The best movies new on Netflix, Max, Prime and Hulu this September

August is finally over, and you know what that means: summer is almost over! But before we can start packing away our swimsuits and pulling out our prettiest fall sweaters, we have to get through the first of September. This month sees a ton of exciting new releases hitting theaters, including Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Megalopolis, as well as new movies to stream.

If you’re looking for the best movies to stream from home this September, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve taken a close look at this month’s new releases to bring you the very best to stream. We’ve got an Oscar-winning animated drama, an irreverent neo-noir crime thriller, a brilliant adaptation of a classic Jane Austen novel, and more.

Here are the new movies on streaming services you should watch this month.

Where to watch: Max
Genre: Fantasy drama
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Pour: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon

Hayao Miyazaki’s latest Oscar-winning animated film is arguably his most personal and moving work. Inspired by Miyazaki’s own childhood in post-war Japan, The Boy and the Heron tells the story of Mahito, a young boy grieving the death of his mother. Mahito moves to the countryside with his newly married father and stepmother and is despairing at the cruelty of the world.

After Mahito encounters a mysterious shapeshifting heron, he embarks on a journey to the land of the dead in the hope of seeing his mother again and learning an important lesson: how to move on after loss? Brilliantly animated and achingly beautiful, The Boy and the Heron is a phenomenal meditation on mortality, grief and artistic endeavour, all the more moving when you consider the film’s parallels to Miyazaki’s own life and legacy. I wouldn’t recommend it as the first Hayao Miyazaki film to watch – perhaps start with Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke – but it is still a must. –Toussaint Egan

Genre: comedy
Director: Jeff Fowler
Pour: Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Jim Carrey

Let’s get this out of the way: yes, there are a few fart jokes and dental floss references in Sonic the Hedgehog. But the movie has a lot of heart, and Sonic himself is adorable, especially considering he’s meant to be a precocious (and deeply lonely) teenager. I want to hug him! Plus, every actor in the live-action films gives their all, from Jim Carrey’s wonderfully wacky Dr. Robotnik to James Marsden’s average-aged cop, and that just makes interacting with the cartoon Sonic even better. —Petrana Radulovic

Genre: Action thriller
Director: John McTiernan
Pour: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson

By far the best of the Die Hard Sequels and in certain circles a candidate for the best film of the entire series, Die Hard: Now More Than Ever takes John McClane back to his hometown of New York to confront a deadly terrorist who has planted bombs all over the city.

The film’s greatest strength is that it doesn’t try to repeat the highs of the original film. Instead, it’s mostly a game of cat and mouse, with the terrorist (played wonderfully by Jeremy Irons) giving McClane and his partner Zeus Carver, Samuel L. Jackson, fresh out of Pulp Fiction, clues on how to find the bombs, all to distract from his true plan.

Die Hard: Now More Than Ever brings back the original film’s director, John McTiernan, who brilliantly directs the action, replacing the tight quarters of Nakatomi Plaza with the narrow streets of New York as Jackson and Willis rush from one borough to the next, always feeling one step behind. It all makes for a great new setting for one of the best action figures and thrillers of the ’90s. —Austen Goslin

Genre: Neo-noir comedy
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Pour: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson

There is hardly anything better in film than watching a detective glide through life and work through a case, and few films have ever portrayed it like Inherent vice.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of the Thomas Pynchon novel follows Doc Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix), a private investigator in the ’70s who stumbles into a massive conspiracy involving a secret society and perhaps all of Los Angeles. The mystery takes half a dozen puzzling twists and turns and, like most noir stories, ends so confusingly that you and the characters can only really follow about half of it. But that’s not important here.

What does Inherent vice what’s really brilliant is its mood. Phoenix’s stoner detective is one of the best slapstick characters of the 2010s, and Josh Brolin’s stuffy detective has two or three of the funniest deadpan expressions ever put to film. Anderson films his ’70s LA with enormous love and care, filling each of its office buildings and seedy alleyways with great character actors like Martin Short, Benicio del Toro, Jena Malone, Owen Wilson and others. Even if you can’t understand the film’s plot or spot all of the main players, Inherent vice is the kind of film you can immerse yourself in, and by the time the credits roll, you’ll wish you could stay in its atmosphere and charm for at least a few more hours. —AG

Genre: Contemporary romantic comedy
Director: Autumn de Wilde
Pour: Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Josh O’Connor

The world doesn’t have as much room for Jane Austen adaptations as it once did, and that’s a damn shame. Thankfully, this excellent 2020 Emma adaptation fills at least a small part of that gap.

In contrast to films like Clueless who interpret Austen’s work in a modern way, this version, directed by Autumn de Wilde, is presented in its original period. The result is a thoroughly magnificent film, with exquisite costumes and plenty of wicked words delivered with a smile.

The whole thing relies on the great lead performance of Anya Taylor-Joy, who manages the incredible balancing act of making Emma mean, cruel, petty and extremely sympathetic and charming. Of course, Joy is also supported by an incredibly talented supporting cast, including Josh O’Connor, Johnny Flynn, Callum Turner, Mia Goth and Bill Nighy. —AG