Christmas (and the shelf life of all the new special festive fare Prime Video added in December) is over, and a new year is nearly upon us. Fortunately Prime Video’s PR department has still managed despite the holiday season to share its customary announcement of all the new TV shows and films coming to the streaming service in January, so it’s time to find out if your Prime Video membership is going to be kicking 2024 off with a bang or a whimper. As usual, I’m going to look first at the brand new ‘Amazon Originals’ being added within a Prime Video subscription in January, starting with new movie Foe .
Dropping on January 5, Foe sees not one but two Academy Award nominees, Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal, star in the story of a couple who contentedly farm a secluded plot of land until an uninvited stranger turns up and makes a proposal to them that threatens their relationship and identity but perhaps gives them a chance to successfully join the modern world. The result is apparently “a haunting exploration of marriage and identity set in an an uncertain world”, according to Amazon’s blurb writers. Fast X’s relentless but also kind of entertaining silliness arrives on Prime Video on January 16.
Another seemingly more light-hearted new Amazon Original movie debuting in January is Role Play . This one sees David Oyelowo and Big Bang Theory ’s Kayley Cuoco playing a happily married couple who decide to spice up their relationship by role-playing that they’re strangers meeting in a bar for the first time, only for one of them to be (correctly) recognized by someone else in the bar as an international assassin with a bounty on their head. Role Play arrives on January 12.
The only other Amazon Original new ‘movie’, if you can call it that, joining Prime Video in January is Kevin James: Irregardless . This apparently family-friendly comedy special features James giving his unfiltered take on everything from motivating kids to put down their video games and why he doesn’t trust technology to how many Tater Tots he can fit in his mouth. This one drops on January 23.
Turning to new Amazon-produced Prime Video series for January, the first one out of the traps (on Jan 5) is James May: Our Man In India . As you can probably guess, this three-episode series follows the most mild-mannered member of the Grand Tour team embarking on a 3,000 mile coast to coast trip across the world’s most populous continent. Sci-fi masterpiece Everything Everywhere All At Once is available to watch within a US Prime Video .
. . [+] subscription right now.
We stay in reality TV vein with new series of Dance Life and LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland , both of which debut on January 19. Dance Life charts the progress of a select group of students during their final make-or-break year at Australia’s elite ‘Brent Street’ dance studio, while LOL Ireland finds Graham Norton hosting the latest regional version of the popular format in which 10 comedians are brought together and tasked with making the others laugh while resisting cracking a smile themselves. Sports fans, meanwhile, can have their itch scratched on January 12 by live coverage of the Superlek vs Mahmoudi kickboxing fight from 8pm ET/5pm PT, as well as a fourth season of Uninterrupted’s Top Class: The Life And Times Of The Sierra Canyon Traiblazers , where the Trailblazers try to bounce back after a disappointing end to their previous season.
Uninterrupted is the only new Amazon Original to debut on the ad-powered Freevee platform available alongside the Prime Video service. New Amazon Original drama series are headed up by Expats (January 26), which stars Nicole Kidman and depicts how a single encounter triggers a life-changing series of events for a varied group of women living in Hong Kong. There’s a new take on Zorro , too, from January 19, in the shape of a freshly minted Spanish language series, and the new Amazon Originals are rounded off by adult animation series Hazbin Hotel , in which the princess of hell sets up a kind of halfway house hotel as she pursues a seemingly impossible goal of trying to rehabilitate demons to free up room in her hugely overpopulated kingdom.
You can try out this intriguing sounding series from January 19. ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ is available on the US Prime Video platform now – though only if . .
. [+] you’re willing to pay extra to rent it. Turning next to new (catalogue) films and TV shows joining the US Prime Video subscription in January, three films stand out: the Oscar-winning work of heart-warming sci-fi genius that is Everything Everywhere All At Once ; the distinctly average but ‘hey – it’s new’ Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts ; and the decently entertaining if daft tenth instalment of the Fast And Furious franchise, cunningly called Fast X .
Everything Everywhere should actually be available by the time you read this, slightly ahead of the new year, while Transformers drops on January 5, and Fast X makes its bow on January 16. One other big addition to Prime Video that’s also actually arrived slightly ahead of the new year is Taylor Swift concert movie, The Eras Tour (Extended Version) . This is, though, only available to rent; it’s not yet free within your Prime Video subscription.
