Regardless of your monthly streaming expenditures, Roku TV consistently offers excellent viewing options. Over the past month, the platform has enriched its library with a collection of remarkable films, including several classic comedies, a rarely-seen comic book adaptation, and two acclaimed Best Picture winners.
Here are the seven standout new additions currently available on Roku TV.
“Fences”
Combining masterful acting with the eloquent words of a renowned American playwright creates a truly powerful cinematic experience. Take “Fences,” for instance, where Denzel Washington directs himself alongside Viola Davis in an adaptation of one of August Wilson’s most celebrated and iconic stage works. The resulting performances are, as anticipated, absolutely remarkable.
“His Girl Friday”
Roku TV boasts a rich selection of classic comedies, including the timeless 1940 gem, “His Girl Friday.” Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell portray a newspaper editor and his highly skilled ex-wife reporter who find themselves entangled in a high-stakes final story together. Howard Hawks’ quintessential screwball comedy, penned by Charles Lederer and based on Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s “The Front Page,” remains a brilliantly entertaining and captivating farce even today.
“It Happened One Night”
In the nascent years of the Academy Awards, Frank Capra desperately sought an Oscar. He even ascended the stage at the 6th Academy Awards when Will Rogers called out “Come up and get it, Frank!” for Best Director – only to realize Rogers was referring to Frank Lloyd, who won for “Cavalcade” that year. With just three directors nominated, it was a moment of public mortification.
However, Capra swiftly recovered from this embarrassment a year later with “It Happened One Night,” a film that made history as one of only three movies ever to sweep the Big 5 Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay (then Best Writing (Adaptation)).
The profound affection Oscar voters developed for this 1934 romance is easily understandable. Adapted from Samuel Hopkins Adams’ Cosmopolitan story “Night Bus,” the movie chronicles the intertwined destinies of a reporter and a socialite, as the latter endeavors to travel cross-country by bus to reunite with her fiancé. Starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert (who faced her own Oscars controversy that year), the film is both hilarious and deeply romantic, brimming with undeniable charm.
“Modern Romance”
Albert Brooks truly embodies a triple threat: an exceptional actor, a brilliant writer, and a superb director. All these talents shine brightly in “Modern Romance,” his second feature as a director. Co-written with Monica Johnson, the film centers on a film editor, his remarkably patient girlfriend, and the myriad ways he sabotages his own happiness. It’s incisive, insightful, unsettling, and profoundly authentic. Brooks is truly one of a kind.
“Train to Busan”
Yeon Sang-ho’s action-horror masterpiece “Train to Busan” swiftly cemented its status as a contemporary classic within the zombie genre. Written by Park Joo-suk, the film plunges a group of train passengers (aptly heading to Busan) into the terrifying chaos of an undead outbreak. It’s an intensely suspenseful, exhilarating, and at times profoundly moving experience – embodying all the essential elements of a truly great zombie film.
“Titanic”
In a recent newsletter, I confessed that I only just saw “Titanic” for the first time (I held out for a cinema viewing, truly!). James Cameron’s monumental historical epic was absolutely worth the wait. Every component of this film operates flawlessly – from the stellar performances and sharp screenwriting to the intricate artistry and profound emotional depth. This is pure, unadulterated movie magic. I fully intend to revisit this film for years to come, and I urge you to do the same.
“The Trial of the Incredible Hulk”
Before the anticipated second season of “Daredevil: Born Again,” you can journey to Roku TV to witness the live-action debut of the Man Without Fear in “The Trial of the Incredible Hulk.” This made-for-TV movie, a continuation of the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno television series (and directed by Bixby, the second of three such films), sees the Hulk joining forces with Daredevil/Matt Murdock to combat Wilson Fisk, also known as the Kingpin. The film additionally establishes the origin for the iconic simple black costume worn throughout the first and third seasons of Netflix’s “Daredevil” (a look later canonized in the comics during Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.’s celebrated run on the character).
