The best movies new to streaming in March

By James On Mar 2, 2024

Happy March, Polygon readers. The weather is getting warmer, winter is closing its doors and the Oscars are just around the corner. But first: new movies to watch on your streaming services in March.

This month we have an earlier hit from a current Oscar contender, a Dev Patel film to get you excited for Monkey manand classics from the ’80s and ’90s that didn’t get the recognition they deserved upon initial release. (But we can fix that now.)

Here are the new streaming service movies you should watch this month.

Editor’s choice

Ishtar

Image: Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection

Where to watch: Criterion Channel
Genre: Comedy
Director: Elaine Mei
Form: Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty, Isabelle Adjani

Best known as a flop that ended the career of the great director and comedian Elaine May. Ishtar Wrongly maligned in its time, it has seen its reputation blissfully restored to the point where it is beginning to be recognized as one of the great comedies of the 1980s. That’s already too late, but at least it’s happening, and now you can be part of that big rethink.

Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty star as a pair of hapless wannabe musicians who are duped by virtually everyone in their lives on their quest to make it big. As a result, they find themselves in the middle of a Cold War standoff in Morocco, caught between the CIA and a plot to overthrow the local government.

Part of the film’s brilliance is the way Hoffman and Beatty play against type. Beatty could easily be portrayed as the confident leader and Hoffman as the happy-go-lucky idiot, but the tables are turned to great comic effect. Beatty in particular is astonishingly funny as the completely inept Lyle Rogers.

Ishtar is also a fantastic example of a very difficult feat: a good artist deliberately writing bad art into his work. The duo’s songs are so outrageously bad that they are perfect again. “Dangerous Business” always takes up about two percent of my brain, and I’m glad it will take up yours too. —Piet Volk

New on Netflix

Devil in a blue dress

Genre: Neo noir
Director: Carl Franklin
Form: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Don Cheadle

Let me tell you about this ASAP, as I’ve also written extensively about it: Denzel Washington, on the brink of stardom, starring in an adaptation of one of the great mystery books of the 1990s, alongside Don Cheadle as if you’ve never seen him before. Devil in a blue dress is an almost forgotten classic thriller. Fortunately, with the recent Criterion 4K restoration and addition to Netflix, it’s moving closer to gaining its rightful place in the canon of excellent 20th-century American cinema. —PV

New on Hulu

The favorite

Genre: Period comedy
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Form: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz

Yorgos Lanthimos, the Greek director of bizarre, award-winning dark comedieshas landed its latest collaboration with Emma Stone Poor things. It’s coming to Hulu in early March (March 7 to be exact), but I can’t recommend it yet because I haven’t seen it yet.

I can recommend their previous collaboration: The favorite, which in my opinion is Lanthimos’ strongest film to date. Set in early 18th century England, the film follows two cousins (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone) as they each vie for the affections of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman). The outrageously funny film relies heavily on the excellent performances of its three leads and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards. (Colman, the real standout in a group of standout performances, won Best Actress.) —PV

New on Max

The Green Knight

Genre: Fantasy
Director: David Lowery
Form: Developer Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton

Of all the movies coming out in the next few months, I don’t think there’s one I’m more excited about than Monkey man. Dev Patel’s directorial debut also sees him move into action star mode: a long-awaited twist in the career path of a former international taekwondo medalist turned Oscar-nominated actor.

So while we wait Monkey manwhy not check out his most recent feature film, The Green Knight? Patel excels as Gawain, bringing to life a complicated man desperate to be a hero, all in a fascinating twist on conventional fantasy worlds and tropes.

And if you’re looking for some more recent Patel goodness, check it out The beautiful story of Henry Sugar on Netflix. —PV

New on Prime Video

I saw the devil

Genre: Thriller
Director: Kim Jee-woon
Form: Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Oh San-ha

South Korean revenge thrillers have a reputation for being brutal and bloody, but Kim Jee-woon’s I saw the devil is a completely different beast.

The film follows Kim Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun), a National Intelligence Service special agent, who embarks on a twisted mission of retaliation and revenge when his fiancée, Joo-yeon, is kidnapped and murdered by Jang Kyung-chul. (Choi Min-sik), a cruel psychopath and serial killer. The film unravels like a cat-and-mouse game of sadistic psychological brutality, as Soo-hyun stalks and stalks Kyung-chul every step of the way, attacking him until he’s on the brink of death before retreating to prolong his suffering . Filled with invigorating violence, thrilling chase scenes and a chilling climax that clearly clarifies the question of what justifies revenge. I saw the devil is a blood-curdling experience. —Toussaint Egan