There’s a reason why Disney+ is splashingHulu content all over its home page. Hulu simply has a better selection of movies to draw upon, and it’s not limited to flicks within the Disney corporate empire. Instead, Hulu gets to borrow some of the best movies from other studios like Warner Bros. and Sony, while giving 20th Century Studios’ more mature titles a place to call home. That makes Hulu a more complete streaming service than Disney+.
This month’s new movies on Hulu include an eclectic selection, from oddball comedies like The Royal Tenenbaums to the Johnny Cash music biopic Walk the Line to action movies like Bad Boys for Lifeand Black Hawk Down, and more. Those titles are just the beginning of the best movies on Hulu right now. No matter what kind of movies you like, Hulu has something for you to watch below.
Subscribe to a different platform? Not only do we have a guide to the best shows on Hulu, but we’ve rounded up the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Netflix, and the best movies on Disney+.
Recently added to Hulu
Bad Boys for Life
r2020
Black Hawk Down
r2001
The Royal Tenenbaums
r2001
Walk the Line
pg-132005
Bad Boys for Life (2020)
59%
6.5/10
r
124m
Genre
Thriller, Action, Crime
Stars
Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Paola Nuñez
Directed by
Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah
To paraphrase the immortal words of Danny Glover from the Lethal Weapon movies, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are getting too old for this bleep in Bad Boys for Life. That can’t be avoided when the sequel comes out 17 years after the second film. This does work to the movie’s advantage, as Detective Lieutenants Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Miles Burnett (Lawrence) clash over whether they should retire from the force.
Before they can think about stepping away for good, they’ll have to contend with someone from Mike’s past, Isabel “La Bruja” Aretas (Kate del Castillo). Isabel is the widow of a drug kingpin, and she’s sent her son, Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio), to Miami to wipe out their enemies and get her revenge on Mike. And when Armando strikes, he strikes hard.
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Black Hawk Down (2001)
74%
7.7/10
r
145m
Genre
Action, War, History
Stars
Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor
Directed by
Ridley Scott
Alien director Ridley Scott doesn’t need outer space monsters to make an intense action movie. Black Hawk Down is harrowing enough without any otherworldly elements. The film is a dramatization of a real incident that happened during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.
While on a mission to arrest advisers for a renegade Somali general, one of the Black Hawk helicopters is shot down in enemy territory. Suddenly, the superior firepower and technology of the Americans doesn’t mean very much when they’re forced to fight against overwhelming odds to save their fellow soldiers and themselves.
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
76%
7.6/10
r
110m
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller
Directed by
Wes Anderson
If you’re watching a quirky and dramatic comedy with an all-star cast and an odd color palette, then chances are good that it’s a Wes Anderson movie. Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums adopts a narrative style that may remind you of Arrested Development, even though the film predates the show. Gene Hackman stars as Royal Tenenbaum, the husband of Etheline Tenenbaum (Anjelica Huston), and the father of three brilliant children: Chas (Ben Stiller), Richie (Luke Wilson), and their adoptive sister, Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow).
The now adult children haven’t been the same since Royal walked out on the family years ago. But as soon as Royal learns that Etheline intends to remarry, he fakes a fatal illness in order to reconcile with his family. This only causes more tension among the Tenenbaums, as their past and present failures keep coming to light. Regardless of their shortcomings, the Tenenbaums are still a family … but they’re just a little weirder than your family.
Walk the Line (2005)
72%
7.8/10
pg-13
136m
Genre
Drama, Music, Romance
Stars
Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin
Directed by
James Mangold
The greatest special effect of Walk the Line is that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon actually sing in the movie and on the soundtrack while playing country legends Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, respectively. Their performances are great as well, but it’s their voices that allow viewers to accept them in their roles.
Walk the Line is primarily about Johnny Cash’s life as he overcomes a difficult childhood to become a world-famous singer. However, Johnny’s personal demons and his overpowering addictions threaten to derail any chance of happiness he might have with either June or his first wife, Vivian Cash (Ginnifer Goodwin).
The Big Lebowski (1998)
71%
8.1/10
r
117m
Genre
Comedy, Crime
Stars
Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore
Directed by
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
The most iconic character in The Big Lebowski is not Jeffrey “The Big” Lebowski (David Huddleston), a philanthropist of dubious morality. Instead, the Coen brothers put the focus on Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski (The Old Man‘s Jeff Bridges), an amiable stoner whose life is disrupted by criminals who think that he’s the Big Lebowski.
