The 30 Best Movies Streaming on Hulu Right Now

While Netflix is often lauded for its large selection of TV shows, Hulu has its own equally impressive library, from award-winning comedy and drama content to guilty pleasure reality TV.

Hulu even came for Netflix’s Oscars glory with its original film Minding The Gap, nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards. Beyond the streaming service's original content, Hulu also has some older, more classic titles that Netflix lacks, alongside some of the best movies of the last few years, like Spencer and Palm Springs. They’re also frequently coming out with new, critically acclaimed movies that are proving to be crowd pleasers with audiences and critics alike.

From horror movies to sci-fi to comedy to drama, here are the best movies on Hulu streaming right now. If you don't have Hulu yet, sign up now.

Director: George Seaton
Cast: Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, William Frawley
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Christmas
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 1h 41m
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% (Critics), 87% (Audience)

The all-time classic Christmas movie is back on streaming. After the actor paid to play Santa gets too drunk for his role in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, an old man named Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) steps in. Following his amazing job, he’s hired on by Macy’s manager to play the in-store Santa as well, but quickly runs into trouble when his claims of being the real deal land him in an asylum. One little girl soon realizes he is telling the truth, however, and it is both her belief in him and the spirit of Christmas that saves the holiday, making for a movie as heartwarming as any cup of cocoa. If you’re looking for something to get you into the holiday spirit there truly is no better film than Miracle on 34th Street.

Director: Panos Cosmatos
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Linus Roache, Andrea Riseborough, Bill Duke, Alexis Julemont, Richard Brake
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 2h 1m
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% (Critics), 67% (Audience)

The movie that kicked off Nicolas Cage’s incredible indie run, Mandy makes for one of the trippiest viewing experiences currently available on streaming. The year is 1983 and naturist, Red Miller’s (Nicolas Cage) forest hideaway has just been turned upside down by cult leader-turned kidnapper, Jeremiah Sand (Linus Roache). Hoping to rescue his girlfriend Mandy (Andrea Riseborough), Red soon finds himself severely outnumbered and ill prepared. After failing his first attempt, he goes all out on the second, employing every crazy means ever imagined in an 80s horror flick. Magnified by its cheap yet unique soundtrack, over the top cinematography, obscene dialogue, and otherworldly set pieces, Mandy is the antithesis of all things blockbuster, and it's so much better for it.

Director: Paul Schrader
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Quintessa Swindell, Sigourney Weaver, Esai Morales
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 51m
Rotten Tomatoes: 71% (Critics), 55% (Audience)

Written and directed by Paul Schrader, the same man responsible for penning Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and American Gigolo, comes a crime story unlike any other. Former gang member-turned horticulturist, Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton) has taken up work at a charming garden under an elderly heiress (Sigourney Weaver). But when the heiress’s niece, Maya (Quintessa Swindell) arrives, Roth’s life is quickly thrown into turmoil. Bringing with her her own set of problems, such as rampant drug addiction, Maya quickly gets into trouble and it is up to Roth to save her using skills from his past he had long sought to bury. As much romance as it is a redemption story, Schrader proves once again why he is unrivaled in his ability to bring amazing characters and fascinating stories together for movies you won’t soon forget.

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan
Genre: Mystery, Drama
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1h 43m
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% (Critics), 77% (Audience)

The world-famous detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) has returned after his 2017 smash-hit Murder on the Orient Express. Retired to Venice, Poirot has sought refuge from his gift, refusing to solve or even interact with any mystery which might lure him back into crime solving. Unable to turn away his old friend and acclaimed author Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), however, Poirot agrees to attend a Halloween séance at the city’s most notoriously haunted palazzo. Minimizing the cast numbers while upping the suspense, A Haunting in Venice fixes many of the issues that weighed down its predecessor, while still retaining the intricate tangle of clues and touch of horror that made it the most promising series of whodunits the big screen has seen in years. For fans of Agatha Christie adaptations, or if you simply love a smart mystery, this one is a must watch. 

