12 best movies new to Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max & Hulu: January 2022

Welcoming 2022! It’s the start of a brand new year, filled with exciting possibilities and new hopes, not mention a whole slew of films to look forward to. You can choose between Scream 5 Morbius, not to mention other highly anticipated releases such as Matt Reeves’ Batman and Pixar’s The Turning of the RedThe first quarter of 2019 promises great movies that are worth your attention. You can also stream streaming from your home with several classics as well as new and notable additions in the first month.

From Christopher Nolan’s cerebral neo-noir revenge thriller Memento to David Fincher’s Panic Room, Rob Reiner’s classic coming-of-age drama Be there for me to Neil Jordan’s gothic horror film Interview with the Vampire, there’s no shortage of great films to stream and watch on Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Criterion Channel, and more.

Keep reading to see 12 top movies that were added to streaming services for January.

Alphaville

Janus Films

Jean-Luc Godard’s sci-fi noir Alphaville stars Eddie Constantine as Lemmy Caution, a secret agent and saboteur sent into the heart of a dystopian metropolis where free will, love, poetry, and emotion have all been outlawed in order to uncover the dark secrets of the city’s founder, Professor von Braun. Against his better judgement Caution falls in love with Natacha, von Braun’s daughter, and is forced to destroy the malevolent artificial intelligence governing Alphaville before his own individuality is stripped away. The film was shot entirely around Paris without any special sets or props. AlphavilleThis film is stylish and inexplicable, but it’s also fascinating. It has a lot of philosophical flair. —TE

Alphaville You can stream it on Criterion Channel.

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Image: Fox Searchlight Pictures

2012’s Beasts of the Southern Wild stars Quvenzhané Wallis as Hushpuppy, an inquisitive 6-year-old girl living with her father in a small community on an island in the Louisiana bayou called “the Bathtub.” When nature is suddenly thrown into disarray, causing mammoth prehistoric beasts known as aurochs to reawaken as the ice caps melt, Hushpuppy’s father falls ill. Hushpuppy sets out to find her mother, in an attempt to bring balance back to the universe. This is a charming coming-of age drama that features beautiful cinematography. Beasts of the Southern Wild is an eccentric premise made memorable and beautiful through the power of Wallis’ stirring lead performance, which earned her an Academy Award nomination at the age of 9. —TE

Beasts of the Southern WildAmazon Prime allows you to watch it online.

Interview with the Vampire

Warner Bros.

Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise stars in Interview with the VampireLouis de Pointe du Lac (18th century vampire) is weary of his interminable existence of loneliness, hunger, and Lestat de Lecourt (the elder vampire who conceives him). Relating his life story to a reporter with his own personal agenda, Louis recounts the long decades of love, betrayal, and death that have plagued his existence, from the adoption and siring of a young vampire named Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) to Lestat and Louis’ dramatic (and deadly) falling out. Dark, erotic, and entertaining, both Anne Rice’s original novel and the film rejuvenated the subgenre of vampire horror fiction and spawned a generation of countless imitations in its likeness. —TE

Interview with the VampireIt is streaming on Netflix.

Memento

Image: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Christopher Nolan’s MementoHis most captivating film, it has stood the test of age. Guy Pearce stars in the movie. It tells the story about Leonard Shelby, an ex-insurance agent who sets out on revenge for Catherine’s death and rape. Having developed as anterograde amnesia, a condition which impairs his mind from creating and storing new memories, Leonard relies on a polaroid camera along with tattoo notes to himself in order to continue his search for his wife’s killer. The structure of the film is its most enduring achievement, placing audiences into the unique point of view of Leonard’s mind by presented two opposite sequence of events playing in linear and reverse chronological order, with the climax of the film technically taking place where two sequences meet in the middle. This is not a typical presentation flaw. The effect of the film is unique and tragic. A story of revenge and loss where greed and deceit prevent any chance of true redemption. —TE

MementoIt is streaming on HBO Max.

Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Paramount Pictures Photo

This is Mission Impossible – Ghost ProtocolWhich Mission Impossible movie is your favorite? That’s debatable. Is it really the best Mission Impossible movie ever? No question. Brad Bird’s 2011 entry (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles) finds Tom Cruise’s super spy Ethan Hunt and his IMF colleagues disavowed in the wake of a horrific attack on the Kremlin. Tasked with clearing their names and bringing the true culprits to justice, Hunt and IMF technician-turned-field operative Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) are joined by intelligence analyst William Brandt (Avengers star Jeremy Renner) and handler Jane Carter (Paula Patton) as they globetrot from Moscow to Dubai and Mumbai on the trail of a rogue nuclear terrorist known only as “Cobalt.” The big set-piece scene of Ethan scaling the side of a skyscraper is an exquisitely nail-biting performance of mounting tension and hilarious comedic timing. —TE

Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol Amazon Prime allows you to watch it online.

