February's Streaming Recommendations

by Julian Spivey

“Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story” – Netflix – February 5
Willy T. Ribbs was an incredibly talented auto racer in the ‘80s and ‘90s that became the first African-American driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500, as well as testing a Formula 1 car and competing in a handful of NASCAR events. His foray into a predominantly white sport wasn’t easy and this Adam Carolla and Nate Adams directed documentary tells Ribbs’ story. The documentary makes it world premiere on Netflix on Wednesday, February 5. 

“Black Hollywood: They’ve Gotta Have Us” – Netflix – February 5
Director Simon Frederick’s three-part documentary series “Black Hollywood: They’ve Gotta Have Us” makes its American debut on Netflix on Wednesday, February 5 after previously premiering on the U.K.’s BBC Two in 2018. The documentary series shows the black experience reflected through the history of African-Americans in cinema and looks to be a great watch for Black History Month. The docuseries includes interviews with legends like Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll and John Singleton. 

“The Farewell” – Amazon Prime Video – February 12
Lulu Wang’s 2019 comedy-drama “The Farewell,” starring Golden Globe winner Awkwafina, was one of the most critically-acclaimed films of the past year and was one of the bigger Oscar controversies when it wasn’t nominated for a single Academy Award last month. The film makes its streaming debut on Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday, February 12 and will no doubt be one of the service’s most viewed films of the month. 

“High Fidelity” – Hulu – February 14
One of Hulu’s most promising original series slated for 2020 “High Fidelity” debuts on Valentine’s Day, Friday, February 14. The series is based on Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel about a London record store owner and his life revolving around music. It was made into a successful 2000 romantic comedy-drama directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack in the lead role. The TV series developed by Veronica West and Sarah Kucserka flips the gender of the main character and stars Zoe Kravitz as a Brooklyn record store owner obsessed with pop culture and top-five lists. The series was originally developed for Disney+, but moved to Hulu as it will reportedly take on a tone not really aligned with the Disney brand. 

“Hunters” – Amazon Prime Video – February 21
Anything that has director/producer/writer Jordan Peele’s name connected to it right now is going to be high on anybody’s list of movies or shows to watch. Add Oscar-winner and acting legend Al Pacino’s name to it and you’re bound to have a winner. “Hunters,” created by David Weil and executive produced by Peele, premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, February 21. The drama features Pacino as the leader of a group called “The Hunters” in 1977 New York City who discover hundred of high ranking Nazis are living among them and want to create a Fourth Reich in the U.S. and set out to ensure that this doesn’t happen. The supporting cast includes Carol Kane, Logan Lerman, Josh Radnor and Saul Rubinek among others.