Director: Barry Levinson
Cast: Robert De Niro, John Turturro, Stanley Tucci, Bruce Willis, Kristin Stewart, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener
Genre: Comedy
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 47m
Rotten Tomatoes: 50% (Critics), 22% (Audience)

Boasting some of the movie business’s most famous names both on-screen and behind the camera, actors Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, Kristin Stewart, director Barry Levinson, and producer Art Linson have created a love/hate letter to Hollywood that is as informative as it is hilarious. A week in the life of producer Ben (Robert De Niro) is packed with more drama than most of the films he makes. As one big money meeting with a stone-cold studio executive bleeds into a separate negotiation with an agent about Bruce Willis’s facial hair, Ben can’t help but feel he’s going a little insane. His personal life isn’t doing much better. With a marriage destroyed, and his daughter Zoe (Kristin Stewart) falling into the trappings of a tinsel town upbringing, Ben tries to use his skills as a producer to put his life back in order; but that might just be the issue that got him into this mess in the first place. Undoubtedly pulling from its amazing cast’s own experiences, this dark comedy offers new laughs in a familiar setting while showing just how wild it gets behind the scenes.

Director: Michael Bay
Cast: Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Steve Buscemi, Liv Tyler, Billy Bob Thornton, Owen Wilson
Genre: Action
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2h 33m
Rotten Tomatoes: 38% (Critics), 73% (Audience)

A planet-killing asteroid has been discovered plummeting towards earth, but no worries, NASA genius Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) has a plan: Send a crack team of experts to land on the moving asteroid, drill into the center, and nuke it. If that didn’t send your eyes rolling out of your head, then you might yet learn to love this oddball action movie. Directed by prime ‘90s Michael Bay, AKA Bad Boys Bay, this wild ride through space would see the fate of earth left in the hands of Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke, Owen Wilson, and a handful of other big-name stars doing their best caricatures of oil drillers. Without even a pretense of science, Armageddon leaves you free to sink into the ridiculousness, marvel at the explosions, and reminisce of a time when the end of the world seemed like such a fantasy that Billy Bob Thornton could put on a pair of glasses and a NASA name tag and nobody would question it.

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Willem Dafoe, Ron Perlman, Richard Jenkins, Toni Collette
Genre: Thriller
Rating: R
Runtime: 2h 30m
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% (Critics), 68% (Audience)

The modern king of horror, Guillermo del Toro, is back with his most terrifying film in years. Based on the novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham, Nightmare Alley follows Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), a conman with a unique set of skills and an even more peculiar set of problems. The year is 1939, and Stan is seeking a new start without the need for turning over a fresh leaf. He finds it by way of a traveling carnival and a new-fangled science called psychiatry. Warned by the carnie folk not to use this skill for evil, Stan does just that, setting out with a big score already in mind. Playing around in people’s heads for profit is a dangerous game, but when Stan tinkers with a man far more dangerous than one he’s ever experienced, he realizes just how evil evil can get. Crafting a world like no one else can, del Toro brings his unique eye for detail and love of the obscure to a career high, creating a psychological thriller that more than earns the name of nightmare.

Director: Michael Bay
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris, Rebel Wilson
Genre: Crime, Comedy
Rating: R
Runtime: 2h 9m
Rotten Tomatoes: 50% (Critics), 47% (Audience)

Take the best crime comedy you’ve ever seen, put it on steroids, and you’d still only be scratching the surface of how funny Pain & Gain really is. Armed with PEDS, bicycle shorts, and a great work ethic, Danny Lupo (Mark Wahlberg) is the manager of Miami’s local Sunrise Gym and has just decided to turn his life around. Enlisting the help of fellow personal trainer Adrian (Anthony Mackie), and newly joined Sunrise Gym member Paul (Dwayne Johnson), the three set out to kidnap Lupo’s rich client. Helmed by director Michael Bay, Pain & Gain brings all the bromance and wild car action of the Bad Boys trilogy, while taking advantage of the diverse talents of its star-studded cast. Swapping out his normal role as aggro muscle man, Johnson takes the pacifist approach to Wahlberg’s steal first, think second attitude. Not to be outdone, Mackie and Rebel Wilson create a hilariously convincing couple bringing laughs to even the most violent scenes. For a movie that largely flew under the radar during its release, Pain & Gain has all the ingredients to be one of streaming’s biggest hits.

