There is no writer affiliated with horror more than Stephen King, and so, it seems only natural that John Carpenter, one of the biggest directors in horror, would eventually take on one of King’s legendary stories for the big screen. Christine is about an evil car that manages to take over the life of Arnie (Keith Gordon), an awkward teen who buys it in the hopes of improving his social standing around school. It’s not King’s most beloved or well-known story, but Carpenter works best with a premise that doesn’t get too complicated, which is why he is a perfect fit for a plot that can be boiled down to “evil car fucks shit up.” Watch it on Hulu. After surviving a near-death experience as a kid, Darby (Riele Downs) has gained the ability to speak to the dead. As a result, she mostly ignores her living peers and instead spends her days providing advice to the deceased who have unfinished business on Earth. But all of that changes when Capri (Auli’i Cravalho), a popular classmate of Darby’s, dies and convinces Darby to make sure her birthday party continues as planned. Darby and the Dead’s biggest strength is its stars, as it features two rising young stars in the lead roles and a supporting cast of solid character actors, including Wayne Knight and Tony Danza. Watch it on Hulu starting December 2. Listen, I could wax poetic about the myriad of factors that helped The Dark Knight become the go-to answer for the best superhero movie ever made but we all know there is only one true reason this movie remains such a cultural landmark: Heath Ledger as the Joker. Despite inspiring countless bad impressions, Ledger’s performance remains an undisputed triumph; he is simultaneously hysterical, frightening, charming, off-putting, and completely unforgettable from the moment he appears onscreen. Even as the superhero genre has taken over the film industry, almost 15 years later, no other villain has come close to what Ledger managed to do here. Watch it on Hulu on December 12. The story of Cinderella has been told time and time again, but Ever After manages to give the familiar story some fun twists by reimagining the fairy tale being inspired by the real love story between Prince Henry (Dougray Scott) and Danielle de Barbarac (Drew Barrymore) in 16th-century France. The movie certainly isn’t a history lesson, and it takes countless dramatic liberties for the sake of the story, which itself is entirely fictional other than the people being real. But the movie has a blast with this relaxed approach to historical fiction, even sprinkling a few well-known figures from the time, including Leonardo da Vinci (Patrick Godfrey). Watch it on Hulu. After he is blocked by his son Franklin (James Morosini) on social media, Chuck (Patton Oswalt) decides to stay in touch with his son online by pretending to be a waitress named Becca. Unfortunately, Franklin ends up falling for Becca, leading him to want to meet up with the girl of his dreams, who is actually his dad. As the premise suggests, this cringe comedy is not for the faint of heart but if this kind of humor is up your alley, you’ll absolutely love this movie, as it’s one of the more absurd and laugh-out-loud comedies made this year. Watch it on Hulu starting December 16. Quick reminder of the basic premise of The Binge: it’s set in a universe where drugs and alcohol are illegal except for one day of the year when everybody can rage face as much as their hearts desire. In the sequel, the Binge is moved to Christmas Eve and that’s… pretty much all you need to know. The first Binge movie was sneakily underrated, as the raunchy comedy was one of the funnier movies from the last several years. And the sequel looks to up the stakes with a dash of tidings of comfort and joy for everybody. Watch it on Hulu starting December 9. The Tenenbaum family has drifted apart over the years but when Chas (Ben Stiller), Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), and Richie (Luke Wilson) all move back into their childhood home, their estranged father, Royal (Gene Hackman), uses it as an opportunity to try and win back his family. Wes Anderson is sometimes accused of being all style and no substance as a filmmaker, but this movie, more than any other in his filmography, proves that he has a big heart hiding underneath his meticulously curated set pieces and deadpan dialogue. Tenenbaums is as heartfelt as it is hilarious and remains the crown jewel of Anderson’s career. The cast is incredibly stacked but it’s Hackman who steals the show, delivering one final great performance before his retirement. Watch it on Hulu. Syd (Woody Harrelson) and Billy (Wesley Snipes) are two streetball hustlers who start out as rivals but eventually decide to team up and win as much money as possible. White Men Can’t Jump is the type of sports comedy that doesn’t really get made anymore and that’s a shame because it is such an entertaining movie throughout, thanks in large part to the lightly combative chemistry between Harrelson and Snipes. Even when the two are on the same team, they can’t help but bicker over every little thing in the most hilarious way possible. Watch it on Hulu. A loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, 10 Things I Hate About You thankfully drops most of the outdated sexism of a play written hundreds of years ago and instead reimagines the story as a ’90s teen rom-com. Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is smitten with Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), but he learns he can’t date her unless her rebellious older sister, Kat (Julia Stiles), dates as well. So Cameron recruits Patrick (Heath Ledger) to woo Kat and, of course, shenanigans ensue. The chemistry between Stiles and Ledger is off the damn charts, and it’s an absolute pleasure watching their bickering turn from sincerely combative to oddly affectionate. Watch it on Hulu. During a birthday celebration, a car explodes on the Guerrasio family’s street and 15-year-old Chiara (Swamy Rotolo) notices her father fleeing. When her father is nowhere to be found the next day, Chiara asks her mother about it, but her concerns are dismissed. As Chiara digs deeper into her family, she discovers a world of secrets that leaves her questioning her future and her relationship with the people who raised her. A Chiara is the third film in a loose trilogy set in a Calabrian town by writer-director Jonas Carpignano and is his most acclaimed movie to date, even winning Best European Film at Cannes last summer. Watch it on Hulu. Trying to succinctly summarize any Charlie Kaufman movie can feel like a fool’s errand, so I will just say that Adaptation is a movie that captures the internal struggle that comes with trying to make something better than almost any other movie. And at the heart of that struggle is Charlie Kaufman (Cage), a screenwriter who has to battle his own self-loathing to try and write the screenplay adaptation of Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief while also dealing with the success of his carefree brother Donald (also Cage). Playing both parts allows the viewer to see every side of Cage as a performer — and to keep this movie from closing in on itself, Cage has to be simultaneously despondent, philosophical, charming, unappealing, introspective, insecure, and, most importantly, earnest. Watch it on Hulu. The winner of Best International Film at this year’s Academy Awards, Another Round tells the story of four middle-aged, disillusioned teachers in Copenhagen who decide to start consuming a small amount of alcohol throughout the day in order to see how it affects their social and professional lives. The entire cast is phenomenal, but Mads Mikkelsen steals the movie as Martin, a depressed man who rediscovers his zeal for life when he begins incorporating drinking into his daily life. What really makes the film work is its balance; while Another Round never shies away from the very real risks of drinking, at the same time, it manages to resist getting preachy as its main characters explore the pros and cons of alcohol consumption. This dark, funny, strange story walks that delicate line to the very end of the film, leaving it up to the viewer to decide what to make of these four friends’ bizarre experiment. Watch it on Hulu. Years deep into the #MeToo movement, the entertainment industry is still figuring out how to effectively hold a mirror up to itself and tell stories about the pervasive culture of sexual harassment onscreen. The Assistant manages to do so by delivering a master class in “show, don’t tell,” as viewers get a front-row seat into the devastating effects of systemic oppression women face in the workplace through the eyes of Jane (Julia Garner), a young and ambitious junior assistant working at a production company in New York. Even in the most mundane moments of her job, Jane experiences subtle yet potent sexism as persistent rumors float around the office about her unnamed and unseen boss using his position of power to sleep with young women. The understated tone of the movie quietly creates an almost horror-like atmosphere as even a meeting between Jane and the company’s head of HR (Matthew Macfadyen, best known as Tom on Succession) becomes a terrifying display of how powerless she is to fight against a system built to protect those in power. Watch it on Hulu. Blade rarely gets mentioned in the conversation of influential superhero flicks, with the likes of Spider-Man and the X-Men often getting the majority of the credit for the modern wave of super cinematic dominance. And that’s a shame because Blade came before either and was the first to really prove that a superhero not named Batman or Superman could drive an audience into theaters. The concept is remarkably simple: Blade (Wesley Snipes) is a human-vampire hybrid whose sole mission in life is to protect humans from vampires. And it totally works, thanks to a dark and gritty tone that was way ahead of its time, awesome action sequences, and a masterful lead performance from Snipes. Watch it on Hulu. There is perhaps no genre of movies that ages worse than comedies, as the humor of a time rarely translates to future generations and often comes across as, at best, boring or, at worst, incredibly offensive. That’s what makes Blazing Saddles all the more impressive, as nearly 50 years later, the comedy remains downright hilarious and its social commentary on race in America still feels incredibly funny. The western satire features Bart (Cleavon Little) becoming the first Black sheriff in a small town, which subsequently causes a lot of the town’s residents to freak out. Bart is able to slowly win over his constituents with the help of Jim (Gene Wilder), a slick-talking drunk, just in time to protect the town from being demolished to make way for a railroad. Watch it on Hulu. After 12 seasons on the small screen, the Belcher family finally made the jump to the big screen with The Bob’s Burgers Movie. Thankfully, the transition was incredibly smooth; the mix of humor and heart that made the show so beloved in the first place remains present in the film. Basically framed like a long episode of the series, the movie shows the Belchers needing to earn enough money for a business loan just as a sinkhole opens in front of their family restaurant. There are also a few fantastic musical numbers splashed into the movie, which feel like a natural fit given how often original songs are written for the show. Watch it on Hulu. In the early ’70s, the Chicago mafia sends Sam Rothstein (Robert De Niro) to oversee the day-to-day casino and hotel operations at the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas, as well as tough-as-nails enforcer, Nicky (Joe Pesci), to help ensure Ace doesn’t run into too many problems. While the duo experiences immense success during their time in the desert, they can’t help but get themselves into trouble as well, including run-ins with the law and Sam’s incredibly tumultuous relationship with Ginger (Sharon Stone). This may not be as iconic as that other mob movie involving Scorsese, De Niro, and Pesci, but Casino is a genuine epic that examines the greed, ambition, and corruption hiding behind the facade of the American Dream. Watch it on Hulu. Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is traveling to Malaysia for work when the plane crashes and he ends up on a deserted island as the sole survivor. For four years, Chuck struggles to survive and keep his sanity with no one around him and none of the comforts of society. While this performance didn’t win him an Oscar, I will always argue that Cast Away is Hanks’s best work. It is remarkable how he is able to spend so much of this movie alone and still deliver a hilarious and deeply moving performance. Plus, he even convinces you that he has forged a real bond with a volleyball, and if you don’t cry when (SPOILER? I guess?) Wilson floats away, you are a heartless monster. Watch it on Hulu. Collective follows Romanian journalists as they uncover widespread corruption in the government’s handling of healthcare. What really sets Collective apart from most modern documentaries is its confidence in not needing to use the genre’s clichés to overexplain everything to the audience. There is no voiceover or dramatic score to try to manipulate you as a viewer; instead, you just get to see what is unfolding onscreen. Collective made less than $150,000 at the global box office, but it has received universal praise from critics, winning Best Documentary at the European Film Awards and London Film Critics Circle. It even became the first-ever Romanian film to earn a nomination at the Academy Awards. Watch it on Hulu. Sandra (Ann Dowd), manager of a ChickWich fast-food restaurant, receives a phone call from someone identifying themselves as Officer Daniels, saying that an employee from her store was accused of stealing from a customer. Sandra believes it is Becky (Dreama Walker), and once Daniels confirms, things take a horrifying turn, as Sandra believes she is following orders and is willing to do whatever it takes to get Becky to admit that she is the culprit. I won’t spoil anything that happens, but needless to say, it reaches extremes that will make your stomach turn. And what makes it really horrible is that almost everything you see in the movie actually happened in real life at a McDonald’s in Kentucky. Watch it on Hulu. In the future, evolution has caused the majority of humanity to suffer from disease and physical pain, while a select few develop strange abilities, such as digesting plastic and, in the case of Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), constantly growing new internal organs. This is Cronenberg’s first venture back into science fiction in more than two decades and like any of his iconic films, Crimes of the Future has proven to be incredibly divisive thanks to its shocking visual elements, its unsettlingly honest exploration of humanity’s depravity, and a storytelling style that will likely leave you with more questions than answers. Watch it on Hulu. In 19th-century Qing Dynasty China, renowned swordsman Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat) gives his 400-year-old sword, Green Destiny, to Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) to deliver it to their benefactor. But when it is mysteriously stolen, the duo must go to the House of Yu to figure out where Green Destiny has gone. The film was an unqualified success, earning over $200 million worldwide against a $17 million budget and earning 10 Academy Award nominations, which remains a tie for the most ever by a foreign-language film. But more than money or awards, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon proved to be one of the most influential action films of the 21st century, as it inspired an endless string of movies that tried (and mostly failed) to emulate its onscreen magic. Watch it on Hulu. Paige (Rowan Blanchard) is a shy, artistic high schooler who joins the track team in hopes of getting closer to her crush, Gabriella (Isabella Ferreira). But she ends up getting trained by Gabriella’s sister, AJ (Auli’i Cravalho), and starts to develop feelings for her as well. Queer romances have historically been ignored in high school movies and if they are told, there’s a tragic undertone and a bummer ending. So it’s refreshing to see a standard coming-of-age high school rom-com with all of the beats you know and love from the genre, except this time it’s a lesbian character at the center. Watch it on Hulu. Peter (Adrien Brody), Francis (Owen Wilson), and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) Whitman reunite for the first time since the death of their father to embark on a journey of spiritual self-discovery across India. Along the way, the three fight like only brothers do, (at one point fighting physically and getting thrown off a train as a result). But they also bond in the ways that only brothers do, sharing the grief of their father’s death and revealing the hard truths about their own failures and disappointments in life. Darjeeling is the hidden gem of director Wes Anderson’s early filmography, and while it is his most emotionally resonant story to date, it also features some of his best comedic moments as a writer and director. Watch it on Hulu. Based on the real-life story of Tammy Faye Bakker, this film explores the role of televangelism in America in the late 20th century through the journey of Tammy (Jessica Chastain), who, along with her husband Jim (Andrew Garfield), became a powerhouse couple in this movement. But as Tammy finds success, she also discovers the dark and seedy underbelly of a world defined by corruption, hypocrisy, and bigotry. The Eyes of Tammy Faye received mixed reviews from critics, but everyone agreed on one thing: Chastain delivered a career-defining performance as the titular televangelist, so much so that it earned her a well-deserved Academy Award. Watch it on Hulu. Fight Club is a difficult movie to discuss because of its strange impact on the culture at large. Through no fault of its own, Fight Club’s satirical messaging flew right over the heads of a good chunk of viewers who decided the movie is about how Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is a total badass and how cool it would be to start a fight club. In reality, Fight Club is a thoughtful and pointed examination of the alienated existence found in a consumerist society, as well as a takedown of the common nihilistic response of reacting to consumerism with destruction for the sake of destruction. Don’t let the willful misinterpretation of others keep you from enjoying Fight Club for yourself, as it remains an effectively grim cultural commentary that feels as relevant two