That case of mistaken identity inadvertently draws the Dude into Lebowski’s orbit when the latter’s trophy wife, Bunny (Tara Reid), is seemingly abducted. The Dude is hired to deliver the ransom, but a comedy of errors leaves him holding the bag when both the kidnappers and Lebowski believe that he stole the money himself.
War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
82%
7.4/10
pg-13
140m
Genre
Drama, Science Fiction, War
Stars
Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Karin Konoval
Directed by
Matt Reeves
The end of the reboot trilogy arrives in War for the Planet of the Apes, and Caesar (Luther: The Fallen Sun‘s Andy Serkis) is no longer the idealistic leader he used to be. This is understandable considering that humans killed his wife and oldest son. With the Colonel (Woody Harrelson) making a final push to defeat Caesar’s tribe, Caesar plots to lead his tribe to sanctuary and avoid the war.
While attempting to lead the Colonel’s forces away from his followers, Caesar and Maurice (Karin Konoval) encounter a young mute human girl they call Nova (Amiah Miller). And despite Caesar’s reluctance to feel anything for Nova, her friendship may prove to be critical in the struggle against the Colonel.
The Wrestler (2008)
80%
7.9/10
r
109m
Genre
Drama, Romance
Stars
Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood
Directed by
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler features Mickey Rourke as Robin Ramzinski, a washed-up pro wrestler who was once famously known as Randy “The Ram” Robinson. That’s also the name and persona that Randy prefers, because his grown daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), is wary of letting him back into her life and his prospects outside of the ring are dismal. Even Randy’s attempts to romance his favorite stripper, Pam (Marisa Tomei), are rebuffed.
Randy’s life is also changed by a sudden heart attack that forces him to retire from any future wrestling matches. And without the thrill of being in the ring, Randy is forced to wonder if he truly has anything worth living for.
Legends of the Fall (1994)
45%
7.5/10
r
133m
Genre
Adventure, Drama, Romance, War, Western
Stars
Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn
Directed by
Edward Zwick
According to director Edward Zwick’s memoir, Brad Pitt was hard to work with and he wasn’t satisfied by the final cut of Legends of the Fall. But 30 years after the film’s release, it holds up well as one of Pitt’s best movies. This historical drama also doubles as an epic romance as Susannah Fincannon (Julia Ormond) inadvertently comes between the three sons of Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins).
Susannah is drawn to Tristan Ludlow (Pitt), but she marries his brother, Samuel (E.T.‘s Henry Thomas). The affairs of the heart get even more complicated after World War I, as Tristan attempts to find his own way despite Susannah’s desire to be with him. But love is never easy in this film.
Poor Things (2023)
88%
8.1/10
r
142m
Genre
Science Fiction, Romance, Comedy
Stars
Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe
Directed by
Yorgos Lanthimos
Emma Stone won her second Oscar for Best Actress for her performance as Bella Baxter in Poor Things. Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) falls for Bella before he learns that a mad scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), brought her back to life with a newborn’s brain. That doesn’t dissuade Max from wanting to marry Bella, but she has other ideas.
Bella runs away with a lawyer, Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), so she can experience everything that the world has to offer her. Much like Max, Duncan’s influence over Bella only goes so far before she starts setting the agenda for herself, and no one is prepared to accept that.
Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
86%
7.8/10
r
152m
Genre
Thriller, Mystery, Crime
Stars
Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner
Directed by
Justine Triet
Anatomy of a Fall was a five-time nominee at the Oscars, and the winner for 2023’s Best Original Screenplay. The story revolves around the death of Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis) and the discovery of his body by his son, Daniel Maleski (Milo Machado-Graner). Did Samuel fall from the attic in his home, or was he pushed?
The police soon openly suspect that Samuel’s wife and Daniel’s mother, Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller), attacked Samuel and pushed him to his death. Even Daniel doesn’t quite know what to think when the truth about his parent’s strained marriage is brought out to the open. Affairs and resentment are only a small part of why Sandra and Samuel were estranged. But it looks damning when one of the leading characters in Sandra’s new novel contemplated killing her husband in a similar manner.
Life of Pi (2012)
79%
7.9/10
pg
127m
Genre
Adventure, Drama
Stars
Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Ayush Tandon
Directed by
Ang Lee
Life of Pi is not a fantasy, but there’s a touch of magic in director Ang Lee’s adaptation of Yann Martel’s hit novel. The film and the book are the story of Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel (Suraj Sharma), a teenager who accompanies his family and their zoo animals as they travel by sea to immigrate to Canada. Tragedy strikes when the boat sinks, killing Pi’s family and most of the animals.
