What’s New to Stream on Netflix for March 2023

Crossing the Streams is a series of columns spotlighting all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month. This time we’re checking out the new Netflix arrivals for March 2023. They include a new Vietnamese action film called Furies, an Adam Sandler mystery sequel, and more!

Netflix Pick of the Month for March 2023

2019’s Furie is one of that year’s best action films. Veronica Ngo plays a woman with a dark past who’s forced to unleash hell after her daughter is abducted, and now we finally get to see part of that dark past responsible for those skills. Furies (premieres TBA) is a prequel set in the 90s that sees Ngo’s character training three other women in order to combat a violently misogynistic gang. Everything about this has me excited, and that includes the fact that Ngo also directed and co-wrote. She’s directed two other features, a comedy and a documentary, and this is her first stab at a film in the genre where she reigns supreme.

New Netflix Original Films

The Luther series ran on and off from 2010 to 2019, and it was never less than thrilling (even when it felt a bit ridiculous). The Neill Cross-created series stars Idris Elba as a British detective tackling all manner of twisted cases, and now both men are back for a feature film. Luther: The Fallen Sun (premieres March 10th) is written by Cross and directed by Jamie Payne, and it starts with Luther in prison. He’s forced into escaping, though, when a serial killer cuts a bloody swathe through London. Even better? It won’t feature Alice Morgan…

Films that play around with time are inherently interesting, and that’s even the case when the film in question isn’t a thriller of some kind. Still Time (premieres March 16th) is a romantic comedy from Argentina about a man who begins moving a bit too quickly through time, and it’s an issue that leaves him missing out on big moments in his life and with the people he loves. Here’s hoping the promise of the premise holds up.

A woman searching for her missing daughter is automatically compelling, and that’s enough to make Noise (premieres March 17th) worth a watch. The film apparently does more with the idea, though, by growing the issue beyond just one mother and daughter to include a nation of women who’ve grown tired of being treated like playthings, cattle, and second-class citizens. Different stories find a voice here, and I’m hoping that they’re all engaging.

Look, Adam Sandler’s Netflix films have been profitable for him even as most of them are unfunny duds. One exception, and arguably the best of the bunch, was a comedic whodunnit co-starring Jennifer Aniston and written by the screenwriter behind Zodiac. So yeah, I’m looking forward to Murder Mystery 2 (premieres March 31st). The couple of amateur sleuths are back and trying to launch their own detective agency, and lucky for them a friend’s wedding is home to another mystery only they can solve. Bring it on!

New Netflix Original Series

Netflix has been big into the documentary game for a few years now, and their latest conversation starter is MH370: The Plane That Disappeared (premieres March 8th). The three-episode doc explores the still unsolved mystery surrounding a Malaysian Airlines flight with over three hundred people that disappeared somewhere between Malaysia and China. Various theories are presented — including three from a so-called aviation journalist who accuses specific people with literally zero evidence — but the mystery remains.

While Hollywood has cut way back on the number of thriller adaptations they produce each year, streaming sites have picked up the gauntlet and begun turning books into limited series — and that’s a win for us book fans. Matthew Quirk’s The Night Agent (premieres March 23rd) is the latest to get the limited adaptation, and it’s good, thrilling fun. The premise is terrific — an FBI agent working a night shift watching over a phone they hope will never ring, gets a call his first night — and what follows delivers strong action beats and some twisty conspiratorial turns.

Rob Lowe has something of a varied history in Hollywood, with highs and lows along the way. The back half of his career has delivered the funniest work, though, starting with Parks & Recreation. His latest bid at making folks laugh is Unstable (premieres March 30th), in which he plays a Steve Jobs-like tech giant whose son joins him at the office. Lowe’s real son stretches for the role of the young man, and their interactions are a fun mix of goofiness, affection, and strong personalities.

The Oldest New Arrival to Netflix for March 2023

John Landis may be a prick responsible for the deaths of three people, but before he dodged that bullet, he directed some hugely entertaining films. National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) was his first big hit, and the laughs hold up — for the most part — as a rowdy group of fraternity brothers clashes with snobs, faculty, and good taste. Harold Ramis co-wrote the script, and the roster of actors bringing the laughs include John Belushi, Tom Hulce, Stephen Furst, Karen Allen, Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert, Bruce McGill, Donald Sutherland, John Vernon, and more. It’s crass and un-pc, but the carefree comedic sensibilities remain, ensuring a good time for the willing and able.

The Complete Netflix List for March 2023

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Related Topics: Crossing the Streams, Netflix

Rob Hunter has been writing for Film School Rejects since before you were born, which is weird seeing as he's so damn young. He's our Chief Film Critic and Associate Editor and lists 'Broadcast News' as his favorite film of all time. Feel free to say hi if you see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.