17 Best Movies New to Streaming in February: French Dispatch, Nightmare Alley and

It’s a big month for streaming as Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” and Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley,” two of the most acclaimed 2021-22 awards contenders, both arrive on HBO Max. Their streaming arrivals couldn’t be better timed as Oscar nominations are right around the corner. “Nightmare Alley” is also streaming on Hulu, giving more than just HBO Max subscribers the chance to see del Toro’s star-studded noir drama.

Another big title debuting on streaming this February is Shawn Levy’s “Free Guy,” starring Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer. The original video game-set movie arrives on Disney Plus towards the end of the month after it had a strong showing in theaters last year during the pandemic.

Check out the full list of the best films new to streaming (and which platforms to stream them on) in the list below.

Nightmare Alley (Feb. 1 on Hulu and HBO Max)
Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” struggled at the pandemic box office after opening last December, grossing only $10 million in the U.S. The star-studded noir now arrives on streaming and will hopefully find the audience it deserves. Bradley Cooper stars as a con man who rises the ranks from downtrodden carnival worker to esteemed illusionist, but not without making a few enemies along the way. “Nightmare Alley” is nominated for eight Critics Choice Awards, including best picture and best director. Variety film critic Peter Debruge called the film a “brauva carnival noir,” adding, “The ‘Shape of Water’ director assembles a dream ensemble for this spectacular sideshow attraction, including Cate Blanchett as the iciest femme fatale we’ve seen in ages.”
The French Dispatch (Feb. 25 on HBO Max)
Wes Anderson’s delightful anthology movie “The French Dispatch” arrives on HBO Max this month for anyone who didn’t catch it on the festival circuit or in theaters last year. The movie tells three short stories and features Anderson’s most star-studded ensemble to date: Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Christoph Waltz, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman and Anjelica Huston.
Variety film critic Peter Debruge named “The French Dispatch” the second best movie of 2021, writing, “Fortunately, Anderson has shared his impressions of Paris, playfully reimagined in this endlessly inventive portmanteau film — meaning we get several movies for the price of one. Like a great issue of The New Yorker magazine, his dense zibaldone of character sketches and cross-cultural observations is nearly too much to devour in one sitting, yielding more on repeat visits.”
The Wrestler (Feb. 1 on Amazon Prime)
Darren Aronofsky won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival with his 2008 psychological sports drama “The Wrestler,” starring Mickey Rourke as a washed up wrestler who is clinging onto the success he found decades ago while trying to mend a broken relationship with his daughter. As Variety wrote in its original review: “Talk about comebacks. After many years in the wilderness and being considered MIA professionally, Mickey Rourke, just like the washed-up character he plays, attempts a return to the big show in “The Wrestler.” Not only does he pull it off, but Rourke creates a galvanizing, humorous, deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances. An elemental story simply and brilliantly told, Darren Aronofsky’s fourth feature is a winner from every possible angle.”
The Beta Test (Feb 4. on Hulu)
Jim Cummings has been making a name for himself in the indie film world with well-received directorial efforts such as “Thunder Road” (2018) and “The Wolf of Snow Hollow” (2020). His latest, “The Beta Test,” was co-directed and co-written with PJ McCabe. The dark comedy eviscerates the Hollywood food chain by following a talent agent whose life is upended after taking part in a secret sex pact. Variety’s Owen Gleiberman described “The Beta Test” as “a film-world satire, an erotic thriller and a meditation on identity” in his review, adding, “it’s a down-the-rabbit-hole, daily-life-as-Twilight-Zone digital-age erotic horror film about the sick soul of Los Angeles…’The Beta Test’ is a furtive satire of Hollywood corruption, a libidinous thriller about how the treacherous risks of adultery have been magnified by #MeToo and the age of digital tracking, and a nightmare of Internet consumerism run amok.”
Almost Famous (Feb. 1 on Hulu)
Cameron Crowe’s rock and roll movie classic “Almost Famous” returns to streaming this month courtesy of Hulu. A semi-autobiographical account of Crowe’s stint as a teenage writer for Rolling Stone magazine, “Almost Famous” stars Patrick Fugit as a young music journalist who tours the country with a rock band in hopes of getting his first story published. The cast includes Billy Crudup as the rock band’s frontman Russell Hammond, Kate Hudson as groupie Penny Lane, and Frances McDormand as Fugit’s character’s mother. From Variety’s original review: “It’s a tribute to first-time screen actor Fugit that he manages to hold center stage effectively in such a circus; his innocent but open-minded enthusiasm is in perfect synch with the affable tone Crowe establishes with his script and direction. With her profoundly articulate diction contrasting sharply with the more amorphous elocution of the younger generation, McDormand is simply smashing.”
3:10 to Yuma (Feb. 1 on HBO Max)
