Best recent movies available to stream12/4/2023 Fortunately, even the half-decent ’90s rom-coms have become iconic in their own way, and that’s especially true of a film like Raja Gosnell’s “Never Been Kissed,” which has very much become a cultural touchstone in spite of its quality (and because of its extreme “of its time”-ness). Streaming services aren’t exactly bending over backwards to provide down-the-middle Valentine’s Day programming this year, so even a half-decent ’90s rom-com feels like a gift from the gods of love. Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Licensing/Merchandising / Everett Collection A spotlight on Melvin Van Peebles complements his recent Criterion box set (“Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” only gets better with age), while those in search of less familiar landmarks can get acquainted with video artist Ulysses Jenkins, whose experimental short film work is collected here in a digital riot of lo-res high-art on subjects ranging from mythmaking in the African Diaspora to modern media portrayals of Black men. The Harry Belafonte series alone is worth the price of a subscription, as it finds him picking up where Paul Robeson left off with his first film appearance in 1953’s “Bright Road” (co-starring Dorothy Dandridge as a teacher with a troubled student in rural Alabama), and runs the gamut all the way through Robert Altman’s “Kansas City” some 40 years later. The Criterion Channel reliably highlights classic and contemporary Black cinema all year round, but the service’s programming during Black History Month - a rich and diverse celebration of Black film artists that runs the gamut from Abderrahmane Sissako and Gordon Parks to documentarians Stanley Nelson and Rosine Mbakam - offers a perfect illustration of how the depth of the service’s library and the insight of its curation elevates it above the rest of its competition. ![]()
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