A wise man once said, “I love it when a plan comes together.” I certainly do too—especially when I'm watching a movie.

At a time when much of daily existence is consumed by stressing out over the way the people in power are screwing up our lives and the planet, there’s a certain pleasure in sinking into a narrative in which all of the characters are incredibly good at what they do—whether that’s exploring space, playing chess, carrying out skillful assassinations, or getting their asses to (or off) of Mars.

If you too seek to be inspired by watching a bunch of smart people manage not to absolutely fuck everything up, members of the Lifehacker staff suggest these 30 films (and a few TV shows), all of which are basically explicit competence porn. (That’s hot.)

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Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Individually, you’d be hard-pressed to call the near-dozen members of Danny Ocean’s crew of thieves, forgers, and con artists highly competent; they are all one brand of fuckup or another, which is probably why they say yes when asked to participate in an impossible scheme to rob three Las Vegas casinos at the same time. The fact that they pull it off without a hitch (more or less) is evidence enough that sometimes, 11 heads are better than one. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Moneyball (2011)

Moneyball is based on a true story about Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane, who attempts to build a competitive baseball team on a bare-bones budget. He cobbles together a group of undervalued talent using some extra-brainy data analysis served up by a Yale economics graduate, and the results are dramatic, funny, and endearing. It’s a classic sports team underdog story, with a nerdy twist. —Meghan Walbert

Where to stream: Netflix, digital rental

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The Fast Saga (2001 – )

You might wonder how this endless parade of meatheads, dudebros, and thirst traps could be filed anywhere near competence, but I urge you to expand your mind: Within the Fast universe, these petty thieves-turned-international-action-heroes are the best at what they do. They remind you every movie—11 and counting, including Hobbs and Shaw—that they can do anything, which qualifies as extreme competence...even if what they’re doing includes anything from petty heists (Fast and Furious), to bounty hunting (2 Fast 2 Furious), to international destruction under the guise of crime fighting (basically Fasts 5 through 8). The best part, though, is that you don’t have to be competent at all to enjoy their ridiculous antics and to feel like, just maybe, you too could powerslide your Mitsubishi around the corner, if you really wanted to. —Jordan Calhoun

Where to stream: Peacock (most of them), digital rental

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Apollo 13 (1995)

Ron Howard's best movie dramatizes one of the dodgier moments in the history of the United States space program, the 1970 mission during which the (sadly) aptly numbered Apollo 13 lunar craft experienced an electrical short that threatened not just the moon mission, but also the lives of everyone onboard. The disaster itself is harrowingly portrayed, but the movie's most effectively thrilling moments involve ground control working with the Apollo crew to jury-rig solutions to an escalating series of problems. Just a bunch of smart, very motivated people being very clever. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Apple TV+, Digital rental

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Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

You could slot in nearly any Star Trek series here, but TNG takes the franchise's celebration of science-backed competence further than just about any of them. Lead by stalwart diplomat Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), this crew warps into trouble spots and solves problems with minimal personal drama. Whether it's an outer-space archaeological mystery, yet another transporter malfunction, or a time travel dilemma on the sex planet, the Enterprise crew works together seamlessly, each bringing their own particular talents to bear (or stepping back and letting Wesley save the day). —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Paramount+, digital purchase

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The Prestige (2006)

Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige pulls off some kind of magic trick in making you sympathize equally with the two men on opposite sides of the ultimate magicians’ duel. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play a pair of masters of deception, each aiming to continually trump the other with increasingly ingenious (and dangerous) feats of misdirection...until we discover, in the end, that one of them is willing to go so far to prove his genius that he has even figured out how to cheat death. Now that’s competence. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, Mr. Grey, and Mr. Brown board the same NYC 6 train at different stations, taking hostages and demanding $1 million (which was real money in 1974). It's a motley crew, but lead with military precision by Blue (Robert Shaw), a former British Army colonel. On the other side is transit cop Lt. Garber (Walter Matthau), an unlikely hero who knows the subways system inside and out. Watching the equally matched opponents square off against one another—mostly over the radio—is deeply satisfying. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental

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Hidden Figures (2016)

Behind the first men in space were the “human computers” who calculated how to get them there. And among these people—these hidden figures—were three women of color who were brilliant mathematicians and engineers employed at NASA during the “Space Race.” The movie is based on the true story of the women who were the brains behind the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. —Meghan Walbert

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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Catch Me If You Can (2002)

On the lighter side of Steven Spielberg's filmography, but no less entertaining for it, Catch Me If You Can dramatizes the story of con man Frank Abagnale Jr., who, in his early life, claimed to have posed as a doctor and, more memorably, a Pan-Am pilot to carry out schemes he profited from to the tune of millions of dollars (again, allegedly—the real-life details are less certain, but we're here to enjoy a movie). Leonardo DiCaprio plays Frank with a sly charm—you can imaging people being taken in—while Tom Hanks is an effective foil as the FBI agent on his tail. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Paramount+, digital rental

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Haikyuu!! (2014 – 2020)

If you’re skeptical that a shonen anime volleyball drama belongs on this list, I understand: I, too, didn’t care about volleyball and couldn’t imagine how an anime could possible change that. But that’s the wonder of the show (and many other shonen anime, to be honest): the ability to take an otherwise negligible thing and use its characters’ passion to turn it into the most important thing in the world. And in the case of Haikyuu!! they do it by compensating for their individual weaknesses by becoming remarkably skilled when working together. Each player is the best at one single thing, and if you go on a limb to give this anime an honest chance, I promise you won’t regret it. —Jordan Calhoun

Where to stream: Netflix, Crunchyroll

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The Incredibles (2004)

The entire Incredible family, lead by Holly Hunter's Elastigirl and Craig T. Nelson's Mr. Incredible, are very good at what they do: she can stretch her body, he's got superhuman strength. Daughter Violet can turn invisible and create force fields, son Dash can move at amazing speeds, etc. But they're all at their absolute best when working together. They're skilled superheroes, yes, and also serviceable detectives...but it all comes together because of their true talent for being a generally loving, supportive family. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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The Martian (2015)

It goes without saying that Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is incredibly competent at his job(s)—astronaut/botanist—considering he’s able to survive on freaking Mars for more than a year after being stranded there due to a random spaceship accident. To do so, he must figure out everything from how to retrofit his meager shelter to how to grow potatoes in his own shit. But The Martian truly belongs on this list because basically every other character in it, from Watney’s former crew mates to the NASA engineers back on Earth, is similarly chock full of the right stuff. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Contagion (2011)

Steven Soderbergh's medical disaster film plays rather differently in the wake of the COVID pandemic, especially given that the source and genetic origin of film's outbreak is surprisingly similar to our real-world contagion—or maybe not so surprising to scientists who were very aware of the risk for years prior. But I digress! Here we see previews of the misinformation and political interference that would plague us later, but we also see scientists and health officials doing what needs to be done to stop the virus in its tracks, and largely being listened to. It's oddly satisfying as a result, even if it all now feels a little pie-in-the-sky. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Apple TV+, digital rental

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Ace of Cakes (2006 – 2011)

It’s been a full 15 years since Duff Goldman and his team of baker-artist-engineers taught us that a cake doesn’t exist just to be eaten. No, a cake can be a piece of art, and it can be a feat of engineering. It would be impressive enough if Duff’s team at Charm City Cakes was making volcano cakes on the regular, but what makes these cakes particularly awe-inspiring is that each one is uniquely designed and created per the customer’s request—and they get bigger (and maybe more ridiculous) with each of the show’s 10 seasons. Come for the cakes, stay for the quirky personalities of those who create them. —Meghan Walbert

Where to stream: Hulu

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12 Angry Men (1957)

There's no escaping the high heat, literally and figuratively, in the scenario of 12 jurors hashing out the facts of a murder case involving a 19-year-old boy accused of killing his abusive father. This isn't competence of the slick and smooth variety, but instead a story of cooler heads prevailing during a scenario of heightened emotions. That measured passion in the face of such an important decision represents its own kind of proficiency. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Seven Samurai (1956)

Akira Kurosowa’s 1954 Japanese blockbuster concerns the plight of a small village under siege by bandits, and the crew of unassailable swordsman the villagers manage to recruit to save their skins. Watching the seven title characters being incredibly good at what they do—sometimes despite themselves—proved so winning a formula that it not only inspired disparate remakes (as a western, The Magnificent Seven; as a kids’ flick, A Bug’s Life), but forms the spine of Helen DeWitt’s celebrated 2000 novel The Last Samurai, in which a single mother, in lieu of a father figure for her young son, chooses to impart lessons of manhood by making him watch the movie over, and over, and over again. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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The West Wing (1999 – 2006)

During an era (well, a generation, at least) of increasing political chaos, there's a tremendous sense of satisfaction in watching Aaron Sorkin's fast-walking, fast-talking cast of White House staffers go about their jobs with passion and integrity (usually). It might be a fantasy, but it suggests the possibility of a world where imperfect people can work within an imperfect system to make things just a little bit better. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Max, digital purchase

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Now You See Me (2013)

To be clear, I think Now You See Me is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. In its desperation to be clever it shifts from overcomplicated, to overly contrived, and then to insulting, as you realize the biggest con this band of con artist magicians ever pulled was tricking you into watching their movie. But where the 2013 film succeeds—aside from baiting you with its all-star cast, including Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, and Morgan Freeman—is making you feel that you too can be the smartest person in the room. —Jordan Calhoun

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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Tampopo (1985)

Nobuko Miyamoto plays the title's Tampopo, a single mom struggling to keep her ramen shop, Lai Lai, afloat. With some help from a couple of surprisingly knowledgable truck drivers, she determines to turn the shop into a high-end ramen destination. It's not an easy road, but it's a lot of fun watching Tampopo and her quirky band of helpers turn things around by focusing less on the commerce of food and more on the love of making and serving it. (In the best scene, a wise ramen master teaches a younger man how to truly appreciate a good bowl of noodles.) —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Max

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Away (2020)

One of Netflix’s countless flash-in-the-pan series, Away was a runaway hit... for about 48 hours. It stars Hilary Swank as the leader of a mission to Mars, and while it wasn’t as memorable as you might expect from its cast or production values—there’s a reason most of us forgot about it and it wasn’t renewed for a second season—it is full of the type of competence porn that makes you hopeful that humanity can conquer anything. It’s a typical space-survival drama, with the added twist of being the United Nations of the subgenre, featuring disabled characters and a diverse set of personalities, including astronauts from China, Russia, India, and a Black, Jewish British-Ghanian. If you like to think the power of science and teamwork can conquer our greatest challenges, Away will make you believe, even if your binge peters out partway through. —Jordan Calhoun

Where to stream: Netflix

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Drive (2011)

There's (a bit more) to this extremely fun Nicolas Winding Refn action drama than driving, but it's called Drive for a reason. Ryan Gosling plays an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as getaway guy for various criminal enterprises. Before long, he's putting his not at all inconsiderable skills to use in helping out his neighbor Irene and her son. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Queen’s Gambit (2020)

Whether you play chess or not is fairly irrelevant to enjoying Queen's Gambit. Although, if you have even the most basic understanding of the game (the viewer category to which I belong), it does make the talents of this young chess prodigy—and the mentors and competitors around her—all the more exciting and impressive. But either way, the story is riveting. —Meghan Walbert

Where to stream: Netflix

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John Wick (2014)

Is there any more effective beat in action cinema than the moment when we realize that the low-level criminals who pissed off quiet, unassuming John have, in fact, messed with exactly the wrong person? They messed with his dog (sad), but didn't know that they were invoking the multi-film-long wrath of (possibly) the most effective hitman in American cinema. No pet has ever been more thoroughly avenged. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Netflix, digital rental

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Sunshine (2007)

I already talked about another movie featuring a crew of hyper-competent astronauts on a desperate life-or-death mission, so I won’t repeat myself too much. But Danny Boyle’s Sunshine deserves a callout too, because the stakes in this movie are a hell of a lot higher than the fate of one man. Like, “reignite the dying sun” higher. And these folks manage to pull it off (uh, spoiler) despite heading out entirely aware that there is a good chance they won’t be coming back—and that’s even before the murderer shows up. (The other reason it should be on this list is that it is criminally underrated, gorgeously filmed, and the ending made me cry.) —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Sisu (2022)

Think a more grizzled John Wick, but in Finland near the end of World War II. Prospector Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) is just trying to haul his gold find into town when he's harassed by Nazis storming through the countryside. Big mistake: Earlier in the war, Korpi had earned a reputation as a "one-man death squad" nicknamed The Immortal. After escalating and increasingly over-the-top violence, the Waffen-SS platoon will find that bringing the one-time Finnish Army commando out of retirement was not a smart move. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Competence porn is at its best when the competent people in question are pitted against an equally competent adversary, which is exactly what happens in Avengers: Infinity War. Not only is Thanos strong enough to beat the Hulk into a sweater and some glasses, but his soft-spoken confidence is a worthy rival to even the smartest denizens of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He’s a testament to the fact that competence can work for the bad guys just as much as the good ones, and when he’s at his best, it’s almost hard not to cheer for him. As he sits to watch the sun rise on a grateful universe, you have to admit, he earned it. —Jordan Calhoun

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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The Sting (1973)

The Sting was not the first heist movie, but it is definitely one of the most entertaining. This 1973 Best Picture Oscar winner follows two con men (played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford, impossibly young) as they attempt to rip off a ruthless mob boss (Jaws’ Robert Shaw). The title refers to the moment in a caper where the thieves make off with the mark’s money; if they sting him just right, they’ll be long gone before he even realizes he’s been had. Newman and Redford’s con is so elaborate—it’s more like a series of nested operations—that it takes a whole crew of super-competent conmen to pull it off, and Shaw never feels a thing. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Digital rental

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All the President’s Men (1976)

This classic dramatization of the events surrounding the public reveal of Watergate somehow makes thrilling a naturalistic portrait of journalists doing their jobs. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman are impeccable as Woodward and Bernstein, a couple of reporters on what starts out seeming like a very minor political piece that blows up into a story that brings down a president. Back when such things were possible. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Pride (2014)

Another one based on a true story, Pride follows a group of queer British activists who raised funds for striking miners during a strike in 1984. During the Thatcher-era strike, gay activist Mark Ashton (Ben Schnetzer) noticed that police were no longer harassing queers, as they were too busy going after strikers. During a local Pride parade, he starts a fundraising campaign, finding common cause with the miners. Over the course of the campaign depicted in the film, money is raised and bonds are formed such that rights for blue-collar workers and LGBTQ+ people are advanced in the U.K. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Peacock, digital rental

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In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Sidney Poitier came in for criticism, often from Black audiences, for his portrayals of perfect characters—the suggestion being that Americans might only accept people of color if they could be presented as flawless. He's a damn good cop here, but I think it works, as there's no other way that he'd survive Sparta, Mississippi of the 1960s. After an opening that plays like a horror movie that finds him trapped in the town after dark, he's ultimately asked to help the police solve a murder: it's not that the locals are willing to treat him quite like a human being, but he's so good that they have no choice but to ask for his help. His extraordinary competence here is a blessing and a curse. It's one part gripping police procedural, and several parts a portrait of American racism. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental

His keyboard, which became famous after Tom Hanks melodiously hopped on it, displayed Mr. Saraceni’s vision of technology powered by “people energy.”

It’s nearly Father’s Day once again, which means you’re probably seeing ads for all the types of gifts that a dad might like: wacky golf balls; knives that open up to reveal other knives; neckties covered in pictures of hot dogs and footballs. Maybe you know a dad who loves all of that stuff. Maybe your dad loves all that stuff. But fathers, and father figures, come in all varities, and sometimes have interests that go beyond bourbon and barbecues.

The movies don’t always serve the cause of dad-diversity, presenting many of the same tired stereotypes over and over again. But there are still some truly impressive representations of fathers out there: moving, funny, caring, sometimes a little messed up, but doing their best with what they’ve got to work with. That’s all you can ask for from any parent.

Whether you’re looking for something to do with dad this weekend, or just want to spend time with the fantasy dad you never had, pour some booze, put some meat on the barbecue, and watch a movie featuring one of the great movie dads.

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Furious Styles in Boyz n the Hood (1991)

In one of the most iconic dad performances in film history, Laurence Fishburne guides his son Tre through life and adolescence in South Central L.A. during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s in director John Singleton’s directorial debut. Furious isn’t always the cuddliest father figure (not even a little), but his tough love and hard-earned wisdom help to keep his son from the worst consequences of drug, gang, and police violence, even as his less fortunate friends fall victim. Singleton based the movie on his own life, and based Furious on his own father, which, along with Fishburne’s performance, helps to explain why this particular dad resonates, even 30 years later.

