All The Cool Stuff Coming To Hulu In February 2025
The Orange Felon may wave his allegedly massive tool to cancel Black History Month celebrations via executive order all he wants. His easily hurt fee-fees don’t change the truth that Black excellence is worth celebrating in February (and every other month of the year, frankly). Fortunately, Hulu’s February offerings ignore the obeying in advance garbage to join in this celebration of diversity. Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne star in a classic biopic recounting the far less glamorous reality behind a fabled rock marriage. Spike Lee delivers one of his best films with a story about the attempted exploitation of a talented Black college athlete. Questlove follows up his stunning “Summer Of Soul” with a film about Bay Area music legend Sly Stone.
Excellence can also be found in some of Hulu’s better February offerings. An acclaimed Sundance award-winning drama charts the changing relationship between a pair of sisters and their estranged father over the course of twenty years. Four teachers find out whether daily “corrections of their blood alcohol deficiency” will improve their lives. An Indian action blockbuster pits two Indian army commandos against armed thieves who greatly outnumber them.
Whether you want to follow the new season of Shoresy’s misadventures or just want to enjoy a true crime docuseries about the prolific serial killer you probably haven’t heard of, Hulu continues to offer great stuff this month that’s well worth your eyeballs.
Now Available
The Art Of Self-Defense–In Riley Stearns’ dark comedy, timid Casey Davies (Jesse Eisenberg) joins Sensei’s (Alessandro Nivola) dojo after getting brutally attacked in the street by a motorcycle gang. Casey had hoped to learn karate for self-defense. But instead, he’s slowly learning to become a toxic male. Will he revolt after learning Sensei is a sexist pig, or that the supposed master is willing to use blackmail and worse to keep Casey under his thumb?
The Grand Budapest Hotel–One of Wes Anderson’s best films recounts the 1930s friendship between legendary hotel concierge Monsieur Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes) and lobby boy cum protege Zero Moustafa. Their friendship soon gets tested by intrigue involving the legendary Renaissance painting “Boy With Apple,” Gustave’s affair with Madame D (Tilda Swinton), a murder frame-up, and geopolitical events beyond either man’s control.
Nightride–The “one last job gone bad” story gets intriguingly handled in Stephen Fingleton’s Belfast-set crime drama. The story’s told in a single take and in real time (97 minutes). Budge wants to transition from drug-dealing to setting up with a friend an honest body shop repair business . To raise the capital, he plans to borrow money from the psychopathic Joe The Nut, buy some cocaine which needs to be unloaded quickly, and sell the drugs for enough money to pay back Joe and have a good nest egg for the auto-repair business. Of course, things go spectacularly wrong.
Say Anything–Cameron Crowe made his directorial debut with this touching classic teen dramedy about a summer romance between people from two different social worlds. Underachiever Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) has no plans for his future. Diane Court (Ione Skye) is the class valedictorian who’s heading for a prestigious fellowship in England at summer’s end. Lloyd and Diane may slowly grow closer together, but Diane’s unimpressed father Jim sees this relationship going nowhere and wants it to stop.
What’s Love Got To Do With It–This acclaimed biopic tells the story of the relationship between singer Tina Turner (Angela Bassett) and abusive husband Ike Turner (Laurence Fishburne). Ike Turner may have offered to be mentor and producer for Tina’s music back at the start of their relationship. But as time passes, two things soon become clear: Tina has greater musical talent and popularity than her husband, and Ike shows himself to be both violently controlling and a drug addict. .
February 3
Kill—In this Indian action blockbuster, army commando Amrit Rathod discovers his true love Tulika Singh is being locked into an arranged marriage by her powerful business tycoon father. Amrit, accompanied by colleague Viresh, hopes to convince Tulika to elope after boarding the superfast train to New Delhi she’s traveling on with her family. However, cunning dacoit leader Fani Bhushan interrupts these marital plans. He and his gang plan to board the train, rob specific coaches, and then make a quick getaway. Amrit and Viresh’s intervention against Bhushan’s plan soon has them pitted against 40 armed thieves in a no holds barred fight to the death.
February 4
Wicked Game: Devil In The Desert–This docuseries recounts a crime that took place in the early days of legalized pot in California. In 2012, a sheriff’s deputy found a frantic zip-tied woman on the side of a Mojave Desert road. When it turns out the kidnapping was part of a hunt for suspected buried treasure, a larger years-long investigation was launched. Sting operations, an international search, and a prison break recorded on cellphone would become part of the investigation. In the end, things would come down to a courtroom showdown between prosecutor Matt Murphy and suspected criminal mastermind Hossein Nayeri.
February 5
In The Summers–This semi-autobiographical debut feature follows sisters Violetta and Eva on their summer visits to their father Vicente, who lives in the New Mexico town of Las Cruces. Over the course of nearly two decades, the two girls slowly realize Vicente’s personal demons prevent him from fully connecting with his daughters. Soon they must resolve the gap between who they want Vicente to be versus who he actually is. Winner of Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize.
February 7
Beloved–Jonathan Demme’s adaptation of Toni Morrison’s acclaimed novel tells the story of Sethe (Oprah Winfrey), a former slave haunted by angry spirits. Paul D (Danny Glover), a friend from the plantation Sethe escaped from, chases off the spirits and moves in with her. But the presence of the supposedly cognitively impaired foundling Beloved (Thandiwe Newton) and Sethe’s unacknowledged dark past may wipe out Paul D and Sethe’s chances for happiness.