Only a handful of animals make it off the ship with Pi, including a large Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Soon, it’s just Pi and the tiger as the former attempts to find a way to co-exist with Richard Parker without being eaten or attacked. Because the boy and the tiger need each other to survive while stranded in the open waters of the sea.
Suncoast (2024)
61%
6.6/10
r
110m
Genre
Drama, Comedy
Stars
Nico Parker, Laura Linney, Woody Harrelson
Directed by
Laura Chinn
Laura Chinn’s Suncoast is largely based on true events that happened to her and her family, but the movie does take some dramatic license with the story. Nico Parker stars as Doris, a teenager who is overwhelmed by the brain cancer afflicting her brother, Max (Cree Kawa), and from her attempts to deal with their mother, Kristine (Laura Linney).
When Max enters hospice care, Doris befriends Paul (Woody Harrelson), an activist who is fighting to keep a woman named Terri Schiavo hooked up to life support despite her persistent vegetative state and the wishes of her husband. As for Doris, she has to face the very real possibility that her brother will never come home from hospice.
The Lost City (2022)
60%
6.1/10
pg-13
112m
Genre
Action, Adventure, Comedy
Stars
Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe
Directed by
Adam Nee, Aaron Nee
The Lost City plays a bit like a mixture of Argylle and Uncharted, while casting Sandra Bullock as Loretta, a wildly successful romance novelist who is still mourning her late husband. After being pushed into going on a book tour with her cover model, Alan (Channing Tatum), Loretta is kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire, Abigail Faifax (Daniel Radcliffe), who is convinced that the research of Loretta’s husband can lead him to a hidden treasure.
Alan, having already fallen for Abigail, mounts a rescue mission alongside Jack Trainer (Brad Pitt). But when Jack goes down, Alan and Abigail are left on their own as they attempt to escape from Fairfax and his men.
Uncharted (2022)
45%
6.3/10
pg-13
116m
Genre
Action, Adventure
Stars
Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali
Directed by
Ruben Fleischer
Fans of the Uncharted video games may have done a double take when the MCU’s Spider-Man, Tom Holland, was cast as a much younger version of adventurer Nathan “Nate” Drake. The Unchartedmovie is an alternate take on Nate’s origin story and how he formed a partnership with Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg), a treasure hunter who claims to have been the partner of Nate’s missing brother, Sam Drake (Rudy Pankow).
In the way of Nate and Sully’s first expedition is Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas), a very wealthy man who hires Jo Braddock (Tati Gabrielle) and her mercenaries to take out anyone in their path. Nate and Sully only have Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali) to call upon for help, but even she may be less than trustworthy.
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)
83%
7.6/10
r
162m
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Stars
Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie
Directed by
Quentin Tarantino
If Quentin Tarantino is serious about making only one more movie, then his penultimate film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, will go down as one of his best pictures. In this alternate version of history, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a faded Hollywood star, and his best friend and bodyguard, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), is a dangerous man with a murky past. Rick is desperate for a comeback, and his opportunities are drying up.
Meanwhile, Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) is on the rise as a prominent actress, unaware that the Manson family’s violent ambitions may mean the death of her. Tarantino creates so much tension whenever the Mansons menace any of the three leads in this film that the inevitable violence is almost cathartic when it finally arrives.
EverAfter (1998)
66%
7.1/10
pg-13
121m
Genre
Drama, Romance, Comedy
Stars
Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Dougray Scott
Directed by
Andy Tennant
True to its name, Ever After: A Cinderella Story is a riff on Cinderella. But there’s no Bibbidi‐Bobbidi‐Boo, talking mice, or fairy godmothers to be found here. The heroine isn’t even called Cinderella. Instead, her name is Danielle de Barbarac (Drew Barrymore), a young woman who is treated like a slave by her stepmother, Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent (Anjelica Huston), and her stepsister, Marguerite de Ghent (Megan Dodds). Danielle’s second stepsister, Jacqueline de Ghent (Melanie Lynskey), isn’t quite so wicked.
After years of servitude, Danielle comes across Prince Henry (Dougray Scott) as he attempts to flee his arranged marriage. Danielle and Henry have a definite spark, but she may need a little help from Leonardo da Vinci (Patrick Godfrey) to break free of her stepfamily and romance the prince.