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental

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Jack Spier in Love, Simon (2018)

Josh Duhamel’s Jack is already a pretty good dad, though he goes through most of Love, Simon entirely clueless about the fact that his son is gay, making jokes that he thinks are harmless and teasing Simon about hot girls and girlfriends. When Simon gets outed to the entire school all at once, Jack’s initially not sure how to respond—but ultimately gets it just right (he even promises to sign up for Grindr, not quite getting the concept). So many coming out stories turn to heartbreak, but a good dad helps give this one a happy ending.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Bryan Mills in Taken (2008)

He’s a man with a very particular set of skills. Skills which, OK, aren’t really related to parenting in any meaningful way. Unless you find yourself kidnapped by an Albanian human trafficking ring, in which case those skills (Green Beret and CIA stuff, mostly) are pretty much exactly what you want from your dad. Over the course of the three-film Taken series, Bryan doesn’t really ever become a great dad, but he does do absolutely anything in his power to thwart multiple kidnappings involving his sometimes-estranged family, which should be worth at least a nice Father’s Day card.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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George Kirk in Star Trek (2009)

Captain Kirk’s dad makes the list without having spent a single moment with his kid—at least in the alternate timeline of the J. J. Abrams-produced Star Trek movies. When a Romulan vessel from the future threatens the Federation starship Kelvin, first officer George Kirk does the only thing he can: he personally smashes the Kelvin into the invading ship in order to buy time for his crew to flee in escape shuttles (the autopilot tragically, but unsurprisingly, disabled). Among that crew is his wife, Winona, now prematurely in labor. Not only does dad (played by none other than Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth) sacrifice his life for his newborn son, but he passes on some truly impressive genes to a kid who ultimately grows into Chris Pine. Beyond even that, we later learn that the early death of his dad lead to the much rougher start for James T. in the alternate universe of this set of movies.

Where to stream: Paramount+, digital rental

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John Quincy Archibald in John Q (2002)

John and Denise Archibald (Denzel Washington and Kimberley Elise) find themselves in a horrific situation, but not an impossible one: despite having insurance, the couple learns they don’t have the right coverage to pay for the heart transplant needed to save the life of their son. Without, essentially, a $75,000 co-pay, the hospital won’t put Mike on a donor list. In desperation, Washington’s character takes a cardiologist and several hospital staff hostage in exchange for treatment. It’s all rather heavy-handed, and his plan isn’t a particularly good one, but Washington is convincing, as always, as a dad who will do anything to save his son.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Hal Fields in Beginners (2010)

Better late than never. That’s the message of Beginners, in which Hal, played by Christopher Plummer (at the beginning of his own late-career resurgence) comes out to his son, Oliver (Ewan McGregor). As Hal begins to live his life more openly and finds love with a younger man, he also develops a more honest relationship with Oliver. As a result, the two become closer than ever before, and their relationship inspires Oliver to pursue a new romance—and to generally live life on his own terms. It’s a movie about how, sometimes, being true to yourself is the best way to be a good parent.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Juan in Moonlight (2016)

Mahershala Ali won an Oscar for playing Juan, surrogate father to the film's main character, Chiron (played by Alex R. Hibbert during the film's early scenes). A drug dealer who sells crack to Chiron's mother, Juan is hardly an ideal role model. But he's the best, by far, that Chiron has, and a genuine tenderness develops between the two after Juan finds Chiron hiding in a crackhouse. Juan teaches Chiron lessons that will benefit him throughout his life, perhaps most significantly that there's nothing wrong with being gay.

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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David Drayton in The Mist (2007)

Stephen King stories frequently deal with imperfect fatherhood, but this adaptation (from Frank Darabont, also director of The Shawshank Redemption) features one of his best dads: David Drayton (Thomas Jane), a painter who finds himself trapped in a supermarket that serves as a refuge for a disparate group of individuals against the Lovecraftian nightmares lurking outside. As the situation grows more extreme, David holds it together, more or less, protecting his son while his erstwhile friends and neighbors turn on each other, and/or give way to religious mania. An absolute gut-punch of a final act complicates David's legacy as a parent, certainly, but also makes clear the extremes to which he'd go to do what he thinks is best for his kid.

Where to stream: Freevee, Prime Video

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Troy in Cowboys (2020)

Like many of the dads here, Steve Zahn's Troy isn't perfect, but his mistakes are in service of protecting his transgender son Joe (played by actually trans actor Sasha Knight, which shouldn't be an innovation in casting, but here we are). Before an extended flashback, the film begins with Joe and Troy on a trip through the Montana wilderness. Joe's parents broke up over his trans identity; mom Sally refused to support the kid, but Sally gained custody anyway after Troy assaulted a relative for insulting Joe. There's plenty of family drama here, but Joe's transition is sensitively handled, as is Troy's diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Marlin in Finding Nemo (2003)

The clue is in the movie's title: This one's all about Marlin (Albert Brooks), a clownfish who, in the best tradition of animated children's movies, loses nearly his entire family in the opening act to a barracuda attack. He vows to protect the one surviving egg, which hatches into an adorable fishy named Nemo, at all costs, becoming a tad overprotective in the process. That fierce love is what propels him on a dangerous quest across the vast ocean to find and rescue his son after Nemo is lost.

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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Mr. Perlman in Call Me By Your Name (2017)

The ideal cool, nerdy dad, Michael Stuhlbarg's character in this adaptation of the André Aciman novel is a professor who hosts intellectuals at seemingly interminable dinners while visiting rural Northern Italy with his family, including son Elio (Timothée Chalamet). When Elio develops feelings for Armie Hammer's visiting grad student Oliver, dad never blinks an eye. Those dinners might be tiresome, but a small price to pay for witnessing dad's gentle and encouraging nature—he supports Elio while encouraging him to find his own path, and never passing judgment.

Where to stream: Prime Video

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Jim’s Dad in American Pie (1999)

Across four films (and four spin-off movies), Jim’s unnamed dad (Eugene Levy) has been the charming, clueless heart of the American Pie series. We expect the milquetoast Levy to shy away from any discussions of sex, but the ultra-helpful dad is always ready to dive right in to an uncomfortable degree: buying (and trying to explain) porn for a son who already gets the idea; not getting too worked about the disposition of the titular pie; etc. The joke, initially, is that a supportive, open dad can make for some incredibly uncomfortable moments. Over time, though, it’s clear that Jim’s dad is a just pretty solid parent, and wonderfully sex-positive, even when things are a little awkward.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Based on a true story and starring Will Smith alongside his son Jaden, this movie follows the ups and harrowing downs of Chris Gardner’s life as he struggles to keep afloat in Reagan-era San Francisco. Bad luck and bad decisions impact the family’s fortunes, but many of their problems are broadly recognizable: as Chris gets further behind in the bills, it becomes increasingly impossible to catch up. Though the two experience homelessness before the end, Chris never sacrifices his dignity, nor his optimism for his family’s future.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Sam, Harry, and Bill in Mamma Mia! (2008)

At the beginning of Mamma Mia!, Amanda Seyfried’s character sets out to invite her “real” father to her wedding—the only problem being, she’s not sure who that is. She finally narrows the list down to three candidates (Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, and Colin Firth), all men with whom her mother (Meryl Streep) had spent a magical summer many years ago (and who, incidentally, have wildly varying singing skills). At first, they’re all reluctant to claim responsibility but, by the end, nobody cares who is who: they’re all her real dads, by choice if not biology, and their found family is way more important than any blood test.

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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Mike and Sully in Monsters, Inc. (2001)

The joke of Monsters, Inc. is that the monsters, Mike and Sully (John Goodman and Billy Crystal), are at least as afraid of the little kids as the kids are of them—a feeling to which new dads can probably relate. When Boo (Mary Gibbs) sneaks through her closet door into the scare factory, the pair of surrogate dads move from fear of the girl to fear for her, and learn that laughter is more powerful than anything scary.

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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Mac MacGuff in Juno (2007)

Look, there’s no way that J.K. Simmons is going to play a cute, cuddly dad. But, when Eliot Page’s oddball Juno becomes pregnant at 16, gruff Mac MacGuff is exactly who she needs. Without judging, condemning, or freaking out, he supports her at every quirky turn in her effort to find adoptive parents for the baby—and does so with a snarky sense of humor and a (mildly) foul mouth that never turns mean. By the end, he assures his kid that, to the right person, the sun will always shine out Juno’s a**.

Aw, dad.

Where to stream: Hulu

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Jonathan Kent and Jor-El in Superman (1978)

Neither dad in 1978’s Superman gets a ton of screen time, but Jonathan (Glenn Ford) raises Clark and, with Martha, helps instill in him the values that he’ll need in order to use his incredible powers for the benefit of others. Marlon Brando’s Jor-El gets credit as well, not only for creating and building the oddly tiny rocket that sent his son to Earth but also for showing up to offer advice from beyond the grave. Kal-El was the sole survivor* of that doomed planet, and that’s almost entirely thanks to his dad, who sent along an interactive virtual dad for Kal to talk to when the young Superman needed a morale boost, or just a Kryptonian history lesson. I’m saying it took two dads (and a couple of great moms, as well) working together from across the universe to shape Clark.

(Between salary and profit points, Marlon Brando earned around $20 million in 1978 dollars for fewer than 20 minutes onscreen, making him not just one of the best, but also one of the best-paid dads on the list.)

*Or one of dozens, including at least one dog, depending on which version of the story we’re talking about.

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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Lt. Donald Thompson in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Look, he’s not a perfect dad.

Strike one: Don (the late, great John Saxon) participated in the extrajudicial murder of an accused child killer (not a good look for a cop) that unleashed Freddy Krueger on the town of Springwood; Freddy is now obsessed with taking his revenge on the town’s teenagers; oops. Strike two: When his smart, convincing daughter Nancy tried to call attention to that fact, he initially dismisses her concerns (and uses her to bait the killer, who he suspects is human). Nevertheless, all of his (very significant!) mistakes were misguided attempts to protect his family. He comes around by the end, giving Nancy a hand in defeating Freddy the first time around, and giving his life for her a couple of movies later. And he helped raise the most resourceful of all slasher movie protagonists, so he clearly did something right.

Where to stream: Netflix, digital rental

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Will Stacks in Annie (2014)

It’s a hard knock life for Quvenzhané Wallis’ Annie, no doubt, but things start looking up when she has a chance encounter with Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx), a cellphone mogul running for mayor of New York (also an update of the “Daddy Warbucks” character from earlier Annie adaptations). Will’s hard-driving campaign manager sees Annie as nothing more than a publicity stunt to help his boss win the election. She’s not much more than that to Will, at first, but, of course, melts his hard heart before the last musical number. A new family and an adoption are in the works while everyone sings “Tomorrow.”

Where to stream: Hulu, Tubi, digital rental

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Gomez Addams in The Addams Family (1991)

In cinema history, I’m not sure that there’s any more healthy relationship than the one between Raul Julia’s Gomez and Anjelica Huston’s Morticia. It may be within a wacky, sometimes slapstick goth comedy, but their marriage is a true partnership between two people who remain deeply in love and genuinely horny for each other, even after many years of marriage and a couple of kids. These two have heat. Everything else springs from that. Gomez is a great dad: doting, supportive, and playful. Living up to the Addams creed, he’ll also gladly (very gladly) feast on any who would subdue them—because protecting one’s family is almost as important as having fun.

Where to stream: Paramount+, digital rental

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Antonio Ricci in Bicycle Thieves (1948)

A stolen bike is the catalyst for father-son bonding in the beautifully photographed Italian classic Bicycle Thieves. With work in short supply, Lamberto Maggiorani’s Antonio is able to get a bicycle after his wife, Maria, pawns some of the family’s prized possessions. Times being what they are in post-WWII Italy, the bike is stolen on Antonio’s first day of work, forcing Antonio and his son Bruno to scour the city searching for the crucial possession. From that deceptively simple plot comes a thoughtful, moving, honest story of fathers and sons in troubled times.

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, digital rental

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Frank Fisher in Hearts Beat Loud (2018)

Nick Offerman plays gruff widower Frank, a vinyl enthusiast and owner of a failing record store who finds himself in something like a midlife crisis. His daughter Sam is headed off to medical school in the fall, but shares her dad’s love of music—even if their tastes don’t entirely line up. She agrees to her dad’s request that they record a song together… and the resulting single becomes a streaming hit. It sounds cutesy, but it’s got a smart script and a stellar cast, as well as a sharply drawn portrait of a father and daughter who have, maybe, a bit more in common than they think.

Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, digital rental

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Rick Mitchell in The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021)

Danny McBride voices technophobic Rick Mitchell, who teams up with his daughter Katie (Abbi Jacobson) to save the world in this smartass-yet-heartwarming animated movie. Aspiring filmmaker Katie is constantly at odds with her dad, whose nature and tool obsessions leave him out of the loop when it comes to her dream of being a filmmaker. Instead of letting Katie take a flight to college, Ricks opts for a road trip to help the whole family bond, which doesn’t work out too well until a tech company’s AI goes rogue and threatens the entire world; the family comes back together to fight the machines, with father and daughter learning to understand each other along the way.

Where to stream: Netflix, digital rental

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Seo Seok-woo in Train to Busan (2016)

As we’ve seen, it often takes a crisis to bring a family together. How about a zombie apocalypse? On a train? The 2016 South Korean production sees just that scenario play out: Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) is a workaholic divorced dad who comes to feel that he’s running out of time to be the father he ought to be for his daughter Su-an (Kim Su-an). He has no idea how little time he has, as the train trip he plans for them as bonding time becomes something much more desperate when a zombie-infected woman hops aboard just before departure. What follows is one of the best action-horror movies of the past decade, but also a surprisingly moving story about a father and daughter reconnecting at the end of the world.

Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, digital rental

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Willie Jones in Friday (1995)

John Witherspoon’s Willie Jones is the beating heart of the Friday series—a dorky, often embarrassing dad to Ice Cube’s character who, like many of the best dads, is more than capable of absolutely wrecking a bathroom. Throughout the stoner/buddy trilogy, Witherspoon brings the laughs, but it’s the unexpected moments of heart that solidify his spot as one of the very best movie dads. An emotional speech on gun violence in the first movie somehow fits in perfectly with all the comedy, and that’s a tribute to Witherspoon’s talents. Many of the best father figures can do both: goofy when it’s called for, but serious when it’s needed.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Tatsuo Kusakabe in My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Archaeology professor Tatsuo doesn’t spend a ton of time with Mei and Satsuki over the course of My Neighbor Totoro, which is just as well given that it allows room for his daughters to have their own adventures. But he does support the girls at every turn—giving full reign to their imaginations, but also accepting Mei fully at her word when she describes Totoro. With their mother ill and in the hospital, Tatsuo knows exactly when to nurture his girls, and when to let them explore freely.

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Lawyer and widowed father Atticus Finch watches over Scout and her brother Jem in the fictional southern town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. In that context, he’s almost all you could ask for in a father: he’s a benevolent but firm presence who doesn’t take pains to shield his children from the harsh realities of poverty and racism that surround their middle-class lives. Though we’ve (hopefully) begun to move beyond the type of “white savior” narratives that Atticus so ably represents, there’s little question that, as a father figure, he’s an iconic presence.

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental

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Rahul Khanna in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)

As the single dad in one of Bollywood’s most beloved rom-coms, Shah Rukh Khan’s Rahul Khanna has had little on his mind but taking care of his daughter, Anjali, for the eight years since her mother died. Anjali’s mom left behind letters for her daughter to read on each of her subsequent birthdays and, when she comes to the final one, learns that her dad was very nearly in a relationship with a different woman when he was in college. Naturally, Anjali decides that her dad needs a girlfriend and that she’s going to hook him up. The father-daughter relationship is genuinely charming.

Where to stream: Netflix, Prime Video

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Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Chaim Topol plays Tevye, the poor milkman in the shtetl of Anatevka at the turn of the 20th century, a critical time and one of dramatic change. As the Russians are gradually expelling Jews from their villages, Tevye is forced to cope with both that existential threat to his family’s existence while trying to preserve some sense of tradition and normalcy in the lives of a family that includes three daughters approaching ages at which they might be matched for marriage. Where Tevye doesn’t respond as well as he might to changes (all but disowning one daughter for marrying outside the faith), he genuinely believes that all of his actions are to benefit his children and prevent them from moving too fast into an uncertain future.

Where to stream: Tubi, MGM+, digital rental

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Woody Carmichael in Crooklyn (1994)

There’s plenty of trouble for the Carmichael family in Spike Lee’s semi-autobiographical film: set in colorful Bed-Stuy in the early 70s, there are fights with the neighbors and equally vicious fights within the family over money (and, specifically, Woody’s inability to save any). When the family matriarch dies, though, Woody and his daughter Troy (Zelda Harris) form an unspoken agreement to team up and keep what remains of their family together. Not every parent is an island, and it’s the loving partnership between father and daughter that holds things together for the Carmichaels.

Where to stream: Digital rental

Appealing superhero film saddles a kaiju fighter with an orphaned infant, who brings challenges to test supernanny’s domestic mettle

In this family superhero animation with a twist, the monster that must be grappled with by our hero is parenthood – and specifically baby-care. We open in Odaiba, Japan, with a flashback to the childhood of Ken Sato, whose dad is passionate about kaiju, the giant monsters of Japanese pop culture (of which Godzilla is probably the best known in the west). Twenty years later, Ken is a baseball star by day and gigantic kaiju fighter Ultraman by night (or indeed, whenever the kaiju show up) though like his father before him, it’s more about protecting people and monsters from each other than a standard slay-the-beast trajectory.