Older films joining Prime Video’s catalogue titles are much more numerous than they were in December, stretching to around 160 additions in total (if you include those being added with ad breaks to Freevee service). And there are some great highlights among these ‘new oldies’. Comedies, for instance, don’t get much funnier than 1980’s Airplane! , with its endless stream of slapstick physical gags, puns, perspective jokes and good old fashioned silliness.
The laughs keep on coming with at least some sections of Woody Allen’s Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask) (1972); Paul Feig’s much funnier than it has any right to be Bridesmaids ; and, in a somewhat similar vein, 2012’s Pitch Perfect . If you want to add a healthy side of drama to the comedy, Forrest Gump finds Tom Hanks on irresistible Oscar-winning form, while a little darkness is added to the comedy formula thanks first to Jim Carrey’s memorably creepy turn in 2004’s Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events , but also Jonathan Demme’s cult comedy thriller from 1986, Something Wild . Quentin Tarantino’s second and some would say best film, Pulp Fiction, arrives on Prime Video on .
. . [+] January 1.
If romantic comedy is more your thing there’s a classic slice of it joining Prime Video in January in the shape of Notting Hill , in which a Hollywood superstar (Julia Roberts) falls for a humble bookshop owner (Hugh Grant) against another one of Richard Curtis’s supremely idealized visions of London. Bad Boys adds action to its comedy heart, meanwhile, and I’d even personally stretch the humour tag to take in Quentin Tarantino’s classic and at times undeniably (albeit very darkly) hilarious crime drama, Pulp Fiction . Like all the other catalogue films mentioned so far, these last two ‘comedies’ arrive on Prime Video on January 1.
If you’re in the mood for something more downbeat, things don’t get much heavier than 1984’s 1984 (!), featuring a mesmerising turn by John Hurt as the low-ranking civil servant struggling to maintain his sanity and identity in a totalitarian superstate that persecutes individualism. The Coen Brothers’ fantastic No Country For Old Men finds a sheriff who couldn’t resist stealing a huge sum of money from the scene of a drug gang shoot out being hunted down with palpable, gut-punching menace by Javier Bardem’s psychopathic hitman; Robert Altman’s adaptation of The Long Goodbye serves up an outstanding slice of film noir, as does Stanley Kubrick’s first film, 1956’s The Killing ; and films just don’t get more grippingly nihilistic and brutal than the original 1980 Mad Max , which set the twin forces of Mel Gibson and George Miller on their way to acting and directing superstardom. The Coen Brothers’s brilliant ‘No Country For Old Men’ drops within a US Prime Video subscriptions .
. . [+] from January 1.
War movies are represented in Prime Video’s January catalog additions brilliantly by Steven Spielberg’s searing and visceral Saving Private Ryan , and decently by Valkyrie : An interesting if slightly undercooked Tom Cruise-starring dramatisation of Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg’s 1944 attempt to assassinate Hitler. If you feel the need for pure action movie speed, January on Prime Video brings you the first four Mission: Impossible films, while superhero fans can indulge themselves in the original three Richard Donner/Richard Lester-directed Superman films. Once more, all of the thriller, war and superhero films I’ve just picked out are available on Prime Video from January 1.
Other excellent films dropping on Prime Video in January that don’t easily fit into neat categories are timeless heart warmer and tear jerker It’s A Wonderful Life (shame Amazon couldn’t list this in time for Christmas!); Good Will Hunting with its fantastic Robin Williams performance and remarkable career-igniting script by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck; dated but fun family film Jumanji (starring Robin Williams again); engaging Richard Attenborough-directed biopic Chaplin , starring an uncannily believable Robert Downey Junior as the groundbreaking comedian and filmmaker; and cult 1974 crime thriller, The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three . Before I share the full list of everything that’s coming to Prime Video US in January, there are a few catalogue films arriving on Freevee, too, on January 1 that warrant a mention in my ‘highlight reel’ – even if you’ll have to put up with these ones being punctuated by adverts. These Freevee goodies are Paul Greengrass’s gritty and ultimately – thanks to an amazing turn by Tom Hanks – emotionally devastating Captain Philips ; Edgar Wright’s fun ‘driving a getaway car in time with music’ crime thriller Baby Driver ; and, finally, in honour of my teen daughter’s bizarre obsession with it, Illumination Entertainment’s colourful adaptation of Dr Seuss’s The Lorax .
