Hello, Yahoo readers! My name is Brett Arnold, film critic and longtime Yahoo editor, and I’m back with another edition of Trust Me, I Watch Everything.
This week in theaters, Jeremy Allen White stars as the Boss in Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere and Tina Romero’s Queens of the Dead brings zombies back in a big way.
At home, you can get in the Halloween spirit early by renting a handful of new horror releases, like Stephen King’s The Long Walk and Good Boy.
And on streaming services you’re already paying for, Weapons, one of the best and most entertaining horror movies of the year, makes its way to HBO Max, and a new film from Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow hits Netflix.
Read on, because there’s more, and there’s always something for everyone!
🎥 What to watch in theatersMy recommendation: Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
Why you should see it: A new musician biopic is here: this time about Bruce Springsteen. Rather than attempt to depict his entire storied career, the film homes in on a particularly dark period in the singer-songwriter’s discography: the creation of his stripped-down 1982 masterwork Nebraska.
Jeremy Allen White stars as the Boss, and his emotional arc in the film is actually quite similar to his famous TV character on The Bear. Both men are constantly running away from their problems rather than facing them, and they both have tragic family backstories.
White doesn’t exactly disappear into the role — which may be a “he’s a beloved TV actor we all know” problem more than a performance one. He’s still quite impressive considering he actually sings here and I found myself wondering if it was Springsteen himself. It’s one of those performances that feels more like an elongated impersonation than a total embodiment. White does nail the impression.
Nobody is prepared for how much of the movie is sound engineers turning knobs and futzing with the soundboard trying to replicate the lo-fi vibes of Springsteen’s cassette tape recording of the album, which he made in the bedroom of a rental house in Colts Neck, New Jersey. Over and over, Springesteen hears it, freaks out and declares that the songs need to sound worse.
These fights between Springsteen and the record execs — largely via his manager Jon Landau, played by Jeremy Strong — over the marketability and commercial value of the record are a joy to behold, as Springsteen remains steadfast that the songs must retain the melancholy of the original cassette.
I also appreciated the focus on the influence that popular media had on him at the time, including how watching Terence Malick’s Badlands led to his fascination with the Starkweather killings, and thus Nebraska, and as a child, skipping school with his dad to check out Charles Laughton’s Night of the Hunter. These sequences get at the importance of art to help us channel and understand our own emotions and internal struggles, as these films help Springsteen understand the darkness within him, despite all his success.
While the structure of the movie attempts to distance itself from biopic tropes, it still falls into them, like inventing a composite character love interest (Odessa Young, who is great here) rather than depicting Springsteen’s real-life romances and generally simplifying his depression. As depicted in the film, you’d think Springsteen’s relationship with his father is the driving force behind it all, but it’s much more complicated. Still, he deserves credit for showing his breakdown.
I was quietly moved by where the movie ultimately ends up: an earnest call-to-arms for the men of Springsteen’s generation to go to therapy. It feels like a borderline public service announcement, which may turn some people off, but I found impactful. If this movie gets a single boomer to go to therapy and/or stop avoiding their problems, it’s a win!
Also, the music is undeniable, so if you’re the type that tears up at “I’m On Fire” or “Atlantic City,” it will likely work for you.
What other critics are saying: Reviews are split right down the middle. Rolling Stone’s David Fear sums it up nicely: “despite the movie’s flaws, what [director Scott] Cooper has given audiences here is way more compelling than a live-action greatest-hits compilation.” Nick Schager at the Daily Beast, though, wasn’t a fan, writing that its “like a greatest-hits package of genre clichés.”
How to watch: Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is now in theaters nationwide.
My bonus recommendation: Queens of the Dead
Why you should see it: Tina Romero, daughter of the late George Romero, horror legend and the man responsible for creating a film subgenre that’s still thriving, takes on her father’s legacy with her own unique and very-queer spin on an “…of the Dead” movie. No disrespect to her dad, but it’s actually better than the last several he made himself.
It follows a group of drag queens, club kids and frenemies who must put aside their personal dramas and use their unique skills to fight the flesh-thirsty undead when a zombie apocalypse breaks out on the night of a giant warehouse party.
