Best New Movies Added to Netflix This Week: September 2nd, 2020

Grease is back on Netflix

It’s been a fun week in the world of Netflix movies with plenty of notable releases or re-releases. We have selected just a few suggestions for you and list them in no particular order.

As always, you can find full roundups of what’s new on Netflix via our new on Netflix sections.

Here are some of the best new movies on Netflix this week:

Back To The Future – Parts I, II & III – 1985 – 1990

Categories: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
Runtime: 116 min (ish)

The magic time machine has brought the, er, timeless, er, trilogy back for another run. Unusually for a three-parter, each Back To The Future movie stands on its own two feet and they’re all pretty good – even after 30 something years. There has been much debate about who the star of the show is but the answer is really quite simple. It’s the De Lorean. It’s as classic as the movies.

Glory – 1989

Categories: Biography, Drama, History, War
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
Runtime: 122 min

There have been many movies about the American Civil War and Glory is up there with the best of them. And that’s before you consider the depth of the specific issue that the film sets out to explore. This is a well-crafted movie with a strong script, a proper story and some excellent acting. The prejudices facing African Americans at that time haven’t, apparently, moved much further forward today.

Grease – 1978

Categories: Musical, Romance
Directed by: Randal Kleiser
Starring: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Runtime: 110 min

The ultimate feel-good movie sees a welcome return to Netflix. Grease delivers sing-along after sing-along and should ideally be watched at least once a year. And as well as being an enduring entertainment classic it’s also an important social documentary on life in 1950s high schools. Oh come on! Spoiler alert – Olivia Newton John was actually sewn into those trousers.

Muppets Most Wanted – 2014

Categories: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Family, Musical, Mystery
Directed by: James Bobin
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, Tina Fey, Steve Whitmire
Runtime: 107 min

Muppets Most Wanted was the second film from the hugely successful TV series. It wasn’t as well-received as the first but is still a perfectly good film for the kids. To be fair, the wit in the writing will appeal to many adults as well. The humans take a back seat to the Muppets and rightly so. What stands out is the quality of the songwriting. Everyone is a Muppets classic. For family viewing, look no further.

Red Dragon – 2002

Categories: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel
Runtime: 124 min

Red Dragon is the third appearance of Anthony Hopkins as Dr Hannibal Lecter after Silence of The Lambs and Hannibal. In this film, he is rather subsidiary to plot. Red Dragon is a remake of the 1986 Manhunter (which predates the awareness of Lecter caused by Silence of the Lambs) and was from the first of Thomas Harris’ Lecter books. Look out for a sublime performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The Producers – 2005

Categories: Comedy, Musical
Directed by: Susan Stroman
Starring: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Will Ferrell
Runtime: 134 min

Another remake, The Producers is a revisit of the 1967 Gene Wilder original. With Mel Brooks on the writing credits, it’s predictably funny but the film adheres more to the Broadway stage show than the earlier movie. It’s always difficult to compare and contrast remakes with originals – often they shouldn’t have bothered. But in this case, it’s a different spin on the idea and worth a watch.

Casino Royale – 2006

Categories: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench
Runtime: 144 min

The first of two Bond, James Bond releases to Netflix this past week. Casino Royale was the first appearance of 007 in Ian Flemings books. It was actually also the first Bond movie but this was a spoof starring David Niven and Peter Sellers. This was Daniel Craig’s first outing as Bond and Judi Dench’s second outing as M. In many ways, it’s more gritty than Bond movies before and after and is probably closer to the Bond that Fleming envisaged.

Quantum Of Solace – 2008

Categories: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Directed by: Marc Forster
Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench
Runtime: 106 min

Quantum of Solace is deep into the Bond, James Bond movies that did not derive from Ian Flemings books. With armies of professional scriptwriters available, it is reasonable to expect the movies to just get better and better. Sadly, this isn’t always the case. And in Quantum of Solace, there’s remarkably little bedroom action for which Bond is famous. But no matter. He gets the bad guy nonetheless.

Blaze – 2018

Categories: Biography, Drama, Music
Directed by: Ethan Hawke
Starring: Ben Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Charlie Sexton, Josh Hamilton
Runtime: 129 min

The Texas outlaw music movement spawned, among many others, the likes of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. Blaze Foley was very much the unsung songwriting legend of this movement and this biopic jumps around three distinct periods of his life. Deeply poignant and very moving the music is as important as the story.

What new movies on Netflix will you be watching this week? Let us know in the comments below!