After a January that felt like its own year, February is finally here. This bite-sized month is set to offer plenty of great content across the best streaming services. Netflix is always adding to its library and we will actually have a February 29th this year, so an extra day to watch everything!
With Valentine's Day of course on February 14th, it's a great time to snuggle up with a special someone and watch some of the best films you've missed in recent years, or something brand new. Here's the pick of Netflix's February offerings.
1. King Richard
Coming to Netflix on February 6th, King Richard is the story not of a British monarch but the father of Serena and Venus Williams, two of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Will Smith won an Oscar for his portrayal of a man who clearly loves his daughters but often has an unusual way of showing it. It's said that Richard Williams had an eighty-page plan for his daughters to become tennis champions even before they were born and this film follows his struggles to get them proper coaching despite their non-traditional (i.e. not white and wealthy) background. It's a must-watch for both tennis fans and those who haven't touched a racquet in years.
2. Green Book
It's not every day that a Best Picture winner is added to Netflix but just a month after The Favourite was added to the service, the movie that beat it to film's highest honour comes to the platform too. Green Book is streaming from February 10th.
Following the true story of supremely talented African-American jazz pianist Don Shirley and his tour of the Deep South with his driver Frank Vallelonga, this is a must-watch movie. It's funny and sad almost simultaneously and although most obviously about racism, it's also a fascinating depiction of male friendship. You couldn't ask for a more perfect pairing than Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen.
3. Players
It wouldn't be February without a bunch of new romcoms and Netflix is going big with the new original movie Players which arrives on Valentine's Day itself (the 14th). We can't speak to its quality as it's brand spanking new but Netflix clearly trusts its romcom credentials with that release date.
Starring Gina Rodriguez (From Jane the Virgin) and Tom Ellis (Of Lucifer and Miranda fame) this movie follows Rodriguez' Mack, a sports writer with a so-called "playbook of tricks" to meet guys for casual flings, but when she meets Ellis' war reporter she can't help but catch feelings. It sounds fairly generic but everyone loves a cheesy romcom am I right?
4. Code 8 Part II
A sequel 5 years in the making to the original Code 8, a criminally underrated superhero sci-fi, Code 8 Part II launches on Netflix on the 28th of February. Fans of the original will be pleased to know that both director Jeff Chan and leads Robbie and Stephen Amell will be returning for the second instalment.
Obviously, no one has seen the latest movie yet but the first centred around a world where people born with powers (around 4% of the population) are treated like second-class citizens. Connor Reed (Robbie Amell) is a struggling electrokinetic (someone with electric powers) desperate to make ends meet to help his ailing mother. With nowhere to go, he turns to crime.
No spoilers but it's a really interesting take on the superpower genre and refreshing to see something different to the Marvel and DC offerings. Here's hoping the sequel delivers.
5. Orion and the Dark
With a screenplay co-written by Charlie Kaufman (the genius behind the likes of Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind) and a Rotten Tomatoes score (at the time of writing) of 90%, Orion and the Dark is no ordinary kids' movie.
The collaboration between Netflix and Dreamworks follows Orion, a young boy (Jacob Tremblay) who is scared of pretty much everything, but especially the dark. Determined to prove him wrong, the dark itself takes Orion on a magical journey to prove he shouldn't be afraid.