James Mangold directs Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in this Western based on the 1953 Elmore Leonard short story about an impoverished rancher who signs up to bring a notorious outlaw to justice. The supporting cast includes Peter Fonda, Gretchen Mol, Ben Foster, Dallas Roberts, Alan Tudyk, Vinessa Shaw and Logan Lerman. Leonard’s novel was previously turned into a film in 1957, but Mangold’s update earned strong reviews and $70 million at the world box office. From Variety’s original review: “‘3:10 to Yuma’ is a tense, rugged redo of a film that was pretty good the first time around. James Mangold’s remake walks a fine line in retaining many of the original’s qualities while smartly shaking things up a bit.”
Love & Mercy (Feb. 1 on HBO Max)
Bill Pohlad shakes up the biographical drama format with “Love & Mercy,” an intimate look at Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson’s struggle with mental illness. Screenwriters Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner bounce between two periods of Wilson’s life, the 1960s (where he’s played by Paul Dano) and the 1980s (John Cusack), to create a dialogue between the artistic side and the personal side of Wilson’s life. From Variety’s original review: “A wonderfully innervating cure for the common musical biopic, Bill Pohlad’s ‘Love & Mercy’ vibrantly illuminates two major breakthroughs in the life of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson…it’s miles removed from the cookie-cutter approach taken by so many other rock bios. This finely crafted split portrait should win over music nerds skeptical of yet another complicated life being reduced to a series of highlight-reel moments. Paul Dano and John Cusack’s expert performances should attract an appreciative reception.”
Donnie Darko (Feb. 1 on HBO Max)
If there’s one movie new to streaming this month that Lady Gaga wants you to see, it’s probably “Donnie Darko.” Richard Kelly’s 2001 cult classic stars a young Jake Gyllenhaal as troubled teenager who has visions of a rabbit that tells him the world is going to end in just 28 days. Gaga told Variety last month that “Donnie Darko” is one of the movies that inspired her most growing up along with “The Wizard of Oz” and “Goodfellas.” As Gaga told Jake Gyllenhaal as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series: “In the world of music, but in fashion as well, ‘Donnie Darko,’ it’s religion. It really is. And if you know your shit, you know Donnie Darko.”
Free Guy (Feb. 23 on Disney Plus)
With $331 million at the worldwide box office, Shawn Levy’s “Free Guy” was the rare original Hollywood tentpole to get people into theaters during the pandemic in 2021. Ryan Reynolds stars as a character in a hugely popular multiplayer online video game who gains consciousness and rebels against the corporate overlords as the game’s deletion draws closer. Variety’s Peter Debruge wrote in his review: “Pulling ideas from everywhere, this at-times unwieldy mashup of multiple-reality blockbusters like ‘The Matrix’ and ‘The Lego Movie’ yields a surprisingly original crowd-pleaser…’Free Guy’ is all but guaranteed to make audiences think differently about non-player characters. The medium is still in its infancy, and 40 years from now (if Musk is right), when those virtual characters are sophisticated enough to be indistinguishable from people, it could be fun to go back and see how much ‘Free Guy’ got right.”
12 Years a Slave (Feb 1. on HBO Max)
Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” won the Academy Award for Best Picture after nabbing a total of nine nominations. Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a galvanizing performance as Solomon Northup, a free Black man in New York state who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. McQueen uses his art film background to depict the horrors of American slavery with unflinching and unrelenting brutality. McQueen’s affinity for long uninterrupted takes create sequences that force the viewer to absorb the full impact of the mistreatment on display. As Variety wrote in its original review: “Though arguably too harsh for young eyes, “12 Years a Slave” will serve as an important teaching tool, giving audiences who’ve never witnessed the dynamics of slavery an impression of how the system worked.”
Batman Begins / The Dark Knight (Feb. 1 on Netflix)
Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” trilogy has been available to stream on HBO Max for months, but now the first two films in the franchise are returning to Netflix this month. What is there to say about Nolan’s Batman movies that hasn’t been said already? The “Batman” movie franchise became a laughing stock with Joel Schumacher’s infamous 1997 disaster “Batman & Robin,” starring George Clooney in a performance even George Clooney hates and featuring that notorious bat-suit-with-nipples. The only place for the franchise to go after “Batman & Robin” was up. Enter Nolan, whose 2005 reboot “Batman Begins” brought a visceral level of realism to the superhero genre three years before “The Dark Knight” shattered comic book movie conventions even more. Nolan’s Batman films are a deep dive into Bruce Wayne’s tortured psyche. The superhero movie genre has never been the same.
The Exorcist (Feb. 1 on Netflix)
