The Labor Day weekend is a great time to catch up on some movies you may have missed the first time around — or favorites you want to watch again.
Netflix has plenty of great films that fit that bill, and Watch With Us has three near-perfect flicks to stream over the long weekend.
If you want something fun, funny and frivolous, Neighbors does the trick. The Seth Rogen/Zac Efron comedy is popular for a reason, and it delivers enough laughs to make you forget about your own noisy neighbors.
There are no laughs in Cruel Intentions, only schemes, broken hearts courtesy of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s devious villain and late ‘90s needle drops that still hit that sweet nostalgic spot. (Shout out to The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony”!)
Finally, September is the unofficial start of spooky season, and what better way to begin it than by watching the excellent horror sequel, Smile 2?
‘Neighbors’ (2014)
It’s every homeowner’s worst fear — bad neighbors. And that nightmare becomes a reality for Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne), who are already at their wit’s end raising their newborn daughter. When bros Teddy (Zac Efron) and Pete (Dave Franco) and their fraternity move next door, their all-night partying is too much for the sleep-deprived war. But their innocuous request to Teddy to keep the noise down begins a slow-burning conflict that quickly spirals into all-out war between the two neighbors. Can Mac and Teddy find common ground, or will their differences prevent them from ever enjoying a beautiful — and quiet — day in their neighborhood?
Neighbors is the perfect comedy to watch over the Labor Day weekend. The jokes are universal and effortless, with a good mix of physical comedy and verbal wordplay. Plus, Rogen and Byrne are a good comedy team; to paraphrase a famous quote about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Byrne gives him class, and Rogen gives her enough sex jokes to crack when you least expect it. As the alpha male next door, Efron has fun lampooning his heartthrob image. A slightly inferior yet still fun sequel, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, is also available to stream on Netflix.
Neighbors is streaming on Netflix.
‘Cruel Intentions’ (1999)
Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) has nothing in common with his new stepsister, Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar), except for one thing – they have no morals at all. That allows them to play cruel games on people like Cecile (Selma Blair), but when Kathryn bets Sebastian can’t seduce the virginal Annette (Reese Witherspoon), something changes. Sebastian actually falls in love with Annette, which isn’t part of Kathryn’s plans. She’s willing to do anything to get what she wants, even if that means exposing Sebastian for who he truly is to the gullible Annette.
A loose remake of the French 1782 novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Cruel Intentions is a sexy and deliberately campy teen drama that does its source material justice. Sebastian and Kathryn’s social scheming is perfect in a high school setting, and the film is the most fun when its two no-good protagonists try to one-up each other in the nasty department. Gellar makes the most of her villainous seductress, while Phillippe and Witherspoon have enough chemistry to make you believe they are a couple in real life. (They married two months after this film came out).
Cruel Intentions is streaming on Netflix.
‘Smile 2’ (2024)
Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is a pop star on the brink of falling apart. She’s still recovering from her boyfriend’s death in a car accident when she witnesses her drug dealer friend, Lewis (Lukas Gage), kill himself right in front of her. If that wasn’t bad enough, Skye thinks Lewis passed along something to her when he died — something evil. As Skye’s sanity begins to fracture, she becomes increasingly convinced an entity is stalking her and won’t stop until she, too, kills herself.
Of course, we all know Skye is right — she’s the star of Smile 2, the sequel to the 2022 hit about a supernatural entity that can transfer from person to person. Like any good sequel, Smile 2 raises the stakes, with Skye battling the invisible demonic force in increasingly public places like meet-and-greets and even a climactic concert filled with thousands of fans — and potential victims. What makes Smile 2 truly special — and even better than the original — is Scott’s committed, go-for-broke performance. She really convinces you she’s losing her mind, so much so that you want to check on how she’s doing after the film is over. Now that’s good acting!
Smile 2 is streaming on Netflix.
