Streaming Picks: February 2020

FILMS
Top Picks
Good Time – Netflix 2/11
The Farewell – Prime 2/12
The Last Thing He Wanted – Netflix 2/21
Mister America – Hulu 2/13
For those whose first introduction to the Safdies was Uncut Gems, might I suggest this even wilder film that preceded it? It’s also about a man who keeps pushing his luck further than it can possibly go, and it resulted in Robert Pattinson’s best performance to date.

The Farewell is Lulu Wang’s delicate, devastating and often hilarious family drama that was ignored by the Academy. It’s terrific, but might be a little raw to watch right now if you (like me) have recently lost a family member.

I’ve been anticipating Dee Rees’ follow-up to Mudbound for a while now, but a February release date gives me a little bit of pause since it was long thought of as an awards contender. Still hoping for great things in this thriller about a reporter (Anne Hathaway) tracking an arms dealer, her dad (Willem Dafoe).

And while On Cinema at the Cinema is not to everyone’s taste, Mister America is an often hilarious spin-off of that show, with Tim Heidecker trying to take his con artist character into the biggest con of all: politics. It doesn’t exactly have anything profound to say about our system, but it’s an interesting alternate history where a complete buffoon who got into a race out of pettiness was instantly laughed out of the room.

Recent Selections
Adam – Hulu 2/1
Ms. Purple – Hulu 2/1
Where We Go from Here – Hulu 2/2
A Madea Family Funeral – Hulu and Prime 2/2
Jallikattu – Prime 2/2
Faith, Hope & Love – Netflix 2/4
#cats_the_mewvie – Netflix 2/5
Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story – Netflix 2/5
Angel of Mine – Hulu 2/6
David Crosby: Remember My Name – Hulu 2/6
Wrinkles the Clown – Hulu 2/6
The Ballad of Lefty Brown – Netflix 2/7
Alive – Hulu and Prime 2/9
Polaroid – Netflix 2/9
Q Ball – Netflix 2/11
Where’d You Go, Bernadette – Hulu 2/12
Racetime – Hulu 2/14
Radioflash – Hulu 2/14
Villains – Hulu 2/14
Danger Close – Prime 2/15
47 Meters Down: Uncaged – Prime 2/16
Ice Princess Lily – Prime 2/21
Girl on the Third Floor – Netflix 2/22
Full Count – Netflix 2/23
Every Time I Die – Netflix 2/25
Run the Race – Hulu and Prime 2/25
The Angry Birds Movie 2 – Netflix 2/27
After the Wedding – Hulu 2/28

Originals
Sordo – Netflix 2/3
Honey Boy – Prime 2/7
Horse Girl – Netflix 2/7
The Coldest Game – Netflix 2/8
Camino a Roma – Netflix 2/11
To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You – Netflix 2/12
Isi & Ossi – Netflix 2/14
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon – Netflix 2/14
System Crasher – Netflix 2/21
Pokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution – Netflix 2/27
All the Bright Places – Netflix 2/28
La trinchera infinita – Netflix 2/28

NEW SHOWS & SPECIALS
Top Picks
Locke & Key – Netflix 2/7
High Fidelity – Hulu 2/14
Hunters – Prime 2/21
Locke & Key has been bouncing around as a TV adaptation for many years now, and while I love Joe Hill’s work, I’m a little hesitant that the series seems to be going for a more kid-friendly angle.

I still think the producers of High Fidelity missed an opportunity not to have Zoe Kravitz play the daughter of Marie de Salle (Lisa Bonet) from the John Cusack adaptation, but that’s going to be head-canon for me. Kravitz also plays a disaffected record store owner, and I’m intrigued to see how misanthropic and unsympathetic they try to make her (which in retrospect is one of the reasons the Cusack version works so well).

Hunters has me hooked already. Produced by Jordan Peele, it stars Al Pacino as the leader of a team of young covert operatives sent to track down and kill Nazis hiding out in North and South America. As Barney would say, “Just hook it to my veins!”

Originals
Taj Mahal 1989 – Netflix 2/1
Team Kaylie (Part 3) – Netflix 2/3
The Pharmacist – Netflix 2/5
All or Nothing: The Philadelphia Eagles – Prime 2/7
Clifford (Season 1, Part 2) – Prime 2/7
Dragons: Rescue Riders (Season 2) – Netflix 2/7
Into the Dark: My Valentine – Hulu 2/7
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: Valentine’s Day Special – Prime 2/7
Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day Special – Prime 2/7
My Holo Love – Netflix 2/7
Who Killed Malcolm X? – Netflix 2/7
Captain Underpants Epic Choice-o-Rama – Netflix 2/9
Dragon Quest: Your Story – Netflix 2/13
Love Is Blind – Netflix 2/13
Narcos: Mexico (Season 2) – Netflix 2/13
Cable Girls (Final Season) – Netflix 2/14
Utopia Falls (Season 1) – Hulu 2/14
The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia – Netflix 2/17
Chef Show (Volume 3) – Netflix 2/19
Spectros – Netflix 2/20
Babies – Netflix 2/21
Gentefied – Netflix 2/21
Glitch Techs – Netflix 2/21
Puerta 7 – Netflix 2/21
I Am Not Okay with This – Netflix 2/26
Altered Carbon (Season 2) – Netflix 2/27
Followers – Netflix 2/27
Babylon Berlin (Season 3) – Netflix 2/27
Formula 1: Drive to Survive (Season 2) – Netflix 2/27
Queen Sono – Netflix 2/28
Restaurants on the Edge – Netflix 2/28
Unstoppable – Netflix 2/28

OLD SHOWS
Counterpart (Seasons 1-2) – Prime 2/1
Escape at Dannemora – Prime 2/1
Black Hollywood: They’ve Gotta Have Us – Netflix 2/5
Better Call Saul (Season 4) – Netflix 2/9
The Other Guy (Season 2) – Hulu 2/14
Grantchester (Season 4) – Prime 2/25

COMEDY SPECIALS
Top Pick
Tom Papa: You’re Doing Great! – Netflix 2/4
Papa is one of those great unsung comedians who is somehow only 51 years old, but looks like he’s been that age for 15 years.

Other Specials
Amit Tandon: Family Tandoncies – Netflix 2/1

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