Connexion
Remember how you used to turn on the TV late at night and flip through the channels to see what was on? Remember when you'd stumble across a movie halfway through and get sucked in? Maybe you don't, because you came of age alongside the streaming revolution, which granted you the ability to watch exactly what you want to watch, when you want to watch it (or at least to scroll endlessly looking at algorithmically generated suggestions of things a computer thinks you might want to watch).
The Criterion Channel streaming service is looking to recreate a bit of that sense of cinematic kismet with the launch of Criterion 24/7, a new livestream available to all of its subscribers. The livestream shows random selections from the streamer's vast catalogue of classic and contemporary films, from high-minded arthouse fair, to cult gems, to the best of world cinema, one after another. You can tune in at any time and find yourself smack in the middle of a silent horror film, or something from the French New Wave, or maybe an unjustly derided Razzie winner.
You won't know exactly what you're in for—there's no set schedule, no grid telling you what's on or what's coming next—and that's the fun of it. I've long considered the Criterion Channel the best streaming service for cinephiles because of the strength of its curation and the sheer variety of films on offer, but paradoxically, I often have trouble finding something to watch on it because there is so much there I want to see, and all of it is so different. Criterion 24/7 takes my choice out of the equation, and it's delightful.
Last night I couldn't fall asleep, so I opened up the livestream on my phone (via the Criterion Channel app) and wandered into a silent film about the history of witchcraft. Because I am the kind of person who reads r/criterion, I immediately recognized it as Häxan, a Swedish quasi-documentary from 1922 that I'd actually been meaning to watch for years. And now I've seen a good chunk of it—and since I have access to the entire catalogue via my subscription, I can always go back and watch from the beginning. While drafting this article, the tail end of 1992's The Player and the beginning of Jackie Chan's Police Story played in the background—two more films from my endless watchlist.
If you can't figure out what's on, you can skip backward in the feed by up to 90 minutes, which will hopefully allow you to go back far enough to catch the title, or at least give yourself a little more context. (Alternately, Criterion has launched a feed on X that tells you what's currently playing. Personally, I love a good mystery.)
My favorite thing about Criterion 24/7 is that there's no algorithm involved. Criterion isn't showing me random selections from my watchlist, or movies it thinks I might like to see based on what I've watched before, or read about online, or that feature a product it thinks I might like to buy based on a banner ad I accidentally clicked on once. The livestream is the same for everyone, bringing a sense of community into your solitary streaming experience.
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(As Musical Lettuce Man put it on X, "The more people watching Chungking Express the better.")
The service has only been around a few days, and I'm not the only movie geek loving it. The reactions from the Letterboxd crowd have been predictably enthusiastic. The only downsides of note at this point are that the stream isn't captioned (though any films not in English do have subtitles), and that I can't sit around and watch it all day.
Many films drawing from ancient legends might be described as revisionist takes, but thinking of them in that way misses a key tenant of mythology and folklore: In every cultural context, stories bend and shape themselves with the teller and the listeners.
Stories that are less malleable don’t have nearly the lifespan of these tales, many of which have survived for centuries, or even millennia. For evidence, look no further than these 30 disparate but mythology-based movies you can stream right now.
Inspired by: The various Grail legends surrounding legendary British King Arthur.
A stunningly faithful take on the corpus of King Arthur literature, and an entirely accurate look at life in the middle ages.
Where to stream: Netflix
Inspired by: The heroic outlaw of English folklore, dating back to at least the 14th century.
There’s no single, definitive Robin Hood story, and though variations of the character have been around for centuries, many of the elements we take for granted come from right here. Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland are clearly having a lot of fun in this bright, colorful, and zippy film. It’s pure joy.
Where to stream: Tubi
Inspired by: The 14th century chivalric romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and related Arthurian stories.
There’s nothing of history here, but David Lowery’s phantasmagoric take on Arthurian legend captures the weird, almost entirely alien feel of Middle English literature as none ever has before.
Where to stream: Max
Inspired by: The blending of West African religious traditions, Haitian Voodou, and Roman Catholic practices that form the basis of Louisiana Voodoo.
Writer/director Kasi Lemmons’ Eve’s Bayou is a rich and rewarding Southern Gothic drama with strong hints of magical realism. Diahann Carroll plays Elzora, a Voodoo practitioner with shades of Marie Laveau; Laveau was a very real historical figure, a religious leader and community leader, but her hazy biography places her on the line where fact and folklore meet.
Where to stream: Freevee, Mubi, Starz
Inspired by: The 13th century Scandinavian and Swedish ballad Töres döttrar i Wänge.
Ingmar Bergman’s revenge epic (later remade, after a fashion, as Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left) was inspired by the medieval ballad that told of a local legend of Kärna, Sweden, sharing the origin of the nearby church. The film, involving the rape and murder of a young girl on her way to church, is among director Ingmar Bergman’s most challenging, but still manages to find some light in the dark ages.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, Kanopy
Inspired by: Stories of Jinn.
Among the very few monster movies produced in Morocco, Achoura is a confident, impressive debut (even given some dodgy CGI). With shades of It, the film involves four childhood who reunite when a friend who’d gone missing twenty years earlier reappears, forcing them to face the repressed memories of decades past.
Where to stream: Shudder, Tubi, AMC+, Freevee
Inspired by: Several Senegalese folktales.
Inspired by several West African folk stories, Kirikou and the Sorceress involves the title boy, who’s forced to defend his village from an evil witch who isn’t quite what she appears to be. As with much of the world’s folklore, the stories represented here come to us secondhand, in this case via an early 1900s colonial administrator named François Equilbecq. The movie is also directed by a white French director. That being said, the material is approached with respect and what feels like a genuine love of the lore. The film inspired two sequels.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Inspired by: The 10th century Japanese prose narrative The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
Taking its story fairly directly from a 1,000-year-old tale, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is slightly less well known than many of Studio Ghibli’s classics, but nevertheless sits with the best of them. A bamboo cutter discovers a small girl within a shoot who he and his wife decide to raise as their own child. Kaguya’s beauty, and her father’s desire that she be treated always as a princess, are in many ways as limiting as her mother’s more traditionally submissive role. Kaguya is encouraged to endure an array of suitors before her true origins are revealed.
Where to stream: Max
Inspired by: Celtic mythology related to selkies, fairies, and Macha, a goddess primarily associated with Ulster.
Tomm Moore’s gorgeously animated film follows 10-year-old Ben, who blames his sister Saoirse for the apparent death of their mother just after her birth. Eventually discovering that his sister is in fact a part-human, part-seal selkie, he sets off with her on a quest to free fairies from the goddess Macha. This one is the middle chapter of director Moore’s trilogy of films that deal with Irish folklore, and they’re each worth a watch.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Inspired by: Norse mythology and the jötunn.
What do you do when one of your best friends is murdered in a botched liquor store robbery? Go to Sweden and tromp around in the woods, obviously! The four friends here do just that in this effective thriller blending don’t-get-lost-in-the-woods horror with genuinely mythological frights. In the best folk horror tradition, the friends find that human sacrifice is very much (and literally) on the table. They'll have to survive both a cult and the offspring of Loki himself.
Where to stream: netflix
Inspired by: The Trolls of Nordic myth and folk legend.
Writer/director André Øvredal's Trollhunter is a unique blend of genre tropes, combining horror and dark fantasy with a found-footage style and hints of mockumentary. Troll legend is old and varies widely, but the film makes use of some of the most venerable tropes: They can smell Christian blood, they eat rocks and human flesh interchangeably, and they're little dumb. They also turn to stone in the presence of daylight, which makes UV flashlights a potent weapon. The final act involves a confrontation with a Jotnar (a word with many possible meanings, but here mostly referring to enormous size), a mountain troll probably inspired by a reference in Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt. Nods to Norwegian fairytales abound, including "Three Billy Goats Gruff."
Where to stream: Prime Video, Peacock, Tubi, Freevee
Inspired by: West African juju (folk magic that typically involves the combination of physical charms with spells).
An impressive triple anthology from Nigeria that explores the power of juju in modern Lagos, placing old magic in modern times and mixing in bits of urban legend and horror. The first sees a single woman conjuring a love potion out of mortuary water and menstrual blood. The second involves an urban legend about people keeping money they find on the street and turning into yams (so be careful out there). The third and best follows a young university student who fears that her best friend Joy might be a witch. Nengi Adoki plays Joy, and her unhinged performance is a highlight.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Inspired by: Hans Christian Anderson's 1837 fairy tale "The Little Mermaid," and ancient mermaid legend generally.
Polish director Agnieszka Smoczyńska updates Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid," leaning away from Disney and into the horrific elements of the original. In neon-lit 1980s Warsaw, two mermaids join the human world and hang out at a nightclub, where their siren songs make them hot commodities, until one of them falls for a human, endangering their relationship. With a synth-field soundtrack, wild musical numbers, and a few murders (a mermaid’s gotta eat, after all), it’s a colorful and wildly inventive fish tale.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Inspired by: Haitian zombie mythology (plus movie-zombie tropes).
In the zombie uprising of 1981, the fictional Red Crow Indian Reservation in Quebec, Canada becomes a fortress against the undead. The Mi'kmaq residents are immune to infection in a way that white people are not. The bloody, and very fun zombie film has a bit more on its mind, as well: Mi'kmaq and Canadian writer/director Jeff Barnaby draws parallels to a 1981 raid by Quebec Provincial Police officers on the Listuguj reserve, during which the locals fought back. In doing so, he creates a zombified version of real-life events.
Where to stream: Shudder
Inspired by: The Greek mythological leader Jason and his crew of Argonauts, searching for the Golden Fleece.
This masterpiece from animator Ray Harryhausen brings to life the hunt for the Golden Fleece, recruiting any number of gods, goddesses, monarchs, and mythical creatures to block their path. Most impressive are the skeleton warriors, or the battle with the giant automaton Talos.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Inspired by: The Greek tales of Orpheus and Eurydice.
Jean Cocteau’s classic, which places the story of Orheus and Eurydice in contemporary Paris, has proven nearly as influential as the original myths—or at least breathed new life into them. It has inspired generations of poets, painters, and filmmakers with its interrogation of the artists’ journey int he context of the doomed love that, here, ends in the mirror of a Rolls-Royce.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Inspired by: The apeths (night witches) of South Sudanese Dinka religion and mythology.
A refugee couple from South Sudan struggle with their new lives in a quiet English village, eventually coming to realize that they can’t entirely escape their history. The plot mixes in elements of Dinka diasporic religion and folklore, particularly with regard to the very hungry night witch that threatens their futures.
Where to stream: Netflix
Inspired by: Beowulf, an old English epic poem rooted in much older Germanic legend.
Robert Zemeckis’ journeyed into the past of western European literature and deep into the uncanny valley in his 3D computer-animated fantasy. It’s probably the best adaptation of Beowulf on film, which is admittedly faint praise, but it’s impressively entertaining. Writers Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery (Pulp Fiction) flesh out the story in interesting ways, playing with Freudian interpretations and beefing up the pre-Christian elements amidst the all the blood and smattering of CG nudity.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Inspired by: the Greek myth of Iphigenia, and particularly the play by Euripides.
As with all the best Greek tragedy, there aren’t easily identifiable heroes and villains here, just tough moral questions. And there are certainly victims: in this case, the title character, Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon, the King of Argos. In retaliation for a perceived slight, Artemis demands Iphigenia as a sacrifice, lest she doom the entire Trojan expedition. Director Michael Cacoyannis beings a sweaty, gritty realism to the story.
Where to stream: Vudu
Inspired by: The giant sea creature of the Hebrew Bible (and likely earlier), particularly as referenced in the Book of Job.
The giant whale carcass encountered in co-writer/director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s film isn’t merely set dressing; the film takes inspiration from the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible, in which the titular pious character becomes a magnet for misfortune after Satan teases God with the idea that Job wouldn’t be nearly so righteous without his many blessings. Though its allegory isn’t so on-the-nose, the Russian film involves a mechanic who comes up against a corrupt local mayor with an eye on Kolya’s property. The film’s bold critique of corruption in Putin’s Russia made it a subject of controversy upon its initial release.
Where to stream: Starz
Inspired by: The animated creature of Jewish folklore, referenced at least as far back as the first written Talmud manuscripts.
The smart Israeli period thriller, set in 1673 Lithuania, manages a degree of faithfulness to golem-related folklore while still bringing in new ideas. Hanna (Hani Furstenberg) lives in a shtetl that’s managed to escape a nearby plague; that in itself has made them targets of gentiles in neighboring villages who see something devious in their survival. An outcast among her own people, Hanna has been studying kabbalah secretly for years, learning what she needs to fashion a golem to defend the village. Instead of the more traditional monster of clay and mud, the creature takes the form of a child.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Peacock, Tubi, Freevee
Inspired by: Homer’s The Odyssey.
Perhaps not the strictest interpretation of the epic attributed to Homer, the poet’s inspiration is nonetheless all over the Coen brothers’ film—sometimes right on the surface. O Brother’s crew of convicts—Ulysses Everett, Pete, and Delmar—all encounter near-mythic obstacles, including three corn-whiskey and sirens, and come home to find Everett’s wife Penny engaged to another man. Even the soundtrack’s unexpected hit “Man of Constant Sorrow” references the Greek etymology of Odysseus’s name.
Where to stream: Hulu
Inspired by: Classical Cypriot King and sculptor Pygmalion (best known from Ovid’s Metamorphoses), and his impressive statue Galatea.
My Fair Lady reimagines the myth of sculptor Pygmalion (via George Bernard Shaw) as the story of Professor Henry Higgins, who hopes to fashion cockney urchin Eliza Doolittle into the model of a refined English lady. It’s a variation that Ovid could doubtless not have imagined, but it’s helpful to remember that all classical myths exist in various forms, and were being reworked and re-sculpted long (long) before modern playwrights and filmmakers got their hands on them.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Inspired by: The vengeful Onryō ghosts of Japanese folklore.
Japanese folklore tells us that spirits can become untethered from their bodies when forced out of balance, as when dying an untimely, violent, or unjust death. The idea became the basis for cross-cultural ghost stories, but received one of its finest treatments in this Japanese thriller about a woman and her daughter-in-law who are raped and murdered by a group of samurai. With the help of a black cat, they return and sow revenge on any samurai they meet—until the woman’s son arrives among the samurai sent to destroy them.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
Inspired by: The classical Greek myths of Perseus.
The late, great animator Ray Harryhausen tacked any number of mythological projects over the course of his long career, but never with quite as much style as in his final project, a relatively straightforward take on the story of Perseus (Harry Hamlin), tamer of Pegasus, lover of Andromeda, and slayer of Medusa (who deserved better, but I digress). CGI would soon supplant Harryhausen’s style of stop-motion animation, but not always for the better.
Where to stream: Vudu
Inspired by: Stories of the legendary British King Arthur (dating roughly from the 5th century CE), particularly Thomas Mallory’s 15th century Le Morte d’Arthur.
The King Arthur legendarily has been endlessly flexible over the course of its long lifespan, the corpus reinventing itself with impressive regularity. We tend to imagine Arthur and company squarely in the European Middle Ages, but the once and future king was already pushing a millennium by the time of Thomas Mallory’s grand summing-up. As a cinematic presence, though, it’s been pretty rough going for the king, who has inspired an awful lot of forgettable movies. John Boorman’s Excalibur is a rare exception, with an all-star cast bringing loads of style and a bit of substance to the fantasy.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Inspired by: Trolls, which appear in written sources around the 13th century, but likely predate that by at least several hundred years.
We’ve never been shy about spicing up our pop culture with trolls, from children’s stories to Tolkien to Dungeons & Dragons. Trollhunter succeeds first by bringing the creatures back to their Nordic roots, setting the story in the filmmakers’ native Norway, and then excels further by making them truly scary. Even when the found footage rockumentary style eschews self-seriousness, these trolls are aren’t nearly the lovable oafs of other interpretations.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Peacock, Tubi, Vudu, Freevee
Inspired by: The “Weeping Woman”of Mexican folklore, dating from at least the 15th century.
Don’t confuse it with the fine-but-forgettable Conjuring-related Curse of La Llorona from the same year; Mexico’s weeping woman was having a moment in 2019. This Guatemalan films does more interesting (and stylish) things with the mythology, blending it in with the utterly horrific genocide of the country’s native Mayans in the early 1980s. Shortly after a (fictional) general who helped orchestrate the massacre is found non-culpable, his family takes on a new indigenous servant (other native Mayans being understandably unwilling to work for them). Naturally, this woman isn’t quite what she appears to be.
Where to stream: Shudder, the Criterion Channel
Inspired by: Stories of Jinn, spirits who first appear in pre-Islamic indigenous Arabian religions.
Though set in a very particular time and place, writer/director Babak Anvari’s Under the Shadow invokes the Jinn as a way to talk about the strife and turmoil of war and political conflict, as well as about the anxieties of women in oppressive societies. So: broadly relatable. In Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War, a woman estranged from her husband is forced to protect her child from mysterious supernatural forces as the bombs continue to fall. Jinn are ambiguous figures in religion and folklore, neither necessarily good nor evil, but potentially deeply threatening. What we see of them here is a far reach from common depictions in western media.
Where to stream: Netflix
Inspired by: Classical Greek tales of Orpheus and Eurydice, circa 6th century BCE onward.
A blend of impressionistic fantasy with realism, Marcel Camus’ Black Orpheus moves the story of Orpheus and Eurydice to a favela in Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval. The two lovers, played by Breno Mello and Marpessa Dawn, are pursued by a figure who might be literal Death, or perhaps just a local hitman, as well as vengeful former fiancée. Scenes from the myth have clever analogues, as when the Bureau of Missing Persons in Rio takes the place of the underworld. It’s not all about the Ancient Greeks, as the backdrop and the climactic Brazilian (via the African diaspora) Candomblé ritual make clear. The film has been wildly influential, both as a piece of filmmaking and for introducing Brazilian bossa nova to a receptive global audience. It’s a French film from a white director based on a play from a white writer, so its depiction of Black Brazilians isn’t entirely uncontroversial, but it’s nevertheless an ecstatic update to a very old story.
Where to stream: HBO, The Criterion Channel, Kanopy
When you need to destress, there’s not much better than putting on a movie populated by a cast of characters you just want to hang out with, either because they’re likable or just interesting. These are movies don't need to be particularly plot-driven, nor even to have much in the way of "plot" at all. It's very often better when they don't.
It’s not that nothing happens in them (although that’s nearly true in a couple of cases), but that’s it is the characters driving them forward, rather than story elements pulling them along—as though a filmmaker took a handful of interesting characters to a compelling location and left them to run wild. Sometimes the results are philosophical, sometimes poignant, and sometimes deeply wacky, but they always involve characters who enjoy hanging out together, and who we enjoy spending time with.
A declining American movie star in the midst of a midlife crisis and a young grad student facing a similarly uncertain future meet while staying at an upscale hotel in Tokyo. Things happen, but there’s not much more to the plot than the two of them exploring Tokyo, which acts as a sort of liminal space between their pasts and futures. After The Virgin Suicides, it’s the movie that cemented director Sofia Coppola’s spot in the filmmaker pantheon.
Where to stream: Max
There’s drama, of course, but at the heart of Soul Food is the Black family that gathers together each Sunday, no matter what, to have dinner. One of the keys to the success of a great hang-out film is that we wind up enjoying the time spent with its characters. And who’d turn down an invitation to a dinner that includes Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, and Mekhi Phifer?
Where to stream: Hulu
Much of Richard Linklater’s filmography could (and will) fit here, but the movies of the Sunrise trilogy are probably the purest example of his style—with no other main characters to speak of, they’re all just scenes of Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke chatting and developing their relationship. That’s not easy to pull off, and many movies with similar ambitions come across as pretentious and dull. Here, the sharp writing, strong performances, and collaborative nature of the production resulted in something deeply engrossing.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
Some of the most iconic faces of the ‘80s (aka the “Brat Pack”) get a largely unsupervised detention together on a Saturday. Each is there for a different reason, and each represents a different clique—it’s all a little on the nose, but the film does lean toward a kind of emotional honesty, and it’s hard not to be drawn into their insular world.
Where to stream: Max
The spin-off TV series is phenomenal, but the earlier Jemaine Clement/Taika Waititi film has hilarious pleasures of its own. Different house and different characters, but the essence of the joke is the same: a group of very old vampires live together in modern times; while they engage in traditionally horrific bloodsucking behavior, they're unwilling and unable to adapt. For all of their dark powers, they're mostly just a bunch of dorks who think they're much cooler than they are.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann play, respectively, Withail and Marwood (the title's "I") in this British period film—one that defies most of our expectations of that genre (it's very much a cult classic). A rather dark comedy, it's set in the late 1960s and involves a couple of down-on-their-luck friends: one's perpetually anxious, the other hard-drinking and sarcastic. Bored with a life of aimlessly drifting around London, the two plan a visit to Withnail's country uncle, quickly finding that the English countryside is neither as exciting, nor as restful, as they'd imagined.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Kevin Smith has never topped his first feature, which he made by maxing out his credit cards and filming at the convenience store where he was working at the time. The movie’s blend of cinéma vérité style with blowjob jokes and Star Wars references was a thunderstroke for independent cinema, creating a brief and blissful window of time during which character-based, dialogue-heavy movies could be marketed outside the arthouse crowd.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Paramount+, MGM+, Pluto TV
Though there are a couple of not-strictly-necessary subplots, the core of Barbershop is the conversations that happen within the title establishment on what might turn out to be one of its final days (it's been sold to a loan shark who plans to turn it into a strip club). Everything from sex, to relationships, to O.J. and civil rights is on the agenda, and the cast of lively and entertaining characters make it a fun place to spend time.
Where to stream: Max
A top-tier Stephen king adaptation from director Rob Reiner, Stand By Me eschews the paranormal horrors of King's other works in favor of a darkly tinted coming-of-age drama about a bunch of young guys who go on a search for a rumored dead body in 1959. The movie deals with both the joys and trials of growing up, taking neither an excessively rosy view nor an overly cynical one. The movie's best moments are also its quietest, with its talented ensemble cast just hanging out and enjoying a taste of freedom.
Where to stream: Hulu
When I think of Paul Thomas Anderson, chill hangout vibes aren’t what generally comes to mind. More like the cocaine-tinged tragic-comic edginess of porno drama Boogie Nights, or the surreal operatic swells of the capitalism-as-apocalypse period piece There Will Be Blood. But way back in 2021, the director gave us what we (possibly) needed most of all: a laid-back period comedy-drama without a single superhero, and nary an explosion in sight.
Where to stream: Prime Video, MGM+
The vibe here isn't entirely chill, as the film's Flossy Posse gets up to some fairly wild shenanigans during a trip to the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. Having grown apart, the now middle-aged friends all manage to reconnect with their wild sides. The movie's biggest pleasures all involve the camaraderie between the core four friends, played by Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Queen Latifah. A huge critical and box-office success (also just a lot of fun), this was one of those movies that should have served as reminder that centering black women can be a path to success—yet executives went right back to making Ant-Man movies.
Where to stream: Peacock, TNT, TBS
Back to Richard Linklater, who broke through with this indie hit that follows a large ensemble of 20-somethings on one day in the hipster haven of Austin (before it was Austin). Linklater lets the conversations wander by following one group of people until they run into another, and then proceeding to see what they’re up to for a while. It’s a simple, clever way to bring in a multiple stories and bits of local color without troubling with a minor detail like a “plot.” The vibe here isn’t so much one set of characters that you want to hang with all day; it’s more that you’re hanging with the cameraperson interacting with a bunch of interesting people.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
It’s fun to imagine an alternate timeline in which George Lucas’ career hadn’t been swallowed by Star Wars sequels—one in which American Graffiti had been the template, rather than the more lucrative space operas. Here, he brings an understated energy to the story of a bunch car-loving high school grads on the cusp of adulthood, enjoying a night of freedom in 1962. Paul Thomas Anderson cited this one as a chief inspiration for Licorice Pizza, and that totally tracks, as the movie has served as a template for plenty of coming-of-age flashbacks.
Where to stream: Netflix
Harold and Maude is a cross-generational romance of an entirely different kind. Depressed, apathetic teenager Harold meets and befriends a free-spirited, gives-no-fucks septuagenarian named Maude. The two go off on low-key adventures (if you can call them that—they meet while separately crashing the funeral of someone neither of them knows, and most of the stuff they do together is on that level: uprooting a tree from a park to replant it in a forest; stealing a car only to take it for a joyride) and eventually get physically romantic. The message of the movie is about appreciating every day for the weirdness it has to offer you; if Maude is sort of a Manic Pixie Dream Grandma, you can easily excuse it.
Where to stream: Showtime, Kanopy
After getting fired on a Friday, Craig Jones (Ice Cube) and his best friend Smokey (Chris Tucker) get high on weed that they were meant to sell, setting them off on a series of usually funny, usually low-stakes adventures in the movie that gave us “Bye, Felicia.”
Where to stream: Digital rental
Last Richard Linklater movie, I promise. Though I could certainly include Waking Life and Everybody Wants Some.
Where to stream: Peacock
Mumblecore auteur Joe Swanberg made a move into something a bit more like the mainstream with Drinking Buddies, starring Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson as co-workers at a low-stress craft brewery. There’s some relationship drama, but, it’s also a movie about how, for the two leads and their friends (including Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingstone, and Jason Sudeikis), being drinking buddies is a perfectly reasonable place for a relationship to land.
Where to stream: Showtime
There’s a bit more of a plot here than in some of the other hangout movies under discussion, but Alexandra (Mya Taylor) and her bestie Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) are very nearly forces of nature: it wouldn’t take a particularly elaborate set-up to set them entertainingly in motion. Here, it’s the revelation that trans sex worker Sin-Dee’s boyfriend and pimp has been cheating on her, sending the two off for a series of minor adventures during the holiday season in L.A.
Where to stream: Paramount+, Tubi
A Friday night hookup turns, unexpectedly, into a weekend hang that grows more interesting as the conversation gets deeper. The vibe is a bit Before Sunrise, though this one is all about what comes after the sex.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, AMC+, Mubi
Wes Anderson’s Rushmore is the movie the gifted us the later-career Bill Murray we’ve been enjoying ever since: funny and chill, but slightly sad in a way that gives those other attributes an emotional resonance. Here, he plays Herman Blume, a disillusioned parent who hates his own kids, but develops a friendship with Jason Schwartzman’s Max Fischer.
Where to stream: Digital rental
The Amy Heckerling-directed, Cameron Crowe-written coming-of-age film sometimes gets lumped in with other teen comedies of the 1908s, but there's a unique artistry in the movie's steadfast refusal to have a traditional plot. In its story of teenage life as a series of vignettes, it's got a timeless quality—even if its mall-centric setting increasingly feels dated.
Where to stream: AMC+
There are moments that fall flat, but time has been relatively kind to Empire Records—its cast includes a virtual who’s who of up-and-coming stars of the mid-’90s (some of whom went on to bigger things, others not so much) running a failing record store during the course of a single day. The soundtrack, including Gin Blossoms, Cranberries, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Better Than Ezra, and others hitmakers of the era, helps to make the movie a fun time capsule.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Sofia Coppola cleverly transposed the tropes of the hang-out movie to 18th century France, eschewing the typical high-stakes melodrama of the period film genre in favor of the story of a teenager trying to carve out a place for herself in the only life she’s ever known, not realizing (until it’s too late) that the larger world is closing in.
Where to stream: Pluto TV
Look, middle-age+ people can hang too (looking at you, Golden Girls). Here, a great cast including Judi Dench, Celia Imrie, Bill Nighy, Ronald Pickup, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson and Penelope Wilton all play British pensioners who head off to live in sunny Jaipur, India as a means of maximizing their retirement savings. They find that the accommodations at the hotel (run by Dev Patel) they were sold on aren't exactly what was promised, but the gang have enough relatively low-stakes adventures to last them through this movie, and a similarly charming sequel.
Where to stream: Hulu
Writer/director Ti West (X, Pearl, MaXXXine) might not be your first stop when looking to chill out with a movie, but horror fans are a different breed, and his 2011 film The Innkeepers skips the gore in favor of a ghost story set at an old hotel during its closing weekend. Sara Paxton and Pat Healy play the hotel's only on-duty staff, lazily catering to just a couple of guests while drinking beer, telling stories, and doing some half-assed ghost hunting. Naturally, things do get more dramatic (and spookier) in final act, but the goofy, low-stakes rapport between the two is a huge part of the movie's charm.
Where to stream: Peacock
Alfonso Cuarón's seminal coming-of-age movie finds a couple of teenagers (Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal) taking a road trip with an older woman (Maribel Verdú), facing a major upheaval in her own life. Jealousy and expectation threaten the relationship among the three as they head to a paradisiacal and isolated beach, but the stakes here are emotional, not melodramatic.
Where to stream: AMC+
A relatively rare success among SNL spinoff movies, the movie sees Mike Myers and Dana Carvey reprising their roles as wildly goofy rock fans Wayne and Garth, hosting a late-night cable access talk show. Offered a shot at the big time, the two come to realize that all they ever really wanted to do was chill and hang out.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Paramount+, MGM+
The Coen brothers gave us film’s all-time great berobed slacker character in Jeff Bridges’ Dude. A case of mistaken identity complicates his life, but nothing’s really going to change his essential nature.
Where to stream: Peacock, Hulu
What better hangout movie to end on than one that is literally nothing more than hanging out with two friends as they have dinner and talk—about theater, life, about philosophy? This 1981 movie sounds like an arthouse chore, but it is endlessly fascinating—Wallace Shawn, André Gregory, and director Louis Malle keep you wishing for just one more course.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Eclipse fever is upon us...or at least, those of us in, near, or traveling into the path of totality for the April 8 celestial event. Total solar eclipses aren't nearly as rare as you might thing, occurring about once every 18 months from the Earth's perspective. The trick is to be in a position to see it happen.
This month's eclipse is a big deal precisely because its visible path extends across major population centers in North America, with Austin, Dallas, Indianapolis, Buffalo, and Montreal among the major cities in the path of totality, and partial views for thousands of miles in either direction. Because of the relative rarity of being in the right place at the right time, eclipses are almost always highly symbolic events in films; they never just happen.
While we're all gearing up to see something beautiful here in the real world, in the movies, eclipses are almost always disturbing, if not downright ominous. There's a sense that once the sun starts to fade, the normal rules no longer apply. Revelation is on the table, as is transformation. Eclipses can suggest the triumph of the weak over the powerful, or conversely, the triumph of darkness over light.
Unlike the eclipse, which you absolutely must not look at without very good eye protection, you can look at these 12 movies straight on.
You're doubtless familiar with the work of French cinematic pioneer Georges Méliès via his most famous film, 1902's A Trip to the Moon. That wasn't his only cinematic trip into the heavens, though, and he has just as much fun with this later project. It starts as a stuffy science lesson in a room full of stuffy old professors (including Méliès himself) before turning into a highly sexualized encounter between the sun and the moon in the night sky (to any viewer with even the slightest hint of imagination, it's positively filthy).
It's been argued for decades whether or not this represents an entirely straight encounter, as the devilishly masculine-presenting sun takes the ambiguously gendered moon from behind. Either way, Méliès clearly understood that a few minutes of darkness during the daytime, when other eyes are distracted, might represent an opportunity of sorts. If you know what I mean.
Where to stream: YouTube
Mark Twain's seminal satirical novel made light of the traditional images of Medieval life and chivalry then popular in other Brit-lit. It was also a solid takedown of both the monarchy and unfettered capitalism. The 1949 movie version ditches much of that interesting subtext (and bite) while maintaining a spirit of good ol' American can-do, personified by Bing Crosby. It's all in good fun, and reaches its climax when Crosby's time-displaced Hank accurately predicts a total solar eclipse at the moment he's about to be executed (good timing). Fortunately, he'd travelled with a book noting the times and dates of such things, reminding us to think carefully about what to pack along on a trip through time.
A sticking point: There was no recorded eclipse in the movie's June 528, but Twain might have based the novel's similar events on real history: Christopher Columbus, notably bad at everything he ever set out to do, earned a last-minute reprieve on one of his final voyages thanks to a little foreknowledge. Having beached his no-longer seaworthy ships off the coast of Jamaica, his crew had taken to abusing the locals who soon lost interest in providing the food that was keeping the starving sailors alive. Columbus used his foreknowledge of the coming eclipse to convince local leaders that his God was going to punish them. They relented, and Columbus lived to catch a rescue ship and spend the rest of his life being mocked by contemporaries as an abject failure (and his afterlife being honored with an American holiday). As for the movie's premise, early medieval scientists would have known about eclipses and their causes (one of the proto-sources for King Arthur is the monk Bede, who wrote fairly accurately about how eclipses work), but it's not unreasonable to think that normal people would be freaked out if Bing Crosby showed up and seemed to command the sun to go dark.
Where to stream: Tubi
This one is less well remembered than other big biblical epics of the 1960s, but contains lavish set-pieces, and a great (if slightly nonsensical) classic Hollywood casts, including Anthony Quinn, Anthony Kennedy, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Palance, and Sharon Tate. Quinn plays the title character, the thief freed by Pontius Pilate instead of Jesus. A particular innovation in film comes during the scene during which Barabbas returns to witness the death of Jesus: Taking the New Testament at its word about darkness falling, the sequence was filmed during an actual total eclipse on Feb. 15, 1961, when that event was visible in full over Italy, where filming took place. I'd imagine there were no second takes.
Where to stream: Digital rental
This underrated slasher follows a group of three kids born on the same day in the middle of a not-terribly convincing solar eclipse. The circumstances of their birth quite naturally cause them to turn murderously evil on their 10th birthdays. (You can't argue with basic science.) The kids start stalking horny teenagers and the movie quickly comes to feel like a crossover between The Bad Seed and Friday the 13th. Susan Strasberg and José Ferrer lend a bit of credibility to the drama, and help drive home the moral ("Don't give birth during an eclipse! What were you thinking!").
Where to stream: Tubi
Richard Donner's unfairly forgotten medieval fantasy finds young thief Phillipe Gaston (Matthew Broderick) befriending Capt. Navarre (Rutger Hauer), a man under a curse. Navarre and his lover Lady Isabeau d'Anjou (Michelle Pfeiffer) are never able to be together—he becomes a wolf at night, while she turns into a hawk by day. An eclipse is the narrative's answer to their prayers: during this time of neither fully night nor fully day, the two are able take on their true human forms at the same time, and giving them a real shot at defeating the jealous wizard who screwed them over.
Where to stream: Tubi
The origins of the flesh-eating, plump-lipped Audrey II aren't entirely clear, but what we know is this: At the shop of an old Chinese plant seller (displaying unfortunate hints of outdated exotic orientalism), the plant appeared from nowhere smack in the middle of a solar eclipse. A self-identified mean green mother from outer space, Audrey II clearly came from the stars, but could seemingly only do so under very specific conditions. So eclipse day might not be the best for plant shopping.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Stephen King has never been shy about linking his novels, but frequently does so in subtle ways—sometimes by dropping little Easter eggs here and there. The novels Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne, both released in 1992, go a step further, and were at one point intended to be a single novel. Each deals with women suffering from the presence of belittling, controlling men in their lives, and each involves major narrative events punctuated by a real-life total solar eclipse that occurred on July 20, 1963 (though the film fudges that date into the 1970s). Here, Kathy Bates' titular Dolores kills her abusive husband (David Strathairn) during a flashback dramatically framed by the disappearance of the sun; the novel adds the detail of an eclipse party that's drawing the attention of most of the residents of the island on which they live. In either case, it's a good time to be mindful of all that might be going on around you while you're attention is drawn toward the waning sun.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Eclipses are matters of perspective, but they're also universal. All you need is a sun, an orbital body to block it, and someone standing in the right place to notice. Humanity has even seen a hint of this already: a partial solar eclipse filmed by the Perseverance Rover on Mars. Sci-fi romp Pitch Black takes us to a far more distant world, and to the crash of a prison ship carrying Vin Diesel's Richard B. Riddick, among others. The survivors learn that, while the planet's three suns keep it in near-perpetual daylight, periods of eclipse do occur—at which point the world's vicious underground monsters come to the surface to snack. Naturally, an eclipse is coming. Luckily, light-sensitive Riddick is even tougher and scarier in the dark.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Danny Boyle's Sunshine, written by Alex Garland, doesn't involve an actual eclipse (at least not one viewed from Earth), but it works as well thematically as any other movie on this list. Blending science and psychology in the style of Solaris or 2001, the film follows an eight-person team trying to reignite our dying sun in the near-future of 2057. The imagery of the gradual waning of our star evokes the fearful, primordial thrill that a real-life eclipse provides. No matter how much we understand the process scientifically, it's hard not to feel ill at ease as the sun fades from the sky in the middle of the day.
Where to stream: Digital rental
As noted, in the Stephen King novel at least, the eclipse that features here is the same one that saw Dolores Claiborne fatally confront her husband's abuse and violence. The moment connects Dolores, spiritually and psychically, to a young Jessie, facing horrifying sexual abuse by her father. The movie version jettisons that connection, but retains the significance of the sexual violence that linked the two women. Here, Jessie (Carla Gugino) is trapped in an isolated cabin following the death of her husband. In addition to some horrifically tangible threats, Jessie's isolation forces her to contemplate the sexual trauma of her youth, which is punctuated by that eclipse, and the ways it has followed her through her life.
Where to stream: Netflix
You're meant to feel sorry for 15-year-old Verónica and her friends, plagued by paranormal occurrences. But honestly, conducting a séance using a Ouija board during an eclipse, even after you've already been told that eclipse magic is used to summon dark spirits, well, that feels like asking for trouble. It's a solidly spooky demonic possession movie loosely based on a true (well, "true") story, though the eclipse was added for the movie version. Still, even non-superstitious types are probably well advised to avoid trying to conjure a spirit during totality.