Things get complicated when he finds himself unexpectedly landed with an orphaned baby kaiju to look after. Ken is not prepared for single parenthood, and is duly rushed off his feet managing the competing demands of work and adopted infant, getting covered in bodily fluids in the process, and making all sorts of delightful discoveries about the limits of his own knowledge. “Babies get acid reflux?” he exclaims despairingly at one point, in a line that feels rooted in lived experience. Mind you, this baby is 35ft tall and breathes fire, so, you know, a challenge even for Supernanny.

Continue reading...

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© Photograph: Netflix

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© Photograph: Netflix

Starring the Computer is a website dedicated to the use of computers in film and television. Each appearance is catalogued and rated on its importance (ie. how important it is to the plot), realism (how close its appearance and capabilities are to the real thing) and visibility (how good a look does one get of it). Fictional computers don't count (unless they are built out of bits of real computer), so no HAL9000 - sorry.

Starring the Computer previously [2012], now with 12 additional years of computers, organized by title of Movie/TV Show and brand of computer.

Hollywood's Brief Cocaine Binge On '87-'88's Less Than Zero, Bright Lights, Big City, and Clean and Sober (Scott Tobias for The Reveal)

Ever since Jaws made people afraid to go back into the water in 1975, summer has been considered prime moviegoing season, at least for a certain flavor of film: Usually loud, often heavy on the thrills, and more likely than not, loaded with special effects. Summer blockbusters have a reputation for being silly and superficial; though that need not be the case, it’s certainly true that the defining examples of the form favor wowing you with spectacle over making you think (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

To celebrate the return of Hot Weather Movies, let's run down the list of the best summer blockbusters released since the year 2000. To be considered, a film need not have topped the box office (though most of these did), nor been released during what the calendar strictly defines as summer—I think we can all agree that as far as the movies are concerned, the high season begins in May and ends in August. What they do have to offer, is an entertaining ride.

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Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Release date: May 27, 2022
U.S. box office gross: $719 million

After being delayed for nearly three years, first for reshoots and then because of COVID lockdowns, Top Gun: Maverick felt as though it could easily been an afterthought—especially given the hit-or-miss nature of legacy sequels. Instead, it became the movie that "saved Hollywood" (and movie theaters) after the pandemic had threatened to make streaming the new norma;. The second biggest domestic box office winner of 2022 (behind Avatar: The Way of Water), the sequel to 1986's Top Gun was a fun throwback that actually bested its predecessor as both a theatrical experience and in having a coherent plot—though the dearth of the original's gay undertones feels disrespectful to its legacy. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Paramount+, MGM+, Prime Video

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Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Release date: June 30, 2004
U.S. box office gross: $373 million

For a time, it something of a given that any Marvel movie would be at least passably entertaining and a huge box office hit, but that was hardly the case when Sam Raimi was faced with following up 2002's $400 million smash Spider-Man. The director had no choice but to make the sequel bigger in every way—flashier special effects, higher stakes, the villain even has more arms! Luckier, the movie is also better in areas like, oh, the script (written by Oscar-winner Alvin Sargent from a story by Pulitzer-winner Michael Chabon); not only was it almost as big in U.S. theaters, it kicked off the modern summer blockbuster era in earnest. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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Barbie (2023)

Release date: July 21, 2023
U.S. box office gross: $636 million

The top-grossing movie of 2023, and the one that captured the zeitgeist (sorry Oppenheimer), Barbie is not only a phenomenally good time, it's also going to remain a fascinating cultural artifact for decades to come. It's a deeply weird movie: a piece of corporate IP helmed by a prestigious director (Greta Gerwig) that manages to be as goofy as it is genuinely moving. For a brief, beautiful moment, we were united in our shared affection a film based on a doll. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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Star Trek (2009)

Release date: May 8, 2009
U.S. box office gross: $257 million

When it comes to Star Trek, I was always more of a Next Generation guy—though don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the even-numbered films as much as the next geek—so I wasn’t as offended as some by the big swings director J.J. Abrams took when given the conn of the long-lived franchise. Yeah, it recasts the original leads (though Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Karl Urban do a good job replicating the Big Throuple Energy of Kirk/Spock/Bones), it de-canonizes all that came before by taking place in an alternate timeline, it even kills off an entire, beloved alien species. But in foregrounding the action, it also feels like the first big-screen Trek to truly take advantage of its summer release date. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Paramount+, Digital rental

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Wonder Woman (2017)

Release date: June 2, 2017
U.S. box office gross: $413 million

A bright spot in the wildly inconsistent (but often not great, let's be real) DC movie universe, the Patty Jenkins-directed take on Wonder Woman manages to feel like a real, actual movie for most of its runtime, placing genuine human (and superhuman) characters in a visceral World War I setting and telling a story that doesn't feel like setup for a dozen crossovers and spinoffs. Diana's (Gal Gadot) journey from an isolated island of women into a world shaped by men feels like a descent into hell, a bold choice that pays off, making it clear exactly what kind of hero she is. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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Ready or Not (2019)

Release date: August 21, 2019
U.S. box office gross: $29 million

Aside from late October, there’s no better time for a chilling horror flick than the dog days of summer, and this underrated high-concept, bloody romp certainly feels perfect for the hottest month, blending a creepy setup—a woman (Samara Weaving) gets more than she bargained for when she marries into an ultra-wealthy family with a penchant for playing The Most Dangerous Game—with over-the-top action that grows increasingly unhinged with every death (and zany plot twist). Go in knowing as little as possible and you’ll have just the best time. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Dark Knight (2008)

Release date: July 18, 2008
U.S. box office gross: $534 million

I'm not sold on the idea that superhero flicks need to be some version of dark and "mature" to be taken seriously—often those movies feel like they're trying too hard to bend a story into a shape it was never meant for. Christopher Nolan's Bat sequel, though, squares that circle rather elegantly, telling a story that feels both grounded in its action (looking to films like Michael Mann's Heat for inspiration) and over the top in its comic book flourishes—including its villains. Heath Ledger, of course, a posthumous Best Actor Oscar for his performance as the Joker. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Release date: June 26, 2001
U.S. box office gross: $78 million

You can understand why Warner Bros. thought it was a good idea to release the next sci-fi special effects extravaganza from Steven Spielberg at the height of summer, but this cold, calculating, alienating story of a robot boy yearning to be real offers little of the fun of Jurassic Park. It’s generally a dour, depressing affair, concerning as it does, oh, the death of all humanity and the artificial emotional strain experienced by a doll programmed to love (portrayed with unsettling, glassy-eyed unreality by Haley Joel Osment). This is all hardly surprising, considering it was originally envisioned as a vehicle for director Stanley Kubrick. But it’s also one of the most challenging, intelligent would-be summer blockbusters ever made (and if you want to complain about the ending, feel free to email me). —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Paramount+, MGM+, digital rental

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Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Release date: May 15, 2015
U.S. box office gross: $154 million

George Miller returned in 2015 to the franchise he'd kicked off decades earlier, and by recasting the lead character and rebooting the timeline, he proved the best way to do a legacy sequel is (probably) not to care much at all about what came before. Taking the some of the style from those earlier movies and ditching the rest, Miller and company crafted a uniquely thrilling and distinctive visual spectacle. There have been a lot of action movies, but the unique tone and precision on display here is virtually unmatched. Plus: Charlie Theron's Furiosa is an instant icon. (I'd put her new solo movie on this list too, box office receipts be damned.) —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Release date: May 28, 2014
U.S. box office gross: $100 million

There’s something so inherently satisfying about the Groundhog Day story structure—in which the protagonists experience the same day over and over until they get it right, or at least figure out why and how to stop it—that it has become something of a sub-genre unto itself, and I can think of few better examples of the form than this late-era Tom Cruise star vehicle, based on the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill. Cruise plays a privileged military brat who is conscripted into the marines and forced to fight in battle armor in a brutal war against alien invaders. He’s promptly killed, which does him little good when he wakes up and is forced to relive the harrowing events again... and again. Watching him piece together what’s going on is great fun, especially once Emily Blunt appears as a sword-wielding combat expert who is also stuck on repeat. (That sequel... when?) —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Scary Movie (2000)

Release date: July 7, 2000
U.S. box office gross: $278 million

The genre of the very specific parody movie this one's success revived got old fast, but the lunacy of Scary Movie (directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans) feels inspired—think Spaceballs, but even goofier and with a laser focus on then-recent horror movies (Scream, especially). I'm not sure how well the references hold up—is the lengthy "Wazzup!" sequence still funny if you aren't steeped in the history of late-1990s beer commercials?—but there's still plenty of genuinely funny stuff to giggle at, and leads Regina Hall and Anna Faris prove themselves to be comedy MVPs. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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Mamma Mia! (2008)

Release date: June 27, 2009
U.S. box office gross: $144 million

Musicals make for perfect escapist summer fare—at least when they’re as light and frothy as this straight-from-Broadway jukebox compilation, which does its best to craft a nonsensical story out of a collection of ABBA’s greatest hits. The plot is laughable—Amanda Seyfried plays a girl who wants to finally meet her dad before she gets hitched, but her mom (Meryl Streep) isn’t sure who he is, so it’s extra awkward when all three potential sperm donors attend the wedding—but it exists only to string together infectious singalong sequences set against a gorgeous Greek island backdrop. It turned out to be one of the biggest hits of the year, raking in over $600 million worldwide and spawning an almost as successful sequel a decade later—good thing ABBA had a lot of songs to work with. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Release date: Aug. 5, 2011
U.S. box office gross: $177 million

It's tempting to go with the bigger and significantly more financially successful sequel, but Rise kicked off what’s probably the most impressive blockbuster series in modern history—certainly when judged by an unremitting willingness to dive into the dark. Without being entirely cynical or hopeless, each movie iin the series (up to and including 2024's Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) plumbs the depths of human inadequacies, refusing to offer up reassuring platitudes or easy heroes. Here, Andy Serkis plays Caesar, a genetically enhanced chimpanzee who goes from pet to leading an ape uprising against humanity...and we're mostly rooting for the apes. In a world of carefully triangulated blockbusters designed to make us feel good enough to go shopping afterward, it’s amazing these things got made. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Hulu, digital rental

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Attack the Block (2011)

Release date: July 29, 2011
U.S. box office gross: $1 million

Not all summer sci-fi blockbusters need break the bank when it comes to lavishing spending on special effects spectacle, and this one sure doesn’t. Yet this nimble effort from Edgar Wright collaborator Joe Cornish makes the most of its £8 million budget, favoring innovative staging and perfectly simplistic monster design as it tells the story of a group of British teens (including a pre-Finn John Boyega) on the run from carnivorous alien beasties invading their towering London apartment building. The survival horror setup and immensely charming young cast proves irresistible, and though it barely made a blip in U.S. theaters, it became a cult hit on DVD, and for good reason. And thankfully, it was too much madness for just one movie—more than a decade later, a sequel is in the works. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Bridesmaids (2011)

Release date: May 12, 2011
U.S. box office gross: $169 million

Summer blockbusters aren’t always about special effects and elaborate action sequence, and certainly this team-up of some of the funniest women in comedy—including Kristen Wigg, Maya Rudolph, and surprise Oscar nominee Melissa McCarthy in her breakout role—felt like a big deal. It’s a pleasure seeing these funny ladies make the most of a thin premise (unlucky in love, Wigg’s Annie tries to make the most out of being appointed her best pal’s maid of honor, but ends up making a mess of things)—the kind of largesse usually only granted to a gaggle of male comedians. The movie was a huge smash, enduring all the better because they never tried to make a sequel. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Girls Trip (2017)

Release date: July 21, 2017
U.S. box office gross: $115 million

Another great summer comedy. Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish, and Jada Pinkett Smith set off on the titular adventure, heading to the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. Hijinks ensure. The cast is key here, with four leads who can absolutely do comedy, but also create compelling characters that you actually care about. There are enough solid laughs here for two or three more conventional comedies. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Peacock, digital rental

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Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Release date: August 15, 2018
U.S. box office gross: $175 million

Crazy Rich Asians dials wedding comedy tropes up to twenty—the groom’s family isn’t just richer than the bride’s...they’re richer than just about everybody on the planet (aka crazy rich)—while exploring a cultural landscape literally foreign to most high budget Hollywood films. Constance Wu’s Rachel Chu comes from New York, a world apart from the more traditional (in one sense) Singapore upbringing of her fiancé Nick Young (Henry Fielding). The mere facts of her life seem to serve as proof that she's nothing but a gold-digger—even if Nick's casually cruel mother (Michelle Yeoh) has a similarly questionable background. The big-hearted, funny, and groundbreaking film is a delight from beginning to end, even as its comedy frequently has bite. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Netflix, digital rental

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Pacific Rim (2013)

Release date: July 11, 2013
U.S. box office gross: $102 million

I could offer up a lot of reasons why this Guillermo del Toro-direction action extravaganza is perfect summer entertainment—fantastic special effects, ingeniously conceived action sequences, a more-than-capable multicultural cast, a setup that feels both novel and familiar—but I’ve leave it at this: Giant robots fighting giant monsters. Really says it all. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Apple TV+, Digital rental

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Inception (2008)

Release date: July 13, 2010
U.S. box office gross: $293 million

Director Christopher Nolan has managed to stake a claim to the summer months, whether he's making an obtuse sci-fi flick (Tenet) or a downbeat historical biopic (Oppenheimer). And no movie captures his signature mix of slick style and (at least an attempt at) substance than Inception, which manages to layer what passes for a brainy high-concept plot (a heist pulled off in the layered world of dreams; it's all very silly but makes you think more than many a slice of summer escapism) with a sequences of elaborate, fourth-dimensional action sequences. And it's just nice to watch Leonardo DiCaprio working in peak form. —Joel Cunningham

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The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Release date: June 28, 2003
U.S. box office gross: $305 million

I think we probably all had our doubts leading up to the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the first in what would become a sprawling five-film series. Rides in Disney’s Magic Kingdom are usually inspired by popular movies—not the other way around. But although pirates in general are not typically lovable characters, Captain Jack Sparrow (a mostly pre-cancellation Johnny Depp) manages to win viewers over with an irresistible quirkiness and humor that I can’t imagine replicating. This film features all the things you crave in summer, including live pirates, skeletal pirates, love, violence, treasure, and more. —Meghan Walbert

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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Neighbors (2014)

Release date: May 9, 2014
U.S. box office gross: $150 million

A goofy sex comedy that's also impressively warmhearted, Neighbors stars Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne as a thirty-something couple who try to remain cool when a frat house moves in next door. At first they use the opportunity to relive their college days, but soon they're going to war with the bros next door (and their leader, played by Zac Efron) when it all gets to be too much. It's a solid premise, executed with smarts and silliness. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Apple TV+, digital rental

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The Meg (2018)

Release date: May 30, 2003
U.S. box office gross: $145 million

In 1999, Samuel L. Jackson’s Deep Blue Sea answered the question, what if Jaws, but dumber? The answer turned out to be very good for summer movie fans, if not their brain cells, so you’ve got to hand it to The Meg for coming along nearly two decades later to ask, what if Deep Blue Sea, but significantly dumber? The answer turned out to be another question: “Did Jason Statham just punch a giant shark?” —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Hulu, Digital rental

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Finding Nemo (2003)

Release date: May 30, 2003
U.S. box office gross: $380 million

Did I see Finding Nemo in 2003, a full seven years before I had a kid? Why yes, yes I did. And if you didn’t, you seriously miscalculated how much an adult can enjoy an animated movie geared toward kids. Sure, it starts with the classic Disney move of killing off a parent basically right away. But the usually level-headed Nemo’s one rule-breaking moment leads him on an epic—and dangerous!—adventure in which he meets a slew of relatable personalities. (Sure, there’s the iconic Dory; but remember the “Fish are friends, not food” shark support group? Good stuff.) This endearing and funny film is still worth a watch. —Meghan Walbert

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Release date: April 26, 2019
U.S. box office gross: $858 million

Love Marvel or hate it, there's real narrative power on display in this culmination of the 20+ films that came before it—and it definitely sticks the landing. For all of our sequel-obsessed movie culture, no other single film has beeb challenged with effective summing up an entire franchise in quite the same way (the closest comparison I can think of is The Rise of Skywalker, which was...less successful). Five years after the end of the world, the surviving Avengers take on a mission through time (and their earlier adventures) to try to restore what's been lost, leading to a climactic showdown for the ages. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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Ghostbusters (2016)

Release date: July 15, 2016
U.S. box office gross: $128 million

Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones lead this loose and fun reboot, which largely coasts on the comedic talents of its core cast while also offering up plenty of summer spectacle. In a just world, we'd have gotten at least one sequel to this reboot—which, it bears mentioning, is still the most successful of the modern Ghostbusters movies, both critically and at the box office. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Digital rental

