There are some exciting new shows on tap for screening, so lets get started!
Hulu
One of the most interesting new shows available for streaming is Hard Sun, a new sci-fi series on Hulu. It is joint British-American production from Neil Cross, the creator of Luther, about two cops, Agyness Deyn and Jim Sturgess, who try to fight crime in London while also finding out about the imminent end of the world in five years. It gets a 6.6 on IMDb, but it is also supposed to be super violent and gory, so be forewarned. A film added recently to Hulu is Hustle and Flow, from 2005. It stars Terrence Howard in a great role, as the pimp Djay. It also stars Taryn Manning and Isaac Hayes. But beware, this is an explicit movie, rated R, with language, nudity and situations that are not necessarily good for kids or young adults. Also playing on Hulu is Journey to the West, a Chinese fantasy comedy film based on the Four Great Classical Novels. It’s directed by Stephen Chow, and stars Zhang Wen, Qi Shu and Bo Huang. It’s full of action adventure, monsters and is a little lighter fare than the previous two offerings.
Netflix
Netflix has some great new shows this week, topping the list is Collateral, a BBC 2 crime drama with a great cast. It stars Carey Mulligan, Nicola Walker and John Simm in a fast paced drama about the murder of a pizza delivery man. It’s got great writing and a wonderful cast, well worth anyone’s time. Also on Netflix is the Academy Award-winning Icarus, the documentary about Russian doping and cycling. It’s a film by Bryan Fogel, who is also an amateur cyclist, who tries taking performance enhancing drugs and yet, to escape detection. Aside from winning the Academy Award for best documentary, it has won raves reviews and gets a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. And if you love horror movies, and have more guts than I do, Veronica is available on Netflix. From Spanish director Paco Plaza, Veronica stars Sandra Escacena, Claudia Placer and Bruna Gonzalez, in a story of girls playing with a Ouija board, and the darkness that follows. But it’s called fresh, and has gotten some good reviews, and gets an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. Watch it if you dare. And finally, on Netflix is Borderliner, a Norwegian crime drama about a cop sent back to his hometown and a suicide there. It stars Tobias Santelmann, Ellen Dorrit Petersen and Benjamin Helstad and it’s gotten some good reviews, but it is dark and gory. So again, not for children.
Amazon Prime
Amazon doesn’t have a lot of new movies this week, but they do have several seldom seen series that are good. The first is Case Histories, based on the novels by Jane Atkinson. It’s a British series about a former police detective turned private investigator, and the mysteries he solves. It stars Jason Isaacs, Amanda Abbington and Zawe Ashton. it’s from the BBC, so it has a great cast and seamless production values, and it gets an 8.0 on IMDb. if you like courtroom dramas with mysteries, Amazon also has The Brief, a series from the creator of Inspector Morse. Again, it has an amazing cast , including Alan Davies, Cherie Lunghi and Christopher Fulford. Another British series on Amazon is The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, with great guest stars including Colin Firth,Emily Mortimer and Idris Elba. It’s from 1994, but it has some of the earliest and lesser known portrayals by stars like Firth. And mysteries by Ruth Rendell, a best selling mystery author who writes in the classic vein, to boot. You can’t miss with that. Finally, Amazon has Single-Handed, an Irish series from 2007. It is, again, a mystery series, this time about Sargeant Jack Driscoll(Owen McDonell) who returns to his hometown, at the request of his father(Ian McElhinney from Game of Thrones), to solve mysteries there. It gets a 7.6 on IMDb and The Telegraph calls it “distinctly classy”.
So if whether you’re snowed in or just bored, there is plenty to stream online to satisfy your craving. So sit back and binge.
Grownups Guide to Streaming 