Woody Allen’s’ ‘Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask’ is a bit patchy, but . . .
[+] when it’s funny it’s really very funny indeed. But now, without further ado, here in date of release order, is the full list of everything good, bad and indifferent that US Prime Video subscribers can expect to turn up in January 2024. December 31 TV Series Paw Patrol (2013) – Prime Video January 1 TV Series Peppa Pig S1-2 (2004) – Prime Video Movies 42 (2013) – Prime Video 1984 (1985) – Prime Video 5000 Blankets (2022) – Freevee A Dog’s Journey (2019) – Freevee A Dog’s Purpose (2017) – Freevee Abel’s Field (2012) – Freevee About Last Night (2014) – Prime Video Airplane! (1980) – Prime Video Alfie (2004) – Prime Video John Hurt stars in this excellent adaptation of George Orwell’s powerful novel about the suppression .
. . [+] of individuality by a totalitarian government.
Along Came a Spider (2001) – Prime Video Baby Driver (2017) – Freevee Bad Boys (1995) – Prime Video Bad Boys II (2003) – Prime Video Before I Fall (2017) – Freevee Bridesmaids (2011) – Prime Video Captain Phillips (2013) – Freevee Chaplin (1993) – Prime Video Conan The Barbarian (1982) – Prime Video Couples Retreat (2009) – Prime Video Courageous (2011) – Freevee Cruel Intentions (1999) – Prime Video Cry Freedom (1987) – Prime Video Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (2006) – Prime Video Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009) – Prime Video Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012) – Freevee Europa Report (2013) – Prime Video Everything You Always. .
. Sex (1972) – Prime Video Facing the Giants (2006) – Freevee Finding Forrester (2001) – Prime Video Fireproof (2008) – Freevee Fled (1996) – Prime Video Forrest Gump (1994) – Prime Video Fruitvale Station (2013) – Freevee Good Will Hunting (1998) – Prime Video Director Edgar Wright edits to music for much of this fun crime thriller about a young getaway . .
. [+] driver trying to break free from his psychotic ‘gang’. Heaven is for Real (2014) – Freevee Heaven’s Gate (1981) – Prime Video Henry Fool (1997) – Freevee Home Again (2017) – Freevee Hoodlum (1997) – Prime Video How to Be a Latin Lover (2017) – Freevee I Am Ali (2014) – Prime Video I Am Bolt (2016) – Prime Video If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) – Prime Video It’s A Wonderful Life (Black & White Version) (1947) – Prime Video It’s A Wonderful Life (1947) – Prime Video Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind (2022) – Prime Video Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt (2012) – Prime Video Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise (2006) – Prime Video Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost (2011) – Prime Video Jesse Stone: Lost In Paradise (2015) – Prime Video Jesse Stone: Night Passage (2006) – Prime Video Jesse Stone: No Remorse (2010) – Prime Video Jesse Stone: Sea Change (2007) – Prime Video Jesse Stone: Stone Cold (2007) – Prime Video Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (2009) – Prime Video John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020) – Prime Video Judgment At Nuremberg (1961) – Prime Video Jumanji (1995) – Prime Video Jumping The Broom (2011) – Prime Video Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) – Prime Video Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013) – Prime Video ‘Mad Max’ launched the careers of both Mel Gibson and director George Miller.
It arrives on Prime . . .
[+] Video on January 1. Legacy Peak (2022) – Freevee Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) – Prime Video Lifeforce (1985) – Prime Video Like a Boss (2020) – Prime Video Little Nicky (2000) – Prime Video Love Happens (2009) – Prime Video Mad Max (1980) – Prime Video Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012) – Freevee Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) – Freevee Major Payne (1995) – Prime Video Mary, Queen of Scots (1972) – Prime Video Max Steel (2016) – Freevee Miles Ahead (2016) – Prime Video Miracles from Heaven (2016) – Freevee Mission: Impossible (1996) – Prime Video Mission: Impossible II (2000) – Prime Video Mission: Impossible III (2006) – Prime Video Mission: Impossible IV – Ghost Protocol (2011) – Prime Video Money Train (1995) – Prime Video Monster Family (2017) – Freevee Moonrise (2022) – Freevee Muscle Shoals (2013) – Prime Video Nerve (2016) – Freevee No Country for Old Men (2007) – Prime Video No Good Deed (2014) – Prime Video Non-Stop (2014) – Prime Video Notting Hill (1999) – Prime Video One Fine Morning (2022) – Prime Video Overcomer (2019) – Freevee Ozzy (2016) – Freevee Pariah (2011) – Prime Video Pitch Perfect (2012) – Prime Video Prince Avalanche (2013) – Prime Video Pulp Fiction (1994) – Prime Video Red 2 (2013) – Prime Video Rejoice and Shout (2011) – Prime Video Return To Seoul (2023) – Prime Video Role Models (2008) – Prime Video Rollerball (1975) – Prime Video Rules of Engagement (2000) – Prime Video San Andreas (2015) – Prime Video Saving Private Ryan (1998) – Prime Video Richard Donner’s first Superman film lands on Prime Video US on January 1, along with its two . .