decades later as it did when it was released. Watch it on Hulu. This is not the first time that Pride and Prejudice has been adapted into movie form, but Fire Island is already one of the best. The retelling of the classic Jane Austen novel focuses on a group of gay best friends heading to Fire Island for their yearly reunion. Noah (Joel Kim Booster, who also wrote the film) and Howie (Bowen Yang) are best friends who are struggling with the lack of romance and direction in their lives. It’s a sweet rom-com with a ton of heart and a healthy dose of humor. The real star of the film is Tomás Matos, who manages to get laughs with basically every line he delivers. Watch it on Hulu. As he is about to marry his husband, Amin Nawabi shares the story of how he fled his home in Afghanistan and became a refugee in Denmark. Since its debut at Sundance at the beginning of 2021, Flee has been deemed an “instant classic” by critics, and its animation style, themes, and representation of LGBTQ relationships have all been celebrated by viewers, including Parasite director Bong Joon-ho, who listed it as one of his favorite films of 2021. The animated docudrama was nominated for a trio of Academy Awards: Best International Feature Film, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Animated Feature. Watch it on Hulu. After the death of Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Billy Murray), editor of the magazine, The French Dispatch, the staff fulfills his last request of putting together one final issue before the magazine is shut down for good. At this point, Anderson has proven to be an unqualified master of his craft and you can expect to find most of his cinematic staples here, such as a cast stuffed with the best actors working today, impeccable costumes and set designs, stories told within stories within stories, and an offbeat tone that can somehow manage to simultaneously be sincere, detached, hilarious, and heartbreaking. Watch it on Hulu. Like many of us, Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) finds herself exhausted by the endless mediocrity of online dating, so when she meets a seemingly great guy named Steve (Sebastian Stan) in the real world, she quickly falls for him. The two plan a romantic weekend getaway, but things take a dark and unexpected turn that I won’t spoil for you here. Fresh is a hilariously upsetting glimpse into the bizarre experience of modern dating, with Stan and Edgar-Jones both delivering great performances that help make it feel like one of the most innovative films made in a long time. Watch it on Hulu. Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) comes home to find his wife has been murdered by a man with a prosthetic arm and, to make matters worse, he ends up being arrested and given the death sentence when the police don’t believe his story. Kimble manages to escape and while trying to track down the one-armed killer, he must also evade being caught by Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones), a no-nonsense US Deputy Marshal determined to bring Kimble to justice. The Fugitive remains a classic, with Ford and Jones delivering stellar performances in one of the most thrilling games of cat-and-mouse in movie history. Watch it on Hulu. A meme known only as “Grimcutty” manages to wreak havoc on a small town, with kids who encounter it seeming to cause harm to themselves and others. But this online threat becomes a real-life terror when an IRL version of Grimcutty starts attacking Asha (Sara Wolfkind). Not only does Asha have to figure out a way to defeat Grimcutty; she has to do so entirely on her own, as nobody seems to believe that her life is in danger thanks to Grimcutty. Could Grimcutty end up becoming the latest entry into the hallowed Halloween Horror canon? Only time will tell. Watch it on Hulu. Tinja (Siiri Solalinna) is an aspiring gymnast who is under constant pressure from her mother to be the absolute best. One day, she discovers an egg, which she decides to bring home and secretly take care of. When the egg finally hatches, things get really weird, and the creature becomes a reflection of Tinja’s own internal struggles. This Finnish horror film has been widely praised by critics, with Hatching’s visual style and use of tension being seen as innovative, especially in a genre that can so often feel derivative and dull. Director Hanna Bergholm has been heralded by many as one of the next great up-and-coming filmmakers due to her work on the film. Watch it on Hulu. Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) is a high school student whose life is turned upside down when she witnesses her friend get shot and killed by a police officer. Based on the 2017 novel of the same name, The Hate U Give was praised by critics and made nearly $35 million at the box office against a $23 million budget. The movie was seen as a star-making vehicle for Stenberg, who won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture and received a nomination for the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Young Actor/Actress for her nuanced portrayal of Starr. Watch it on Hulu. Jesus Shuttlesworth (Ray Allen) is the top high school basketball recruit in the nation and is actively being recruited by the best colleges. To tip the scales in his favor, the governor of New York agrees to release Jesus’ father, Jake (Denzel Washington,) from prison (where he is serving time for accidentally killing his wife), with the promise of an early release if he can convince his son to attend the governor’s alma mater. