Castlevania: Nocturne and John Wick spinoff The Continental lead the series front for streaming releases, backed up by a bunch of movies including VOD debuts for Meg 2: The Trench and Joy Ride, as well as the new Spy Kids reboot, alien invasion thriller No One Will Save You, and more!
SERIES
Castlevania: Nocturne
Netflix – 28 September 2023
There’s really only one big series debut this week on streaming, but what a series it is! Castlevania: Nocturne is the hugely anticipated follow-up to Netflix’s acclaimed adaptation of Castlevania video games. With Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades’ epic story all wrapped up in the previous season, the franchise jumps ahead a few generations to follow descendant Richter Belmont, the latest in a long line of vampire hunters. Pulling story beats from 1993’s Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and its all-time classic sequel, Symphony of the Night, Nocturne sees the action transplanted to the French Revolution, as Richter must assemble an unlikely crew of mages and fighters to prevent an apocalypse. And it looks absolutely incredible.
And for those of you who can’t wait till Thursday to start watching Castlevania: Nocturne, Netflix is livestreaming the first DROP 01 event on Wednesday, 27 September at 21:00 SA time. During the event, the first three episodes of the series will be live streamed, while in between each episode, viewers will get sneak peeks from the streamer’s other upcoming animated shows, including Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Sonic Prime Chapter 3, Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, Blue Eye Samurai, Pluto, Masters of the Universe: Revolution, and more!
UPDATE – Unfortunately, we received word after publishing this article of another series debuting locally and thus it wasn’t included originally:
The Continental
Prime Video – 22 September 2023
Surprise! Much like how the original John Wick seemingly showed up out of nowhere back in 2014, the iconic action franchise’s eagerly awaited prequel series just snuck up on as well. Airing in the US on Peacock, the three-part event series The Continental has luckily been picked up for international distribution by Prime Video, which means we don’t need to wait to experience the 1970s-set story of how a young Winston Scott would become the manager of the titular hotel-for-assassins. Keanu Reeves’ John Wick may not be involved given this is way before his time, but you can expect all the insane action and criminal mythology you’ve come to know and love from the movies to be here as well.
MOVIES
Spy Kids: Armageddon
Netflix – 22 September 2023
Writer/director Robert Rodriguez’s career has had two halves. On the one side, you have blood splattered niche adult stuff like Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Machete, and on the other side you have the cheesy family-friendly Spy Kids films. In Rodriguez’s own words, he only makes the latter as their box office appeal allows him to make the former. Well, I guess he’s looking for some cash for another R-rated project then because the filmmaker is dusting off the franchise for a reboot with Spy Kids: Armageddon. This time it’s Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi taking the role of spies/parents to a pair of precocious kids. Said kids accidentally unleash a computer virus that allows a nefarious games developer to control all technology, prompting them to follow in their parents’ footsteps and become spies themselves to stop a global catastrophe.
No One Will Save You
Disney+ – 22 September 2023
If you want your entertainment a little creepier, then Disney+ has you covered with Hulu feature film No One Will Save You. This one stars Kaitlyn Dever as a young lady caught up in an alien invasion. I have no idea what the final film will be like, but if it’s anything as tense as this trailer, then you need to prepare yourself for one hell of a ride.
Song of the Bandits
Netflix – 22 September 2023
There’s something about Western stories transplanted to other cultures/countries outside of the American Wild West that really appeals to me (sidenote: if you haven’t seen South African western Five Fingers for Marseilles you have to fix that now), and Song of the Bandits seems to really be scratching that itch. Set in the 1920s, during the Japanese occupation of the Gando region in South Korea, this western follows a group of bandits in the lawless area, willing to lay down their lives as the fight to protect their land and loved ones.
