Once again, Netflix does not have much to offer its subscribers in terms of original films this month. The streaming service has, however, added a wide range of great movies from other studios to its platform. Whether you want to laugh along with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe in one of the best crime comedies of the past 30 years or escape to a fantasy world in a blockbuster that deserved more love than it got, Netflix fortunately has you covered.
Here are the best new-to-Netflix movies streaming in February.
“It” (2017)
Director Andy Muschietti’s “It” wisely makes the decision of only adapting one half of its Stephen King-penned source material. Set in the late 1980s, the film follows the adolescent members of the “Losers Club,” a group of misfits who bond over their shared outsiderness within their small town of Derry, Maine, and their experiences being stalked and attacked by a malevolent, sadistic shape-shifting entity that often assumes the form of a clown named Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). King’s novel jumps back and forth in time between its heroes’ childhoods and adult lives, but”It” only adapts their adolescent experiences.
That choice provides the film with a cohesive, unbroken focus that makes it easier to become fully immersed in its characters’ lives, as well as the space to make the most of every set piece and scare that it has to offer. Skarsgård is unrecognizable as Pennywise, and Muschietti uses ingenious visual gags and stunts to make the character seem as terrifying, omnipresent and unstoppable as possible. It is a Stephen King adaptation as a blockbuster amusement park ride — one that will have you screaming, squirming and cheering precisely when it wants you to.
“Magic Mike XXL” (2015)
2012’s “Magic Mike” surprised viewers by packing a surprisingly thoughtful, dramatic story about economic uncertainty and temptation into an easily sellable story about male strippers. It was a well-made film, but it was not nearly as raucous or sexy as its trailers would have you believe. Three years later, “Magic Mike XXL” subverted viewers’ expectations again by breaking entirely away from the darkness of its predecessor. The film, directed by longtime assistant director Gregory Jacobs and shot and edited by “Magic Mike” director Steven Soderbergh, is a full-blown roadtrip comedy about a bunch of jacked dudes searching for love.
It is ridiculous, playful, frothy and — unlike its predecessor — unabashedly sexy. It is a film designed to make viewers laugh and swoon, and it manages to do both of those things with endearing, confident swagger. There is a wonderfully juvenile spirit coursing through “Magic Mike XXL” that elevates its many detours and dance numbers, the most memorable of which being Joe Manganiello’s show-stopping convenience store performance of “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys that is done with the sole purpose of making the store’s female clerk (and you) grin from ear to ear.
“The Nice Guys” (2016)
There are some movies you watch and think, “I wish there were 20 of these,” and that certainly applies to Shane Black’s “The Nice Guys.” A buddy comedy from the man who wrote “Lethal Weapon” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” “The Nice Guys” stars Ryan Gosling as a private eye slowly circling the drain and Russell Crowe as an enforcer-for-hire who team up to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl (a then up-and-coming Margaret Qualley) in late ’70s Los Angeles. Before long, the unlikely duo begins to suspect that the disappearance of Qualley’s Amelia may be connected to not only the recent death of a porn star but also the American auto industry.
It is a zany, thrilling piece of pulp noir that mines pure, awe-inspiring gold out of the chemistry between Crowe and Gosling, the latter of whom gives a revelatory comedic performance as a P.I. with terrible instincts. The film is clever, hilarious and so satisfying that it is almost impossible to believe it underperformed at the box office. Its disappointing financial performance seemingly killed any chances of Black, Gosling and Crowe reuniting for a sequel, which is as big a missed opportunity as any that has come along in recent Hollywood history. The film’s fan base has grown so much in the past nine years that it barely qualifies as a cult classic anymore. It is just a classic now — pure and simple.
“Miss Congeniality” (2000)
“Miss Congeniality” helped cement Sandra Bullock as one of the biggest Hollywood stars of her generation. Directed by “Mystic Pizza” filmmaker Donald Petrie, the action comedy follows a no-nonsense female FBI agent (Bullock) who is asked to go undercover as a contestant at the Miss United States pageant after a terrorist threatens to bomb the competition. Its premise makes “Miss Congeniality” the kind of high-concept, star-driven mid-budget comedy that used to be commonplace in Hollywood (particularly throughout the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s) but which you can only really find new examples of now on streaming services like Netflix.
The film will make you long for the days when that was not the case. Featuring an all-star supporting cast consisting of Michael Caine, Candice Bergen, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson and Heather Burns, among others, “Miss Congeniality” is likable and entertaining in equal measure. While it runs longer than you might expect, you barely notice its 110 minutes as they pass by, and the film is anchored at all times by Bullock, an actress capable of being so effortlessly commanding onscreen that she can make elevating comedies like “Miss Congeniality” look easy. That may, in fact, be the best word to describe “Miss Congeniality.” It is an easy film — to watch, laugh with and love.