Panic Room

Columbia Pictures

Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart star in David Fincher’s Panic Room as a recently divorced mother and her asthmatic teenage daughter who have recently moved into a brownstone home in New York City’s Upper West Side. When a trio of armed robbers invade their home during their first night after moving in, the pair retreat into the building’s built-in panic room, sparking a deadly contest of wills as the robbers attempt to make off with their ill-gotten gains … with no witnesses. Though nowhere near as complex or cerebral as Fincher’s prior thrillers such as The GameOder Seven, Panic RoomIt is nevertheless a great film, enhanced by Foster’s chemistry and Stewart’s fantastic score by Howard Shore. —TE

Panic RoomHulu allows you to stream it.

Red Eye

Dreamworks Pictures

Wes Craven’s 2005 Red EyeRachel McAdams plays Lisa Reisert. She meets Jack Rippner (Cillian Murphy) before taking off for Miami. What at first appears to be the sort of meet-cute one would typically expect of a late ’90s rom-com however quickly reveals itself to be a product of malicious calculation, as Lisa inadvertently finds herself caught in a sinister plot whose failure would result in the death of her father Joe (Brian Cox). McAdams and Murphy’s performances are the driving force of the film, as prey and predator clash amid dozens of other passengers essentially trapped in a plane mid-flight. This is high-stakes horror. —TE

Red EyeHulu allows you to stream it.

The Horror Story: Telling In The Dark

Lionsgate Photo

Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series is a classic of children’s horror literature, each installment chock full of spine-tingling stories paired with the dark, unnerving, and iconic illustrations of artist Stephen Gammel. Trollhunter director André Øvredal’s 2019 film adaptation weaves Schwartz’s short stories into a narrative centered on a group of teenage friends in the rural town of Mill Valley who are stalked night after night by ghoulish creatures conjured from out of the notebook of a vengeful, long-dead woman. Guillermo del Toro produced and co-wrote the film. The movie does a good job replicating the horrors from the original series. But the true stars are the characters. Stories of Scary Stories in the Dark are the monster designs which uncannily resemble the surreal eeriness of Gammel’s remarkable artwork. Pay attention to the pale lady. —TE

The Horror Story: Telling In The DarkIt is streaming on Netflix.

Be there for me

Columbia Pictures

Based on the Stephen King novella, “The Body,” Be there for meThis film is about four twelve-year-old brothers who attempt to locate the remains of a missing child. Running into local hoodlums, the boys travel across Oregon’s forests and catch up to speeding trains. The real excitement of the film comes not from the dangers but the transformational power of childhood friendships. The main character closes the movie with a line that basically sums it all up: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?” —Petrana Radulovic

Be there for me Netflix has it available for streaming.

Taxi driver

Columbia Pictures

Robert De Niro delivers one of the defining performances of his entire career in Martin Scorsese’s 1979 film Taxi driverTravis Bickle is a Vietnam War vet who became a taxi driver. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Sleep-deprived and increasingly isolated, Travis’ idle observations on the corruption and vice of New York City quickly manifest into violent ideation, prompting him to become a vigilante as he grasps for power and uncertainty in an uncertain world. Even apart from the film’s tangential role in John Hinckley Jr.’s attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981, Taxi driver earns its distinction as a culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant film on the strength of De Niro’s aforementioned performance, Paul Schrader’s sharp and sorrowful script, and Michael Chapman’s beautiful cinematography. —TE

Taxi DriverIt is streaming on Netflix.

The Killing

Criterion Collection Photo

Stanley Kubrick’s The KillingThis is an excellent heist movie, with expert performances that interlock like tumblers in locks. It culminates in a thrilling, riveting finale. Sterling Hayden portrays Johnny Clay, an ex convict who organizes a group to endanger a racecourse worth $2 million. The cast includes Jay C. Flippen (and more), Jay Sawyer (and more), and Elisha cook Jr. The KillingKubrick was proud to have made it his first feature. Today, it’s a film whose influence can be felt and seen in everything from Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs to 2008’s The Dark Knight. —TE

The KillingYou can stream it on Criterion Channel.

Sally and Harry: When Harry met Sally

Columbia Pictures

Rob Reiner’s Sally and Harry: When Harry met SallyIt is a classic romantic comedy that has been remade over and over again. Starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, the film follows the story of the title characters’ blossoming friendship and eventual romance through 12 years of chance encounters. More than just a question of “will they or won’t they,” the drama, humor, and heart of Sally and Harry: When Harry met SallyIt is grounded in the question whether women and men can be friends. Harry and Sally search for the answer and discover that they are both. They meet each other. –TE

Sally and Harry: When Harry met SallyIt is streaming on HBO Max.