Streaming Roulette: Netflix & Prime for January

Curiously Netflix and Prime have no recent movies available to start 2019 with.  In the first half of January Netflix only has Solo: A Star Wars Story (beginning on the 9th). The situation at Prime is a bit better with Leave No Trace (3rd), Beautiful Boy (4th), and Eighth Grade 13th) all available soon. In other words, now is a great time to hit the actual movie theaters and catch up on Oscar hopefuls since the streaming services won't help much. Nevertheless here's a perusal of 'new'  streaming options.

As is our practice we've frozen the films at utterly random moments without cheating (whatever comes up comes up) for this quick preview. Let's go...

What just happened?!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) - Netflix
Remember this turkey? If you've forgotten our deepest apologies for bringing it up! But all of the other good Indiana Jones movies are also available starting today on Netflix including the 1981 classic that started it all and earned those 8 Oscar nods and 5 statues.

Is that everyone?
[KABOOM]

Watchmen (2008) - Netflix
We were secretly hoping to freeze frame on the radioactive blue penis but we'll have to settle for costumed nipples... they aren't just for Joel Schumacher's Batman!

[Laughter]

Jane Eyre (2011) - Prime
This movie was ripped off at the Oscars. Cary Fukunaga's precise and beautifully acted adaptation fared better here at TFE where it was up for Adapted Screenplay, Costumes, and Cinematography

See you fattie?!? Did it take you a while to come up with that one?
[MOCKING LAUGHTER]

Happy Feet (2006) - Netflix
Still so weird that this is George Miller's Oscar, when he's got Mad Max Fury Road, The Witches of Eastwick, Lorenzo's Oil, The Road Warrior, and Babe: Pig in the City on his resume.

Are you all right?

Brazil (1985) - Prime
No one is all right in this visionary dystopia from Terry Gilliam! Winner of Best Picture and Best Director from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association in 1985. It was then nominated for Original Screenplay and Art Direction at the Oscars.  

[SIGH]

Hell or High Water (2016) - Netflix
SIGH is right, Chris Pine. This is a good movie -- we're so proud of Daniel Walber's piece on it in "The Furniture" two years back -- but SIGH...it's slim pickings this month on streaming channels!

Also Streaming on NETFLIX in January

• A Series of Unfortunate Events, S3
• Across the Universe
• Babel
• Black Hawk Down
• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
• City of God
• The Dark Knight
• Definitely, Maybe
• The Departed
• Godzilla (1998)
• I Know What You Did Last Summer
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
• It Takes Two
• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
• Jersey Boys
• Mona Lisa Smile
• Mr. Bean’s Holiday
• The Mummy
• The Mummy Returns
• Pan’s Labyrinth
• Pulp Fiction
• The Strangers
• Swingers
• Tears of the Sun
• xXx
• xXx: State of the Union

January 2nd

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail

January 4th

• And Breathe Normally
• Call My Agent!, S3
• El Potro: Unstoppable
• Lionheart

January 9th

• Godzilla The Planet Eater
• Solo: A Star Wars Story

January 10th

• When Heroes Fly

January 11th

• Friends from College, S2
• The Last Laugh
• ReMastered: Massacre at the Stadium
• Sex Education
• Solo

January 15th

• Revenger

January 16th

• American Gangster

January 17th

• The Assassination of Gianni Versace

January 18th

• Carmen Sandiego
• Close
• Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
• GIRL
• Grace and Frankie, S5
• IO
• Soni
• Trigger Warning with Killer Mike
• Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, S5

January 21st

• Justice

January 24th

• Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
• Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

January 25th

• Animas
• Black Earth Rising
• Club de Cuervos, S4
• Kingdom
• Medici: The Magnificent
• Polar
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, S4pt2

January 27th

• Z Nation, S5

January 29th

• Ant-Man and the Wasp

January 30th

• The Incredibles 2

Also streaming on AMAZON PRIME in January

• The Art of the Shine
• A Beautiful Mind
• Alpha Dog
• Brazil
• Breaking Big, S1
• First Civilizations, S1
• Frontline, season 36
• GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II
• Going to War
• The Jazz Ambassadors
• Nova Wonders, S1
• Reprisal
• Rwanda: The Royal Tour
• Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

January 3rd

• Leave No Trace

January 4th

• Beautiful Boy
• Sherlock Gnomes

January 11th

• Informer, S2

January 12th

• Final Score

January 13th

• Eighth Grade

January 16th

• The Debt

January 18th

• The Grand Tour, S3

January 19th

• Fahrenheit 11/9

January 25th

• Escobar: Paradise Lost
• Four More Shots Please!, S1

January 29th

• Endeavour, S5

Comments

[Manos]

I hope that Netflix and other streaming platforms will start releasing more classic films. And i don't mean only the more famous ones like "Casablanca" or "Lawrence of Arabia" but more obscure titles. They only offer a very few for now.

[John T]

Manos-I had such high hopes for FilmStruck filling that gap, and am still heartbroken it’s gone.

[Suzanne]

There do seem to be some good classic films on Prime right now (I found A Farewell to Arms, The Awful Truth, and Carnival of Souls), but there was so much released today I didn't have the patience to wade through it all. Maybe some kind soul will put together a list on Letterboxd.

[PoliVamp]

The only way to get classics seems to be to also get their DVD delivery service, sadly

[MDA]

@to all - Criterion is coming out with their own streaming service in the spring so that can hopefully fill that gap (at least for those in the US and Canada). Here's the link.

[catbaskets]

Ooh great, a lot of things I need to catch up on like Leave No Trace and (gulp) Brazil. Also I moved to TX in 2016 so it has felt like I needed to see Hell or High Water. Looking forward to re-watching Eighth Grade, too. Now to find the time!

[Jorge]

@Manos- At least you do have classics. Netflix plataform in terms of classic films in Latin America is shamefull. It practicly has no b/n films.

[Steve]

Obsessed with the fact that Grace and Frankie is about to air its fifth season. It’s a masterpiece!

[kermit_the_frog]

Prime and Netflix in the UK are gradually getting better -

- On Prime I currently have Things To Come, Repulsion and M on my watchlist

- On Netflix I recently watched Touch Of Evil

I mean, it's not AMAZING (much Classic Hollywood, pre-90s and arthouse cinema is limited to paid sub-channels on Prime like BFI, MUBI etc) but there must be an audience or Amazon wouldn't be trying to undermine the paid channels mentioned...

[Pam]

Chris Pine! He is actually my favorite of the Chris quad, and this was a criminally underseen movie.

Speaking of streaming, we got CBS All Access for a week (hubby wanted to watch Star Trek:Discovery). It's just a damn shame the world is missing out on the terrific performances of Christine Baranski, Cush Jumbo, Rose Leslie, and the rest of the cast in The Good Fight. I've only seen three episodes, but completely hooked. Wonder if this streams on Netflix in the UK and Canada?

And for classic movies, you can often find them on Youtube, Dailymotion.com, or Vimeo, and some times, Tubi. Usually, they're broken into 10-20 minute parts, but it's better than nothing.

[Jaragon]

I agree with Pam - on "Hell and High Water" Pine gives an Oscar worthy performance and that is a very satisfying movie

[Volvagia]

And also coming is Punisher S2. Yep. Probably the 18th.

[rrrich7]

I wonder why you only cover films from Netflix and Amazon. What about Hulu and HBONow?

[Sony]

Well, it's pretty interesting idea. Thank you for sharing such a nice post