We’re launching into a crowded month of February with a loaded slate this first weekend, including three new streaming films. Below is my take on this week’s new offerings. As always, you can follow everything I’m watching on Letterboxd @knighthawk7734.

Bosco (Peacock)
Starring: Aubrey Joseph, Nikki Blonsky, Thomas Jane, Theo Rossi, Vivica A. Fox, and Tyrese Gibson
Synopsis: The new streaming option on Peacock based on a true story. It follows Quawntay “Bosco” Adams (Joseph), who had a tough childhood and settled into a life of small-time crime. When he’s busted for marijuana possession, he’s sentenced to 35 years in prison and placed in a high security facility because of prior escapes. Around the same time, he finds out he’s going to be a father. That keeps him thinking about his relationship with his own parents (Fox and Gibson), clashing with his guards (Jane and Rossi), and looking for a way out. The true story aspect here is interesting, but most of this film falls very flat for me. The script was written and directed by Nicholas Manuel Pino. The script is dry, and the visuals are often dry as well. The rolling narration is meant to get us into Bosco’s head, which it does to some degree. The flashbacks to life with his father don’t have the emotional punch expected. In fact, none of it packs much of a punch at all. I was interested in the prison break aspect, but that’s not a lot of the focus here, and when it comes it’s incredibly underwhelming. This film is a complete misfire.
Rating: TV-MA

Orion and the Dark (Netflix)
Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Paul Walter Hauser, Ike Barinholtz, Nat Faxon, Angela Bassett, Colin Hanks, and Mia Akemi Brown
Synopsis: We got our first few animated films of the new year this week with a pair of streaming options. The first is Orion and the Dark, based on the book from Emma Yartlett. It’s based on a script written by Charlie Kaufman, who isn’t probably the first name you think of when you think of an animated film aimed at younger viewers. And yet, this one works. It features Orion (Tremblay), a boy who is afraid of nearly everything, trying to face one of those fears. He meets Dark (Hauser), who wants to change Orion’s perspective. They go on a 24-hour adventure so Orion can understand and learn to appreciate the dark. Turns out, Orion (Hanks) as a father is also recounting this story to his own daughter, Hypatia (Brown), to help her overcome her own fears of the dark. This ends up being a sweet, multi-generational family tale. I enjoyed the story and the construction here. Director Sean Charmatz does a nice job putting the film together. The look, the use of colors and the emotions, particularly in the third act, all work well. I was drawn to the story here and appreciated the final product. This is a sweet film worth checking out on streaming.
Rating: TV-Y7

The Tiger’s Apprentice (Paramount+)
Starring: Henry Golding, Brandon Soo Hoo, Lucy Liu, Michelle Yeoh, Sherry Cola, Sandra Oh, Jo Koy, and Bowen Yang
Synopsis: This second animated release of the weekend is also based on a book. This one comes from the novel by Laurence Yep. This one focuses on Tom (Hoo), a boy who learns of his family’s magical history and responsibility after his grandmother dies and a powerful sorcerer (Yeoh) tries to come and claim the magical Phoenix his family is charged with guarding. Aided by other magical warriors, led by the Tiger (Golding), Tom has to learn to embrace his power and step into the role vacated by the death of his grandmother. This is another animated film that has fantastic and incredible visuals. Some of the use of colors and the sequences really captured my attention. The film also moves at a good pace, clocking in at well under 90 minutes for the overall story. Unfortunately, it doesn’t make as strong an emotional connection as I had hoped. I enjoyed the overall arc of the story and the visuals, and I enjoyed the voice performances from the talented cast, but I didn’t get as invested in Tom’s journey as I could have been. This is worth checking out, and will work well for younger viewers, but it falls short of its potential.
Rating: Rated PG for action/violence, thematic elements, some language and suggestive references.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.