As Netflix and Amazon continue to dive into the world of original programming, Hulu is making a case to become the go-to destination for back-catalog movie streaming. Next month, they're adding dozens of new options (even more if you subscribe to Showtime through Hulu—if so, watch the harrowing Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee), many of which will be perfect to queue up as you settle into your fall couch routine. For a Halloween scare, watch Carrie. For some good, clean, political fun, watch Harrison Ford use his fists like executive orders to protect the presidential plane in Air Force One. And to understand Los Angeles from all angles, see it through the eyes of an early-20th-century private eye (Chinatown), a late-20th-century wannabe actor (Swingers), and Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold (City of Gold). Here's everything you need to check out on Hulu in October.
In this awful election cycle, when life imitates the worst kind of dystopian art, there's no better palate cleanser than watching war-hero-turned-president James Marshall (Harrison Ford) telling Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman) to "Get off my plane!" AF1 doesn’t make you think too hard—or, like so many terrible action movies, make you stop yourself from thinking so as not to ruin things. Watch it wistfully; maybe next election cycle Ford will take the hint just run for president already.
In the terrifying adaptation of Stephen King's first novel, Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a shy teen who realizes her supernatural gifts after suffering through a brutal school prank. This film is great for Halloween, and for what's truly the most horrifying time of the year—the first day of school. In Carrie, the true monster is debatable: is it the title character, or the cruel high school girls that torment her?
Jack Nicholson is perfect as Jake Gittes—a private detective hired to investigate an alleged adulterer—who happens onto the trail of statewide corruption and conspiracy. Roman Polanski’s film captures all the best elements of Raymond Chandler's noir, and expertly portrays the land and the people of Los Angeles, with Faye Dunaway and John Huston delivering incredible performances. This is one of the best movies ever made; watching it should be one of the easier decisions you'll make this month.
The remake of The Gambler was never going to work, because it required audiences to believe that Mark Wahlberg was an English professor, rather than a man with a talking teddy bear for a BFF. But the original, with James Caan starring as an academic with a gambling problem, is worth a watch.
Bill Murray has been on a run that never seems to end. Somehow, almost 40 years after starting on Saturday Night Live, Murray is still impossible to ignore when he's onscreen. He and longtime collaborator Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters, Caddyshack) team up to tell the story of a weatherman who must live Groundhog Day over and over again until he gets it right. If that's not enough to get you to watch, Andie MacDowell is also here delivering a great turn as Rita, the producer behind Murray's weather segments.
Quentin Tarantino's two-part kung fu western epic follows The Bride (Uma Thurman) on her quest for revenge from Bill (David Carradine) and his team of female assassins. These films never quite reach the quiet comedic genius of Jackie Brown or Pulp Fiction, but they are beautifully shot, gloriously choreographed, and Carradine is exceptional.
This Martin Scorsese-directed documentary, which centers around The Band's last show, is on the Mt. Rushmore of concert films (alongside Gimme Shelter and [argue amongst yourselves for the last three spots]). Packed with incredible performances by famous friends (Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, and more), the music alone could carry the documentary. But the best parts of the film come during the backstage interviews with the insane characters who made up The Band.
Many people have tried to play Woody Allen, but Owen Wilson's kinetic anxiety makes him a natural fit for the neurotic leading man position. While on a trip to Paris with the insufferable high-society family of his fiancée (Rachel McAdams), Gil (Wilson) finds himself transported back to Hemingway's 1920s Paris during his midnight walks. Right as Amazon begins airing Allen’s new show, Crisis in Six Scenes, Hulu is bolstering its own Allen offerings: this film hits the platform along with *Bananas *(1971) and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (1972).
Never forget that Vince Vaughn talked to a stain on his ceiling in *True Detective. Thankfully, there's no better way to get the taste of that *out of your mouth than watching him as Trent, a young wannabe actor trying to help his recently single friend Mike (Jon Favreau, who also wrote the film) get over his ex. This low-budget indie helped launch the careers of Favreau, Vaughn, and Ron Livingston, and features a great performance by Heather Graham.
Mindy Kaling's show, which aired on Fox for the first three seasons before being cancelled and then revived by Hulu, returns for its fifth season this month. Mindy Lahiri (Kaling) is a young ob/gyn trying to make it and find love in New York. The show is populated by a bunch of incredible side characters (many of them Lahiri’s current, former, and/or future lovers), including Mark Duplass, Adam Pally, Chris Messina, Garret Dillahunt, and Anders Holm.
Laura Gabbert's documentary is an intimate look at the life of Jonathan Gold, whose exploration of the cuisine of Los Angeles's ethnic neighborhoods was revolutionary in the world of food criticism. The odd, exciting, covert life of any food critic is fascinating, but Gold, whose expansive and inclusive palate changed the face of the LA food scene, is an especially deserving subject.
Hugh Laurie, better known to many Stateside as Dr. House, is back as the leading man in a series—and back in the medical field. As Dr. Chance, a San Francisco-based psychiatrist, he finds himself trapped in a world of schizophrenia, dirty cops, and all sorts of other troubles. Based on the novel by Kem Nunn, Chance has already been picked up for a two-season, 20-episode run.