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John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum (2019)

Release date: May 15, 2019
U.S. box office gross: $171 million

Did the second sequel to surprise 2014 action hit John Wick really need to introduce a cartoonish network of super-assassins to combat Keanu Reeves’ titular reluctant professional killer? Yes, I would argue, it did. No, I don’t know know why it is subtitled “Parabellum,” but I promise not to think about it too hard as long as Keanu promises to keep riding horses down the streets of New York City for some reason. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Peacock, Digital rental

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Nope (2022)

Release date: July 22, 2022
U.S. box office gross: $123 million

When Wikipedia tries to classify films by genre, it typically sticks to a word or two. For Jordan Peele's Nope we get "neo-Western science fiction horror film." Which tells you simultaneously nothing, and everything you need to know. Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer star as a couple of siblings in rural California who work supplying live animals to the movie business, and happen upon...something (it might be a UFO, or something else entirely) terrorizing the horses at their remote ranch. The atmosphere of suspense is brilliantly maintained, layered with an aura of general weirdness that will be familiar to anyone who loved Get Out and Us. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Forty-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

Release date: August 11, 2005
U.S. box office gross: $109 million

When you think of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, the iconic chest-waxing scene is probably what first comes to mind. It was absolutely hilarious at the time, even if it might feel tired now. But nah—it’s still funny, and I’ll watch a (relatively) young Paul Rudd, and Seth Rogan improvise insults at one another as they try to find their older, virginal friend Steve Carell a willing date... basically whenever. This is a movie I’d stop to watch every damn time I came across it on TV, which makes it a real shame that you have to rent or buy it now—but I’m willing to pay that fee for the happy ending. —Meghan Walbert

Where to stream: Starz, digital rental

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Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Release date: May 25, 2018
U.S. box office gross: $214 million

I know what you’re going to say but: Solo is the only post-prequels Star War to come out during the summer. And once you can get past the fact that no, we didn’t really need Han’s origin story and that recasting Harrison Ford was a fool’s errand, you’ll realize that this is exactly the kind of inconsequential lark we needed from the galaxy far, far away: a high-stakes heist peppered by memorable characters (including Phoebe Waller-Bridge as a sass-mouthed robot and Donald Glover as the embodiment of Billy Dee Williams) and fantastic deep space action. Sure, I wish original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller had gotten to execute their (reportedly weirder) vision, but Ron Howard’s version is still perfect summer entertainment. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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Maleficent (2014)

Release date: May 30, 2014
U.S. box office gross: $241 million

Angelina Jolie offers up some sympathy for a Disney devil, starring as the titular dark fairy, once self-described "Mistress of All Evil." Maleficent takes the Wicked route of exploring the villain's backstory, and finds in it a goodhearted young woman twisted by war and betrayal. Unlike many a live-action take on a Disney classic, this one more than justifies its existence thanks to its revisionist take, and a delightfully nasty performance from Jolie. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Minority Report (2002)

Release date: June 21, 2002
U.S. box office gross: $132 million

If A.I. made for a poorly timed summer blockbuster, Spielberg’s subsequent effort, adapting a short story from sci-fi mastermind Philip K. Dick, is the opposite: Set in a near-future in which government surveillance has become omnipresent to the point that police have started arresting people for psychically predicted crimes even before they’re committed, it proves to be the perfect vehicle for Tom Cruise doing what he does best: Making that weird face when he runs. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Paramount+, digital rental

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Shrek (2001)

Release date: May 18, 2001
U.S. box office gross: $268 million

The film that launched a franchise. Mike Myers stars as the title's disgusting green ogre, on a reluctant quest to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), but only so that he can get his swamp back. Taking comedic aim at just about every fairytale trope you've ever heard, Shrek feels like the antithesis of the classic Disney formula—first in its gassy protagonist, and then in its firm conviction that the way to happiness isn't to become pretty royalty, but to be yourself. —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Netflix, digital rental

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The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Release date: July 25, 2007
U.S. box office gross: $183 million

Some 17 years elapsed between the series premiere of The Simpsons and the launch of the first film starring America’s favorite yellow family in theaters. At that point, it was the best thing the then-flagging franchise had produced in quite some time—a strong story built on bigger, better animation than the small screen version could ever have hoped to deliver. Audiences responded by turning it into a huge hit, perhaps unaware that doing so would only encourage Fox to keep right on making more episodes of the show until the end of time. (Fun fact: As much time has since elapsed between the release of this film and the present, and the show is still on the air.) —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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Gladiator (2000)

Release date: May 5, 2000
U.S. box office gross: $188 million

Ridley Scott has been fighting the good fight to keep the venerable historical epic alive since this Russell Crowe drama that took home Oscar gold while also managing to deliver a sword-and-sandal spectacle of the kind they don't make anymore (well, except that Ridley Scott still does—Gladiator 2 is coming later this year). Crowe plays the title warrior, who falls from a high status as a Roman general when he invokes the wrath of the emperor, and finds himself fighting for life and glory in the arena. Perhaps you remember his name? —Ross Johnson

Where to stream: Peacock, Paramount+, digital rental

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Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Release date: Aug. 1, 2014
U.S. box office gross: $331 million

One more comic book movie for the list, and the one that proved that Marvel could get really weird and still attract an audience (until it couldn't). An on-the-come-up Chris Pratt stars as an orphaned human who was raised in a distant galaxy filled with other-worldly dangers and biarre aliens (including a sentient tree and a talking raccoon). The general public knew nothing of these heroic C-listers before summer 2014; thanks to the sure hand of writer/director James Gunn, by the release of the third film in 2023, they felt like last Marvel franchise standing. —Joel Cunningham

Where to stream: Disney+, digital renta

Could Elaine May Finally Be Getting Her Due? [ungated] - "A new biography gives a compelling sense of a comic and cinematic genius, and also of the forces that derailed her Hollywood career."

Among the many merits of "Miss May Does Not Exist," a deeply researched, psychologically astute new biography of May by Carrie Courogen, is that the author sees continuities and patterns in a career that is unified, above all, by the force of May's character. Courogen also assesses May's fortunes in the light of social history, giving a detailed account of the many obstacles that May, as a woman, faced in the American entertainment industry of the late fifties and early sixties—a time of few female standup comedians or playwrights and no female movie directors working in Hollywood... She offers a vision of a society in which the crudely learned behavior of crudely socialized men brutalizes the women in their orbit even as it leaves the men vulnerable to calamities and catastrophes of their own making. The core of May's work is the horror of romantic relationships as experienced by women—the physical violence and mental cruelty endured by women at the hands of men... May is essentially a social filmmaker, one whose comedy involves more than her distinctive worlds: in their looseness, her movies defy the geometry of the frame and suggest ragged, shredded edges that reach out and tie in to the real world at large. Her next film would do so even more explicitly—and she'd pay the price for her audacity. After the eleven years in movie exile that May endured for "Mikey and Nicky," she made "Ishtar," a film that's far more famous for its negative publicity than its intrinsic qualities. Owing to reports of its out-of-control budget and May's domineering direction, her career was instantly, definitively crushed, and May has, for all intents and purposes, been serving a life sentence. The injustice of a great film being submerged under ignorant disdain is grievous enough; the wickedly punitive aftermath is an outrage... Alongside the film's scathing anti-Reagan politics, it's a tale of earnest grimness on a subject of fundamental importance to May: creative obsession... As discerningly intricate as her movies are about love and friendship, they're never limited to the private sphere but plugged into the wider world of power. She filmed with a bitterly realistic view of what people do to one another for the sake of perceived advantage, necessity, desire, or compulsion. The theme that unites these films is betrayal. Growing up poor and female, as the child of a man who was a desperate failure and a woman who was a desperate survivor, and in a household linked with the Mob, she felt the cold pressure of institutions and families alike, and witnessed the death grip of whoever had the upper hand. She saw the cruel side of show business from childhood, and entering show business, in her early twenties, negotiated its maelstrom of personal demands and implacable financial pressures. Even with no alter ego in her movies, they're filled with the dramatic essence of her experiences—and with their ravaging emotional effects. She revealed the unspeakably painful and the outrageously hostile, unseemly sympathies and scandals from behind antic masks and with the irresistible power of involuntary laughter. It's among the most vital bodies of work in modern cinema. But in 1987 her accomplishments mattered little. She instantly became a pariah and a has-been.

(previously: 1,2,3,4)

The tendency in movie runtimes seems to be trending toward length, and even if the data doesn’t really bear this out, recent, super-long installments in big box office franchises like Marvel and James Bond (the movies being watched the most, that is) at least mean the bloat feels real. For some reason these wildly popular series feel the need to justify their existence by lashing us to our seats for well over two hours, when many of us might have happily paid the same price for a flick that would give us the hope of ever getting home to see our dogs again.

Still, a movie’s quality isn’t determined by its length, and most of us are watching these things at home anyway. Some stories are just more effective when they take their time—either because they have so much to say and do that nothing feels wasted, or because it allows them the freedom to luxuriate in setting a mood and building a compelling world filled with interesting characters. As the critic Roger Ebert once said, no good movie is too long, and no bad movie is short enough.

So here are 30 good (or great) movies, all of which run to nearly three hours (or much longer), all of which also justify their runtimes by generally making every second worth the sit.

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Amadeus (1984)

Running time: 2 hours and 45 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: The late, great Miloš Forman directs this unconventional biopic of musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, adapting the play by Peter Shaffer, who also wrote the screenplay (they both won Oscars for it, as did lead F. Murray Abraham). Unlike the typical plodding biography, Amadeus tells its story not through the eyes and experiences of Mozart (Tom Hulce) himself, but those of his archenemesis, Antonio Salieri (Abraham), a composer doomed to exist forever in the shadow of the greater talent. The result is an epic, bitchy meditation on relative mediocrity—Salieri is good, maybe even great, but struggles to achieve a portion of what seems to come to Mozart without effort. It’s got all of the gorgeous period trappings you’d expect, while also telling a deep, juicy story about the price of (understandable) jealousy.

Where to stream: Netflix, digital rental

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Boyhood (2014)

Running time: 2 hours and 45 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: It might have come across as a gimmick, but Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, School of Rock, Before Sunrise) is far too good, and consistent a filmmaker to fall into that trap. By design, this coming-of-age story was produced over the course of 12 years, filming year by year in order to capture the growth and changes in the lead characters, particularly the titular boy-to-man, Mason Evans Jr., played by Ellar Coltrane. It won overwhelming praise for its extraordinary sense of realism and emotional power, with great performances all around.

Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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Scenes from a Marriage (1973)

Running time: 2 hours and 47 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: First of all, bear in mind that the running time listed above is for the short version. There’s a much longer cut that I’d recommend, generally (it’s the only one I’ve seen), but perhaps isn’t for everyone. Director Ingmar Bergman is joined by Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson (two of the most impressive modern film actors) to create this fascinating portrait of a disintegrating marriage. It’s not a soap opera, and not movie of screaming fights and thrown ashtrays, but instead a story of two people who haven’t fallen out of love, precisely, but who definitely longer know how to live with each other. As beautiful as it is brutal, its realism and believability is such that it often feels like we’re peeking around a corner, seeing something that we ought not be seeing. Director and actors returned to these characters 30 years later for Saraband, a poignant epilogue and Bergman’s final film.

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel

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Hoop Dreams (1994)

Running time: 2 hours and 50 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: This documentary, about two Black teenagers (William Gates and Arthur Agee) recruited for a predominantly white high school’s basketball program, is every bit as fascinating and relevant today as it was back in 1994, in ways both inspiring and depressing. Their stories of their lives, told over the course of six years, are fascinating and engaging, though they speak to much larger issues: these teenagers see success in professional basketball as their only way out and up in the America they inhabit—that vanishingly small chance of success still representing their best hopes. Through Gates and Agee, documentarian Steve James explores daily life beyond media depictions of “the ghetto” as merely a place for white people to avoid, as well as the grift that’s at the heart of anyone promising the American dream.

Where to stream: Max, Paramount+, The Criterion Channel, Crackle, digital rental

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The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Running time: 2 hours and 50 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: Released just a year after the conclusion of World War II, this William Wyler drama tells the stories of three United States servicemen readjusting to civilian life following harrowing tours overseas. Al left home as a successful bank employee, but risks his post-wartime promotion with excessive drinking and a soft touch when it comes to giving loans to fellow vets; Fred suffers from PTSD and has trouble finding a job; Homer lost both hands and struggles with being an object of pity. Given the era and the timing, it's almost shockingly prescient in its depiction of the struggles that veterans would face following not just WWII, but each war that would follow (and probably all preceding, though no one ever talked about it). The film always pull back from melodrama in favor of sobering realism.

Where to stream: Peacock, Prime Video, Freevee

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The Sound of Music (1965)

Running time: 2 hours and 54 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer star in this popular musical with gorgeous scenery and some of the most sing-along-able songs in musical history. It's all delightful, until the encroaching shadow of Naziism threatens the budding, unlikely romance between a novitiate nun and a stern, wealthy former naval officer. Its blend of big screen style and at least a little bit of substance have made it one of our most beloved musicals for decades.

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Running time: 2 hours and 56 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: Wildly kinetic, Da 5 Bloods doesn’t feel nearly as long as its runtime. Revisiting the Vietnam War film genre with an insistent focus on the (often ignored) experience of Black Americans, Spike Lee brings new relevance to stories from the period by drawing some stark and straight lines between then and now with the story of four veterans who return to Vietnam in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader...and the gold he helped them hide. Every actor in it is incredible, including Chadwick Boseman in one of his final roles.

Where to stream: Netflix

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A Touch of Zen (1971)

Running time: 3 hours

Why it’s worth your time: The wellspring of nearly all modern wuxia filmmaking (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), A Touch of Zen is a gorgeous widescreen martial arts epic, worth watching for the cinematography alone, though the fight choreography is equally thrilling. It’s the story of a noblewoman-turned-fugitive who seeks refuge in a remote village and winds up using stories of the location’s rumored hauntings as a weapon against her pursuers. It has big ideas on its mind, as well: Yang, the fugitive, struggles with issues of social order versus corruption, as well as ideas of traditional womanhood that defy her role as a warrior.

Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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Oppenheimer (2023)

Running time: 3 hours

Why it’s worth your time: This Best Picture Oscar winner follows brilliant, conflicted Cillian Murphy as the titular theoretical physicist, who helped America to develop the world's first nuclear weapons during World War II. Amid a talky screenplay peppered with occasional bravura effects sequences, writer/director Christopher Nolan never loses sight of his complicated lead, nor of the muddy, ugly morality behind Oppenheimer's work.

Where to stream: Peacock, digital rental

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Inland Empire (2006)

Running time: 3 hours

Why it’s worth your time: Look: Inland Empire is not for everyone. It's possibly the most purely Lynchian of any film in the director's oeuvre, and that's either a massive selling point, or a reason to stay far away. I love it, but I also have no idea what it's about. I'm not sure anyone does, but Laura Dern gives a brilliant, shattering performance as a Hollywood actress whose life descends into utter madness, and that's worth taking in all on its own. You'll feel as though you're walking through a nightmare with her, in ways both draining and thrilling.

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Running time: 3 hours and 1 minute

Why it’s worth your time: It probably requires at least a passing familiarity with the 20+ films that preceded it—I doubt that this would have nearly the power it does for someone who hadn’t seen a key handful of them—but there is power here, at least in terms of cinematic spectacle. For all of our sequel-obsessed movie culture, no one else has ever made it to this point, to be able to offer an effective summing up of a series that’s been so successful over so many films. The whole “time heist” bit allows clever way to revisit scenes from the past, while the climactic action set piece is one for the ages. The movie even manages to end, once the fighting’s done, on a several impressively emotional notes. It’s not a jumping-on point, really, but it’s a satisfying climax... even if as a conclusion. it’s really more of a pause.

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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Seven Samurai (1954)

Running time: 3 hours and 2 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: So much springs from Akira Kurosawas’s Seven Samurai: it was remade in Hollywood as The Magnificent Seven, and thus became the template for a certain type of “team is assembled/goes on mission” style of movie (other versions include A Bug's Life). It’s been a tremendous inspiration to George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, and even Zack Snyder. The coming together of a band of misfits and outsiders, theretofore virtually unheard of in Japanese filmmaking, is also an element that’s frequently referenced. Samurai’s length (it’s the longest film of Kurosawa’s career) is justified by its performances, as well as by writer/director Kurosawa himself: he’s best known in the west for his samurai movies, but his filmography encompasses quiet, meditative character dramas as well, and so he brings sharp characterization alongside the action. And yes, it's long, but you should see it on the big screen if you can—it has been restored in 4K in 2024 and will be playing in theaters this summer.