It’s such an unexpected delight, an extremely fun zombie movie in its own right, mixed with what feels like an instant-queer classic. The characters are all so instantly charming and you feel the sense of camaraderie throughout, which helps the stakes immensely. It’s so rare to care about the characters in a zombie movie, but you do genuinely root for them here. Katy O’Brian of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning fame is terrific, as is Jaquel Spivey, who played Damian in 2024’s musical remake of Mean Girls.
It’s also just plain funny, with huge laughs throughout, including a particularly good cameo that genre fans will appreciate. There are plenty of nods to Romero Sr., including the look of the zombies, which appear like vintage Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead ones but chromed out like Mad Max war boys. The modern-day social commentary is well-handled, including digs at YouTube pranksters, influencer culture and our overall overdependence on our phones.
It certainly won’t be for everyone, but horror fans should rest easy knowing that Romero name is in good hands.
What other critics are saying: They love it! Siddhant Adlakha, writing for Variety, says that “few films can coast on good intentions alone, but low-budget zombie romp Queens of the Dead comes close.” Jake Pitre at In Review Online says, “there’s at least one good joke landing every few minutes, which is a remarkably high batting average for a debut, nepo-driven or otherwise.”
How to watch: Tina Romero’s Queens of the Dead is now in a limited number of theaters nationwide.
💸 Movies newly available to rent or buyMy recommendation: The Long Walk
Why you should watch it: The third big-screen Stephen King adaptation of the year is an impressive imagining of an incredibly bleak book that’s long been considered unfilmable due to its brutality, simplicity and the more internal nature of its prose.
The novel was the first King ever wrote, back in 1967 when he was 19 years old. It wasn’t published until 1979, when it debuted under his short-lived pseudonym Richard Bachman. Set in a dystopian U.S. ruled by a totalitarian regime, a group of young men enter an annual walking contest in which they must maintain a speed of at least 3 miles per hour or risk execution. The contest ends when only one walker remains alive. The winner receives a huge cash prize and a single wish.
It’s set in a world where the economy and financial pressures have left citizens no choice but to see this televised reality snuff film as their only way to support their families and put food on the table, all but guaranteeing their own deaths in the process.
It’s deeply upsetting stuff, and the performances by the entire cast, but especially the two leads, Cooper Hoffman, son of Philip Seymour Hoffman, and David Jonsson of Alien: Romulus fame, make you invested in their tragic situation.
The ending, an area King readers sometimes, quite famously, have issues with, is the one thing that changes from the book, and it’s a smart and impactful one.
What other critics are saying: It has very good reviews! The A.V. Club’s Jacob Oller calls it “relatable viewing for an entire country afflicted by economic insecurity, unchecked gun violence, and the invasion of a militarized Gestapo.” Frank Scheck at the Hollywood Reporter writes, “While The Long Walk doesn’t entirely escape its narrative limitations, it features generous amounts of the sort of emotion and heart that have marked the best King adaptations. Of course, that doesn’t make it any less grueling.”
How to watch: The Long Walk is now available to rent or buy on Amazon, Apple TV and other VOD platforms.
Bonus recommendation: Good Boy
Why you should see it: In Good Boy, a loyal dog moves to a rural family home with his owner, only to discover supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities threaten his human companion, the brave pup must fight to protect the one he loves most.
It’s a clever take on the idea that in horror movies, animals are usually the first to notice that something is amiss. Indy, the dog who stars in the film, somehow manages to turn in a genuinely incredible performance, which is easily the highlight. Move over, Air Bud!
What other critics are saying: They like it more than I do! The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck writes, “what comes across most strongly, and gives the film its emotional power, is Indy’s unfailing loyalty to his beloved owner and his willingness do practically anything to protect him.” Chase Hutchinson at TheWrap says it gets less interesting the longer it goes on, “but there remain enough inventively staged and shot sequences to make it worth taking in.”
How to watch: Good Boy is now available to rent or buy on Amazon, Apple TV and other VOD platforms.