Director: Brian Duffield
Cast: Kaitlyn Dever, Geraldine Singer
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1h 33m
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% (Critics), 58% (Audience)

Trading zombies and murderers for terror from above, No One Will Save You proves that the crown of screams still belongs to the extra-terrestrial. Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever) is the text-book definition of a loner in that she rarely leaves her house, doesn’t speak to anyone, and all her friends are dead. Great! Complete isolation always adds to the spook-o-meter when a horror movie starts with the classic “bump in the night” fright. Creeping out of her room, Brynn finds that the noise isn’t coming from the front door in normal horror film fashion, but instead from up on the roof. Narrowly escaping the alien’s plan by way of some truly unique action, Brynn wakes the next day to find herself hunted as the only sentient Earthling, and humanity’s only hope. 

Director: Lee Jung-Jae
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Jung Woo-sung, Go Yoon Jung, Kim Nam-gil, Hwang Jung-min
Genre: Thriller, Spy
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 2h 11m
Rotten Tomatoes: 70% (Critics), 80% (Audience)

A fictionalized spy thriller set in the real-life aftermath of South Korean President Park Chung-hee’s 1979 assassination, Hunt sees top SK security officials Park Pyong-Ho (Lee Jung-Jae) and Kim Jung-Do (Jung Woo-sung) compete to track down a possible North Korean mole. Starting off as reluctant allies their relationship soon sours when both come to suspect the other is the leak. Pitting raw power against cunning, the two top agents wage war against each other while working to unravel the clues. Packed full of twists and action, Hunt is just another notch on the long list of superb South Korean cinema.

Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, Kristen Stewart, Scott Speedman
Genre: Horror, Sci-fi
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 47m
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% (Critics), 50% (Audience)

From the brilliantly twisted mind that brought you A History of Violence and Eastern Promises, director/writer David Cronenberg presents what is perhaps his most disturbing story to date. Set in a near future where much of the world has become overrun with artificial materials, the next stage in human evolution has begun. Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) and his lover Caprice (Léa Seydoux) are performance artists. For their newest show they’ve decided to present the unusual changes Saul’s body has undergone. An absence of pain, extreme healing, and new pleasure centers have even gone so far as to change the experience of surgery into the new sex. A group of radical evolutionists aim to push the boundaries even further though. Tasked with infiltrating this dangerous group, Saul and Caprice must push their own boundaries, but as they change, so do their views, leaving them unsure which side is the right one.

Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Cast: Amber Midthunder, Dane DiLiegro, Dakota Beavers, Julian Black Antelope, Stefany Mathias, Michelle Thrush
Genre: Sci-fi, Action
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 39m
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% (Critics), 83% (Audience)

Based in the same monster survival universe as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1980s hit Predator, Prey takes a very different approach to avoiding death at the hands of an alien killing machine. The year is 1719, and a young Comanche healer named Naru (Amber Midthunder) has just witnessed a strange light falling from the sky. The next day while out on a hunt with her brother and fellow tribesmen, Naru has the misfortune of finding out just what caused that mysterious light. Trapped and unable to defend her friends and family, Naru is forced to watch as the entirety of her hunting party is slaughtered by a single assailant. Avoiding the common mistakes of most sequels/prequels, Prey introduces a new world to a loved universe. Keeping the lore set up in the original, the differences Prey adds—such as pre-industrial weapons and family dynamics—builds on the already top-tier action while bolstering character development. Fans of the Governator’s 1987 film can relax and rejoice, because this one’s a winner.