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Washington is outstanding, but Allen is able to hold his own against one of the greatest actors of all time, and watching their tense relationship is equally painful and thrilling. Just as you would expect from a Spike Lee Joint, He Got Game resists easy answers and instead gives a nuanced examination of redemption, family, and making choices that are right for you even if they hurt others. Watch it on Hulu. Like the original Hellraiser, this new version is based on the 1986 novella, The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. The newest adaptation features Riley (Odessa A’Zion), a young woman struggling with addiction, coming into possession of an ancient puzzle box that summons the Cenobites, a group of sadistic supernatural beings from another dimension led by the Hell Priest (Jamie Clayton). So far, it looks like this was a story worth rebooting, as Hellraiser has received praise from critics, which is good news for a franchise that had gone incredibly stale and was in danger of falling entirely out of the cultural consciousness after 10 installments. Watch it on Hulu. The rise and fall of a musical artist is a well-trodden territory in movies, but Her Smell gives a unique perspective on the genre by really diving into the complex and self-destructive nature of its lead, Becky Something (Elisabeth Moss). As a viewer, you’ll find yourself simultaneously repulsed by Becky’s selfish behavior and sympathizing with her struggle to maintain control of her constantly spiraling existence. And all credit for this nuanced character study should go to Moss, who has quietly established herself as one of the best actors of her generation and deserved an Oscar nomination for her performance here. Watch it on Hulu. The mostly true story of a group of strippers who were able to con rich customers out of large amounts of money, Hustlers became a runaway success upon its release. The movie earned more than $150 million at the box office and received widespread critical acclaim. It even developed some serious Oscar buzz, and while it (along with Jennifer Lopez’s incredible performance) ended up getting snubbed at the Academy Awards, Hustlers’ cultural impact is undeniable at this point. Plus, it’s just a really fun, well-made movie that you enjoy just as much the fifth time watching as you did the first time. Watch it on Hulu. Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) was a rising star in the world of figure skating in the early ’90s, and in I, Tonya, we get an up-close look at her meteoric rise and subsequent fall from grace. I, Tonya is by no means a completely accurate retelling of that tale, and critics have complained that the film lets the titular skater off the hook when it comes to her role in the infamous attack on Nancy Kerrigan. But the film is not pretending to be a history lesson — it’s a character study; and in that respect, it’s a highly entertaining journey into the life of one of the most controversial figures in American sports. And the entire cast delivers Oscar-worthy performances, with Allison Janney even winning a well-deserved Academy Award as Harding’s casually abusive mother. Watch it on Hulu. Alma (Maren Eggert) agrees to participate in a three-week experiment where she will evaluate a robot named Tom (Dan Stevens), who is supposedly programmed to be her ideal man. At first, Alma is mostly amused by the idea, but even as she finds herself growing closer to Tom as the trial progresses, she remains skeptical about the possibility of truly connecting with a person who isn’t actually a person. I’m Your Man almost functions as a Trojan horse of storytelling, as its clever premise and clever script draw you into a thoughtful and challenging story about loneliness, humanity, and whether any of us really knows what we actually want in life. Watch it on Hulu. Julie Powell (Amy Adams) is stuck in a depressing dead-end job and tries to spice up her life by making every recipe in Julia Child’s 1961 book Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year while blogging about it. While we watch Julie try to handle the heat to stay in the kitchen, we also get to see how Julia Child (Meryl Streep) went from an amateur cook to one of the most renowned chefs in the world. Adams is fantastic in her own right, but this movie firmly belongs to Streep, who delivers a masterfully joyful performance as Child. Watch it on Hulu. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is set to marry her boyfriend, Sky (Dominic Cooper), when she discovers the diary of her mom, Donna (Meryl Streep). Sophie learns that the summer before she was born, her mom slept (“dot dot dot-ed”) with three men. So, she decides to secretly invite all three of them to the wedding in the hopes of discovering who her dad is so that he can walk her down the aisle. Naturally, shenanigans ensue. Featuring the music of ABBA, Mamma Mia! has gone from mild cult classic to outright cultural phenomenon, as more and more viewers succumb to the film’s infectious charm with each passing year. Watch it on Hulu. Years after a school shooting, two sets of parents decide to meet at a church to privately sit down and talk. Jay (Jason Isaacs) and Gail (Martha Plimpton) Perry’s son died in the shooting, while Richard (Reed Birney) and Linda (Ann Dowd) are the parents of the shooter, who also died. Other than a quick couple of scenes setting up the meeting, Mass consists almost entirely of these four having the most painful and difficult conversation you can imagine. The movie touches on the politics and larger cultural discussions around this issue but primarily focuses on the pain, confusion, and anger each of these parents has experienced. As you might expect, the movie is incredibly tense at times, yet writer and director, Fran Kranz, resists giving easy answers or pointing fingers. Instead, Mass feels like one of the more honest explorations of one of the most upsetting realities that far too many parents have had to face over the last few decades. Watch it on Hulu. Nick (Michael Cera) and Norah (Kat Dennings) are two unlucky-in-love hipsters who accidentally end up traveling all around New York City to try and see a secret pop-up show by their favorite band, Where’s Fluffy? At first, the duo can’t stand each other, but over the course of the night, they start to connect as their bickering goes from hostile to playful. This is one of the better hipster movies from this era, thanks in large part to Cera and Dennings, who deliver fantastic performances, along with a pretty bitchin’ soundtrack that is extremely mid-aughts. Watch it on Hulu. A new prisoner arrives at La Maca, an infamous prison in the Ivory Coast that is run by inmates and is selected to be the new “Roman,” which requires him to tell a story to the prisoners. He begins to tell the story of the death of Zama King, a leader of the gang he belonged to, but he soon learns that