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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RRR (2022)

Running time: 3 hours and 7 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: Action movies should almost certainly not be as long as RRR, but unlike many examples of American blockbuster, there is not one single dull moment in this Tollywood epic. Likewise, a historical drama that touches on the national trauma brought on by the British Raj and depicting two real-life revolutionaries who died as martyrs to the cause of independence shouldn’t be this much fun, but somehow the context only makes it more satisfying. Find me a more thrilling moment in the movies than the bit where a truck full of wild animals is forcefully unleashed upon a sedate gathering at a British politician’s estate.

Where to stream: Netflix

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The Leopard (1963)

Running time: 3 hours and 5 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: The Leopard is absolutely gorgeous, no question. Probably one of the most beautifully directed and photographed films in history—which still wouldn’t be enough to justify its length if it wasn’t also dramatically compelling. But that it is, and it’s also challenging: it’s a portrait of an oppressive way of life among the extraordinarily wealthy Sicilian aristocracy of the 19th century as they have their last big fling, whether they knew it or not. Built on the backs of the poor and working class, their lifestyle deserves to die out (if only), and witness to it all is Burt Lancaster’s Don Fabrizio Corbera, a generally good man of his time whose gaze turns the display of excess into something almost funereal. Director Luchino Visconti was a Marxist who had no love for the aristocracy, so the fact that he’s willing to present a sympathetic portrait of a social class on the verge of extinction (in that time and place, anyway) provides enough tension to keep you glued to the couch. There are a few different versions, but the director's preferred version runs at 185 minutes, and that's mostly the one you'll find streaming.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Magnolia (1999)

Running time: 3 hours and 8 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: It’s been joked that Paul Thomas Anderson’s films aren’t long because the stories call for it, but because they need more editing. That’s unfair, particularly here, in a film that is certainly meandering by design: full of stories of love and loss intersecting, often by coincidence, the film’s core thesis has to do with the cycles of abuse that we’re locked into as children—but explores that idea in ways that are frequently funny and surprising. Like the Aimee Mann song sung by all the characters at the impressive, infamous, amphibious climax, it’s all about the hurt we’ll keep inflicting on ourselves if we refuse to wise up.

Where to stream: Paramount+, digital rental

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Fanny and Alexander (1982)

Running time: 3 hours and 8 minutes

Originally conceived as a television miniseries, the three-hour+ theatrical version of Ingmar Bergman's later-career triumph actually represents something like a director's cut; the full version is more than five hours. Fanny and Alexander stars Pernilla Allwin and Bertil Guve as the young siblings of the title, living happily with their theater-people parents. Then, their father dies and their mother remarries a joyless jerk of a bishop. Intended to be the director's swan song, the autobiographical story feels like a summation of Bergman's career, exploring many of the very heavy themes that he'd tackled earlier, but with a greater sense of perspective, and even a little whimsy.

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)

Running time: 3 hours and 10 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: Spencer Tracy leads an all-star cast (Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, William Shatner, and Montgomery Clift, among others) in this genuinely gripping legal drama depicting a fictionalized version of one of the twelve Nuremberg Military Tribunals that determined the horrifying extent of Nazi war crimes following World War II. If the familiar faces in the cast can be a little distracting, it remains a sober, serious film that builds to a climax simultaneously moving and disturbing. Some 60 years later, it remains depressingly timely in its conviction that everyday, ordinary people are capable of monstrous behavior, given the right incentive.

Where to stream: Tubi, MGM+, digital rental

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Titanic (1997)

Running time: 3 hours and 14 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: Say what you will about the (occasionally) clunky characterization and dialogue, James Cameron makes tremendous use of the lengthy running time here: by the time the iceberg appears onscreen, more than an hour in, Cameron and company have provided us a thorough tour of the ship without our even realizing it: we’ve poked out heads into the bridge, the engine rooms, parlors, staterooms of every class and decks on nearly every level—even gotten a thoroughly sweaty look at the cars in cargo. When the ship meets its destiny during the real-time sequence that takes up most of the rest of the movie, we’re nearly as familiar with it as we would be had we been onboard—which makes the action easier to follow, and the tragedy hit harder.

Where to stream: Paramount+, Prime Video

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Spartacus (1960)

Running time: 3 hours and 17 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: Stanley Kubrick's first foray into epic-scale filmmaking feels like an outlier in his oeuvre, blending the director's stylistic trademarks with the elements that feel a little more traditionally Hollywood. It all works, especially given the subtext at play: Written by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, the slave revolt depicted here draws strong parallels to America's communist witch hunts. (The insistence on the part of lead Kirk Douglas that Trumbo be given credit under his own name, rather than a pseudonym, helped put the blacklist—well, that particular blacklist—to bed once and for all.) What's on screen, then, is an uncommonly smart old-school action spectacle...sword-and-sandal action with plenty to say about modern American life and politics.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Malcolm X (1992)

Running time: 3 hours and 20 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: There’s an awful lot to tell when it comes to the life Malcolm X, even given his untimely murder—his story crosses continents and political eras, bringing various disparate elements of the Civil Rights Movement into its orbit. It’s hard to imagine any sort of comprehensive biopic not taking up a lot of time. There are standard beats to these types of movies, but Spike Lee is one of the most accomplished and significant directors in modern history, and so manages to sidestep the obvious choices and sameness that often plagues the “important biopic.” Likewise, Denzel Washington’s performance is uncanny and essential.

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental

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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Running time: 3 hours and 20 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: It’s tempting to joke about those cascading faux-endings, but, in truth, this movie justifies its runtime—and that of the entire trilogy. It’s a crowning achievement in terms of spectacle and pure watchability, but also impressively emotional in the ways in which it brings various character arcs to often poignant conclusions. It didn’t win a (still unmatched) record number of Academy Awards, including Best Picture, for nothing. Honestly, when watching it I’ll always go for the extended version, which is an hour longer still, though that length is much easier to handle at home.

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

Running time: 3 hours and 21 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: Over three suffocating days (and over three hours of runtime), single mother Jeanne Dielman (Delphine Seyrig) cooks, cleans, and engages in a bit of light but joyless sex work in order to pay the bills. Chantal Akerman’s weird and funny masterpiece crafts the drudgery of one woman’s daily life into an unconventional, uncompromising, and mesmerizing epic. Many critics at the time felt that there had never before been quite such an exploration of a the feminine experience (not surprising given the dearth of women directors), and it inspired filmmakers of later decades to reconsider what a movie about women could achieve. (It's worth noting that a 2002 Sight and Sound critics poll of the best films ever made put this one right at the top.)

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

Running time: 3 hours and 22 minutes (in the “Roadshow” version)

Why it’s worth your time: First of all: there are a couple of versions of Stanley Kramer’s zany road movie—the cut you’ll find most readily is the shorter 2 hour and 43 minute one, but viewers with exceptionally strong bladders might opt for the premiere-length 3 hour and 22 minute version (The Criterion Collection has it). Neither feels nearly so long, and that’s to the credit of the film’s light touch. Lead by Spencer Tracy and a huge cast of ‘60s-era stars, it’s about several different groups of motorists who get wind of $350,000 in cash buried in a park at the other end of the state, and set off on a race for the money. What makes it work as more than a setup for slapstick driving antics is the incredibly smart decision to have these beloved stars play universally terrible people who only get worse as various setbacks they encounter on the road serve to feed their greed; that shading adds some delicious schadenfreude to the silliness.

Where to stream: Tubi, MGM+, digital rental

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The Godfather, Part II (1974)

Running time: 3 hours and 22 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: Each film in this series is on the long side, but Part IIis the longest by quite a bit. Perhaps unusually, it’s also the best, justifying all those extra minutes with a subplot as compelling as the film’s primary thread: while Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone continues the long descent that concludes with a fatal kiss, we visit the origin of the Corleone family in America through Robert De Niro’s portrayal of young Vito Corleone. There’s hardly a moment here that isn’t thoroughly compelling.

Where to stream: Paramount+, digital rental

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Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Running time: 3 hours and 28 minutes

While there's no question that it would be nice had this story told by Osage filmmakers, we could do a lot worse than to have Martin Scorsese behind the camera for an epic account of unspeakable greed in a specifically American vein. Lily Gladstone is transcendent as the real-life Mollie Burkhart, who finds herself at the center of the Osage Indian murders. when a blessing of oil discovered on tribal land turns to a nightmare as white settlers.

Where to stream: Apple TV+, digital purchase

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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Running time: 3 hours and 47 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: It’s probably the most obvious choice for a list like this, but David Lean’s epic has retained its power for so many decades (and over so many minutes of screentime) for a reason: It is, in many ways, the platonic ideal of a Hollywood epic—the one by which all others are judged. But it’s also impressively complex, set during a period with continued relevancy, and starring a title character who skirts the line between philosophical hero and delusional megalomaniac. At nearly 60 years old, it’s still a transporting work.

Where to stream: MGM+, digital rental

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Hamlet (1996)

Running time: 4 hours and 2 minutes

Why it’s worth your time: Historically, even most stage versions of Hamlet(Shakespeare’s longest work) are truncated; there are entire scenes even devoted fans of the Bard have likely never seen performed. Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 adaptation doesn’t take any such shortcuts—the rare instance (and the only filmed version) of the play presented in its entirety. There are compensations for your time, though: Branagh eschews Hamlet’s traditional gloominess for gorgeous, bright visual spectacle; he also presents an impressive cast (with himself at the lead) that includes Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, and Derek Jacobi. There are even appearances by several very unexpected performers in bit parts (Billy Crystal, for example, is shockingly good as the First Gravedigger). And, unlike a live performance, you can stop this one for snacks whenever you want.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Batman (2022)

Running time: 2 hours and 56 minutes

Another three-hour comic book movie? At least Avengers: Endgame had the decency to be the climax of a 22-film saga...surely the eighth solo Batman flick (depending on how you count) has no excuse. And maybe not—but co-writer/director Matt Reeves' first go-round with Robert Pattinson under the cowl actually manages to keep you engaged for the entire time by allowing Batman to be a detective again. Watching a younger, (even more) emotionally damaged Bruce Wayne methodically piece together the clues in a vast conspiracy tied to his own origins and involving familiar baddies like the Riddler (Paul Dano), the Penguin (Colin Farrell under pounds of makeup), and Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) feels like binging a season of one of those Swedish crime procedurals on Netflix. All the better: It's gorgeous to look at, with moody black and red cinematography from Oscar nominee Greig Fraser.

Where to stream: Hulu, Max, digital rental

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Barry Lyndon (1975)

Running time: 3 hours and 5 minutes

Stanley Kubrick’s drama, smartly, doesn’t judge Ryan O’Neal’s Barry Lyndon...it doesn’t have to.
Why it’s worth your time: Ryan O’Neal’s Barry Lyndon is hardly the type of protagonist we’re used to in this type of epic period drama: he’s largely a character without any defining morality, and one to whom events occur that he doesn’t take much hand in shaping. When it suits him to tell the truth, he’s conspicuously honest…but he’s perfectly content to lie if that’s the easiest route. Kubrick is one of the very few filmmakers who could draw us in to the story of this 18th century golddigger, and Ryan O’Neal makes him compulsively watchable, if not particularly sympathetic.

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental

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Babylon (2022)

Sure, this thing totally bombed in theaters, and its excesses are definitely not for all tastes. But as screen spectacles go, they don't get much grander than La La Land helmer Damien Chazelle's literally and figuratively orgiastic Hollywood coming of age story. It's an unhinged three-hour dive into the glitz, glamor, and wild indulgences of the movie business circa the switchover from silents to talkies. It's loud, garish, and buzzing with cocaine-fueled energy, but for every misstep (an opening sequences featuring a mountain of elephant excrement sprayed directly into the camera) there are two bravura sequences (my favorite being a tortured depiction of what it's like to film a movie scene under intense pressure that could be a short film all on its own), and the cast is full of movie stars (Brad Pitt and a pre-Barbie Margot Robbie being the standouts) the way they used to make 'em—bigger than life, and too much to crame into a standard runtime.

Where to stream: Prime Video, digital rental

Remember direct-to-video movies? Fare like American Psycho II: All American Girl (with Mila Kunis and Williams Shatner), Dollman vs. Demonic Toys, Bratz: Starrin’ & Stylin’, Hellraisers 5-10, Amityville 5-19(!), The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It... They weren't all bad, but a lot of them were...not good.

The rise of streaming has had an interesting effect on the market, as content-hungry streaming services began premiering big budget movies that would have previously played in theaters, and the pandemic only accelerated the trend. While playing in theaters still gives films a certain legitimacy, many excellent movies have never played on those 100-foot screens.

Though they may have played on the festival circuit, or saw a brief limited release (just enough to make them eligible for the big awards), the following 30 worthwhile movies all skipped theaters entirely in favor dropping directly on one of big streamers.

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Beasts of No Nation (2015)

With its first original film, Beasts of No Nation, Netflix attempted to pioneer a model that fell apart almost immediately. The Idris Elba-led film about a child soldier in West Africa certainly seemed like a movie that could have done well in theaters, so the streamer released the movie simultaneously in theaters and what was then its on-demand service. The problem was: Theaters hated that idea, and the large chains boycotted the film. Nevertheless, it’s a searing portrait of the human cost of war, one that deserved a better thought-out release.

Where to stream: Netflix

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His House (2020)

Good horror scares us; great horror stays with us, reminding us that the most frightening stuff lives outside the panels of the TV or movie screen. His Houseworks both as an effective chiller about a house haunted by evil, but also as a potent and disturbing story about survivor’s guilt and the refugee experience more generally.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

Based on the August Wilson play, the action of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is largely confined to a couple of rooms at the Paramount Recording Studios during the summer of 1927. That scale suggests the film wouldn’t have done gangbusters business among the action spectaculars that have come to dominate the movie theater business, so streaming was probably always the way to go, COVID notwithstanding. That hint of staginess doesn’t detract from the film’s sultry brilliance, and only serves to highlight the extraordinary performances from everyone involved, led by Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. It got five Academy Award nominations, and deserved a Best Picture nod, as well.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Roma (2018)

Despite the fact that some of our most impressive filmmakers of the past few decades have worked in or come from Mexico (Iñárritu, del Toro, Escalante, etc.), Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma remains the only Mexican film to win an International Feature Oscar, and it was the first streaming-original movie to be nominated for Best Picture. Cuarón’s beautifully shot, semi-autobiographical story of life in the Mexico City of the early 1970s manages to blend the deeply personal with the feel of an epic—an impressive combination.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Blood Machines (2019)

Blood Machines wears its inspirations on its sleeve, and much of that has to do with the type of 80s/90s-era sci-fi and horror movies that might have, back in the day, made their way direct to video. Narratively, this hour-long film isn’t going to be to every taste, but the Kickstarter-funded movie is as ambitious and inventive as they come. (Since its initial release, Shudder has split the film into three "episodes," but don't be confused. It's the same thing, just in chunks.)

Where to stream: Shudder, AMC+

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Selah and the Spades (2019)

Debut writer/director Tayarisha Poe’s visually distinctive Selah and the Spadesplays out like a Shakespearean (near) tragedy about high school power structures. It’s a conceit that’s been tried before, more than once, but never with quite the style of Selah—the coming-of-age story manages to capture not just the freedom of being a teenager, but also the very real sense of danger and drama that it’s all wrapped up in.

Where to stream: Prime Video, Freevee

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The Vast of Night (2019)

There’s not all that much new narratively in the story of a small town DJ and a switchboard operator who uncover what seems to be an alien invasion in the 1950s. The movie’s nonetheless deeply memorable, with a style and confidence in every single frame of the film that belies its tiny budget. The lead performances, from Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz, are similarly revelatory.

Where to stream: Prime Video, Freevee

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Dolemite is My Name (2019)

Eddie Murphy earned himself a perpetual spot on the A-list decades ago, but his career has always been a roller coaster that’s gone from impressive heights to ill-conceived lows—chasing his Oscar-nominated performance in Dreamgirlswith Norbit was a choice. Dolemite’s Rudy Ray Moore is a perfect match for Murphy’s talents, allowing him to play the real-life filmmaker’s brash absurdities with tremendous heart. It’s one of our occasional reminders of Murphy’s genius—that he of course followed up with the dorky, disappointing Coming 2 America.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Happiest Season (2020)

Hulu’s Happiest Season is, perhaps, not on anyone’s list of cinematic masterpieces. Very few (if any) films of the modern, Hallmark-style coming-home-for-Christmas genre would clear that kind of bar. Still, there’s a reason we love these things, and this one adds a bit of prestige to its charms in both cast (Kristen Stewart, Aubrey Plaza, Victor Garber, etc.) and directing (Clea DuVall). What’s more, the movie served as a high-profile torchbearer for queer representation in 2020, the year having seen a record (i.e., not zero) number of LGBTQIA+ -friendly holiday family films.

Where to stream: Hulu

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Blood Quantum (2019)

Inspired, in part, by the 1981 Listuguj raids in Quebec during which hundreds of provincial police officers stormed the First Nations community in order to stop fishing (to preserve stocks for nearby commercial outfits), Blood Quantumdepicts a zombie outbreak on the Red Crow Indian Reservation—succeeding, like with all the best horror movies, as, first, a proficiently scary and violent thriller, but also as a story of larger, real-world horrors. The film’s director, cast, and behind-the-scenes creatives are almost entirely made up of First Nations and Native American talents.

