Crossing the Streams is our series of guides looking at all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month. This time we’re checking out the new Amazon Prime arrivals for March 2021, including some Steven Spielberg films, some stellar Westerns, and more!
Amazon Prime Pick of the Month for March 2021
Eddie Murphy was big business in the 1980s with five big box-office hits, the last of which was John Landis’ Coming to America in 1988. It took thirty-three years, but he’s finally returning to Zamunda, as Coming 2 America premieres on March 5th. Craig Brewer (Dolemite Is My Name) is stepping in as director, but Murphy is joined by many of the first film’s actors, including Arsenio Hall, Louie Anderson, James Earl Jones, John Amos, and more. The equally exciting news is the addition of Wesley Snipes. The plot sees Murphy’s now-King Akeem coming back to America in search of a long-lost son, one presumably sired while he was still living the prince life in Queens, and hijinks ensue. Will it live up to the original, or will it maybe even surpass it? Let’s find out together.
A Pair of Bad-Ass Westerns
Okay, Silverado (1985) may not be exactly what you picture when you think of “bad-ass” movies, but I’d argue its comedic side doesn’t lessen the harder-edged thrills that unfold within. It’s definitely playful, an unavoidable outcome when you pair writer/director Lawrence Kasdan with this ensemble — Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum, Kevin Costner, Danny Glover, Brian Dennehy, Scott Glenn, John Cleese, Rosanna Arquette, Linda Hunt, Jeff Fahey, Amanda Wyss, Richard Jenkins, and more — but the fun only makes the violence hit harder. The cast is aces and brings together an eclectic group of characters made up of good guys, bad guys, and those in between, and it’s the kind of big, rousing adventure we really don’t get anymore.
Tombstone (1993) actually pairs pretty damn well with Silverado as it too is a Western delivering some fun personalities, serious stakes, and one hell of a cast: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Jason Priestley, Stephen Lang, Dana Delaney, Thomas Haden Church, Charlton Heston, Michael Rooker, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Zane, the voice of Robert Mitchum, and more. It’s stacked! Director George P. Cosmatos guides the action and drama with an assured hand guaranteeing more than a few memorable setpieces along the way.
’90s Thrills
Amazon Prime will be home to the newest Tom Clancy adaptation with next month’s Without Remorse starring Michael B. Jordan as John Kelly (so yes I’m expecting a crossover at some point with their John Krasinski-led series Jack Ryan), so why not ease your way in with 1992’s Patriot Games. The first of two adaptations starring Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan, the movie remains a terrific action/thriller pitting the CIA analyst against IRA terrorists. The great Phillip Noyce directs, and it also stars Anne Archer, Sean Bean, Patrick Bergin, Thora Birch, Samuel L. Jackson, and more. It’s the second-ever Clancy film and, for my money at least, the second-best adaptation so far.
You don’t hear people talking about In the Line of Fire (1993) much these days, and it’s too bad as the film is still a highly entertaining action/thriller. Clint Eastwood stars — his last acting gig where he wasn’t also director — alongside a wonderfully maniacal John Malkovich and the always great Rene Russo. Director Wolfgang Petersen delivers with action, suspense, and some fun moments of sweetness between Eastwood and Russo, and the set-pieces en route to the big assassination finale are still terrific stuff. Plus, a score by Ennio Morricone!
A Smattering of Spielberg
Steven Spielberg has thirty-two feature directing credits and over two hundred in total as a producer, but while quantity is no guarantee of quality, it’s hard to argue with the man’s track record. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) remains one of the absolute best-loved family films of all time — and that’s with a kid calling someone “penis breath!” Yes, the special edition changes were stupid (no guns!), but the film is still a masterpiece of childhood adventure, science fiction, and pure warmth.
All three films in the Back to Future (1985-1990) trilogy are new to Hulu this month, and while Spielberg didn’t direct, his influence is evident across the board. Robert Zemeckis was something of a protege with Spielberg producing his first feature (and several more that followed), and that continued through this epic sci-fi/comedy series of films about a teen traveling through time with thrilling, funny, and awkward results. The first movie remains the inarguable highpoint, but while it dips a bit with the second film, the concluding chapter is a high-spirited Western hybrid that restores the trilogy to glory.
Finally, while The Terminal (2004) is understandably considered “lesser Spielberg,” it’s still well worth a watch for a few reasons. Spielberg himself is obviously the first reason, but the cast is also pretty aces with Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, and more. Hanks plays a man stranded in an international airport for diplomatic reasons, and as the hours turn into days and then weeks, he discovers bureaucracy and love in equal measure.
The Complete Amazon Prime List for March 2021
| Release Date | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 3/1 | 48 Hrs. (1982) | |
| 50/50 (2011) | ||
| Another 48 Hrs. (1990) | ||
| As Good As It Gets (1997) | ||
| Attack Of The 50 Foot Cheerleader (2012) | ||
| Attack The Block (2011) | ||
| Back To The Future (1985) | ||
| Back To The Future Part II (1989) | ||
| Back To The Future Part III (1990) | ||
| Beloved (1998) | ||
| Cocktail (1988) | ||
| Due Date (2010) | ||
| E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) | ||
| Extract (2009) | ||
| For Colored Girls (2010) | ||
| The Full Monty (1997) | ||
| I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009) | ||
| Instant Nanny (2015) | ||
| In The Line Of Fire (1993) | ||
| Mae West: Dirty Blonde (2020) | ||
| Neil Young: Heart Of Gold (2006) | ||
| Patriot Games (1992) | ||
| Patriots Day (2017) | ||
| Priceless (2016) | ||
| Rain Man (1988) | ||
| Religulous (2008) | ||
| Rushmore (1999) | ||
| Shine A Light (2008) | ||
| Silverado (1985) | ||
| Sliver (1993) | ||
| The Spirit (2008) | ||
| Sydney White (2007) | ||
| The Terminal (2004) | ||
| Tombstone (1993) | ||
| Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns (2008) | ||
| A Very Brady Sequel (1996) | ||
| W. (2008) | ||
| Wet Hot American Summer (2001) | ||
| The Whole Nine Yards (2000) | ||
| 3/3 | Out Of Africa (1985) | |
| 3/5 | Coming 2 America (2021) | Amazon Original Movie |
| 3/10 | Jack And Jill (2011) | |
| 3/12 | Honest Thief (2020) | |
| Making Their Mark - Season 1 | Amazon Original Series | |
| 3/19 | Words On Bathroom Walls (2020) | |
| 3/26 | Invincible - Season 1 | Amazon Original Series |
| La Templanza (The Vineyard) - Season 1 | Amazon Original Series: | |
| 3/29 | Renegades (1989) | |
| 3/30 | The Ghost Writer (2010) |
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