he must keep telling the story until dawn or he will lose his life. Night of the Kings has received widespread critical acclaim since its release, winning the African American Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Film and the NAACP Image Awards 2021 for Outstanding International Motion Picture. Watch it on Hulu. You know those movies that your cinephile friends have been telling you to watch for months? Nomadland is probably at the top of that list, and after its big showing at the Oscars back in April, you have no more excuses for putting it off. And once you finally watch it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t see it sooner. Based on the 2017 nonfiction book of the same name, the film centers on Fern (Frances McDormand), who sells most of her possessions and takes to a life on the road shortly after losing her job. McDormand won her third Oscar for her intimate portrayal of a woman trying to rediscover her place in the world, but what’s really impressive is how well the rest of the cast keeps up with her despite being composed almost entirely of “nonactors.” Watch it on Hulu. Danni Sanders (Zoey Deutch) is yet another millennial who would do anything to be famous. So what’s her plan? Faking a trip to Paris in the hopes of going viral. Sounds simple enough, but when a string of terrorist attacks happens in Paris while she was supposedly there, Danni finds herself in the spotlight for reasons she never could have anticipated. Similar to Ingrid Goes West, Not Okay is a satirical takedown of the vapid and shallow world of social media and people’s desperate search for meaning through virtual attention and likes. Watch it on Hulu. Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) is a famous Hollywood actress who visits a travel bookstore while she’s in London. She ends up meeting Will (Hugh Grant), the store’s owner, as he is lightly reprimanding a potential book thief caught in the act, and the two have a bit of banter. Grant’s bumbling charm meshes seamlessly with Roberts’s unwavering affability, and I defy anyone not to be rooting for these two by the end of the scene. From there, these two lovebirds struggle to defy the odds and make it work despite coming from radically different worlds. Watch it on Hulu. After escaping their chain gang, Everett (George Clooney), Pete (John Turturro), and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) set out to retrieve a treasure Everett claims will be flooded in just a few days. This is perhaps the Coen Brothers’ most ambitious film, as O Brother is loosely inspired by Homer’s epic Greek poem the Odyssey, and features a seemingly endless parade of kooky characters, including a blues musician who sold his soul to the devil, a one-eyed Ku Klux Klan leader, and a trio of seductive sirens. It all somehow comes together to make one of the weirdest and most rewatchable movies of the century. Watch it on Hulu. Does any movie capture the mind-numbing, soul-sucking boredom of working a dead-end job in a cubicle better than Office Space? From battling over a stapler to having eight different bosses, it perfectly captures all of the pointless and endless minutiae we’ve all had to endure or are currently enduring every day for the sake of a paycheck. Upon its release, the movie received positive reviews from critics but initially flopped at the box office, making only $12 million. But over time, it’s developed a cult following and is now considered one of the best comedies of the last 25 years. Watch it on Hulu. It’s Nov. 9, and Nyles (Andy Samberg) is attending his cheating girlfriend’s best friend’s wedding for the thousandth (or possibly millionth) time, as he’s been forced to relive the same day over and over. Nyles seems to have accepted his fate until sister-of-the-bride, Sarah (Cristin Milioti), ends up stuck in the same time loop. In lesser hands, this movie could easily feel unoriginal or trite, but Palm Springs proves to be a clever rom-com reimagining of Groundhog Day instead of a shameless rip-off. Having two people stuck in an endless time loop together instead of one poor schmuck trapped all alone may seem like a small change, but it turns out to give the movie its own vibe entirely. Palm Springs largely ignores the self-improvement aspect of Groundhog Day in favor of addressing the complex nature of human connection. And thanks to the dynamite chemistry between Samberg and Milioti, it totally works. Watch it on Hulu. There’s not much to say about Parasite that hasn’t already been said in a million think pieces, but this is a rare film that not only justifies but somehow surpasses its own massive hype. But while much of the praise goes to Bong Joon-ho, who won Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars, the performances from the actors tend to get overlooked. The entire Kim family is outstanding, as all four actors manage to display the family’s growing sense of desperation and bitterness as they try to survive their life in squalor. Park So-dam’s performance as Kim Ki-jung is award-worthy, as she is able to bring a layer of dark humor into the role while remaining entirely in character. Watch it on Hulu. It’s hard to describe the cultural power that the Olsen twins held for kids of a certain age during the mid-’90s into the aughts. They weren’t just movie stars; they were icons. And that star power is on full display in Passport to Paris. Melanie (Mary-Kate) and Ally (Ashley) are sent to Paris to visit their grandfather, who is the American ambassador. Of course, once they arrive, the twins end up ditching boring museum tours to drive around on mopeds with a couple of Parisian boys. Like any great Mary-Kate & Ashley flick, Passport to Paris is a whole lot smarter, funnier, and more charming than you might expect it to be, and the Olsen twins remain some of the best child actors of all time. Watch it on Hulu. After breaking out internationally with her universally beloved film, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, writer and director, Céline Sciamma, scales down significantly with her follow-up, Petite Maman. Eight-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) has lost her maternal grandmother, and while her parents are clearing out the house, Nelly