But that’s not all…
Bone Lake: In this twisted horror-comedy, a couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. It picks apart relationships and asks, can you really trust your partner? It’s a fun-enough diversion, despite some dodgy acting, though nothing in the movie is as kick-ass as its provocative poster. Marketing win! Rent or buy.
📺 Movies newly available on streaming services you may already haveMy recommendation: Weapons
Why you should watch it: Weapons is one of the biggest hits of the year. When it hit theaters, I dubbed it an instant horror classic. If you missed it in theaters, you can now watch it at home.
The film is writer-director and ex-sketch comedian Zach Cregger’s follow-up to his sleeper hit debut Barbarian and stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Amy Madigan, Austin Abrams and Benedict Wong. The premise is chilling: When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, 2:17 a.m., a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance. The movie opens with the kids already missing. A child narrator prefaces the story, immediately setting the tone of a creepy campfire tale. The rest of the movie unfolds from the perspective of several different characters, each getting their own chapter.
I haven’t stopped thinking about Weapons since the credits rolled. I can’t wait to catch it again now that it’s streaming. It’s one of the best movies of the year.
What other critics are saying: It’s beloved! Variety’s Peter Debruge nails it, writing, “Cregger has achieved something remarkable here, crafting a cruel and twisted bedtime story of the sort the Brothers Grimm might have spun.” Mark Kennedy at the AP says, “It will, at the very least, make you feel a little dread when the clock hits 2:17 a.m.”
How to watch: Weapons is now streaming on HBO Max.
Bonus not-a-recommendation: A House of Dynamite
Why you should maybe skip it: Oscar-winning filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow’s first movie in eight years is a major disappointment and nowhere near the highs of The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, the other entries in this unofficial trilogy about the U.S. military-industrial complex.
When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond. It unfolds largely on Zoom screens, reminding me of the recent disastrous War of the Worlds remake. That movie had the excuse of being a long-delayed COVID-era production — Bigelow’s film does not.
It makes sense that the movie depicts conference calls, though, because it’s meant to be a realistic take on what would happen in this deadly situation. The president (Idris Elba, in his second world leader role of the year) is on these calls with his subordinates — and the film is meant to demonstrate the inherent flaws of having humans, who are prone to errors, make consequential life-and-death decisions.
Sadly, it never got under my skin at all, mostly due to the absolutely baffling structure. The audience sees the same events depicted several times, from different perspectives. This construct has worked in plenty of films but is deflating here, sucking every bit of tension from what is an extremely tense situation.
A House of Dynamite winds up being a repetitive bore that lost me with its total cop-out of an ending. It’s one of the biggest let-downs of the year.
What other critics are saying: They’re kinder, generally speaking. Time’s Stephanie Zacharek calls it a “movie with a seemingly endless number of moving parts, cut with diamond precision.” Owen Gleiberman at Variety, however, writes, “It’s easy to watch, it’s wired to be exciting, with a showy hot-button relevance, but the problem with the movie is that it isn’t quite convincing. It’s trapped between trying to be a “serious” thriller and a piece of glorified schlock.”
How to watch: A House of Dynamite is now streaming on Netflix.
But that’s not all…
Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. (Suzanne Tenner/Hulu/Courtesy Everett Collection)
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle: This modernized remake of the 1992 film keeps the bones of the original story while piling on complications more fitting to our times, like a gaslighting subplot and a queer element that complicates that dynamic between the two characters. None of these changes make the film better than the lurid original, which is also streaming on Hulu. I thought the scariest thing about it was noticing character actor Martin Starr’s new veneers. Now streaming on Hulu.
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost: This deeply personal documentary from Ben Stiller tells the story of his famous parents, beloved comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. It feels like you’re watching some other family’s home movies, because you literally are, but since Jerry (and Anne and Ben) have been on our screens for so long, it still hits emotionally. It’s self-indulgent, sure, but Stiller brings it all together to show how we all become our parents also feels pretty special. Now streaming on Apple TV.
That’s all for this week — we’ll see you next week at the movies!
Looking for more recs? Find your next watch on the Yahoo 100, our daily-updating list of the most popular movies of the year.