This February, Netflix is betting big on its original series. Hit shows like The Night Agent and The Lincoln Lawyer return for more seasons, while high-profile debuts like How to Get to Heaven from Belfast are sure to keep subscribers entertained.
But what about movies? While Netflix is launching fewer original films this month, the streamer is adding lots of interesting older flicks for you to watch.
The Annette Bening rom-com The American President, the horror flick The Black Phone and the indie black comedy Bunny are the three Netflix movies I can’t wait to stream this February.
‘The American President’ (1995)
February is the month for lovers, at least according to Hallmark and chocolate companies worldwide. I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day, but it gives me an excuse to watch one of my favorite rom-coms ever — The American President.
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In the ‘90s rom-com pantheon, The American President isn’t as well-known as Sleepless in Seattle or My Best Friend’s Wedding, but it’s just as good as those classics. Michael Douglas stars as Andrew “Andy” Shepherd, a likable, hard-working guy who wants to date an attractive and funny lobbyist, Sydney Ellen Wade (Bening), whom he met on the job. The only problem is that he works at the White House, and he’s the president of the United States. Leaders of the free world don’t typically date, so Andy and Ellen have to keep their relationship a secret. But how long can that last when one of them is the most photographed person in the country?
Directed by the late Rob Reiner from a smart and sassy script by Aaron Sorkin, The American President is the rare movie that makes politics look sexy — well, at least Hollywood’s version of it. Made in a less divisive era, the movie is a wish-fulfillment fantasy where political leaders are honorable figures, and people really mean what they say. Douglas and Bening have a warm rapport that makes you invested in their characters’ relationship — you root for them to hook up, even if the polls say they shouldn’t. The supporting cast, which features a pre-West Wing Martin Sheen and a never-better Michael J. Fox, is so good, you wish you could vote them into office and run our country.
The American President is streaming now.
‘The Black Phone’ (2021)
Black Phone 2 was a big horror hit last summer, but like most sequels, it just wasn’t as good as the original. A big reason why is that it made its signature killer, The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), a supernatural monster, when he was far more effective as the child-killing serial murderer in the more realistic original, The Black Phone.
Mason Thames stars as Finney, who is abducted by The Grabber while walking home from school. Trapped in a soundproofed basement, his only connection to the outside world is a broken rotary phone. When the phone starts ringing mysteriously, Finney picks it up — it’s The Grabber’s last victim, who gives him advice on how to escape. With each new ring comes a new past victim who tries to help Finney avoid the same fate that befell them. But is their beyond-the-grave assistance enough to outwit a man who has gotten away with murder for years?
Directed by horror vet Scott Derrickson, The Black Phone makes full use of its innovative gimmick. It’s genuinely suspenseful to anticipate what each new phone call will bring and to see Finney figure out a way out of The Grabber’s trap. Aside from the supernatural angle, what makes The Black Phone so effectively chilling is how matter-of-fact Hawke plays The Grabber. This monster could’ve easily existed in real life and bears echoes of all those terrible real-life stories I watched on Unsolved Mysteries as a kid.
The Black Phone starts streaming on February 12.
‘Bunny’ (2025)
Today is Bunny’s (Mo Stark) birthday, but his life is so chaotic, he doubts he’ll make it to another one. His wife wants him to have a threesome with her friend, his landlady won’t stop nagging him and his father-in-law stops by and accidentally takes some weed supplied to him by his best friend and neighbor, Dino (Ben Jacobson, who also cowrote and directed the film). But by far the worst part of Bunny’s day is the accidental death of a man whose body he has to get rid of before the cops swing by.
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Believe it or not, Bunny is a comedy, albeit one filled with murder, prostitution and drugs. It’s an oddly sweet day-in-the-life story of one New Yorker who can’t seem to catch a break and the community that rallies to help him, even if that does mean breaking the law. With a style somewhere between Sean Baker and the Safdie brothers but with a verisimilitude all its own, Bunny uses its gritty look and feel to accurately capture what life is like on a hot day in the East Village. It’s a minor movie about minor people, but it lingers more than you’d think.
Bunny streams on February 13.