befriends a young girl in the woods named Marion (Gabrielle Sanz) who has also lost her grandmother recently. As the two grow closer, they discover they have more in common than they realized. The small film shows that Sciamma is here to stay as a one-of-a-kind filmmaker, and Petite Maman is a thoughtful and emotionally moving reflection of grief and connection. Also, can we please normalize movies being less than 80 minutes like this one? I’m tired of filmmakers just adding 15–20 minutes of unnecessary bloat. Watch it on Hulu. Rob Feld (Nicolas Cage) lives a quiet life of reclusion as a truffle forager in the forests of Oregon until one day his beloved pig is kidnapped and he is forced to reenter society to retrieve his closest companion. This movie was marketed as “John Wick with a pig,” but it turns out to be an entirely different journey, as Pig turns into an emotional exploration of Rob and what drove him away from the world where he was once heralded as a legend. Cage delivers one of the best performances of his legendary career as he gives Rob a stoicism and gravitas that are really just covering up for the immense heartbreak and inner turmoil he is unable to escape. Watch it on Hulu. Justice (Janet Jackson) is a depressed poet who travels from Los Angeles to Oakland with her friend Iesha (Regina King) to try and process her mourning over the death of her boyfriend. A postal clerk named Lucky (Tupac Shakur) is along for the trip and while Justice finds him annoying at first, she eventually warms up to Lucky. Upon its release, Poetic Justice was mostly dismissed by critics, who felt it was a disappointing follow-up to Singleton’s acclaimed debut, Boyz n the Hood. But in the years since, Poetic Justice has gained a cult following with countless fans celebrating the chemistry between Tupac and Jackson and appreciating the most under-appreciated entry in Singleton’s filmography. Watch it on Hulu. If you’re a sucker for once-in-a-lifetime love stories, you are going to love Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Set in France in the late 18th century, the film tells the story of Marianne (Noémie Merlan), a painter who is commissioned to paint a portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), a young aristocrat set to marry a wealthy nobleman. Romance movies have a tendency to be melodramatic, but Portrait opts for a more subtle approach, allowing the tension to grow as Marianne and Héloïse slowly gravitate toward each other. The film also makes no attempt to hide the lack of social freedom granted to women during this time period, which adds a certain level of tragedy to the love that these two share. Watch it on Hulu. In the early 18th century, Naru (Amber Midthunder) is one of the fiercest hunters in the Comanche Nation. But when she begins tracking her prey, she is surprised to discover that it is actually a highly-evolved alien that viewers will almost certainly recognize (spoiler: it’s a predator). It’s not difficult to understand why they keep making these movies: watching predators hunt down humans is totally awesome. While Predator sequels have a decidedly mixed track record, in my opinion, Prey is the best since the original, as it features some great action and finds a new way to feature the classic extraterrestrial hunter instead of just rehashing his battle with Arnold. Plus, Midthunder, who is also set to play Princess Yue in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action series, delivers a fantastic leading performance where she effortlessly carries the film on her back. It’s no wonder Prey had Hulu’s biggest premiere week ever in its first week, even beating out The Kardashians. Watch it on Hulu. These days, it’s easy to take Sandler’s dramatic acting chops for granted, but it’s hard to overstate how shocking it was to see him deliver such a grounded emotional performance at the time, as Punch-Drunk Love fell right in between Little Nicky and Mr. Deeds. Punch-Drunk Love takes what made Sandler a comedy star — his exasperated manchild energy — and slightly alters it to show the tragedy and loneliness that lies beneath Sandler’s brash persona. It remains one of the high points of Sandler’s career as an actor. Watch it on Hulu. What is Rocky Horror Picture Show about? On a stormy night, a young, innocent couple ends up at the manor of Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry), a scientist who is throwing some kind of party. From there, things get extremely weird extremely quickly. But don’t really worry about the plot because Rocky Horror is a vibes movie, with the wacky collection of characters and elaborate, unforgettable musical numbers being the reason why it has become such a beloved film for decades after flopping in its initial theatrical run. So just jump to the left, step to the right, and get ready to do the Time Warp again. Watch it on Hulu. Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a 30-something slacker who spends his days hanging out with his even lazier and more directionless best pal, Ed (Nick Frost). Shortly after Shaun is dumped by his girlfriend, a zombie apocalypse begins, and he must do everything he can to survive and keep his loved ones alive. The film is not technically the directorial debut of Edgar Wright, but Shaun of the Dead is certainly what put him on the map as one of the great comedic filmmakers of the 21st century. While the laughs never stop coming, what really sets Wright apart is how Shaun of the Dead is legitimately a great zombie movie in its own right. Watch it on Hulu. As his marriage falls apart before his eyes, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) takes on a new patient named Cole (Haley Joel Osment), who claims that he can see dead people. The Sixth Sense’s twist ending made it a cultural phenomenon when it was released but even if you are fully aware that (SPOILER) Malcolm was dead the whole time, the movie still holds up as one of the greatest thrillers ever made. It’s not at all hard to see why this made Shyamalan the most celebrated director in Hollywood, even though his career since has been defined by disappointment. Watch it on Hulu. An origin story about the guy who created Facebook doesn’t sound that exciting, but The Social Network