What’s New to Stream on Prime for February 2023

Crossing the Streams is our sequence of guides all of the choices hitting the massive streaming companies every month. This time we’re testing what’s new to streaming on Amazon Prime in February 2023, together with Downhill Racer, two Rambo movies, a brand new Dave Franco directorial effort, and extra!

Prime Decide of the Month for February 2023

Robert Redford and Gene Hackman are large names, however their single onscreen pairing is a movie that doesn’t fairly get the eye it deserves nowadays. Downhill Racer (1969) is a sports activities drama about downhill snowboarding with a deal with one gifted athlete who’s not too long ago joined the U.S. Olympic crew. Redford is that athlete, a singularly targeted man whose sole objective is the descent, and Hackman is the crew coach making an attempt to carry them collectively and produce them to victory. Director Michael Ritchie resists the urge to make this a standard sports activities film, and as a substitute, we spend a stunning quantity of quiet time each on and off the slopes. It’s a movie concerning the sporting mindset, the psychological focus required to realize greatness, and the toll it will probably generally tackle the particular person striving for that greatness. This can be a lovely and compelling movie, and it belongs within the rotation for sports activities film followers.

A Prime Unique I’m Recommending Regardless of Dave Franco’s Involvement

Look, I can’t clarify it, however Dave Franco simply grates me the fallacious means. (James is clearly the true villain of the household, however I’m not letting Dave off the hook.) He’s not too long ago made the leap into directing, and whereas I’m no fan of his debut (The Rental, 2020), I’m hopeful about his follow-up. Anyone I Used to Know (premieres February tenth) as soon as once more stars Alison Brie, this time because the lead as a substitute of a part of an ensemble, as a younger girl who returns to her hometown to find truths about herself. It appears to be like to be a rom-com, and fortunately Franco is protecting himself behind the digicam. His absence received’t be felt as he’s properly stacked the supporting gamers with abilities like Kiersey Clemons, Jay Ellis, Danny Pudi (Group reunion!), Haley Joel Osment, and Julie Hagerty.

Horrors!

Paramount Footage

Jack Finney’s novel has been tailored quite a few instances to the display, however whereas most of them are good, solely Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Physique Snatchers (1978) exists as a goddamn masterpiece. Aliens invade as spores and replica people in an try to take over the Earth, and the result’s a shocking exploration into paranoia, worry, and doubt. Everybody rightly praises the ultimate scene, however the entire rattling film is executed with such a exact eye for character and suspense that not even a number of rewatches can dampen the expertise. Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Artwork Hindle, Veronica Cartwright, and extra ship an ensemble of mates and strangers pressured to confront an ominous menace, and the horror is palpable.

On the far much less beloved aspect of 70s horror movies sits John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy (1979), however I nonetheless depend myself a giant, large fan. Robert Foxworth and Talia Shire star as a pair investigating the environmental affect of a logging firm’s actions, and what they discover is one thing monstrous. Mutated animals are discovered, together with a mama bear hell-bent on tearing her means by way of anybody she crosses — a child making an attempt to flee in a sleeping bag will get knocked right into a rock the place he explodes in a flurry of feathers, and it’s superb — see scientists and activists becoming a member of forces. It’s a foolish movie regardless of the intense commentary, however for followers of 70s horror, eco-horror, and creature options ought to give it a spin.

Adrian Lyne’s Jacob’s Ladder (1990) flips the crucial acclaim meter as soon as once more with a terrific movie about going through mortality. Tim Robbins provides a strong efficiency as a Vietnam veteran struggling flashbacks, delusions, and worse as he processes the dying of his son. Elizabeth Peña provides an equally affecting supporting flip, and Lyne fills the movie with darkish marvel, fantastical imagery, and ambiguity. You possibly can solely see the ending for the primary time as soon as, however rewatches reward with a extra detailed deal with the nightmarish imagery and empathy that builds for Robbins’ character. The movie was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and produced in the identical yr as his different supernatural gem, Ghost. That romantic comedy was the larger hit, however this box-office bomb is each bit as memorable.

Bullets!

Talking of movies that haven’t gotten the love they deserve, Antoine Fuqua’s Tears of the Solar (2003) is a banger of an motion film with a stunning quantity of coronary heart. Bruce Willis headlines as chief of a Particular ops crew despatched into Nigeria to rescue a physician (performed by the good Monica Bellucci). She refuses to depart locals to the violent whims of the marauding military, so the crew reluctantly agrees to maneuver all of them out on foot. Cole Hauser, Eamonn Walker, Johnny Messner, and extra make up the crew, and there’s a robust sense of honor and braveness to their endeavor. A excessive physique depend, some robust motion set-pieces, and a commanding efficiency by Willis make this one a good time.

Whereas some franchises by no means get a foothold, Sylvester Stallone milked the success of First Blood (1982) into a virtually four-decade sequence. Rambo (2008) was one thing of a triumphant return for the character — it wasn’t beloved critically, however audiences flocked to theaters and have been rewarded with a imply, bloody, and simple motion image. John Rambo heads to Burma and turns the military into a lot chopped liver — a scene with Rambo manning a .50 caliber machine gun exploding our bodies into chunks — as a part of a rescue effort. It’s a grim and gory motion image, and Stallone provides an offended however somber efficiency. 2019’s Rambo: Final Blood can also be streaming this month.

2013 noticed two films hit theaters about terrorists concentrating on the White Home, and I’m a giant fan of each. White Home Down (2013) is the extra blatantly comedic of the 2 and price twice as a lot as Olympus Has Fallen — that means it’s additionally the one which did not make a revenue. Blame Roland Emmerich’s penchant for extreme spending, however that doesn’t cease the movie from being a blast with enjoyable motion set-pieces and entertaining turns from Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx. It’s arguably Emmerich’s finest and most rewatchable movie, with motion targeted extra on pure thrills than making any type of assertion or brutal affect.

The Full Prime Listing for February 2023

Comply with all of our month-to-month streaming guides.

Associated Subjects: Amazon Prime, Crossing the Streams

Rob Hunter has been writing for Movie College Rejects since earlier than you have been born, which is bizarre seeing as he is so rattling younger. He is our Chief Movie Critic and Affiliate Editor and lists ‘Broadcast Information’ as his favourite movie of all time. Be at liberty to say hello when you see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.