Where to stream: Netflix
James Cameron's Pandora isn't a planet, but a moon of the (fictional, perhaps) gas giant Polyphemus, which itself orbits the (real) star Alpha Centauri A, part of the triple-star Alpha Centauri system. The point of all that being: complicated orbital dynamics mean that Pandora itself doesn't see much darkness, even at night. It does, however, experience periodic moments when Polyphemus eclipses Pandora's sun entirely, leading, in the movie, to particularly cool visuals involving bioluminescence. One such eclipse occurs during The Way of Water's concluding battle. It portends, in one way, how the seemingly weaker Metkayina clan might triumph over the colonial RDA forces, but also signals a significant change is coming.
Where to stream: Max, Disney+
Anime, a category of animation that goes back at least to 1958's The Tale of the White Serpent, has nothing to prove at this point—though non-Japanese audiences are sometimes still surprised by the variety and depth of the films it encompasses, which are generally a lot broader and more varied than American animation (still mostly thought of as just kids' stuff).
The word "anime" is just a form of a Japanese word referring to animation, and, though Japanese filmmakers have excelled in crafting animated films for decades, it's often taken to represent a particular and specific style or genre. Not so: Movies like Ghost in the Shell, The Red Turtle, Weathering with You, and Howl's Moving Castle have very little in common other than their statuses as cinematic classics at large, and their brilliant, usually hand-drawn animation.
Many of the best anime movies streaming will be familiar to animation fans, but for newcomers, any of them would be a great place to dive into the broad world of anime.
Country girl Mitsuha begins mysterious trading bodies with Taki, a boy from Tokyo, and the two slowly come to understand each other and their separate lives. Gut-punching revelations in the second act take what begins as a coming-of-age rom-com into deeper science-fictional waters, the film revealing itself to have far more on its mind that a metaphysical meet-cute. Director Makoto Shinkai (Weathering with You) and the animators brilliantly play with light, giving some of the movie's real-life locations stunning glow-ups. Never has a body-swap story been this gorgeously rendered, and the film holds a well-earned place near the top of all-time anime box office champs.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, Crunchyroll
This wild ride from Hiroyuki Kitakubo, one of the animators of Akira, takes place in the near future—which, because this was made way back in 1991, happens to be the early 21st century. An 87-year-old widower named Kijuro Takazawa is the first test subject for an experimental robotic hospital bed designed to take care of all of a patient’s needs. But then the bed begins transmitting his thoughts, and things get more dramatic from there (if you think this story of a dying man and future healthcare couldn’t possibly turn into a mecha anime, you’re mistaken). For all the wild plot developments, there’s some smart commentary about our eagerness to ignore the needs of the elderly, and the ways in which even “humane” technological advancements can be dehumanizing.
Where to stream: YouTube
This is one that everyone's heard of, and with good reason: its wildly kinetic animation and its highly detailed cityscape set a new standard for anime—writer/director Katsuhiro Otomo and company gave birth to a new animated world with this movie, and we're still living in it. Set in a dystopian 2019 (well, differently dystopian than our 2019), the cyberpunk classic finds biker Kaneda forced to face down his friend Tetsuo after the latter gains telekinetic abilities in an accident. Akira is more than just its action, and it's dense enough that it can be hard to follow for the uninitiated—but it's a movie that keeps going bigger with every scene.
Where to stream: Hulu, Crunchyroll, Funimation
This Studio Ghibli production is, technically, a Japanese and French co-production with a Dutch director—pushing, perhaps, the definition of anime just a bit (globally, we tend to use the term for animation explicitly from Japan). But we're not here to nitpick, especially over something this lovely and moving. The dialogue-free film tells the story of a man who becomes trapped on a desert island with only a giant turtle for companionship, and it turns out the turtle is guarding a secret that changes the man's life. What starts as a survival tale takes on deeper resonance as their bond grows in this powerful emotional journey.
Where to stream: Starz
Dr. Atsuko Chiba and her colleagues are working on a therapeutic tool, a device that allows for the sharing of dreams. She's a scientist by day, and, as her titular alter ego Paprika, a dream detective by night, venturing into dreams to help her psychiatric patients. The device she's using can shatter minds when in the wrong hands and so, when it is stolen, she knows it must be recovered. Satoshi Kon’s mind-bending masterpiece was a clear inspiration for Christopher Nolan's Inception, playing as it does with layers of emotion and reality without ever leaving its audience feeling disoriented.
Well, maybe a little bit disoriented. You'll definitely get a little lost now and again, but it's worth the ride.
Where to stream: Tubi
This one might be tough sell for the uninitiated, given that it's the twentieth Dragon Ball film—and that's without even mentioning the multiple TV series (nor, of course, the long-running manga). Still, as an entry to the series, you could do a lot worse than this wildly action-packed entry, which is probably the best of the films. Series leads Goku and Vegeta encounter exiled and incredibly powerful Saiyan fighter named Broly, leading to some typically colorful chaos. The sensitive and out-of-control Broly is a genuinely tragic antagonist, and the emotional stakes place this one a bit above the Dragon Ball average.
Where to stream: Crunchyroll
Roughly inspired by John Ford’s 1948 3 Godfathers, this one opens on a drag queen, a teenage runaway, and a good-hearted middle-aged alcoholic living on the streets of Tokyo. The odd companions come across a baby in a trash bin on Christmas Eve. With few clues to go on, the three spend the night searching the streets of Tokyo for the baby's parents. The moving adventure that follows comes from director Satoshi Kon, who also directed other classics on this list, including Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, and Paprika, in his too-short life and career (in 2010, he died from pancreatic cancer at just 46 years old).
Where to stream: Tubi, Hoopla, The Roku Channel
Yasutaka Tsutsui’s 1965 novel of the same name is often cited as an early (and popular) use of the now-familiar time loop narrative, and it’s been adapted multiple times in Japan. The best version (even the book's author loved it) is this 2006 anime from director Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai), following 17-year-old Makoto Konno, who, following a bit of clumsiness that puts her in the path of an oncoming train, discovers that she has the ability to send herself backward in time. Quickly deducing that the use of the power for her own gain can have unexpected consequences, she begins deploying the power only for small and frivolous things. Which is fine, until she also realizes she can only use her power a finite number of times. Potentially tragic circumstances soon threaten to leave her powerless when she needs to alter time the most. Unlike some of the more mature or action-oriented films here, this one perfectly captures the vibe of shōjo manga, with its emphasis on its teen girl lead.
Where to stream: Crunchroll
For a newcomer, it can be deeply confusing trying to find an entry point into any of the Japanese mega-franchises. This one's an adaptation of the Street Fighter II Capcom game—but the movie, naturally, has a bit more plot than the fighter, and it's almost entirely standalone. There's not a lot of socially redeeming value here, nor emotional resonance...but the movie does offer exactly what's suggested by the title: sweet violence, with just enough character work to make the punches land a bit harder. The fight scenes are all impressively choreographed, and the ’90s animation style, while very '90s, holds up beautifully.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Mirai feels ignored and abandoned when his new baby sister arrives, his feelings complicated by his father’s affectionate, yet emotionally awkward nature. But then Mirai wanders into a strange garden that transports him through time. He meets his mother as a child, and also his new baby sister as a grown-up. There's adventure to be found along the way, but the movie's real resonance comes in quiet, emotional moments, and from its sensitivity to the complications of growing up—both for us, and for the families that have to deal with us. It always helps to get a new perspective.
Where to stream: Digital rental
The plot is minimal, but that’s not in any way a disparagement: This gorgeously hand-drawn thrill ride is a work of art nonetheless. On a distant planet in an evocative future, the most popular race in the galaxy is set to begin. A daredevil driver is determined to compete, but before he has the chance, he’s got to overcome a criminal cartel, the police, and an army of robots. The movie tanked at the box office back in 2009, but quickly became a cult classic. It looks like nothing you've ever seen before.
Where to stream: Vudu
A legitimate cyberpunk mind-bender, Ghost in the Shell easily stands alongside spiritual cinematic siblings like Blade Runner or The Matrix (which it explicitly inspired). From director Mamoru Oshii and writer Kazunori Itō, the film finds cyborg security officer Motoko Kusanagi on the hunt for a seemingly invincible hacker. The case leads her to question not only her own identity as, essentially, a robot with a human mind—but also the very nature of reality itself. Along with Akira, this movie became a gateway to anime for an entire generation of American fans, and it holds up well.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Tubi, Freevee
A dark fantasy with some old-school shōnen style (albeit from a very R-rated point-of-view), Mugen Train picks up following the first season of the Demon Slayer series—that, and the excessive title, would seem to make it a tough recommendation, but it broke box office records in 2021 and became the highest-grossing anime of the year while scoring excellent reviews and winning awards. While there’s undoubtedly some extra resonance to be had when watching the movie in sequence, it works well on its own as the story of a tragic lead Tanjiro Kamado who board the titular train determined to save its passengers. The movie satisfyingly balances its stellar action sequences with some real emotional consequences.
Where to stream: Funimation, Crunchyroll
Though Only Yesterday was Japan’s highest-grossing film of 1991, it remains less well-known than many of its Studio Ghibli siblings, and that’s unfortunate. From director Isao Takahata (also the author of the criminally non-streaming Grave of the Fireflies), Only Yesterday follows 27-year-old Taeko Okajima, who works at a company in Tokyo but takes a train trip into the country side to visit relatives and escape from the hectic pace of the city. The journey conjures memories, both good and bad, of her past life, forcing her to reconcile her present with the life she left behind. It’s a lovely, melancholy take on life’s unexpected pathways.
Where to stream: Max
Isao Takahata capped his career with this Academy Award-nominee based on the 1,000-year-old folktale known as "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter." The deceptively simple pencil and watercolor style is endlessly gorgeous. The story itself involves a woodsman who finds a baby in the bamboo and ultimately decides that it’s his fate to give her the life of a princess. The girl wants nothing more than the love of her family, but the movie turns on the dichotomy between that simple virtue and the need to satisfy the desires of family and community.
Where to stream: Max
In the future, the City grows like a virus, endlessly in all directions, and humans have long since lost control of the automated systems designed to run things. Those same systems now see views humans as “illegals” to be purged, leaving flesh-and-blood survivors caught between the city’s murderous defense systems and the need to find food. One group of humans is on the hunt for the existence of someone with a genetic marker that they believe will allow for access to the city’s control systems—a hunt lead by Killy, a synthetic human who might have the key. Some deeply cool world-building here, and solid CGI animation.
Where to stream: Netflix
In a world largely at peace (imagine!), mega-corporations hire fighter pilots to engage in genuinely dangerous combat operations that serve, on one level, as entertainment, but also as a way for the world’s population to blow off some steam and experience the visceral thrills and nationalistic fervor of war without any of the devastating consequences. There’s a lot going on here, including the stories of pilots genetically engineered to remain adolescents, but the beautifully animated aerial sequences (involving mysterious attackers who endanger what was initially intended as a reconnaissance flight) are a highlight. Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) directs.
Where to stream: Tubi
A meet-cute between 22-year-old university student Tsuneo and Josee gives way to a more unconventional relationship: Tsuneo is hired as a caretaker for disabled Josee by her grandmother. Money, tragedy, and regular life threaten to get in the way of their budding relationship, but the two keep finding themselves drawn back together. The typical "inspirational" disability tropes are kept to a minimum—Josee is a fully rounded character, and the movie takes great lengths to emphasize the barriers that a wheelchair-user is likely to face in Japan, both culturally and practically.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Kanna Hayama was a dedicated runner until the death of her mother, after which she becomes withdrawn and joyless, refusing to share her feelings with her friends and family. Of course, we're in an anime fantasy, so she soon meets a fanged demon-boy during a race who tasks her with taking up her mother's mantle as a literal footrace deity, and sends her on a quest with the help of a talking rabbit. Her adventures put her on a path toward coming to terms with her mother's passing and rediscovering her own sense of joy.
Where to stream: Netflix
Makoto Shinkai followed up Your Name with this equally successful successor, a gorgeous vision of rain-soaked Tokyo, and a young woman who can control the weather (visually, this movie beautifully does for water what Your Name did for light). Troubled runaway Hodaka meets and befriends Hina, whose emotions impact the weather. There are life- and world-threatening consequences to all of this, but, ultimately, it's about the triumphs and tragedies of first love.
Where to stream: Max
A cute, music-filled teen love story, this one finds shy, haiku-writing Cherry working at a senior center when he meets Smile, an outgoing social media influencer who's secretly embarrassed about her teeth and braces. They're both deeply insecure in different ways, and each has developed their own coping strategies. Their relationship soon takes a backseat to the story of a couple from five decades earlier, and the quest for a record that connects their love story to that of one of Cherry's clients. The stakes are relatively small and entirely personal, and that's more than OK. It's vibrant and fun, one of the better modern examples of teen romance in modern anime.
Where to stream: Netflix
This science fiction anthology is comprised of three short films, each well-done and darkly entertaining. The highlight is the opening segment, directed by anime master Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika)—it's called "Magnetic Blue," and is the story of space salvagers and the engineers who discover a haunted and unforgettably haunting abandoned space station. It's a perfect blend of science fiction and existential horror.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Tubi
Hideaki Anno's Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series ended with a brilliantly abstract and shocking whisper—one that left many action-craving fans cold. They might have been careful what they wished for. Fim coda The End of Evangelion offers a slice of hell through the eyes of its child-soldier lead, giant robot pilot Shinji Ikari. Where the show ended with the imagery of group therapy gone well, this alternate finale hinges on an apocalypse so horrifying, survival is the cruelest twist imaginable.
Where to stream: Netflix
Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue isn't going to be for everyone, a blurring of fantasy and reality that draws comparisons to the films of Darren Aronofsky—though, of course, it's really the other way around, as Perfect Blue came before both Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan, which echo it. (Perfect Blue has also inspired Madonna, so do with that what you will). If nothing else, it proves that anime can do the psychological thriller genre at least as well as any medium can. Its story follows a young Japanese singer who is pushed to quit her career to take a job on television—a move with horrific consequences in the best tradition of high-price-of-fame stories.
Where to stream: Shudder
Hayao Miyazaki's career in animation began in the 1970s, but his work as an artist of global stature began in earnest with 1984's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the first of an unbroken sequence of masterpieces that have pushed subsequent animators into new territory. One can easily make the case that without Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli (which he co-founded), we don't have anything like the varied world of animated films we're privileged to see today. Miyazaki's oeuvre could easily take up half of this list so instead, I'm going to suggest that all his movies are similarly great, which is not the same as saying that they're all similar.
Among the director's most beloved are Spirited Away (2001), involving young Chihiro's quest to save her parents from puckish beings in a fantasy realm; Princess Mononoke (1997), a epic environmental parable; Howl's Moving Castle (2004), about a young woman's quest to break a curse and the castle with legs; and My Neighbor Totoro (1988), a sweet story of two girls who meet fantastic creatures in the first near their new home. There are really no bad choices, though, with all but Miyazaki's most recent (Oscar-winner The Boy and the Heron) currently streaming on Max. While wildly varied, each is stunningly animated and lushly detailed, and each deals with the trials and challenges of growing up (at any age).
Where to stream: Max
Though relatively new on the Hollywood scene (its first original film was released in 2019), Apple's deep pockets have been enough to ensure that the Apple TV+ streaming service's slate of original films has included not just charming indies, but award-winning prestige pictures. CODA was Oscar's best picture just a couple of years ago (the first film from a streaming service to claim the honor), and the streamer's movies earned it 13 nominations this year, even if neither Killers of the Flower Moon nor Napoleon actually took anything home.
Given the complexities of film financing today, you might be excused for believing that many of these movies were typical theatrical releases rather than Apple originals—but, strictly speaking, these are all Apple TV+ originals. Sometimes they're only available through the app, but other times they have small (or significant) theatrical releases built in to their distribution model, if only to ensure they're eligible for major awards like the Oscars.
Here are 15 of the best films to watch on Apple TV+ right now.
Though it didn't take home Oscar gold (let's put Lily Gladstone in more movies, please), Martin Scorsese's latest has more than proven the octogenarian filmmaker hasn't lost a step. A story of creeping dread and existential terror in the American west, it chronicles the injustices that follow the discovery of oil on Osage tribal land in the 1920s. A good thing quickly goes bad when white political leaders plot a string of murders to keep the wealth from staying where it belongs. The film might have gone deeper in presenting the true story from its natural Indigenous perspective, but the finished product still represents an important and harrowing story well told.
Joel Coen's sole (thus far) solo directing project represents a bold choice: a beautiful, strikingly minimalist adaptation of the Scottish play—lean and mean in its production and its impact. Only a director of Coen's confidence would mount a production like this without feeling the need to reinvent the wheel, letting Shakespeare dialogue and the performances of Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand do the heavy lifting. During the 2021/22 awards season, it received far more nominations than wins, but still stands as one of the best cinematic takes on Macbeth since Kurosawa's Throne of Blood.
A full cinematic adaptation of this musical about the events that unfolded at a rural airport on 9/11 was in the works before the pandemic put a stop to them. Thus, a special stage production was mounted using members of the original cast, filmed before an audience of 9/11 survivors and frontline workers. While it's impossible to know what that other version might have been like, this one is probably better. The musical, which opened on Broadway in 2017, takes place in the Newfoundland town of Gander following the 2001 attacks. Gander had once been a major refueling hub, but that changed over time, leaving the town with an enormous airport and relatively little traffic...until airplanes were diverted there in the wake of the terrorist attacks. The stranded plane passengers briefly more than doubled the town's population, and Gander leaders and residents pulled out all the stops to care for the unexpected guests. Based on a true story, the show has a smart sense of humor and, while it's not cynical, it never succumb to schmaltz either.
You might have missed Cooper Raiff's 2020 indie Shithouse, a movie that earned great reviews on a $15,000 budget but couldn't overcome its unfortunate title. His follow-up, Cha Cha Real Smooth, got a bit more attention. Andrew is a bat mitzvah party planner who falls for Domino, a mom 10 years his senior (Dakota Johnson). It's occasionally cloying, but Raiff's complex script and range of characters make for a charming movie from a filmmaker to keep an eye on.
The easy route would have bee a tearjerking portrait of an inspirational American figure—one-time Hollywood golden boy bravely faces life with a debilitating illness. There's a bit of that in this documentary, but whenever that mood does overtake the film, it feels earned. Director Davis Guggenheim documents Fox's life with a thematic narrative throughline (an actor who could never be still in body or mind now struggles to do just that), even as it refuses to shy away from the knocks and bruises that attend any life with Parkinson's, nor from Fox's own complicated personality. The film works best when dealing with the overlaps, and disconnects, between Fox as a person and Fox as a public face of Parkinson's.
I'm not sure it was the most worthy Best Picture Oscar winner, that doesn't detract from CODA as a charming and altogether likable film about Ruby (Emilia Jones), a young musician the only hearing member of her family. She struggles with the demands of the family's fishing business even as she discovers a passion for singing and a new boyfriend. The premise involves a worn and silly trope about deaf people not understanding music, but it also depicts its characters as capable, complicated community leaders with actual sex lives. Emilia Jones is great in the lead, as are Marlee Matlin and Oscar-winner Troy Katsur as her parents.
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a dying engineer named Finch (Tom Hanks), works to build a robotic companion—not to serve as his companion, but to take care of his dog when he dies. Which is 1000% relatable, and more or less the extent of the plot. As end-times movies go, this one is surprisingly charming and family-friendly—Tom Hanks is a genial companion at the end of the world, and you won't be surpriseda story of a man having adventures just to make sure that his dog has a friend is definitely going to make you cry.
Sandwiched between 2021's superior The Last Duel and the upcoming Gladiator 2, Ridley Scott's 2023 somewhat accurate biopic about the one-time emperor of France proves his is the only name in town when it comes to historical epics, once one of Hollywood's most beloved genres. This one is a slightly muddled affair, turning on a sly, subtly comedic lead performance from Joaquin Phoenix while also building to a number of massive, more traditional set pieces (Scott smartly doesn't ask us to be overly enamored of the man himself). When it works, it offers up the old-fashioned thrills of a gorgeously designed period drama, with the types of grand battle sequences that we don't get in a world where every movie fight involves superheroes and spaceships. And who knows, maybe the rumored four-hour cut will be better.
The great Errol Morris (Gates of Heaven, The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War) turns his camera on writer David Cornwell, better known as John le Carré, one-time spy and preeminent writer of espionage novels. The title comes from a memory from the author's youth: visiting his father who was part of a pigeon-shooting concession—the pigeons were bred in captivity and then forced through a tunnel so that they'd be right in line for rich men to shoot them, just at what seemed like their moment of freedom. The metaphor of an escape that's actually a trap became a potent one in the author's life and work, and Morris drives into that lifelong theme with his typical depth and style.
Robyn Goodfellowe is apprenticed to her father as a hunter, the two of them traveling to Ireland to wipe out the last of the land’s wolves. Going off on her own, she encounters a free-spirited girl who needs Robyn’s help to find her mother; the girl’s tribe is rumored to have the ability to change into wolves, and Robyn’s alliance with her new friends threatens her relationship with her father. This stunningly hand-drawn animated film received a well-deserved Oscar nomination, and follows a thematic trilogy that began with the same filmmakers' The Secret of Kells (2009) and Song of the Sea (2014). They're all independent of one another story-wise, but if you love this one, you'll undoubtedly enjoy all three.
Most audiences seemed to overlook Apple's first original narrative movie when it was released back in 2019, and that's too bad. Written and directed by Minhal Baig, a native of Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, the movie has a distinctive sense of place, particularly for anyone who grew up in the Chicago area. But its primary strength is as a smart, sensitive coming-of-age story. Geraldine Viswanathan plays the title's Hala Masood, a teenager from a strict Muslim family who falls for a non-Muslim boy at school, setting up a conflict that also brings a few family secrets out into the open.
Chiwetel Ejiofor narrates this nature documentary from directors Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble, following 50-year-old mother elephant Athena as she leads her family from its bucolic home into more treacherous terrain after a drought threatens their survival. The team kept track of the family in the African savannah over the course of four years, charting the intelligence and familial bonds of the animals, as well as the harsh choices imposed on them by the natural environment.
Writer/director Benjamin Cleary presents a poignant existential dilemma in this low-key science fiction drama starring Mahershala Ali as Cameron Turner, a husband and father suffering from a terminal illness. To spare his wife (Naomie Harris) and children from the trauma and pain of his impending death, he's considering a new procedure offered by Dr. Scott (Glenn Close): He'll continue to hide his illness from his family, and be replaced by a clone with all of his memories. He'll spend his last months alone, but knowing his family won't have to confront his loss. In the best sci-fi tradition, the film explores the questions of identity, meaning, and loss that such hypothetical technology raises—without feeling like an overlong episode of Black Mirror.
It's only around 40 minutes, so this blend of live-action and animation is more of a short than a feature, but its length and refusal to belabor its own point are strengths, not weaknesses.Seven-year-old William (Phoenix Laroche) moves with his family to a new home, where he struggles to settle in and make friends. A Christmas gift of the titular rabbit sets William's imagination free, and the boy's love gives the rabbit a life of its own alongside the other toys in the playroom. When William gets sick, the Velveteen Rabbit has a tough choice to make and, if you know the story, this is approximately when the tears start welling up in your eyes. The animated segments use a variety of gorgeous animation styles, which really sells the complexity and variety of William's imagination.
Reginald Hudlin (House Party, Marshall) directs this straightforward, nevertheless essential portrait of actor, director, and diplomat Sidney Poitier. One of the most significant and consequential figures in film and American culture in the 20th century, the film not only captures the scope of Poitier's life, it also has the poignant virtue of being his last onscreen appearance before his death at the age 94.
After a rough few pandemic-addled years, the Oscars returned in a big way last night, with Hollywood studios taking the spotlight back from the streamers after recent strong showings by the likes of Netflix and Apple TV+. While I love a night filled with old Hollywood glamour, it's hard to hate on the streamers too much, given that thanks to them, it's possible to watch nearly all of the award-winning films right now, from the comfort of your couch.
Here's where to stream—or, in a few cases, rent digitally—all of this year's Academy Award winners. (It might be a good time to finally try that Peacock free trial.)
Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Christopher Nolan), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey, Jr.), Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson), Best Cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema), Best Film Editing (Jennifer Lame)
As expected, it was Christopher Nolan's night at the Oscars, with his atomic bomb biopic snagging the majority of the major awards, including Best Actor for his longtime partner Cillian Murphy, who has appeared in six of the director's films), and a late-career Best Supporting Actor win for Robert Downey, Jr.
Where to stream: Peacock
Awards: Best Actress (Emma Stone), Best Production Design (James Price, Shona Heath, and Zsuzsa Mihalek), Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, and Josh Weston), Best Costume Design (Holly Waddington)
Taking the Mad Max: Fury Road position for the nominee with the most craft award wins, Poor Things started the night early with three statuettes and then had to wait a couple of hours to pick up a fourth, as Emma Stone won her second award for Best Actress in an upset over The Killers of the Flower Moon's Lily Gladstone.
Where to stream: Hulu
Award: Best Supporting Actress (Da'vine Joy Randolph)
I was hoping Paul Giamatti would snag a long-deserved Best Actor win two decades after his Sideways snub, but the only award for The Holdovers went to his co-star, Da'vine Joy Randolph. (In one of the night's most touching moments, her heartfelt speech brought Giamatti to tears.)
Where to stream: Peacock
Awards: Best Picture Not in the English Language, Best Sound
Jonathan Glazer's disturbing Holocaust drama was nominated for both Best Picture and Best Film Not in the English Language, and took home the latter. He was one of the only winners to reference the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the ongoing conflict in Gaza in his acceptance speech.
Where to stream: Digital purchase on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu($19.99)
Award: Best Original Screenplay (Justine Triet)
The Cannes Palm d'Or winner was nominated for a bevy of awards but took home only Best Original Screenplay for writer/director Justine Triet.
Where to stream: Digital rental on Microsoft, Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu ($4.99-$6.99)
Award: Best Adapted Screenplay (Cord Jefferson)
Notably the only Oscar winner written and directed by a former Gawker writer, American Fiction won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay; it's based on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett.
Where to stream: MGM+
Award: Best Song ("What Was I Made For?", Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell)
In the final lap of the Barbenheimer race, Barbie came up short, winning only the Oscar for Best Original Song. But don't feel too bad for all involved: Director Greta Gerwig has her next Blockbuster lined up with Netflix (an adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia), while producer Margot Robbie can tout having ushered along the biggest worldwide box office hit of 2023. And at just 22, Billie Eilish became the youngest person to win two Academy Awards.
Where to stream: Max
Award: Best Visual Effects
We live in a world where a Godzilla movie has an Oscar, and I think that's beautiful.
Where to stream: TBD for now
Award: Best Animated Feature
If this turns out to be Hayao Miyazaki's last film, he's going out on a winner: The Boy and the Heron earned him his second Oscar after 2001's Spirited Away. In classic Miyazaki fashion, he wasn't there to accept.
Where to stream: Nowhere yet, but it should join the rest of the Studio Ghibli movies on Max soon
Award: Best Documentary Feature
The harrowing documentary about the ongoing war in Ukraine seemed a virtual lock for the award, but it's a hard thing to cheer for, given the subject matter. Even director Mstyslav Chernov said in his speech that he'd rather have no Oscar and no war.
Where to stream: Streaming free on PBS.org
Award: Best Live Action Short
Critics love Wes Anderson but Academy voters have long seemed largely indifferent to his quirky charms—but now he finally has an Oscar, albeit for a short film instead of a feature. (Netflix will take it, I'm sure—it proved to be the streamer's only win of the night, a far cry from the streaming-heavy awards slates of the pandemic years).
Where to stream: Netflix
Award: Best Documentary Short Film
This charming short about the last Los Angeles shop that repairs elementary school students' musical instruments proved to be a Hollywood hometown favorite.
Where to stream: Disney+, YouTube
Award: Best Animated Short Film
It was a little weird that no one involved in the making of this anti-war film mentioned the multiple ongoing wars in their speeches, but at least Sean Lennon said happy (British) mother's day to his mom.
Where to stream: Nowhere yet
Despite the headline you see above, for the most part, I don’t buy the premise that movies can be so bad, they’re actually good. If a movie’s good, isn’t it just...good? There’s no question, however, that movies can succeed by failing.
Ed Wood is an extreme but perfect example of a filmmaker who never achieved precisely what he set out to do with any of his movies, but who nonetheless made cinematic magic out of enthusiasm, shamelessness, and no small measure of self-delusion. That kind of thing is always better than a strained attempt at creating the same effect. Think Sharknado—a movie that’s fun, but that works so hard to achieve silliness that you can see the flop sweat. The best “so bad they're good” movies get there quite by accident.
Personally, I’d almost always rather watch an interesting failure than a boring success—sometimes because passion is contagious, and just as often because a true WTF-level debacle is a rare and glorious thing. Here are 30 of them.
Imagine a whacked-out, trippy counterculture LSD movie directed by one of the leading lights of classic Hollywood and starring mostly older actors with names like Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Mickey Rooney, and Groucho Marx (as a gangster named “God” who might also be God).
It’s about...well, OK, I’ve seen it at least three times and have no idea what it’s about, but following some heist antics and a handful of acid trips, it culminates with Channing’s character (in a slightly naughty sea admiral’s uniform) leading a flotilla of hippies to storm God’s yacht before Nilsson (the film’s composer) sings the entirety of the closing credits. Some would say that Anatomy of a Murder or Laura are director Otto Preminger’s masterpieces, but this is an all-time triumph of weirdness.
Where to stream: Plex
It’s clear that the filmmakers behind Battle were in on the joke, at least to a point. One of the movie’s centerpiece models is, after all, “Nell,” an organic spaceship which looks, very deliberately, like a pair of breasts attached to a set of ovaries.
Still, the Roger Corman-produced space opera is an uneasy combination of silly and serious, with an impressive cast (Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, George Peppard, John Saxon, etc.) giving their all to do a take on Star Wars that the movie only partly commits to. That tension, though, is a hallmark of the “so bad it’s good” genre.
Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Freevee, Shout Factory TV
I’ve yet to encounter a convincing, revisionist take that Batman & Robin is some kind of misunderstood masterpiece—though that’s a tempting take. The day-glo styling and notoriously pronounced nipples suggest a misunderstood queer classic in the offing...but it’s simultaneously too much and not enough.
For everything going on, the movie still manages dull stretches, and the comic book-inspired palette tends toward the cheap and ugly. And yet! It’s a fascinating misfire, and serves as a throwback to a moment when a major studio would spend boatloads of money on something so weird and idiosyncratic. And, though it doesn’t ultimately work, it’s the last time that big-screen Batman was anything approaching fun.
Where to stream: Max
On a surface level, this is heavy material: gaslighting, abuse, sexual assault, and manipulation swirling around a teenage relationship. It’s all done with such over-the-top style, though, that it’s nearly impossible to take any of it seriously—by the movie’s conclusion, Mark Wahlberg’s hard-to-kill David might as well be Michael Myers. Those elements, as well as the movie’s soon-to-be A-list cast, explain why a movie with the plot of a middling Lifetime movie has become a minor cult classic.
Where to stream: Netflix
If “camp” can be defined as failed seriousness, then Cats stands as a shining example of the form. The talents assembled here is extraordinary, with an Oscar-winning director in the lead of a to-die-for cast performing numbers from one of Broadway’s all-time most popular musicals. Clearly, everyone involved thought they were involved in a prestige film tailor-made for awards season.
We weren’t much past the release of the first trailer before those hopes were dashed, with the suspension of disbelief accorded to costumed performers on a theater stage disappearing completely into an uncanny valley of digitally enhanced cat bodies and sets. What was meant to be charming became vaguely nightmarish, but that disconnect between what was intended and the end result is a sure indication that Cats, given just a bit more time, is a guaranteed a slot in the canon of deeply trippy cult classics.
Where to stream: Netflix
As with Cats, it was clear from early on that audiences weren’t receiving Mommie Dearest as it was intended. What was intended to be a deeply serious biopic and an exploration of child abuse was, instead, viewed as a high-camp dark comedy. Wisely, Paramount quickly shifted gears and changed the movie’s marketing to lean into its more outré elements—adding wire hangers to the posters and promising “...the biggest MOTHER of them all!” as if to reassure audiences that they were in on the joke, which they most assuredly had not been during production.
The flawless retro production design is a huge part of the appeal here, as is Faye Dunaway’s wildly, perfectly over-the-top performance. Her commitment to a serious performance is precisely why it’s so brilliantly funny.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Speaking of Faye Dunaway, she gives another completely delicious performance in this muddled spin-off, an early attempt at creating a superheroic cinematic universe. Supergirl wisely attempts to move away from the science fiction trappings of the Superman movies and into something a bit more fantasy-inspired, but it plays like a bunch of set-pieces that never really come together into anything coherent. Still, Dunaway is fun to watch and Helen Slater is perfectly cast as Kara Zor-El, even if the movie only sporadically works.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Writer/director Louis C.K.’s name doesn’t carry nearly the cachet that it used to, and it’s entirely reasonable to be a little skeeved by him and his work. Nevertheless, movies are so thoroughly collaborative that it’s hard to know where to draw the line. Mileage will definitely vary. As for Pootie Tang, it’s goofy as hell, with a tossed-off quality, but the silliness is often inspired, parodying the blaxploitation films of the 70s and grounded by performances from some incredibly talented and reliably funny people, including Wanda Sykes, J.B. Smoove, Chris Rock, Reg E. Cathey, and Jennifer Coolidge (who, as always, steals every scene she’s in). It’s also wildly quotable, particularly if you saw it at a particularly impressionable and frequently stoned age.
Where to stream: Max
Alex Proyas is responsible for The Crow and Dark City, two of the most imaginative films of the past few decades. He’s also directed...other movies. Proyas’ vision of an alternate ancient Egypt in which Gods walk among mortals is, ultimately, deeply silly...as well as being (with the exception of Chadwick Boseman) overwhelmingly white.
Putting all that aside, though, it does manage to reflect Proyas’ impressive visual imagination and idiosyncrasies. In that, at least, it’s not bad as an antidote to our current glut of more coherent, but also far duller, superhero movies.
Where to stream: USA, TNT, TBS, Tru TV, AMC+
The arrival of the two-part Denis Villeneuve adaptation has, quite naturally, drawn attention back to the 1984 version, from popular director “Alan Smithee,” a pseudonym used by David Lynch by way of disavowing the film (or at least the longer TV cut). He wasn’t wrong to be disappointed—the movie isn’t a misunderstood masterpiece, but it is a fascinating curiosity with moments of real power that occasionally captures essential elements of Frank Herbert’s novel. Ultimately, Lynch’s vision is probably far too distinct to ever have made him a good fit for this type of adaptation, and studio interference further compromised a project that was already going to be a tough sell.
Where to stream: Max
Feelings about He-Man run hot, we’ve recently had cause to learn, and only slightly less so in the pre-internet days of the late 80s. Moving the action from Eternia to Earth and adding some teenaged sidekicks was never going to be the way to appeal to fans of the overwhelmingly popular cartoon, leaving pretty much no one to cheer for a movie that should have been a slam dunk.
Its status as an adaptation of the show is its biggest problem, as it happens. Viewed as a standalone mid-80s fantasy film, it works much better. It’s still incredibly goofy, but elevated by a scenery-chewing Frank Langella and some Jack Kirby-inspired character designs that lend the movie a visual distinctiveness.
Where to stream: Tubi, MGM+, The Roku Channel
The virtues of the first Grease movie are debatable, but it was unquestionably a mega-hit that became an instant classic with audiences. I like Grease 2 better, honestly, even if it’s a far less polished film. The musical numbers are all over the place, many of them seeming as though they were just dropped into the movie at random (the ode to bowling, for instance). Lead Michelle Pfeiffer’s Stephanie is, on the surface, the coolest character in either of the films—but lacks any motivation beyond wanting a tough-guy boyfriend. It’s all pretty slapdash, but the cast is clearly having fun and the whole thing so amiable and lively that it’s hard to hate.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Staying in ill-conceived sequel territory for a moment, we rejoin John Travolta’s Tony Manero as he continues the quest for dancing glory begun in the disco classic Saturday Night Fever. There’s not really a plot here to speak of, but there are some very fun dance numbers and impressive costumes, as well as a self-seriousness that runs to hilarity if you’re in the right mood.
Where to stream: Paramount+
A fantasy roller-disco musical staring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly? What could possibly go wrong?! Turns out, Xanadu was a failure on almost every level: The dance numbers are stale and stagy, the effects are fairly terrible (even by 1980 standards) and the acting isn’t great. Given that there isn’t much of a plot, it needed to work as a spectacle, and didn’t—even inspiring the infamous Golden Raspberry Awards.
A movie can be a critical and box office flop, though, and still achieve cult status. It’s utter weirdness is a draw (Gene Kelly? Really?), and it can be a ton of fun if you’re willing to entertain the question “what were they thinking?” for 90 minutes or so.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
Ed Wood reigns, of course, as the patron saint of cult movies—a filmmaker with such passion and seriousness that he doesn’t seem to have realized that he was making films that weren’t just terrible, but so terrible that they achieved immortality. In that vein, Plan 9 is his magnum opus, a movie about alien invaders that hopes we won’t notice that Bela Lugosi was replaced mid-production by a much taller chiropractor. The thing is: We did notice, and we only love it that much more.
Where to stream: Tubi, The Roku Channel, Hoopla, Mubi, Freevee
We have to give a mention to Troll 2, a notoriously troubled film that became the subject of a documentary (Best Worst Film) exploring the reasons for its popularity in the face of its very debatable merits as a film. It’s unclear how much of the film is meant to be funny, given the language barrier between the Italian-speaking writer/director and crew and the English-speaking cast, but it certainly earns its status as a movie whose failings make it far more entertaining than it likely would have been were it a success.
