If Barbenheimer was 2023’s most important movie weekend, this might be the second-most-important one (at least when it comes to Oscar predictions and the Vulture Movie Fantasy League) because Marty is back, baby. Killers of the Flower Moon isn’t the only new movie rising at the box office, though, and there’s plenty on TV as well. We’ve got a documentary about the master of espionage literature, a Miami-set reggaeton comedy, a biopic that’s also a possible Oscar contender, and Ken Burns doing his Ken Burns thing. —James Grebey
Featured Presentations
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Killers of the Flower Moon
Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of David Grann’s 2017 book about a series of murders of members of the oil-rich Osage Indians in the 1920s is the sort of crime epic you’d expect from the GoodFellas director, but the Leonardo DiCaprio–and–Lilly Gladstone–led movie is much more than just that. Even at three hours and 26 minutes long, there’s a lot packed into this true story about American darkness. —J.G.
➽ Also it’s an incredible movie for the Brendan Fraser hive.
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The Pigeon Tunnel
John le Carré died in 2020, but before he passed, the real-life spy turned best-selling author of books like Master Gardener and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy sat down with Errol Morris for what would be his last interview. The resulting film, The Pigeon Tunnel, explores the life of espionage le Carré both lived and created. —J.G.
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Neon
This is a very sweet TV comedy about an up-and-coming reggaeton artist and his friends who move to Miami in hopes of making it big; a bit like a less insufferable Entourage with better music. —Kathryn VanArendonk
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The Delinquents
In Argentine director Rodrigo Moreno’s three-hour Cannes hit, two employees rob the bank where they work, then enact a plan to not get caught. This is not a heist movie, however. It’s a meditative comedy-drama about how life intervenes in the most unlikely ways. —Bilge Ebiri
➽ Only three hours? That’s kinda long, I guess … But it’s no Killers of the Flower Moon …
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NYAD
Netflix’s documentary about Diana Nyad, the woman who, at age 64, became the first person ever to swim from Cuba to Florida, might have hit some rough waters amid allegations that the swimmer exaggerated some of her accomplishments. That shouldn’t take away from the feat of athleticism and determination depicted in this movie, nor Annette Bening and Jodie Foster’s starring performances, both of which are making waves. —J.G.
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The American Buffalo
If, after Killers of the Flower Moon, you need more examples of white people being terrible to Native Americans (and the Earth in general), PBS doc master Ken Burns has a perfect bit of programming for you. This new two-part, four-hour series explores the history of America’s most important animal, going from prehistory to the species’ near extinction. —J.G.
Reality Bites
FBoy Island
After being cut from Max, FBoy Island lives to see another day on the CW. The dating show is a bonkers concept in that it has three women contestants sniffing out who is a “nice” guy and who is a fuckboy while they date through 24 men. This season even includes former Bachelorette Katie Thurston because why not? —Savannah Salazar
Animation Station
Scavengers Reign
Scavengers Reign looks like one of the most interesting new American animated shows this year. Violent, visually spare, and animated by the Titmouse studio in a style inspired by French illustrator Mœbius, the show revolves around the trials and tribulations a spaceship-wrecked crew must face on a deserted planet. —Eric Vilas-Boas
Big Mouth season seven
Created by Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flackett, Big Mouth’s penultimate season has the students of Bridgeton Middle gearing up to graduate because the only thing scarier than puberty is high school. John Mulaney continues to voice the lead kid Andrew Glouberman, while Kroll voices a plethora of other characters including the hormone monster Maurice. Adding to an already stacked cast, this season will feature some guest appearances from Megan Thee Stallion, Lupita Nyong’o, Zazie Beetz, and a song from Lin-Manuel Miranda. —S.S.
Genre Fare
Werewolf by Night in Color
Marvel is giving us a little Halloween treat, a.k.a. Gael García Bernal in color. After debuting last year, Michael Giacchino’s Werewolf by Night is being colorized and released on both Hulu and Disney+. As part of the MCU’s special presentations, the hourlong story features Bernal as the monster hunter Jack Russell, who is secretly a werewolf. —S.S.
Physical Media Lives
The Twilight Saga: The Complete Collection
The Twilight film series is old enough to be attending Forks High School, so yeah, we’re not okay. Time is ticking away, but at least there’s a cool 15th-anniversary edition of the DVD/Blu-ray box set to celebrate it! The complete five-film saga is available now, just in time for haah, huaah, haah, hahuh haah season — if you know, you know. —S.S.
Make It a Double Feature
Prey
Killers of the Flower Moon is a thrill to watch, and it’s actually quite funny at times, but it’s still pretty heavy overall, as is that Ken Burns documentary. Prey, Hulu’s Predator prequel is a perfect bit of “brain-off” counter-programming, featuring Amber Midthunder as a kickass Comanche warrior who fights a well-armed alien, Schwarzenegger style. —J.G.
Want more? Read our recommendations from the weekend of October 13.