Director: David Frankel
Cast: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, Adrian Grenier
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1h 49m
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% (Critics), 76% (Audience)

Flying its chick-flick flag proudly while dodging the connotations that go with such a categorization, The Devil Wears Prada manages a win on every level of filmmaking. Recent college grad Andy (Anne Hathaway) has just landed a spot at Runway magazine. Far from her dream job, Andy decides to put up with the fashion mag in hopes of using it as a launching point for a career in “serious journalism.” Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), Runway’s editor-in-chief, quickly changes Andy’s mind though, transforming her into a mirror image of herself: glamorous, powerful, and lonely. Exploring the friction female ambition and professionalism often creates with more traditional ideas of beauty and relationships, The Devil Wears Prada makes fun of a serious dilemma without dumbing it down. Hathaway’s every-girl charm paired with Streep’s Oscar-winning acting make this guilty pleasure one everyone can enjoy.

Director: Bryan Singer, Dexter Fletcher
Cast: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander, Mike Myers
Genre: Music, Biopic
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2h 14m
Rotten Tomatoes: 60% (Critics), 85% (Audience)

With enough pageantry for a Broadway play packed into every concert, this biopic didn’t have to work too hard to bring the life of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) and the band’s rise to the big screen. The year is 1970 and Heathrow baggage handler Farrokh Bulsara has just decided to join up as the lead vocalist of a local band. Changing his name to Freddie Mercury and the group’s to Queen, their first studio album succeeds in catching the attention of Elton John’s manager, John Reid (Aidan Gillen). Following Freddie’s leadership, the band records what Mercury describes as his “masterpiece,” a massive rock-opera titled Bohemian Rhapsody. Panned by critics, battling his own sexuality, and caught in a relationship he no longer feels he can commit to, Freddie turns back to his music to guide him through. Bolstered by an uncanny performance from Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody truly is a journey back in time for any Queen fan.

Director: Andrew Ahn
Cast: Joel Kim Booster, Conrad Ricamora, Zane Phillips, Bowen Yang, James Scully, Margaret Cho
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 45m
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (Critics), 78% (Audience)

The gay rom com of the summer is officially on Hulu. Going back to the sunny oasis of New York’s Fire Island, friends Noah (Joel Kim Booster), Howie (Bowen Yang), Keegan (Tomas Matos), and Max (Torian Miller) arrive for the traditional group vacay. Desperate to find love himself, but swearing to only do so after best friend, Howie, lands a man, Noah does everything in his power to fan the flames of his BFF’s sudden summer love interest, Charlie (James Scully). Bringing the culture to the screen with unabashed truth, Fire Island shows the good and bad of the gay dating scene and creates a bromance comedy minus the bros that will last for the ages… Or at least to the hopeful sequel.

Director: Pablo Larraín
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Jack Farthing, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Amy Manson, Richard Sammel
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 57m
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% (Critics), 52% (Audience)

Like day-old Burger King, the story of England’s royalty, in particular, the implosion of Princess Diana’s and Prince Charles’s marriage has been reheated more times than I’d like to count. Princess in Love (1996), Diana (2013), Whatever Love Means (2005), and The Crown (2016-) have all taken a broadly historical approach to the eventual crumbling of one of the world’s most famous matrimonies. Spencer, however, chooses a different route. The year is 1991, and the royal family is headed to the Queen’s residence to celebrate Christmas. Rumors of the Prince’s extra-marital affairs have turned Diana’s (Kristen Stewart) and Charles’s (Jack Farthing) relationship into a charade meant to uphold the crown’s public appearance.

Director: Craig Gillespie
Cast: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Paul Walter Hauser, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale
Genre: Biopic, Comedy
Rating: R
Runtime: 2h
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% (Critics), 88% (Audience)

If mafia-style kneecapping and lace-clad figure skaters are too crazy an image for you to conjure in your mind, don’t. Just watch I, Tonya. This so-insane-you-can’t-believe-it’s-real, real-life story of a gold medal hopeful/Ice Queen with a killer triple axel, Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) begins with a little girl too poor to buy skating equipment. Skip to the future and Tonya is one of the best figure skaters in the world. She’s also still dirt poor with an abusive mother, an abusive husband, and her only chance of escaping is slipping away because the judges that pick the Olympic team don’t like her. This isn’t a sob story drama though, it’s a comedy. Sebastian Stan and Paul Walter Hauser create one of the funniest and dumbest duos film has seen in years, while Bobby Cannavale brings his oblivious brand of dry-humor to new heights as a news reporter trying to wrap his head around the rise and fall of one of America’s most polarizing sports figures of the past century. You don’t have to care about skating, the Olympics, or even Tonya Harding to love this film. You just have to be ready to laugh.

Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Shirley MacLaine, Rick Dial, Brady Coleman
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1h 44m
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% (Critics), 73% (Audience)

Basking in its own absurdity, this true-crime spoof tells the tale of Bernie Tiede (Jack Black), the favorite son of bucolic Texas town, Carthage. Living up to the saying “Bernie, well shucks, he’s the best of us,” the-man-who-can befriends the least-liked member of the community, recently widowed Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine). Fulfilling his regular duties as local assistant mortician, Sunday school teacher, substitute preacher, and choir lead singer, Bernie accepts the added burden of trying to make Marjorie a better person, insisting “there’s good in everyone.” Bernie soon discovers there isn’t and ends up killing her. What ensues after is just as hilarious as what came before, creating a wild ride full of laughs.

Director: Avan Jogia
Cast: Hayley Law, Keith Powers, Famke Janssen, Donal Logue, Elizabeth Saunders
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 37m
Rotten Tomatoes: 78% (Critics), 89% (Audience) 

As a graphic novel come to life, Door Mouse kicks over the opening credits with its unique energy and style and doesn’t stop till the very end. After Doe-Eyes (Nhi Do) disappears, her friend and fellow burlesque dancer Mouse (Hayley Law) starts to investigate. What she finds is that Doe-Eyes isn’t the only disappearance in recent months and decides to team up with her friend Ugly (Keith Powers) to get to the bottom of it. Delving further into the dirty world that she works in, burgundy wallpaper, weapons, and odd sexual kinks create a terrifying feeling of claustrophobia. With no way to retreat Mouse and Ugly are forced to push on. Plunging ever deeper into the mystery of the missing girls and just what does go on beyond the curtain makes Door Mouse one of the most enticing films of 2023 thus far, and an absolute must-watch.

Director: Brian Percival
Cast: Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Nico Liersch, Ben Schnetzer, Roger Allam
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2h 11m
Rotten Tomatoes: 48% (Critics), 73% (Audience)

Based on Markus Zusak’s bestselling novel of the same name, The Book Thief follows Liesel (Sophie Nelisse), a German orphan adopted by a couple just before the start of World War 2. Taught to read by her new father, Liesel escapes her friendless existence with the help of her favorite books. There’s no escaping the horrors going on outside the pages though, and soon a harsh reality by the name of Max (Ben Schnetzer) comes knocking at Liesel’s door. Fleeing the Nazis, starving, and desperate, Liesel and her parents hide Max in their basement. Initially afraid of the stranger, Liesel soon finds a shared love of books with Max and sets out to save as many from the Nazi bonfires as possible to share with her new friend. The Book Thief creates a beautiful story in the ugliest of settings, circumventing the visual horrors of war while distilling its lessons into a heart-wrenching tale of friendship and survival.

Director: Christopher Winterbauer
Cast: Theo Taplitz, Lulu Wilson, Jenna Ortega, Lukas Gage, Zane Austin, Azure Brandi, Ryan Alessi
Genre: Comedy
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 1h 46m
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% (Critics), 71% (Audience)

Blending modern problems with the ever-present ones of puberty, Wyrm tells the story of middle school nerd Wyrm (Theo Taplitz) as he struggles to let go of his dinosaur-obsessed youth and venture into the world of adulthood. Things used to be simple, but ever since receiving his “first kiss collar”—a scarlet letter-esque accessory marking him as a kiss virgin for his school’s level-one sexuality requirement—he’s become even more withdrawn. Everywhere Wyrm looks, whether it’s his older sister working on her twerk, or classmates getting their collars popped at the bus stop, sex hounds Wyrm’s steps. Recalling the absurdity of Superbad, and the genuine insight of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, Wyrm will make you laugh, cry, and cringe in a mix of emotions perfectly in sync with its hormone-addled topic.

