The 13 best movies new to Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max & Hulu: August 2021

Holy mackerel, it’s already August. How the time flies? The dog days of summer fade as we work our way into the final months leading up to fall. August was a big one, what with the recent release of big summer tent poles like The suicide squad, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Green Knight, and M. Night Shyamalans Old. There’s no shortage of exciting new films like that from Nia DaCosta Candy man and more. But if you feel the comfort of your sofa more than your local movie theater, we have the best movies new to streaming for you this month.

In August we have everything from the nightly vampire horror thriller 30 days night, Steven Spielberg’s 2004 crime film Catch Me If You Can, Ruben Östlund’s tragic-comic art world satire The seat, the South Korean zombie thriller Train to Busan, and many more!

Read on for 13 of the best movies new to streaming services this August. There is something for everybody.

30 days night

A blood-soaked vampire grins with fangs in 30 Days of Night

Based on the comic series by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, 30 days night follows residents of an Alaska town hunted by a voracious pack of vampires who thrive in a place of darkness every winter for over a month. With city power off and no access to the outside world, survivors must find a way to fend off their would-be predators until it gets light again. Danny Huston shines as Marlow, the royal and relentless leader of the vampires, as does Josh Hartnett in his leading role as Sheriff Eben Oleson. With brutal tension and shuddering blood, 30 days night is an exciting festival of horrors that is worth seeing. —Toussaint Egan

30 days night continues streaming Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.

Attack on the block

The cast of Attack the Block stand in front of a scooter

Attack the block, Ant-Man Co-writer Joe Cornish’s 2011 sci-fi horror comedy debut stars future Star Wars icon John Boyega in his feature film debut as Moses, the leader of a teenage street gang who races their south London property against an invasion of voracious aliens must defend that suddenly descend on their neighborhood en masse. With supporting appearances by Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who

) and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead), Attack the Block is a hilarious and pulsating film that is anchored by tight text and strong special effects. -AT

Attack on the block continues streaming Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.

Bad boys ii

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith as Detective Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey in Bad Boys 2

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith return for the 2003 sequel to Michael Bay’s buddy cop action comedy Bad Boys, and this time: shit just got real. Miami is inundated with ecstasy by a ruthless and ruthless drug lord named Johnny Tapia (Jordi Mollà) from Cuba, and it is up to detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) to stop the operation. Things get tricky when the DEA becomes involved in the case in the form of Marcus’ younger sister Sydney (Gabrielle Union), and the possibility of Marcus leaving the department leaves Mike worried and worried about his own future. This movie is notoriously gory, with a chase involving a barrage of cadavers being tossed from a van, so be aware. -AT

Bad boys ii continues streaming peacock.

Primal instinct

Sharon Stone as Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct.

With Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone, Paul Verhoeven’s 1992 erotic neo-noir thriller Primal instinct is as sexually charged as it is cruelly violent. Douglas is Nick Curran, a San Francisco Police Department detective investigating the death of former rock star Johnny Boz, who was brutally stabbed in bed. His investigation leads him to Boz’s lover Catherine Tramell, a sultry and manipulative seductress who entangles Curran in a web of lies, lust and artistic deception. Primal instinct is a quintessence in the genre of erotic thriller and a gripping work, produced by a director at the height of his ability. -AT

Primal instinct continues streaming Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.

Catch Me If You Can

Based on a true story, Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Steven Spielberg’s crime film Catch Me If You Can than Frank Abagnale Jr., who posed as a Pan-Am pilot, doctor, and prosecutor and successfully defrauded millions of dollars – and no less at the age of 19! On his trail is Carl Hanraty (Tom Hanks), an FBI agent who is only one step behind Abagnale as he galants dangerously from one successful fraud to the next around the world. -AT

Catch Me If You Can continues streaming Netflix.

The insider

Al Pacino and Russell Crowe star in Michael Mann’s biographical thriller The insider. Based on a true story, Pacino plays Lowell Bergman, a 60-minute producer who turns to former Brown & Williamson researcher Jeff Wigand (Crowe) to tell the story of what he learned while working for the company Has. With combined pressure from Wigand’s NDA, Big Tobacco’s political clout and the Westinghouse company’s upcoming acquisition of CBS, the battle for the truth at the heart of the tobacco industry escalates as the two nonetheless seek to fight the odds. -AT

The insider continues streaming Amazon Prime Video.