Where to stream: Shudder, AMC+, Digital rental

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CODA (2021)

It's become fashionable to list CODA among the least-deserving Best Picture Oscar winners, but that's not entirely fair. While lacking the epic scope or dramatic stakes of typical awards fare, it's still a solidly crafted coming-of-age story with a very strong cast. It's a smaller movie in many ways, yes, but a finely observed one, and deaf actor Troy Kotsur's Best Supporting Actor Oscar win was as groundbreaking as it was well-deserved.

Where to stream: Apple TV+

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Enola Holmes (2020)

Millie Bobby Brown has become something like the face of Netflix for her roles in Stranger Things and a string of original movies. Here she plays the title character, the less-famous but no-less clever younger sister of Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill ). Based on a series of novels from Nancy Springer, it's a spry and clever mystery, and perfectly suitable for the whole family.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

Rian Johnson's sequel makes a franchise out of 2019's Knives Out, the first movie starring Daniel Craig's eccentric detective Benoit Blanc. This second case sees Blanc skip out on his husband in favor of an invitation to a private island lorded over by a tech billionaire played by Edward Norton (who seems to be doing a slightly uncomfortable Elon Musk impression). Unsurprisingly, his vacation soon crosses over into a whodunnit, with plenty of suspects to go around, including Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, and many more.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Get Duked! (2019)

This dark British horror comedy finds a group of slacker students dropped off in the Scottish highlands in pursuit of the Duke of Edinburgh Award (a real thing), which requires them to navigate the landscape using no more than a paper map. The teens are soon pursued by hunters (one played by comedian Suy Eddie Izzard) who’ve come to appreciate the opportunity to cull the "urban" types they feel are trespassing int he countryside. The teens are ill-prepared for anything even remotely natural, much less for fleeing from serial killers, and the complications pile up in increasingly gasp-worthy ways.

Where to stream: Prime Video

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Red, White, and Royal Blue (2023)

Slightly dorky rom-coms aren't just for straight people anymore, a case Red, White, and Royal Blue (from the Casey McQuiston bestseller) makes eloquently. Taylor Zakhar Perez plays Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the U.S. president (Uma Thurman), opposite Nicholas Galitzine’s Prince Henry, heir to the British throne. A public spat between the two sets off an international incident which, naturally, leads to a slow-burn romance between the two—including a couple of mild, but still effectively spicy, sex scenes.

Where to stream: Prime Video

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Fire Island (2022)

An queer, contemporary take on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Fire Island also takes aim at the prevalance of fat/femme/Asian stereotypes in the gay community. Social commentary aside, it's also a funny, smart romantic comedy with a great cast that includes Joel Kim Booster (in the Lizzy Bennett role—he also wrote the screenplay), Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, and Margaret Cho as a group of friends who travel each summer to the titular island—but this summer proves more dramatic (and romantic) than most.

Where to stream: Hulu

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Being the Ricardos (2021)

Aaron Sorkin's Lucy-Desi biopic nabbed acting Oscar nominations for leads Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, as well as for J. K. Simmons in a supporting role as William Frawley (that's Fred Mertz, to you slightly less-obsessive I Love Lucy fans). The writer/director naturally chose a loaded and relevant moment to focus on: the largely forgotten Red Scare period when Lucy herself was on the verge of losing her entire career due to her past communist associations. If she isn't nearly a match for Lucy's onstage presence, Kidman is pitch-perfect as the behind-the-scenes power player.

Where to stream: Prime Video, Freevee

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Nimona (2023)

Based on the graphic novel from ND Stevenson, this Oscar-nominee for Best Animated Feature is a heartfelt, joyful, and funny fantasy set in a futuristic world peppered with anachronistic medieval trappings. Ballister Boldheart, with support from his boyfriend Ambrosius Goldenloin, is about to be knighted by the queen—the first commoner ever to receive the honor. All good, until he’s framed for the queen’s murder and forced to flee, becoming the criminal that the snobs already took him for. Luckily (or not) he’s joined by Nimona, a teenage shapeshifter and an outcast from society because of her abilities. The two work to clear Ballister’s name, the puckish Nimona teaching Ballister how to live authentically along the way.

Where to stream: Netflix

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The Block Island Sound (2020)

Vast numbers of dead fish are washing up on the shore of Block Island, just one of many alarming going ons; one of the local fishermen, Tom, is also acting super weird, waking up in strange places and generally losing time. His daughter Audry (Michaela McManus) works for the Environmental Protection Agency, and brings her own daughter along to investigate the fish death, reuniting with brother Tom (Chris Sheffield) along the way. Together, the family discovers an extraordinary environmental disaster is to blame for the weirdness, as the film builds to a genuinely chilling climax.

Where to stream: Netflix, digital rental

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Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

A long-gestating passion project for Del Toro, the director chose to set his take on the classic tale in fascist Italy between the World Wars. Drawing on the dark subtext of the 1883 original novel that was largely ignored by Disney and other adaptations, and brought to life with beautiful stop-motion animation, it's a complex work that adults might appreciate more than kids (the Academy definitely liked it—it won the Best Animated Feature Oscar)

Where to stream: Netflix

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Prey (2022)

The latest in the Predator franchise, and possibly the best in the series since the first, Prey inexplicably skipped theaters in favor of a streaming-only release. Indigenous actress Amber Midthunder stars as a young Comanche woman forced to confront both an alien hunter and even less-pleasant French voyageurs on the Great Plains in 1719. Tense and spare, it suggests a path forward for the franchise (Predator battles through time!) that I sincerely hope gets followed, hopefully incorporating a theatrical run next time.

Where to stream: Hulu

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Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Revisiting the Vietnam War genre with a focus on the (often ignored) experience of Black American soldiers, Spike Lee's most recent film draw a straight lines between then and now with the story of four veterans who return to Vietnam in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader...and the gold he helped them hide. Every actor in the cast is incredible, including the late Chadwick Boseman in one of his final roles. While it's no longer unusual for films by major directors to debut on streaming, this one skipped a planned theatrical run due to COVID, and it's a real shame.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Mank (2020)

David Fincher’s look at the making of one of the greatest, and most fraught, films ever made is both a love-letter to classic Hollywood, as well as a warts-and-all look at how the sausage gets made. Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried both earned Oscar nominations for their performances.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Host (2020)

It would be easy to overlook this one (I did for quite a while), at least in part because the premise seems so similar to Unfriended, a not-at-all-bad Skype-themed thriller from a few years ago. I’m also generally reluctant to watch anything that deals with COVID too directly, as I got (and get) enough of that in real life, thank-you-very-much. Nevertheless, through sheer style and intelligence, Hostmanages to be one of the most effective horror films of the past couple of years, going in clever directions with its “Zoom seance” concept.

Where to stream: Shudder, AMC+, Digital rental

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Class Action Park (2020)

Lordy. This one’s absolutely wild. The true story of New Jersey’s Action Park, a fixture for a couple of decades, despite virtually nonexistent safety standards and ride design with a big emphasis on whimsy and no regard for physics. Though it does make for a jarring transition from the “holy shit can you believe this?” feeling in the earlier part of the documentary, it’s to the film’s credit that it ultimately doesn’t shy away from the actual tragedies at the park.

Where to stream: Max

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Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (2020)

Has there ever been a bigger, more flamboyant TV personality than Walter Mercado? For decades, the (self-identified) androgynous Puerto Rican astrologer commanded millions of viewers (and radio listeners) throughout Latin America and the United States via local channels, and then as a fixture on Univision. With his giant capes, colorful outfits, and constant emphasis on the importance of “mucho, mucho amor,” there was just none like him, and the documentary gives him his due—particularly for non-Spanish speakers who might be less familiar with his entertainment empire.

Where to stream: Netflix

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The Beach House (2020)

Sounds pleasant, doesn’t it? Director Jeffrey A. Brown’s debut film kicks off with a pace that could be viewed as either deliberate or a bit lackadaisical, but builds toward something far more cosmically ambitious. By blending 50s-style creature thrills with threads of infection-related body horror, The Beach House felt uncomfortably timely when it was released near the beginning of the Covid pandemic, and remains so in our still traumatized world.

Where to stream: Shudder, Digital rental

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The Old Guard (2020)

As A-list as A-list gets, there was absolutely a time when Charlize Theron’s appearance in a theater-skipping release would have been a major cause for concern. Like, a devastating turn for a career. Instead, the large-ish budget action movie about immortal mercenaries was a big enough hit for Netflix to inspire a coming sequel, and certainly didn’t hurt the careers of anyone involved. As superhero films go, it’s also pretty smart and impressively queer-friendly. Win for everyone.

Where to stream: Netflix

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The Square (2013)

Netflix’s first original documentary, The Square, did the festival circuit before landing on the (then) on-demand service. It’s still a powerful piece of filmmaking, chronicling the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 through the lens of the demonstrations in Tahrir Square. Though time has moved on in Egypt, and the promise of the Arab Spring remains largely unfulfilled, the movie makes clear that heady ideals often give way to political realities, giving it a timeless quality.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Purple Violets (2007)

Though largely forgotten, Purple Violets represents an important moment in direct-to-streaming history: In the direct-to-DVD era, the movie skipped both theaters and DVD (initially) in favor of a release on the iTunes Store—something unheard of back in the day. It’s a good romantic comedy, if not a great one, directed by Ed Burns and with an all-star cast including Selma Blair, Patrick Wilson, Debra Messing, and a wee Bill Hader in his film debut.

Where to stream: Tubi, Digital rental

In this age of digital distraction, streaming services have given us easy access to thousands of films from across the last century. I never need to rewatch a movie again! And yet here I am, queuing up Back to the Future for the nth time.

Because sometimes, you just want a known quantity, and some movies seem designed to be watched again and again. Others simply go down so agreeably that you can't help but find them comforting. The pop culture critic Sarah D. Bunting has a name for these endlessly rewatchable flicks: poppy fields movies. Like the enchanted flowers outside the palace in The Wiard of Oz (see below), you can't help but fall into them every time they're on TV. (There's also an entire podcast dedicated to them, called The Rewatchables, naturally.)

The criteria for a rewatchable film varies, but there are some common themes: Memorable set pieces, quotable dialogue, particularly colorful characters you love spending time with, and, most critically, a truly satisfying ending. It’s also matter of taste—I’ll rewatch Citizen Kane as readily as I’ll rewatch Charlie’s Angels—and nostalgia never hurts. Here are 40 films worth seeing more than once. Or twice. Or...

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Back to the Future (1985)

What makes it rewatchable: Goofy, but heartfelt, and with just enough raunch (incest with mom? Oh my!) enough to give it a little edge, Back to the Future blends a perfect script with a breezy tone and indelible lead performances from Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. It's a comfort watch, but the obsessive level of detail (Twin Pines Mall becomes Lone Pine Mall) rewards multiple viewings.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Groundhog Day (1993)

What makes it rewatchable: The time loop has become a wee bit of a trope, but it’s never been done with as much charm as in this, one of its earliest and most iconic incarnations. Andie MacDowell is great, and Bill Murray is at his curmudgeonly best as he slowly comes to accept that moving forward in his life (both metaphorically and literally) might require changing everything about himself.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

What makes it rewatchable: Everything I said about the satisfying time loop in Groundhog Day, but grafted onto an endlessly creative sci-fi action flick. Watching Tom Cruise get repeatedly slaughtered by aliens in increasingly hilarious ways never gets old. See also: Emily Blunt in power armor.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

What makes it rewatchable: A feel-good prison story that incorporates elements of murder, corruption, and money-laundering, Shawshank is bittersweet (the title’s promised redemption arrives more-or-less on schedule) but never cloying. Happy endings are easy, but this one offers something harder won, and a bit more satisfying, making this Stephen King adaptation more than simple comfort food. The movie also has the résumé to back up its rep: it was a cable-TV mainstay for decades, creating a sense of familiarity fed by its ubiquity.

Where to stream: AMC+, digital rental

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Soul Food (1997)

What makes it rewatchable: It’s a movie about family and the power of community, big-hearted without being treacly. It’s also the kind of thing that gets played at many a holiday gathering.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Black Panther (2018)

What makes it rewatchable: There are plenty of rewatchable movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (I'm no snob), including the very first one, Iron Man. But Black Panther, even with its ties to the broader superhero landscape, is one of the few that feels like a standalone movie in its own right—complete and satisfying on its own. Chadwick Boseman leads a stellar cast in a film that blends solid action and drama with some deeper themes. And points for general quality: It took 18 movies before a Marvel Studios movie was lead by a Black lead and director, and the only one to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination.

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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A Christmas Story (1983)

What makes it rewatchable: After years of back-to-back holiday marathons and merchandising, A Christmas Story became very much a victim of its own slow-building success (it did OK at the box office, but not well enough to warrant its afterlife). So, in one sense, A Christmas Story is rewatchable because we’ve had no other choice. That oversaturation, though, hasn’t completely dulled the film’s charms, nor lessened its innovations: it’s cynical about the holiday season, serving as a bit of counter-programming that’s often genuinely funny, but it’s not so dark that the whole family can’t watch. It’s sort of like curling up with a good memoir.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Die Hard (1988)

What makes it rewatchable: A great action movie needs a great protagonist, and benefits tremendously from a great setting. This one has both—Bruce Willis is doing all the stuff we like about Bruce Willis, and the Nakatomi Plaza setting is brilliantly utilized—we understand the space and therefore always know where John McClane is in relation to the terrorists. It’s all very carefully constructed.

Where to stream: Hulu, digital rental

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The Thin Man (1934)

What makes it rewatchable: The boozy chemistry between all-time greats Myrna Loy and William Powell gives The Thin Man the kind of loose energy that makes it not only easy to rewatch, but a joy, whether or not you’re paying any attention to the central murder mystery. The other Thin Man movies are good, but none is quite as good (nor nearly as endlessly rewatchable) as the original.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Princess Bride (1987)

What makes it rewatchable: Endlessly quotable, The Princess Bride is a masterwork of tone, mixing in disparate elements in just the right measures. It’s a parody and a farce, a fairy tale, a fantasy, and a genuinely satisfying love story that adds in pirates for good measure. It’s weird, but not so much as to be off-putting, and always returns to the central character relationships whenever things are getting too silly. It movies from memorable scene to memorable scene effortlessly, which ensures that it’s nearly as enjoyable in bits and pieces as it is from beginning to end.

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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The Wizard of Oz (1939)

What makes it rewatchable: Unlike many beloved classics, The Wizard of Ozwasn’t the slow build its reputation sometimes suggests: The movie actually did very well in theaters initially, and only built its popularity through theatrical re-releases and then endless TV airings. It has hardly lost any steam over the past eight decades. And why would it? It’s a fun all-ages fantasy and a singable musical with a career-making lead performance, with themes around childhood anxieties that still more-or-less hold up.

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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Mean Girls (2004)

What makes it rewatchable: Written by Tina Fey (shortly before she became a household name), the script balances super sharp comedy with an incisive understanding of high school politics and a worthwhile message about the hollowness of the drive to be the best and prettiest.

Where to stream: Paramount+ With Showtime, digital rental

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Bring It On (2000)

What makes it rewatchable: Another endlessly repeatable teen comedy...but Bring It On is also a secret sports movie and a stealth musical (if you consider elaborate dance sequences set to music in the same light as characters bursting into song), two genres with comforting formulas that stand up to repeated viewings. As much fun as it is to witness the literal gymnastics on display, it's also a kick to watch a very young Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union snipe at one another.

Where to stream: Starz, digital rental

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Friday (1995)

What makes it rewatchable: It doesn’t all hold up perfectly (the women here are mostly the objects of the jokes), but there’s still a reason Friday became a cult classic. At a time when white America was particularly worked up about rap and hood culture, it dared to have a little fun. And when it’s funny, it’s really funny.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

What makes it rewatchable: A triumph of imagination in a sea of...well, a lot of same-y superhero movies (plenty of them spider-related). The animation is gloriously energetic and innovative, and in service to a twisty, multi-layered story that's thrilling, uplifting, and genuinely poignant, in the best Spider-tradition.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

What makes it rewatchable: In many ways, this rom-com feels like a throwback in the best possible way: economics professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) has no idea that her New York boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) is heir to a real estate empire as part of an extravagantly wealthy Singapore family. The fish-out-of-water comedic elements never get so silly that we're not very focused on the core relationship, and Michelle Yeoh as Nick's mother makes for a brilliantly vicious, but also very human, foil. All that, plus an exploration of a place and a culture we don't often visit in Western movies.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Aliens (1986)

What makes it rewatchable: The Ridley Scott original is a brilliantly tense haunted spaceship flick, but the James Cameron-helmed sequel is quite simply one of the most efficient blends of action and horror in the history of either genre. The '80s produced a lot of action stars, but it's hard to argue that Sigourney Weaver doesn't run rings around all of them in her fight to escape the alien queen.

