In a world of name new movies, sequence, and specials, our choose of the month is a film from 1969.
Crossing the Streams is our sequence of guides all of the choices hitting the massive streaming companies every month. This time we’re testing what’s new to streaming on Amazon Prime in February 2023, together with Downhill Racer, two Rambo movies, a brand new Dave Franco directorial effort, and extra!
Prime Decide of the Month for February 2023
Robert Redford and Gene Hackman are massive names, however their single onscreen pairing is a movie that doesn’t fairly get the eye it deserves today. Downhill Racer (1969) is a sports activities drama about downhill snowboarding with a deal with one proficient athlete who’s not too long ago joined the U.S. Olympic workforce. Redford is that athlete, a singularly targeted man whose sole objective is the descent, and Hackman is the workforce coach attempting to carry them collectively and produce them to victory. Director Michael Ritchie resists the urge to make this a conventional sports activities film, and as an alternative, we spend a stunning quantity of quiet time each on and off the slopes. It’s a movie in regards to the sporting mindset, the psychological focus required to attain greatness, and the toll it may well generally tackle the particular person striving for that greatness. It is a stunning and compelling movie, and it belongs within the rotation for sports activities film followers.
A Prime Unique I’m Recommending Regardless of Dave Franco’s Involvement
Look, I can’t clarify it, however Dave Franco simply grates me the incorrect method. (James is clearly the true villain of the household, however I’m not letting Dave off the hook.) He’s not too long ago made the bounce into directing, and whereas I’m no fan of his debut (The Rental, 2020), I’m hopeful about his follow-up. Any individual I Used to Know (premieres February tenth) as soon as once more stars Alison Brie, this time because the lead as an alternative of a part of an ensemble, as a younger lady who returns to her hometown to find truths about herself. It appears to be like to be a rom-com, and fortunately Franco is retaining himself behind the digital camera. His absence received’t be felt as he’s correctly stacked the supporting gamers with abilities like Kiersey Clemons, Jay Ellis, Danny Pudi (Neighborhood reunion!), Haley Joel Osment, and Julie Hagerty.
Horrors!
Paramount Photos
Jack Finney’s novel has been tailored quite a few instances to the display screen, however whereas most of them are good, solely Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Physique Snatchers (1978) exists as a goddamn masterpiece. Aliens invade as spores and duplicate people in an try and take over the Earth, and the result’s a shocking exploration into paranoia, worry, and doubt. Everybody rightly praises the ultimate scene, however the entire rattling film is executed with such a exact eye for character and suspense that not even a number of rewatches can dampen the expertise. Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Artwork Hindle, Veronica Cartwright, and extra ship an ensemble of associates and strangers compelled to confront an ominous risk, and the horror is palpable.
On the far much less beloved aspect of 70s horror movies sits John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy (1979), however I nonetheless rely myself a giant, massive fan. Robert Foxworth and Talia Shire star as a pair investigating the environmental influence of a logging firm’s actions, and what they discover is one thing monstrous. Mutated animals are discovered, together with a mama bear hell-bent on tearing her method by anybody she crosses — a child attempting to flee in a sleeping bag will get knocked right into a rock the place he explodes in a flurry of feathers, and it’s wonderful — see scientists and activists becoming a member of forces. It’s a foolish movie regardless of the intense commentary, however for followers of 70s horror, eco-horror, and creature options ought to give it a spin.
Adrian Lyne’s Jacob’s Ladder (1990) flips the important acclaim meter as soon as once more with a terrific movie about going through mortality. Tim Robbins provides a strong efficiency as a Vietnam veteran struggling flashbacks, delusions, and worse as he processes the loss of life of his son. Elizabeth Peña provides an equally affecting supporting flip, and Lyne fills the movie with darkish surprise, fantastical imagery, and ambiguity. You possibly can solely see the ending for the primary time as soon as, however rewatches reward with a extra detailed deal with the nightmarish imagery and empathy that builds for Robbins’ character. The movie was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and produced in the identical yr as his different supernatural gem, Ghost. That romantic comedy was the larger hit, however this box-office bomb is each bit as memorable.
Bullets!
Talking of movies that haven’t gotten the love they deserve, Antoine Fuqua’s Tears of the Solar (2003) is a banger of an motion film with a stunning quantity of coronary heart. Bruce Willis headlines as chief of a Particular ops workforce despatched into Nigeria to rescue a physician (performed by the nice Monica Bellucci). She refuses to go away locals to the violent whims of the marauding military, so the workforce reluctantly agrees to maneuver all of them out on foot. Cole Hauser, Eamonn Walker, Johnny Messner, and extra make up the workforce, and there’s a powerful sense of honor and braveness to their endeavor. A excessive physique rely, some robust motion set-pieces, and a commanding efficiency by Willis make this one a good time.