The mechanic

Christian Bale as Trevor Reznik in The Machinist.

Brad Anderson’s 2004 psychological thriller The mechanic Stars Christian Bale (The dark knight) as Trevor Reznik, an emaciated amnesiac who works as a lathe operator. Trevor hasn’t slept in over a year and is now haunted by visions of a coworker no one else can see and an inexplicable stream of mysterious post-it notes appearing on his fridge, Trevor must get to his heart from the madness that surrounds him if he has any chance of surviving … or at least ever getting a good night’s sleep. -AT

The mechanic continues streaming Netflix.

magnolia

Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 ensemble drama magnolia is an expansive mosaic of loosely connected characters whose fates and stories are intertwined as their respective searches for love, forgiveness, and meaning unfold beautifully across the vastness of the San Fernando Valley. With several masterful performances by William H. Macy, Jason Robards, Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Melinda Dillon and many others, magnolia is unlike anything Anderson has produced before or after, and as such, a must-have watch for anyone who claims to be a fan of the director’s work. -AT

magnolia continues streaming Netflix.

Predator

Much like the film’s namesake, John McTiernan’s 1987 sci-fi action film Predator seems like one type of film before it turns out to be entirely different several times. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers, the film follows an elite paramilitary rescue team sent on a mission to rescue hostages held by guerrilla dissidents in a Central American rainforest. So far, so contra. It is only when they arrive that they realize that something much more deadly, much more alien is sneaking through the forest and taking them in one by one. With nothing or anyone to help but their minds and each other, the team will make a desperate final stand against a predator that won’t stop until its mission is accomplished. -AT

Predator continues streaming Amazon Prime Video.

The way to El Dorado

tulio and miguel, mighty and mighty gods

This hilarious South America adventure buddy comedy (not to be confused with the other hilarious South America adventure buddy comedy that came out in 2000) absolutely fueled the box office. but The way to El Dorado has meanwhile developed into a certifiable cult classic that has found a second life via the Internet, be it shit post groups, reaction gifs or the rich shipping culture. It’s a film between the animated musicals of the Disney Renaissance (there are songs, but no one sings with one exception) and the more comedic tendencies of the next wave of animated films that are simply bursting with fun. —PR

The way to El Dorado continues streaming Amazon Prime Video.

Headlights

rachel mcadams, mark ruffalo, brian d'arcy james, michael keaton and john slattery in the spotlight

The 2016 Oscar for Best Picture went to Tom McCarthy Headlights, and it’s easy to see why – it’s a well-done prestige look back at the days of All gentlemen of the president. This meticulously crafted but powerful journalism process follows how the Boston Globe uncovered and reported a huge scandal from 2001 to 2002 in which the Catholic Church systematically defends and protects sexually abusive priests. As director and co-writer McCarthy (The station agent) tells the story methodically, but without many of the flashy dramas and screams that usually accompany prestige dramas. A strong cast (Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci and many more) keeps the action low-key, but captivating and engaging. —Tasha Robinson

Headlights continues streaming Amazon Prime Video.

The seat

Ruben Östlund’s art world satire The seat Star Claes Bang (Dracula) as Christian, a respected art curator at a renowned Stockholm museum, whose professional and private life simultaneously falls into a tragicomic odyssey of stolen telephones, PR gimmicks and boredom. With supporting performances with the kind permission of Elisabeth Moss (The story of the maid) and Dominic West (The cable), The seat is a terrifying and hilarious watch. -AT

The seat continues streaming HBO max.

Train to Busan

A bloody Seok-woo (Yoo) looks over his shoulder.

Imagine, instead of eating cockroaches and fending off ax-wielding thugs on their way to the one percent front end, the passengers aboard the Snow piercer Train fended off zombies. OK, OK, stop imagining: Train to Busan is better than anything you can think of. Driving, bloody and shimmering with the dark mood that is characteristic of Korean cinema, the animator who has become a live-action director, Yeon Sang-ho’s interpretation of the zombie apocalypse has his heart up his sleeve … until the to tear the hearts of carnivorous undead to shreds. It’s a father-daughter story. It’s a man-woman story. It’s a story that deserves to live and die. It’s a story of people trapped on a bullet train and the only way out is with a timely jump to the overhead bin. It’s a fucking movie. —Matt patches

Train to Busan continues streaming peacock.