Streaming service Hulu isn’t just for rewatching every new episode of The Good Place for the third time (although I highly recommend doing that). In addition to its same-day streaming of network and cable shows, premium original content like the Stephen King-inspired series Castle Rock and the award-winning phenomenon The Handmaid’s Tale, a Hulu subscription also provides access to a wealth of recently-released films – many of which were written and directed by women.
Though Hulu also streams classics like Penny Marshall’s Big and Mary Harron’s American Psycho, these seven great films all had theatrical releases in the past 10 months:
Active Measures
August 31
Writer: Marley Clements
FF2 Review: “With their sleek presentation of dense research and marquee interviews (Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Asha Rangappa and more), [Clements and director Jack Bryan] craft a compelling—and alarming—case for the role of Russian interference in the Trump election and administration, as well as other elections around the world.”
The Year of Spectacular Men
June 15
Writer: Madelyn Deutch
Director: Lea Thompson
FF2 Review: “The titular men provide the narrative thread, but the film focuses on a different kind of love story – between a family of women made up of a mother trying to move on with her life after the death of her husband, and two co-dependent daughters just beginning their adult lives.”
The Gospel According to Andre
May 25
Director: Kate Novack
FF2 Review: “From humble beginnings in the segregated American South to a career in fashion’s fast lane, André Leon Talley has lived a life filled with unforgettable experiences. The Gospel According to André details André’s story while exploring his social impact as well as capturing his signature flamboyance.”
Boom For Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat
May 11
Director: Sara Driver
FF2 Review: “Driver captures the raw creativity of the world renowned artist Jean-Michel Basquiat before his height of commercial success…Downtown New York City was as vibrant as young Basquiat was, and this is their story.”
RBG
May 4
Directors: Julie Cohen and Betsy West
FF2 Review: “Who would have thought that a film about a Supreme Court Justice would be exciting, dramatic, comedic, entertaining and educational? Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen have done just that with their new documentary RBG. Their subject certainly has a lot to do with all of these qualities as it is the “Notorious” Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”
Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami
April 13
Director: Sophie Fiennes
FF2 Review: “Jones is the electric, eye-catching, and uniquely bold subject of Sophie Fiennes’ documentary, Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami. Fiennes accompanies the multi-talented artist/entrepreneur for five years and showcases some of the most vulnerable, naked, and unknown dimensions of the star, famous for her fierce personality.”
The Female Brain
February 9
Writer-director: Whitney Cummings
FF2 Review: “Cummings certainly deserves praise for not only writing and directing her first feature length film, but also leading the cast as Julia, a recently-divorced neurologist explores the inner workings of the male and female brain in regard to romance. The film deftly delivers the message that the different aspects of the female brain, like its higher level of empathy, are strengths rather than weaknesses, and should be celebrated.”
Other films by women available to stream on Hulu: Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (Angela Johnson), Detroit (Kathryn Bigelow), Beach Rats (Eliza Hittman), Loving Vincent (Dorota Kobiela), Step (Amanda Lipitz), Whose Streets? (Sabaah Folayan), City of Gold (Laura Gabbert), School Life (Neasa Ni Chianan), Young Adult (Diablo Cody), Me Before You (Jojo Moyes) and Tumbledown (Desi van Til).
© Georgiana E. Presecky (10/30/18) FF2 Media
Photos: Writer-director Whitney Cummings and Beanie Feldstein in The Female Brain; screenwriter Madelyn Deutch and Zoey Deutch in The Year of Spectacular Men, directed by their mother Lea Thompson.
