February is the month of love—at least, that’s what marketing agencies and shop owners would have us believe. Those who are coupled up should enjoy the love-is-in-the-air attitude that plagues this particular month and, in particular, Valentine’s Day, while those of us who are single will try our best to avoid it. No matter our romantic situation, though, one thing’s for sure, and that is we all enjoy a great movie.
From obscure romantic comedies to passionate romantic dramas and even films for those who want to forget all about love, these hidden streaming gems on Netflix and Tubi, are perfect to watch this month. So grab a bowl of popcorn and sit back to enjoy these underappreciated gems that will surely make for a wonderful February afternoon.
Let’s start with a good old-fashioned rom-com. Maya Erskine, who currently stars in Amazon’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Jack Quaid, the endearing Hughie from The Boys, star in the 2019 rom-com Plus One. The plot centers on two friends who agree to be each other’s plus one’s for the season’s upcoming weddings. Things get complicated when they start developing feelings for each other, threatening their arrangement and, more importantly, their friendship.
Plus One is a perfect romantic comedy. Literally, 10/10, no notes. Bolstered by Erskine and Quaid’s perfect blend of romantic and comedic chemistry, the film soars to the top of the genre’s charts, echoing the golden days of the 90s rom-com. Plus One is sweet, incredibly funny, and surprisingly emotional without becoming dramatic. It’s everything fans of the genre are looking for and would make a perfect February watch. Few films are more February-coded than this one.
Plus One is now streaming on Tubi.
Still in the romance territory, albeit far less comedic, we have Francis Lee’s 2017 romantic drama God’s Own Country. In his breakthrough role, future Emmy winner and The Crown star Josh O’Connor stars as Johnny Saxby, a young and detached farmer living with his father and grandmother at a Yorkshire farm. His lifestyle, which involved having sex with random men and avoiding any form of emotional intimacy, is upended by the arrival of Gheorghe, a migrant Romanian worker.
Passionate, sweeping, and insightful, God’s Own Country is a searing romantic drama, a quietly riveting depiction of loneliness and the true meaning of intimacy. O’Connor and co-star Alec Secareanu are incredible in their roles, delivering intimate yet fiery portrayals of unspoken desire blended with fear, doubt, and longing. God’s Own Country is among the best LGBTQ+ films in recent years, the rare queer story that doesn’t end in tragedy or heartbreak. Yet, it remains insightful and rewarding, presenting a deeply human story about love that never succumbs to sentimentality.
God’s Own Country is now streaming on Tubi.
Finally, if you’re really not in the mood for romance, here’s the ideal movie for you. February’s hottest unsung film is Gunpowder Milkshake. Directed by the incredibly named Navot Papushado, the film follows Sam, a young hitwoman who must seek the help of her estranged mother and her old friends to protect a girl from vengeful assassins seeking revenge for a wrongful death.
This movie has everything: milkshakes, Karen Gillan kicking ass, explosive music, gunpowder, Lena Headey kicking ass, bright neon lights. Wait, is that Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh with Oscar-winner Angela Basset joined by should-be-Oscar-winner Carla Gugino? And on the sidelines, it’s future Oscar-winner Paul Giamatti doing his best villainous role since Big Fat Liar. If, like me, you think Gena Rowlands should’ve won the 1981 Oscar for Best Actress, then Gunpowder Milkshake is for you. It’s one of the best action movies on Netflix, one which finally answers the question: “What if Nebula had grown up with a mother instead of an abusive dad?”
Gunpowder Milkshake is now streaming on Netflix.
China just gave Hollywood a cautionary tale about AI filmmaking. Sanxingdui: Future Past, billed as the country's first fully AI-generated movie, hit theaters on October 23 and bombed at the box office.
According to Futurism, the film's reported $1.5 million production budget landed on more than 10,000 screens. Yet it pulled in only about $181,000, averaging roughly $20 per screen, making the budget difficult to recover.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?