Director: Duncan Jones
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Genre: Sci-i, Action
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1h 33m
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% (Critics), 82% (Audience)

Underappreciated and perfectly executed, Source Code tells the story of Army pilot Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) as he works to solve a train bombing that’s already occurred. Transported back through a victim’s memory, Stevens must repeat the horrible incident eight minutes at a time, exploding repeatedly until he finishes his mission. Even with the explosion foregone, Source Code’s brilliant writing cranks up the tension using personal stakes. As more of the mystery unfolds, Stevens becomes more and more invested in the passengers he’s come to know. Driven by an urge for revenge as much as preventing another bombing, Gyllenhaal delivers a top-notch performance and proves once again that he’s one of the best script pickers in the game.

Director: Jeremy Garelick
Cast: Skyler Gisondo, Vince Vaughn, Grace Van Dien, Eduardo Franco, Dexter Darden
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 1h 38m
Rotten Tomatoes: 22% (Critics), 81% (Audience)

If The Purge meets American Pie 2 sounds like a must-watch, or at least a weird enough movie to check out then welcome to The Binge. In a near-future where all drugs and alcohol are banned except for one day a year known as the binge, three high school friends, Griffin (Skyler Gisondo), Andrew (Eduardo Franco), and Hags (Dexter Darden) set out to create an insane night of memories and meet up with Griffin’s lifelong crush Lena (Grace Van Dien). The binge quickly turns out to be more than the three can handle as drugs, violence, parties, experienced bingers, and Lena’s father, Principle Carleson (Vince Vaughn) send the boys spiraling down a fast track of hilarious life lessons. Filling the recent void of teen comedies, The Binge checks off all the genre must-haves and delivers enough new laughs to keep you surprised and feeling nostalgic all at the same time.

Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox, Margaret Colin
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2h 25m
Rotten Tomatoes: 67% (Critics), 75% (Audience)

Considered the film that revived the disaster genre, Independence Day imagines what would happen if Earth was targeted by aliens for complete annihilation. Two days before July 4^th, 1996, U.S. Marine Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) is supposed to be enjoying some well-earned vacation time with his girlfriend Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox). Instead, he’s called away after alien spaceships appear over every major city on earth. With the space monsters’ motives clear, it’s up to Hiller, the president, and a crack team of scientists to find a way to stop the invading creatures. Full of high-flying action, explosions, and that classic ’90s Will Smith that everyone loved, Independence Day is the kind of blockbuster best enjoyed with a big screen and even bigger speakers. 

Director: Emer Reynolds
Cast: Olivia Colman, Charlie Reid, Lochlann O'Mearáin, Olwen Fouéré, Tommy Tiernan
Genre: Comedy
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 1h 34m
Rotten Tomatoes: 51% (Critics), 75% (Audience)

With a string of Oscar nominations as long as other actors’ entire filmography do you really need a list to tell you Olivia Colman makes movie gold? After 13-year-old Mully (Charlie Reid) steals a taxi with Joy (Olivia Colman) and her newborn baby asleep in the backseat, the teenager and mother make a deal: so long as Mully accompanies Joy on her trip and helps to take care of the baby Joy won’t press charges. Mully agrees and the three set out across the scenic Irish countryside. Coming of age drama meets redemption story in this hilarious tale of finding your place in the world whether it be at birth, adolescence, or adulthood, Joyride is one of those timeless tales that’s bound to become an undercover classic.