Cassandro
Prime Video – 22 September 2023
Up for something different? Well, take a look at true-story biopic Cassandro. Gael García Bernal stars as Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso, who rose to international stardom after creating the exotico character of Cassandro. Despite all the macho testosterone of wrestling, the flamboyant “Liberace of Lucha Libre” would become a superstar. It wasn’t an easy achievement though, as this film attests. Cassandro is directed by Roger Ross Williams, who made history in 2009 by becoming the first African American director to win an Oscar when his short film, Music by Prudence, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Netflix – 27 September 2023
In a match made in cinematic heaven, auteur Wes Anderson is making a series of four short film adaptations of the beloved written works of Roald Dahl. Starting from 27th September, with The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, one film will be released per day – each being just 17 minutes long – with The Swan on the 28th, The Rat Catcher on the 29th, and Poison on the 30th. Each film stars a veritable who’s-who of Hollywood talent, such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel, Rupert Friend, and more playing multiple roles, and Ralph Fiennes connecting it all with his portrayal as Dahl himself. Unfortunately, Netflix has only released the trailer for the first film thus far, but it looks fantastic. If you’re a Wes Anderson fan, that is, and I most certainly am!
VOD RENTALS/PURCHASES
The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:
Meg 2: The Trench
Rental: Google Play Movies – R170 / Apple TV – R170
Purchase: Google Play Movies – R212 / Apple TV – R200
It’s Jason Statham vs. a giant prehistoric shark. Again. Honestly, there’s not much else to say about Meg 2: The Trench, a ridiculous sequel to a ridiculous first film. What is of interest though is that Meg 2 is directed by Ben Wheatley, the British auteur more well-known for small-scale indie affairs such as High-Rise, Kill List, and the criminally underseen Free Fire. Seeing what he can bring to a “leave your brain at the door” creature feature had my interest piqued from day one. Unfortunately, I missed Meg 2 in cinema but now I can just rent it at home.
Joy Ride
Rental: Google Play Movies – R45 / Apple TV – R45
Purchase: Google Play Movies – R148/ Apple TV – R100
If you’re looking for some R-rated laughs in the lines of Bridesmaids but with an Asian slant, Joy Ride has you covered. Ashley Park stars as Audrey, an overachieving lawyer living in Seattle, USA, who travels to China with her irreverent best friend Lolo and her socially awkward cousin Vanessa, after she is promised a promotion if she can close a deal with a local businessman. The latter only wants to do business with Audrey if he knows her family, but Audrey is a Chinese adoptee to white parents, who has never met her birth family. A few white lies about her closeness with her family later, and Audrey and her friends – joined by an old college roommate now living in Beijing – set off on a road trip in search of Audrey’s birth parents that will change their lives. And also bring us a whole lot of raucous comedy. Despite receiving critical acclaim, Joy Ride barely made a blip at the box office. Maybe it can make some cash now that it’s available to rent/buy digitally.
Insidious: The Red Door
Rental: Google Play Movies – R45 / Apple TV – R35
Purchase: Google Play Movies – R150/ Apple TV – R150
I must admit that I haven’t really kept track of the Insidious movies after the first film’s debut in 2010, which is why it came as quite a surprise to me that the horror franchise created by genre maestros Leigh Whanell and James Wan is now up to five entries already. The fifth and latest film is Insidious: The Red Door, which marks the directorial debut of star Patrick Wilson, and is a direct sequel to 2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2. Wilson reprises his role as Josh Lambert, nine years after his last encounter with supernatural realm known as The Further, as he attempts to finally put to rest the demons that have plagued his son, Dalton, who is now all grown up and in college. Of course, things don’t quite go as planned once they peek behind the red door.
Simulant
Rental: Google Play Movies – R45 / Apple TV – R35
Purchase: Google Play Movies – R150/ Apple TV – R150
Over on the direct-to-VOD front, we have Simulant, a sci-fi thriller starring a whole lot of people whose faces you definitely recognize. Robbie Amell stars as a man who discovers he’s actually not. A man, that is. Set in the new future where android copies of human beings are possible, Amell stars as Evan, one of these “simulants” who discovers he is actually the copy of a recently deceased man commissioned by his wife, Faye (Jordana Brewster). Thanks to the work a programmer (Simu Liu), Evan is able to remove normal simulant constraints that prevents him attaining full sentience, but that puts him in the crosshairs of a government agent (Sam Worthington) on the trail of rogue simulants.