Quiz Lady (2023)
Quiz Lady features a unique pairing of Awkwafina and Sandra Oh as sisters Annie and Jenny Yum, respectively. When their mother flees the country to avoid a gambling debt, the struggling Jenny moves back home with her younger sister. While Annie effortlessly answers the questions as she watches a TV game show, Jenny films it and later posts it online where it goes viral.
This attracts the wrong kind of attention to Annie’s talent, as a criminal kidnaps the family dog to blackmail Annie into going on the game show in order to cover her mother’s debt and get their pet back. What Annie doesn’t realize is that Jenny also has other ulterior motives to get her sister on TV.
A Haunting in Venice (2023)
63%
6.6/10
pg-13
104m
Genre
Mystery, Thriller, Crime
Stars
Kenneth Branagh, Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin
Directed by
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot is accustomed to murder mysteries, but less so to ghosts in A Haunting in Venice. Just two years after World War II, Poirot is ready to put his life as a detective in the past. However, Poirot just can’t resist the opportunity to unmask a fraud when he is invited to attend a seance held by Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh).
It doesn’t take Poirot long to figure out how Joyce pulls off her supposedly supernatural tricks. But much to Poirot’s alarm, someone soon tries to murder him before Joyce’s body is discovered. Now, Poirot has to figure out if he is dealing with a conventional murderer, or something more sinister from beyond the grave.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
58%
6.9/10
pg-13
119m
Genre
Adventure, Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Stars
Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black
Directed by
Jake Kasdan
The curse of Jumanji returns for a new generation of characters in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Now transformed into a video game, Jumanji entices four teenagers – Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff), Anthony “Fridge” Johnson (Ser’Darius Blain), Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman), and Martha Kaply (Morgan Turner) – into playing without fully understanding the consequences of their decision.
Suddenly, the group finds themselves physically transported into the game, with Spencer in the body of Dr. Xander “Smolder” Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), Fridge as Franklin “Mouse” Finbar (Kevin Hart), Bethany as Professor Sheldon “Shelly” Oberon (Jack Black), and Martha as Ruby Roundhouse (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s Karen Gillan). Each of the kids has only three lives to escape from Jumanji. But first, they have to locate the fifth player in their group.
No One Will Save You (2023)
60%
6.3/10
pg-13
93m
Genre
Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
Stars
Kaitlyn Dever, Elizabeth Kaluev, Zack Duhame
Directed by
Brian Duffield
Kaitlyn Dever stars in the Hulu original movie No One Will Save Youas Brynn, a young woman who lives a solitary existence in large part because she is a pariah in her small town. That’s one of the reasons why Brynn has no one to turn to when an alien invades her home. In the aftermath, Brynn finds no support from her fellow humans, and she discovers just how alone she really is.
No One Will Save You barely has any dialogue at all, but Dever’s expressive and earnest performance carries the entire film. It also goes a long way toward making little gray men scary again, especially when Brynn meets the more horrific aliens.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
87%
7.7/10
r
114m
Genre
Drama, Comedy
Stars
Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon
Directed by
Martin McDonagh
There are few things more heartbreaking than when your best friend suddenly decides they don’t like you anymore. Writer and director Martin McDonagh explores this idea in his dark comedy The Banshees of Inisherin. Colin Farrell stars as Pádraic Súilleabháin, an ordinary man living on Inisherin, who is absolutely bewildered and hurt when his best friend, Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson), abruptly ends their relationship.
Pádraic assumes that he’s somehow offended Colm and bends over backwards to apologize … to no avail. Even the efforts of Pádraic’s sister, Siobhán Súilleabháin (Kerry Condon), fail to reconcile Colm and Pádraic. And soon, Colm threatens to take drastic actions if Pádraic doesn’t stop trying to speak with him.
Flamin' Hot (2023)
65%
5.8/10
pg-13
99m
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Jesse Garcia, Annie Gonzalez, Dennis Haysbert
Directed by
Eva Longoria
What do you do when there’s a true story that may not be true? As was famously said in the 1962 Western classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, “when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” The story of Flamin’ Hotis truly inspirational regardless of whether these events actually played out this way in reality. The film is based on the memoir of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), the man who claims that he created Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. And he didn’t do it alone.