Oh, and don’t worry if you go in cold, it’s not actually a sequel to anything...the producers just wanted to capitalize on the relative popularity of the 1986 movie Troll.
Where to stream: Tubi, Redbox, Freevee
An autobiographical passion project for writer/director/producer Tommy Wiseau, The Room has a spot in the bad movie hall of fame, alternating between incomprehensible monologues and sub-porn level dialogue, while throwing in a couple of truly weird sex scenes.
The thing is, a successful The Room, one that resembled whatever the hell Wiseau had in mind when he conceived this thing, couldn’t possibly have been more purely entertaining than the finished product. No intentional parody could ever replicate the sheer entertainment value in trying to figure out exactly what’s going on in this movie from moment to moment.
Where to stream: Tommy Wiseau has it posted at Archive.org
Road House, I won’t lie, is my favorite Patrick Swayze movie, all the more so for its rather heightened view of life among bouncers in Missouri. It’s practically operatic, including far more explosions than you’d think the typical roadside bar experiences and multiple deadly fights. It’s also got some truly laughable dialogue and several dead-end plots, but all the more glorious for all of that.
Where to stream: Max, Prime Video
Anaconda walks the line here, in that it’s clearly intended to be a little ridiculous, but also achieves something through over-the-top acting and dodgy special effects that puts it above and beyond a more typical jungle-action monster movie. Sorry for the spoiler, but watching Jon Voight get eaten by a giant CGI snake is a pleasure all its own.
Where to stream: Netflix
Paul Verhoeven is a complete mystery to me. While his Starship Troopers is often seen as unintentionally hilarious, I have no doubt that he knew exactly what he was doing with that one. I’m not so sure with this notorious erotic drama—I made a commitment to not include intentional camp on this list, but I’m honestly not sure how much of Showgirls’ stilted strangeness is intentional, and how much is by accident. Either way, it’s entertaining as hell.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, Tubi
Joe Marshall (Matthew Karedas, billed here as Matt Hannon) might be a white LAPD cop, but ACTUALLY he's very into Japanese culture and practically qualifies as a samurai, given that he spent time in Japan and knows how to use a sword. Luckily he's on hand when a rogue Yakuza faction makes its presence known in Los Angeles, leading to an extravagant martial arts fight in the parking lot of a Carlos'n Charlie's. The fighting itself isn't bad, but the sound was all done as ADR after filming was complete, and most of the actors didn't return—so most of the voices are the same couple of actors, pitched differently; as a consequences, most of them sound like robots. Pick-up shots were done in a single bare office location, so reaction shots frequently don't match. It's the Plan 9 from Outer Space of '80s/'90s action movies.
Where to stream: Tubi, Hoopla, Pluto TV
This one very much depends on your tolerance for dumb action blockbusters in the style of Roland Emmerich—or, in this case, literally Roland Emmerich. His latest stars Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson, who have to stop the moon from crashing to Earth. Because it's hollow and filled with aliens bent on destruction. Or something? The plot's definitely not the point, nor is science accuracy: astrophysicist and professional scold Neil DeGrasse Tyson said the film, "violated more laws of physics per minute than any movie I had ever seen." But it's never boring!
Where to stream: USA, Fubo
Nicholas Cage insists that the comedy in this remake of the '70s cult classic was largely intentional, and the film is almost outlandish enough to make you believe him. "No, not the bees! Not the bees!" (in a scene during which Cage's character Malus is being tortured with bees, naturally) is Nicholas Cage par excellence, and has outdistanced the film as a meme. Even better, though, is when Malus, disguised in a bear suit, sucker-punches Ellen Busrtyn in the face. The movie is also dedicated to Johnny Ramone for some reason.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
The Stephen King adaptation genre includes more than its share of cinematic classics, and plenty of crap. But! Among the less-loved King movies are some fascinating guilty pleasures, none more deranged than the single film that King directed himself. While one wouldn't care to make light of the author's substance-abuse issues in the 1980s, King has been pretty honest about the extent to which he was "coked out of [his] mind all through its production." The film involves a comet that turns machines on Earth evil, leading to Emilio Estevez and company being terrorized by, say, a vending machine that shoots soda projectiles. It's a thoroughly mean-spirited mess, but somehow also a lot of goofy fun, with a killer AC/DC soundtrack.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Robert Urich (best known as Spenser: For Hire to anyone under 40) leads a very '80s cast in this sci-fi spectacular(?) that attempts to appeal to Star Wars fans with a story set in a distant future where water is scarce, but only because a group called The Templars of Mithra hoard any available, and destroy worlds with natural supplies of the stuff in order to ensure that it remains a scarce commodity (nice to know that American-style capitalism will outlive us). Intended as a blockbuster, the movie's budget was cut by more than half early in development, and so it was decided to salvage the production by turning it into a comedy, a tonal shift which makes the final product both goofier and more chaotic than it might otherwise have been. Bonus: The cast is stacked: Anjelica Huston, Ron Perlman, Bruce Vilanch(!), John Carradine, and Dallas' Mary Crosby all star.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Writer/director John Patrick Shanley has won Oscars and Tonys; his play Doubt won a Pulitzer Prize and his screenplay for Moonstruck is both moving and memorable. The film adaptation of his well-received play Outside Mullingar is almost dumbfounding enough to overwhelm all of that goodwill. In moving the story to the screen, the film loses itself in a schmaltzy faux-Irish atmosphere both emphasized and undercut by the abysmal Irish accent put on by Christopher Walken (just try to imagine it). The rom-com setup is fairly standard, dealing with two people on adjacent farms who stay apart for no particularly good reason until they get together...also for no particularly good reason. But then there comes the absolutely batshit twist ending, which I guarantee you won't see coming.
Where to stream: Hulu
This movie is definitely not ripping off Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at all. Here, "MAC" stands for "Mysterious Alien Creature," which is obviously completely different. This one also has a much lower budget and, while E.T. famously made much of some Reece's Pieces product placement, Mac and Me's commercial instincts are more finely honed: Mac is also a reference to the Big Mac, as in the hamburger from the film's primary sponsor, McDonald's, and we are not allowed to forget it. It's mostly goofy fun, with a major highlight in the form of an elaborately choreographed, but somehow impromptu, dance number inside a McDonald's that includes a cameo from Ronald himself.
Where to stream: Tubi, MGM+, Fugo, Pluto TV
An erotic thriller in the not-entirely-venerable "hot for teacher" genre, The Boy Next Door stars Jennifer Lopez as Claire Peterson, a classics teacher in a troubled-marriage who finds herself making significant eye contact with new kid on the block Noah (played by then 27-year-old Ryan Guzman). They bond over a mutual love of...The Iliad, which is Noah's only discernible personality trait (other than biceps). The deal is sealed when he presents Claire with a FIRST EDITION COPY. OF THE ILIAD. They pair sleep together, but she feels bad about it, especially after school starts up and it turns out he's in her class. Stalking ensues, Kristin Chenoweth gets knocked out, and it's all very goofy as it tries to be very serious.
Where to stream: Max
As mentioned elsewhere, camp has sometimes been described as failed seriousness, which is why the erotic thriller so often lends itself to the form. These films are deadly serious as a rule, and yet only occasionally succeed in not leaning toward parody. Take Zandalee, a Nicholas Cage deep-cut if ever there was one. It's about a young woman running a boutique store in New Orleans. She's deeply sexually frustrated by her unfulfilling marriage to Judge Reinhold, a condition alleviated by the arrival of Cage, who doesn't hold back in embodying a particular brand of machismo. And if you’re cast in a largely nonsensical thriller that puts you in a love triangle with Judge Reinhold, why would you? Cage's performance aside, just try getting through the “seductive” (not even remotely seductive) dialogue with a straight face.
Where to stream: Tubi
Discussions around so-bad-they're-good movies are always wildly subjective—Many John Waters movies have all the surface indications of bad filmmaking, yet he's justifiably regarded as one of our most important artists. Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is bad in the conventional sense. Here, the brother of the killer from the first movie goes on his own murderous holiday rampage, and that earlier film is summarized via no less than 30 minutes of carryover footage. The filmmaking is amateurish, but the lead performance by Eric Freeman includes so many unexpected and deeply confusing choices that it's never not fun to watch. His wild-eyed reading of the line: "Garbage day!" even became something of a meme.
Where to stream: Shudder, Tubi, Freevee
The war genre has a long history in cinema. Though the designation is controversial, the 1898 (very) short film Tearing Down the Spanish Flag is sometimes considered the first war movie and, given that it's also a bit of Spanish-American War propaganda, it also points to some of the pitfalls the genre has easily fallen into. D.W. Griffith's 1915 film The Birth of a Nation, was a shockingly bold (and sadly successful) attempt to rewrite the history of the Civil War for white audiences, a relatively early example of the rousing power of war narratives. Sergei Eisenstein's pro-Soviet epic Battleship Potemkin, a decade later, is as effective as they come.
French critic and filmmaker François Truffaut said in 1975 that "every film about war ends up being pro-war," whether they intend to or not, because even ostensibly anti-war movies need to entertain, and hold interest. Still, just as war is never just one thing, war movies cover a lot of ground; deeply personal stories, tragedies, and thrilling adventures involving very big guns.
There's not really any actual war in this absolute classic, but that doesn't make it any less potent as a war film. Released just a year after the conclusion of World War II, William Wyler's drama tells the stories of three United States servicemen re-adjusting to civilian life following tours overseas. Al left home as a successful bank employee, but risks his post-wartime promotion with excessive drinking and his soft touch when it comes to giving loans to fellow vets; Fred suffers from PTSD and has trouble finding a job, while Homer lost both hands and struggles with being an object of pity. Given the era and the timing, it's almost shockingly prescient about the struggles that veterans would face following not just WWII, but each war that would follow.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Peacock, Freevee
The POW camp movie became something of a sub-genre of its own, inspired in large part by Jean Renoir’s La Grande Illusion from 1937, and a raft of British movies that followed. Billy Wilder's wildly successful take, though, largely defies categorization: there's brutal violence and nearly slapstick humor. Instead of feeling like a hodgepodge, though, it seems a bit more like we're experiencing the absurdity of life during wartime. It also keeps us off balance the entire time, and the thriller element, involving a potential informant in the midst of the American POWs, is undeniably thrilling.
Where to stream: Tubi, The Roku Channel
A shockingly relevant film about the tensions between Algerian nationalists and French forces in North Africa, a conflict that erupted into a three-year war. Director Gillo Pontecorvo's hyper-realistic film is thrilling on one level, but also deeply challenging. While the movie's morality leans very slightly toward the Algerians trying to reclaim their home from the French, it's also clear that the shocking acts of violence perpetrated by the guerrilla fighters render any discussion of heroes or villains ridiculous. Many war films struggle to portray the moral ambiguities of war, but few succeed as well as The Battle of Algiers.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Steven Spielberg's WWII epic takes a nearly cinema vérité approach, taking what could have a schmaltzy story of an army captain (Tom Hanks) tasked with bringing home a family's last surviving son, and imbuing it with a deep ambivalence about war, as well as stomach-churning violence that brings the realities home. Tom Hanks gives one of his very best performances, and the opening depiction of the Omaha Beach landing is as effective a dramatization of those events as has ever been put to film.
Where to stream: Paramount+
At the outset, director Fred Zinneman's Oscar-winning epic feels a bit more like a romantic melodrama than a war picture—the film's iconic image being, of course, Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster making out on the beach. But that's all in service of drawing us into the lives of the the people in the orbit of Schofield Barracks on Oahu, played by an all-star cast including Lancaster and Kerr, as well as Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, and Ernest Borgnine, among others. By the time the bombs start to drop, we're deeply invested in these characters' lives and fates, and the earlier soap opera elements come to feel far more purposeful.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Writer/director Cary Joji Fukunaga's film (from the novel by Nigerian-American author Uzodinma Iweala) follows young boy Agu, whose family members are either forced to flee or are executed during a brutal civil war in his country. Captured by military-aligned rebels, Agu (Abraham Attah) is forced to fight for the rebels as he finds his humanity slowly stripped away. Though fictional, the movie addresses the costs of war on the youngest, particularly where child soldiers are seen as acceptable.
Where to stream: Netflix
Squid Game creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk crafts a war movie that avoids looking much like a war movie at all, taking place during Imperial Qing Dynasty invasion of Joseon in 1636. The Joseon state of Korea had maintained a relatively stable relationship with the earlier Ming dynasty of China, but came under intense pressure from the Qing prior to an all-out invasion. The film follows the end of that story, with King Injo and his retainers seeking refuge in the title's fortress. This isn't the story of an Alamo, though, and is instead one of moral compromise and politics as the fort's defenders fight to navigate between two larger powers while under literal siege. The movie was a massive hit in South Korea, picking up several major awards.
Where to stream: Netflix
Quentin Tarantino pays tribute to 1960s Hollywood war epics like The Dirty Dozen while throwing the history books out the window for this bloody, sometimes quite absurdly funny, story of a ruthless and savage bunch of fighters dropped behind Nazi lines. It begins with an interrogation and a brutal execution, and ends with a deeply satisfying bit of revisionist history. In between is one of Tarantino's most audacious films (which is saying quite a bit), and also one of his most thoroughly entertaining.
Where to stream: Digital rental
The 2022 version is quite good, but it can't eclipse the 1930 adaptation of the Erich Maria Remarque novel. With Lew Ayres in the lead, the original All Quiet remains a harrowing experience—a recreation of the events of World War I so realistic, it stands as one of the true, great anti-war films of all time. So impactful was the movie that the Nazis immediately moved to censor the film and shut down screenings, often with violence, being very concerned that the film's anti-war message could disrupt the party's growing plans for Europe.
Where to stream: Tubi
The all-star cast can be a little distracting, but Stanley Kramer’s courtroom drama remains powerful and depressingly relevant in its depiction of normal, everyday, average people driven to commit horrifying atrocities with only minimal encouragement. The movie fictionalizes one of the twelve Nuremberg Military Tribunals conducted in 1947 to uncover and expose the crimes against humanity by senior members of the Nazi regime. Spencer Tracy, as Chief Judge Dan Haywood, reminds us, ultimately, that it can absolutely happen here.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Tubi, MGM+
Though it's discussed less often than some of its 1970s-era contemporaries, The Deer Hunter remains an emotionally shattering look at the devastating moral and emotional consequences of the Vietnam war, with brilliant performances from Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep. It also remains controversial in its politics and its sense of history, but even that feels like a strength, harkening back to a time when a hit movie could be bothered to push buttons.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Set in 1940, Christopher Nolan's film tells the story of the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from northern France after the catastrophic title battle. It might have been a movie about the pluck and heroism of the many private and small boats who heeded the call to rescue British soldiers; it is that, but it's also a believably senses-shattering picture of a wildly chaotic place and moment in history, with impossibly high stakes that Nolan never lets us forget, for even a moment.
Where to stream: Peacock
Dunkirk is at the heart of this Oscar Best Picture nominee, which turns on the act and accusation of a 13-year-old girl, one done partly out of spite and partly out of pure misunderstanding. It echoes through the decades in this adaptation of the Ian McEwan's World War II-era period novel, ultimately placing Robbie (James McAvoy) right in the middle of that chaotic evacuation. The film makes the case that a single act of cruelty, no matter how inadvertent, can cascade throughout the lives of multiple people—and isn't that the secret story of every war?
Where to stream: Digital rental
Samuel Fuller’s 1980 WWII epic is as much about camaraderie and character building as it is about battle, with time devoted to the simple interactions that happen between the big fights. (This is especially true in its restored version. The movie was cut by more than an hour, without the director's permission, and not put to right until 2004.) One of the movie's key scenes involves a conversation about the dangers of lit cigarettes in a war zone at night and the imagined appearance of an enemy propaganda radio host building to a combat sequence—the human element here is never an afterthought, it's the whole point.
Where to stream: The Roku Channel
A dreamy, restless inevitability hangs over the unique and under-seen Overlord, from director Stuart Cooper. Originally conceived as a documentary, the film blends newsreel and archival footage with the fictional narrative of a sensitive young soldier on a journey from his enlistment to the D-Day invasion at Sword Beach; a soldier who becomes something of a stand-in for everyone who died that day. It's mournful and haunting, and generally unlike any other WWII film.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
You may well have seen this as an episode from the fifth season of The Twilight Zone and, if so, you didn't miss much: the nearly dialogue-free short film from France was purchased by Rod Serling & co. to be aired with only very minor editing. The Civil War-era Ambrose Bierce short story is rather well-known, so suffice to say that it's about a military execution, and a second chance that's anything but.
Where to stream: Tubi (for the original film), or Paramount+ (for the fifth-season Twilight Zone episode)
Wildly kinetic, Da 5 Bloods is a nearly three-hour movie that doesn't feel nearly as long as that runtime. Revisiting the Vietnam War film genre with an insistent focus on the (often ignored) experience of Black Americans, Spike Lee brings new relevance to the story of the period by drawing some stark and straight lines between then and now with the story of four veterans who return to Vietnam to find the remains of their fallen squad leader, and the gold he helped them hide. Every actor here is incredible, including (and not surprisingly) Chadwick Boseman in one of his very last roles.
Where to stream: Netflix
Writer/director Anurag Singh's Kesari is a genuinely rousing story of military courage and heroism in the face of impossible odds The film follows the events around the Battle of Saragarhi, during which 21 Sikh soldiers of the British Raj fought 10,000 Afghani attackers, 300-style, in 1897. The movie's portrayals of its Muslim characters are a bit problematic, but the performances are top-notch, and the battles are impeccably choreographed.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Sam Mendes' World War I drama might well have fallen flat, given that its premise includes a bit of a gimmick: It's presented as though it's been filmed in just two continuous takes, with no cuts in between. Rather than feeling like a video game, the conceit brings an uncommon, harrowing immediacy to the story of two soldiers—Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman)—desperate to deliver a message that would cancel an offensive that they know to be doomed.
Where to stream: Paramount+
There's no noble sacrifice in Stanley Kubrick's anti-war masterpiece—only politics, bureaucracy, and a chain of command more interested in covering its own ass than in trying to accomplish anything meaningful. Or perhaps there's nothing meaningful to accomplish? Set during World War I, a commanding officer orders his subordinate to plan a clearly suicidal attack; a subordinate who, in turn, orders the deeply skeptical Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) to make the plans. When it all ends in predictable disaster, the General demands the death by firing squad of three random soldiers because, after all, someone has to take the blame.
Where to stream: Tubi, MGM+
Kubrick's memorable Vietnam-era war movie is split right down the middle: following J.T. “Joker” Davis (Matthew Modine), we first experience with him the intentionally dehumanizing process of basic training, joined by R. Lee Ermey's ruthless Gunnery Sergeant and Vincent D'Onofrio's mentally precarious "Private Pyle." The second half sees Joker trying to maintain whatever humanity is left to him, even as his world descends into chaos.
Where to stream: Max
One more for Kubrick: The director's Roman Republic-era epic was released at the tail end of an era when sword-and-sandal flicks were a dime a dozen, but Spartacus dodges those conventions in favor of a story of freedom and nonconformity. Of course, there's also a dual layer here: set during the first century BCE, during the Third Servile War, the movie was written by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, and challenged not only Roman-style slavery, but the then-modern Communist witch hunts.
Where to stream: Digital rental
One of Akira Kurosawa's later films, and his last real epic, Ran is still among the director's most beloved, blending Japanese history and folklore with hints of Shakespeare. Set in the 16th century, Kurosawa fictionalizes the story of real-life daimyō Mōri Motonari by blending it with King Lear. Elderly warlord Ichimonji Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to divide his kingdom between his three sons, only to discover that greed and lust for power are more powerful than loyalty. It was the director's most expensive film, with lush cinematography and elaborate period design, along with an enormous cast. The title translates to "chaos," but Kurosawa was never more in control.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Kathryn Bigelow's Best Picture/Best Director Oscar-winning Iraq War story doesn't wear any particular opinions about that war on its sleeve, instead crafting a narrative that's often unbearably tense, and oddly claustrophobic given than so many scenes are set right out in the open. Jeremy Renner's lead performance as a normal-seeming guy driven to the edge by his experiences is spectacular.
Where to stream: Prime Video, The Roku Channel
In David Lean's Best Picture Oscar winner, a contingent of British prisoners of war navigate life at a Japanese camp in Thailand toward the waning days of World War II. The camp commandant orders the prisoners to construct the title's railway bridge, resulting in a fascinating give-and-take between the Japanese leadership and the British prisoners. William Holden is technically the lead here, but it's Alec Guiness who gives the performance of a lifetime as the British commander who becomes increasingly obsessed with the project, determined to prove British superiority by, paradoxically, building infrastructure for the enemy.
Where to stream: AMC+
Set in West Africa in 1823, and based on the real-life Agojie (also known as the Dahomey Amazons), the movie stars Viola Davis as General Nanisca, leader of the Dahomey's army, forced to navigate complicated regional politics even though her skills lie mostly in whooping colonialist ass.
Where to stream: Netflix
Oscars season is upon us! Which means so is Razzie Awards season, for better or worse (it's worse).
Ostensibly forged as a barbed blade to pierce the bubble of Hollywood pretension, the first Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony was held way back on March 31, 1981 in the living room of co-founder John J. B. Wilson. Wilson claims he was inspired by watching a double feature of Can't Stop the Music and Xanadu, which sounds like a great night at the movies to me but, for Wilson and co-founder Mo Murphy, it was the origin of a forty-year tradition of roasting movies that are seen, by Razzie voters at least, as the worst examples of Hollywood hubris on offer in a given year.
The thing is, a lot of movies are nominated for Razzies that are actually great. By way of thumbing its nose at the anti-Oscars, highbrow film streamer The Criterion Channel is programming an Oscar month lineup that includes past Razzie-winning films like Cruising (1980), Heaven’s Gate (1980), Under the Cherry Moon (1986), Ishtar (1987), Cocktail (1988), Barb Wire (1996), Freddy Got Fingered (2001), Swept Away (2002), Gigli (2003), and The Wicker Man (2006), among others. If you're familiar with any or all of those films, you might see how the Razzies do tend to go for movies that are legitimately kinda bad—but also to films that are unique, campy, or that benefit from a bit of hindsight. They can also be reductive: privileging a particular type of film or performance and taking potshots at easy targets (sometimes revealing a bit of racism or, especially, misogyny along the way).
Dubious Oscar favorites like Crash and Green Book didn't pick up any Razzies, but many better films have. It's fun to jeer along when the Razzies hit a good target...but their aim isn't always so great. Here are 20 actually good movies that earned Golden Raspberries—enough to program a pretty great film festival.
Nominations: Worst Picture, Worst Actress (Heather Donahue, Winner)
The Blair Witch Project's worst picture nomination feels like sour grapes: this no-budget indie appeared from nowhere, cleaned up at the box office, and became an instant pop culture phenomenon. How dare they? The nomination (and prize) for lead actress Heather Donahue is a bit more insidious though. Here was a woman at the forefront of one of the year's most successful pictures, playing a driven character immediately pegged as abrasive. We all spent years making fun of the scene during which her character cries in her tent: as if none of us has ever had a runny nose. It was a shockingly vulnerable and un-polished moment...that everyone decided was a bit much. Donahue has talked about how the role, which should have been seen as a triumph, made life hell when audience hatred for her character spilled over into real life.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, Freevee
Nominations: Worst Director (Stanley Kubrick), Worst Actress (Shelley Duvall)
Can't Stop the Music was the big loser during the first Razzies ceremony, but also in contention was The Shining, a much-rewatched classic of its spooky genre, and one of Stanley Kubrick's finest films (the only person who doesn't like it, it seems, is Stephen King). Kubrick was joined in nominations that year by directors John G. Avildsen and Brian DePalma, so he was in good company, but the nod is nevertheless incomprehensible. And Shelley Duvall's performance definitely didn't deserve to be roasted. "Shrill" is a word that's frequently associated with Wendy Torrance, but you'd be shrill too if trapped in an isolated hotel being chased around by Jack Nicholson (who is, frankly, going rather over-the-top himself). Duvall plays the film's only recognizably human character surrounded by dark forces and psychic powers. The Razzie folks actually rescinded her nomination in 2022, citing the director's "treatment of her throughout the production..." which is just adding insult to infuriating injury. Duvall wasn't a damsel in distress, but one of the great performers of the 1970s, and she's a standout piece of one of the greatest horror films ever..
Where to stream: Digital rental
Nominations: Worst Actor (Harvey Keitel)
The Last Temptation of Christ was so wrapped in controversy at the time of its release that few could see its strengths as a film—and maybe no one knew what to do with a Martin Scorsese film that doesn't deal with mobsters. Harvey Keitel's stylistic performance is certainly a choice; his Judas Iscariot feels as though he's stepped out of one of those crime dramas. Which is not to say that it doesn't work, with Jesus's betrayer serving as an unlikely point-of-view character for the audience, rather than a more traditional villain.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Nominations: Worst Actor (Kevin Costner, winner), Worst Supporting Actor (Christian Slater)
I'm not here to claim Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is some kind of masterpiece, but the award for Kevin Costner feels like an example of the silliness of the entire operation: This was the second-highest-grossing film of its year, and the award feels like merely an unnecessary dig at popular tastes. Costner was mocked for the smart choice to not affect an English accent, but are we really going to accept that he's less of an actor than fellow nominees Andrew Dice Clay and Vanilla Ice? I'm not buying it.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Nominations: Worst Actor (George C. Scott)
This nomination is slightly baffling, except as a reflection of the idea that any sequel to The Exorcist must be bad. Granted, for 4/5 sequels that assumption has proven correct, but this third film is a quietly effective crime drama with demonic overtones, and a solid thriller in its own right. Scott lost to Andrew Dice Clay (The Adventures of Ford Fairlane), and this was also the year that saw Donald Trump win Worst Supporting Actor for playing himself in Ghosts Can't Do It, marking one of the last times that he'd be awarded anything via popular vote.
Where to stream: Peacock, Crackle
Nomination: Worst Screen Couple (Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, winners)
Granted, it took audiences and critics a while to figure out what to make of Neil Jordan's adaptation of the gothic Anne Rice novel but still, reviews were solid and the movie was a box office success. Even Rice herself, who'd been opposed to the casting of Tom Cruise, quickly came around and praised the film, which also gave Brad Pitt one of his most iconic early roles. Given the era, the movie took an understated approach to its portrayal of the homoerotic relationship between the vampiric duo, prompting the Razzie people made up a Worst Screen Couple award to give it to Cruise and Pitt. It just feels like a bunch of people pointing and shouting "gaaaay!" at the screen.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Nomination: Worst Supporting Actor (Danny DeVito)
Danny DeVito's Penguin has become the standard by which all cinematic Penguins are judged. His monstrous, over-the-top performance is delightful...until it isn't, DeVito never letting us lose sight of the fact that Oswald's tragic circumstances and the judgment of a thoroughly fickle society at large have more to do with his murderous intent than any inherent evil. The movie has become an offbeat Christmas classic, and the obviously corrupt Penguin's run at political office might once have felt like satire, but now feels thoroughly prescient. DeVito's co-nominee that year, Tom Selleck as King Ferdinand of Spain in Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, is a bit harder to argue against.
Where to stream: Max, Tubi
Nomination: Worst Musical Score (Ennio Morricone)
The great Ennio Morricone crafted a brilliantly minimalist score for John Carpenter's The Thing, making use of the director's signature synths as part of a musical backdrop that eschews grandiose Hollywood tradition for something more suited to the film's tense, lonely atmosphere. Morricone was also nominated this year for his score for Butterfly, a not-great movie which nonetheless had a decent score, with more traditional horns and noir influences. That nomination just feels like a dig at the film but, regardless, two Razzie nominations in one year for one of cinema's finest composers doing good-to-great work? Make it make sense.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Nominations: Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actress (Betsy Palmer)
Slashers may or may not be your cup of tea, and director Sean S. Cunningham's original might well have been conceived as a pretty blatant Halloween rip-off. Nevertheless, the film's low-budget style and simple, visceral thrills gave birth to a formula that sustained a series through eleven+ sequels, and also ushered in a deliciously low-rent subgenre—filled with movies that make Friday the 13th look like Citizen Kane. Betsy Palmer, a Worst Supporting Actress nominee, is delightfully vicious as house-mother-turned-serial-killer Pamela Voorhees.
Where to stream: Max
Nominations: Worst Picture, Worst Director (John Huston), Worst Supporting Actress (Aileen Quinn, winner), Worst New Star (Aileen Quinn), Worst Screenplay (Carol Sobieski)
I don't think that "shitty" is too strong a word here, and I'm not talking about Annie. The movie might not have been a hit with adult audiences, but kids loved it and, really, they were the intended audience. Far cruddier than the movie'w Worst Picture, Screenplay, and Director nominations, though, is the dual attack on Aileen Quinn, both in the categories of Worst New Star and Worst Supporting Actress—for which even the category is insulting, given that she plays the title character. Aileen Quinn was 11 years old in her first major film role, and surely didn't need a bunch of grown adults, mostly men, getting together to tell her how awful she was.
Where to stream: Netflix
Nominations: Worst Director (Brian De Palma), Worst Actor (Michael Caine), Worst Actress (Nancy Allen)
The Razzies of old had it in for Brian De Palma, nominating him for Worst Director for Dressed to Kill, Scarface, and Body Double—all thoroughly memorable films, none of which deserved Razzies. Dressed to Kill is De Palma's homage to Hitchcock, an erotic sexual thriller with loads of style and a playful willingness to lean toward camp. It's certainly one of that year's most interesting movies, and a bona fide neo-noir classic. In its very first ceremony, it feels like the Razzie voters are going not after bloated pictures that deserve to be taken down a peg, but targets that are easy for being offbeat and unexpected.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Tubi, The Roku Channel
Nominations: Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Patrick Swayze), Worst Supporting Actor (Ben Gazzara), Worst Director (Rowdy Herrington), Worst Screenplay
I'm not a big fan of "so bad it's good," only because it seems like an unnecessarily dismissive way of saying "good." But, if any movie fits that description, it's this sweaty, low-rent, excessively violent action flick, a midnight movie with a weirdly A-list (or B+, anyway) cast. It made such an impression that it is now getting a much higher budget forthcoming remake with Jake Gyllenhaal. It might not be high art, but it's definitely high camp, which is just as good.
Where to stream: Max
Nominations: Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Kyle MacLachlan), Worst Actress (Elizabeth Berkley, winner), Worst Supporting Actor (Robert Davi and Alan Rachins), Worst Supporting Actress (Gina Gershon and Lin Tucci), Worst Screen Couple ("Any combination of two people (or two body parts!," winner), Worst Director (Paul Verhoeven, winner), Worst Screenplay (Joe Joe Eszterhas, winner), Worst New Star (Elizabeth Berkley, winner), Worst Original Song ("Walk Into the Wind," winner), Worst Remake or Sequel
Whether as a guilty pleasure or as an intentional camp comedy, Showgirls has become a cult classic on par with The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I'm sure that was hard to see in 1995, but the Razzie pile-on of a movie that had become a joke points to another problem with the awards as an operation: laziness. The raunchy erotic thriller was already the butt of everyone's jokes when it came out, at least in part because boobs make insecure people uncomfortable. Razzie voters might have tried to pin it as the worst movie ever by saddling it with a record number of nominations...but I'd much rather watch Showgirls than Oscar's favorite movie that year, Braveheart. And I guarantee I'm not alone.
Where to stream: Tubi
Nomination: Worst Written Film Grossing Over $100 Million
The Razzies added a special category in 1996: "Worst Written Film Grossing Over $100 Million," and, like...what? The Hunchback of Notre Dame is great! A fair bit darker than Disney's other hits of the era, but still a gorgeously animated and emotional ride. It's also weird that none of the movies nominated in this category (including Twister, Independence Day, A Time to Kill, and Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible) was really nominated elsewhere. So they were bad, but only in that they made a lot of money? Dumb.
Where to stream: Disney+
Nominations: Worst Picture, Worst Actress (Madonna, winner), Worst Director, Worst Screenplay (Andrew Smith and Ken Finkleman)
Maybe Razzie voters couldn't have been expected to see that the much-maligned Madonna vehicle would take on its own cult status in later years, with audiences (i.e. middle-aged gay men) frequently able to quote the movie verbatim. It's a goofy, spry, screwball comedy with '30s style, and Madonna is clearly having fun.
Bigger point, though: the Razzies have had it in for Madonna from nearly the start: she's one of the most nominated and awarded actresses in the prizes history, "winning" for Shanghai Surprise, Who's That Girl, Body of Evidence, Four Rooms, The Next Best Thing, Swept Away, and Die Another Day. She even received a Worst Actress nomination for Truth or Dare...a documentary. In 1990 and 2010 she was nominated for Worst Actress of the Decade, and was awarded Worst Actress of the Century in 2000. Which, OK, there are some not great movies in her filmography, but also successes like Vision Quest, Desperately Seeking Susan, A League of Their Own, Evita, and Dick Tracy...so naming her the worst actress in the history of cinema seems a little overstated.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Nomination: Worst Actress (Megan Fox)
It's probably not a big surprise that the apparently extremely literal Razzie voters didn't get Diablo Cody's satirical succubus thriller—audiences didn't either, in part because 20th Century Fox had no idea how to market it, except as just another high school horror movie. Almost everybody was wrong about this pointed revenge fantasy, and Megan Fox's performance is only bad if you can't see the movie for what it really is.
Where to stream: Max
Nominations: Worst Actress (Cassandra Peterson)
In so gleefully nominating and awarding future camp cult classics like Showgirls, Who's That Girl, and Elvira, I can only conclude that the Razzie voters are not only homophobic, but absolutely hate fun.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Tubi
Nominations: Worst Actor (Barbra Streisand), Worst Supporting Actress (Amy Irving), Worst Musical Score
Other than being a little long, Barbra Streisand's Yentl is a moving, occasionally subversive musical that opened to mostly good reviews. Razzie voters opted to nominate Barbra Streisand for Worst Actor...because the main character is a Polish Jew who disguises herself as a man to study the Talmud in 1904. get it? The two other nominations are similarly, er, bold choices: Amy Irving received a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress, a role for which she also got an Oscar nomination. Same with the movie's score, which received a Razzie nomination but won the Oscar. Going after Yentl just seems like a weird flex...unless voters were bothered by the fact that this was a major motion picture written and directed by a woman, impossibly rare circa 1983.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Nominations: Worst Original Song x2
Rainer Werner Fassbinder's dreamy queer film is about a handsome young sailor who finds himself caught up in a web of sex, sibling rivalry, and sublimated lust at a French brothel. Given the Razzies' distrust of anything interesting, I'm a little surprised it didn't get more nominations. The two that it received were for each of the film's original songs, and they're a little puzzling: lead actress Jeanne Moreau sings "Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves," with lyrics taken from an Oscar Wilde poem. The style is very French chanteuse, and wouldn't work in an action movie, but it's absolutely perfect for a movie set in a French brothel—likewise "Young and Joyful Bandit," sung by German actor (and Fassbinder's sometimes-boyfriend) Günther Kaufmann. I don't see what the problem was.
Where to stream: Max, Tubi, The Criterion Channel
Nominations: Worst Supporting Actress (Estelle Getty, winner), Worst Actor (Sylvester Stallone, winner), Worst Screenplay (winner)
OK, yeah, this is a terrible movie. But how dare they go after Estelle Getty like that?
Where to stream: Digital rental
My seven-year-old is obsessed with anything non-fiction, whether it's reality shows about creating things with LEGO or books about shark attacks. To help nurture his interest in real life, I've started looking for documentaries to show him the world around us and keep his attention. Luckily, there are plenty out there to choose from—here are some of my favorites.
Given some of its content, you might have qualms about your children seeing the 1997 film Titanic. However, James Cameron still has you covered. He and one of the film's stars, Bill Paxton, filmed a dive to view the wreckage of the ill-fated ship to give viewers an awe-inspiring look at what remains in the ocean.
Where to Stream: Digital rental
Fans of the reality competition program LEGO Masters might recognize one of the show's judges, Jamie Berard, in this film that chronicles the humble beginnings and continued appeal of the beloved construction toy.
Where to Stream: Roku Channel, Kanopy, Digital rental
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has inflicted trauma not only on the soldiers on the ground but also on the families living there. This doc focuses on a young girl and her grandmother from the war-torn nation at a summer camp in the Alps. The war veterans in charge of the camp help the duo heal from the pain they've witnessed and build resilience so they can move on with their lives.
Where to Stream: Netflix
Using unreleased footage from NASA, the mission that brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the lunar surface is given all the gravitas of a summer blockbuster, filled with eye-catching scenes that rival anything Marvel offers.
Where to Stream: Tubi, Roku Channel, Digital rental
In a small Tennessee town, three middleschool teachers wanted to show their students the significance of the six million Jews the Nazis killed during the holocaust, so they asked their students to collect paper clips to represent a life lost. The project grew, with survivors, celebrities, and even politicians contributing to the inspirational and educational cause.
Where to Stream: Digital rental
This French documentary is so popular even my kids know about it, and it's easy to see why. Two cinematographers filmed the yearly courtship and breeding of emperor penguins in Antarctica, which requires an arduous journey through frigid temperatures to give their young the food they need to grow. The footage inspired the animated film Happy Feet.
Where to Stream: Digital rental
Fifth graders in a ballroom dance class at the New York Department of Education spill the tea about their lives, loves, and whether boys or girls make the better dancers in this charming story told from the students' point of view. It all culminates in a competition where some will leave victorious and others in tears.
Where to Stream: Kanopy, Digital rental
Nominated for an Oscar this year, this short documentary follows the staff of a Los Angeles warehouse dedicated to keeping student instruments in good working order. Even if your child isn't into music, seeing the devotion of these craftspeople working to keep up the instruments will let them see how much care goes into the process.