Where to stream: Max, Digital rental

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Titanic (1997)

What makes it rewatchable: There's a reason James Cameron is one of our most financially successful directors: He knows how to serve up a satisfying movie, even when what's on offer is tragic melodrama. This is epic storytelling on a truly grand level—the kind of movie they don't make anymore, and didn't in 1997, either. It was much rewatched even before it left theaters during its initial run, with people returning multiple times to goggle at the spectacle and weep into their popcorn (I am people, in this scenario).

Where to stream: Paramount+ With Showtime, Prime Video

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All About Eve (1950)

What makes it rewatchable: Pound for bitchy pound, I'm not sure that you'll find a better screenplay than writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's for All About Eve, buoyed by the most memorable performance in the extremely memorable career of Bette Davis. A smart, sassy delight from start to finish.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Charlie's Angels (2000)

What makes it rewatchable: Deeply goofy in all the right ways, the action-comedy take on the venerable franchise soars in its campy sense of style, while also delivering some truly impressive, larger-than-life action sequences. Leads Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz, and Drew Barrymore look like they're having a ton of fun, and the vibe is infectious.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Steel Magnolias (1989)

What makes it rewatchable: Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to be gay to have seen Steel Magnolias dozens of times...though it doesn't hurt. Throw Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts into a movie that rather flawlessly blends melodrama with quotably bitchy comebacks, and we're in for good laughs, alongside a few good cries.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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RRR (2022)

What makes it rewatchable: The jury's still out on whether India-made RRR will remain a popular favorite over time, but I'm here to make the case that it ought to. It's long, sure, but in the course of its runtime we get musical numbers, romantic drama, buddy comedy (by "buddy" I mean they should kiss), and action sequences that put modern Hollywood blockbusters to shame. The much-memed sequence in which a truck full of wild animals is set loose in the compound of white colonial administrators during the era of the British Raj is a masterclass in rewatchable movie moments all on its own.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

What makes it rewatchable: We love a heist, and this one is cleverly constructed in the ways in which it goes right, and then wrong, and the setup and execution are slippery enough that you kind of forget how it all goes down between viewings. The all-star cast adds panache.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Rogue One (2016)

What makes it rewatchable: It's Ocean's Eleven in a galaxy far, far away, but with much higher stakes and a lot of pew-pew laser battles. I defy anyone to turn it off once the Battle of Scariff sequence kicks in.

Where to stream: Disney+, digital rental

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The Fugitive (1993)

What makes it rewatchable: Aside from the innumerable charms of early '90s Harrison Ford and a breakout performance from Tommy Lee Jones, this cat-and-mouse thriller is excels at "the process-y bits," showing you every step in dueling investigations: unjustly accused murderer Richard Kimble's (Ford) efforts to find out who killed his wife and framed him for the crime, and a U.S. Marshall's (Jones) attempts to track him down and put him back in the slammer. And who could forget that waterfall scene?

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Color Purple (1985)

What makes it rewatchable: Though this is a Black story told by a largely white team behind the camera, it’s Steven Spielberg at his most humane. The multigenerational story includes some of the best actors of their generations playing some of their most memorable characters. While not everyone gets a happy ending, the conclusion is about as satisfying as they come.

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental

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Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

What makes it rewatchable: It’s just tremendous fun, with jokes that remain funny and gravity-defying dance numbers that all look effortless, even when it’s clear that the incredibly talented cast must’ve been working their asses off in order to make things look so easy.

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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North by Northwest (1959)

What makes it rewatchable: Another one that works whether you’re paying attention or not, Hitchcock knew that the singular charms of his heroes and villains were more than enough to carry a picture, provided that the action set pieces offered suitable thrills. I’m not even sure what the baddies are after here, but I’ve never turned it off.

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental

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Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

What makes it rewatchable: Raiders of the Lost Ark remains the best of the series, but a good case can be made that Last Crusade is the more rewatchable entry (I’m sure I’m not alone in having seen both of them plenty of times). Crusade is a bit lighter than its predecessor, a little bit looser and more fun, with great chemistry between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.

Where to stream: Disney+, Paramount+ With Showtime, digital rental

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Ghostbusters (1984)

What makes it rewatchable: Making wacky comedies that were also kind of art was a particular skillset that ‘80s filmmakers seemed to possess, and there’s a meticulousness to the film’s construction that belies the cynical-but-easygoing vibe that Bill Murray personifies. It’s goofy, but it all holds together. (The 2016 remake lacks the solid construction that made this one a classic, but is also thoroughly rewatchable for its similarly talented cast; a hill I shall die on).

Where to stream: Peacock, digital rental

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Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993)

What makes it rewatchable: The first Sister Act is a better movie, a highlight of the era when we were moving away from R-rated sex comedies into more family-friendly fare (for better and worse). But the second Sister Act is both more real with its characters’ move into the inner city, but also campier and weirder in its efforts to blend the Lean on Me-style school drama with a singing nuns/mistaken-identity farce. Nineties kids instantly recognize the jams, mom jeans, and spontaneous break-dancing as signifiers of the era. It also builds to a genuinely joyful finale, even if you’re a bit embarrassed for the white boy rapping in overalls.

Where to stream: Disney+, Tubi, digital rental

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The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

What makes it rewatchable: In these days of manufactured camp, there’s more value than ever in something that’s simply the product of queer weirdos putting their heads together. Most frequently experienced as a communal event, and demanding very little beyond a willingness to sing along and maybe pull on some fishnets, it’s the kind of movie that, I suspect, very few people have seen just once.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Coming to America (1988)

What makes it rewatchable: There’s a great supporting cast here, but this is Eddie Murphy at his ‘80s best—wildly funny, and just profane enough. It’s just scene after memorable scene.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

What makes it rewatchable: It is, by far, the most standalone of the many Star Trek movies, working on its own as a sci-fi cat-and-mouse movie with a wildly memorable protagonist. [Editor’s note: Star Trek VI though?]

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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New Jack City (1991)

What makes it rewatchable: It’s several things at once, and does them all well. New Jack City is a serious, thoughtful crime crime drama; it’s an impressively thrilling action movie; and it’s a time capsule of ‘90s cool, as epitomized by Wesley Snipes.

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental

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Casablanca (1942)

What makes it rewatchable: The iconic movie of Hollywood’s golden age, you know the lines (and the ending) even if you’ve never seen it. If you have seen it, it’s unlikely you’ve seen it only once.

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

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A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors (1980)

What makes it rewatchable: Slasher fans are loyal (putting my hand up), so a list of rewatchable movies could easily be overrun with Freddys, Jasons, Michaels, and Ghostfaces. So, though this choice is slightly arbitrary, Dream Warriors is Freddy at his height, still scary in the era just prior to his wise-cracking huckster phase. Every scene/kill here is memorable on its own, and there’s an almost Avengers-like quality to the anti-Freddy team that assembles to bring him down.

Where to stream: Netflix, digital rental

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Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

What makes it rewatchable: Ferris is the coolest kid in school, somehow managing that without being insufferable (mostly). There are elements to his laid-back attitude and concern for his friends that most of us could stand to learn from. This is another that goes from memorable scene to memorable scene.

Where to stream: Paramount+ With Showtime, Hulu, digital rental

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Attack the Block (2011)

What makes it rewatchable: A band of outsiders teams up to stop an alien invasion on a council estate. It’s energetic and action-packed, with memorable characters and even more memorable aliens. Plus, it’s the movie that teamed up a future Star Wars lead (John Boyega) with a future Doctor Who (Jodie Whitaker).

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

What makes it rewatchable: Ripped from the pages of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s heavily manga-influenced graphic novel series, this 2010 Edgar Wright underperformer seemed designed to play better on a second (of fifth) viewing. The humor is incredibly dense, every shot peppered with background gags and onscreen graphics, and the episodic plot—with goofy loser “hero” Scott going up against his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriends in cartoonish one-on-one showdowns—recreate the experiences of moving from level to level in a video game you just can’t put down.

Where to stream: Max, Digital rental

British impresario Malcolm McLaren’s headstone reads, “Better a spectacular failure, than a benign success.” So it goes in life and, sometimes, at the movies.

Hollywood makes lots of movies. Most of them aren’t good. Sometimes the good ones make money (lots of the bad ones do too). But sometimes...they don’t. Films fail at the box office for many reasons—a poor release date, a bad trailer, a disconnection from the zeitgeist, a global pandemic—and not always because they’re bad. Some infamous money-losers rank with my favorite movies, and probably yours, too.

What follows are 50 films that didn’t connect with audience in theaters, which is a nice way of saying they flopped, earning less in ticket sales than they cost to make and market. Whatever the reason they didn't get butts in seats, these films were initially viewed as disappointments—though many are now considered cult classics; too off-kilter, quirky, or challenging to initially connect with mainstream audiences, they found their fans on video or streaming. Or, maybe I just think they’re good. (It’s my list, after all.)

(Please note: I have not included The Shawshank Redemption—perhaps the flop-worth-watching ne plus ultra—because it needs no help from me. It was the internet’s favorite movie for more than a decade, after all. Consider it mentioned.)

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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

Yes, this one just came out. But as much as I hate to join the chorus of voices lamenting the box office failure of this prequel to 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, its near 60% collapse in its second weekend—and after it underperformed in the first place—pretty much guarantees the studio will lose money on the latest chapter in George Miller's long-running post-apocalyptic sci-fi saga. There's plenty of blame to go around here: The first trailers were undercooked, leading picky audiences members to complain about the "bad" (read: super stylized) CGI; the fact that it is a prequel meant recasting Charlize Theron, who originated the character in Fury Road; panicking studios' tendency to throw movies onto streaming after a scant few weeks has permanently altered the "gotta see it on the big screen" urgency.

Which is all a shame. The movie kinda rules, even if it's a different model of muscle car than Fury Road, and its failure will only convince Hollywood not to bet on eccentric weirdoes with grand visions. See it in theaters while you still can, because it'll probably be released digitally before the month is out.

Where to stream: Nowhere yet, but available on Max far too soon.

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Beau Is Afraid (2023)

I don't know what compelled A24 to give Ari Aster $35 million to make this unsettling, off-putting comedic grotesquerie about an agoraphobe's increasingly unhinged voyage to visit his sick mother. Despite the presence of a bankable lead in Joaquin Phoenix, this fever dream take on The Odyssey (if Odysseus was massively neurotic momma's boy) seems to have been specifically designed to repel general audiences. But if you can get on its wavelength, I'd argue there are few films as effective at bridging the gap between character and audience, bringing you firmly into Beau's fractured emotional state. Sure, said emotional state is omnipresent anxiety. But what a picture!

Where to stream: Paramount+ With Showtime

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The Creator (2023)

As a seasoned consumer of sci-fi novels and films, let me preface this by saying that no, nothing in The Creator is the least bit original—the story of a disillusioned soldier (John David Washington, admittedly a charisma void, but not fatally so here) attempting to safeguard the life of the first AI child in a bleak future in which humans are losing a war against the machines is like a papier-mâché robot sculpture made out of pages from 100 different sci-fi books. But cliché as it is, it's fairly smart in how it's assembled, and director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One) has also managed to make it look absolutely real, eschewing the recent trend of 100% CGI sets to favor shooting on location and adding the spaceship bits later. The result is the best-looking blockbuster in years—but even its relatively reasonable $80 million budget proved too much to recoup in theaters; it made only $40 million in the U.S. and lost money worldwide after figuring in marketing.

Where to stream: Hulu

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The Northman (2022)

As with Ari Aster's Beau Is Afraid, it's kinda hard to see why a studio gave a cult filmmaker like Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse) as much as $90 million to make a grimy, violent, artsy Norse epic. But one did, and we're all the better for it: Filled with intense action sequences, imaginative sets and costumes, and over-the-top performances from a bunch of stars (Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy) who definitely know exactly what kind of movie they're in, it's a wonder to behold. It got lost in the shuffle in theaters, grossing less than $70 million worldwide. Happily for the money guys, it did eventually turn a profit in its digital release, but it's the kind of movie that demands an epic canvas.

Where to stream: Starz

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Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)

Maybe it's overkill to include another George Miller flick so near the top of this list, but this 2022 box office misfire—a $20 million gross on a $60 million budget—deserved much better. Adapted from a short story by A.S. Byatt, it tells the tale of a mousey college professor (Tilda Swinton) who happens upon a magic lamp and awakens a magical genie (Idris Elba) who proceeds to share with her the story of his many lives and master, which unfold in whimsical, richly imagined storybook detail. Miller cashed in his blank check from winning all those Fury Road Oscars to make it, but it turned out to be more of a Babe: Pig in the City than a Babe when it came to selling tickets. A bummer—it's a bedtime story that will invade your dreams, well worth experiencing.

Where to stream: Prime Video

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Babylon (2022)

Hollywood loves to make movies about itself, but audiences aren't always interested. That was certainly the case for director Damien Chazelle's epic love letter to cinema's Golden Age, an unhinged three-hour dive into the glitz, glamor, and excesses of the movie business circa the switchover from silents to talkies—its budget was around $100 million, and it made just $15 million in the U.S. and $63 million worldwide. It's loud, garish, and buzzing with cocaine-fueled energy, but for every misstep (an opening sequences featuring a mountain of elephant excrement sprayed directly into the camera) there are two bravura sequences (my favorite being a tortured depiction of what it's like to film a movie scene under intense pressure that could be a short film all on its own), and the cast is full of movie stars (Brad Pitt and a pre-Barbie Margot Robbie being the standouts) the way they used to make 'em—bigger than life, and best viewed up there on the big screen.

Where to stream: Prime Video

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The Last Duel (2021)

Ridley Scott is in his mid-80s and hasn't slowed down a tick, even if he can't quite seem to figure out how to make an epic historical movie that will connect with audiences the way Gladiator did. But where Napoleon and Gods of Egypt may have deserved their middling takes, the failure of 2021's The Last Duel was a crying shame. A medieval twist on Rashomon, it tells three versions of what happened the night a noble knight's (Matt Damon) wife (Jodie Comer) was sexually assaulted by a squire (Adam Driver). Filled with great performances, crackling dialogue, and real narrative complexity and ambiguity, it was one of 2021's best films, but got totally lost in the pandemic shuffle, and got more traction out of memes making fun of co-star Ben Affleck's funny wig than it managed to sell tickets.

Where to stream: FXNow

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In the Heights (2021)

Lin-Manuel Miranda's pre-Hamilton Broadway smash is admittedly no Hamilton, despite the fact that it won its own shelf of Tonys. But I still can't quite figure out why so few people came out to movie theaters to see this uplifting story of an immigrant community in New York City coming together in song and dance, especially given that trailer, which never fails to make me tear up. (Yes, it was released smack in the middle of a pandemic, but plenty of other movies were still making bank, and this one deserved to have folks in the aisles, dancing along.) At the very least it proved a decent test run for director John M. Chu's stage-to-screen chops; hopefully his two-part adaptation of Wicked doesn't turn out to be such a bust.

Where to stream: Max

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West Side Story (2021)

Another 2021 musical no one wanted to see in theaters. Granted, it's worth asking why Steven Spielberg felt the need to iterate on one of the best movie musicals of all time. But then you see it, and you understand exactly why he wanted to make it: The dude can film a song and dance number with the same verve and flair he brings to a T-Rex attack or an Indiana Jones tank chase. It failed to recoup its $100 million budget, but if you watch it at home, you'll be kicking yourself for not making it out to the theater.

Where to stream: Disney+, FXNow

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Birds of Prey, and the Fabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020)

It is well-established that superhero movies are in a rough spot these days—witness 2023's string of comic book flops—but the relative failure of this pre-pandemic spinoff of Suicide Squad was something of a warning klaxon. Despite the presence of Margot Robbie in the lead (everyone having agreed that she was the only thing worth praising in David Ayer's undercooked anti-hero story), a colorful cast of supporting bad girls (including Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett), an even more colorful comic book look (credit director Cathy Yan and Oscar-nominated cinematographer Matthew Libatique), and a snarky, self-referential tone, it seemed unable to shake off the taint that eventually led to a complete overhaul of the DC Extended Universe. A shame, because it's one of about three post-Avengers: Endgame comic book movies that actually justifies its existence. Because it's fun to watch.

Where to stream: Max, Tubi

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Cats (2019)

Cats is the last film I saw in theaters before the pandemic. I’m not ashamed of it. It’s just something I have to live with. But while I can’t quite argue that this horrifically misaligned adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical about...cats doesn’t deserve its 19% Rotten Tomatoes score, it’s too mesmerizingly confounding to avoid entirely; indeed, you might find yourself drawn into its strange cult and start attending jubilant midnight sing-along screenings (you know, eventually). Even if you don’t, I can’t imagine witnessing a CGI feline version of Judi Dench sing-talking about the difference between cats and dogs won’t leave you forever changed.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Annihilation (2018)

Based on the novel by capital-W Weird writer Jeff VanderMeer, this 2018 sci-fi thriller film wanders away from the plot of the book but tells a similarly unsettling story of a group of women scientists who venture within a strange unnatural phenomenon known as “the Shimmer,” from which no one has emerged (with their sanity intact, anyway) since it suddenly appeared in the wilds of the southeastern U.S.