Director: Eugene Kotlyarenko
Cast: Joe Keery, Joshua Ovalle, Frankie Grande, John DeLuca, David Arquette
Genre: Horror
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 1h 33m
Rotten Tomatoes: 68% (Critics), 61% (Audience)

Stepping away from his role in Stranger Things, Joe Keery is the opposite of charming in this found footage-style horror. Kurt Kunkle (Keery) is obsessed with internet fame and isn’t about to let the small fact of having nearly zero followers get in his way. Concocting a terrifying plan to bolster his viewership, Kurt outfits his rideshare app car with cameras and puts his plan into drive. Greasing down his signature locks, Keery proves he has far more range than simply hunky high schooler. Deranged, desperate, and creepy as hell, this performance piece is a must-watch for fans of the actor, or anybody enticed by the prospect of a horror pulled straight from Uber Killer headlines.

Director: Andrew Gaynord
Cast: Tom Stourton, Georgina Campbell, Antonia Clarke, Dustin Demri-Burns, Charly Clive, Joshua McGuire
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 34m
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% (Critics), 65% (Audience)

Taking social anxieties a global audience can understand and mixing it with British dark comedy, All My Friends Hate Me is one of the most unique ha-ha-horrors in recent memory. Returning to his hometown after being gone for years, Pete (Tom Stourton) sets about organizing a reunion for his 31^st birthday. As the group of besties try to reignite old times, Pete begins to worry about his place in the group. Odd behaviors soon overshadow the familiar, making Pete sure that not only is he trapped in a house with people he barely recognizes, but his life may be in danger. Tearing the classic growing up and growing apart crises into hilarious little tatters, All My Friends Hate Me earns its spot amongst other social comedy greats such as Birdman and The Lobster.

Director: John Michael McDonagh
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Ralph Fiennes, Matt Smith, Christopher Abbott, Caleb Landry Jones, Ismael Kanater
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 57m
Rotten Tomatoes: 68% (Critics), 57% (Audience)

Love, loss, sin, hate, and history all find a home in this steamy mystery. Setting out to a Moroccan desert villa at night in hopes of salvaging their failing marriage, David (Ralph Fiennes) and Jo Henninger (Jessica Chastain) accidentally kill a boy in a case of drunk driving. Hoping to cover up their crime, the couple take the body with them to the villa where their friend Richard Galloway (Matt Smith) convinces David to come clean to the police. The next day David goes with the boy’s father to bury him, leaving Jo behind. As the days progress, both Jo and David begin to suspect that the grieving father may be planning more than one funeral, and Richard may have known this all along.

Director: Andrew Bujalski
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Molly Gordon, Lili Taylor, Avi Nash, Lennie James, Jon Natchez
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 1h 33m
Rotten Tomatoes: 43% (Critics), N/A% (Audience)

High-concept, low budget, minimal plot, and maximal character are all terms that have been used to describe director Andrew Bujalski’s peak pandemic creation There There. Shot during the height of covid the film’s very theme was born from necessity, offering an awkward, albeit sometimes the too close-to-home experience of humanity versus isolation. Composed of six two-character scenes, There There was made with absolutely zero face-to-face interaction between cast members all while being shot on an iPhone by a single cameraman. Driven by the pace of its editing, the strength of its acting, and the genuine heart of its script, it’s a monumental achievement that the film works at all. We’re not in the business of sticking movies on this list simply for existing though, and There There shines as an amalgam of indie movie-making meets one-man theater that is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

Director: Matt Ruskin
Cast: Keira Knightley, Carrie Coon, David Dastmalchian, Chris Cooper, Alessandro Nivola, Morgan Spector, Robert John Burke
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Rating: R
Runtime: 1hr 54m
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A

Fans of real-life based crime thrillers rejoice because one of the most skin-crawling tales of modern American serial killings has just landed on streaming as a Hulu exclusive. It’s the 1960s and Boston prides itself on a hard-knock police force and sharp-nosed reporters that keep its streets safe and citizens informed. Reporter Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) is challenging that claim. Noticing a trend of violent crimes carried out against women, Loretta begs her boss and the Boston PD to take a look. She is quickly brushed aside as nothing more than a hysterical woman, so she and fellow female reporter Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) set out to prove them wrong. Uncovering a continuing trail of murder and sexual assault, they publish their findings setting off one of the biggest manhunts in American history.