Where to Stream: YouTube, Hulu, Disney+
Life in the African savannah literally happens around the waterhole, with everything from dung beetles to lizards making these spots home. When a drought dries up this meeting place, an elephant mother packs up her family to travel 200 dangerous miles to find another one in this powerful story.
Where to Stream: Apple TV+
More suspenseful than any Hollywood film, eight Scripps National Spelling Bee contestants deal with pressure, unrealistic expectations, drama, and really long words that no one uses in this smart and entertaining doc.
Where to Stream: Kanopy, Freevee, Digital rental
The origin story of the fabled animation studio may feel a little corporate, but at its heart, it is a tale of the unusual journeys we all must take to find what we are meant to do.
Where to Stream: Disney+, Digital rental
Part of Disney's series of nature films, this documentary follows Oscar, a young, rambunctious chimpanzee separated from his family. He eventually partners with an older chimp named Freddy who cares for the young animal like his own.
Where to Stream: Disney+, Digital rental
It can be difficult watching this film and not feeling empathy for the victims of school bullying that the film follows, but it shows parents and children that their voices can make a difference in the lives of those who can't defend themselves.
Where to Stream: Kanopy, Digital rental
It seemed like this Oscar-winning film was all anyone watched during the pandemic, and it still holds up now that things are (kind of) back to normal. When a free diver befriends an octopus in a kelp forest, he learns about her ocean home and what we must do to survive and care for our family.
Where to Stream: Netflix
A new movie prompt on X, the site formerly/always known as Twitter, is usually a delightful break from the fascist rantings and "n u d e s-i n-b i o" pornbots that normally dominate my feed. Earlier this week, the question du jour was about the naming the 10 films you've seen the most in your life.
It's the kind of prompt that demands radical honesty. When asked for the best films in a particular category, my inner critic immediately pipes up, and the movies I might actually prefer to watch get shoved aside in favor of films that meet some vague highbrow artistic criteria. When asked what movies I watch all the time, though, I'm being asked to provide a window into my movie-watching soul. Citizen Kane might genuinely be one of my favorite movies, and I've seen it a bunch of times...but I watch The Muppet Movie and Charlie's Angels far more frequently.
Recognizing that what follows is a wildly unscientific look at the actual viewing habits of only a subset of social media users, I think there is something to learn from a summation of the movies X users listed in response to this prompt. It's also worth considering whether the movies themselves were huge right out of the gate, or if thye took a while to develop their fervent followings. In other words, were they growers or showers—a phrase that has no other meaning or context I'm aware of.
One of the most frequently cited films, probably not surprisingly, is the original Star Wars, released in 1977. While some users referenced the series as a whole, or chose a later franchise installment (The Empire Strikes Back, for example), A New Hope was the top choice. Given that we're still living in the blockbuster era that George Lucas' masterpiece spawned, not to mention the longevity of the franchise, it would be weird if people weren't rewatching the original movie from time to time. For viewers of a certain age, it's a movie they've been watching for nearly their entire lives.
Shower, or grower? Star Wars was, of course, a success right from the beginning. Theater audiences lined up around the block, and the movie was nominated for an impressive 13 Academy Awards, including for Best Picture. Home video, TV airings, and streaming (not included in box office figures), as well as (sometimes controversial) theatrical rereleases have kept the fires burning for nearly half a century.
Where to watch again: Disney+
Another strong contender was the original Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd as a time-traveling teenager and his charmingly addled scientist friend. The movie was initially a tough sell, as studios found the pitch either too tame to compete with the raunchy teen comedies popular in the early '80s (think Porky's), or too adult for audiences that might be weirded out by a mom trying to make out with her son. With a little backing from Steven Spielberg, it got made, and wound up being just right for 1985. (It doesn't hurt that it's basically a perfect film.) It was also just in time to ride a wave of home video, and the first VHS release added "To Be Continued..." to the finale, setting up a sequel that also made a few user's lists (with no love, sadly, for the equally entertaining Part 3).
Shower, or grower? The movie did big business straight off the bat, becoming 1985's top draw at the box office. When it was released on VHS nearly a year later, it broke sales records (even at $79.99), and became the most rented cassette of the year. Even though the last movie of the trilogy came out in 1990, it lives on in various releases, merchandise, and even a new Broadway musical.
Where to watch again: Digital rental
Today's children will never know the joy, and torment, of living in an era when It's a Wonderful Life was an inevitable annual watch, and nearly impossible to escape during the holiday season. As a film, it's pretty wonderful, actually, and surprisingly dark for something that parents used to plop their kids in front of as a seasonal distraction, but few movies can stand up to that level of cultural saturation with their coolness intact. Anyone who grew up in the pre-streaming era has likely seen it any number of times, whether they wanted to or not, and in color or not.
Shower, or grower? Perhaps surprisingly, given its pedigree, this one was very much a grower. Despite the presence of big names (director Frank Capra, star James Stewart), it opened to good, but not universally glowing, reviews, and it lost money at the box office. It picked up a few Oscar nominations but only won one in a technical category for its snow effects. It wasn't forgotten, exactly, but a dispute over the copyright placed it in the public domain (it's complicated) in the 1970s, which made it a cheap holiday screening for TV networks. Out of such legal kerfuffles are holiday classics born.
Where to watch again: Prime Video, The Roku Channel
Really, who hasn't seen The Wizard of Oz at least two or three times?
Shower, or grower? A little bit of both. In a legendarily good year for American movies, it wound up ranking fifth at the box office. Not a bad showing, but the movie was so expensive to produce that it didn't turn a profit until a rerelease a decade later. Around a dozen more theatrical releases since have helped, but the movie truly became a staple in 1956, when CBS was sold the television rights. The first airing earned huge ratings, and a subsequent one a couple of years later did even better. It shortly became an (at least) annual tradition.
Where to watch again: Max
I suspect that any and all Hayao Miyazaki films are rewatched frequently, so why does Howl's Moving Castle come up more frequently than others? The anti-war parable about a young milliner who is transformed into an elderly woman by a witch after she meets a wizard named Howl isn't the most whimsical of his films, but it offers, perhaps, some of Studio Ghibli's deepest thematic considerations, and thus invites additional viewings to make sense of it all. Plus it has that cute li'l fire demon. It's also the director's favorite of his films, at least it was as of 2013, before the release of 2023's The Boy and the Heron.
Shower, or grower? In the U.S., Howl is only the fifth most successful Studio Ghibli film in terms of box office, but worldwide, it's one of the most successful Japanese films of all time.
Where to watch again: Max
Several Nightmare entries came up in discussion, with the first getting the lion's share of mentions. Wes Craven's horror classic stars Heather Langenkanp and Robert Englund as Nancy Thomson and Freddy Krueger, the pizza-faced, knife-gloved serial killer who returns from the grave to get revenge on the children of those who killed him. In their dreams, of course. It's far more visually ambitious than most of the other slasher movies of the era, brings some big ideas along with the bloodshed, and makes of its lead a genuinely kick-ass protagonist rather than just a final girl.
Shower, or grower? Nightmare opened to solid reviews (especially for a teen slasher), and was a major success at the box office (nearly $60 million worldwide on a budget of just over $1 million), but the proof is in the franchise: six sequels (some quite good), a reboot, a TV series, and a Friday the 13th crossover. Things are quiet on Elm Street at the moment, but it'd be a real shocker if we never saw Freddy again.
Where to watch again: Digital rental
Like James Cameron's Avatar, everyone likes to act like they're too cool for Titanic...and then rewatch it 50 times anyway. During production, the movie was expected to be a disaster, with a budget of $200m (real money in 1997) that made it seem like there was no way it could be successful. Critics were eager to whip out every bad "sinking ship" metaphor imaginable, but then the movie came out, and steamed it's way well more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box office.
Shower, or grower? Titanic ranks fourth or fifth in all-time box office, depending on whether we're looking at original or adjusted grosses...so, regardless, it did fine on release. It actually held the number one spot for 15 consecutive weeks in North America, a record yet to be surpassed, and went on to win 11 Oscars.
Where to watch again: Paramount+
Romantic but not schmaltzy, and possessed of some of the most readily quotable dialogue in the history of cinema, The Princess Bride is an easy comfort watch that rewards multiple viewings, even when you've got the whole thing memorized. If you've ever shouted "Inconceivable!" at someone at an inappropriate moment, this movie is why.
Shower, or grower? It wasn't a disaster, but the movie made around $30 million on a $16 million dollar budget, so it wasn't exactly a roaring success either. A VHS release about six months later, as well as frequent cable airings, gave the movie a second life, its quotability and general charm eventually earning it its enduring classic status.
Where to watch again: Disney+
Users references both Alien and Aliens, with no love for the underrated Alien 3. Still, Ridley Scott's original seemed to do slightly better in the rewatch olympics, likely because of the larger role played by Jonesy, the ship's cat, who becomes a special friend to Sigourney Weaver's Ripley (just me?). The first film is a stylish and scary haunted house movie in space, while James Cameron's followup is pure adrenaline—a blockbuster action film of a kind they don't quite make anymore. They're both dense enough to support multiple viewings, with style and performances that elevate the material beyond mere spectacle.
Shower, or grower? Though the film rolled out with relatively little fanfare, word of mouth made it a pretty solid success, even though distributor 20th Century Fox was quick to deny the fact: Apparently eager to avoid paying production company Brandywine, Fox claimed that the movie lost money. The move was seen as a good examples of Hollywood's creative accounting practices, and an influential lawsuit forced a revision which made clear why the movie's success would justify a sequel.
Where to watch again: Hulu
What could've been a quickie bit of filler for director John Carpenter and producer/co-writer Debra Hill instead became the zenith of the slasher genre, and a pretty great movie in any category.
Shower, or grower? From a budget somewhere in the $300,000 range, the movie became, during its original theatrical release, the most successful independent film ever. Twelve followups and hundreds of imitators later, it's clear it birthed a monster that's been with us ever since.
Where to watch again: Shudder, Crackle, AMC+
Fresh young assistant Anne Hathaway plays against Meryl Streep's instantly iconic Miranda Priestly in this dark comedy set in the world of high fashion. Streep's performance makes the deliriously bitchy, nearly monstrous Priestly something like an antihero; she's one of the great villains in American cinema. It's a triumph.
Shower, or grower? Though the idea that a mid-budget comedy could be a blockbuster is entirely foreign in today's streaming-dominated landscape, The Devil Wears Prada did excellent box office business right out of the gate, earning $326 million on a $35 million budget. Critics' reviews were likewise solid, aside from Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who was clearly an inspiration for Streep's character; she allegedly maintained the movie would go straight to DVD. Instead, it earned Oscar nominations for Streep's performance and for its costume design.
Where to watch again: Max
A Disney childhood favorite for at least a few generations, Mary Poppins stars Julie Andrews as the magical, delightful, and ever-so-slightly terrifying nanny from the novel series by P. L. Travers. Songs like "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Let's Go Fly a Kite," and "Super-cali-fragil-istic-expi-ali-docious" all remain standards, though they have never been performed better than by Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.
Shower, or grower? Not only did Mary top the box office in 1964, its profits were such that Walt Disney used the money to buy the Florida land that would later become Walt Disney World.
Where to watch again: Disney+
It's astounding, time is fleeting, and Rocky Horror has been freaking out the squares for nearly 50 years. Richard O'Brien and Jim Sharman's musical is about a newly engaged couple (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon) who show up at the castle of a charming cross-dresser (Tim Curry), where queer doings are afoot.
Shower, or grower? We've discussed profits made by films on their initial releases; that's complicated here by the weird fact that, technically, Rocky Horror was never pulled from theaters. It's thus considered the longest-running film in the world. Might help to explain why it's so often rewatched. It was never going to be a blockbuster, instead gaining a reputation as an outré midnight movie for brave souls. Decades later, it's still seen that way, even as large audiences show up in drag to sing along and throw trash at the screen.
Where to watch again: Digital rental
Pushing the narrative of the '80s Transformers cartoon series into the near future, the movie's task was, essentially, to clear the decks of old Transformers to make way for new toy lines. By killing off a whole bunch of beloved robots. From that deeply cynical motive arose something that felt particularly dark to kids of the era, and also oddly emotional. If it seems odd that a Hasbro property would become a cult classic, consider the very weird voice cast that includes Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack, Scatman Crothers, and Orson Welles in his final film role. The fun, all-over-the-board soundtrack also includes the Weird Al banger "Dare to Be Stupid."
Shower, or grower? Transformers was released in a crowded summer that included Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Labyrinth, Big Trouble in Little China, The Karate Kid: Part II, Aliens, Stand by Me, and The Fly, among others, and it never had a chance...particularly given that you could watch Transformers the TV show at home, for free. Home video gave it a boost, and eventually steered it toward cult status, an eventual remastering, and even a theatrical rerelease or two.
Where to watch again: Digital rental
Indie splatter director Peter Jackson was an unexpected choice to helm a mega-blockbuster fantasy franchise, but the results speak for themselves. A epic with heart and soul, as well as a refreshing willingness to be a little goofy, the movies became standard viewing for Tolkien nerds and normies alike, with viewers often opting for the extended versions that balloon the saga to over 11 hours.
Showers, or growers? The movies made something like $3 billion at the box office, and each film received a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Return of the King was nominated for 11 Oscars, and made a clean sweep.
Where to watch again: Max, Prime Video
Another case where the first movie is taking the place of an entire series, perhaps, but the first Scream remains the best in a rather shockingly consistent horror franchise. Wes Craven's comeback brought Agatha Christie-style mystery to the slasher subgenre, and delighted in turning horror tropes on their heads.
Shower, or grower? The first Scream looked, at first, like a failure...but only for a weekend. Though the movie didn't fare well on opening, word-of-mouth spread quickly, and it wound up turning a solid profit thanks to its impressive legs, which kept it in the top 10 for nine weeks. Until the 2018 Halloween remake, it was the highest grossing slasher of all time. Much like the original 1978 Halloween, Scream kicked off a wave of imitators, influencing the genre for better and worse.
Where to watch again: Paramount+
Michael Gondry and Charlie Kaufman's existential sci-fi romance is sometimes sweet, often harrowing, and, ultimately, rewards repeat viewings. In the film, a couple (played by Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey) separately undergo a procedure to erase the other from their memory, with surreal results. The performances are consistently brilliant, and the movie takes an dark route toward something like light.
Shower, or grower? A fourth Oscar nomination for Kate Winslet lead to a fourth loss, but the movie did rather well at the box office...for an "indie" release anyway. Too idiosyncratic to have ever been a blockbuster like Jim Carrey's broad comedies, it nevertheless showed impressive legs—staying in theaters for 19 weeks—and turned a tidy profit.
Where to watch again: The Criterion Channel
Directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins crafted a film that, certainly for its time, broke the rules of screen musicals, trodding in territory that was somewhat richer than, say, The Music Man, released just a year later. Thought some pretty awful fake accents from white actors (sorry, Natalie Wood) playing Puerto Rican characters are a liability then and now, the movie still packs a tremendous punch.
Shower, or grower? It was the highest-grossing film of 1961, and that year's Best Picture Oscar winner. Rita Moreno also took home an award, making her the first Latina Oscar winner—and the only one for decades to follow.
Where to watch again: Tubi, The Roku Channel, Hoopla
A second appearance from Julie Andrews on the list, and, likewise, another for director Robert Wise, and for another musical that's frequently on repeat. Alongside the memorable songs, this one also sees its lead characters outwitting the Nazis, and thus earns a few extra points.
Shower, or grower? In adjusted box office, The Sound of Music is the third most successful film of all time, winning a Best Picture Oscar, as well as one for director Robert Wise. It did quite well from day one, is the point.
Where to watch again: Disney+, Hulu
This bittersweet and humane prison drama, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, was largely ignored upon release. It took the world a while to fall in love with this Stephen King adaptation, but it's now a fan favorite, and recognized as a top-tier prison movie.
Shower, or grower? Shawshank was a significant disappointment during its initial run, earning around $16 million on a $25 million budget (didn't help that it was playing against Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump). After the movie was nominated for Oscars, the studio re-released the film, and it earned enough to make it profitable. It was home video, though, where the movie really earned its legs: in 1995, it was one of the top rented films of the year, and 1997 airings of the movie on cable earned record numbers. For a long time, it was also users' choice as the best ever over on the Internet Movie Database.
Where to watch again: AMC+
Star Wars refined the summer blockbuster formula, but Stephen Spielberg invented it with this shark-attack thriller that has stood the test of time.
Shower, or grower? Jaws was a major, and surprising success upon initial release, breaking box office records even in its first week. Even several sub-par sequels haven't dimmed enthusiasm for the movie that made Spielberg a household name.
Where to watch again: Digital rental
This is exactly the kind of mid-budget comedy that they don't make anymore, or, at least, that don't become blockbusters when they do. Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and Rick Moranis star in the film about a group of wacky eccentric parapsychologists who start a ghost-catching business in NYC. And, really, who ya gonna call? The fandom still runs wild today, with people going wild for anything Ghostbusters-related that doesn't involve girls.
Shower, or grower? Ghostbusters was the top movie of 1984, beating out Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Gremlins, The Karate Kid, and Beverly Hills Cop.
Where to watch again: Digital rental
Busty horror host Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) inherits a house in a town full of absolute prudes, eventually teaching middle America a lesson it would never forget. For queer audiences particularly, the movie is an easy rewatch: Elvira, as goofy as she is sex-positive, defies the squares to be herself, and it's glorious.
Shower, or grower? Oh, a grower for sure. The movie lost money on its release, and helped to bankrupt its studio. Peterson herself was nominated for a worst actress Razzie, which makes clear just how dumb the Razzies are.
Where to watch again? Prime Video, The Roku Channel
This era of Disney animation got quite a few mentions, with The Lion King and The Little Mermaid coming on strong as well. Getting the single most mentions, though, is this story of the romance between a bookish peasant and her bear of a kidnapper. Hairy guys, amirite? Come for the endearingly complicated love story, stay for Angela Lansbury as an anthropomorphic teakettle.
Shower, or grower? After a third place opening weekend, Beauty and the Beast took off to become Disney's highest-grossing animated film to that date. It later became the first animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, which it lost to Silence of the Lambs. (Abductions were big at the box office that year.)
Where to watch again? Disney+
Another strong showing for director Ridley Scott, with his stylish, influential science fiction adaptation going from flop to culte classic to bonafide classic over the years. I suspect that almost any Harrison Ford movie that's not Regarding Henry gets this kind of love (where are my The Fugitive stans?), but Blade Runner's many mysteries and ambiguities (is he or isn't he?) lend a bit of extra rewatchability.
Shower, or grower? The movie did the kind of middling business and earned the kind of mixed reviews that would have seemed to put it on course to be forgotten. Instead, we got a mega-budget sequel some 35 years later.
Where to watch again? Digital rental
The Year of the Dragon is upon us. While China and Taiwan have formally used the more widespread Gregorian calendar for over a century, the traditional lunisolar calendar is still important in terms of culture and astrology. Typically referred to as the Lunar or Chinese New Year (although it's celebrated in several Asian countries, including Korea and Vietnam), it kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 10 this year, with Chinese celebrations concluding with the Lantern Festival on the 24th. Each year is represented by the transition from one animal to the next, with 12 in total, and an overlapping run of five elements. 2024 is, therefore, not just the Dragon year, but it's also a year of wood; one is associated with power and ambition, the other harmony and balance.
In celebration of this momentous, and hopefully not horrible, new lunar year, we'll take a look at dragons in film. Though often associated with China and East Asia, dragons come in a variety of international flavors and alignments, being formidable allies and/or fearful enemies. Like the new year itself, approach with care.
A classic of '80s fantasy and childhood trauma (RIP Artax), The NeverEnding Story brought to life the Glücksdrache (Luck Dragon) Falkor, introduced in German author Michael Ende's 1979 novel. On the page and onscreen, bullied 10-year-old Bastian Bux is led to the titular novel, which transports him to the world of Fantasia and places him in the role of warrior Atreyu, tasked with finding a cure for the wasting illness of The Childlike Empress and saving the land from "The Nothing." In the sometimes-astonishing, sometimes-terrifying world, dragon Falkor is a consistently hopeful presence. Lacking a dragon's typical fearfulness (he looks something like an elongated Great Pyrenees, and enjoys nothing more than a scritch behind the ears), Falkor is possessed of tremendous good fortune, but also a jovial sense of humor and a positive attitude. He's performed by the great Alan Oppenheimer (perhaps best known for voicing Skeletor, among many others), and you could do a lot worse than to have him as an ally and companion.
Where to stream: Hoopla
A stand-out in Marvel's increasingly spotty slate over the past couple of years, Shang-Chi finds "Shaun" working as a parking valet, scrupulously dodging his past as heir to the criminal empire known as The Ten Rings. Naturally, his past catches up with him as he's lead to the mystical realm of Tan Lo, in danger of attack from Shang-Chi's mostly evil father, and the soul-consuming demon, the Dweller-in-Darkness. Rising from the water to aid them, at the climax, is The Great Protector, who gifts him with some of her power.
Where to stream: Disney+
In the same year she was playing a dragon-adjacent sidekick in Shang-Chi, Awkwafina was voicing Sisu, the titular last dragon, in this animated stunner from Disney. Set in the land of Kumandra, Raya tells of a world where dragons and humans once lived as allies, before dark forces lead the dragons to sacrifice themselves, with last survivor Sisu concentrating her power into a gem that could protect the people. Over time, that gem became the subject of a power struggle that divided humanity into conflicting tribes—at least until warrior princess Raya goes on a quest to find the sweet, mostly gentle Sisu once again.
Where to stream: Disney+
About a quarter of Dragonslayer's budget went into the construction of 400-year-old antagonist Vermithrax Pejorative, an impressive creation with an even cooler name. In the somewhat forgotten but very entertaining adventure, apprentice wizard Galen (Peter MacNichol!) is forced to step up to help fight the dragon in an early-Middle-Ages-esque Britain. Vermithrax Pejorative is unquestionably the antagonist here, but he's not Galen's only enemy: His powers are in question, and corrupt rulers complicate the fight to save the land and its people—a heavily rigged virgin lottery has been keeping the dragon at bay, but only peasants seem to draw the short straws. The lizard-like enemy here is a great example of the medieval dragons that western audiences tend to picture.
Where to stream: Kanopy, Pluto
While Godzilla and his various co-kaiju tend to shift their alignments from movie to movie (Godzilla himself dexterously veers from pure evil, to mostly good, to force-of-nature-neutral with ease), King Ghidorah is pretty much always the meanest, nastiest monster of them all. So nasty, in fact, that he takes over the title for Godzilla's fifth movie. Here, a prophet from Venus warns that the three-headed space dragon that destroyed her entire civilization is on its way to Earth to wreak similar havoc. Kindly Mothra tries to recruit Godzilla and Rodan to the planet's defense, but she's only able to convince them to join in when they see her nobly, futilely battling Ghidorah on her own. It could have been worse, though: Director Ishirō Honda based Ghidorah on mythological Japanese dragon Yamata-no-orochi, who had eight heads.
Where to stream: Max
Hayao Miyazaki's stunning (and aren't they all?) film finds 10-year-old Chihiro Ogino moving to a new home with her parents, who are promptly seduced by the allure of an abandoned amusement park, and turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba. Chichiro gets some sound advice on getting the hell out of there from a boy named Haku, advice she promptly ignores, instead taking a job at a bathhouse and gradually losing her identity. Their bond grows deeper over the course of the movie, until it's revealed that Haku, too, has lost essential knowledge of himself and his essential dragon nature.
Where to stream: Max
The 1977 movie (also streaming on Disney) is a bona fide classic, but writer/director David Lowery's 2016 remake is pretty darned delightful, as well, and maybe even outshines its predecessor in emotional stakes. Here, forest ranger Bryce Dallas Howard comes across a feral boy, having lived on his own (it seems) in the woods for six years. As it happens, he might have had some help from a compassionate, if decidedly beastly, fuzzy dragon friend.
Where to stream: Disney+
Disney was not messing around in the climax of Sleeping Beauty; it remains as thrilling (and harrowing) now as it was over six decades ago. Prince Phillip is off to save Aurora from her sleeping curse but, of course, he won't accomplish his goal without opposition from self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil" Maleficent (Eleanor Audley). During the final, ultimately bloody, battle, she transforms herself into a giant dragon of black and purple, spitting acid instead of fire and wielding "all the powers of hell." Angelina Jolie could never.
Where to stream: Disney+
Still in Disney territory, but moving from fearsome to friendly, Mushu is one of the inevitable, frequently sassy, animal sidekicks. Thus, this particularly diminutive dragon—a one-time guardian of the Fa family demoted in the ancestral past for his failure to prevent a death. Now, in spite of his impulsiveness, he's determined to protect Mulan and regain his once lofty status. Roughly inspired by Chinese religion and mythology, Mushu is voiced by the definitely not-Chinese Eddie Murphy—but who's to say what a guardian dragon spirit might sound like, anyway? He's cute.
Where to stream: Disney+
Recognize that voice? Why, it's Sean Connery—as solid a choice to play a medieval Europe-style dragon as anyone this side of Benedict Cumberbatch (to whom we'll return). This adventure fantasy, set in England of the 10th century (or so) is almost entirely kids' stuff, which is all to the good. Draco is the last surviving dragon, having given up a portion of his soul in the hope of changing the heart of cruel king-to-be Einon (David Thewlis). It failed. Knight Sir Bowen (Dennis Quaid) is determined to slay the dragon, before realizing that the true enemy isn't his scaly new ally.
Where to stream: Digital rental
The Viking village of Berk is under attack from dragons who steal livestock for food, and begins a training program for those who want to hunt and kill the invaders. Awkward Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is seen as far too weak to ever fight a dragon, but devises a machine that brings down one of the creatures: Toothless, whom he can't bring himself to kill. Hiccup soon realizes that Toothless and his fellow dragons are in their own fight for survival, and that maybe they don't all need to be enemies. There's a whole franchise here, including three largely standalone, and successful, streaming shows; How to Train Your Dragon, as a film series, represents something even rarer than dragons: a trilogy that maintains a consistently high quality, and that sticks the landing with its 2019 concluding chapter. There's a live-action reboot coming in 2025, but the saga, at least as it stands now, feels like a very satisfying whole.
Where to stream: Freevee
We meet a very different type of dragon in this rather shockingly entertaining D&D film. With a consistently spry sense of humor, and, just as importantly, an awful lot of heart, the movie manages to pay tribute to the role-playing game without ever feeling like an ad. Our primary dragon here, Themberchaud, comes right out of the D&D sourcebooks—the red dragon is fearsome, sure, and a deadly enemy—but also pretty damn chonky (all dragon bodies being valid, of course). He rolls more gracefully than he walks, and flying is almost entirely out of the question. Still, very much not to be messed with.
Where to stream: Paramount+, Prime Video
There are some intriguingly ambitious philosophical discussions going on in the margins of this Rankin and Bass classic, largely having to do with the conflict between the worlds of imaginative magic and logic, and the dangers of total reliance on one or the other. In a medieval fantasy world, good wizards notice that magic has begun fading from the world in favor of science, while evil forces hope to exploit the change—understanding that science, tethered to greed, could lead humans to destroy ourselves. The team of heroes require knowledge of science in order to defeat the enemy, using magic to conjure a leader: Peter Dickinson (John Ritter), a former scientist and current board-game designer from 1,000 years in the future (~1982). He's going to need all of his skills when he finds himself trapped in the body of a dragon.
Yeah, there's a lot going on here, but it's a lot of fun.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy is an uneasy blend of elements that really work, and others that really don't. But the trilogy's Smaug is a triumph, and Benedict Cumberbatch does excellent work voicing the dragon: he's equally bestial and stentorian, conveying power, rage, and wit with a silky smooth, charming delivery. Nor does the design let the character down, with a look straight out of the pages of Tolkien.
Where to stream: Max, Prime Video
Reptiles were a clear inspiration for the unnamed dragon that plays a prominent role in this stop-motion-animated classic, one that has an advantage over almost any other cinematic dragon: Ray Harryhausen, animator and special effects master. His first color film finds the title's Sinbad and crew landing on the island of Colossa where they encounter Sokurah the magician, who tricks them all into returning to the monster-infested island even after an escape. Sokurah's dragon friend takes on all comers, memorably defeating a giant cyclops before coming for Sinbad himself.
Where to stream: Tubi
OK, there's no literal dragon here—but Bruce Lee fits the description rather nicely. Born in San Francisco to Chinese parents, Lee's birth was particularly auspicious per the traditional Chinese calendar: lunar 1940, as in 2024, was a dragon year; he was born in the hour of the dragon (about 7 to 9 am), as well. In China, his screen name was frequently 李小龍 (Lee Siu-lung, meaning something like "Little Dragon Lee"). The point being: This counts. Enter the Dragon, co-starring John Saxon and Jim Kelly, is a U.S.-Hong Kong co-production and, thus, perhaps not the purest entry point into the world of Chinese martial arts films, but it's nevertheless an excellent one, full of brilliant fight choreography and a spy-thriller plot that very nearly makes sense. Look out for Jackie Chan as a henchman in one of his very first onscreen appearances.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Valentine's Day celebrates your partner, but on Feb. 13, you honor your girlfriends. Galentine's Day is a holiday whose origins date back to ancient times—specifically, a 2010 episode of the beloved sitcom Parks and Recreation in which Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) celebrates her support circle with waffles and gifts.
The holiday has since taken on a life of its own, and for good reason. As Knope explains on the show, it's all about "ladies celebrating ladies," and the sentiment is deeply felt in the proximity of the adjacent and often fraught holiday celebrating romantic love. To help you remember the women in your life, I've assembled a collection of movies you can watch with your gal pals to honor the holiday. Some are obvious classics, while others you may have missed. All are streaming now, or available for digital rental. Grab the popcorn and your best friends and enjoy.
An unlikely trio (Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore, and Mary-Louise Parker) take a road trip from New York City to Los Angeles but get sidetracked in Tucson, Arizona, when one has a health scare. Featuring a soundtrack filled with selections from '90s female singer-songwriters and an early appearance by Matthew McConaughey, this dramedy shows how friends can become our chosen family.
Where to stream: Plex
Speaking of Drew Barrymore, the actress made her directorial debut in this comedy about the daughter of a former beauty pageant winner who finds her tribe on a roller derby team. In addition to Barrymore, the cast includes Elliot Page, Kristen Wiig, Alia Shawkat, Eve, and Juliette Lewis.
Where to stream: Cinemax, Digital rental
There have been talks of a sequel to this late '80s cult classic about a spoiled socialite (Shelly Long) who becomes the leader of her daughter's Wilderness Girls troop, but it's hard to beat the original. It also features the acting debut of indie singer Jenny Lewis, who references the film in her video "She's Not Me."
Where to stream: Digital rental
Featuring a breakthrough performance by Tiffany Haddish, this comedy about a self-help guru reconnecting with her friends (the Flossy Posse) on a trip to New Orleans features a bunch of hilarious scenes of their exploits, including one that will make you think twice about trying zip-lining.
Where to stream: Peacock, Digital rental
The studio marketing team put Tom Hanks front and center to promote this movie about the first women's professional baseball league. While he's hilarious as a down-and-out manager, Geena Davis, Rosie O'Donnell, Lori Petty, and Madonna give the movie its heart.
Where to stream: Digital rental
On the last day of high school, two nerds (Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever) try to cram all the fun they missed during the last four years into one night, with hilarious results. Labeling this the female Superbad is easy, but it's too intelligent and earnest to fit that model.
Where to stream: YouTube, Digital rental
Beanie Feldstein also has a role in Greta Gerwig's directorial debut, playing the titular character's best friend. Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) is a 17-year-old Catholic school student awkwardly coming of age in Sacramento, the town she longs to leave. Hilarious and sincere, this Oscar-nominated film shows that Gerwig was a confident filmmaker long before she created Barbie's world.
Where to stream: Netflix, Paramount+ with Showtime, Digital rental
Two Catholic school girls give their hip Mother Superior and her staff of nuns a hell of a lot of trouble in this '60s comedy about questioning authority and finding satisfaction in life. Like Lady Bird, this film finds friendship and hilarity in a place seemingly devoid of it.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda are three office friends who scheme to get revenge on their "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" of a boss. The leading actresses have remained close in the decades since this film broke several box office records for a female-led production.
Where to stream: Digital rental
A '90s riff on Jane Austen's Emma, the film follows the superficial Cher, who begins to find fulfillment in setting up her teachers and friends. However, she can't seem to make it work when it comes to finding love for herself. Featuring a cast of future stars (including the ageless Paul Rudd), Clueless transcended the teen film stereotype by giving its characters brilliance and depth.
Where to stream: Paramount+ with Showtime, Digital rental
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, this film's title refers to four Chinese immigrants in San Francisco who meet regularly to play mahjong and converse about their daughters. Cultures and generations clash in this heartwarming film, one of the first with a primarily Asian-American cast telling a modern story about their culture.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Chances are you first saw this movie as a kid at your friend's sleepover. Much like the male-centered Stand by Me, this one features an adult narrator recollecting a fateful summer when she and her three friends' lives changed, and catches up with them in present day to chart how far they've come.
Where to stream: Digital rental
America Ferrera made her film debut in this dramedy about a teenager in East Los Angeles struggling to escape from her overbearing mother and become her own person. In a memorable scene, she inspires those who work in her mother's textile family to do the same.
Where to stream: Max, Digital rental
This year's Oscars are alomost here. The ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, which means you are running out of time if you want to watch all the major nominees before the ceremony. While you've probably already seen biggies like Oppenheimer and Barbie, there are eight other Best Picture candidates to catch, not to mention dozens more in other categories. Luckily, the vast majority are now available on one of the major streaming services, or as a digital rental.
On that note, here is where you can watch all of the feature Academy Award nominees right now (alas, a handful are still only playing in theaters, and not likely to be available at home before the awards are handed out; still others have yet to play anywhere but film festivals or overseas).
And here's a tip: if you're looking to stream the nominees included with a subscription you might already have, Netflix will give you the most bang for your buck: nine of the year's contenders can currently be found there.
Nominations: 13
Barbie may have taken home most of the money in the friendly rivalry that was "Barbenheimer" (or "the only fun thing to happen in 2023"), but in the Oscar race, Oppenheimer has pulled well ahead. Oscar night might be the tie-breaker, after we see how many awards each film actually takes home.
Nominations for: Best Picture, Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actress (Emily Blunt), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), Best Director (Christopher Nolan), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound
Where to watch: Peacock
Nominations: 11
A shockingly good showing for a movie that's been at the center of discourse (alongside Saltburn) about movies being too dirty for the delicate sensibilities of American viewers. Well done.
Nominations for: Best Picture, Best Actress (Emma Stone), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Director (Yorgos Lanthimos), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Where to watch: Coming to Hulu March 7
Nominations: 10
In addition the film's various other achievements, Killers of the Flower Moon has earned Martin Scorsese his 10th Directing nomination—the most of any living director and the second most ever (behind William Wyler, with 12) in Oscar history. Also: Lily Gladstone is the first Indigenous American to ever earn a nomination.
Nominations for: Best Picture, Best Actress (Lily Gladstone) Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Original Song ("Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)"), Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design
Where to stream: Apple TV+
Nominations: 8
The year's top-grossing film, and the one that most activated the cultural zeitgeist, apparently directed itself, as the old Billy Crystal joke goes: The Academy couldn't see fit to nominate Greta Gerwig for her achievement in transforming what could've been a mere IP cash grab into a phenomenon. Margot Robbie's lead actress snub also hurts, especially considering Ryan "Just Ken" Gosling made the cut [shakes fist at the patriarchy]. Still, eight nominations is pretty good for a movie based on a toy.
Nominations for: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (America Ferrera), Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Gosling), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song ("I'm Just Ken") AND Best Original Song ("What Was I Made For?"), Best Production Design, Best Costume Design
Where to watch: Max
Nominations: 7
Reactions to Maestro have ranged from rapturous to meh to worse, but it appears that the Academy (traditionally fans of the prosthetic nose) was into it.
Nominations for: Best Picture, Best Actress (Carey Mulligan), Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound,
Where to watch: Netflix
Nominations: 5
Writer-director Cord Jefferson's comedy-drama about a frustrated Black novelist (Jeffrey Wright) who writes a pandering stereotypical novel about Black Americans living the thug life only to see it taken seriously, is getting some surprising, but deserved, Oscar love. The nod for This Is Us's Sterling K. Brown, playing Wright's gay brother, is especially welcome, underlining the film's message that stories about the Black American experience can and should encompass a lot more than poverty and inner city gang life.
Nominations for: Best Picture, Best Actor (Jeffrey Wright), Best Supporting Actor (Sterling K. Brown), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score
Where to watch: In theaters, or purchase digitally ($19.99)
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Nominations: 5
"Academy Award Nominee Da'Vine Joy Randolph" has a nice ring to it, and Paul Giamatti might finally win the Oscar he should've for Sideways 20 years ago, but pour one out for director Alexander Payne, who perfectly aped the '70s milieu of Hal Ashby.
Nominations for: Best Picture, Best Actor (Paul Giamatti), Best Supporting Actress (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing,
Where to watch: Peacock
Nominations: 4
Buzz for this Cannes winner has been building all year about, particularly for Sandra Hüller's lead performance. In a year with multiple significant films directed by women (Saltburn, Past Lives, Priscilla, and, of course, Cocaine Bear), Justine Triet becomes the eighth woman in Oscar history to earn a directing nomination for this chilly, process-y, psychologically complex story of a French court case.