With the support of his wife, Judy Montañez (Annie Gonzalez), and his co-worker, Clarence C. Baker (Dennis Haysbert), Richard rises from the rank of janitor and works up the nerve to pitch his Flamin’ Hot ideas to Frito-Lay executive Roger Enrico (Tony Shalhoub). From there, a snack food legend is born.
Something in the Dirt (2022)
r
116m
Genre
Science Fiction, Mystery
Stars
Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Sarah Adina Smith
Directed by
Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson
An exciting example of the kind of narrative ingenuity that only a worldwide pandemic can foster, Something in the Dirt is the latest film from writer-director duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (The Endless, Synchronic), and is arguably the most primitively fascinating work of these two collaborators. Shot over the course of a year with a crew of just 12, our story follows Levi and John, apartment-dwelling neighbors who decide to make a documentary about a range of supernatural events occurring in their Los Angeles residence. But as the two men discover that these kinds of extraordinary happenings are taking place all over L.A., their findings lead them to a combative exchange of theories and calculations.
The Valet (2022)
pg-13
124m
Genre
Comedy, Romance
Stars
Eugenio Derbez, Samara Weaving, Max Greenfield
Directed by
Richard Wong
In The Valet, Eugenio Derbez and Samara Weaving star as Antonio and Olivia, a dedicated valet driver and a Hollywood starlet that “hires” Antonio to act as her new boyfriend when the actress is accidentally photographed with the man she’s actually seeing (New Girl‘s Max Greenfield), who just so happens to be married. As the mass media aims the spotlight more and more at the fake couple, it’s only a matter of time before the news breaks that the romance is fabricated. It’s a heartfelt comedy with attention paid to character development and earnest performances, something that is often lacking in many of today’s bigger-budget comedies.
Ultrasound (2022)
55%
5.8/10
r
103m
Genre
Science Fiction
Stars
Vincent Kartheiser, Chelsea Lopez, Breeda Wool
Directed by
Rob Schroeder
In director Rob Schroeder’s Ultrasound, Mad Menalum Vincent Kartheiser stars as Glen, an unassuming everyman who just so happens to encounter some car trouble on a dark and stormy night. Seeking some help, he knocks on the door of a perfectly kind stranger named Arthur (Bob Stephenson), leading the former down an uncanny rabbit hole of deceit and mind control. Presenting a nail-biter of a story without diving into carnage and other typical screen grabs, Ultrasound does its best work as a quietly curious foray into a world that’s hard to pin down.
The Worst Person in the World (2021)
90%
7.8/10
r
128m
Genre
Drama, Comedy, Romance
Stars
Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum
Directed by
Joachim Trier
In The Worst Person in the World, Renate Reinsve stars as Julie, an Oslo-based medical student, and it follows the course of four years throughout her personal life and career. It’s the kind of meditative and hard-talking dark comedy that only comes around once in a while, but The Worst Person in the World is one of those rare cinematic home runs that doesn’t need to act big and tall to stand out from the crowd. And thanks to Reinsve’s down-to-earth performance, it’s a film that’s easy to get on board with.
The Last Tourist (2021)
7.3/10
84m
Genre
Documentary
Stars
Elizabeth Becker, Sangduen Lek Chailert, Costas Christ
Directed by
Tyson Sadler
When traveling somewhere tropical and off-grid, we typically view these vacations as nothing more than personal getaways for us and those we love. But there’s a whole other side of the tourism coin that doesn’t get talked about — until director Tyson Sadler came along, that is. Through his eye-opening documentary The Last Tourist, Sadler paints a much different picture of tourism’s impacts on the parts of the world that need extra care and protection from humanity’s grip, while also discussing the positive aspects of worldly excursions. In the end, the audience is left with an important message that may have you thinking twice about your next venture to somewhere distant and remote.
Hellraiser (2022)
r
121m
Genre
Horror, Mystery
Stars
Odessa A'zion, Jamie Clayton, Adam Faison
Directed by
David Bruckner
It’s about time the world of Hellraiser received some much-needed reimagining. For years now, the franchise has seen sequel after sequel, and while Cenobite fans are always pleased to see Doug Bradley donning his Pinhead garb, the series has certainly run into its fair share of cinematic duds. But director David Bruckner has come along to get the saga on track once more. The 2022 remake stars Odessa A’zion as Riley, an on-the-mend drug addict who comes into the possession of a runic puzzle box — a mysterious device that summons an armada of hellish entities. Led by the Hell Priest (Jamie Clayton), Odessa is plunged into a fight for survival when the demonic visitors begin wreaking havoc in the real world. Bruckner’s Hellraiser reboot may not satisfy all of the saga’s diehards, but when you consider it as a gruesome yet polished homage to Clive Barker’s source novella and first batch of films, the 2022 version more than gets the job done.
Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself (2020)
82%
8.2/10
pg-13
90m
Genre
Documentary
Stars
Derek DelGaudio, Hal Schulman, Marina Abramović
Directed by
Frank Oz
We all ponder over the great existential questions of life from time to time. Who are we? Why are we here? Where are we going next? And while cinema is often used as a philosophical medium through which we can explore such inquiries through fiction and nonfiction lenses, such introspection has never been captured like it has in Derek Delgaudio’s mesmerizing documentary/stage spectacle In & Of Itself. Directed by Frank Oz, Delgaudio’s work combines elements of traditional stage performance and unconventional narrative structure to deliver a filmic spectacle that is hard to describe but impossible to forget.
This Mountain Life (2018)
7.2/10
77m
Genre
Documentary
Stars
Simon Beck, Martina Halik, Tania Halik
Directed by
Grant Baldwin
This Mountain Lifeis the kind of documentary film that exposes viewers to treacherous, isolated environments where geographically remote livelihoods are par for the course and tundra survival is as second-nature as putting milk in your cereal. Released in 2018, director Grant Baldwin’s thought-provoking film explores the lives of British Columbia residents living in and around the region’s mountainous landscapes. The subjects include a mother and daughter pairing who are looking to undertake a significant traversing of the local Coast Mountains area. A philosophical deep-dive into what it takes to be one with your land and hills, This Mountain Lifeis up there with the best deeply-pondered Herzog nature docs and National Geographic specials.
Dinner in America (2022)
80%
7.2/10
r
106m
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Music
Stars
Kyle Gallner, Emily Skeggs, Pat Healy
Directed by
Adam Rehmeier
It’s not often that you see the punk rock music genre getting any kind of cinematic limelight (sans films like Her Smell andGreen Room), but even less so when the film genre of choice is an indie rom-com. Such is the case, though, with writer-director Adam Carter Rehmeir’s 2020 filmDinner in America, and the results are pretty great. Starring Kyle Gallner and Emily Skeggs as a singer and his band’s devoted fan, our story follows the star-crossed lovers as they travel around the lesser-seen suburbs and pervading urban sprawl of the American Midwest. If you’ve seenGarden StateorNick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, picture these two films being tossed into a blender with a healthy bit of rated-R this and that for extra punch, and you’re probably at least halfway to the look, feel, and budgetary, off-the-cuff sensibilities of Dinner in America.
Pig (2021)
82%
6.9/10
r
91m
Genre
Drama, Thriller
Stars
Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin
Directed by
Michael Sarnoski
In Pig, Nicolas Cage stars as Robin Feld, a truffle forager living off the grid in the backcountry of the Pacific Northwest. With a day to day composed of seeking out and selling rare fungi to a local restaurant supplier named Amir (Alex Wolff), Feld is content to go about a simple life of living off the land, that is until a posse of malcontents steal his truffle-foraging swine. Teaming up with Amir to track down the thieves, Robin must go to great lengths to infiltrate the locales and social circles he left behind to regain the animal he loves. A stirring blend of arresting performances and a unique narrative, Pigis the kind of independent film that makes a quiet but powerful impact before fading into the greater ephemera of bigger-budget pictures. That being said, catch it while you can — you won’t be disappointed.
Prey (2022)
79%
7.3/10
r
100m
Genre
Science Fiction, Action, Thriller, Horror
Stars
Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro
Directed by
Dan Trachtenberg
Serving as a centuries-ago prequel to the 1987 film Predator, Preygives us the story of a Comanche warrior named Naru (Amber Midthunder) who aspires to be the mighty protector of her Great Plains tribe. One day, a powerful new foe descends on her clan, forcing Naru and her fellow Comanche to summon up all their wits and strength to thwart the combatant extraterrestrial. Preyis a propulsive and blood-soaked nail-biter of an action film, and one that could effectively stand alone as a singular entity. But in this case, it’s a new entry in a much-loved franchise, and it’s one we’re betting will make plenty of fans happy.
