New to Disney +
“The Muppet Show” seasons 1-5
Start streaming: 19th of February
Fans of puppeteer and filmmaker Jim Henson have waited a while for his TV series, “The Muppet Show,” – perhaps his most enduring masterpiece – to hit a subscription streaming service. For five seasons and 120 episodes between 1976 and 1981, Henson and his team of writers, craftsmen and performers brought joy and humor to the small screen by imagining a low-rent variety show directed by high-profile madmen. From its catchy songs to a number of A-list guest hosts (including pretty much every well-known entertainer of the era), The Muppet Show helped define popular culture of the day while remaining family-friendly. The full series has never been released in a home video format and is not currently aired on any US cable network. Hence, this addition to Disney + is an important event.
Also arriving:
19th of February
“Flora & Ulysses”
February 26th
“Myth: A Frozen Story”
New to Amazon
‘Bliss’
Start streaming: February 5th
In his films “Another Earth” and “I Origins”, writer and director Mike Cahill thought about subdued character studies that circumvent the boundaries of science fiction, about big ideas – alternative universes, the existence of God. In his latest film, Bliss, Owen Wilson plays Greg, a grumpy divorce officer who is in the middle of one of the worst days of his life when he meets Isabel (Salma Hayek), a homeless eccentric who convinces him they are alive Computer simulation controlled with the help of special crystals. Is she right, or are Greg and Isabel both mentally ill drug addicts? Cahill leaves this question unanswered for as long as possible while both scenarios seem plausible. The result is an odd journey through multiple realities that moves faster than Cahill’s previous films, but ultimately still deals with the existential fear of ordinary people.
‘Tell me your secrets’
Start streaming: 19th of February
The secrets in the title of the mystery / suspense series “Tell Me Your Secrets” are buried deep and are slowly being discovered over the course of the first season of the series with 10 episodes. Across several interwoven storylines, creator Harriet Warner follows three main characters: a hidden woman (Lily Rabe), a mother (Amy Brenneman) who is stubbornly struggling to find out what happened to her long-missing daughter, and an offer from a psychopath (Hamish Linklater) his help with law enforcement to atone for old crimes. The sometimes surprising and often grim details of the connections between these people and the mistakes they seek to make up to advance the narrative of a crime show how difficult it is for victims of violence and trauma to get on with their lives.
Also arriving:
February 12th
“The Hunter’s Anthology”
“The map of tiny perfect things”
19th of February
“The boarding school: Las Cumbres”
New to Hulu
“Nomadland”
Start streaming: 19th of February
Slice-of-life drama Nomadland, which is likely to be a strong contender for the Academy Awards this year, is a vibrant and emotional portrayal of a growing American subculture: people who live in mobile homes and roam the country and working in succession from seasonal jobs. Frances McDormand plays a young widow who has spent most of her life in a closed factory and is now getting used to living on the street, with the help of some fellow travelers who have turned their circumstances from paycheck to paycheck into a quasi- communal lifestyle. The author and director Chloé Zhao, who easily adapts the non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder, avoids major confrontations and serious conspiracies and instead emphasizes the everyday stress and the unexpected wonders of a life on the edge.
“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”
Start streaming: February 26th
The source material for the historical drama “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” distinguishes it from a typical biopic. Instead of covering a person’s entire life, director Lee Daniels and screenwriter Suzan-Lori Parks adapted passages from Johann Hari’s exposé “Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs,” in which the author uses profiles of some noted addicts including Billie Holiday and traffickers for criticizing the way some governments have approached drug trafficking. Grammy-nominated R&B singer Andra Day gives an exciting performance as jazz legend Holiday, who scandalized the establishment with the anti-lynch song “Strange Fruit” that – according to this raw and hard hitting film – some reactionaries in the US government conspired to use their drug habit to smother them.
Also arriving:
February 1st
“Owner”
February 12th
“Into the Dark: Tentacles”
13th February
“Hip Hop Uncovered”
February 25
“Snowfall” Season 4
New at HBO max
‘The investigation’
Start streaming: February 1st
The accomplished Danish screenwriter and director Tobias Lindholm explores what happened after the dismembered body of Swedish journalist Kim Wall was found scattered in Koge Bay, Denmark in 2017 in The Investigation, a six-part miniseries Lindholm dramatizes the incident itself not, which ultimately led to the arrest and conviction of entrepreneur Peter Madsen, who invited Wall to interview him shortly before they disappeared on his submarine. Instead, he follows the two cops in the case (played by Soren Malling and Pilou Asbaek) as they tenaciously pursue the gruesome leads and sacrifice their personal lives in the name of justice. “The Investigation” is another type of procedure that details how difficult it is for the victim’s family and detectives to create a case.
“Earwig and the Witch”
Start streaming: February 5th
With this adaptation of a novel by Diana Wynne Jones, whose book “Howl’s Moving Castle” was previously adapted by Ghibli’s co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, the animators at the venerable Japanese studio Ghibli are making their first foray into full computer animation. Son Goro directed Earwig and the Witch, the story of a courageous and bossy 10 year old orphan who was adopted by a pair of curious gruff adults who teach her about the rock and roll and occult history of their birth family. Fans of the Miyazakis and Ghibli may initially resist the look of this film, which differs from classics like “Spirited Away” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service”. But “Earwig” deals with similar subjects like spiritual wonder and youthful independence, and there is something special about Goro Miyazaki’s visual style that is much simpler than Pixar’s fine detail.
“Judas and the Black Messiah”
Start streaming: February 12th
In 1969, Fred Hampton – the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party – was killed in a police raid of his Chicago home after an extensive federal law enforcement campaign to identify him as a dangerous radical. In the political drama “Judas and the Black Messiah” Daniel Kaluuya gives an outstanding performance as Hampton and is compared scene by scene with Lakeith Stanfield as William O’Neal, a petty crook recruited by the FBI. Writer-director Shaka King and co-writer Will Berson capture the revolutionary passion of the time and subtly refer to the parallels to this day in the angry arguments about overzealous police officers and systemic racism. The film focuses on Hampton’s complex, passionate, and surprisingly openly armed political philosophies, as well as the circumstances that would have compelled a man who would otherwise have been a devout student to betray him.
Also arriving:
February 2nd
“Fake Famous”
February 4th
“Esme & Roy”
“The head”
February 18
“It’s a sin”
February 22
“Beartown”
February 26th
“Tom Jerry”