He Got Game–Spike Lee directed this acclaimed drama about the efforts of Attica prisoner Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington) to convince his talented high school basketball player son Jesus to sign with the governor’s alma mater Big State in exchange for the father receiving a reduced sentence. However, Jesus hasn’t forgotten Jake wound up in prison thanks to his accidental killing of Jesus’ mother. Also, the son’s desire to get a college education first is tested by “inducements” from big-time basketball programs and pressure from his girlfriend Lala (Rosario Dawson) to sign up with the NBA.
February 10
Another Round–In this dramedy directed by Thomas Vinterberg, four middle-aged Copenhagen high school teachers (Martin, Peter, Tommy, and Nikolaj) grapple with the twin problems of unmotivated students and static lives. To improve their lives, the four friends decide to test out psychiatrist Finn Skarderud’s theory that maintaining a constant blood alcohol content level of 0.05% will make a person more creative and relaxed. To do so, they start drinking covertly during the working day. When the results prove wildly successful, the teacher quartet decides to see what happens when they double their blood alcohol content level…which is when trouble begins.
Happy Valley–Amir Bar-Lev’s documentary looks at how the 40 child sexual abuse charges against respected Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky affected the residents of State College, Pennsylvania. How much did head coach Joe Paterno know? Why did the abuse continue for so many years? Whose inaction was ultimately responsible for these crimes’ occurrence? There are no easy answers to these questions, but the film will hopefully cause viewers to examine what standards of behavior people ask of their heroes.
February 13
The Einstein Challenge Season 1–Explaining complicated concepts to adults as if they were kids gets a new spin in this reality series. In each episode, a pair of world class experts in such fields as science, history, and engineering will see who can best explain complicated concepts to a trio of kids. The subjects covered include what makes stealth bombers invisible, the Great Pacific garbage patch, and the formation of sinkholes.
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden Of Black Genius)–Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson follows up his classic documentary “Summer Of Soul” with this recounting of the life of Sly Stone, whose career of musical boundary-pushing included creating the integrated coed SF Bay Area hit band Sly And The Family Stone. Questlove’s film compares the arc of Stone’s career with the sociopolitical changes occurring in America in the 1960s and 1970s. But the film doesn’t forget to take time to dissect such classic songs as “Dance To The Music” and “Everyday People.”
February 14
The Fault In Our Stars–In this adaptation of John Green’s best-selling novel, teenager Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) accepts her mother’s nudzhing and goes to a weekly cancer patient support group. (Hazel lives with thyroid cancer which has spread to her lungs.) There, she meets former cancer patient Augustus “Gus” Waters (Ansel Elgort). The two teens bond over hobbies and favorite books. When Gus learns about Hazel’s fascination with the Peter Van Houten (Willem Dafoe) novel “An Imperial Affliction,” his efforts to help Hazel meet Van Houten in person will wind up changing both their lives.
February 18
The Fox Hollow Murders: Playground Of A Serial Killer–Back in the 1990s, wealthy Indianapolis businessman and family man Herb Baumeister led a secret life as a serial killer of gay men. When thousands of human bones are found in the woods behind Baumeister’s estate Fox Hollow Farms, Hamilton County coroner Jeff Jellison uses new DNA technology to identify the remains and bring closure to victims’ families. But as the investigation proceeds, disturbing questions pop up. Did Baumeister act alone? How did Baumeister’s killing spree remain undetected?
February 21
Things Will Be Different–Joseph and Sidney are “brother-and-sister” criminals who use time travel to escape punishment for their misdeeds. When the duo get trapped in a farmhouse where a crime was committed, their supposed escape route might actually be a ticket to temporal purgatory.
February 24
Posso Entrare? An Ode To Naples–In this Italian Golden Globes-winning documentary, director Trudie Styler (film producer and wife of Sting) takes viewers inside the many layers of this oceanside city. It’s seeing crumbling alleys unaltered since Roberto Rossellini filmed “Journey To Italy” in 1954. It’s hearing about prisoners who transform refugees’ boats into musical instruments. It’s even getting immersed in Naples’ history with writer Roberto Saviano, whose publication of “Gomorrah” resulted in his losing any semblance of a normal life.
February 25
Ghostlight–When grieving middle-aged construction worker Dan Mueller accidentally stumbles on a community theater rehearsal of “Romeo And Juliet,” his life and that of his family changes in unexpected ways. Becoming a member of the theatrical troupe and getting increasingly involved in the play’s staging gives him a way to finally confront the family tragedy that haunts him. For Dan’s wife Sharon, art helps her find a path to re-establish routine interrupted by a senseless act. And for daughter Daisy, the production creates an opportunity to finally express her feelings to her father.
February 26
Shoresy Season 4–The popular “Letterkenny” spinoff follows the misadventures of the title character as he helps the Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs hockey team to rise to the top of national competition. In the new season, Shoresy himself has decided to explore life after hockey. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have reason to party hearty: it’s the summer off-season in Sudbury and the team just won the nationals. But for Bulldogs owner Nat, summer is now time for her to make sure the Bulldogs are behaving properly, especially since they now have a reputation to uphold.
February 27
Devil In The Family: The Fall Of Ruby Franke–Ruby Franke once built a YouTube following of millions by claiming to be a mom blogger showing her allegedly wholesome and happy family life. But the happy family facade soon showed cracks serious enough for the family to seek help from counselor Jodi Hildebrandt. Now eldest adult children Shari and Chad as well as husband Kevin talk on camera for the first time about what went on inside the Franke home. Franke herself would be arrested and sent to prison for child abuse.
February 28
Nigel Ng: The Haiyaaa Special–You may know him from YouTube as Uncle Roger, the commentator who roasts terrible attempts to cook Chinese food. In this two part comedy special, the object of Uncle Roger’s scorn happens to be the audience for this special. Then Nigel Ng (aka Uncle Roger’s nephew aka the guy who brings Uncle Roger to life) follows to make jokes about life and culture.