Flee (2021)
91%
8/10
pg-13
89m
Genre
Documentary, Animation
Stars
Amin Nawabi, Daniel Karimyar, Fardin Mijdzadeh
Directed by
Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Fleeis one of those movies that fully commands the power of documentary filmmaking to tell an unbelievable true story. With jaw-dropping animation as our visual medium of choice, director Jonas Poher Rasmussen unpacks the emotionally arresting past of one Amir Nawabi, a refugee from Afghanistan (operating under an alias) who recounts his experience of fleeing his native country close to two decades ago. Heartfelt, beautifully constructed, and filled with frame after frame of immersive imagery, Fleeis an important bit of storytelling you don’t want to miss.
Sundown (2022)
70%
6.6/10
r
82m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Tim Roth, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Iazua Larios
Directed by
Michel Franco
In Sundown, Tim Roth is Neil Bennet, the emotionally and financially domineering patriarch of a high-class family. Vacationing in Mexico with his sister Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her two children (Samuel Bottomley and Albertine Kotting McMillan), Alice receives distressing news about a death in the family. Planning to travel home, Neil makes up an excuse at the last second to stay in Acapulco, where he indulges in a series of cheap thrills in an effort to distance himself from his sister, the death, and anything else that could pester the quiet and miserly gentleman. A bleak drama,Sundownis propelled by the chameleon-like performance of Tim Roth at its center, portraying a man who has it all but would seemingly give it all up if it meant disappearing was a possibility.
Three Identical Strangers (2018)
81%
7.6/10
pg-13
97m
Genre
Documentary
Stars
David Kellman, Robert Shafran, Lawrence Wright
Directed by
Tim Wardle
Joining the ranks of Hulu’s jaw-dropping documentaries, Three Identical Strangerstraces the story of Edward Galland, David Kellman, and Robert Shafran, identical triplets who were separated at birth and reunited years later after a chance meeting in New York. After spending time together and learning about each other’s lives, the three brothers unravel a deep-seated mystery that changes everything they knew about each other, themselves, and the clinical details of their adoptive upbringings. This is a documentary that screeches into huge hairpin turns, forcing its viewers to question the nature of reality and what it means to have your life altered without your knowledge or consent.
Fresh (2022)
67%
6.7/10
r
114m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jonica T. Gibbs
Directed by
Mimi Cave
Noa (Daisy-Edgar Jones) is sick of swiping through dating apps to find a true companion. Lucky for her, she seems to have run into the man of her dreams, Steve (Avengers: Infinity War‘s Sebastian Stan) at the local grocery store. After quickly warming up to each other, Noa’s new suitor invites her on a weekend retreat. But it’s not long before the idyllic, romantic outing devolves into a horrific fight for survival. A brilliantly brutal riff on the horror-comedy, Freshis a bombastic amalgamation of familiar genre tropes that we can’t get enough of.
Spencer (2021)
76%
6.6/10
r
117m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Kristen Stewart, Jack Farthing, Sally Hawkins
Directed by
Pablo Larraín
Spenceroffers a fresh take on the introspective turmoils of Princess Diana, portrayed by the grounded and arresting Kristen Stewart (Love Lies Bleeding). With her marriage to Prince Charles in a tumultuous place, the two nobles have agreed to keep the peace through the Christmas season. But as the holiday festivities ensue, Diana’s inner demons begin to boil over, as she considers what life could be as an ex-communicate of the royal family. A moving character study with powerful performances and thoughtful storytelling at its core, Spencerdoes its due diligence in paying homage to the tragic Princess through a lens of harmonious self-discovery.
No Exit (2022)
54%
6.1/10
r
96m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Havana Rose Liu, Danny Ramirez, Dennis Haysbert
Directed by
Damien Power
When Darby (Havana Rose Liu) discovers her mother is in critical condition, she escapes from her rehabilitation center, hoping to return home to tend to her ailing parent. But when a powerful blizzard puts a monkey-wrench into Darby’s homecoming, she’s forced to take shelter at a highway rest-stop. There she meets a group of fellow travelers, all stranded by the storm. After wandering outside, Darby discovers something in a parked van that initiates a deadly game of cat-and-mouse between her and the rest stop’s other inhabitants. A taut thriller that treads familiar waters, No Exitmoves forward, full-steam ahead, dropping one thrill after the other.
