We're in the middle of the month, which tends to be a quiet time for releases. Prime Video is no different, with just one new movie release this week — but boy howdy, is it a good one.
If you're scratching your head over what to watch on Prime Video this weekend, I've got you covered. Of everything new on Prime Video in September, my top three picks include:
- "Bombshell," a drama that turns one of Fox News' biggest scandals into a star-studded affair led by Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie;
- "Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train," a must-watch if you love a great fight scene (or trains I s'pose)
- "The Purge," a genuinely well-crafted thriller set in a single location that ditches the theatrics of the sequels
Need to know before you decide which to start watching? Here's why each one is worth a spot on your watchlist this weekend.
Bombshell (2019)
The vibe: An excuse to watch powerful (and stunning) women for an hour and 49 minutes
Why you should watch it: Inspired by real events and set against the backdrop of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, "Bombshell" follows three women whose allegations against longtime Fox News chairman Roger Ailes ultimately get him the boot. Charlize Theron heads a stacked cast as political commentator Megyn Kelly, alongside Nicole Kidman as acclaimed journalist Gretchen Carlson and Margot Robbie as Kayla Pospisil, the wide-eyed audience surrogate thrown into the cutthroat world of broadcast news.
Kate McKinnon is also a standout as a no-nonsense Fox producer who delivers one of the movie’s best lines: “What would scare my grandmother or piss off my grandfather — that’s a Fox story.” Theron and Robbie both earned Oscar nominations for their performances, though neither took home the trophy.
Watch "Bombshell" on Prime Video now
'Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train' (2021)
The vibe: Sick anime fight scenes on a train 'r us
Why you should watch it: "Demon Slayer" is not usually an anime I point newcomers to the genre toward, but the series' first theatrical feature film, "Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train," is well worth a watch for anyone who loves a good fight scene — animated or otherwise. The characters and their back stories are simple enough that you don't need to watch the show to follow along with the story's main beats, and the English dub is phenomenal!
The series follows 13-year-old Tanjiro Kamado, who finds his family brutally murdered, except his sister Nezuko Kamado, who has turned into a demon. He sets out with her in tow (literally in a basket on his shoulders) to join a secret organization known as the Demon Slayer Corps to avenge his family and cure Nezuko. In the movie, he and his friends board a train along with a high-ranking Demon Slayer to exterminate the demon terrorizing the train’s passengers.
Watch "Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train" on Prime Video now
‘The Purge' (2013)
The vibe: A sublime single-setting thriller
Why you should watch it: Of all "The Purge" movies, the only one I genuinely recommend people watch is the original. For all the theatrics that came later, 2013's "The Purge" is a surprisingly grounded, single-setting psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. There's a fun moral dilemma thrown into the mix that I sorely missed in later "Purge" movies.
A decade before we got Ethan Hawke at his most terrifying in the equally superb "The Black Phone" movies, he starred as a terrified patriarch in the purge: a night of bedlam where all crimes (including murder) are legal until the sun comes up. It's a government-sanctioned stress relief exercise, supposedly to ensure a more peaceful and orderly society for the rest of the year. Hawke's character makes the mistake of letting a wounded stranger inside on purge night, drawing the attention of a bloodthirsty group of purgers.
Stream "The Purge" on Prime Video now
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