Movies Update: ‘The Forty-Year-Old Version’ and More

October 9, 2020

By Mekado Murphy

Movies Editor

Hey, movie fans! Here’s what’s going on this week.

With studios continuing to postpone the release of new films and audiences seeming reluctant to return to theaters en masse, the Regal Cinemas chain has temporarily closed its theaters in the United States (again). And Disney announced that its anticipated Pixar film “Soul” will be released directly on Disney+ on Christmas Day.

Scary-movie season is upon us, with plenty of frightful selections throughout the month. Erik Piepenburg offered a guide to some of the most noteworthy, with subjects ranging from killer weaves to vampires in the Bronx. Over on Prime Video, you can find a new collection of creepy movies under the banner “Welcome to the Blumhouse.” Lena Wilson interviewed the diverse directors of those features.

Out this week on Netflix is Radha Blank’s acclaimed project “The Forty-Year-Old Version” and Adam Sandler’s not-so-acclaimed, but seasonally relevant comedy “Hubie Halloween,” plus an environmental doc about David Attenborough, “A Life on Our Planet.” HBO Max has the dirt-bike drama “Charm City Kings” and the documentary “Siempre, Luis.” And Amazon has the thrillers “The Lie” and “Black Box,” then on Oct. 16, the Critic’s Pick documentary “Time” (now in theaters).

Enjoy the movies!

Jeong Park/Netflix

Critic’s Pick

‘The Forty-Year-Old Version’ Review: Rapper’s Delight

Radha Blank’s film is an intimate, epic reckoning with age, ambition and everything else.

By A.O. Scott

William Gray/HBO Max

‘Charm City Kings’ Review: Growing Up, and Almost Spinning Out

In this sincere drama, a young Baltimore teenager enamored of the city’s vibrant dirt-bike scene, faces hard truths and choices.

By Manohla Dargis

Tobin Yellan/Hulu

A Guide to New Horror Movies This Month

From a killer weave to vampires in the Bronx, new movies are here to keep Halloween frightful.

By Erik Piepenburg

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STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS

gateway movies

Need an Essential Chronicler of America? Try This Nonfiction Master

Frederick Wiseman captures life unfolding within institutions. If that sounds boring, the riveting “Public Housing” shows why his work is anything but.

By Ben Kenigsberg

Stream These 15 Movies Before They Leave Netflix This Month

Fall is here but these titles soon won’t be. Catch up on these before they leave.

By Jason Bailey

MOVIE REVIEWS

Amazon Studios

Critic’s Pick

‘Time’ Review: What We Really Mean When We Say Mass Incarceration

In Garrett Bradley’s moving documentary, a woman fights for her family and justice as a husband and father’s absence reverberates.

By Lisa Kennedy

Jessica Miglio/MPI Media Group/Signature Entertainment

‘A Rainy Day in New York’ Review: How to Ruin Your Weekend

Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning attempt a madcap Manhattan adventure in this Woody Allen feature.

By A.O. Scott

Scott Yamano/Netflix

‘Hubie Halloween’ Review: No Tricks, Few Treats

Adam Sandler stars in this proudly regressive seasonal comedy.

By Ben Kenigsberg

Ben Rothstein/101 Studios/Brookdale Studios

‘The War With Grandpa’ Review: Robert De Niro Gets Juvenile

Coming off the artistic high of “The Irishman,” De Niro returns in a bland family comedy that features jokes about bodily functions.

By Glenn Kenny

HBO

‘Siempre, Luis’ Review: A Latino Community Activist Puts on a Show

The political consultant Luis A. Miranda Jr. almost gets his due in this HBO documentary.

By Kyle Turner

Stage 6 Films/Sony Pictures

‘Yellow Rose’ Review: A Timely Tale of Country Music Dreams

Diane Paragas’s film blends coming-of-age aspirations with urgent immigration issues — to mixed effect.

By Kristen Yoonsoo Kim

Universal

‘American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules’ Review: Sex Comedy, Warmed Over

This entry in the series offers a naked demonstration of the differences in sexual politics since 1999.

By Teo Bugbee

Strand Releasing

‘Aggie’ Review: Portrait of an Art Collector by Her Daughter

In this documentary, the filmmaker Catherine Gund recaps the career of her mother, the philanthropist and art collector Agnes Gund.

By Ben Kenigsberg

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NEWS & FEATURES

Emerging Directors, Re-emerging Horrors

Underrepresented filmmakers contributed to “Welcome to the Blumhouse,” a horror anthology streaming on Amazon. Here’s your cheat sheet on each film.

By Lena Wilson

Henry Golding Drew on His Own Cultural Confusion in ‘Monsoon’

The actor discussed how playing a British-Vietnamese man trying to understand his identity resonated with Golding’s experiences living in Britain and Malaysia.

By Isabella Kwai