Deep Water (2022)
53%
5.4/10
r
116m
Genre
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Stars
Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Grace Jenkins
Directed by
Adrian Lyne
A Hulu original, Deep Waterstars Ben Affleck and Mary Ana de Armas as Vic and Melinda Van Allen, a married couple that has entered an unsettling part of their relationship. As their love wanes, the troubled husband and wife engage in a tantalizing set of mind games with each other, a psychological battle that ropes in more casualties than just the wedded pair. Based on the 1957 Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name,Deep Wateris a slow-burning thriller with blistering performances from both Affleck and de Armas. They’re cinematic waters that have certainly been trodden before, but director Adrian Lyne delivers a rich, if at times troubled, adaptation of Highsmith’s source material.
In the Earth (2021)
63%
5.2/10
r
107m
Genre
Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
Stars
Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, Hayley Squires
Directed by
Ben Wheatley
After a deadly virus has ravaged much of the world, Martin Lowery (Joel Fry), a scientist, and Alma (Ellora Torchia), a park ranger, are tasked with transporting equipment through the woodlands to a research center. En route, Martin sustains a serious injury after he and Alma are attacked at their campsite. Taken in by a man named Zach (Reece Shearsmith), Martin and Alma are thankful for the rescue — until they realize the mysterious man may have an ulterior motive for rescuing them. A hallucinatory indie sci-fi from the talented mind of writer-director Ben Wheatley, In the Earthlanded in cinemas mid-pandemic, making for a perfect cinematic allegory on the state of the world and how we contend with disease and the madness of humanity.
The Obituary of Tunde Johnson (2019)
58%
5.6/10
r
104m
Genre
Drama, Thriller
Stars
Steven Silver, Spencer Neville, Nicola Peltz
Directed by
Ali LeRoi
Blending cultural awareness with a sci-fi-laced narrative bedrock, The Obituary of Tunde Johnsonfollows the titular character (portrayed by Steven Silver), a gay Nigerian-American man. Out driving, Tunde is pulled over by a disgruntled police officer who pulls his weapon and ends Tunde’s life. Immediately after the trigger is pulled, Tunde awakens, finding himself trapped in a time loop with his inevitable death facing him repeatedly. Leaning on the big trope of such memorable hits asGroundhog Day,The Obituary of Tunde Johnson pushes the typical light footing of the time loop sub-genre aside in favor of a more character-driven approach, a feat more than accomplished by director Ali LeRoi and Steven Silver’s grounded approach to the lead role.
The Vigil (2020)
5.8/10
pg-13
88m
Genre
Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Stars
Dave Davis, Lynn Cohen, Menashe Lustig
Directed by
Keith Thomas
In writer-director Keith Thomas’s The Vigil, Dave Davis stars as Yakov Ronen, a displaced Orthodox Jew residing in the Hasidic Borough Park area of New York. After accepting an offer from his former rabbi to be the overnight guardian of a deceased community member, a horrific entity begins haunting Yakov. Combining traditional Jewish folk influences and the glories of shoestring filmmaking, Thomas succeeds in building a dread-laden atmosphere with earnest performances, close-quarters cinematography, and clever storytelling.
Wander Darkly (2020)
66%
5.8/10
r
97m
Genre
Romance, Drama
Stars
Sienna Miller, Diego Luna, Beth Grant
Directed by
Tara Miele
After a traumatic incident, Adrienna and Matteo (Sienna Miller and Diego Luna), a struggling young couple, are sent to the hospital. Confined to rehabilitative quarters, the once-happy pair are transported to an otherworldly realm of surreal memories. While each of them is forced to confront the hazy beginnings of their fizzling romance, their out-of-body paths will cross in bizarre and unexpected ways. Visually, Wander Darklylives in an elevated plane of awareness, but the emotionally laden performances of both Miller and Luna help to anchor the film in a grounded and often relatable reality.
Another Round (2020)
79%
7.8/10
117m
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Lars Ranthe
Directed by
Thomas Vinterberg
With an original Danish title of Druk (“binge drinking”), co-writer and director Thomas Vinterberg’sAnother Roundfollows a group of four high school teachers with a wild plan. Facing unenthused students, trouble at home, and other midlife hardships, the foursome agrees to test the theories of psychiatrist Finn Skårderud in the workplace. More specifically, the colleagues want to see if maintaining a constant blood-alcohol level of 0.5 will improve their creativity and overall mood. Truly more than another midlife boozer flick,Another Roundsees Mads Mikkelsen in top form as Martin, the de facto onscreen leader who attempts to gain more out of his day-to-day through mild intoxication. It’s funny, at times dark, and tactfully hard-hitting.
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