Whereas some franchises by no means get a foothold, Sylvester Stallone milked the success of First Blood (1982) into a virtually four-decade sequence. Rambo (2008) was one thing of a triumphant return for the character — it wasn’t beloved critically, however audiences flocked to theaters and had been rewarded with a imply, bloody, and simple motion image. John Rambo heads to Burma and turns the military into a lot chopped liver — a scene with Rambo manning a .50 caliber machine gun exploding our bodies into chunks — as a part of a rescue effort. It’s a grim and gory motion image, and Stallone provides an offended however somber efficiency. 2019’s Rambo: Final Blood can also be streaming this month.
2013 noticed two films hit theaters about terrorists concentrating on the White Home, and I’m a giant fan of each. White Home Down (2013) is the extra blatantly comedic of the 2 and value twice as a lot as Olympus Has Fallen — that means it’s additionally the one which didn’t make a revenue. Blame Roland Emmerich’s penchant for extreme spending, however that doesn’t cease the movie from being a blast with enjoyable motion set-pieces and entertaining turns from Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx. It’s arguably Emmerich’s finest and most rewatchable movie, with motion targeted extra on pure thrills than making any sort of assertion or brutal influence.
The Full Prime Record for February 2023
Launch DateTitleNote
2/1Alex Cross (2012)
All My Life (2020)freevee
Virtually Well-known (2000)
Are We There But? (2005)
A.I. Synthetic Intelligence (2001)
Unhealthy Occasions on the El Royale (2018)freevee
The Finest Man (1999)
The Bounty Hunter (2010)freevee
The Breadwinner (2017)
The Name (2013)
Chaplin (1993)
Youngsters Of Heaven (1999)
The Fixed Gardener (2005)freevee
Destroyer (2018)freevee
Satan In A Blue Gown (1995)
The Dilemma (2011)
Don Jon (2013)freevee
Downhill Racer (1969)
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012)freevee
Straightforward Advantage (2008)freevee
Enron: The Smartest Guys within the Room (2005)
Uncovered (2016)
Worry and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)freevee
The 5-Yr Engagement (2012)freevee
Meals, Inc (2009)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)freevee
4 Brothers (2005)
French Postcards (1979)
From Justin To Kelly (2003)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
The Glass Protect (1995)
Half Brothers (2020)freevee
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
The Assist (2011)
Right here Comes the Growth (2012)freevee
Hidden Figures (2016)freevee
The Hustle (2019)
I, Robotic (2004)
Inside Man (2006)
Invasion of the Physique Snatchers (1978)
Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
Kevin Hart Let Me Clarify (2013)
King Kong (1976)
The Final Track (2010)
A League of their Personal (1992)freevee
Life Companions (2014)
Madea’s Witness Safety (2012)
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)freevee
The Mortal Devices: Metropolis of Bones (2013)freevee
Homicide on the Orient Specific (2017)freevee
Nacho Libre (2006)
By no means Been Kissed (1999)
A Evening on the Roxbury (1998)
November Criminals (2017)freevee
P.S. I Love You (2007)
The Put up (2017)freevee
Prophecy (1979)
Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977)
Rambo (2008)
Rambo: Final Blood (2019)
Salt (2010)freevee
Sarafina! (1992)
Savannah (2013)freevee
Scary Film 4 (2006)
Seabiscuit (2003)
Secret in Their Eyes (2015)freevee
Shaft (2000)
The Form of Water (2017)freevee
Shrek (2001)
Shrek 2 (2004)
Silence (2016)freevee
One thing Wild (1986)
Soul Meals (1997)
Southside With You (2016)
Sugar (2009)
The Change (2010)freevee
The Proficient Mr. Ripley (1999)
Tears of the Solar (2003)freevee
Toni Morrison: The Items I Am (2019)
Tsotsi (2006)
Turbulence (1997)
Tyson (2009)
Underclassman (2005)
Venus and Serena (2013)
The Vow (2012)freevee
White Home Down (2013)
Who’s Your Caddy? (2007)
2/3Harlem Season 2 (2023)Prime Unique
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022)
Rowdy (2023)freevee
2/7Beast (2022)
Brian and Charles (2022)
2/8Are We Achieved But? (2007)
Hit & Run (2012)freevee
2/9Crank (2006)
2/10Somebody I Used to Know (2023)Prime Unique
2/11If I Keep (2014)
2/13Racetime (2018)freevee
2/14Halloween Ends (2022)
2/16Fatale (2020)freevee
2/17Carnival Row Season 2 (2023)Prime Unique
The Head of Joaquín Murrieta (2023)Prime Unique
Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)
2/19A Easy Favor (2018)
2/21Ice Princess Lily (2018)freevee
Smile (2022)
2/22Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
2/24The Guide (2023)Prime Unique
Comply with all of our month-to-month streaming guides.
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