For the new year, I decided to change up my format a bit. Instead of just cataloguing all the new arrivals on all the streaming services, I’m tailoring this to focus on things I’ve seen – or in the case of new seasons of TV, shows I’ve enjoyed in the past – that I can wholeheartedly recommend. This will likely mean a lot more movies and a lot fewer TV shows, but that will match my own goals for 2022.
FILMS
Top Pick
Phantom Thread – Netflix 1/16
Paul Thomas Anderson’s fucked-up relationship drama is his most romantic movie and his most lush. Daniel Day-Lewis went out on a high note, and he’s equally matched by Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville. The Oscar-winning costume design is among the best of the decade.
Other Recommendations
10 Cloverfield Lane – Paramount+ 1/1
127 Hours – Prime 1/1
The Bear – Peacock 1/1
Big Fish – Netflix 1/1
Bowfinger – Peacock 1/1
Braveheart – Netflix 1/1
Capote – HBO Max 1/1
Chicken Run – Peacock 1/1
Cop Land – HBO Max 1/1
Crazy Heart – Prime 1/1
Dawn of the Dead (2004) – Peacock 1/1
The Descendants – Prime 1/1
The Descent – Peacock 1/1
Devil in a Blue Dress – Paramount+ 1/1
Die Hard – Peacock 1/1
Die Hard 2 – Peacock 1/1
Don’t Think Twice – Peacock 1/1
Escape Plan – Peacock 1/1
Eve’s Bayou – Prime 1/1
The Eyes of Tammy Faye – HBO Max 1/1
Fast & Furious 6 – HBO Max 1/1
Fast Times at Ridgemont High – Peacock 1/1
Fatal Attraction – HBO Max 1/1
Footloose (1984) – Paramount+ 1/1
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) – Netflix 1/1
Gone Baby Gone – HBO Max 1/1
Good Will Hunting – Peacock 1/1
Gremlins – Netflix 1/1
Hell or High Water – Netflix 1/1
Hellboy II: The Golden Army – Peacock 1/1
Hobo with a Shotgun – HBO Max 1/1
I Love You, Man – Netflix 1/1
The Intouchables – Prime 1/1
Josie and the Pussycats – Peacock 1/1
The Karate Kid (1984) – Peacock 1/1
Kick-Ass – Prime 1/1
The Last Five Years – HBO Max 1/1
The Last of the Mohicans – Paramount+ 1/1
The Little Stranger – Peacock 1/1
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World – Paramount+ 1/1
The Matrix Reloaded – Peacock 1/1
The Matrix Revolutions – Peacock 1/1
Memento – HBO Max 1/1
Midnight in Paris – Netflix 1/1
Mission: Impossible – Prime 1/1
Mission: Impossible II – Prime 1/1
Mission: Impossible III – Prime 1/1
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Prime 1/1
Moulin Rouge! – Paramount+ 1/1
Mystery Team – Prime 1/1
Napoleon Dynamite – Prime 1/1
The NeverEnding Story – Netflix 1/1
The Nutty Professor (1996) – Peacock 1/1
Once – Prime 1/1
Panic Room – Paramount+ 1/1
The Patriot – Netflix 1/1
Planes, Trains and Automobiles – Paramount+ 1/1
Predator – Prime 1/1
The Prestige – Prime 1/1
The Prince of Egypt – Peacock 1/1
Public Enemies – Peacock 1/1
Ray – Peacock 1/1
The Replacements – Peacock 1/1
Salt – Peacock 1/1
Saving Private Ryan – Prime 1/1
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – Peacock 1/1
Scream – Peacock 1/1
Scream 2 – Peacock 1/1
Seabiscuit – Peacock 1/1
Selena – Peacock 1/1
Selma – Peacock 1/1
Shrek – Peacock 1/1
Shrek 2 – Peacock 1/1
Something’s Gotta Give – Prime 1/1
Super Troopers – Prime 1/1
Taxi Driver – Netflix 1/1
Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Netflix 1/1
The Town – Netflix 1/1
True Grit (2010) – Netflix 1/1
Uncle Buck – Peacock 1/1
Unstoppable – Peacock 1/1
The Village – Prime 1/1
The Wedding Singer – Netflix 1/1
What About Bob? – Paramount+ 1/1
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape – Paramount+ 1/1
Winter’s Bone – Peacock 1/1
X-Men: First Class – Disney+ 1/1
The Cabin in the Woods – Peacock 1/3
The Sandlot – Disney+ 1/7
Malignant – HBO Max 1/27
NEW SHOWS
Top Pick
Search Party (Season 5) – HBO Max 1/7
The show has gone in a different direction every season, but somehow managed to be thematically consistent, focusing on the destructive narcissism of Dory (Alia Shawkat). This new season introduces Jeff Goldblum, who harnesses that mental disorder into a powerful new cult (no, seriously).
Other Recommendations
Ozark (Season 4, Part 1) – Netflix 1/21
OLD SHOWS & SPECIALS
Top Pick
ER (Complete Series) – HBO Max 1/14
While it was a much bigger deal when it hit Hulu a couple years ago (because it had never streamed before), the show now resides on the service of its parent company, where you can make it feel like Must See TV again by pairing it with Friends.
Other Recommendations
Patrice O’Neal: Killing Is Easy – Paramount+ 1/19