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New on Netflix and more: Top streaming picks for February 2026
New Netflix movies for February, plus three Catherine O’Hara performances worth revisiting.
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A typical edition of The Queue starts with me going in-depth on a single topic — whether it’s highlighting the most egregious 2026 Oscar nominations snubs or ranking every movie featuring both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck together — before offering some quick streaming recommendations.
Once a month, however, I’ll be sending you an all-recommendations edition of the newsletter, because the struggle of deciding what to watch is eternal.
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With the start of a new month heralding a slew of new movies and shows being added to streaming libraries, we’ve got plenty of recommendations to help you make the most of your time on the couch.
New movies to watch on Netflix in February
“Ex Machina” (2015): After a decade of writing screenplays for Danny Boyle (“28 Days Later,” “Sunshine”), Alex Garland made his directorial debut with this alluring sci-fi flick, about a mid-level tech employee (Domhnall Gleeson) who travels to the remote compound of his company’s CEO (Oscar Isaac) to act as a real-life Turing test for the prototype of his new humanoid robot (Alicia Vikander). As Gleeson’s programmer begins to form an attachment to Vikander’s sympathetic synth and begins to resent the abrasive, narcissistic CEO, Garland’s film nestles quite nicely into 2026’s zeitgeist. (Netflix)
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“Hell or High Water” (2016): Before taking over cable with “Yellowstone” and its many spinoffs, Taylor Sheridan penned this contemporary Western about a pair of brothers, played by Chris Pine (“Star Trek”) and Boston native Ben Foster (“The Punisher”), who rob banks in order to save their Texas family ranch while a pair of Texas Rangers (Jeff Bridges, Gil Birmingham) are hot on their tail. Every beat of the film plays out like an old Eastwood or Wayne movie, with Pine and Bridges circling each other like two wolves. (Netflix)
“You’ve Got Mail” (1998): With the proliferation of online dating, it’s amusing to think about how Nora Ephron directed two ’90s romcoms about how absolutely wild it would be if Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fell in love electronically. Whereas “Sleepless in Seattle” tied Hanks and Ryan together over the radio, “You’ve Got Mail” used the relatively novel (in 1998) concept of two book lovers falling in love via email while simultaneously loathing each other in real life, as Hanks’ bookstore chain encroaches on Ryan’s indie children’s literature shop. (Netflix)
3 Catherine O’Hara performances to watch this weekend
Shortly after last week’s edition of the Queue went out, the world learned that the great Catherine O’Hara had passed away at the age of 71 following a brief illness. All of her performances, from her start on “SCTV” to her late career role on “The Last Of Us,” are worth watching. But here are three in particular currently streaming.
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“A Mighty Wind” (2003): All of O’Hara’s collaborations with mockumentary director Christopher Guest are worth watching. (I revisit her audition scene with Fred Willard in “Waiting for Guffman” regularly.) But her role as one-half of famed (and fictional) folk music duo Mitch & Mickey might be her most complete performance. She not only wrote the song “One More Time” with co-star Eugene Levy, she gave a memorable performance of “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” at the Academy Awards. (Netflix, Pluto TV)
“Home Alone” (1990): O’Hara plays the needed straight-woman in this antic-filled Christopher Columbus holiday classic, more often letting performers like Macaulay Culkin and John Candy bounce their punchlines off of her rather than vice versa. But watch this movie and its sequel (also streaming on Disney+) enough times, and you’ll notice O’Hara gets her moments. The way she jabbers “hello! hello! hello!” at a random French lady on the airport payphone; the way she negotiates with an old woman for her seat; and of course, her bug-eyed scream of “KEVIN!” in “Home Alone 2”. (Disney+)
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“Schitt’s Creek” (2015-2020): Anyone who knows comedy loved and respected O’Hara, but it nevertheless felt like she existed just outside the mainstream. Instead of “Saturday Night Live,” she was on “SCTV.” (She actually was hired for “SNL” in 1981, but quit before ever appearing on air.) And until her longtime collaborator Eugene Levy and his son, Dan, made “Schitt’s Creek,” she had never starred in her own sitcom. As the eccentric, pompous former soap opera star Moira Rose, O’Hara had the perfect vehicle for her particular brand of daffiness. When the Canadian series became the first show to ever sweep the seven major categories at the Emmys in 2020, it felt like a long-overdue coronation. (Hulu, Prime Video)
Play or Skip: Staff Edition
You’ve heard enough of my streaming picks already, so here’s what the rest of Boston.com’s staff is watching.
Have a show you can’t stop watching? Email me about it at [email protected], and your recommendation may appear in a future edition of The Queue.
- “The Pitt” Season 2 (2026): Boston.com staff writer Abby Patkin was one of several staffers watching this HBO show, which recently continued its award-winning ways at the Golden Globes: “ I was wondering whether they’d be able to match the first season’s fresh, gritty vibe, and they absolutely have. HBO dropping one episode per week at 9 p.m. is both infuriating (as an inveterate binge-watcher) and delightful in that it facilitates messaging your friends with live reactions.” (HBO Max)
- “People You Meet on Vacation” (2026): Boston.com producer Kelly Chan (who produces this newsletter!) tabbed this Netflix romcom as her pick, saying she may have liked it more than the Emily Henry novel it’s based on: “I thought it was a really well-done adaptation of the book. I thought the flashbacks didn’t jump around too much to the point where it disrupted the movie, and the movie overall felt very colorful yet cozy.” (Netflix)
- “Secret Mall Apartment” (2024): Boston.com senior producer Heather Alterisio said this documentary about Rhode Island artists living in the Providence Place Mall exceeded her expectations: “‘I knew bits and pieces of this story from local news reports (including our own coverage), but I definitely had my doubts about a secret apartment actually being some kind of artistic expression. The documentary was unexpectedly wholesome and compelling. It took something of an urban legend and turned it into a thought-provoking examination of art, capitalism, community, and so much more.” (HBO Max)
End Credits
That’s a wrap on this edition of The Queue. If you’re a fan, please consider recommending this newsletter to your friends.
Until next time, good stream hunting, everyone!
— Kevin
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