How are we suddenly in September? No, seriously, when did that happen, it’s almost the end of the year.
Time doesn’t feel real anymore, but the upside of this sudden arrival is that we’re getting into cozy-comfort-film season. Or, for the more spookily inclined among us, we’re getting into, well, spooky season. This week, we’re going recommend a bit of both, in fact.
Here are the three best movies to watch on Prime Video this week.
Death Becomes Her
Now that we’re firmly into September this week, spooky season movies are fair game. But, if you’re still holding out a little longer to get into outright Halloween movies, “Death Becomes Her” bridges that gap.
The film stars Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn as longtime frenemies and actresses. Madeline (Streep) steals Helen’s (Hawn) fiancé Ernest (Bruce Willis), leading to a complete breakdown for Helen, and a vow to get revenge. Years later, they meet again, with Helen looking younger than ever, and Earnest more than ready to jump ship. So, they concoct a plan to kill Madeline.
But, as it turns out, Helen took a magic elixir that gives her eternal youth — and Madeline quickly gets her hands on it too, meaning her murder doesn’t exactly work out.
Naturally, there are other side effects, and what follows is a film full of both comedy and body horror (but in a palatable way — I’m a tried and true scaredy cat, so you can trust me here).
It’s really just delightful, and allows Streep and Hawn to go full tilt, which is a win for everyone involved.
Now You See Me
“Now You See Me” is a franchise that ostensibly shouldn’t work, but somehow does, and the cast of those movies will be the first to agree with that.
It centers on four solo magicians, who are brought together to become an act known as the Four Horsemen. They’re the world’s greatest magicians, but they’re doing more than just tricks — they’re actually committing crimes while doing said tricks. Don’t worry though, they’re much more of the Robin Hood type than true criminals.
The film stars Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg and Dave Franco (and adds the incomparable Lizzy Caplan for the second film), and together, they really make it work. This is a movie you watch when you don’t want logic, don’t want to think too much, just have a good time.
At this point, there are three movies in this franchise and a fourth on the way, so clearly, they found at least some magic.
Uptown Girls
Sadly, we’ve lost a whole lot of great talent far too young, and one of the most devastating losses remains that of Brittany Murphy.
In “Uptown Girls,” she stars as Molly Gunn, a spoiled rich girl who learns her inheritance has actually been embezzled from her family. To make ends meet, she takes a job as a nanny for a young girl named Ray (Dakota Fanning) in Manhattan. Ray is a tough nut to crack, but eventually, she and Molly develop a real, very sweet friendship.
For some reason, this movie was panned when it was first released, but over the years, it’s been one of the many that’s been reassessed by fans and is now beloved. It’s a core piece of 2000s pop culture, and genuinely heartwarming.
Plus, there’s a pig named Mu (pronounced like moo), which is just funny in itself.
