Who Loved Me, The World is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies, You Only Live Twice. (Nov. 1)
No matter which suave star you prefer–your James Bond marathon awaits.
Get Shorty and Be Cool (Nov. 1)
The former may be better than the latter, but both of these all-star crime comedies–led by John Travolta as gangster-turned-movieman Chili Palmer–capture the rollicking spirit of author Elmore Leonard's novels.
Enter the Ninja (Nov. 1)
During the 1980s, Canon Films pioneered a particular brand of B-movie schlock, as epitomized by this amusing 1981 action movie starring Franco Nero as a trained ninja tasked with protecting innocents from his former master.
Fatal Attraction (Nov. 1)
Glenn Close turned up the heat–both with Michael Douglas, and then on the stove with a boiling bunny–in this memorable (and still-controversial) 1987 thriller from director Adrian Lyne.
Fletch (Nov. 1)
Chevy Chase is an L.A. reporter with a nose for trouble, a collection of disguises, and dreams of playing for the Lakers in this durable 1985 starring vehicle.
Major League (Nov. 1)
The Cleveland Indians are back in the World Series, but movie fans still remember them best as the clownishly colorful squad featured in this 1989 comedy starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, and Bob "Just a bit outside" Uecker.
Rocky I-V (Nov. 1), and Creed (Nov. 19)
Completists will balk at the exclusion of Rocky Balboa, but otherwise, every Rocky film–including last year's sequel/reboot Creed–arrives on Amazon this month.
Rounders (Nov. 1)
Matt Damon and Edward Norton are lifelong friends who find themselves in debt to John Malkovich's menacing Russian mobster in this enduring John Dahl-directed poker thriller co-starring John Turturro, Gretchen Mol, Famke Janssen, and Martin Landau.
Shadows and Fog (Nov. 1)
Woody Allen's pessimistic worldview–about life, fate, and death–are on full display in this stylized black-and-white 1991 drama based on his play, and inspired by German Expressionism directors like Fritz Lang and F. W. Murnau.
The Conversation (Nov. 1)
Many will contend that Francis Ford Coppola's crowning directorial achievement isn't The Godfather or its sequel (or Apocalypse Now), but instead this 1974 thriller starring Gene Hackman as a bluesy surveillance expert who becomes consumed by doubt and paranoia.
Top Secret! (Nov. 1)
In his debut film role, Val Kilmer stars as a rock star mired in East Germany-set Cold War craziness in this wacko comedy from Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker (the men responsible for Airplane! and the Naked Gun films).
Up in the Air (Nov. 1)
George Clooney is a corporate downsizer who lives out of his suitcase, traveling by air from assignment to assignment, in this big-budget character drama from director Jason Reitman, and co-starring Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Sam Elliott, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Morton, Danny McBride, and Melanie Lynskey.
Green Room (Nov. 12)
One of the year's finest films, this scuzzy, adrenalized thriller concerns a punk-rock band that winds up in dire straits when, after finishing a show at a neo-Nazi music club, they witness a murder, and become the resident skinheads' prisoners.
Debuting on iTunes:
Sausage Party (Nov. 1)
Seth Rogen is a hot dog, Kristen Wiig is a bun, and both embark on an odyssey of self-discovery–about love, sex, and the meaning of grocery-store life–in this thoroughly filthy R-rated animated comedy.
Tickled (Nov. 1)
Possibly the strangest documentary of the year, David Farrier and Dylan Reeve's non-fiction film focuses on the world of "competitive endurance tickling"–which is as bizarre as it sounds.
Hell or High Water (Nov. 8)
One of the year's best, this Western thriller stars Chris Pine and Ben Foster as outlaws robbing the predatory banks that are trying to foreclose on their homestead, and Jeff Bridges as the weary sheriff on their trail.
Don't Breathe (Nov. 8)
Three young kids make a very bad mistake when they decide to rob the home of a blind man (Stephen Lang)–who is far more deadly than they anticipated–in this superior thriller from director Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead).
Hands of Stone (Nov. 8)
Edgar Martinez is Roberto Durán–the legendary American-Panamanian boxer who famously threw in the towel against Sugar Ray Leonard by saying "No más"–in this biopic co-starring Robert De Niro as trainer Ray Arcel.
Mechanic: Resurrection (Nov. 8)
If it ain't broke, don't fix it–the motto clearly taken by this sequel to 2011's serviceable action saga (a remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson movie), which again stars Jason Statham as an assassin who makes his kills look like accidents (and which now co-stars Jessica Alba).
Dog Eats Dog (Nov. 11)
Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe are insanely volatile criminals in search of that mythical "one last score" in this gonzo heist film from Taxi Driver and Raging Bull writer Paul Schrader.
War Dogs (Nov. 11)
The Hangover director Todd Phillips enlists Jonah Hill and Miles Teller for this based-on-a-true-story black comedy about two Americans who are contracted by the U.S. government to supply arms to the Afghan army.
Jason Bourne (Nov. 15)
After skipping 2012's The Bourne Legacy (which starred Jeremy Renner), Matt Damon returns as the deadly amnesiac spy in this rugged fifth installment in the franchise, which is again helmed by director Paul Greengrass.
Suicide Squad (Nov. 15)
Fans of DC Comics' bad-guy team-up blockbuster will undoubtedly be thrilled to learn that an "extended cut" of the film–reportedly with even more footage of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and Jared Leto's Joker–will be arriving this month.
Army of One (Nov. 15)
Nicolas Cage goes in search of–and eventually sword-fights with–Osama Bin Laden in this comedy from Borat director Larry Charles. Need we say more?
Evolution (Nov. 25)
A young boy, while living on a mysterious island with his mother, uncovers a nightmarish secret in this acclaimed, hypnotic horror film from director Lucile Hadzihalilovic.
Southside With You (Nov. 29)
If you ever dreamed of tagging along with President Barak Obama and First Lady Michelle on their initial date, now you can, courtesy of writer/director Richard Tanne's debut feature.
The BFG (Nov. 29)
Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's 1982 children's book may have been one of his rare box-office flops, but it remains a wonderful, wondrous fable headlined by a stellar turn from Mark Rylance as the gigantic title character.
Pete's Dragon (Nov. 29)
Sharing only the name of (and a few superficial plot details from) the 1977 musical original, David Lowery's fantasy adventure–starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban, and Robert Redford–is a melancholy tale about a young boy who's discovered living in the woods with an enormous dragon.
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