Nominations for: Best Actress (Sandra Hüller), Best Director (Justine Triet), Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing,
Where to watch: Digital rental ($5.99)
Nominations: 4
Jonathan Glazer's unsual Holocaust-era drama—set on the idyllic estate of a German officer living on the outskirts of a concentration camp, but while never sets foot inside the camp itself—is nominated both in Best International Feature and Best Picture, and it's probably a good bet for the former if not the latter. Glazer earned a somewhat surprising directing nod for infusing the narrative with a palpable sense of detached dread.
Nominations for: Best Picture, Best Director (Jonathan Glazer), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound, Best International Feature
Where to watch: Digital purchase ($19.99)
Nominations: 3
Ridley Scott's historical epic got a mixed reception and didn't do much at the box office, but the Academy still showed it some love. Maybe the four-hour director's cut, coming eventually to Apple TV+, will earn more eyeballs.
Nominations for: Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects
Where to watch: Premiering on Apple TV+ March 1, or as a digital rental ($19.99)
Nominations: 2
In a year light for prestige science fiction, The Creator grabbed a couple of technical nominations. The story of an AI child who might be the key to ending the way between humans and machines, it makes a lot of well-worn tropes look really good.
Nominations for: Best Sound, Best Visual Effects
Where to watch: Hulu
Nominations: 2
And the award for the most awkward title goes to... (Guess the Academy didn't get the memo that "Part One" has been dropped from the name.)
Nominations for: Best Sound, Best Visual Effects
Where to watch: Paramount+
Nominations: 2
A welcome, and not entirely surprising, pair of acting nominees for the swimming drama. Will Jodie Foster win her third Oscar? Will Annette Benning finally win her first? (In both cases, probably not.)
Nominations for: Best Actress (Annette Benning), Best Supporting Actress (Jodie Foster)
Where to watch: Netflix
Nominations: 2
Director Celine Song and lead Greta Lee? ROBBED. But this quiet romantic drama examining the pain of looking down the path not taken still managed to grab two major nods.
Nominations for: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay
Where to watch: Paramount+ With Showtime
Nominations: 2
The 1972 Andean flight disaster was previously the subject of 1993's Alive, but this version actually includes Uruguayan and Argentine actors in the leads (sorry Ethan Hawke).
Nomination for: Best International Feature, Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Where to watch: Netflix
Nominations: 1
This doc about Jon Baptiste's attempts to write a symphony as his wife, Suleika Jaouad, undergoes cancer treatment was expected to earn a Best Documentary Feature nomination, but came away with only Best Original Song.
Nomination for: Best Original Song ("It Never Went Away")
Where to watch: Netflix
Nominations: 1
The documentary follows musician Wine and his pro-democracy campaign for the presidency of Uganda.
Nomination for: Best Documentary Feature
Where to watch: Disney+
Nominations: 1
Hayao Miyazaki has still got it, and if this indeed turns out to be his final film, it's a fitting swan song. (A pity Joe Hisaishi's music missed, though—did John Williams really need to be recognized for the 54th time for his fifth Indiana Jones score?).
Nomination for: Best Animated Feature
Where to watch: In theaters for now, but likely eventually joining the rest of the Studio Ghibli films on Max
Nominations: 1
Early buzz saw the adaptation of the Broad musical The Color Purple as a major awards-season contender, but, for whatever reason, it seems to have fallen out of the zeitgeist. Still, congratulations to Danielle Brooks.
Nomination for: Best Supporting Actress (Danielle Books)
Where to watch: Max
Nominations: 1
This dark comedy from Chile (about a vampire Augusto Pinochet) looks like no other movie out this year.
Nomination for: Best Cinematography
Where to watch: Netflix
Nominations: 1
Critics shrugged off Pixar's latest, which initially fizzled (fire joke) at the box office before melting the hearts (water joke) of audiences worldwide. The immigrant allegory wound up legging it to $500 million and beating out the mega-hot The Super Mario Bros. Movie for an Oscar nomination.
Nomination for: Best Animated Feature
Where to watch: Disney+
Nominations: 1
The poignant documentary follows a couple, Augusto and Paulina, as they navigate his progressive Alzheimer's.
Nomination for: Best Documentary Feature
Where to watch: Paramount+
Nominations: 1
If a movie about Barbie can get Oscar love, why not a movie about Cheetos? Also, can we finally give Diane Warren an Oscar already?
Nomination for: Best Original Song ("The Fire Inside")
Where to watch: Disney+, Hulu
Nominations: 1
This unique documentary uses artifice to explore the life of a Tunisian woman named Olfa in the aftermath of the disappearance of her two daughters, as director Kaouther Ben Hania brings in actresses to take on the roles of the missing women in Olfa's life.
Nomination for: Best Documentary Feature
Where to watch: Digital rental ($3.99)
Nominations: 1
This movie deserved a Best Picture nomination. It deserved to win for Best Visual Effects if only for matching the best Hollywood can offer, but on a paltry sub-$15 million budget.
Nomination for: Best Visual Effects
Where to watch: In theaters for now
Nominations: 1
This Helen Mirren-starring biopic of the titular Israeli leader came and went without anyone much noticing...except for the prosthetic makeup that transformed the actress's appearance.
Nomination for: Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Where to watch: Paramount+, Showtime
Nominations: 1
A Marvel movie nominated for its visual effects? Sure, why not?
Nomination for: Best Visual Effects
Where to watch: Disney+
Nominations: 1
The final(?) outing for Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones picks up a tiny bit of Oscar love with its Best Score nomination, the billionth (or 54th) for John Williams.
Nomination for: Best Original Score
Where to watch: Disney+
Nominations: 1
The Italian nominee for Best International Picture isn't currently in theaters, nor is it streaming anywhere. Hopefully that'll change in the wake of the nomination.
Nomination for: Best International Picture
Where to watch: TBD
Nominations: 1
Todd Haynes' latest, starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore and loosely based on the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal, picks up one well-deserved nomination. But no Charles Melton? No Natalie Portman? No Julianne Moore? C'mon.
Nomination for: Best Original Screenplay
Where to watch: Netflix
Nominations: 1
Certain people got mad about the queer rep on display, but if you aren't a bigot, this adaptation of the ND Stevenson graphic novel is 100% delightful.
Nomination for: Best Animated Feature
Where to watch: Netflix
Nominations: 1
The latest from Wim Wenders, a lo-fi Japanese/German co-production about a businessman (Koji Yakusho) who decides to embrace the simple life of a toilet cleaner, has yet to even open in U.S. theaters.
Nomination for: Best International Feature
Where to watch: In theaters now
Nominations: 1
This largely dialogue-free feature about a dog and his pet robot is both beautiful and impossibly moving. It's not currently showing anywhere, so add it to your watchlist—it's well worth following up on once it hits streaming.
Nomination for: Best Animated Feature
Where to watch: In theaters March 6
Nominations: 1
This biopic about civil rights activist Bayard Rustin got only one (well-deserved) nomination, for lead actor Colman Domingo.
Nomination for: Best Actor (Colman Domingo)
Where to watch: Netflix
Nominations: 1
While the live-action superhero genre grows increasingly dull, there's still plenty of heart and innovation to be found over in the Spider-verse. While it faces stiff competition from The Boy and the Heron (especially consdiering voters may be miffed it only tells half a story), there's no discounting the love out there for this followup to the 2018 Best Animated Feature-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse.
Nomination for: Best Animated Feature
Where to watch: Netflix
Nominations: 1
The German Best International Picture nominee isn't in theaters currently, nor is it streaming.
Nomination for: Best International Feature
Where to watch: In theaters now
Nominations: 1
The film follows Ranjit, searching for justice in the wake of his daughter's brutal gang rape. It's not currently showing anywhere.
Nomination for: Best Documentary Feature
Where to watch: TBD
Nominations: 1
The timely doc finds a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the titular city as they attempt to chronicle the ongoing war.
Nomination for: Best Documentary Feature
Where to watch: Digital rental ($2.99)
It's not your imagination: From Dune to The Batman, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Oppenheimer, the biggest blockbuster movies really are getting longer. Maybe it's due to directorial excess, or the need for everything to be filled with enough backstory to spin up a franchise, or simply because it's harder to get people out to theaters so studios want to make it seem like every big film is an event. (Yes, some movies also really do need to be that long—but did No Time to Die really need to be that long?)
And sure, long movies are sometimes great, but length isn’t always (or even often) an arbiter of quality. Heck, some of the greatest films in history—across decades and a wide swath of genres—tell their stories very effectively in 90 minutes or less. What follows, in order of length, are 35 of the best, shortest movies ever, each one worth (not that much of) your time.
Running time: 68 minutes
It’s not a rule, exactly, but noir films seem to thrive at around 90 minutes—that being, perhaps, the approximate limit of our ability to watch a character descend into inescapable darkness. For a lot less time than that, Detour follows Al Roberts, a small-time piano player who comes into some cash and decides to hitchhike across the country in pursuit of his best girl, who ran off to Hollywood to be a star; unsurprisingly, he encounters some bumps along the road when someone who picks him up winds up dead and Al sorta accidentally assumes his identity.
The picture was made sloppily and on the cheap, but somehow became a classic in spite of all that. It’s now in the public domain and free on YouTube, though as it has recently been restored, you’re better off catching it on one of the big streamers.
Where to stream: Prime Video, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, Pluto TV
Running time: 71 minutes
One of the earliest and nearly the best (second only to its sequel) of the Universal horror classics, Frankenstein squeezes enough iconic imagery into 71 minutes that it has remained fresh for almost a century.
Where to stream: Classix
Running time: 71 minutes
A couple of friends heading out for a fishing trip pick up a passenger, one who just happens to be a thrill killer responsible for several earlier robberies and murders. That tense premise plays out perfectly under the careful eye of director Ida Lupino, an actress as well as one of the very few women directing American films during the ‘50s.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Vudu, Tubi, Pluto TV
Running time: 72 minutes
The wildly eclectic Robert Wise (West Side Story, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Sound of Music, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, etc.) directed The Set-Up, with all of the grit and sweat required of a movie of its kind (that being a film noir sports drama), scraping off all the gloss of his prestige pictures. The result is one of the best boxing movies of all time, as well as one of the very best noirs.
Where to stream: Watch TCM
Running time: 72 minutes
Portrait of a Lady on Fire director Céline Sciamma took a hard left turn for her followup film, a gentle, poignant coming-of-age story. A young girl mourning the death of her beloved grandmother helps her parents clean out the family home. One day while playing in the woods, she meets another little girl exactly her age. I can't really tell you more than that, except to say that the slow build to the reveal of who the girl is will have a shattering effect on anyone who has ever been a parent, or had one.
Where to stream: Hulu
Running time: 73 minutes
Buster Keaton was more daring, and Charlie Chaplin more poignant, but Harold Lloyd was more purely focused on laughs, and no less brilliant than his better-remembered contemporaries. Safety Last! is his most famous film (thanks to the memorable clock scene), and it’s also very nearly his best, with a lot more plot and gags than just the clock bit.
Where to stream: HBO Max, The Criterion Channel
Running time: 73 minutes
Producer Val Lewton traded freedom for prestige early in his career, taking over RKO’s B-movie unit and making shorter movies for cheap. There were very few restrictions placed on him, except for the stipulation that the movies needed lurid titles to draw attention—and, so: Cat People, ostensibly about a new bride who turns into a panther, but really a beautifully shot psychosexual drama about sublimated desire.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
Running time: 76 minutes
It took a while for Tim Burton's Henry Selick's The Nightmare Before Christmas to catch on with audiences (and we can probably thank Hot Topic for transforming it into a cultural phenomenon), but those of us who saw it in theaters in 1993 knew it was an instant classic. A sweet and scary seasonal gem about what happens when the king of Halloween gets bored with his holiday and decides he can make Christmas better (or at least bring some severed heads into the mix), it's likely a slim 76 minutes because of the complexities of stop motion animation, but it's also the perfect length for an adaptation of the original Tim Burton illustrated poem.
Where to stream: Disney+
Running time: 77 minutes
Comedy, like horror, often thrives at a shorter length, never getting a chance to wear out its welcome. Carole Lombard is great in this smart screwball, playing a hick from a nothing town in Vermont who’s brought to New York City by a cynical reporter (Fredric March) desperate for content. it seems she’s dying of radium poisoning, and the story about her poignant last night on earth will be a headline grabber. Except that she’s not dying—it’s all a scam, and a satire of both the manipulative tabloid press and our hunger for tragic tales that feels at least as relevant nearly 75 years later.
Where to stream: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Tubi, Pluto TV
Running time: 77 minutes
Writer/director Shane Carruth spent basically nothing (allegedly $7,000) to make this impossibly complex sci-fi tale about two Bill Gates-style computer geniuses who hack together a functional time machine in their garage and proceed to use it to fuck up each other's lives in profound ways. To say more would lessen the impact of this stone cold lo-fi classic.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Running time: 78 minutes
Superhero movies rarely clock in at anything under 6 hours (some of them feel that way, at least), but perhaps it’s not surprising that one of the best is much shorter... and a cartoon. A theatrical spin-off of the revered Batman animated series of the ‘90s, Phantasm sees an old flame reenter Bruce Wayne’s life even as a new vigilante arrives in Gotham. It’s tippy-top-tier Batman, cartoon or no.
Where to stream: HBO Max
Running time: 78 minutes
This landmark queer documentary explores, with clear-eyed affection and occasionally brutal honesty, the heyday of so-called "ballroom culture" in NYC, when queer and trans performers, marginalized in their day to day lives, would glam up and cast off the prejudices of society and the grim reality of the AIDS crisis to strut down the catwalk and lip sync for their lives. It's a celebration of found family, and a profile of a community and a cultural movement that would, decades later, find wider recognition in shows like Pose and RuPaul's Drag Race.
Where to stream: HBO Max, The Criterion Channel
Running time: 80 minutes
Hitchcock’s great experiment almost had to be on the short side, given the constraint he placed upon the movie: the whole thing had to look as though it were filmed in one continuous take (in reality, it’s a series of ten-minute takes, if only because that was the most film the cameras of the day could hold). Snooty lovers played by John Dall and Farley Granger stage an elaborate dinner party while concealing the body of a former classmate in nearly plain sight—see if you can spot the culprit.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
Running time: 80 minutes
Sequels are often longer than the original, so it’s a tribute to director Richard Linklater that he’s able to accomplish more in the followup to 1995's swoonily romantic two-hander Before Sunrise even with a run time that’s 20 minutes shorter. It helps that the brisk film ends beautifully, memorably—and abruptly.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Running time: 80 minutes
This German import is more than two decades old, and yet I’m still hesitant to spoil the twist of the thematic engine that drives it, so I’ll just say Franke Potente never stops moving throughout its one hour and 20-minute runtime; it’s a thriller that kicks like a caffeine-addled late night video game binge, and if it was a minute longer, she (and the premise) would have collapsed from exhaustion.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Running time: 80 minutes
Director Charles Burnett brought Italian-style neo-realism to Watts in the ‘70s in telling the story of Stan, who works long hours at an L.A. slaughterhouse. This portrait of a Black working class family is funny and frequently profound, and was only recently recovered and restored.
Where to stream: Kanopy
Running time: 81 minutes
Speaking of keeping animation short and sweet, Pixar used to be able to do it. These days many of their films approach (or exceed) two hours—it’s understandable, they’ve earned our patience—but it’s no accident that the shortest of the Toy Story films is still arguably the best, a perfect execution of an absolutely impeccable premise. (Yes, it’s likely only this short because it’s also the first all-CGI movie ever, but sometimes constraints aren’t weaknesses.)
Where to stream: Disney+
Running time: 82 minutes
Imagine Trainspotting-era Danny Boyle making an Elizabethtown-style romcom, except it's actually good, and you'll have a fairly accurate idea of what to expect from the charming debut film from director Raine Allen-Miller. Two mid-20s South Londoners meet shortly after each has suffered a bad breakup; they proceed to help one another get over their respective exes, and I'm sure you see where this is going, but you'll be smiling the entire way.
Where to stream: Hulu
Running time: 84 minutes
Spike Lee’s first feature film launched his career with the story of a woman (Tracy Camilla Johns) enjoying the type of sexual freedom typically granted to men. It’s smart, funny, and surprisingly sex positive, if a little problematic by modern standards.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Running time: 85 minutes
Though it seems subtle today, High Noon’s anti-blacklist, anti-witchhunt politics were so clear to audiences at the time that John Wayne called it “the most un-American thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life.” Any movie that pissed off John Wayne that much is fine by me. He made the much-longer Rio Bravo in response and... well, that movie’s also a classic, but it’s 2 hours and 21 minutes long. High Noon does much more with less, and holds up much better.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Paramount+, MGM+
Running time: 85 minutes
Dramas based on real events tend to be drawn out, but it’s the straightforward efficiency of Ryan Coogler’s first feature, based on the real-life killing by police of a young, unarmed Black man in Oakland, that makes it so beautiful, and so harrowing.
Where to stream: Freevee, The Roku Channel
Running time: 85 minutes
Some movies are on the short side simply because it’s cheaper that way. That may or may not be the case with Sam Raimi’s horror comedy cult favorite, but Evil Dead doesn’t suffer one bit from its truncated runtime. In fact, every movie in the eventual franchise comes in at around the 90-minute mark, give or take, this one having established the perfect length for gross-out practical horror.
Where to stream: AMC+
Running time: 85 minutes
A New Zealand horror mockumentary that launched an unlikely franchise, this movie packs a lot of jokes into 85 minutes.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Running time: 86 minutes
Animation being a complicated and sometimes expensive proposition, films in the medium tend to run shorter than live-action features. Surprisingly, director Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved Studio Ghibli movies tend to run closer to the two-hour range (he can take as long as he wants, really), but an exception is the classic My Neighbor Totoro, about two girls and their adventures with wood sprites in rural Japan. It’s pretty much a perfect movie from the first frame to the last.
Where to stream: HBO Max
Running time: 86 minutes
Even at a brisk 86 minutes, John Waters manages to pack a lot of raunchy laughs into this, his best, if not his most outrageous, movie. It doesn’t matter if you catch that the story of beleaguered suburban housewife Francine Fishpaw (played gloriously by the iconic Devine), who watches as her seemingly picture perfect family falls prey to sex and depravity, is a pitch-perfect parody of Douglas Sirk melodramas; it’s still gloriously, subversively hilarious throughout (and even better in Odorama).
Where to stream: Digital rental
Running time: 88 minutes
Claudette Colbert is on the lookout for a rich husband, though she’s already married to an inventor played by Joel McCrea. No matter—they love each other, but could use the money that a second husband could bring in. This could have been a dark satire, but as directed by Preston Sturges, it’s as big-hearted as it is silly.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Running time: 88 minutes
You could tell me that Akira Kurosawa’s much-imitated rumination on the nature of justice and the frailty of memory is only 88 minutes long, but I’m pretty sure I remember it differently. Consider this proof that an all-time classic doesn’t need to take all night to sit through.
Where to stream: HBO Max, The Criterion Channel
Running time: 88 minutes
All hail the new flesh! David Cronenberg's legendarily weird horror classic has all the slick (literally) body horror imagery that is the director's calling card, but it's also a sly commentary on the subversive power of media in the analogue age, following an amoral TV producer (James Woods, rarely better) as he searches for the secret behind Videodrome, a pirate broadcast of explicit violent and sexual imagery that might actually be more than mere fiction. Debbie Harry costars, looking hot as hell (obviously).
Where to stream: Digital rental
Running time: 88 minutes
There are so many memorable moments and lines here, and they come at such an incredibly fast clip. It’s maybe not the greatest slapstick comedy of all time, but it “shirley” has one of the highest hit-to-miss ratios—even some of its doofiest gags are still good for a chuckle, 41 years later.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Running time: 88 minutes
There’s such an effective high-concept here, it is 100% possible, and very much advised, to look past any of the film’s inherent silliness and just admire it on that merit. Jason Statham plays Chev Chelios, a man poisoned in such a way that he needs to keep his adrenaline levels at a constant maximum, or he’ll die. How he keeps ramping himself up, well, that’s the fun part. It’s loud and gleefully over-the-top, and it would totally collapse if it was even a few minutes longer.
Where to stream: Peacock
Running time: 88 minutes
The movie that teamed John Boyega with future Doctor Who Jodie Whitaker is unique in spotlighting a British street gang living on a council estate who also happen to be the only hope against brilliantly designed alien invaders. It’s too much madness for more than 90 minutes.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Running time: 89 minutes
Stand By Me doesn’t feel short and, in this case, that’s not an insult. The unlikely Stephen King adaptation doesn’t waste a second of its runtime, with director Rob Reiner crafting one indelible, nostalgia-for-childhood drenched scene after another as he tells the story of a group of friends who head out into the woods in pursuit of rumors there’s a dead body to be gawked at.
Where to stream: Netflix, AMC+
Running time: 90 minutes
The onscreen couple that set the template for some of the best relationships (without really being bested) in film history began here. I’ve seen this movie multiple times and I couldn’t tell you a thing about the central mystery—only because the boozy chemistry between Myrna Loy and William Powell is the real draw.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Running time: 90 minutes
Time has lent some class to this French classic, praised and derided equally upon its release for its gross-out effects (which are incredibly tame by today’s standards). When able to see past the horror elements, the film plays more like a dark fairy tale, brutal, but weirdly poetic and beautiful.
Where to stream: HBO Max, The Criterion Channel
Running time: 90 minutes
Ninety minutes might sound like too long for a movie adaptation of a series of 5-minute YouTube shorts, but I'd be happy to spend a lot longer with Marcel, who is indeed a shell with shoes on, and just the sweetest little sentient mollusk casing you've ever met. This faux-documentary follows Marcel as he searches for his missing family, and I'm not kidding when I say that Isabella Rossellini gives an award-caliber performance as his grandmother. Who is also a shell.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Modern movie audiences are as prudish as ever when it comes to sex on the big screen. Online discourse frequently runs to the tiresome topic of whether or not sex scenes are strictly "necessary" to the plot of any particular film. I'm not nearly convinced that movies ought to be so laser-focused on plot that anything extraneous needs to be tossed in the bin—reducing a Shakespeare play to just the dialogue that advances "plot" would have us in and out of a theater in around 20 minutes.
The past year has been rife with this discourse, as explicit sex scenes in Beau is Afraid, All of Us Strangers, Infinity Pool, Passages, and Saltburn have apparently been traumatizing unwary theatergoers. 2024 is off to a similarly scandalizing start with Oscar-front-runner Poor Things—the Frankenstein-inspired dark comedy follows Bella Baxter, a young woman resurrected following her death by suicide, who begins a journey of liberation and sexual exploration in Victorian London. Some of it's racier scenes have drawn controversy and criticism, particularly in the U.K., where only a censored version has been released.
Leaving aside whether I personally find this discussion worthwhile, there certainly are films for which we can draw a straight line between sex scene and plot, or which use sex to reveal character (no pun intended). Consider these 31 movies, and see if you come away feeling any better about the existence of characters who fuck.
Though the sex isn't wildly explicit, it would be altogether silly for a film set in and around the world of 1970s cinematic porn to skip the sex scenes entirely. One moment in particular comes at the outset of Dirk Diggler/Eddie Adams' career, as he's filming his first explicit scene with Julianne Moore's Amber Waves/Maggie. The moment captures Eddie's nervousness as well as his sexual charisma, while also making clear that this is a job for everyone involved. The crew looks on while Maggie gently guides her co-star through his first on-screen orgasm. It's not an overwhelmingly passionate scene, but it is a surprisingly tender one.
Where to stream: Amazon
OK, granted, the impromptu sex scene at the center of Brokeback Mountain was clearly choreographed and performed by people with only the vaguest notions of what sex between two men can look like—as if there exists not a single queer in Hollywood who might have been consulted. The moment pays off sexual tension that has been building between Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) from the first frame. It's significant that the filmmakers choose to make clear that sex is a component of the attraction here, beyond the cutesy stuff.
Where to stream: Amazon
Park Chan-wook's action classic is not for the faint of heart on any level, and that includes the sex scene between Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) and Mi-do (Kang Hye-jung). It's not that the moment is itself wildly explicit, but the movie's last-act reveal of Mi-do's true identity is genuinely shocking in context, and brings the 15-year timeline of revenge and counter-revenge full circle.
Where to stream: Netflix
A nearly three-hour journey into the headspace of the deeply anxious title character (Joaquin Phoenix), Beau is Afraid was one of the last year's most polarizing films—and it's probably my favorite of 2023. Many of Beau's troubles stem from the vaguely psychosexual manipulations of his mother, Mona (Patti Lupone), who made sure to describe to the young Beau the mid-coitus death of his father in excruciating detail. Sexual phobias aren't the entirety of Beau's problems, but they're a key component of his inability to connect with other people. When he does finally have sex, at the movie's climax (ahem), it only makes things so, so much worse for a guy who cannot catch a break.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Another of the year's most hotly debated films, Saltburn transports The Talented Mr. Ripley to Northamptonshire, England, with mixed results. Scholarship student Oliver (Barry Keoghan) has pursued Felix (Jacob Elordi) from Oxford all the way to the guy's ancestral home, only for Oliver to find (*major spoilers coming*) that his plans of getting in with the posh crowd are going to need to involve murder. His dreams of sex with Felix having gone down the drain (somewhat literally), Oliver instead fucks Felix's fresh grave. The scene is there for shock value, sure, but also makes clear that Oliver's machinations to that point were never purely strategic, and that his lust/obsession with Felix was very real.
Where to stream: Prime Video
The love scene between Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) is neither particularly hot nor explicit, but it is essential to the film, and the franchise as a whole. Without the sex-on-the-run between the two, John Connor will never be born to save humanity, and won't be around to send Kyle Reese back in time to train Sarah. Very timey-wimey. The moment makes the great Terminator 2 possible, but also a series of largely forgettable sequels—so it's not all good news for humanity.
Where to stream: Max
Set over the course of, nearly, a lifetime, Atonement kicks off with Briony (Saoirse Ronan) witnessing mildly rough sex between her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and the housekeeper's son Robbie (James McAvoy). Jealous and confused, the young heiress mistakes what she sees for rape, which clouds her judgement when she accuses Robbie after an actual sexual assault occurs shortly thereafter. Briony's allegation sets in motion a cascade of events that darkens the lives of those around her, allowing the real assailant to go free. As the movie's title suggests, Briony spends much of her life trying to make amends for her mistake.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Guillermo del Toro's fantasy romance involves love between a deaf custodian and the mysterious fish man with whom she forms a bond. From that premise, del Toro crafts an instant classic that earned him Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. When Eliza (Sally Hawkins) makes love to her amphibian companion (Doug Jones), it's in a bathroom that's entirely submerged, with an explosive release of water taking the place of a more traditional climax. Eliza later explains the mechanics of the event to a friend—all of this serving to make clear that this love story is both emotional and sensual, and not merely the chaste romance of a Disney movie about mer people.
Where to stream: FXNow
Not much of a spoiler here, since the inciting incident occurs within the first 10 minutes of this Stephen King adaptation: Jessie and Gerald Burlingame (Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood) arrive at an isolated lake house, where Gerald tries to engage in a rape fantasy that Jessie is deeply uncomfortable with. The interaction makes obvious the rift that has developed in their marriage, but before Gerald can take things further, the two have a fight during which he has a heart attack and dies...leaving her handcuffed to the bed and totally isolated. Stephen King-style shenanigans ensue. The opening is more troubling than explicit, but without it, the movie doesn't happen.
Where to stream: Netflix
Nagisa Ōshima's gorgeous art film was wildly controversial upon release, largely for the very realistic sex scenes—realistic, because they were largely unsimulated. It's based on the true story of Sada Abe (Eiko Matsuda), a one-time sex worker who begins an obsessive affair with a patron (Tatsuya Fuji) of the hotel where she works. Sada Abe's refusal to conform to societal expectations of her gender and class don't make her a hero, exactly, but it does bestow upon her a strange sort of freedom. The impact comes in part from the film's refusal to undersell Sada Abe's sexual power—sex is a critical part of her story, in the movie and in real life, and Ōshima isn't afraid to show rather than merely tell.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
Analyzing any given David Lynch movie points us immediately toward the problem of determining whether a sex scene is "necessary to the plot," since figuring out the plot is a trick unto itself. Mulholland Drive is a tiny bit more approachable than most of his output, following "Rita" (Laura Herring), an actress who suffers from amnesia following a Los Angeles car crash, who stumbles into a wholesome midwestern transplant (Naomi Watts), who is setting out to become a star. The two set out to uncover Rita's true identity, before engaging in some undeniably hot sex. I'm not sure to what extent it impacts the plot, but the sex scene represents a liminal moment between the two characters, each inhabiting multiple potential identities—for those few moments, the characters connect with such intimacy that questions of identity don't matter in the least.
Where to stream: Amazon
The climax (ahem) of Alfonso Cuarón's instant-classic Mexican road trip film finds the central characters (Luisa, Julio, and Tenoch) engaging in a rather sweet threesome. The trio have been circling one another, emotionally and physically, for the entire film, and this moment flips the script, briefly, on their apparent love triangle—offering the possibility that none of them needs to choose.
Where to stream: AMC+
Forget about the orgy sequence; let's focus instead on the earlier sex scene between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman that formed the basis of the scandalous teaser trailer (a true tease back when no one knew what the movie was going to be about). She's mostly focused on looking at herself in the mirror, and while the scene approaches something sweaty, what we mostly feel is the lack of connection between the two. In the context of the film, the sequence makes clear this is a marriage already in the process of disintegrating.
Where to stream: Tubi
Nicolas Roeg's haunting thriller includes one of the most notorious sex scenes in film history, infamous in part because of rumors (still promulgated and still disputed) that the intimate contact between Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland was unsimulated. Whether there's any truth to that or not, it certainly speaks to the authenticity of the moment, which is hardly gratuitous: The movie follows a couple shattered by the death of their only child, and the sex scene is a major emotional turning point: a moment of clear connection right before things go even more wrong.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Mainstream movies with gay themes are frequently prudish in the extreme—assuming that audiences might accept the existence of queer people, but not that they might also come now and again. During the sweaty Italian summer of 1983, a frustrated 17-year-old Elio (Tomothée Chalamet) makes reasonably good use of a ripe peach, only to be discovered by Oliver (Armie Hammer)...who finds his own use for the bit of fruit. The scenes captures their character dynamic nearly in full, while offering up something a tiny bit kinkier than we're used to.
Where to stream: Hulu
OK, maybe it's not entirely essential to the plot, and the sex here is only strongly implied—but Hitchcock's classic caper gets extra credit for being so brazen about it, considering when it was produced. As Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint begin making out in the top bunk of their train berth, Hitch cuts away (as the censors would have surely demanded) and we watch the train plowing into a tunnel. What plays like a juvenile joke now was a clear middle finger directed at the Hollywood production code.
Where to stream: Tubi
Fairly chaste as sex scenes go, but the backroom tumble involving Daniel Day-Lewis and Gordon Warnecke is important, in part, because it is so low-key. There's drama around this same-sex, interracial relationship...but on the folding table in the back of the laundromat, it's just desire.
Where to stream: Digital rental
This Wong Kar-wai film stars Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung as a pair of desperately mismatched lovers whose passion nonetheless keeps bringing them back together. Happy Together opens with the two in their underwear, on a bed in South America. Their kissing turns to tussling, then to wrestling, then to sex, and back again, their entire dynamic laid out in one impressively intense scene.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Lena Nyman stars in this wildly controversial (in 1967, anyway) Swedish film that uses documentary style to tell the story of a 20-year-old exploring the world as an adult for the first time, and finding her own passion for social justice challenged and expanded. Sex goes right alongside politics for Lena (also her character's name), and one of the key, ostensibly shocking scenes finds her gently kissing her boyfriend's flaccid penis. It's a moment in Lena's growth as a young activist and as a sexual being, but it's also a rare instance of male nudity on the movie screen—particularly way back in the 1960s.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
It Follows isn't about just one thing, but there's certainly a pervasive air of tension around young sexuality and its potential consequences, both physical and emotional. Fear of sexually transmitted infections is certainly a lens through which to view the movie's horror conceit—a curse that literally follows its subjects to their deaths, unless (and until) they're willing to pass it along to someone else via sex. Pairing sex and existential dread is a choice, but a choice worth exploring.
Where to stream: Netflix
Best not to hold Halloween responsible for the many, many imitators that got it all wrong: The slasher genre that this film helped to solidify quickly became laughably sexually conservative in a "sex = death" kinda way, but that wasn't this movie's message. Director John Carpenter wrote most of the scary stuff, but late, great producer Debra Hill wrote everything involving Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. When Lynda (P.J. Soles) and Bob (John Michael Graham) have sex and get killed, the only intent was to show teens doing normal teen stuff. They were meant to be relatable, not sinners getting what was coming to them.
Where to stream: Shudder
The sex scenes between ex-con Corky (Gina Gershon) and Mafia moll Violet (Jennifer Tilly) are as sensual and erotic as they come, sidestepping then- and still-common cinematic lesbian tropes in favor of genuine sexiness. Nothing here feels like it's strictly intended for the straight white gaze, even though the movie toys with that notion in the ways the relationship between the two women eggs on the very straight male insecurities of mobster Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). The Wachowskis hired feminist author and sex educator Susie Bright (who has a cameo in the movie) as an intimacy coordinator before that job even had a name. The finished product makes a very strong case that having someone around who understands sex and intimacy does't put a damper on things; quite the opposite.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Gregg Araki's New Queer Cinema masterpiece is as angry as it is jubilant. In an era where queer people were either invisible in cinema, or victims, Araki crafted a narrative about a couple of gay, HIV+ drifters who kill a homophobic cop and a couple of gay bashers before setting out on an uninhibited road trip. Their shower sex scene isn't particularly graphic, but the explicit non-use of a condom and the light choking involved outraged audiences from across the political spectrum—though the movie's dedication to: ”The hundreds of thousands who’ve died and the hundreds of thousands more who will die because of a big white house full of Republican Fuckheads” was more on-the-nose about its intention to offend the wrong type of people.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Director Ann Lee caps the incredibly awkward, instantly regrettable car sex scene between Elena (Joan Allen) and Jim (Jamie Sheridan) with him admitting, "That was awful." In a movie that's all about awkward and ill-conceived sexual encounters, Jim sums it up nicely.
Where to stream: Max
Kathleen Turner stars in Lawrence Kasdan's essential neo-noir as one of cinema's ultimate femmes fatale—matching the energy of Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity, on which this is loosely based, but wearing much less clothing. As in the best noir films, the sex here is all part of the game that she's playing with William Hurt, even as he thinks that he's the one toying with her. When he finally smashes a window just to be with her again, it's clear who's in charge.
Where to stream: Digital rental
As the title of this Hedy Lamar film might suggest, sexual and romantic passion are very much our subjects. Lamar (credited as Hedy Kiesler) plays Eva, a woman in a loveless, passionless (at least on her part) marriage to a rich older man. A nude swim draws the attention of Adam (Aribert Mog), with whom she soon commences an affair. The love scene, which eschews the bare flesh that can be found elsewhere in the film, focuses almost entirely on Eva's face, and shows us she's finally experiencing the passion missing from her marriage. Aside from being central to the movie's plot and themes, it was also shockingly ahead of its time in emphasizing female sexuality.
Where to stream: YouTube
OK, there is no actual sex here, but there is a wildly memorable scene centered around a full-throated discussion of a woman's orgasm. Which was not something that was spoken of in polite company circa 1989! Writer/director Nora Ephron didn't care, and Meg Ryan played it to the hilt. So iconic was the scene that "I'll have what she's having..." became a catchphrase, and Miss Piggy offered up her own climax on an episode of Muppets Tonight. If we still have a long way to go, this scene certainly opened some doors for more transparent discussions of women's sexuality.
Where to stream: Tubi
Following a Christmas celebration gone horribly awry (they shoulda gotten her them cha-cha heels!), young Dawn Davenport (Divine) strikes out on her own, hitchhiking and then immediately having an unprotected, and unhinged sexual encounter with a lecherous creep on an old mattress at the dump. Not only is the scene itself one of the most memorably repellant bits in the entire movie, it also sets in motion everything to come: Dawn isn't entirely cut out to be a single mother, and trying to raise Taffy (Mink Stole) only sends her further down the road to depravity. The sex scenes in basically any Waters movie are similarly obscene, which is entirely the point, and entirely necessary.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Antonio Banderas becomes both an object of terror, and a muse, following a gentle, lighthearted sex scene between porn-director-on-the-rebound Pablo (Eusebio Poncela) and same-sex virgin Antonio (Banderas). The cute, frank love scene sets up, and helps to subvert, everything that comes after—with director Pedro Almodóvar peppering his thriller with comedy and subverting expectations, as is his usual MO.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Martin Scorsese's oft-banned portrait of the final days of Christ (Willem Dafoe) pissed off a lot of people for its hallucinatory sex scene between Jesus and Mary Magdalene (Barbara Hershey). The scene itself isn't even PG-13 level, but the very idea sent scolds into apoplexy and fanatics off to firebomb theaters. Unsurprisingly, they'd missed the point entirely: In context, the scene is part of a ploy by Satan—the titular last temptation. He's showing Jesus what his reward might be if he turned away from mankind: a long and normal life instead of an agonizing death on the cross. That moment of lovemaking is central to the sequence, and helps to make clear everything he's sacrificing for humanity.
Where to stream: Amazon
Sean Baker's brilliant, ultra-low-budget comedy-drama follows a Christmas Eve in the life of trans sex workers Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor). The sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking film rides high on gritty realism, and it wouldn't be the same if it didn't give us a sense of their work lives. A central scene finds Alexandra taking refuge from a bad day in the car of a cab-driver client. He's happy about giving her a blowjob while they go through a car wash, and she's happy to earn a few extra dollars from a friendly, trustworthy client. As car wash blowjobs go, it's genuinely sweet, while also making clear that sex workers, too, have their good and bad days on the job.
