I’m getting to the point where there’s so much to stream that I don’t know what to watch first, old shows I want to catch up on, or new shows/movies so I can keep up with all the references on Twitter. But! I am filled with hope for the coming weeks, as there are a slew of interesting-looking trailers for movies I have been waiting to see.
The United States vs. Billie Holiday
I sort of wish this movie had been named “Strange Fruit” after Holiday’s 1939 song that drew the ire of the FBI, but guessing a lot of people don’t know about this part of Holiday’s life. The great jazz singer who struggled with drug addiction saw the government wreck her career using an undercover sting operation, all over a controversial song. Really looking forward to watching this. Directed by Lee Daniels, The United States vs. Billie Holiday stars Andra Day, and premieres February 26th on Hulu.
Clarice
Do we really need another show about a brilliant but troubled detective/agent who pursues terrible serial killers and solves graphic murders (usually of women)? Apparently CBS thinks we do, because it’s giving us Clarice, a series about the rookie FBI agent from The Silence of the Lambs that “takes a deep dive into her untold personal story.” See, she has to hunt serial killers and deal with the Washington DC bureaucracy! Most of this trailer shows people in authority being rude and/or dismissive to Clarice, which doesn’t really track; for example, the dick bureaucrat who tells her “we do evidence, not at the full moon” obviously never saw the movie. If you can’t get enough of moody procedural crime drama, Clarice hits CBS and CBS All Access February 11th. I’ll check out the pilot, but if they keep up with this spooky version of the song “Country Roads” we hear in the trailer, I might not last long.
Breaking News in Yuba County
Allison Janney stars in this dark comedy/mystery about a woman who says her husband has been kidnapped, and enjoys the sudden celebrity that goes along with the news. Of course, things are not quite as they seem! The all-star cast includes Mila Kunis, Awkwafina, Juliette Lewis, Jimmi Simpson, Wanda Sykes, Ellen Barkin, Samira Wiley, and Matthew Modine. Breaking News in Yuba County is directed by Tate Taylor and lands in select theaters February 12th.
Cherry
Glad that they fixed the weird first poster for this movie, which stars Tom Holland as a veteran with PTSD who is addicted to opioids and robs banks to support his habit. It’s a little tough to reconcile Holland’s baby face with the movie’s dark plot, but there is much buzz about this flick, and about Holland’s performance. Based on a novel by Nico Walker, Cherry is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and hits theaters Feburary 26th and Apple TV Plus on March 12th.
Judas and The Black Messiah
This is the second trailer for this highly anticipated movie about the life and assassination of Black Panther party leader Fred Hampton, starring Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton, and LaKeith Stanfield as William O’Neal, the FBI informant who betrayed him. Judas and The Black Messiah debuts on HBO Max and in theaters February 12th.