‘The Deliverance,’ streaming ‘Lord of the Rings’

undefined is in the air, candy corn is in the stores and new horror movies are streaming. Even though it’s still August, we’re feeling the fall season. Or “szn” as the kids say.

With Labor Day upon us, Netflix is getting into the Halloween spirit with Lee Daniels’ possession flick “The Deliverance,” one of many streaming recommendations I’ve got for you over a long three-day weekend. (The power of Watch Party compels you!) For those more interested in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings” fantasy show is back with a new focus on its villain: “Hot Sauron,” which is apparently a thing. It’s also a good time to catch up on stuff you haven’t seen yet because the fall movie season is coming in fast – and we’ve got the rundown on that, too.

Now on to the good stuff:

Have faith in Lee Daniels’ Netflix demonic chiller ‘The Deliverance’

Anthony B. Jenkins stars as a young boy possessed by a demon in

Watching Daniels’ movies (“Precious” and “The Butler” among them), I never got a “horror guy” vibe from him. However, the director’s favorite film is “The Exorcist” – “The Omen” and “Rosemary’s Baby” also rank pretty high on his list – and he conjures some nicely creepy imagery in “The Deliverance,” which stars Andra Day as an alcoholic mom who has to battle a supernatural threat when an evil spirit possesses her three children. It’s inspired by a true story – this rundown of what reportedly happened is a must-read – and I talked with Daniels about what’s fact and fiction in his movie. He also explains he had a deliverance minister on set to make sure demons stayed away. “Not today, Satan!” quips Daniels, who decided to play it safe after reading about the weirdness that filmmakers witnessed and felt while making “Exorcist” and “Poltergeist.”

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“The Deliverance” is one of several movies new to streaming services, and I’ve got a roundup of what you should peep tonight, including “The Fall Guy,” “Kinds of Kindness,” “The Watchers” and – if you could use a good cry – “Daughters.”

Stream the Season 2 premiere of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’

Here’s a confession. I’m a little weird. I don’t really loooooove the “Lord of the Rings” movies. They’re fine! Just never been Mr. Fantasy. I do like TV’s “Rings of Power,” though, with its assortment of engaging characters, nifty world building and, yes, some important jewelry. The first episode of the new season is streaming now, and in her ★½ review, TV critic Kelly Lawler calls the latest round “confusing, directionless and emotionally bankrupt.” Yeesh.

Portrayed by Charlie Vickers, resident big bad Sauron plays a major role after spending Season 1 hiding in plain sight the whole time, and, yeah, he’s more conventionally attractive than the guy in the freaky armor in the “Rings” movies. Really, it’s all about the Ents, Orcs and other cool creatures anyway.

Mark all the big fall movies on your calendar, from ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ to ‘Joker 2’

If you’re like me, with school back in session and the holidays just over the horizon, you’re totally in planning mode. That goes for movie-watching, too: This week we published our big fall movie preview with exclusive peeks at 15 flicks you’ll want to see in theaters.

The season starts with a major release right out of the gate, next week’s sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” and the next two months will bring stuff like “Transformers One,” “Venom: The Last Dance,” “Smile 2,” “Joker: Folie à Deux” and the yuletide-themed “Terrifier 3.” Because nothing screams Christmas like Art the Clown in a Santa suit.

Even more goodness to check out!

In case you missed “Yellowstone” First Look Week, we unveiled exclusive photos from the upcoming second half of Season 5 starting Nov. 10. No Kevin Costner obviously, but there are peeks at soft-spoken Dutton couple Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Monica (Kelsey Asbille), duplicitous Montana attorney general Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), casino mogul Chief Thomas Rainmaker (Gil Birmingham), plus the hot-tempered duo of Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser). Sadly, no shots of Rip taking someone to the “train station.”
It’s been four years since Chadwick Boseman died, and watching his best roles is a great way to honor his memory and remind what a talent he was. “Black Panther” co-star Lupita Nyong’o marked the occasion with an Instagram post: “Grief never ends.”
The Ronald Reagan biopic “Reagan” is in theaters, and star Dennis Quaid talks about playing The Gipper (his fave president, FYI) and why he misses “liberal Republicans” in our new interview.
The new movie “Between the Temples,” with Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane, is based on the experience of the director’s mom as she studied for a late-in-life bat mitzvah.