Hulu has been stuck in the third place position when it comes to movie streaming behind Netflix and Amazon Prime because most people still see them strictly as a home for next-day television. They have movies too, though, and more than a few of them are terrific gems that make Hulu a destination beyond last night’s TV shows.
The complete list of new movies hitting Hulu this month — March 2019 — is below, but I wanted to highlight the best of the bunch along with several others worth seeking out.
Hulu Pick of the Month
You wouldn’t know it by the outcome of last month’s Academy Awards, but Hirokazu Koreeda’s Shoplifters (premieres 3/14) is the best foreign language film of 2018. It’s the story of an unconventional family, one made by circumstance and compassion, who live just outside the fringe of society. They’re thieves scraping by, but when they take in a neglected young child they confirm their humanity even as they risk their freedom. It’s a sweet, sad, and affecting film that will leave you crying openly with a bittersweet smile on your face.
Slipped Through the Cracks
Assassination Nation (premieres 3/18) is a film designed from the ground up to find and foster division among its audience. It sees a group of boisterous, outspoken teenage girls targeted by an ignorant, morally “superior” populace after a computer hack leaves townspeople’s digital secrets revealed. It’s over the top and exaggerated for effect, but if you can make it past the first thirty minutes you’re in for an exciting cautionary tale about Trump’s America. The Domestics (premieres 3/29) is a far more traditional thriller in most ways as it introduces us to a couple struggling to survive a post-apocalyptic United States overrun by violent gangs, killers, and cannibals. It never breaks the genre mold, but it’s fantastically effective in delivering suspense, thrills, and the occasional surprise.
Going Into the Dark
Hulu’s collaboration with Blumhouse TV for the year-long Into the Dark series has seen highs (Down) and lows (Pooka), but March’s entry is happily among the former group. Treehouse is every bit a horror tale for the #MeToo era as a man’s questionable actions come back to haunt him. Jimmi Simpson and a smart script deliver plenty of laughs, but the story and theme are deadly serious and well worth a watch.
A Documentary?!
Documentaries aren’t typically my scene, but once in a while one comes along that tells an undeniably captivating true story. Free Solo (available 3/13) follows Alex Honnold’s journey toward an unprecedented feat — climbing Yosemite’s 3000 foot high El Capitan wall without a rope. It’s a harrowing thought made even more nerve-wracking by video of him scaling rock walls without the benefit of a safety line. It’s terrifying to watch from the comfort of your couch.
Unlikely Sequels
Several sequels are hitting Netflix this month, but two of them stand out for a couple reasons — one, I haven’t seen them, and two, it’s pretty obvious why. Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction (2006) sees Sharon Stone’s saucy novelist return and once again find herself suspected of wrongdoing. Sex, death, and poor decisions presumably follow. A third Legally Blonde movie with Reese Witherspoon hits theaters in 2020, but if you can’t wait until then you’ll be happy to know the direct-to-video and Witherspoon-free Legally Blondes (2009) is now on Hulu. It follows her young cousins instead as they try to prove their innocence or some such thing.
The Complete List
March 1st
Drifters: Season 1 (Funimation)
Into The Dark: Treehouse (Episode 6) Premiere (Hulu Original)
Rick Steves’ Europe: Season 10 (PBS)
8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997)
Abduction (2011)
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
Alex & Emma (2003)
American Beauty (1999)
An American Haunting (2006)
Astro Boy (2010)
Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction (2006)
Batman Begins (2005)
Black Sheep (1996)
Blast from the Past (1999)
Boomerang (1992)
Breakheart Pass (1975)
Bruce Almighty (2003)
Bushwhacked (1995)
The Chumscrubber (2005)
The Cider House Rules (1999)
The Crying Game (1992)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Death at a Funeral (2007)
Deuces Wild (2002)
Dirty Work (1998)
The Dogs of War (1981)
Double Jeopardy (1999)
Easy Rider (1969)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Fire in the Sky (1993)
The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981)
He Named Me Malala (2015)
Heaven’s Gate (1981)
I, Dolours (2018)
The Ice Storm (1997)
Impostor (2001)
Inventing the Abbotts (1996)
Ironweed (1987)
It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (1976)
JFK (1991)
Jumanji (1995)
Legally Blondes (2009)
Lego Batman: DC Super Heroes Unite (2013)
Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash (2018)
The Mighty Quinn (1989)
Nacho Libre (2006)
Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
Office Space (1999)
Open Season (2006)
Open Season 2 (2009)
Open Season 3 (2011)
Open Season: Scared Silly (2016)
Ouija House (2018)
Ouija Séance: The Final Game (2018)
Perfect Creature (2005)
The Piano (1993)
The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
Rambo III (1988)
Reasonable Doubt (2014)
Red Corner (1997)
Red Dragon (2002)
Regarding Henry (1991)
Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993)
Return of the Living Dead 4: Necropolis (2006)
Return of the Living Dead 5: Rave to the Grave (2007)
River’s Edge (1987)
S.F.W. (1995)
Saved! (2004)
Shaolin Warrior (2013)
Small Soldiers (1998)
Summer Catch (2001)
Tapeheads (1988)
Toys (1992)
Tristan & Isolde (2003)
Two Weeks Notice (2002)
Vice (2015)
W. (2008)
Waterworld (1995)
What a Girl Wants (2003)
What Lies Beneath (2000)
What’s the Worst That Could Happen? (2001)
Witness (1985)
Yes Man (2008)
March 4th
American Idol: Season 2 Premiere (ABC)
Cosmos: Possible Worlds: Series Premiere (FOX)
Good Girls: Season 2 Premiere (NBC)
March 5th
The Closet (“Le Placard”) (2001)
A Frozen Christmas 3 (2018)
Where Hands Touch (2018)
March 6th
MasterChef Junior: Season 7 Premiere (FOX)
Mental Samurai: Series Premiere (FOX)
March 7th
Dudes (1987)
Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979)
Suburbia (1983)
March 8th
Hang Ups: Complete Season 1 (Fremantle)
I Can Only Imagine (2018)
A.P. Bio: Season 2 Premiere (NBC)
For The People: Season 2 Premiere (ABC)
March 9th
Keeping Up with the Kardashians: Season 15 (E!)
March 10th
Black Clover: Season 1 (Dubbed) (Funimation)
Middle Men (2009)
March 11th
The Party’s Just Beginning (2018)
March 12th
Acrimony (2018)
Trigger (2018)
March 13th
Free Solo (2018)
March 14th
Shoplifters (2018)
March 15th
The Fog (2005)
Like Water for Chocolate (1992)
No Way Out (2018)
Shrill: Season 1 Premiere (Hulu Original)
Wings of the Dove (1997)
March 16th
Tea with the Dames (2018)
March 17th
Divide and Conquer (2018)
March 18th
Assassination Nation (2018)
March 19th
Fear the Walking Dead: Season 4 (AMC)
A Frozen New Year’s (2018)
Juda: Season 1 (Banijay)
The Fix: Series Premiere (ABC)
March 20th
The Act: Series Premiere (Hulu Original)
Girl Most Likely (2013)
The Village: Series Premiere (NBC)
March 21st
The Last Race (2018)
Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists: Series Premiere (Freeform)
March 22nd
Cardinal: Season 3 (CTV)
March 24th
Catfish: Season 7, Episodes 1-28 (MTV)
March 26th
A Cam Life (2018)
Dr. K’s Exotic Animal E.R.: Season 7 Premiere (National Geographic)
March 27th
Monsters and Men (2018)
March 29th
Abby’s: Series Premiere (NBC)
The Domestics (2017)
March 30th
Chef Flynn (2018)