“Parasite” (2019)
It is rare to see a movie be as universally adored as “Parasite” was in 2019. The social thriller from South Korean master Bong Joon-ho won not only the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival but also multiple Oscars, including Best Picture, less than a year later. It helped shatter the unspoken boundary that long kept international films out of the main award races in America. At the time, it was not hard to see why it did so, either, and it still isn’t six years later. An anti-capitalist drama told in the form of a con-man thriller, the film follows the members of a poor South Korean family as they slowly infiltrate the life of a wealthy family — acquiring jobs as their employers’ chauffeur, tutor, art therapist and housekeeper whilst concealing their true identities.
Things, of course, quickly spiral out of control in a centerpiece sequence that is packed so full of close calls and shocking reveals that it will leave your nerves spent and your jaw on the floor. The house of cards that Bong carefully constructs in the film’s first half comes tumbling down in its second, and the destruction of its protagonists’ dreams lays the thriller’s themes about the unforgiving inequality of capitalism fully, heartbreakingly bare. That, in turn, paves the way for a third act that is haunting in both its violence and its refusal to offer any kind of comfort. “Parasite” is a thriller that, much like its title suggests, burrows deep inside of you without you even realizing it.
“Spencer” (2021)
The middle installment in director Pablo Larraín’s trilogy of films about iconic 20th century women, “Spencer” is an atmospheric dramatization of an infamously turbulent period in the life of Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart). The film follows Stewart’s Diana as she is forced to reunite with her powerful in-laws and estranged husband for Christmas, all while experiencing intense scrutiny from the media, weighing the pros and cons of divorce and being haunted by visions of wronged women throughout British history (namely, Anne Boleyn). It is a visually stunning drama about the terror you feel when you realize you have reached a major crossroads in your life.
Drawing visual inspiration from — of all sources — Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” “Spencer” follows its heroine as she tries to find a place for herself in a series of spaces that feel increasingly hostile to her. Stewart’s on-edge, physically uncomfortable performance only heightens that overarching sense of claustrophobia that Larraín wants to evoke. While “Spencer” is full of somber and sometimes upsetting images, though, the film also has a campy edge befitting its inevitably overblown story of royal domestic drama. It is a beguiling, strange film that tries and succeeds to offer some actual emotional insight into the life of one of the late 20th century’s most tragic public figures.
“Watcher” (2022)
Director Chloe Okuno’s feature directorial debut “Watcher,” is a spare, captivating Hitchockian thriller. Coming to Netflix on Feb. 25, the underrated 2022 horror film follows Julia (modern-day scream queen Maika Monroe), a young American woman who relocates with her husband Francis (Karl Glusman) to Bucharest. One night, Julia is unnerved when she sees a man (Burn Gorman) watching her through his window. After learning that a serial killer is also loose on the streets of Bucharest, Julia becomes increasingly convinced that there is more going on with her mysterious neighbor than just an innocent bit of people-watching.
Executed with slick, precise style by Okuno, “Watcher” engulfs you in the paranoid world of its protagonist, whose life grows more nightmarish the less her husband believes her claims. From its elegant opening scene to its last, “Watcher” effectively wrings tension and terror out of the mere acts of watching and being watched. The film makes you realize just how easily a person’s gaze can begin to feel invasive and violent, and it uses the discomfort created by that realization to great effect in a climax that hits like a shotgun blast to the face.
“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (2023)
A great example of how even the most blatant IP cash-ins can still work, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” is an immensely charming fantasy adventure. Helmed by “Game Night” filmmakers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the underrated blockbuster is based on the “Dungeons & Dragons” tabletop roleplaying game and borrows many of its defining elements, including its characters classes and Forgotten Realms setting. The film follows a bard (Chris Pine) and barbarian (Michelle Rodriguez) who are forced to team up with a bumbling young sorcerer (Justice Smith) and a rebellious druid (Sophia Lillis) to steal a powerful magical artifact. In order to succeed, they must also outsmart a nefarious rogue (Hugh Grant) and his dangerous wizard ally (Daisy Head).
“Honor Among Thieves” has plenty for fantasy enthusiasts to geek out about, but it is also more widely appealing than casual moviegoers may think. The film, for starters, does not take itself too seriously. Instead, it playfully leans into even the most absurd aspects of its fantasy world. By adopting the same structure as a heist thriller, Goldstein and Daley also get to pack the film with genuinely entertaining, briskly paced action sequences. Even more importantly, “Honor Among Thieves” finds genuine magic in the chemistry between Rodriguez, Pine, Smith and Lillis. In doing so, it movingly captures the camaraderie that has long been at the heart of “Dungeons & Dragons,” and which has kept many adventuring parties together to keep playing it throughout the years.
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