. [+] Richard Lester-directed sequels. Side Effects (2013) – Prime Video Something Wild (1986) – Prime Video Son of Bigfoot (2017) – Freevee Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) – Prime Video Stargate: Continuum (2008) – Prime Video Stargate: The Ark of Truth (2008) – Prime Video Step Brothers (2008) – Prime Video Sun Moon (2023) – Freevee Superman II (1981) – Prime Video Superman III (1983) – Prime Video Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987) – Prime Video Superman Returns (2006) – Prime Video Superman: The Movie (1978) – Prime Video Takers (2010) – Prime Video Teen Witch (1989) – Prime Video The Bounty Hunter (2010) – Prime Video The Cable Guy (1996) – Prime Video The Death Of Dick Long (2019) – Prime Video The Eagle (2011) – Prime Video The Eagle Huntress (2016) – Freevee The Family (2013) – Freevee The Giver (2014) – Prime Video The Good Lie (2014) – Prime Video The Grace Card (2010) – Freevee The Gunman (2015) – Prime Video The Killing (1956) – Prime Video The Last House on the Left (1972) – Prime Video The Long Goodbye (1973) – Prime Video The Marksman (2021) – Freevee The November Man (2014) – Freevee The Perfect Match (2016) – Freevee The Raid 2 (2014) – Freevee The Story of Jacob and Joseph (1974) – Freevee The Swan Princess: A Royal Myztery (2018) – Freevee The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) – Prime Video The Ugly Truth (2009) – Freevee The Wedding Planner (2001) – Prime Video The Wiz (1978) – Prime Video Think Like a Man (2012) – Prime Video Think Like a Man Too (2014) – Prime Video To Sir, With Love (1967) – Prime Video To Write Love on Her Arms (2012) – Freevee Transporter 3 (2008) – Freevee Two Can Play That Game (2001) – Prime Video Valkyrie (2008) – Prime Video What’s The Worst That Could Happen? (2001) – Prime Video You, Me And Dupree (2006) – Prime Video Zola (2021) – Prime Video January 2 Movies The Bad Guys (2022) – Prime Video January 5 TV Series Hit S3 (2020) – Prime Video James May: Our Man In India (2024) – Prime Video Movies * Foe (2024) – Prime Video Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) – Prime Video January 9 Movies Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023) – Prime Video The Passenger (2023) – Prime Video January 10 Movies The Winter Palace (2022) January 12 TV Series ONE Fight Night 18: Superlek vs Mahmoudi – Prime Video Uninterrupted’s Top Class: The Life And Times Of The Sierra Canyon Trailblazers S4 (2024) – Freevee Movies * Role Play (2024) – Prime Video January 16 Movies Burn After Reading (2008) – Prime Video Fast X (2023) – Prime Video January 19 TV Series Dance Life (2024) – Prime Video Hazbin Hotel (2024) – Prime Video LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland (2024) – Prime Video Zorro (2024) – Prime Video Movies The Other Zoey (2023) – Prime Video January 22 Terra Willy (2019) – Freevee January 23 TV Series Kevin James: Irregardless (2024) – Prime Video January 26 TV Series Expats (2024) – Prime Video — Related Reading Amazon Prime Video Reveals New Films And TV Shows For December 2023 Amazon Prime Video Reveals New Films And TV Shows For November 2023 PlayStation Store To Lose More Than 1,200 Purchasable Titles – With No Refunds.
From: forbes
URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnarcher/2023/12/27/amazon-prime-video-reveals-new-films-and-tv-shows-for-january-2024/