Where to stream: Amazon
The film Saltburn didn't exactly set the world on fire when it was released in theaters around Thanksgiving last year, but it garnered some strong awards buzz for actor Barry Keoghan's fearless performance.
When it premiered on Prime Video just in time for winter break, however, it blew up on social media for entirely different reasons. News feeds were filled with reactions from adult children watching it with their parents, completely unaware of the film's provocative content. To say more about the film would spoil the fun, but you'll never feel the same about your bathtub when it's all over.
If you are one of those recently traumatized by watching Saltburn with your family, we're here to make sure you don't make the same mistake twice. Here is a list of films that seem relatively nice on the outside, only to stir up all kinds of awkward feelings when you least expect it.
Why not? Quentin Tarantino's breakout hit won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and what parent doesn't enjoy seeing Bruce Willis and John Travolta? However, there's plenty of drug use, sodomy, extreme violence, f-bombs, and talk of sexy foot massages that may cause you to squirm while sitting on the couch of your childhood home.
Where to stream (without your parents): Max, Digital rental
Why not? Not only did Halle Berry become the first woman of color to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards for her performance in this powerful film, but it was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay, giving one the reasonable assumption that it would be perfectly appropriate to watch with their family. However, if the shocking suicide in the first half of the film doesn't make you and your parents wince, then the prolonged sex scene between Berry and Billy Bob Thornton certainly will.
Where to stream (without your parents): Pluto TV, Roku Channel, Digital Rental
Why not? This classic action film about a canoeing trip might seem like a good film to watch with your outdoorsy dad, but heed this warning: When the hillbillies start telling Ned Beatty's Bobby to squeal like a pig, things get dark fast.
Where to stream (without your parents): Digital Rental
Why not? Funny story: I was part of a group that chose to study this thriller for a film class. (For the record, I didn't select the film, and I was the only guy on our team.) We watched it at my house, kindly asking my parents (practicing Mormons) to skedaddle for the film's duration. My dad walked out as the main characters were engaged in a threesome. Then my mother, wondering where my dad was, saw Kevin Bacon's sausage in another scene. I don't know what made me more uncomfortable: listening to my dad fawn over Denise Richards or the fact that their own DVD copy of the movie is still in their collection.
Where to stream (without your parents): Digital Rental
Why not? Before Saltburn, there was The Wolf of Wall Street, a dark film from Martin Scorsese released around the holidays filled with orgies, exposed genitalia from both sexes, masturbation, drug use, domestic violence, locker room talk, and, according to IMDb, nearly 600 uses of the f-word.
Where to stream (without your parents): Paramount+ with Showtime, Peacock, Digital Rental
Why not? Based on the bestselling novel that introduced the term "Nordic thriller," this tale of a disgraced journalist (Daniel Craig) uncovering a conspiracy with the assistance of hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) includes two unsettling rape scenes and several sex scenes.
Where to stream (without your parents): Paramount+ with Showtime, Digital Rental
Why not? Nowadays, you might not want to see this Oscar-winning film for other reasons (the off-screen actions of its leading man, for instance), but we're not your parents. However, seeing people as old as your parents lust after underage cheerleaders or have loud sex in a seedy hotel room are excellent reasons to avoid seeing it with them.
Where to stream (without your parents): Paramount+ with Showtime, Prime Video, Digital Rental
Why not? It's a cult midnight movie that's probably been around since your parents were born, but watching it with them may depend on where they stand with the current political landscape. There's plenty of innuendo and revealing costumes but very little nudity, but the introduction of Tim Curry's Dr. Frank-n-Furter, a sweet transvestite from Transexual Transylvania, might make your parents uneasy.
Where to stream (without your parents): Digital rental, but do yourself a favor and catch a midnight show in a theater.
Why not? The marketing of this crude, outrageous comedy made it seem its most offensive aspect was the harming of a cute little dog. Little did audiences know what hilarious vulgarities awaited them and their parents, particularly the "hair gel" scene.
Where to stream (without your parents): Digital Rental
Why not? Whenever I try to explain this award-winning dramedy to anyone's parents, I always get concerned looks. It involves an insurance man (Jack Lemmon) who loans his apartment to executives for their extramarital affairs. The sex is talked about in the tamest of terms but never shown. There's also an unseen suicide attempt, making it edgy for the time. Depending on how conservative your parents are, you might want to avoid this one.
Where to stream (without your parents): Roku Channel, Digital Rental
Why not? It's hard to decide what made a generation of '90s kids uncomfortable seeing this PG-13 movie with their parents: If it wasn't the scene with Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) sketching a nude Rose (Kate Winslet), then it was definitely the couple consummating their relationship in the backseat of a car.
Where to stream (without your parents): Paramount+ with Showtime, Digital rental
Why not? While there's nothing better than seeing a Christmas-themed comedy about Saint Nick almost entirely devoid of holiday cheer during winter break with your parents, there is something a little unsettling about hearing Lauren Graham, the actress best known for playing Lorelai Gilmore, scream, "Fuck me, Santa!" while having sex in a car in a mall parking lot.
Where to stream (without your parents): Paramount+ with Showtime, Digital Rental
Why not? You'd be hard-pressed to find a parent who doesn't like Jennifer Lawrence. Still, this unsettling film by Darren Aronofsky will test mom and dad's limits with its violence, nudity, language, and (spoiler alert) child sacrifice.
Where to stream (without your parents): Digital Rental
Why not? Your mom and dad might finally be finished with their rewatch of The Office, but as cringeworthy as Michael Scott's actions are, it will pale compared to how you'll feel watching this Steve Carrell comedy with them. While there aren't any actual sex scenes in the movie, there's plenty of nudity, crude sexual references and language, drug use, and a clip from a porn video.
Where to Stream (Without Your Parents): Digital Rental
Why Not? The NC-17 rating and James Spader's face should be a dead giveaway, but let us advise you that this film has the same title as the 2004 Oscar-winning film starring Don Cheadle and Sandra Bullock. If you inadvertently pick this movie, which is about a group of people probing the link between sex and car crashes, neither you nor your parents will be able to unsee it.
Where to stream (without your parents): Physical media only
For many of us, New Year's Eve represents not just the climax of a long holiday season, but also a time to simultaneously reflect and look forward to what's ahead: sometimes with optimism, sometimes with sheer dread. Often a bit of both. It's this weird liminal time, when everything stands still for a moment or two before we're tossed back into the chaos of modern life.
Movies have frequently recognized the hopeful and perilous nature of the time, though never the same way twice. These movies include romance and murder, comedy and tragedy, wild sex and heartbreaking loneliness. All the feels are at your fingertips for your festive viewing, with best wishes for a great, or at least reasonably un-terrible, coming year.
The Rob Reiner/Nora Ephron classic follows Billy Crystal's Harry and Meg Ryan's Sally over the course of 11 tempestuous years, with two major scenes set at New Year's Eve parties: The first involves a midnight kiss that signals the beginning of a potential romantic relationship between the two; the second comes at the climax of the film, when a decade's worth of growth, apart and together, sees the two in the same place at the same time, both literally and metaphorically.
Where to stream: USA, Fubo
You might be forgiven for forgetting that one of early American cinema's most memorable moments was centered around New Year's Eve: in Charlie Chaplin'e early classic, his Prospector character meets Georgia (Georgia Hale), a dance hall girl who dances with him to irritate an obnoxious suitor. She accepts his invitation to a NYE dinner, but mostly forgets about it. While she's having a blast at a big party, he's alone in his cabin, dreaming of company—and entertaining his make-believe guests with a pair of dancing potatoes. (Not to worry: Georgia soon comes to see what a catch the Prospector is.)
Where to stream: Max, Prime Video, The Criterion Channel
There's a relatively brief, but crucial, scene in Paul Thomas Anderson's film set on New Year's Eve. It's climax is arguably the moment on which the entire film turns: Renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) has been in a relationship with waitress Alma Elson (Vicky Krieps), one that seems poised to break through his carefully constructed routine. He refuses her request to go to a NYE party, though, and, when she goes on her own, he follows her and very nearly drags her away. The moment makes clear that, if this relationship has any chance of succeeding, drastic changes will need to happen. The contemplation of such coming change is, in a roundabout way, what New Year's Eve is all about.
Where to stream: Netflix
The climax of the film, and the single most pivotal moment in Michael Corleone's life, comes during a New Year's Eve party in Cuba. It's the night that Michael (Al Pacino) learns of his betrayal by his brother, Fredo (John Cazale). The fateful kiss that ensues is a deliberate inversion of the traditional midnight kiss—one that ensures that neither Michael nor Fredo will be having a particularly happy year.
Where to stream: Digital rental
It might be a lesser film in the Ghostbusters canon, but there's still plenty of fun to be had with this sequel. The entire film builds towards a New Year's Eve climax, with the machinations of Vigo the Carpathian and company moving toward the turning of the year. New York City is saved, ultimately, by some emotionally charged slime and a moving rendition of "Auld Lang Syne."
Where to stream: AMC+
This Terry McMillan adaptation about the power of female friendships has an all-time great cast led by Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon. Bassett's character, Bernadine, has a singularly powerful revelation, leading to a memorable revenge sequence, on New Year's Eve.
Where to stream: Tubi
Set almost entirely between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Billy Wilder’s Best Picture winner was groundbreaking in its approach to sexuality. Jack Lemmon plays Bud Baxter, an insurance clerk who’s climbed the corporate ladder by loaning out his apartment to the higher-ups to use for their extramarital affairs. In the midst of that, a fraught affection develops between Bud and Shirley MacLaine’s Fran, the office building’s elevator operator, a woman who’s herself been in a joyless affair with Bud’s boss (Fred MacMurray). A fairly miserable New Year's Eve party gives way to something a bit more hopeful when Fran realizes that love might just be worth taking a chance on.
Where to stream: MGM+, Fubo
Bong Joon-ho's post-apocalypse is coming up quick, what with Snowpiercer being set in 2031. Here, the survivors of climate catastrophe live together on one giant train that travels the frozen, lifeless globe. The annual celebration here comes once a year, when the train has completed a full circle of the world. It's one such celebration of the train's new year that the oppressed, maltreated residents of the train's tail end use as an opportunity to stage a revolt against the entitled and pampered passengers at the front. Not the worst New Year's resolution to make, honestly.
Where to stream: Netflix, Hulu
An all-star triumph from the golden age of disaster cinema, the original Poseidon Adventure finds Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Albertson, Shelley Winters, and Red Buttons (among others) trapped on a cruise liner that's been capsized by an undersea earthquake; one that happens within moments of the ball drop and big party. They'll all have to spend New Year's Day clawing and scraping their way back to the surface—which is as good a hangover metaphor as you're likely to find in an upside-down boat movie.
Where to stream: Starz
New Year's Eve represents the past in Nora Ephron's romantic comedy-drama, as architect Sam (Tom Hanks) has a sweet but imagined conversation with his late wife set during holiday festivities. The future? Valentine's Day, as Sam and Annie (Meg Ryan) are drawn toward a meeting at the top of the Empire State Building.
Where to stream: AMC+
The breezy, boozy chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy is a highlight of the entire Thin Man series, and it's still running strong in this first sequel, when married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles are expecting a dull New Year's Eve, only to find themselves in the middle of a kidnapping and murder (involving Jimmy Stewart in his first major film role). The previous movie is set at Christmas, so you might as well watch that one, too.
Where to stream: Max
Is it among the best of the slasher genre? It is not. It's pretty charmingly goofy, though, with a killer calling into a NYE radio show promising to kill people across the United States as midnight arrives in each time zone. In the harsh light of day, it probably won't fit the bill—but it might be perfect in that boozy post-midnight haze. It's also got a very solid title track.
Where to stream: Freevee, Pluto
Technically an episode of Hulu's Into the Dark anthology series, the feature-length Midnight Kiss finds a bunch of gay friends (and their straight woman friend) heading out to a gorgeous place in the desert for an annual tradition: they'll each pick someone at random to kiss at midnight. Old resentments bubble to the surface, egged on (unbeknownst to most of them) by a serial killer. It's no spoiler to suggest that they won't all make it to New Year's Day.
Where to stream: Hulu
One-time movie star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) is a mess, frankly, and it's never more clear than during her elaborate, catered New Year's party for two: her, and Joe (William Holden)—who we already know will wind up dead in Norma's pool. This might be the moment when we realize just how delusional the diva had become. On the other hand, NYE is a time for a little bit of sloppiness, and, though treated as an ancient relic, Swanson was only 50 when this was filmed, so maybe we can cut her some slack.
Where to stream: Paramount+
What if we consider, for just one moment, that the changing of years might not be a time of blessed renewal, but instead an opportunity to travel back in time and try to undo some of the stuff you royally fucked up in the prior year. Given that we're solidly in noir territory here, don't expect overwhelming success. On New Year's Eve 1946, Sheila Page (Joan Leslie) stands over the dead body of her husband, wishing that she could do things differently. Et voila! she's back at the beginning of the year and trying to stop the disintegration of her marriage with some help from her gay bestie (Richard Basehart).
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, Kanopy
Another time-travel movie with a key New Year's Eve sequence, this one's significantly less murder-y. Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson star as Mary and Tim, a couple whose story is constantly in flux thanks to Tim's ability to move through time—an ability that comes in particularly handy when he wants to keep trying a New Year's kiss until it's just right.
Where to stream: Starz
We do love a New Year's party theme, and they don't come much better (nor more thoroughly designed) than the black-and-white party at the center of Gene Kelly's An American in Paris, the film that won the Best Picture Oscar in its year.
Where to stream: Prime Video, The Criterion Channel, MGM+
It's less a meticulously crafted piece of cinema than an excuse for the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop) to hang—but that cool, boozy chemistry goes a surprisingly long way. Sinatra plays Danny Ocean, who brings together his old Army buddies with an elaborate New Year's Eve plan to simultaneously rob five Las Vegas casinos: the Sahara, the Riviera, the Desert Inn, the Sands, and the Flamingo.
Where to stream: Digital rental
With a bit of inspiration from Ocean's Eleven (the 2001 version), this Hindi-language action comedy stars Shah Rukh Khan as a gritty street fighter who plans a heist as a means of getting back at the man who had his father wrongfully imprisoned. His target? The real-life Hotel Atlantis in Dubai. The catch? He and his team will need to infiltrate a dance competition, though none of them can dance. The result is, unsurprisingly, glorious.
Where to stream: Netflix
Try not to be alarmed that the feel-good Disney Channel movie is, itself, old enough to start sending off college applications. Just enjoy the 2000s vibes and, particularly, the opening sequence. Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez (Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens) meet up at a ski lodge on New Year's Eve for a very seasonally appropriate duet called "Start of Something New."
Where to stream: Disney+
The adaptation of the stage musical kicks off on a chilly New York New Year's Eve, and asks the question that's on all of our minds around this time: How do you measure a year?
Where to stream: Hoopla
Ice Cube stars here alongside Nia Long, Jay Mohr and Tracy Morgan in a charmingly goofy (and family-friendly) movie about a New Year's Eve trip to the airport. Sounds simple, sure, but Nick (Ice Cube) is determined to impress the woman he likes by picking up her kids and bringing them to meet her for a flight to Vancouver. Suffice it to say, the kids do not make it easy. If you have even more time to kill on New Year's Eve, there's a sequel (Are We Done Yet?) and a spin-off TV series, all currently streaming.
Where to stream: Max
In 1959, a group of close, college-age friends reunite in time for the New Year's Eve wedding of Eddie (Steve Guttenberg), the circumstances prompting a fair bit of introspection on the prospect of fully transitioning to adulthood. NYE is a time for reflection, so why not? Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Daniel Stern, and Tim Daly make up the rest of the group.
Where to stream: Max
Trading Places starts off at Christmas and peaks with a New Year's Eve train ride involving a heist, two gorillas (one real, one fake), and multiple disguises. The comedy is often very silly here, but Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd have tremendous chemistry and, unusual for the 1980s, the movie has some very pointed commentary about corporate greed.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Next year's TV schedule has undergone a great deal of shuffling, for good reason: For months, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes held up production (also with good reason) on pretty much every major American production. As a result, release dates have been pushed back or pushed off the calendar entirely while scripts and filming schedules get back underway. On a couple of rare occasions, ready-to-go shows have moved up in the schedule to fill in. The shows below seem to have pretty firm dates, or at least narrow windows, but anything else is subject to change.
In addition to everything listed below, there are a few other heavy-hitters landing in 2024 without dates attached, nor even general timeframes...which probably means they'll arrive somewhere closer to the end of the year. Those include Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, the final season of The Bad Batch, and Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, all on Disney+; Orphan Black: Echoes and season two of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire on AMC; Tiny Beautiful Things (with Kathryn Hahn) on Hulu; and even a Matlock reboot starring Kathy Bates, on CBS. We'll keep you posted.
Brad Falchuk (American Horror Story, Scream Queens, Pose, etc.) co-created this dark comedy starring impossibly busy recent Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh as the matriarch of a Taiwanese family, trying to move on from the family's criminal past...with mixed results. Sam Song Li also stars as Bruce, who grew up in California with no knowledge of his own family history until he's drawn back in. It looks darkly funny and action packed in equal measures.
Where to watch: Netflix
We first met Echo in the 2021 Hawkeye series, a relatively bright spot in Marvel's increasingly inconsistent output. Her upcoming solo series sees Alaqua Cox return to the role of Maya Lopez, a deaf assassin who once worked for Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk. Here, she's on the run from Fisk, returning to her hometown in Oklahoma to come to terms with her past and to reconnect with her family and her roots in the Choctaw Nation. This is to be Marvel's first TV-MA show, and all episodes are dropping on Hulu and Disney+ simultaneously. Echo is a riskier character to take on in terms of name recognition, but it sounds like the show could be a welcome shift away from multiversal stakes of the mainline MCU in favor of something more personal. Charlie Cox also reprises his role as Daredevil, hinting at his own return to Disney+ in the future.
Where to watch: Disney+, Hulu
After three seasons, creator Nic Pizzolatto is stepping away from showrunner's chair in favor of filmmaker Issa López, director of the rather brilliant Tigers Are Not Afraid; López is also writing and directing all six episodes of season four. Set in Ennis, Alaska, the new season will find (true) detectives Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) investigating the disappearances of eight men who operated the Tsalal Arctic Research Station. Sounds appropriately creepy.
Where to watch: Max
This British import stars Ruth Wilson as Lorna Brady, a woman with a history of sleepwalking dating back to her time in one of Ireland's notorious Magdalene laundries—workhouses for "fallen" women, or those without familial support. She wakes up one morning to find a corpse in her house, and no knowledge of who the person was or how they died. The mystery ends up tying back to Lorna's past, naturally. Wilson received stellar reviews for her performance during the miniseries' initial BBC run.
Where to watch: Showtime
This could be cool, or it could be an example of the nostalgia train having gone once more off the rails. It's a prequel to Jonathan Glazer's 2000 British gangster film of the same name, with James McArdle taking over the role of Gal from Ray Winstone and Emun Elliott subbing in for Ben Kingsley as Don in a show chronicling the early years of their budding partnership. There's no trailer yet, so you'll have to settle for catching up on the original movie.
Where to watch: Paramount+
A spiritual successor to both Band of Brothers and The Pacific (all of them produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks), this latest WWII-era miniseries follows the real-life 100th Bomb Group of the United States Air Force, best known for suffering heavy losses during combat missions. The cast includes Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Barry Keoghan, and reigning Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
The first season of Feud, starring Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon as Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, respectively, came out way back in 2017. The followup installment of this Ryan Murphy anthology series is finally upon us, focusing on Truman Capote's tempestuous relationship with the women of New York society in the '50s and '60s (which mostly involved him cozying up to them before writing bitchy, thinly veiled accounts of their private lives). Tom Hollander is playing Capote alongside Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore, and Molly Ringwald as his friends/fodder. It's one helluva cast, and the stable of episode directors includes Gus Van Sant, Max Winkler, and Jennifer Lynch.
Where to watch: FX
Riffing on the 2005 Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie action-comedy (and not the Alfred Hitchcock rom-com), this series reboot sees Donald Glover and Maya Erskine (in a role originally intended for Phoebe Waller-Bridge)in the title roles as married spies. Glover also serves as co-creator and producer.
Where to watch: Prime Video
It's not the buzziest series, but Queen Latifah's Equalizer has been a solid performer for CBS, blending the Tiffany network's signature style of police procedural with style and a genuine social conscience. Presumably, Robyn McCall will continue to champion helpless New Yorkers while raising her daughter, and doing it all in impeccable style.
Where to watch: CBS
M. Night Shyamalan's live-action adaptation of the beloved Nickelodeon animated series isn't exactly beloved, so I guess there's nowhere to go but up? Netflix's recent live-action take on the One Piece anime was well received, but they also did a pretty dismal adaptation of Cowboy Bebop that was cancelled almost immediately. So...best of three, maybe?
Where to watch: Netflix
Those of us who lost track of The Walking Dead a long time ago might be surprised to learn that we're about to witness the sixth spin-off of the recently concluded original series (Daryl Dixon and Dead City are also likely to see second season premieres in 2024 or early 2025). The focus here is on Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) in the aftermath of Rick's apparent death way back in 2018. They're joined by Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh), with the show promising a more definite conclusion for two of TWD's most beloved characters.
Where to watch: AMC
The James Clavell novel on which this new series is based was first adapted way back in 1980, during the golden age of the epic TV miniseries. But everything old is new again, so here we are, back to Japan at the turn of the 17th century . Starring Cosmo Jarvis, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Anna Sawai, the series involves a shipwrecked English sailor, a powerful daimyo, and the woman samurai who becomes the link between them, despite her disreputable lineage. The novel takes a very Eurocentric approach to its exploration of Japanese history, so it'll be interesting to see if the series goes in a different direction, especially with some actual Japanese people involved behind the scenes.
Where to watch: FX
Liane Moriarty's novels have been adapted with quite a bit of success in the past: HBO's Big Little Lies draws from one of her books, as does Hulu's Nine Perfect Strangers. This latest follows the Delaney family, whose four siblings are forced to confront their dark family history following the disappearance of their mother, Joy (Annette Benning)—a disappearance in which their father, Stand (Sam Neill), is a person of interest. Alison Brie, Jake Lacy, and Georgie Flood also star.
Where to watch: Peacock
This stylish-looking period comedy follows Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig) “as she endeavors to break into Palm Beach high society” in 1969. The cast is wild: Wiig is joined by Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Ricky Martin, Carol Burnett, and Mindy Cohn, among others. It's based on the novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Adaptations of Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy have been bandied about since the book's original release back in 2008, with a Chinese-language miniseries adaptation having done well earlier this year. This American take comes to us via the pair behind HBO's Game of Thones, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, joined by Alexander Woo. The series moves from past, to the present, and into the future with Rosalind Chao (The Joy Luck Club, Star Trek: The Next Generation), beginning with the story of Ye Wenjie, whose parents were killed during the Cultural Revolution, an event that sets her life on a course that eventually leads her to confront an extraterrestrial threat to all of humanity.
Where to watch: Netflix
The wellspring of all modern Trek is coming to an end with a 10-episode fifth season, premiering in April. Sonequa Martin-Green and the rest of the main crew are all returning for a mission that will “send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries." The Disco era of Trek doesn't end here, though: a Section 31 movie, with Michelle Yeoh reprising her Philippa Georgiou role, is in production, and a Starfleet Academy spin-off set in Discovery's far-future timeline is in development.
Where to watch: Paramount+
The creators of Westworld, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, took their new sci-fi show to Prime Video, presumably with hope that it won't get cancelled right before the end and then dumped unceremoniously. (Though the post-renewal cancellation of The Peripheral doesn't bode well.) Anyway! This one's an adaptation of the post-apocalyptic video game series, telling the story of Lucy (Ella Purnell), who is forced to leave her subterranean bunker for the first time in her life to face a world full of mutants and humans, without any other goals than to stay alive. Think Last of Us, but with more of a sense of humor. Walton Goggins, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, and Moisés Arias also star.
Where to watch: Prime Video
The latest season of Shonda Rhimes' lively take on Regency romance is set to focus on Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), aka Lady Whistledown herself, who decides to move on from her infatuation with Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) just as he's ready to take the plunge. Romantic complications will certainly ensue. The third season (not including the Queen Charlotte spin-off) will be split into two parts, with the first half dropping on May 16, and the second coming on June 13.
Where to watch: Netflix
You can't keep a good dragon down, nor a bad Targaryen, so the Game of Thrones follow-up is back next summer. It's one of a few major series not to have been delayed by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, thanks to its UK-based contracts.
Where to watch: HBO, Max
It's hard to believe Taylor Sheridan's powerhouse series is coming to an end, with the final run of six episodes beginning in November. Fear not, though, there's still plenty of Yellowstone-adjacent TV to come: the Sam Elliott-led spin-off miniseries 1883 is done, as is the David Oyelowo Bass Reeves mini, but 1923 (with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren) is returning for a second season at some point. Also in production are 1944, 6666 (set in the present), and a direct sequel series rumored to star Matthew McConaughey. You'll have to say goodbye to Kevin Costner, but the Yellowstone-verse goes on.
Where to watch: Paramount Network
I love Marvel movies as much as the next billion people, but in 2024—for the first time in living memory—the studio is giving us a break (sort of; we're still getting MCU offshoots like Deadpool 3 and Madame Web), and I plan to take advantage of it by seeing some movies in the theater that don't involve superheroes.
Overall, the coming year seems a bit lacking when it comes to pre-packaged franchise blockbusters, and after 2023 proved that audiences have more of an appetite for Barbenheimer and less of one for The Flash, that's definitely not a bad thing. Certainly I'm hoping the respite from Marvel/DC fare will allow some of the year's other releases more breathing room. Or maybe we'll just see Deadpool 3 and call it a year, retreating to our streaming caves.
But hopefully not—and in that spirit, and for your watchlist-planning convenience, here's a list of some of 2024's most anticipated films, and when to watch them.
Director James Wan's most recent horror movie, Malignant, was absolutely bonkers, and about as good a time as you could have doing anything in 2021. Given that this new one involves a haunted swimming pool, it sounds like he hasn't lost his willingness to get a little goofy. Here for it, honestly.
Where to see it: In theaters
Dan Levy (Schitt's Creek) makes his feature directorial debut with this Netflix production, in which he also stars as Marc Dreyfus. When Marc's larger-than-life husband (Luke Evans) dies, he goes on a soul-searching journey to France alongside his two best friends (played by Ruth Negga and Himesh Patel).
Where to see it: Netflix
Opening this in January, and not on October 3, seems like an enormous missed opportunity, but here we are. This isn't a remake of the very fetch original, exactly, but instead an adaptation of the stage musical based on that 2004 classic (not that you'd know it from the trailer). Tina Fey reprises her role as Ms. Norbury, and also wrote the screenplay (as she wrote the book for the musical). Angourie Rice (Mare of Easttown) takes the lead as Cady Herron, and how about that mother/daughter casting for Regina (Reneé Rapp) and her mom (Busy Phillips)?
Where to see it: In theaters
Joined by Kibwe Tavares, Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya writes and directs this dystopian sci-fi drama set in the titular Kitchen, a London housing block. The community there refuses to surrender its home, even in a world where social housing has been eliminated. The film already picked up some very solid reviews at the recent BFI London Film Festival.
Where to see it: Netflix
Director Matthew Vaughan, best known for those Kingman movies, looks to be working in a similar vein with Argylle, which stars Bryce Dallas Howard as a spy novelist who accidentally freaks out an underground syndicate when her book's plot comes a little too close to their criminal reality. Henry Cavill shows up to save her, maybe, while plunging her (and her cat) into real danger. Vaughan seems to have a way with these things, and the cast is stacked (Howard and Cavill are joined by Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Ariana DeBose, Catherine O'Hara, and Samuel L. Jackson), so it could be a lot of fun.
Where to see it: In theaters
Charlie Kauffman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) wrote this delightful-sounding animated film about the title kid...who's afraid of pretty much everything (relatable). He's particularly afraid of the dark but, fortunately, the Dark (being a literal personification) isn't afraid of him, and Orion gets taken on a journey that helps him overcome some of his own fears. I mean, presumably.
Where to see it: Netflix
I'm getting Jennifer's Body vibes from writer Diablo Cody's latest, what looks to be a stylish horror comedy starring Kathryn Newton as the teenage goth girl, circa 1989, who sets off on a murderous adventure with her true love: a handsome Victorian-era corpse (Cole Sprouse) that she reanimates using an old tanning bed. Zelda Williams makes her feature directorial debut.
Where to see it: In theaters
Dakota Johnson stars in this Spider-Man spin-off about a clairvoyant paramedic (Dakota Johnson) who gets into the business of rescuing three young women from a mysterious adversary (Tahar Rahim). Director S. J. Clarkson is making her feature film debut, but this one might have an uphill battle, especially as a (kinda) follow-up to last year's Morbius. On the other hand, the Venom movies were surprise hits, so who the hell knows.
Where to see it: In theaters
This latest from director Ethan Coen, of Coen brothers fame ( and joined by Tricia Cooke on the screenplay) has been gestating for a long time (it was originally announced way back in 2007), but I'm not sure that's much reason for concern. Free-spirited Jamie (Margaret Qualley) has just broken up with her girlfriend, and invites her more demure pal Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) on a roadtrip to Tallahassee (yay?). Given that we're in a Coen movie, you won't be surprised to learn that the two run across some desperately inept criminals and find themselves in the middle of a caper with comedic undertones. Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, and Matt Damon round out the impressive cast.
Where to see it: In theaters
The first Dune did very respectable box office business (considering that whole global pandemic thing) while also taking home six Academy Awards out of ten nominations (including one for Best Picture, which it did not win). Director Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) is one of our more reliable modern directors of science fiction, so there's no reason to believe he's going to let us down with this one. The studio has already greenlit a followup (Dune: Messiah), so there seems to be plenty of confidence on their end.
Where to see it: In theaters
The consistently much-better-than-it-sounds Kung Fu Panda series has been absent for the last eight years, but is finally returning with a new story involving Jack Black's Po setting off on a journey to find a new Dragon Warrior to succeed him. Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Bryan Cranston, and Ian McShane are back from the earlier films, joined by Awkwafina, Viola Davis, and Ke Huy Quan.
Where to see it: In theaters
Millie Bobby Brown plays the titular damsel, who agrees to marry a handsome prince...only to discover that it's a trap, and she's meant to be sacrificed to a dragon to satisfy an ancient debt. As you might guess, Elodie (our distressed damsel) is far more resourceful than her would-be in-laws would have guessed. Angela Bassett, Robin Wright, and Shohreh Aghdashloo round out the cast of this action fantasy, which looks like it could be a lot of fun.
Where to see it: Netflix
Stuffed animals are creepy, for sure, and so are kids, so this latest from Blumhouse might be just the thing. DeWanda Wise stars as a woman who discovers that her stepdaughter is getting increasingly disturbing instructions from the teddy bear she finds abandoned in the basement of their new home.
Where to see it: In theaters
Afterlife was a bit of a mixed bag, wading a little too deep into nostalgic waters to feel like it had anything new to say on the topic of bustin' ghosts. Hopefully this followup has more going on. Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, and Paul Rudd are back from the previous film,, joined by Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, and the surviving O.G. Ghostbusters.
Where to see it: In theaters
Bong Joon-ho is following up the brilliant Parasite with this science fiction thriller, based on a 2022 bestselling novel from Edward Ashton. Robert Pattinson stars as an entirely disposable employee sent to colonize the ice world of Niflheim. When he dies, a new body is generated with most of the original's memories intact. Sounds like a recipe for existential horror. Bong has yet to disappoint.
Where to see it: In theaters
The American Godzilla films have been pretty good, mostly, but director Adam Wingard's 2021 Godzilla vs. Kong was the best of the lot: an imaginative action spectacle that wasn't afraid to get weird, and even a little goofy. Wingard is back for the followup which sees, apparently, Godzilla and Kong team-up against "a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world." Why not?
Where to see it: In theaters
Though Zack Snyder has rather ominously hinted at his plans for Rebel Moon to become a massive multimedia franchise, we're entitled, for just the moment, to enjoy his new space opera as a two-film series (the first part arrives in time for Christmas 2023). Sofia Boutella plays Kora, a former member of the impressive Imperium government who goes rogue to challenge the central authority on Motherworld.
Where to see it: Netflix
Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) directs this rom-com (well, technically, it's billed as a "romantic sports comedy drama," but considering the director's last film was a rom-com about cannibal teens, anything goes) starring Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist as three tennis pros who get involved in a fraught love triangle.
Where to see it: In theaters
Do we need another reboot of an '80s-era action series? Not so much (and Airwolf is sitting right there!). Still, hear me out: David Leitch co-directed John Wick, and went solo on Atomic Blonde, so the action bonafides are legit. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt head the cast.
Where to see it: In theaters
John Krasinski wrote, directed, and co-stars in this blend of live-action and animation about a kid (Cailey Fleming) who can communicate with the imaginary friends that other children have left behind. She soon discovers that her neighbor (Ryan Reynolds) has the same ability. Naturally, there's an all-star voice cast (Steve Carrell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., etc.). Sounds cute, though try not to get it confused with Imaginary, the Blumhouse horror movie with a not-entirely-dissimilar premise.
Where to see it: In theaters
George Miller is back again for his fifth Mad Max film, after then-70-year-old director showed the kids how it's done with Fury Road, one of the most impressive (and deranged) movie action spectacles ever. This one drops the Mad Max character entirely in favor of a focus on a younger version of Charlize Theron's Furiosa, now played by Anna Taylor-Joy. There's a plot as well I'm sure.
Where to see it: In theaters
One of our boldest modern action franchises stuck the landing with 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes, concluding the saga of Andy Serkis' Caesar with poignance, an abiding grimness, and an impressive willingness to challenge. This fourth movie, set generations later, will have to work hard to justify its existence given all of that...but the series has more than earned the goodwill.
Where to see it: In theaters
The first movie in the series made a splash by being an uncharacteristically quiet theatrical experience, dropping us in a world of blind aliens who attack at the slightest sound. The second film added a flashback sequence at the beginning that injected a little extra noise into the series by taking us back to the early moments of the invasion, back before everyone knew to be quiet. This prequel follows new characters, mostly (Djimon Hounsou returns from Part II) in the earliest days of the invasion, presumably before everyone knew to shut the hell up. Michael Sarnoski (Pig) takes over the directing duties, with Lupita Nyong'o starring.
Where to see it: In theaters
The 1996 Helen Hunt/Bill Paxton film was a big success, though I'm not sure that audiences are clamoring for a sequel/reboot nearly 30 years later; among the cast, led by Daisy Edgar-Jones, there are no connections to the original. Still, an old-school disaster movie (if that's what this is) might be just the thing and, given a $200m budget, it should be a decent spectacle, at least.
Where to see it: In theaters
As if by some miracle, there's only one Marvel Studios movie coming out in 2024 (the Spider-Man stuff comes from Sony), and it's this third Deadpool movie, co-starring Hugh Jackman's Wolverine from the now defunct 20th Century X-Men series. The two Deadpool movies did the best business of any of those movies, but now Disney/Marvel has the R-rated Ryan Reynolds character back in house. It'll be interesting to see if the irreverent, ultra-violent character can survive the transition.
Where to see it: In theaters
Fresh off of Thanksgiving, Eli Roth is tackling an adaptation of the very popular video game series; Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Bobby Lee and Jamie Lee Curtis star. The movie's seen some delays, which may or may not mean anything when it comes to the finished product (it's not like there hasn't been a lot going on in the last couple of years).
Where to see it: In theaters
Not much is known about the plot of this new standalone Alien film, except that it maybe/probably takes place between the original film and its 1986 followup. Do we need it? Probably now, but director Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, Don't Breathe) has a solid horror pedigree, and it might be nice to see the series movie in a direction that's a little less sci-fi cerebral and more straight-up grisly.
Where to see it: In theaters
Though he's still capable of drumming up business at the box office, there's no question the Tim Burton house style had gotten a little stale over the decades. This return to his golden age, and one of his very best films, might be nothing more than a reminder of glories past...or, just maybe, it could be the perfect vehicle for the director's potential return to form. Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara all return from the first (what, no Dick Cavett?), joined by Jenna Ortega, Monica Belluci, and Willem Dafoe.
Where to see it: In theaters
People really liked Joker (which is all I'll say on the movie's success as anything other than a Scorsese pastiche): it made over a billion dollars and received 11 Academy Award nominations. Joaquin Phoenix, who won Best Actor that year, is back with director Todd Phillips joined by Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn...which is so absolutely wild.
Where to see it: In theaters
Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) returns! The 2022 second movie made headlines when viewers were allegedly puking and passing out at screenings, so impressive were the film's gore effects. It was filmed for practically nothing, and made a ton of money. Part three, though coming out just in time for Halloween, is to be set during Christmas, so we might have a new festive horror favorite on our hands.
Where to see it: In theaters
Ridley Scott's Gladiator was a massive box office and critical hit, taking home the Academy Award for Best Picture. That was roughly 2,000 years ago, though, so the question becomes: is there any life left in the whole gladiator thing, especially since the lead character won't be returning (for reasons that will be very clear to anyone who saw that movie). Instead, Paul Mescal takes over the Spencer Treat Clark role of imperial cast-off Lucius Verus. I'd love to see the historical epic make a legit comeback, but this one definitely faces an uphill battle.
Where to see it: In theaters
Jon M. Chu directed Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights back-to-back, so seems well positioned to being the Broadway sensation to life—and this is the one that retells The Wizard of Oz from the point of view of the Wicked Witch. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande take on the roles originally named by Irina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, while Jeff Goldblum plays the Wizard. The only downside: This movie will only cover half of the show, with the remainder following in 2025.