has managed to become one of the most beloved and respected films of the 21st century. With David Fincher directing the best script of Aaron Sorkin’s career, Mark Zuckerberg’s meteoric rise from drunk blogger to billionaire tech genius feels almost Shakespearean. This isn’t just the story of Facebook; it’s a story of ambition, betrayal, and the thin line between good and great. The Social Network earned eight Academy Award nominations, winning three for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing. A trio of Oscars is nothing to sneeze at, but over a decade later, most people agree that the movie deserved a few more, including Best Picture over The King’s Speech. The film also doubles as a fascinating time capsule, as it’s clear that even in 2010, nobody really understood how much social media was going to become an unavoidable part of life, for better or worse. Watch it on Hulu. Nearly 25 years after her tragic death, Princess Diana remains a cultural fixation, as her short but memorable life is still discussed by countless admirers to this day. Spencer is hardly the first Diana biopic, but it is undoubtedly the best, as it focuses on her decision to end her marriage to Prince Charles and leave the royal family. And Kristen Stewart does a fantastic job portraying the internal struggle that the Princess of Wales faces during this trying time, rightfully earning the first Oscar nomination of her career. Whether you are a borderline Princess Diana historian or completely clueless about her story, you’ll enjoy this intimate look into someone as they discover that living a fairy tale isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Watch it on Hulu. We are on our third generation of Spider-Men and the excess of friendly neighborhood web-slingers can make you forget the impact of the original Spider-Man. The 2002 film is rightly considered to be groundbreaking, as it paved the way for superheroes to dominate the cultural landscape. So many of the tropes of the genre are here, including a terrifying villain and conflicted heroism, but what really sets Spider-Man apart is the sincerity that director Sam Raimi brings to the narrative. This simple, straightforward origin story of Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) avoids all of the snark and aggressive self-awareness of the MCU, and not having everyone break the fourth wall actually feels like a breath of fresh air. Watch it on Hulu. During the summer of 1969, Harlem hosted a six-week music festival to celebrate African American music and to promote Black pride in the larger culture. Nearly 300,000 people attended to watch some of the biggest names in music, including Nina Simone, B.B. King, Sly and the Family Stone, and Stevie Wonder, perform. And yet, it is rarely mentioned in pop culture. Why? That is the question that Questlove, who directed the documentary, is looking to answer, by showing footage from the festival that was restored. The result is what documentarian Mark Kermode called “the best music documentary I’ve ever seen” — and it earned an Oscar win for Best Documentary Feature. Watch it on Hulu. Matt (Ed Helms) is a successful app developer who decides he wants to become a father as he approaches middle age. He selects Anna (Patti Harrison), a twentysomething working at a coffee shop, as his surrogate, and as the pregnancy progresses, their relationship grows as well. The chemistry between Helms and Harrison is fantastic, as their odd-couple dynamic has a warm and hilarious intimacy. Since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Together Together has received universal praise from critics, with Harrison being singled out for her breakout performance. The movie also features a killer supporting cast that includes Tig Notaro, Jo Firestone, Anna Konkle, and Julio Torres. Watch it on Hulu. Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) may seem like an impossibly jacked computer salesman, but the truth is he’s actually an impossibly jacked secret agent for Omega Sector, a counterterrorism agency. While helping keep the world safe from baddies, Harry must keep his double life a secret from his wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), who has grown increasingly frustrated with her husband’s elusive nature. Though not on the same level as Titanic or Avatar in terms of scale, True Lies shows that James Cameron is a master of spectacle and knows exactly how to keep the audience entertained from start to finish. And, for my money, it’s one of the truly elite performances of Curtis’ esteemed career, right alongside Halloween, A Fish Called Wanda, and, of course, Freaky Friday. Watch it on Hulu. Bill (Bill Paxton) is a former tornado-chaser-turned-news-anchor who returns to his old crew in order to get his wife Jo (Helen Hunt) to sign their divorce papers. But even though he claims he wants to move on with his life, Bill can’t resist his old habits and eventually is right alongside Jo getting a little too close to every twister they can find. Rather than people trying to escape tornadoes, Twister cleverly has its characters running right toward them, and, somehow, that is a decision that does not feel completely insane. The chemistry between Paxton and Hunt is unbelievable and the supporting cast is fantastic across the board, including an early supporting role from the iconic Philip Seymour Hoffman, who already shows he can steal a movie with just a few minutes of screen time. Watch it on Hulu. Lori (Aya Cash) and Doug (William Jackson Harper) are forced to attend a wedding together just after they decide to call off their long-term relationship. It’s a simple premise that allows the film to explore the complexities of a couple who no longer want to be together yet remain drawn to each other. We Broke Up has received mixed reviews from critics so far, but Cash’s and Harper’s performances have been praised. As the two effortlessly make the jump from television to the big screen, their natural chemistry brings depth to the fractured relationship between Lori and Doug. Watch it on Hulu. For $5.99 a month (or $11.99 if you don’t want ads), you can now have access to countless movies and TV shows on Hulu. Not ready to commit? You can test it for free for 30 days.
