Happy New Year, Polygon readers! The holidays are behind us and 2024 beckons.
The new year has already brought us a banger action movie, and there are many more exciting upcoming films just around the corner. But the new year also means a shuffle of movies on streaming services, with exciting new titles on Netflix, Hulu, Max and Prime Video.
We've gone through the very long lists of new titles on every platform and picked out the best of the best for you to enjoy at home this month. There are award-winning films from new film directors, hidden gems from beloved stars and much more.
Let's dive in and see what this month has in store!
Editor's choice
Shoplifters
Image: Magnolia Photos
Where to watch: Hulu
Genre: Drama
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Form: Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka
Masterful Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda was responsible for two of the best films of 2023: the crime drama of the found family Broker and the seductive mystery thriller Sample.
Although many who tuned into the international film scene were fans of Kore-eda before his drama ShopliftersThe film's Palme d'Or win and Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film helped introduce a whole new audience to his work.
Like many of Kore-eda's films, Shoplifters is concerned with the nature of what family is, and the lengths we must go to in order to survive. It follows a found family living in poverty doing odd jobs and shoplifting to make ends meet. The family meets a young girl and takes her in, expanding their circle despite the difficulty of feeding another mouth.
Beautifully shot on 35mm film, with deeply felt performances that completely immerse you in the story. Shoplifters is a masterpiece from one of our most thoughtful and empathetic filmmakers. —Piet Volk
New on Netflix
The first purification
Image: Universal images
Genre: Dystopian action horror
Director: Gerard McMurray
Form: Y'lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade
The Purge series has had one of the most fascinating creative trajectories of any horror series of the past decade. What started as a dystopian spin on the home invasion subgenre, anchored by a strong performance from Ethan Hawke, has transformed into a dark funhouse mirror of American carnage, an anthology of semi-standalone films that unravel the horror of watching a society engage in an annual celebration of its own destruction. 2024 is an election year, so naturally you would think I would recommend it The Purge: Election Year, right? No, that's predictable; instead, you should watch Gerard McMurray's 2018 prequel, which gets right to the explicit root of the motivations behind the Purge.
Set in 2014, the film follows Nya (Lex Scott Davis), a young community activist; Isaiah (Joivan Wade), Nya's younger brother; and Dmitri (Y'lan Noel), Nya's ex-lover and a prominent drug dealer, all of whom must survive the first annual purge held in their Staten Island home. Although this is carried out under the pretext of allowing the population to express its pent-up anger, the true motive becomes clear: to sow fear among the population and exterminate the poorest and most marginalized members of society. It's ironic that, by returning to the in-universe origins of the Purge, The first purification is an example of the fullest maturation of the series' concept and themes yet. Equal parts horror, action and social commentary, the film is as clever as it is chilling. —Toussaint Egan
New on Hulu
The king of comedy
Image: 20th century fox
Genre: Black comedy
Director: Martin Scorsese
Form: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard
Did you enjoy joker, Todd Phillips' controversial hit starring Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prince of Crime? Are you looking forward to it? Joker: Folie à Deux, the upcoming sequel starring Phoenix opposite Lady Gaga? Then you have to look The king of comedyone of two Martin Scorsese films that directly inspired Phillips' film.
The king of comedy follows Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro), a troubled aspiring stand-up comedian. After crossing paths with his idol Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), a successful talk show host, Rupert becomes obsessed with breaking into show business to the point of insanity, culminating in a scheme that just might launch him to stardom catapulting… he doesn't let himself be killed first. A darkly satirical look at celebrity culture and the dangers of fandom, The king of comedy is one of Scorsese's most underrated masterpieces and highly recommended for anyone looking for a deeper understanding of the creative inspirations behind joker. -AT
New on Max
Ricochet
Photo: Warner Bros./Everett Collection
Genre: Dark crime thriller
Director: Russel Mulcahy
Form: Denzel Washington, John Lithgow, Ice-T
Highlander And Resident Evil: Extinction director Russell Mulcahy, an unhinged John Lithgow and a baby-faced Denzel Washington team up in this extraordinary crime thriller that is one of the strangest and most fascinating films of Denzel's career.
Ricochet is a revenge story of a sociopathic killer (Lithgow) who goes to great lengths to destroy the life of the now famous ex-cop (Washington) who captured him years ago. When I say extreme lengths, I mean it – Ricochet is about as dark as dark thrillers can get, so be ready for that.
The sordid affair is heightened by an all-time villain performance from Lithgow, who gets to have a sword fight in the prison cafeteria with the Aryan Brotherhood in completely homemade body armor. But Denzel also delivers a typically charming performance, and Mulcahy's bold direction, with clever transitions, multiple split diopters and other touches of flair, helps give the film life.
Ricochet is a messy film with dark themes and subjects. But it is also a surprisingly effective film about white resentment of the rise of the black class. an all too relevant topic. —PV
New on Prime Video
Return to Seoul
Image: Aurora Films/Sony Pictures Classics
Genre: Drama
Director: Davy Chou
Form: Ji-Min Park, Oh Kwang-rok, Guka Han
Return to Seoul was one of my favorite films I saw last year, so I'd be remiss not to recommend it now that it's on streaming. Written and directed by Davy Chou, the film follows Freddie (Ji-Min Park), an impulsive 25-year-old woman who “accidentally” arrives in Seoul after her flight to Tokyo is canceled. Adopted by French parents, Freddie tries to reconnect with her birth parents to gain a better sense of peace and closure with her past.
The film's strength lies primarily in Park's poignant and whimsical performance, which paints a fascinating portrait of a woman at odds with her own sense of identity and belonging in a land that is both familiar and foreign. If you're looking for a deeply moving, beautifully shot and compellingly performed drama, Return to Seoul is all that and more. -AT