Where to see it: In theaters
This placement seems ambitions, given that stars Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio only just started a casting call for a new kid to do some karate. Still, Cobra Kai was the biggest surprise success of the nostalgia wave that crested over the last few years, and has proven that the franchise has some surprising juice left in it. Macchio is, of course, from the mainline Karate Kid/Cobra Kai continuity, while Jackie Chan starred in the 2010 reboot. Not much is known about the new movie, including whether it will follow from Cobra Kai, or be its own thing in some sort of martial arts multiverse.
Where to see it: In theaters
Though your knee-jerk reactions may suggest otherwise, there’s nothing incongruous about pairing Christmas with scary stories.
For centuries in Britain, families would gather around a fire and ward off the winter cold by sharing chilling tales of the supernatural—a tradition forgotten, only to be revived by Charles Dickens and M.R. James during the Victorian era. Similar, non-Christian traditions go back even further; across cultures and faith traditions, dark midwinter nights seem to have provided to provide a particularly good excuse for us to creep out our loved ones. A Christmas Carol isn’t an outlier, then, but a particularly good example of the form.
So grab a warm drink, lock the doors, and fire up the Roku. And speaking of fire, please check the chimney before you stoke a blaze. It’s a reasonable safety measure, especially if you’re not sure where dad’s got to...
Clearly, I’m not the first to recommend Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, the Finnish film having become a nouveau holiday classic shortly after its release a decade ago—though It’s a Wonderful Life this ain’t. (But give it time.)
In the film, the research team of a greedy government drills into land best left undisturbed: an ancient burial mound that, legends suggest, is the resting place of Joulupukki, a forerunner to our modern Santa Claus. Old Joulupukki is not dissimilar from Krampus, in that he’s much more interested in punishing the wicked than in rewarding the good. It’s a spectacular, darkly comic, cynical winter’s tale (rather the perfect one for our times) and builds to a wild climax.
Where to stream: Hulu, Shudder, Fubo TV, Tubi, Vudu, Crackle, Pluto TV, Hoopla
One of the O.G. slasher films, this Bob Clark-directed groundbreaker is also one of the best, with a simple, well-executed premise and a killer cast (Margot Kidder, Olivia Hussey, Andrea Martin, John Saxon, Keir Dullea). The director has legit holiday cred: after this story of a killer stalking a sorority house during winter break, he’d go on to helm holiday cable staple A Christmas Story nearly a decade later. There’s not much here that we haven’t seen, but only because so many later movies cribbed from its style, with less chilling results. Neither of the two remakes (from 2006 and 2019) is bad, exactly, but neither reaches nearly the heights of the original.
Where to stream: Shudder, Fubo TV, Peacock, The Roku Channel, Hoopla, Vudu, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex
John Waters called Christmas Evil “the greatest Christmas movie ever made,” and, as recommendations go, you could do a lot worse (he even did a commentary track that you can still find on the DVD and Blu-ray release). Considering the source, that recommendation also gives you a sense of what you’re in for. In the prologue, a boy sees mommy kissing Santa Claus (and then some), and the experience engenders a lifelong obsession with Santa...and with keeping track of who’s been naughty, and who’s been nice. There’s a bit of social commentary at play amid truly over-the-top death sequences that lead to a genuinely batshit ending.
Where to stream: Shudder, Fubo TV, The Roku Channel, Hoopla, Vudu, Tubi
In the mid ‘80s, you could buy dolls, action figures, and storybooks with Gremlins on them, which, given how violent and nightmare-inducing the film is, is both impressively twisted and a deep indictment of a consumer culture in which we’ll sell anything to anyone. Hey kids, gather ‘round the TV for a movie in which murderous creatures get chopped in blenders and blown up in microwaves and one main character vividly describes finding her missing dad stuck in the chimney on Christmas day. Regardless, there’s plenty of, uh, holiday cheer to be found...including a truly rousing band of carolers. Delightful!
Where to stream: HBO Max
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There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about Silent Night, Deadly Night, a film about a kid who watches his parents get murdered by a man in a Santa suit and then grows up to become a Santa-themed killer himself, as one does. Though not by any means the first Christmas-related horror movie, the Reagan era was not the time for this one. Or was maybe the perfect time? Anyway, it was boycotted and censored, which of course only generated publicity that worked to its advantage. On its own, it’s a perfectly competent slasher movie, maybe even a cut above the average, with a tiny hint of a message about consumerism. As an enjoyable cultural artifact, though, it’s more than worth watching. You can probably skip the sequels, though the second is enjoyably, howlingly bad (and incorporates a full 40 minutes of footage from its predecessor), while the fifth stars Mickey Rooney (!), who publicly attacked this first one.
Where to stream: Tubi
The story of a stepmom gradually losing her grip on reality, The Lodge is a particularly heavy bit of Christmas horror. Some of us enjoy frothy holiday entertainment, while others like to lean into the dark, oppressive atmosphere of the bleak midwinter. Given my own vacillation there, I acknowledge all choices as valid! Riley Keough gives a great performance here as a woman newly married to a father of two children. Their mom died tragically, and the step-kids are in no mood to accept a new family member. Discovering some disturbing truths about her past, they’re perfectly happy to manipulate her emotions after the trio becomes stranded without dad in a remote cabin full of over-the-top religious iconography. No merry Christmases here, no siree.
Where to stream: Hulu, Kanopy
On a lighter note...zombies! In this mash-up of High School Musical and Shaun of the Dead you never knew you needed, the titular Anna just wants to get through the Christmas show at her high school in Little Haven, Scotland. She’s so preoccupied with her own problems that she fails to notice the undead infection spreading around her. It’s a weird blend of styles, no question, but one packed with gory fun and some surprising, seasonally appropriate heart.
Where to stream: Hoopla, Kanopy, Pluto TV
A woman receives a beautiful, but creepy Christmas gift: A cool advent calendar her friend picked up at a Munich market. That’s nice and all, except that it comes with several very explicit instructions that all end with a variation of “...or you’ll die.” (Germans, amirite?) It’s a unique and nightmarish movie, full of wild ideas and phantasmagoric imagery. If it doesn’t all hold together perfectly, it’s still an impressive ride, and that centerpiece calendar is as neat as cursed film props get.
Just a note: though the film gets points for having a disabled protagonist (which is not to say hero), it stars a non-disabled actor, and the character’s central motivation is to walk (and dance) unaided—which is fairly retrograde in terms of representation.
Where to stream: Shudder
Ignore the genuinely horrible title, which makes the movie sound like something you’d find on the bottom row at your local Redbox. On Christmas Eve, a group of masked assailants storm a grocery store. They take hostages, but it’s clear there’s something more going on (hint: it involves alien raiders). It’s all pretty enjoyable, with better acting and effects than you’d expect. Though significantly lower budget, this could serve as your next Christmas-themed, Die Hard-esque action fix.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Also known as Deadly Games. And Dial Code Santa Claus. And, originally, 3615 code Père Noël. The French film represents an impressive blend of genuine horror with sweet holiday themes. It’s the story of a whiz kid who tries to use technology to connect with Santa, but instead makes contact with a murderer intent on getting access to the kid’s (rather posh) home. You’re absolutely invited to think of this as a horror-styled Home Alone, a comparison that this film’s director (René Manzor) made when he threatened a plagiarism lawsuit against Chris Columbus and co. back in the day.
Where to stream: Shudder
When a mysterious infection sends a bunch of kids into full murder mode just before New Year’s, their parents are forced to decide exactly how far parental love extends. The “killer kids” horror sub-genre always deals with such questions, but rarely (if ever) as effectively as here. The film makes clear just how horrific it would be to have to fight back against your own kids, and offers up a potent metaphor relating the more common real-world situations in which parents and kids find themselves at odds. All that aside, it’s a well-orchestrated slasher movie, with memorable murders that feel uncomfortably real without leaning into excessive gore.
Where to stream: The Roku Channel, Vudu, Tubi, Plex, IMDb TV
With similarities to Charles Beaumont’s short story “The Howling Man” (adapted as a Twilight Zone episode), I Trapped the Devil tells the story of a Matt and Karen, a couple who set off for a visit with Matt’s troubled brother, Steve, over the holidays. Increasingly alarmed by his troubling behavior, they soon discover there’s a padlock on the basement door and, behind it, a man who Steve claims is the literal devil. Which sounds entirely fine and reasonable. If the story can’t quite sustain its runtime, it’s still a suspenseful and stylish Christmas mystery.
Where to stream: Hulu
There’s a hot new toy out just in time for Christmas...Pooka, the deeply weird, incredibly temperamental doll that mostly does what it wants. The kids love it! An unemployed actor (Nyasha Hatendi) isn’t thrilled when he’s offered the job of hawking the dolls inside a giant Pooka suit, but the money’s good. Naturally, that’s when things start to go from weird to downright surreal. Director Nacho Vigalondo (Colossal, Timecrimes) has a ton of fun veering off in unexpected directions with the concept, which ultimately morphs into a twisted, upside down riff on A Christmas Carol.
Where to stream: Hulu
I have no idea what Blood Beat is about. I’m not sure that anyone does. There’s a young couple home for a family gathering when a samurai ghost (or something) starts murdering people, all set against a sweet-ass synth score. And some people are psychic? The movie’s cult status doesn’t stem from the hidden depths of its plotting, but from its often impressive visuals and hypnotic tone. To that end, I might suggest it as a reasonable pairing with some peppermint edibles...but only if you’re not too easily freaked out. Or afraid of samurai, I guess.
Where to stream: Shudder, Tubi
Among the best of a decade’s worth of films reviving ancient, scary European traditions involving far less jolly versions of Santa, Krampus is a Gremlins-esque horror comedy with imaginative creature effects from the folx over at Weta Workshop. It might not be the darkest, nor the goriest, of holiday-themed horror sendups, but it is an awful lot of fun, with effects that evoke a twisted winter wonderland as we follow a family being hunted by the title demon.
Where to stream: Fubo TV, FX Now
Have you ever really thought about how terrible Santa's job actually is? He has to deliver toys to billions of kids, and he has one night to do it. The ill-advised 1985 would-be blockbuster Santa Claus: The Movie reveals that this is only possible because for Santa, the night stretches on endlessly until the job is done, which is pretty horrific if you stop to think through the ramifications. Clever 2005 cheapie Santa's Slay makes the undesirableness of the position explicit, revealing that Santa (wrestler Bill Goldberg) was actually an unfavored son of Satan who was burdened with the annual task after losing a bet—but only for 1,000 years, and his time is up.
Where to stream: Digital rental
This one is probably more action-comedy than outright horror, but if it's Christmas bloodletting you're looking for, it's still a safe bet. Stranger Things' David Harbour plays good ol' Saint Nick, who elects to defend the lives of a wealthy family from murderous intruders (all with holiday-themed aliases like "Mr. Scrooge") on Christmas Eve. The climax is a Home Alone-esque booby trap sequence that takes a far bloodier and more realistic take on the mayhem little Kevin McCallister unleashes in that weirdly brutal holiday classic, and Harbour has good fun with the obvious (but still amusing) Santa-as-depressed-sad-sack shtick.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Awards aren't everything, true, but keeping an eye on the big film prizes of the year can open our eyes to movies that we might have missed out on—while we're debating which of the big box office blockbusters actually deserve to win awards. This year's Gotham Independent Film Awards were held at the end of November, and they're typically seen as the kick-off to an awards season that ends with the big finale that is the Academy Awards ceremony, to be held on Mar. 10 of 2024.
If you're the type of movie dork who likes to have seen as many Oscar nominees as possible by the time those ceremonies come around (don't worry: You're among friends here), consider this list an early set of predictions. If you're just looking for reminders of some of the year's best, or at least most interesting, movies, look no further.
Greta Gerwig's unlikely cultural phenomenon has already won the big prize: It's the year's top box office winner, having scored nearly $1.5 billion (so far). The movie's soundtrack has dominated the Grammy nominations, and it would be a little shocking if the movie doesn't pick up Best Picture and Best Director nominations at Oscar time, as well as nods for Margot Robbie as Best Actress and Ryan Gosling for Supporting Actor. It's still very much a Barbie world.
Where to watch: Digital rental
This restrained romantic drama feels a bit out of place in a year full of so many heavy hitters, but the lovely, moving story of a relationship over the course of decades is brilliantly acted and directed, both timely and timeless. It won Best Feature at the Gotham Awards, with a nomination for director Celine Song and another for lead Greta Lee. I'd be very surprised if the movie doesn't pick up some momentum toward further nominations.
Where to watch: Digital rental
Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer went up against Barbie at the box office this summer and, somehow, they both came out winners. That's less likely during an awards season that may well see the two go head-to-head for several major awards. Technical awards nominations are almost a certainty here, with Best Picture and Best Director Oscar nominations pretty likely. Cillian Murphy has a good shot at a Best Actor nod, and Robert Downey Jr. could be in line for a Supporting Actor nomination.
Where to watch: Digital rental
Though the reviews were quite good, the movie stumbled out of the box office gate, at least compared to previous Disney/Pixar productions. The movie had solid legs, though, and gave Disney+ its best streaming premiere numbers of the year. None of that should matter when it comes to awards, of course, but a movie that seemed like it was out of the conversation came roaring back. It's almost a lock for a Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination, if nothing else.
Where to watch: Disney+
Though it's an awful lot of fun, and a fitting sendoff for Harrison Ford's Indy, Dial probably won't get much awards-season love, except for its score, from legendary composer John Williams. The composer, who'll be 92 at the time the Oscars are given out, has dozens of nominations under his belt, but hasn't taken home an Academy award since 1994.
Where to watch: Disney+
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Director Matthew Heineman's film follows a year in the lives of writer Suleika Jaouad and her husband, musician Jon Baptiste, during which she confronts a recurrence of a rare form of leukemia while he constructs his first symphony. It's a moving film that goes beyond the obvious tropes to make the case that there are things that only music can say. A good bet for Best Documentary nod.
Where to watch: Netflix
One of the year's wildest, most thoroughly polarizing films (see also: Saltburn) comes from Ari Aster, director of Hereditary and Midsommar. The film's production design is a highlight, as are the performances from lead Joaquin Phoenix—and, especially, potential Supporting Actress Patti LuPone, who stands out here. The controversy surrounding the movie (is it brilliant, completely exhausting, or both?) could hurt, or it could help—it'll be in the conversation, if nothing else.
Where to watch: Digital rental
Todd Haynes directs this insightful and moving, but also deliberately campy, story of an actress visiting the woman whom she'll be playing in a film. Screenplay nominations are in play, as well as nods for the performances of Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. Likewise, Charles Melton (fresh out of Riverdale) beat out names like Juliette Binoche, Jamie Foxx, Ryan Gosling, and Rachel McAdams to win Outstanding Supporting Performance at the Gotham Awards, so consider him a strong contender for further nominations.
Where to watch: Netflix
The documentary about the iconoclastic music legend dives deep into the very queer, very Black origins of rock and roll. It could well pick up some major documentary awards.
Where to watch: Max
Ben Affleck directs the surprisingly fascinating and emotional drama about the birth of the Air Jordans. Affleck also co-stars with Matt Damon, the two having a few Oscars under their belt, and Viola Davis has a small but pivotal role that could see her up for some supporting performer prizes.
Where to watch: Prime Video
D. Smith's impressively optimistic portrait of a group of trans, Black sex workers has grown in profile after having picked up a couple of NEXT prizes at Sundance, and probably deserves to win more. A Best Documentary Feature Oscar nomination is certainly a possibility.
Where to watch: Digital rental
Teyana Taylor plays Inez, who kidnaps her own son from the New York City foster care system and fights, over time, to build her him a better life than she had. The radically humane and empathetic movie deserves some love from the major awards, if they're paying attention. Certainly Taylor could see a Best Actress nomination.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Wes Anderson's latest is about as Wes Anderson as they come, with an all-star ensemble cast in the meta-story of a stargazer convention in 1955 done as a play, which we also witness the creation of. Production design and costume awards are very much in the cards, with slightly longer odds on nominations for picture and director (Wes Anderson is probably due, after all).
Where to watch: Peacock
It's probably a bit of a long shot, since I'm not sure that anybody's heard of it, but Gael García Bernal plays the title character, based on the real-life queer luchadore, and he's been getting nothing but praise for the performance.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Martin Scorsese's latest is a top contender for several top prizes come Oscar time: Best Picture and Best Director, most likely, as well as probable nominations for lead Leonardo DiCaprio and supporting performers Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro.
Where to watch: Digital rental
One of the few bright spots in Marvel's recent output (it's good, really!), it's likely to score some technical nominations.
Where to watch: Disney+
The Big Short, but with GameStop set during the height of the Covid pandemic. Director Craig Gillespie's I, Tonya did pretty darn well at the Oscars a few years ago. Could definitely ear some nominations for its screenplay, if nothing else.
Where to watch: Digital rental
David's Fincher's latest doesn't seem to have generated as much buzz as, say, Mank—but Fincher has picked up Oscar nominations for every movie he's made since 2008. A screenplay nomination, at least, isn't unlikely.
Where to watch: Netflix
Annette Benning stars as the real-life Diana Nyad, who swam from Florida to Cuba in her 60s. The actress doesn't have any Oscars to her name, and this seems like as good a time as any to correct that. I'm guessing we'll see her pick up a Best Actress nomination, and there's a good chance that Jodie Foster might well have done enough to earn one for Supporting Actress. The movie seems to have built some buzz, so more nominations aren't at all out of the question.
Where to watch: Netflix
The sequel to one of the best superhero movies pretty much ever is also very good! A Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination is almost guaranteed, and there are a couple of choices for Best Original Song.
Where to watch: Netflix
Colman Domingo gives a stellar performance as the title's Bayard Rustin, the gay Civil Rights leader who planned the March on Washington. He's a very strong Best Actor candidate.
Where to watch: Netflix
The reviews have been fairly meh, but the Chris Pratt-led movie has been just behind Barbie in the year's box office. That may well be enough to earn it a Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination.
Where to watch: Netflix
The charming and funny adaptation of ND Stevenson's graphic novel has a decent shot at picking up a Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination.
Where to watch: Netflix
The movie's song, "Gonna Be You," is performed by Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan and Debbie Harry. If Academy voters don't give it a nomination and make that live performance happen, I'll picket I swear to god.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Paramount+, MGM+
This completely whackadoo horror movie has been one of the most polarizing, and interesting, films of the year. Oscar voters will either love it or hate it, much like general audiences have. It could well pick up a nomination for its screenplay, but who knows? It might be a fun wild card.
Where to watch: In theaters
The French thriller blends family drama with with elements of a very smart police procedural is brilliantly directed, and features an outstanding lead performance by Sandra Hüller as a woman trying to prove her innocence in the death of her husband. It took the top prize at Cannes this year (as well as the Palm Dog, given for best canine performance—really!); it also won Best Screenplay and Best International Feature at the Gotham Awards. The film wasn't submitted by France for a Best International Feature Oscar (perhaps because director Justine Triet used her Cannes speech to criticize the French president) but other awards are on the table, including a likely Best Actress Oscar nomination for Hüller.
Where to watch: In theaters
Maestro, Bradley Cooper's directorial follow-up to the much-nominated A Star is Born, sounded like an awards-season no-brainer—but much of the discussion was dominated, early on, by the pros and cons of Cooper's prosthetic nose while portraying composer Leonard Bernstein. The reviews have been good, but not as good as for A Star is Born, and audience reaction has been cool. Still, there's a strong chance that Cooper will pick up some acting nominations, as will co-star Carey Mulligan. Other major awards are very possible, too, though not guaranteed.
Where to watch: In theaters
Sofia Coppola's Priscilla Presley biopic hasn't generated a ton of buzz, overall, but the performance of lead Cailee Spaeny has been pretty universally acclaimed. Director Coppola seems like she's due for another Best Director Oscar nomination (her first and most recent was for Lost in Translation 20 years ago), but that seems like a long shot this year.
Where to watch: In theaters
Hayao Miyazaki's latest (also called "How Do You Live?") is barely into wide release, and it's already won the New York Critics Circle's award for Best Animated Feature. The animator/director had planned to retire following 2013's The Wind Rises, but decided to return for a film that might be his swan song, or might represent a new beginning. Either way, he remains at the top of his form. Despite being universally acclaimed, the last time one of his films got major Oscar love was in 2003—though, of course, the Oscars aren't everything.
Where to watch: In theaters
A dark, but genuinely humane, fairy tale, finds Emma Stone's young Victorian Bella Baxter being resurrected following her suicide—with mixed results. Willem Dafoe co-stars, and it's directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who picked up a ton of nominations for The Favourite, only to inexplicably lose a Best Picture Oscar to Green Book. It might be too weird for the Academy, but Emma Stone's performance, at least, might pick up a nomination.
Where to watch: In theaters
Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, and Claire Foy star in the latest from Andrew Haigh (Weekend, Looking, Lean on Pete) about a burgeoning relationship between neighbors that sees one of them revisiting his past and the suburban town he left behind. The British picture led nominations at this year's Gotham Awards, with nods for three of the movie's performers, its screenplay, and for Best International Feature.
Where to watch: In theaters
Jonathan Glazer isn't a particularly prolific director, but his three earlier films (Sexy Beast (2000), Birth (2004), Under the Skin (2013)) are all acclaimed; even more important, they're all interesting. Here, he fearlessly examines the banality of evil by centering his Holocaust narrative on Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) and his wife, Hedwig (Sandra Hüller), as they build a charmingly ordinary life in the shadow of the concentration camp. Hüller is also earning awards-season buzz for her work in Anatomy of a Fall, and this movie has already been submitted as Britain's entry for a potential Best International Picture nomination.
Where to watch: In theaters
The second adaptation of Alice Walker's novel, following the 1985 Steven Spielberg version, is already earning buzz, even if it's not out until Christmas. Director Blitz Bazawule is getting high praise, as is Fantasia Barrino as Celie—a role that earned Whoopi Goldberg an Oscar nomination, and one that has earned Tonys for both LaChanze and Cynthia Erivo in the Broadway versions. If the buzz holds, The Color Purple could be a big favorite on Oscar night.
Where to watch: In theaters (soon)
Tired: “My favorite Christmas movie is Die Hard.”
Wired: “My favorite Christmas movie is Eyes Wide Shut.”
You could be forgiven for finding the now-annual seasonal discourse vis à vis Die Hard’s status as a holiday movie exhausting. What began as a funny bit of trivia has become an ice cold hot take from the "funniest" guy in the office.—there’s even officially licensed, branded merchandise celebrating the film’s Christmas bona fides! Any discussion on the topic is purely academic at this point, and I think we’re all ready to move on.
The real question is, move on to what? Which only-technically-a-holiday-movie movie will emerge as the choice of “actually...” cineasts the internet over? Forgive me for suggesting that Die Hard could ever get old, but there will surely come a day, when you'll want watch a different so-called Christmas movie. Tastes and seasonal holiday celebrations may vary, but here are 28 reasonable alternatives.
As a not-Christmas movie, The Thin Man is about as festive as they come, with much of the major action set during a boozy holiday party and a subsequent hungover Christmas morning, during which Nick and Nora, two grown adults sans children, open their presents and have the sort of laid-back good time that the day affords only to the childless. Sequels would soon introduce Nick Jr., so this is the last time the Charles family will be able to spend Christmas quite so drunk.
Will it become your next holiday classic? Mix a martini and pop it on every Dec. 24.
Where to stream: Max
Actor Charles Laughton's sole directorial effort finds Robert Mitchum's creepy and seductive (but mostly creepy) preacher murdering his way through the local spinsters as an occupation, while also believing that he's on a righteous path. It builds to a Christmas scene, and also a lynch mob, with the strong suggestion that being able to quote from the Bible isn't even remotely the same thing as having true compassion.
Will it become your next holiday classic? Set up a little tree on your raft as you flee down the river.
Where to stream: Tubi, MGM+, Hoopla, Pluto
Set largely between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Billy Wilder’s Best Picture-winner was wildly controversial when it was released—and also managed to score a ton of awards, ushering in a new era in Hollywood filmmaking. Jack Lemmon plays Bud Baxter, an insurance clerk who’s climbed the corporate ladder by loaning out his apartment to higher-ups to use for their extramarital affairs. In the midst of all this, a fraught affection develops between Bud and Shirley MacLaine’s Fran, the office building’s elevator operator, a woman who’s herself been in a loveless, joyless affair with Bud’s boss. As is so often the holiday season in real life, the plot is as dark as it gets for each of them, until a few glimmers of seasonal spirit shine through.
Will it become your next holiday classic? If the similarly grim It’s a Wonderful Life can become a holiday favorite, then there’s no reason The Apartment can’t follow suit. (Like that movie, this one involves themes of suicide, something for viewers sensitive to that type of content to keep in mind.)
Where to stream: MGM+, Fubo
A soaring, candy-colored musical about young lovers (Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo) separated by circumstance in the titular city. Pretty much every word is sung, in French, and with operatic zeal...but without the highfalutin' style that implies. The film's climax arrives on Christmas Eve, but it's a bittersweet holiday (the movie itself takes place across a little more than a year).
Will it become your next holiday classic? One of the most beautiful films ever made, certainly in terms of its color palette, it also offers romance that's somehow both realistic and wonderfully melodramatic. So, I'm thinking yes.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, Kanopy
Christmas is kickoff for the chaos that unfolds in this twisted John Waters’ classic. When she fails to receive the cha-cha heels she wanted from Santa, juvenile delinquent Dawn Davenport sets off on a lifetime’s worth of troublemaking. It’s one of the most memorable holiday moments in movie history, and a stark lesson about the importance of giving your kids what they really want.
Will it become your next holiday classic? John Waters isn’t for everyone, but for those of us who dream of cha-cha heels come Christmastime, this is 100% a movie that can be watched every year.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore star in this Best Picture Oscar-winner about a family's collapse following the accidental death of their older teenage son. The film's pivotal scene occurs at Christmas, when the surviving sibling's resentment at his mother explodes during a family photoshoot.
Will it become your next holiday classic? Worth a watch, but I'm going to say no...unless your family life is so devoid of trauma and drama that you feel the need to live through a tragedy vicariously.
Where to stream: Max
Christmas goes to hell in the dystopian, but increasingly prescient sci-fi film from Terry Gilliam. A happy family watches Tiny Tim on the telly at the movie's opening, only for a clerical error to send a SWAT team dropping into their living room. We're very quickly out of "A Christmas Carol" and into a bureaucratic, capitalist hellscape (aka "life"). Brazil sees characters believing wild things and struggling to distinguish reality from fantasy in a world where elites control the flow of information with ease. Imagine!
Will it become your next holiday classic? It's probably a little on-the-nose in our present to be any kind of comfort viewing, but it's certainly worth watching at least once.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Straight-laced college freshman Clay (Andrew McCarthy) returns to Los Angeles over Christmas vacation to find that his old pals (Jami Gertz, Robert Downey, Jr., and James Spader) are living a very ‘80s lifestyle of sex, drugs, and debauchery. They’re all definitely having a very white Christmas, if you get my drift, but it’s not snow that’s falling in L.A. (It’s cocaine. I’m talking about cocaine.)
Will it become your next holiday classic? This one's probably generational, but people who lived through the '80s might enjoy a snort of nostalgia.
Where to stream: Starz
Maybe you’re getting bored watching the first Die Hard over and over and over again, but aren’t looking to stray too far from the “Bruce Willis shoots up terrorists” genre. It’s worth remembering that Die Hard 2 is also a Christmas movie—it’s set on Christmas Eve, two years after the first film. Unlike so many sequels, it’s almost as enjoyable as the first, and it really gets how terrible it is to travel for the holidays, so there’s no reason not to mix things up a bit.
Will it become your next holiday classic? It probably won’t replace the first movie in your yuletide viewing queue, but it’ll at least make for a pleasant (by which I mean loud) double feature.
Where to stream: Hulu
The holiday season in Gotham is about as weird as you’d hope, with a moody penguin-man running for mayor and a seductive leather mama skipping around, robbing jewelry stores and stealing hearts. As Bat-movies go, Returns offers the best blend of the campy sensibilities of old with the psychological, obsessively dark modern Caped Crusader.
Will it become your next holiday classic? The movie’s central Christmas tree lighting action sequence involves a woman thrown from a building, but it’s generally no less violent than Die Hard, and holiday themes persist throughout (mistletoe is deadly if you eat it, you know). It’s probably your best bet if you aim to have a superhero holiday.
Where to stream: Max, Prime Video
Guillermo del Toro's brilliant debut sees an elderly antiques dealer and his granddaughter opening up a centuries-old archangel statue to find a scarab that transforms the man into something very like a vampire. It's set during the holiday season, but the Christmas connections are mostly thematic; death and rebirth, temptation, and potential redemption abound.
Will it become your next holiday classic? Del Toro turns Christmas on its head and challenges orthodoxy, making it a great choice for the holiday-skeptical. All of the director's movies are highly rewatchable, so I say keep bloody vampire Christmas in your heart, this and every year.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
How better to spend Christmas than with the ninth or tenth best Star Trek movie? Though the series typically avoids anything to do with religion, Generations finds Captain Picard briefly trapped in the Nexus, an extra-dimensional realm that seduces you by allowing you to live out your fantasies. Picard, it seems, dreams of a large family Christmas with a vaguely old-timey milieu. The result is a bit of a spin on It’s a Wonderful Life, with Jean-Luc witnessing a vision of his what his life might be like if he’d never set out for the stars.
Will it become your next holiday classic? It’s the only one on this list with anything remotely resembling a Christmas theme, but there are better Star Trek movies to watch over and over.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Stand-up Dennis Leary plays a crook who winds up taking a couple (Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey) hostage when a job goes wrong; the joke’s on him, because the two are at each other’s throats every moment. They’re really the most bitter, hateful people imaginable, and Leary’s robber/hostage-taker winds up as not only the movie’s most likable character, but also the peacemaker, especially after the rest of the family shows up for Christmas Eve dinner. Terrible in-laws? At a holiday meal? Can you imagine?
Will it become your next holiday classic? It's a bit caustic to make the regular rotation, but it'll offer a palate-cleansing break from holiday schmaltz.
Where to stream: Hoopla
Babe offers a complex vision of the holiday season best summarized by the line: “Christmas means carnage!” At least, it does for the delightful anthropomorphic animals of Hoggett’s farm. On one level, it’s an entire movie about the title pig learning the dark secret of the season, and then doing whatever he can to charm his way out of the oven.
Will it become your next holiday classic? It’s delightful, but you might want to skip the ham at dinner afterward—Oscar nominee James Cromwell turned vegan during filming.
Where to stream: Starz
Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro’s surreal classic involves not just one, but several Santas—most of them pretty scary, honestly, but that’s hardly the point. The film concerns Krank, an elderly being whose inability to dream has made him malicious and cruel; now he kidnaps children and steals their dreams to survive. The father of one of Krank’s victims (Ron Perlman) joins forces with an orphan (Judith Vittet) to rescue the kidnapped children. There’s a strong overarching theme of family, found and otherwise, that cements the holiday feel.
Will it become your next holiday classic? It’s surreal and a little scary in places, but also a lovely fairytale, with warm seasonal themes throughout.
Where to stream: Tubi
What could possibly be more festive than a movie that kicks off with a Christmas party? At this particular “Bloody Christmas” shindig, based on real events, a bunch of LAPD officers get drunk and beat up several (mostly Mexican-American) prisoners—the kind of thing that could definitely only happen in the past and that clearly has no present day relevance whatsoever. Bing Crosby’s music is a motif throughout, though, and the entire thing set during the holiday season. Ho ho ho!
Will it become your next holiday classic? It’s as dark as Christmas movies come, but no more violent than Die Hard.
Where to stream: Plex
Channelling now quaint change-of-millennium anxieties, Arnold Schwarzenegger's team-up with director Peter Hyams (Timecop) for the story of former NYPD detective Jericho Cane (beat that for an on-the-nose character name) battling Satan (in the guise of Gabriel Byrne) during the holiday season—and if the devil’s baby is born by New Year’s Eve, it will signal the titular end of days. It’s all a little (a lot) silly, but fun a fun way to smooth out the wrinkles in your brain during a sleepy holiday afternoon.
Will it become your next holiday classic? Suffused with Catholic imagery and taking place over the holidays, it could make for a fun Christmas watch—though it probably won’t stand up to repeated viewings.
Where to stream: Digital rental
By far the best of the post-Pulp Fiction imitators of the late ‘90s, Go also features the best cast (Taye Diggs, Sarah Polley, Jane Krakowski, Timothy Olyphant, etc.) and the trickiest script, telling the overlapping stories of a holiday drug deal gone wrong. Though there’s not much Christmas spirit on display here (there’s no learning, and none of the characters are even particularly good people), the movie reminds us frequently, and maybe a bit ironically, when this is all going down—the inclusion of a mid-movie Christmas-themed rave serving that purpose particularly well.
Will it become your next holiday classic? If you’re looking for an antidote to all that holiday cheer, then absolutely. (And for the thirsty, shirtless Timothy Olyphant wears a Santa hat.)
Where to stream: Digital rental
There are an extremely limited number of dreamy, erotic mysteries that simultaneously qualify as Christmas movies—that number might in fact be one, and it’s Eyes Wide Shut. Stanley Kubrick's swan song begins at a vaguely naughty, adults-only Christmas party and ends with a more conventional bit of holiday shopping with the kids. Those scenes bookend a shadowy stroll through New York in winter and a ritualistic orgy, and so the film really captures every aspect of the season.
Will it become your next holiday classic? You could do worse than to spend the holidays with Kubrick...but maybe wait for the kids to go to bed first.
Where to stream: Showtime
The opening scenes play like a textbook version of a Hallmark/Lifetime-style Christmas movie: Tom Hanks’ Chuck Nowland is a workaholic who abandons Christmas dinner in order to deal with a work problem. Only his work problem is in Malaysia, setting the FedEx executive off on a date with destiny in the form of a horrific plane crash and a volleyball named Wilson. Following that aviation disaster, most of the rest of the movie takes place on a deserted island, but “this all could have been avoided if you didn’t go to work on Christmas!” remains the overarching leitmotif.
Will it become your next holiday classic? Nowland’s isolation could seem like a desirable fantasy amid the chaos of a family visit, though nervous air travelers might wish to avoid it altogether.
Where to stream: Digital rental
An entirely under-the-radar neo-noir from the late Harold Ramis, The Ice Harvest situates its action on Christmas Eve, a time when only the most interesting people are out and about in the world. John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton play con men who just ripped off a mobster to the tune of $2 million. All they want to do is get out of town, a goal complicated by an ice storm that’s closed the roads, forcing them to cool their heels while avoiding their pursuers.
Will it become your next holiday classic? It’s a pitch-perfect noir following the cascading, complex events of a harrowing Christmas Eve, so it’s a great contender if you’re looking for something to put your personal holiday chaos in perspective.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Maybe don’t rob a toy store on Christmas? That’s about as close to a seasonal message you’ll get out of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but we’re not necessarily here for that. The muted holiday trappings of an LA Christmas are on display, embodied (pardon the pun) in Michelle Monaghan’s tight-fitting Santa suit. Director Shane Black has a whole thing about setting his movies around Christmastime, so you could always pair this one with Iron Man III and settle down to dreams of holidays with Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer. This one is almost certainly Black’s best, though.
Will it become your next holiday classic? As an action alternative to Die Hard with a similarly charismatic leading man, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang might be a perfect substitute.
Where to stream: Digital rental
It’s Christmastime in the old west (1880s Australia, actually, but western movie style abounds), and there’s murder in the offing. In this case, it involves a choice given to renegade Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) by lawman Morris Stanley (Ray Winstone): Burns must either hunt down and kill his older brother, wanted for rape and murder, or his younger brother, already in custody for lesser crimes, will hang. That decision kicks off a contemplative journey through the outback, one drenched in tremendous performances and style, if nary a hint of festive greenery.
Will it become your next holiday classic? It might be a bit too quiet for sleepy Christmas Day viewing, but it deserves a spot somewhere on your holiday watchlist.
Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, Crackle, The Roku Channel, Freevee, Vudu, Kanopy, Pluto, Plex
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson play a pair of not-so-great hitmen lying low in the title city, as ordered by their increasingly volatile boss (Ralph Fiennes). This dark comedy is packed with smart, funny dialogue, and the almost paternal relationship between the two assassins is genuinely charming...as is the Belgian Christmastime setting. Still, it's a movie about hitmen that kicks off with the killing of a kid in a church, so the laughs are of a very particular kind.
Will it become your next holiday classic? It's definitely got a well-earned reputation as a cult classic, so I'd say there's a good chance it's one you'll want to return to.
Where to stream: Starz
Two trans sex workers (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor) set out across yuletide Los Angeles, on the hunt for Rodriguez’s character’s cheating boyfriend/pimp. There aren’t a ton of queer holiday movies (unless Meet Me in St. Louis counts), and Tangerine compellingly explores a Christmas on the margins. It’s set in sunny LA, so the festive trappings are muted—and for the leads, “family” would hardly mean group photos in cozy sweaters anyway—but it’s Christmas all the same. A haunting, gorgeous rendition of “Toyland” seals the deal.
Will it become your next holiday classic? This could be your queer Die Hard, no question.
Where to stream: Mubi, Fubo, Kanopy, Plex
The chemistry between Rooney Mara’s Therese and Cate Blanchett’s Carol is palpable from the moment their eyes meet across a crowded department store—Therese is working the Christmas rush, while Carol is a glamorous older woman going through a divorce and shopping for her daughter. It’s 1952, and theirs is a love that dare not speak its name, even to one another. The women suffer for their love, but not exclusively; 'tis the season for both heartbreak and romance.
Will it become your next holiday classic? Christmas could always stand to be a little gayer, and this one is already a queer classic.
Where to stream: Netflix
A seasonal romance that culminates in a Hanukkah celebration, Call Me By Your Name’s sweaty Northern Italian setting doesn’t scream winter festivities...but who needs snow, anyway? You just need a peach and a cozy fire in front of which to cry artfully. The ending even involves themes of perseverance and renewal, and is therefore wonderfully thematic.