William Friedkin’s iconic horror movie “The Exorcist” is back on Netflix this month. Adapted by William Peter Blatty from his own novel of the same name, “The Exorcist” stars Ellen Burstyn as a mother who attempts to save her possessed daughter (Linda Blair) by hiring two Catholic priests (Jason Miller, Max von Sydow) to perform an exorcism. From Variety’s original review: “William Friedkin’s film of William Peter Blatty’s novel ‘The Exorcist’ is an expert telling of a supernatural horror story. The well cast film makes credible in powerful laymen’s terms the rare phenomenon of diabolic possession… The climactic sequences assault the senses and the intellect with pure cinematic terror.”
Warrior (Feb. 1 on Netflix)
Gavin O’Connor’s “Warrior” is one of the more moving sports dramas of the 2010s. The film casts Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy as brothers who are pitted against one another in a mixed martial arts tournament, forcing them to confront their shared history and their family bonds. Nick Nolte was nominated for the Oscar for best supporting actor thanks to his performance as the father of Edgerton and Hardy’s characters. From Variety’s original review: “’Warrior’ is an improbably effective and affecting mix of raw emotions and exciting smackdowns… Occasionally recalling the bruised and brooding virility of a young Marlon Brando, Hardy is arrestingly intense as Tommy, by turns implosive and explosive as he alternates between guilt and rage, savagery and self-loathing. In perfect counterpoint, Edgerton winningly portrays Brendan as a sensitive and passionate man who must dredge up inner furies — and feed on mounting desperation — to emerge victorious in his MMA battles.”
Borat (Feb. 1 on Hulu)
Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat” was a comedy sensation upon a release in November 2006, grossing $262 million at the worldwide box office, winning Baron Cohen the Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy and earning an Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay. While Baron Cohen’s sequel, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” is on Amazon Prime Video, the 2006 original is now streaming for Hulu subscribers. From Variety’s original review: “Credit is no doubt due to the pic’s off-camera crew for maintaining straight faces while filming in order not to give the game away to the unsuspecting subjects. Likewise, Cohen’s seeming powers of improvisation, ability to stay in character and still come up with funny lines in hostile conditions impresses throughout.”
Ali (Feb. 1 on Hulu)
Will Smith is expected to land an Oscar nomination for best actor this month thanks to his performance in “King Richard,” which makes the arrival of Michael Mann’s biographical sports drama “Ali” on Hulu all the more fitting. Smith earned his first career Oscar nomination thanks to his performance here as boxer Muhammad Ali. From Variety’s original review: “Michael Mann’s ambitious and cold study of the great boxer and cultural icon possesses an informed, intelligent perspective and is never uninteresting to watch… Technically, the production displays Mann’s customary mastery of image and sound. Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography has a deliberate rough edge that lends a verite vibrancy to the images, while John Myhre’s impeccable production design meshes seamlessly with the many actual historical locations Mann insisted upon using. Craft contributions are first-class all the way.”
Chinatown (Feb. 1 on HBO Max)
“Chinatown” earned 11 Oscars nominations at the 47th Academy Awards, winning the prize for original screenplay. From Variety’s original rave review: “‘Chinatown’ is an outstanding picture. Robert Towne’s complex but literate and orderly screenplay takes gumshoe Jack Nicholson on a murder manhunt all over the Los Angeles, where Faye Dunaway, also above the title, is the wife of a dead city official. Roman Polanski’s American made film, his first since ‘Rosemary’s Baby,’ shows him again in total command of talent and physical filmmaking elements…There has been a lot of advance interest by the trade in this film. It lives up to the bruited expectations.”
Three Identical Strangers (Feb. 27 on Hulu)
Tim Wardle’s 2017 documentary “Three Identical Strangers” tells the constantly-surprising true story of triplets separated at birth. When the three men find each other as young adults, their reunion uncovers their roles in a much-larger scientific study that none of them knew they were a part of as children. Variety’s Peter Debruge called the documentary “a gripping, stranger-than-fiction account of a real-world medical conspiracy” in his rave review, adding, “The film begins as a human-interest story and builds to an impressive work of investigative journalism into how and why they were placed with the families who raised them.”
Bonus: Kimi (Feb. 10 on HBO Max)
Critical reviews for “Kimi” won’t arrive until closer to the HBO Max original’s streaming launch, but a new Steven Soderbergh movie is always cause for celebration. The director’s recent streaming run has included well-received efforts such as Netflix’s sports drama “High Flying Bird” and two HBO Max originals: “Let Them All Talk” and “No Sudden Move.” Next up is “Kimi,” starring the always-magnetic Zoe Kravitz as an agoraphobic tech worker who discovers a violent crime courtesy of a data stream she’s reviewing. Think of it as a cyber-thriller spin on the classic “Rear Window” format. The supporting cast includes Rita Wilson, India de Beaufort, Emily Kuroda, Byron Bowers, Jaime Camil, Jacob Vargas, Derek DelGaudio and Erika Christensen.

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Update: 2024-01-13