Will it become your next holiday classic? Armie Hammer's problematic persona complicates the movie’s reputation, but Call Me By Your Name otherwise makes for a bittersweet holiday romance.
Where to stream: Netflix
Pablo Larraín's moody and idiosyncratic biopic breaks almost all of the rules of the genre, to great effect. Kristen Stewart plays Diana, Princess of Wales, spending the Christmas holiday at the royal family's estate at Sandringham as the tabloids attack from the outside and her own in-laws eat away at her from within the palace. It's kind of like The Shining, but with too many royals subbing in for all the ghosts.
Will it become your next holiday classic? I'm not sure it's endlessly rewatchable, but the dreamy vibe is well-suited to a long winter's night.
Where to stream: Hulu
Comedy is subjective, and it's nearly impossible to categorically gainsay anyone else's taste. Unintentional comedy, though? That's universal. Let's face it: From the crudest of us to the most outwardly noble, we all love a fiasco, as long as we're on the proper end of things.
Jokes that are meant to be jokes flop at least as often as they succeed, but nothing generates laughs as consistently as a failed attempt at being serious. That's because we are, all of us, awful humans who delight in the failures of people who aren't us. Might as well accept it, and enjoy a series of movies that each tried their best, god bless 'em. In failing, they all succeeded in ways their creators never imagined. Here are 20 of the most unintentionally funny movies you should definitely watch, but only in the right mindset.
Director Roger Christian has an Oscar thanks to his art direction work on the original Star Wars, but he only took home a Golden Raspberry for his work directing John Travolta's $50 million Church of Scientology fundraiser. In the year 3000, Earth is ruled over by the Psychlos, aliens who look humans but for their very tall heads. It's badly acted, cheap-looking, and ugly, with a color palette that ranges from dirt brown to urine yellow. But hey, at least the plot's incoherent! All that having been said, if you can't laugh at John Travolta and Forest Whittaker arguing over the fate of humanity in giant drag queen wigs, you have no sense of fun.
Where to stream: Vix
Christopher Walken's abysmal Irish accent alone would earn this movie a spot, with Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan likewise trying hard and achieving very little by way of authenticity. The rom-com plot is mostly unexceptional, dealing with two people on adjacent farms who stick around for no particularly good reason until they get together...also for no particularly good reason. It's all pretty bland, but you definitely have a reason to stay, and it's for the completely out-of-nowhere, utterly ludicrous, twist magical ending.
Where to stream: Hulu
Speaking of Jamie Dornan! The weird, BDSM-lite (very lite) cultural phenomenon that was 50 Shades came to the screen with Dornan and Dakota Johnson, exploring a pairing intended to scandalous and titillating, even though it never feels like they're in entirely the same movie. He's glowering and self-serious every moment, while she's mousy and quirky, looking at all times as if she was supposed to be in the rom-com filming next door. Except that movie wouldn't give her dialogue like "What are butt plugs?" As if the definition isn't right there in the name!
Where to stream: Max
Joel Schumacher was certainly aware of the kind of campy, queer, and idiosyncratic movie he was making here, but the intent was to blend superhero thrills with comedy. Instead it's pretty much all funny, except for when it's trying to be. The actual "jokes" about chicks digging the car and the Bat credit card don't land at all, but the prominently nippled batsuits and Arnold Schwarzenegger's groaners elicit plenty of derisive laughs.
Where to stream: Max, Prime Video
There's an intentional B-movie charm to this M. Night Shyamalan film, even though the twist reveal is the lamest of the writer/director's career, but I also don't believe it's nearly as intentional as some of its defenders have argued. Certainly the movie's excessive seriousness with regard to its premise (a mysterious suicide epidemic) makes it, at least occasionally, a real howler. A scene, for example, of "terrorist" lions slowly eating a zoo worker is meant to be shocking, but mostly just feels silly. And based on his other movies, Shyamalan doesn't exactly strike me as a hilarious dude.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Start with the fact it isn't actually a sequel and includes no actual trolls, and we're already in unintentionally funny territory. Director and writer Claudio Fragasso's film adapts a story from his wife, Rosella Drudi, who wanted to make a serious artistic statement about how obnoxious vegetarians are—the goblins here force their victims to eat food that turns them into a kind of vegetable paste, which is totally something a vegetarian would do. During filming, the cast spoke mostly English while the crew mostly only spoke Italian, complicating production of what was apparently intended to be a serious horror movie. One that involves a scene of a kid saving the day by pissing all over the dinner table.
Where to stream: Tubi, Hoopla, Kanopy
Roadhouse lands right in between Dirty Dancing and Ghost in Patrick Swayze's career, which makes the gloriously low-rent blend of action and romantic drama even more fascinating. When he's not involved in smoldering love scenes with Kelly Lynch, bouncer Swayze is battling Ben Gazzara for control of the titlular dive bar...for some reason. With incoherently macho dialogue to spare (what does "dig a hole" even mean? How about "pain don't hurt"?), but the coup de grace involves our hero ripping the trachea out of another dude's throat. Funnier than it sounds.
Where to stream: Max
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The first 40 minutes or so of director James Nguyen's film are spent introducing a couple of characters who don't have nearly enough depth nor backstory to justify that time. Rod is a business-type guy who's a whiz at PowerPoint presentations. Nathalie is a successful fashion model doing high-end photoshoots in what appear to be converted closets. When we finally get some bird action going, we're treated to scenes of flying predators who kill by aimlessly floating in front of their victims while we're encouraged to imagine ripping and slashing. That's all before we learn that they're doing it because fossil fuels kinda suck. Which is true. It might all sound like intentional comedy, but Nguyen had serious goals, and was inspired by both Hitchcock's The Birds, and Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth...the mash-up you never knew you needed. His intentionally satirical sequel isn't nearly as funny as this one.
Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, Freevee, Redbox, Plex
Hayden Christensen, a reasonably talented actor in pretty much anything else, is brought low by the second Star Wars prequel. We're meant to find Anakin Skywalker's tragic course heartbreaking, but instead find ourselves hoping for James Earl Jones to show up so we can move past the future Darth Vader's whiny, petulant phase. If there's anything funnier in the saga than the young Jedi's pointless and uninvited discourse about sand, I haven't found it.
Where to stream: Disney+
Look, I know that it's the movie that opened up a national discussion about child abuse...but there's no universe in which a woman in a collagen mask having that big of a freakout over metal hangers won't be a hoot. Faye Dunaway hams it up to delicious effect.
Where to stream: Max
The title here is all over the place, with an abbreviation usually reserved for court cases and a colon leading into an allusion to the next movie in the series. Highlights include a dramatic moment that turns on Lex Luthor's peepee, Batman suddenly developing dream powers that allow him to glimpse scenes from upcoming sequels, and the movie's titular conflict resolving itself when the heroes remember that their moms have the same name.
Where to stream: Max, Prime Video
As dramatized in Tim Burton's Oscar-winning biopic, B-movie director Ed Wood possessed tremendous energy, confidence, and precious little self-awareness—a winning combo, in this case. There's just the hint of a plot in this legedarily bad sci-fi yarn about aliens invading earth by resurrecting the dead, but we're not here for the plot. Wrestler Tor Johnson appears, as does horror host Vampira and the legendary Bela Lugosi...sort of. Lugosi died during production, so we're treated to Wood's chiropractor filling in, waving a cape around for no good reason and in scenes that might be happening in broad daylight, the middle of the night, or both at once. A treasure, the whole thing.
Where to stream: Tubi, Freevee, Plex, Pluto, Mubi, Hoopla, The Roku Channel
The plot here is pretty much just E.T., ("MAC," in the film, referring to the "Mysterious Alien Creature"), but with a much lower budget and more finely honed commercial instincts. Because Mac is also a reference to the Big Mac, as in the hamburger from primary sponsor McDonald's, a fact we are never allowed to forget. The movie's worst/best scene involves and elaborate, impromptu dance number inside a McDonald's that includes a cameo from Ronald himself. As Paul Rudd taught us by sneaking the clip repeatedly onto Conan O'Brien's talk show, there's even some unexpected comedy in the form of an out-of-control wheelchair.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Tubi
The sheer outlandishness of much of what goes on in this movie has sparked a lot of discussion over the extent to which its comedy is intentional. Years after the fact, Nicholas Cage, who plays Edward Malus, said it was, but I'm not entirely convinced. "No, not the bees! Not the bees!" (in a scene during which Cage's character is being tortured with bees, natch) is Nicholas Cage par excellence, and still has life as a meme, but my personal favorite moment is when Malus, disguised in a bear suit, sucker-punches a cultist leading a ritual. The movie is also dedicated to Johnny Ramone, for some reason. (I'll say this: if the comedy was intentional, then director Neil LaBute wildly miscalculated the public's interest in a folk horror human sacrifice satire.)
Where to stream: Digital rental
Paul W. S. Anderson (director of approximately 80 Resident Evil movies) heads into historical epic territory with mixed results (to be charitable). Kit Harrington is fine in the lead, while Keifer Sutherland is far less convincing as a Roman Senator; the mix of accents is frankly a little distracting. The movie has a very Michael Bay-lite style in its uneasy blend of CG action set pieces and very serious historical romance, summed up best during the fiery conclusion (spoiler: the town doesn't make it) when a two lovers are dramatically encased in lava and immediately turn into statues as the music swells. Which is not how that works, but OK. Sure.
Where to stream: Netflix
A triumph of Michael Caine's glorious "anything for a paycheck" era, the actor famously quipped of this movie: "I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific!" The briefly venerable Jaws franchise reached its nadir here, for sure, with the story of a shark coming to Amity for revenge against the widow and son of Roy Scheider's character from the first two movies (Martin Brody having died offscreen). Ellen Brody decides to move to the Bahamas, because she clearly hasn't had enough of the ocean by this point. No matter: the shark follows her and has even learned to roar like a lion for some reason. Don't be too sad about characters who get eaten, because there's a good chance they'll pop up again before the end. If you can forget it's a sad end to the Jaws series, this one is a delightful shark-themed comedy.
Where to stream: Netflix
Matthew McConaughey plays Baker Dill, a fishing boat captain on a very on-the-nose quest for a giant yellowfin tune he has dubbed "Justice." Anne Hathaway plays his scheming femme fatale of an ex-wife, who hires Dill to throw her current husband off of his ship. It's all very noir-lite, and pretty retrograde in its treatment of its women characters, particularly Diane Lane's Constance, who does nothing all movie but lay in her bungalow waiting for Dill to come over so she can pay him for sexr. But! That's all before we realize we're not in a noir movie, we're in a science-fiction movie! Kinda! Or maybe it's just a straight-up murder thriller? I love a good plot twist or two, but Serenity has so many of them it quickly steers the boat into batshit-infested waters. It's supremely entertaining trash.
Where to stream: Digital rental
John Huston directs Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor in an adaptation of a Carson McCullers book. A prestige-y no-brainer, right? Instead, this is high-end melodrama all the way, with a blend of good performances and way over-the-top ones that make the whole thing feel like some sort of fever dream. The above video of the film's final scene is a spoiler, of course, but watch it and try not to laugh; it captures the movie's tonal misfires flawlessly. Major points for injecting queer themes into a Hollywood movie of the 1960s, but this was not the way.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Saturday Night Fever is remembered for its memorable disco dance sequences, but the film outside those moments had gritty 1970s realism—though it has come to signify disco's garish '70s heyday, it also tells a fairly down-to-earth story about a young man's coming-of-age. Its sequel replaces all of that with a series of musical numbers with minimal connective tissue, none of which are superior to anything in the original, and all of which are pretty amusing. This ill-advised sequel is shot through with a very '80s lack of irony or any modicum of self-awareness, and all the better for it. It's like that friend you know who desperately wants to make it in theatre, even though they're terrible. You feel a little bad about it, but sometimes you can't help but laugh.
Where to stream: Paramount+
All unintentionally funny roads lead here, to Tommy Wiseau's plot-impaired masterpiece of incoherent dialogue, indecipherable accents, and love scenes that will make you reconsider all ideas you've ever had about sex being in any way appealing. If you can figure out why it's called "The Room," other than the fact that several scenes are, indeed, set in rooms, please chime in.
Where to stream: I couldn't not include it, but The Room is tragically not streaming anywhere. Grab a highlight reel from YouTube and you'll get the idea.
Historical epics once ruled the box office, reliably taking home both cash and trophies each year. That's changed over the past decade or so; much of Hollywood's big money now goes into either science-fiction spectacles or superhero franchise films, traditionally expensive period epics having fallen a bit out of fashion—at least on the big screen. Ridley Scott, though, hasn't given up, with the Gladiator director fighting to keep the form alive: the sprawling, big-budget Napoleon is out soon, and an improbable Gladiator sequel is underway as his next film. It might be an uphill battle: 2022's The Woman King got great reviews and still only did decent box office business, while Scott's own The Last Duel, from 2021, got similarly good reviews while having lost quite a bit of money. Still, though, movie tastes are always a bit cyclical, and if we're starting to see stirrings of superhero fatigue, there might be an opening for some big-budget trips to the real-life past.
Historical setting: The north Atlantic, April, 1912
There's melodrama here, for sure, but James Cameron's tearjerker is also a glorious portrait of a very particular moment in time, luring us in with the glamour of its era before hitting us with the costs to those living their lives on the lower decks of society. It's also a wonderfully fastidious feat of recreation, in which the plot cleverly takes us on a tour of Titanic. By the end, we feel like we know her as well as any of her passengers.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Historical setting: The entirety of the life of Malcolm X, 1925 - 1965
Spike Lee dodges every dull biopic trope in presenting the life of the Black activist who helped to define the 1960s and the era of the civil rights movement. It's stylish and propulsive, while Denzel Washington practically channels the movie's subject with his extraordinary performance.
Where to stream: Tubi
Historical setting: Medieval France, circa 1386
Ridley Scott's previous epic adapts a nonfiction work by Eric Jager involving a trial by combat in medieval France between Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) following the rape of Jean's wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer). Scott cleverly approaches the story as a European Rashomon, with the story presented from the very different points of view of each man, before we get the full picture from Marguerite's perspective. History, and the players in the duel, might not have cared about that point of view, but Scott and the film do.
Where to stream: Fubo
Historical setting: World War II-era Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia
Steven Spielberg earned his first directing Oscar for this wrenching, essential film set during the Holocaust. Oskar Schindler, an industrialist and Nazi himself, becomes slowly disillusioned with, and then horrified by, the actions of the party, employing over 1,000 Jewish refugees to work in his factories as a means of saving them from the concentration camps.
Where to stream: Showtime, Fubo
Historical setting: 16th century South America
Probably the lowest-budget epic you'll find on this list, Werner Herzog's film follows conquistador Lope de Aguirre (played by a legendarily unhinged Klaus Kinski) on his hunt for the mythical golden kingdom of El Dorado. The real-life Aguirre was called El Loco for his grandiose and megalomanical plans; Herzog and Kinski capture the feel of a doomed obsession. The movie was a tremendous inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now.
Where to stream: Tubi, Vudu, The Roku Channel, Freevee, Shout Factory TV, Plex
Historical setting: Algiers, 1954–1962
A shockingly relevant film about the tensions between Algerian nationalists and French forces in North Africa, a conflict that erupted into a three-year war. Director Gillo Pontecorvo's hyper-realistic film is thrilling on one level, but also deeply challenging. While the movie's morality leans slightly toward the Algerians trying to reclaim their home from the French, it's also clear that the shocking acts of violence perpetrated by the guerrilla fighters render any discussion of heroes or villains ridiculous.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Historical setting: Odessa, 1905
Sergei Eisenstein's masterpiece of revolutionary propaganda has ked a cinematic life well beyond its intended purpose (that being: honoring the first Russian Revolution on its 20th anniversary). Groundbreaking and wildly influential, echoes of its style and editing techniques can be found in everything from Laurel and Hardy to Star Wars and beyond, with Brian De Palma's The Untouchables famously recreating one of the film's most iconic scenes on the Odessa steps, in which a baby carriage rolls out of control amid chaos.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Historical setting: The Roman Empire, circa 180 CE
Ridley Scott tells the story of a high-ranking Roman officer forced into the gladiatorial arena after running afoul of the incoming emperor, Commodus; the movie was a box-office champ and an awards-season favorite for its year, signaling a revival of the historical epic genre that never quite materialized. But since we're talking so much about Scott, his next historical epic is set to be a sequel to this Oscar winner.
Where to stream: Netflix, Paramount+
Historical setting: Sengoku-period Honshū, Japan
One of Akira Kurosawa's later films, and his last real epic, Ran is still among the director's most beloved, blending Japanese history and folklore with hints of Shakespeare. Set in the 16th century, Kurosawa fictionalizes the story of real-life daimyō Mōri Motonari by blending it with King Lear. Elderly warlord Ichimonji Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to divide his kingdom between his three sons, only to discover that greed and lust for power are more powerful than loyalty. It was the director's most expensive film, with lush cinematography and elaborate period design.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Historical setting: Moscow, 1953
Armando Iannucci brings his trademark dark wit to the story of the political power plays and jockeying that occurs in the wake of the passing of the Soviet leader. As he did in Veep, Ianucci lays bare the grasping, petty covetousness that lies behind power politics, no matter how outwardly respectable. It might not be the most historically accurate bit of history on film when it comes to the details, but it's nevertheless among the most honest.
Where to stream: Hulu, Tubi, The Roku Channel
Historical setting: Tokyo, from the 1920s to 1970
Paul Schrader's kaleidoscopic drama starts on the last day in the life of Yukio Mishima, a writer who famously committed public seppuku. One of Japan's most significant 20th-century artists, Mishima's rejection of modern material culture lead him to an extreme traditionalism and saw him founding his own private army. He's an unconventional subject for an unconventional historical epic (one that sees moments from his works dramatized alongside scenes from his life), but this was a life lived on a large scale, for better and worse.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
Historical setting: 12th century England
It's based on a play rather than the specific history, so there's much here that's either dubious or flat-out wrong. Still! It's a big, fun, old-school cinematic epic about the political and religious struggle between Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and Thomas Becket (Richard Burton), the king's one-time friend who becomes an opponent as Archbishop of Canterbury. Burton is a little bit of a snooze, but O'Toole is clearly having a ton of fun—he'd play the character again, and be joined by Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine, in The Lion in Winter just a few years later.
Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, Freevee, The Roku Channel
Historical setting: Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, 1941
In the early going, this feels more like a solid romantic melodrama than a war picture—the film's iconic image is of Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster making out on the beach. But it's all in service of drawing us into the lives of the the people in the orbit of Schofield Barracks on Oahu, played by an all-star cast including Lancaster and Kerr, as well as Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, and Ernest Borgnine among others. By the time the bombs start to drop, we're deeply invested in these character's lives and fates.
Where to stream: Max
Historical setting: Western Europe, 1917-1918
Idealistic soldier Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) hopes to be a hero when he signs on, with his friends, to fight with the German army. His visions of glory and noble sacrifice are quickly shattered as he's forced to confront horrors, and learns that survival is the best he can hope for. Though it doesn't have quite the power of the 1930 original, it's still a powerful film about the futility of war, set amid the trenches of World War I.
Where to stream: Netflix
Historical setting: 14th century England
Filmmaker, provocateur, and activist Derek Jarman removes any historical ambiguity from the relationship between Edward II and his beloved courtier Piers Gaveston (not that it was particularly ambiguous) while imagining medieval Europe as a postmodern fantasia, rife with intentional anachronisms and Annie Lennox on the soundtrack. Think Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, but gayer.
Where to stream: Tubi, The Roku Channel, Pluto, Freevee
Historical setting: The Mauryan Empire (covering much of modern-day India), 3rd century BCE
Hyper-stylized in its action sequences and peppered with musical interludes, the film tells a dramatized version of the life of the titular Mauryan emperor (Shah Rukh Khan), who famously discovered Buddhism and pacifism following an early life of violent conquest. Luckily, that transition comes late in the film, so we still get plenty of brilliantly choreographed action sequences in the lead-up. It was a massive success in much of Asia, and a rare Indian film of its time to receive a wide global release.
Where to stream: Netflix
Historical setting: Sengoku-period Japan, 1586
Both a dramatic and technical achievement, Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece succeeds brilliantly as a straight action movie, but establishes the members of the assembled team as unique and complicated individuals, in many ways not that much better than the bandits they’ve been hired to fight. In the movie, penniless villagers decide to hire samurai to defend themselves from raiders. Since they have nothing to offer but food, they have no choice but to seek out only the most desperate rōnin to help them. The rag-tag band of outsiders is forced to come together in the face of a merciless onslaught and, while it's more about its historical setting than any particular real-life events, there's striking verisimilitude alongside the movie's style.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Historical setting: Northern Europe, circa 895 CE
Shockingly underseen, Robert Eggers' The Northman isn't based on any particular bit of Scandinavian history, instead blending elements of legend and mythology into a scrupulously recreated historical setting. Alexander Skarsgård plays Amleth, a Viking warrior-prince who narrowly escapes a coup that wipes out his dynasty, beginning a Shakespearean quest for vengeance at any cost. The film offers a starkly nihilistic worldview while simultaneously challenging ideas of honor taken to extremes. Nicole Kidman's performance is delicious.
Where to stream: Peacock
Historical setting: Joseon State Korea, 1636
A war movie that avoids looking much like a war movie at all, The Fortress takes place during Qing invasion of Joseon in 1636. The Joseon state of modern-day Korea had maintained a relationship with the Ming dynasty of China, but came under pressure from the Qing prior to an all-out invasion. The film follows the end of that story, when King Injo and his retainers sought refuge in the title's fortress. This isn't the story of an Alamo, though, instead one of moral compromise and politics as the fort's defenders fight to navigate between two larger powers while under literal siege. The movie was a massive hit in South Korea, picking up several major awards.
Where to stream: Netflix
Historical setting: Dahomey, West Africa, 1823
Though the movie has much deeper ambitions, there's something to be said for the pure joy of watching surprisingly swole Viola Davis lead a team of all-but-unstoppable African women warriors as they fight back against colonialist invaders. Set in West Africa in 1823, and based on the real-life the Agojie (also known as the Dahomey Amazons), the movie stars Davis as General Nanisca, leader of the country’s army, forced to navigate complicated regional politics even though her skills, and the movie’s most exhilarating scenes, involve kicking slave-trader ass.
Where to stream: Netflix
Historical setting: The Western Front of World War I, 1917
Sam Mendes' World War I drama has no business working as well as it does, given that its premise includes a bit of a gimmick: It's presented as though it's been filmed in two continuous takes, with no cuts in between. The result might have wound up feeling like a video game, but instead the conceit brings an uncommon, harrowing immediacy to the story of two soldiers Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), desperate to deliver a message that would cancel an offensive that they know to be doomed.
Where to stream: Showtime, Fubo
Historical setting: China, particularly Beijing, in the early 20th century
Though not to be taken as a history lesson (very few narrative movies should be), Bernardo Bertolucci's gorgeous epic makes everything of its location, shooting inside Beijing's Forbidden City. John lone is excellent as the grown-up Puyi, made emperor of China at age two, and forced to abdicate by the age of six. The movie charts his life in defiance of, and then as a puppet of, China's new Communist government.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Historical setting: Saragarhi (modern Pakistan), 1894
There's not much here that's particularly challenging, but Kesari is nevertheless a rousing story of military courage and heroism in the face of impossible odds. The film follows the events around the Battle of Saragarhi, during which 21 Sikh soldiers of the British Raj fought 10,000 Afghani attackers, 300-style, in 1897. The movie's politics are complicated, but the performances are top-notch, and the battles are impeccably choreographed.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Historical setting: The Third Servile War, the Mediterranean in the first century BCE
Stanley Kubrick's Roman Republic-era epic dodges most of the sword-and-sandal conventions that the movie's release year might suggest, instead telling a rousing tale of freedom and nonconformity. Written by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, Spartacus challenged not only Roman-style slavery, but the then-modern Communist witch hunts.
Where to stream: History Vault
Historical setting: Eco period Japan, 1844
Near the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the utterly sadistic (not to mention corrupt) Lord Naritsugu is to be offered a seat on the Shogunate Council, a promotion that will not only see the cruel lord’s power increase, but will likely set off a civil war between his supporters and those who hate him. The Shogun’s justice minister decides that assassination is the only way, and so hires a dozen samurai in order to carry out the execution. The kinetic and violent film reminds us that director Takashi Miike made his name in several memorably visceral horror films.
Where to stream: Hulu
No wars here, exactly, though the Civil Rights Movement was an era of violent conflict; there are few better, nor more ignored, prisms through which to view it than than that of the life of Bayard Rustin (a brilliant Colman Domingo), one of the movements leaders, and the chief architect of the March on Washington. As an openly queer man, though, he was ignored and erased from the history of the movement—at least until this suitably epic biopic.
Where to stream: Netflix
The Academy Awards aren't everything. Sometimes winning movies truly represent the best films of their years; sometimes they reflect a trend or a zeitgeist that winds up looking a little backward in later years; sometimes they're just completely inexplicable.
But let's focus on the times the Academy has awarded movies that are actually pretty good, or that at least reflect their eras enough to be interesting. Here are 25 of the best award winners currently streaming on Netflix, including their most recent original Oscar-winner, Wes Anderson's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.
This groundbreaking and absurd comedy-drama received the lion's share of the love at the Oscars last year by blending a soulful and genuinely moving premise with some of the most wonderfully silly moments you're likely to find in a major motion picture. It also served as a much-needed corrective to a movie industry that's deeply self-serious, and also stiflingly blockbuster focused—give me a Marvel movie where a character travels the multiverse by leaping onto a butt plug, and I'll start paying attention again, I swear. The performances here are uniformly great, with special love going to mother Michelle Yeoh and the wonderful Ke Huy Quan.
Oscars for: Best Picture, Best Director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan), Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis), Best Original Screenplay (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Best Film Editing (Paul Rogers)
Audiences and critics had mixed reactions to Wes Anderson's other 2023 release, the feature-length Asteroid City, but there was little division over this short film, an adaptation of the Roald Dahl story, and it finally earned Anderson his first Oscar—not that he was there to collect it. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the pseudonymous Henry Sugar, a man who uses his inherited fortune to fund his gambling habit. When he learns of a secret means of winning by seeing through the eyes of others, he comes to perceive more than he, perhaps, bargained for. It's a cute and sweet, and among one of Anderson's most visually inventive works (which saying quite a bit). And, at 40 minutes (39, actually), it never has time to wear out its welcome. Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Richard Ayoade also star.
Oscar for: Best Live Action Short Film
Stepping back from the cerebral science-fiction of Children of Men and Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón won his second Best Director Oscar for this semi-autobiographical drama inspired by his own childhood in Mexico City of the 1970s, in the middle of Mexico's long, violent Dirty War. Yalitza Aparicio plays Cleo Gutiérrez, a Mixtec live-in maid for an upper-middle-class couple with four children whose marriage is slowly disintegrating. When husband Antonio leaves with his mistress, wife Sophia and the pregnant Cleo bond over their unexpected situations. Cuarón is wonderfully adept at creating a sense of time and place, and the performances are indelible. Roma won Best Foreign Language Film, but was also nominated for Best Picture, and it's a far stronger work than the year's actual winner, Green Book.
Oscars for: Best Director (Alfonso Cuarón), Best Foreign Language Film (Mexico), Best Cinematography (Alfonso Cuarón)
Nominated for six Oscars, Noah Baumbach's sensitive, devastating story of a crumbling marriage feels like a modern American update of Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, and earns the right to be mentioned in the same company. As warring couple Nicole and Charlie Barber, Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver give emotionally raw performances, but the real story is Laura Dern as Nicole's lawyer Nora Fanshaw; she's one of our finest actresses, with decades of excellent work, and it was high time she won her first Oscar. Driver and Johansson were also nominated, as was Baumbach for his original screenplay
Oscar for: Best Supporting Actress (Laura Dern)
More Oscar love for Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, The Shape of Water). Ho hum. Yet, as in the past, it's well-deserved. Set in Fascist Italy between the World Wars, this longtime passion project for the director boasts gorgeous stop-motion animation. More importantly, it embraces the darkness inherent in Carlo Collodi's original fantasy novel—del Toro recognizing that a children's story need be neither cloying nor condescending, and that kids recognize, as well as anyone, that sometimes the only way to the light is through the dark. The talented, but not distracting voice cast includes Ewan McGregor, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, and Cate Blanchett.
Oscar for: Best Animated Feature Film
A second adaptation of the 1929 anti-war novel from Erich Maria Remarque, this version didn't take home Best Picture nor Best Director as the original 1930 version did, but still, All Quiet wound up being the second-most awarded film on Oscar night 2023, behind Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All at Once. If it doesn't have quite the impact of the earlier adaptation, it's still a powerful film about the futility of war, set amid the trenches of World War I.
Oscars for: Best International Feature (Germany), Best Original Score (Volker Bertelmann), Best Production Design (Christian M. Goldbeck and Ernestine Hipper), Best Cinematography (James Friend)
Filmmaker Craig Foster spent a year forming a relationship with a wild common octopus in a South African kelp forest, transferring some of the lessons learned to his relationship with his own son. If Foster could form a bond with such an alien intelligence in its own natural (and naturally dangerous) environment, surely there's hope for humanity? Maybe?
Oscar for: Best Documentary Feature
One sweaty, blues-filled afternoon in the Chicago of 1927, the great Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) shows up at the studio to make a new album. She's been contracted by white promoters, and she's fully aware that their deference to her is entirely dependent on her bankability as a singer. Over the course of the session, tensions rise and conflicts erupt, particularly between Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman's Levee Green. Davis earned a Best Actress nomination, and is so good that she's practically channeling the take-no-shit blues legend, while Chadwick Boseman was seen as a near-lock for a posthumous Best Actor award. Unfortunately, the Academy's notorious stinginess when it comes to Black acting seems to have won out—there's been exactly one Black Best Actress winner in 95 years of awards (Halle Berry), and only five Black acting winners overall.
Oscars for: Best Costume Design (Ann Roth), Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Sergio López-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson)
Perhaps not surprisingly, all of Jurassic Park's Oscar nominations and wins were in technical categories. No question that the movie is a technical marvel, with dinosaur effects that hold up shockingly well 30 years later. It's more than an effects film, though, and time has shown it to be one of Steven Spielberg's most enduring films, even if that endurance means that we're subject to sequels that have more-or-less worn out their welcomes. This one, though? Pure cinematic magic and a great time at the movies or, in our case, in front of the TV.
Oscars for: Best Sound Effects Editing (Gary Rydstrom and Richard Hymns), Best Sound (Gary Summers, Gary Rydstrom, Shawn Murphy and Ron Judkins), Best Visual Effects (Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippett and Michael Lantieri)
It's wild that RRR wasn't nominated in more categories, given its epic scope, sharp commentary, and crowd-pleasing style—but taking home India's first Original Song Oscar was no small feat either, especially given that the competition included numbers from the likes of Rihanna and Lady Gaga. The movie itself is a blockbuster done right, with brilliantly choreographed action sequences and rousing musical numbers buttressing a strong "f*ck colonialism" message. Hopefully Hollywood was taking notes.
Oscars for: Best Original Song ("Naatu Naatu")
One of the Academy's favorite directors (Paul Thomas Anderson) teamed with one of its favorite actors (Daniel Day-Lewis) for this historical drama set in 1950s London. The only surprise is, perhaps, that it received just one award, though it was nominated for several others, including Best Picture.
Oscars for: Best Costume Design (Mark Bridges)
Like Brokeback Mountain, much of the press around Jane Campion's film had to do with its queer themes (gay cowboys? what's next!?), but its power lies in its deliberate, unhurried direction from Campion (a rarity these days), and also in its beautiful cinematography. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as one of two very different brothers, whose tenuous peace is shattered by the arrival of newcomers at their Montana ranch circa 1925.
Oscar for: Best Director (Jane Campion)
The short (around 25 minutes) film follows a group of women in the Indian village of Kathikera, about 50 miles from Delhi, who work to overcome centuries of shame associated with menstruation. Learning that sanitary pads can be made with local materials, local women start a factory to manufacture and sell their own pads, starting a quiet but needed revolution in menstrual health.
Oscar for: Best Documentary Short Subject
In the last year of World War II and the Holocaust, the Nazis in occupied Hungary accelerated their program of deportation and extermination, even at the cost of war strategy. This documentary follows five survivors—and naturalized American citizens—traveling back to the camps they narrowly escaped.
Oscar for: Best Documentary Feature
It's easy to lose sight of documentaries dealing with war and crisis amid the many of that style that have received Oscar nominations and wins, but there are standouts even in that very particular crowd. The White Helmets documents the story of the Syrian Civil Defense, an all-volunteer group of Syrians who perform search and rescue operations in response to bombings. The real draw of this (relatively) short film is in the interludes with volunteers discussing their everyday lives, before and during the war; those moments make clear the cost of the ongoing conflict. Though seven years old, the Syrian Civil War continues, tragically, as does the work of the SCD.
Oscar for: Best Documentary (Short Subject)
The first film from Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground Productions, goes and wins an Oscar. The film looks at an abandoned GM plant in Ohio purchased by a Chinese billionaire for his company, glass manufacturer Fuyao. The plant came to employ 2,000 American workers, but the complicated dynamic between the Chinese leadership and working-class American employers quickly points to potentially insurmountable problems. The movie takes a fly-on-the-wall approach, without any narrative beyond what we’re seeing and hearing inside the factory itself; there’s no overriding sense that there are heroes or villains here—just a lot of people trying to figure it all out.
Oscar for: Best Documentary Feature
Ron Howard's all-star astronaut docudrama is not only a better film than the one that won Best Picture in its year (Braveheart), it's also a better picture than the one the director took home the Oscar for (A Beautiful Mind). Simultaneously heart-stopping and subdued, the true story of the aborted moon mission generates tension without going overboard on the histrionics.
Oscars for: Best Film Editing (Mike Hill and Daniel Hanley), Best Sound (Rick Dior, Steve Pederson, Scott Millan and David MacMillan)
Very much the kind of movie they don't make anymore, and not merely because it's a depression-era period piece. George Roy Hill, who had directed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid just a few years earlier, reunited Paul Newman and Robert Redford in a similarly good-natured caper film. The two play a couple of con men with an elaborate scheme to get revenge on the crime boss who murdered their friend. The period details are as meticulously crafted as the movie's central scheme, and it's ultimately an all-time great crowd-pleaser.
Oscars for: Best Picture, Best Director (George Roy Hill), Best Original Screenplay (David S. Ward), Best Art Direction (Henry Bumstead and James W. Payne), Best Costume Design (Edith Head), Best Film Editing (William Reynolds) Best Scoring (Marvin Hamlisch)
At what becomes known as a “Bloody Christmas” shindig, based on real events, a bunch of LAPD officers get drunk and beat up several (mostly Mexican-American) prisoners—the kind of thing that could definitely only happen in the past and that clearly has no present day relevance whatsoever. Curtis Hanson's new-noir crime drama is one of the best examples of the form, and remains a gold standard for its dark-as-night style to this day.
Oscars for: Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger), Best Screenplay – Adapted (Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson)
Martin Scorsese's name isn't exactly synonymous with heartfelt romantic comedies, but one of his earliest films is a stellar example of that genre, as well as being a superior film with a woman in the lead—something he's also not entirely known for. Ellen Burstyn plays a small-town widow who hits the road with her preteen son hoping to live out her dream of making a career out of singing, and along the way she gets waylaid working as a diner waitress in Arizona, where she meets a local rancher (Kris Kristofferson). Surprisingly funny despite some dark subject matter (including domestic abuse), it's a far richer film that its eventual sitcom offshoot Alice would have you believe.
Oscar for: Best Actress (Ellen Burstyn)
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence meet cute over their shared struggles with mental illness in this critically lauded romantic comedy/drama from director David O. Russell, (based on the bestselling novel by Matthew Quick). The characters here are far more messed up (or at least, far more upfront about being messed up) than many a film's romantic protagonists, and it's hard not to root for them to get together, even as you realize it'll probably be a disaster. The movie picked up a bunch of major nominations, with the sole prize going to Jennifer Lawrence.
Oscar for: Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence)
Miles Teller plays Andrew Neiman, an ambitious and talented jazz musician in his first year at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in New York City. He’s come to the school with big dreams, and quickly gets noticed by the conductor of the conservatory’s studio band, Terence Fletcher (a terrifying J. K. Simmons). Fletcher is obsessive and cruel, which only feeds Neiman’s overwhelming desire to succeed.
Oscars for: Best Supporting Actor (J. K. Simmons), Best Film Editing (Tom Cross), Best Sound Mixing (Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, and Thomas Curley)
A story of cultural assimilation in America of the 1980s, Minari is an intricate, beautifully told story full of impressive performances. Nothing here is excessively dramatic nor overblown, giving the whole narrative of a Korean immigrant family an uncommon verisimilitude. Youn Yuh-jung is a standout as grandmother Soon-ja, and charmed Academy Awards audiences with a memorable, gracious speech that began with her talking about how excited she was to meet Brad Pitt.
Oscar for: Best Supporting Actress (Youn Yuh-jung)
David Fincher's film about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) and the development of Citizen Kane is impressively dramatic, and even occasionally harrowing. It also did a bit better at Oscar time than the movie whose making it dramatizes: Kane received nine nominations and one win, while Mank picked up 10 nominations and won two of them.
Oscars for: Best Cinematography (Erik Messerschmidt), Best Production Design (Donald Graham Burt and Jan Pascale)
The very short (under 15 minutes) film, with a fairly simple animation style, manages to generate more emotion than many films many times its length. The movie follows two parents, grieving the death of their daughter in a school shooting, as they find themselves growing apart in the aftermath.
Oscar for: Best Animated Short Film
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