Director Alex Garland’s followup to the critically lauded Ex-Machina, it was to be one of Paramount’s tentpole releases—until the studio got cold feet and sold off the foreign rights to Netflix, and put the least amount of effort possible into a cursory domestic release. Still, critical support was there early on, and genre fans seem to have embraced it as a heady ecological horror fable.

Where to stream: Paramount+ With Showtime

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A Cure for Wellness (2017)

Director Gore Verbinski took a step back from popcorn epics like The Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lone Ranger for this twisted, small-scale homage to Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. A young businessman (Dane DeHaan) is sent to retrieve his boss from a “wellness retreat” in the Swiss Alps and encounters a strange, insular community lorded over by a sinister doctor (Jason Isaacs), and soon finds himself subject to disturbing experiments. The deeply weird plot, involving blood-thirsty leeches and a quest for immortality, alienated theatrical audiences, but like all of Verbinski’s movies, this one is too visually inventive to miss—and it plays pretty well when streamed late at night (possibly after you’ve partaken of your own “cure” for what’s ailing you).

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

I was so excited for this sci-fi spectacle—a lifelong passion project for director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Lucy)—that I almost saw it in a theater in Paris while on vacation, dubbed into French. Perhaps that would have been a better bet, because the occasionally atrocious dialogue and the miscast leads are basically my only problems with this overclocked live-action cartoon.

Appealing elsewhere, Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne display an aloof hipster anti-chemistry as Valerian and Laureline, two government agents of humanity’s space-faring future who get pulled into a colorful conspiracy on the titular space station, but everything around them—from the eye-popping production design (ripped from the pages of the original French comics), to the supporting cast (including Rhianna as a sexy blob alien), to the propulsive episodic plotting—is impossible to resist. Switch language tracks, pop on the subtitles (or don’t bother), and enjoy.

Where to stream: Prime Video, Filmbox

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Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)

Given how often The Lonely Island’s Saturday Night Live parody songs would become viral sensations, I can’t quite figure out why this story of the rise and fall of a loud-mouthed musician didn’t take off—it’s basically a feature-length adaptation of “I’m on a Boat.” Yet just five years later, and despite making less than $10 million in the U.S., it is already often spoken of alongside the best lowbrow comedies of the last decade, which isn’t nothing. If you’ve any affection for its sister box office disappoint-turned-cult smash Walk Hard ($20 million against a $35 million budget), put it on your weekend playlist.

Where to stream: Pluto TV

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Crimson Peak (2015)

Sandwiched in-between Guillermo del Toro’s summer blockbuster Pacific Rim and his Best Picture-winning The Shape of Water is this painterly ode to gothic horror—a lurid, oversexed haunted house potboiler in which a budding novelist (Mia Wasikowska) marries a wealthy aristocrat (Tom Hiddleston) and travels to his family’s remote, crumbling mansion, where she runs afoul of the convoluted relationship between her new groom and his sister (Jessica Chastain), with whom he shares a terrible secret. The film is a visual marvel—the decrepit estate, haunted by bloody specters, is a wonder of production design—more than making up for its somewhat overcooked Grand Guignol plotting.

(Much of the above also applies to del Toro's massive money loser Nightmare Alley, released in 2021, but I gave Crimson Peak the spotlight because it didn't get a Best Picture nod.)

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Blackhat (2015)

Michael Mann is so revered as a filmmaker’s filmmaker, it’s easy to forget how many of his movies have fared poorly in theaters (1999's The Insider lost $30 million, but got seven Oscar nominations). One of his most infamous in that regard is this techno-thriller starring a mid-Thor Chris Hemsworth, which cost $70 million and made $8 million in the U.S. And it’s great!

Hemsworth displays real charisma (and range) as an ex-con hacker tasked with saving the world from cyberterrorists, and the intricate plot spools out masterfully—at least since Mann tinkered with the editing to produce his director’s cut, which is the one to watch if you can find it (it’s currently not streaming anywhere).

Where to stream: Netflix

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The Man From UNCLE (2015)

It’s hard to say why Guy Ritchie’s protege Matthew Vaughn found success (and a franchise) with the 2014 spy action comedy Kingsmen: The Secret Service while Ritchie himself had no luck the next year with this clever reboot of the cult 1960s TV series The Man From UNCLE. Starring Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer (problematic!), it similarly walks the line between serious action and genre spoof, moving at a mile a minute between elaborate effects sequences and clever gags as its titular secret agent gets involved in international spy hijinks. (Spy-jinks?) I’d love a sequel, but the poor box office returns ($45 million U.S. on a budget of over $100 million) probably means I’ll have to be content with what I have.

Where to stream: TNT, TBS, TruTV

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Inherent Vice (2014)

Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s box office success often pales in comparison to his critical cred, but he never swung bigger and missed so badly ($8 million gross on a $20 million budget) than with this, the first ever cinematic adaptation of a Thomas Pynchon novel.

In retrospect, it’s no surprise a confounding, convoluted, drugged-out LA noir built on an alienating performance by Joaquin Phoenix didn’t exactly light the world on fire, but like all of PTA’s films, every frame is worth watching—no working director (save maybe Wes Anderson) is so tonally consistent—and maybe with enough re-viewings, the plot will start to make sense.

Where to stream: Paramount+ With Showtime

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John Carter (2012)

John Carter’s failure seems one of timing. Released a few years post-Avatar, it arrived just as audiences were growing weary of 3-D special effects extravaganzas, and the marketing never managed to justify its existence—admittedly a challenge when adapting source material (the Barsoom novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs) that established sci-fi/fantasy tropes long since passed into cliché.

Yet like two other would-be outer space blockbusters appearing elsewhere on this list (see if you can spot them), it’s far better than its damaged reputation. Taylor Kitsch is suitably heroic as a Civil War soldier mysteriously transported to the surface of Mars, the unusual environment granting him the superhuman abilities he needs to change the course of an alien war; in his first live-action film, director (and Pixar-mainstay) Andrew Stanton brings real dimension to a bunch of impressive CGI effects.

Where to stream: Disney+

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Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

That Edgar Wright managed to pull off the best comic book adaptation of all time, if for a comic with extremely niche appeal, and still see it fail to find an audience is all too appropriate: The slacker title character (Michael Cera), a part-time musician and full-time misanthrope living in early aughts Toronto, would scoff at becoming too popular.

Though buzz for it lit up Comic-Con, no one came out to theaters (where it grossed about half of the $60 million it cost to make) to see Scott engage in video game duels with his girlfriend Ramona’s (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) “seven evil exes” to win her hand (no one except me), but its Geriatric Millennial nostalgia appeal (not to mention a cast of future stars like Aubrey Plaza and Brie Larson) has won it a legion of fans after the fact—enough to get it an anime adaptation on Netflix.

Where to stream: Max

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Speed Racer (2008)/Cloud Atlas (2012)/Jupiter Ascending (2015)/The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

The Wachowskis have made a cottage industry out of directing ambitious genre films that utterly fail to connect with audiences, starting with their 2008 adaptation of the Japanese anime Speed Racer, a perfect live-action encapsulation of a cartoon’s manic energy that alienated critics upon initial release, leading to a $43 million U.S. gross on a $120 million budget (and here I must again point out I saw this one in the theater; it rules).

They fared a bit better with their sprawling take on David Mitchell’s “unfilmable” time-spanning cyclical novel Cloud Atlas in 2012, which made $130 million worldwide but still lost massive amounts of money, only to find themselves shuttled off to director jail after their fairy tale sci-fi epic Jupiter Ascending face-planted in 2015, resulting in a $100 million loss for Warner Bros.

After that flop, Lana Wachowski returned solo to resurrect the Matrix series. Even by pandemic standards, though, the fourth (but not final?) film in that uneven but always ambitious saga was a massive under-performer, grossing $160 million worldwide on a $190 million budget. More than that, the heavily meta plot and toned down action sequences divided fans—but so did the first two sequels.

Lumpy and misshapen and tonally inconsistent as they all are, these films feel like the rare big budget spectacles that are the product of a singular vision, and very much deserving of a second chance.

Where to stream: Digital rental (Speed Racer and Jupiter Ascending), Paramount+ With Showtime (Cloud Atlas), Max and Netflix (The Matrix Resurrections)

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Sunshine (2007)

Director Danny Boyle brings an arthouse flair to this sci-fi drama, which attempts to take a grounded approach to the story of a ragtag crew of astronauts’ desperate mission to reignite our dying sun (at least until the last 30 minutes, when it makes a hard turn into thriller territory). An odd sense of elegiac sadness hangs over the whole affair—Armageddon this ain’t, which might be why it made a mere $4 million in the U.S.—but more patient genre fans will find its arresting, sun-scorched imagery and strives for realism entirely rewarding.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

I totally get why this somber, painterly western—a nearly three-hour loose biography of the title characters that favors long silences and artful visuals over plot momentum—didn’t exactly become a summer blockbuster, but still, you’d think a piece of awards-bait starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck would do better than $4 million in ticket sales. If you have any patience for the genre, though, its a must-see—coupled with career-best work from cinematographer Roger Deakins, the sober tone and measured pacing become almost hypnotic.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Children of Men (2006)

Perhaps it's expecting too much of audiences to ask them to turn out in droves for a dour sci-fi thriller set in a near-future world ravaged by violence and climate disaster. But this 2006 flop from celebrated director Alfonso Cuarón is some kind of feel-bad masterpiece. It stars Clive Owen as a depressed former activist who unwittingly becomes the shepherd of the last baby born in a world gripped by an infertility plague, and his efforts to struggle on despite inarguably hopeless odds might actually be...sorta inspiring? In a depressing way. Regardless, while it underperformed in theaters (especially weighed against the rapturous critical reception) it deserves to be seen for the filmmaking alone—a chase sequence seemingly shot in one unbroken take was instantly iconic, and still holds up nearly 20 years later.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was to be a comeback of sorts, both for a pre-Iron Man Robert Downey, Jr. and for writer/director Shane Black, years removed from penning ‘80s hits like Lethal Weapon. Yet despite an enthusiastic critical response, it managed just $4 million at the U.S. box office—though, like most of these movies, it wound up finding its crowd on DVD. It’s worth watching both for its glimpse of an actor on the brink of career-changing global superstardom and its funny, fast-moving plot—a tongue-in-cheek homage to hardboiled Hollywood noir.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

Vin Diesel cashed in his xXx and The Fast and the Furious cred to make this convoluted RPG campaign of a sequel to David Twohy’s spare sci-fi thriller Pitch Black (2000). If you’re asking yourself why, the answer is pretty simple: Vin Diesel is a huge nerd.

Did the world need to learn that good-hearted criminal who could see in the dark was actually part of an ancient space-faring civilization known as “Furyans”? I would posit it did not (and in fact many people did not bother to learn it at all—it grossed just $57 million in the U.S. against a budget of over $100 million). But that doesn’t mean I, also a huge nerd, was not there for it opening weekend, and I declare it: Pretty good. I mean, Judy Dench, again.

Where to stream: Hulu, Peacock

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Peter Pan (2003)

With the notable exception of the Disney animated version (but not the Disney+ live action version), Hollywood just can’t quite seem to make Peter Pan happen—though not for a lack of trying. And none of these box office misfires hurts worse than the abject failure of this faithful 2003 adaptation, which hews closely to the original novel and casts real, actual kids in the lead roles of Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood) and Peter (Jeremy Sumpter) against Jason Isaac’s fiendish Captain Hook. Director P.J. Hogan (Muriel’s Wedding) perfectly captures the tension of the metaphor at the heart of this story about near-adolescents who never want to grow up.

Where to stream: Starz

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Death to Smoochy (2002)

Iconic star of short stature Danny DeVito had weird side-career as a director, bouncing from the over-the-top divorce comedy of The War of the Roses, to the acid-tinged children’s film Matilda, to this outright misfire, a nasty noir of the preschool entertainment set in which a down-on-his-luck TV host (Robin Williams) concocts a vicious scheme to obliterate his upstart rival, a purple rhino-costumed Edward Norton. It’s crass and violent enough that I’m not shocked no one wanted to see it in theaters (where it made $8 million on a $50 million budget), nor am I surprised it found more amenable audiences on DVD.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Treasure Planet (2002)

Disney’s attempt to appeal to the non-princess crowd with a spacefaring adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island—long a passion project for co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker—tanked so badly (losing some $75 million) that it basically signaled the end of traditional 2-D animation at the Mouse House (in-development projects like Tangled and Frozen quickly pivoted to CGI). And yet despite a super made-in-the-year-2000 aesthetic (the lead’s floppy boy band hair; that “space surfing” sequence), it’s actually an entertaining, imaginative update of the original story, and one of the most handsome animated films ever made. (Kids who grew up with it seem to agree.)

Where to stream: Disney+

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Josie and the Pussycats (2001)

It’s not exactly original to label Josie and the Pussycats a good movie in 2024, but you can’t call me a latecomer to the trend: I was one of the few who saw it in the theater in 2001 (final box office gross: $14.9 million), and I was an instant fan (I definitely liked it more than the only other people at my showing—a mom and her two young daughters, who seemed confused about why I was laughing so much).

Once dismissed as a formulaic post-Girl Power rags-to-rock riches story, the film has been reassessed as a smart satire with a great cast (which includes Rosario Dawson, Alan Cumming, Parker Posy, and Tara Reid) and an irresistible pop punk soundtrack.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Iron Giant (1999)

It’s not every movie that can say it got its studio shut down, but, well, director Brad Bird’s E.T.-like period fable about a alien machine that crash lands in the Red Scare America of the 1950s and the young boy who befriends him tanked so badly ($23 million U.S. against a $5o million budget) that Warner Bros. Animation essentially abandoned its feature-length ambitions in the wake of its release.

But critics loved it from the start, and audiences soon found it on DVD—especially after the release of Pixar’s The Incredibles boosted Bird’s reputation. By 2018, the title character was well-known enough to receive a major cameo in Steven Spielberg’s shared IP extravaganza Ready Player One.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Muppets From Space (1999)

A bold choice, I know—Muppets From Space is no one’s favorite Muppet movie. But it’s also far better than its reputation as the nadir of the beloved felt creations’ storied career. As with any Muppet film, the plot—about blue Weirdo Gonzo’s hunt for his origins (the title deserves a spoiler alert)—is just a framework upon which to hang Muppet-y antics and recognizable human cameos (including a totally game Jeffrey Tambor as an eternally exasperated government agent). It fared so poorly in theaters (failing to earn back its $24 million budget) that it put the Jim Henson creations in mothballs for more than a decade.

Where to stream: Prime Video, Tubi

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Fight Club (1999)

Fight Club failed in theaters (grossing about half what it cost to make) but was already on its way to cult status by the time it arrived on DVD in an elaborate multi-disc set filled with breathlessly exhaustive special features examining every facet of its production. Judging by its lasting impact on film (its primary twist becoming something of a narrative shorthand) and culture in general (certain audiences’ misreadings of its message are...problematic), its legacy seems assured, which is to say, you’ve probably seen Edward Norton and Brad Pitt meet cute, fight cute, and then start an underground boxing club-turned-terrorist organization plenty of times already.

Where to stream: Hulu

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Man on the Moon (1999)

The behind-the-camera talent for this bio-pic of 1980s outsider comic Andy Kauffman couldn’t be more impressive: An Oscar-winning director in Milos Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), acclaimed screenwriters (Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who penned the bio-pics Ed Wood and The People vs. Larry Flynt), and the talents of producer/star (and Kauffman confidant) Danny DeVito. Yet it seems 1999 audiences just didn’t want to see Jim Carrey in serious mode; he totally nails his portrayal of the troubled comedy legend, but couldn’t appeal to the Oscars (though he did win a Golden Globe) or audiences (the movie limped to $47 million against an $82 million budget). It’s a suitably risk-taking, beguiling take on the life of an unknowable celebrity who remained a mystery even in death.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Gattaca (1997)

This low-key science fiction drama from director Andrew Niccol (writer of The Truman Show) feels eerily prescient despite getting basically nothing of the future right. In “the not-too-distant future,” wealthy elites genetically engineer perfect children in the womb (“valids”), making life doubly difficult for natural born “in-valids” like Vincent (Ethan Hawke), who attempts to pass himself off as a valid in order to participate in an historic space mission. The setup is the stuff of classic sci-fi, favoring intellectual fireworks and moral musing over flashy special effects, and it took a while to find an appreciative audience, earning only a third of its $36 million budget in ticket sales.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Waterworld (1995)

What if Mad Max, but on the ocean? proved to be an uncompelling question for audiences in 1995, when this mega-budget post-apocalyptic saga of a future world drowned by melting ice caps became something of a laughing stock among critics (who dubbed it "Fishtar"; see a later entry on this list). But watched today, it's more an endearing throwback (fishing pun not intended). Sure, Kevin Costner is kind of dour and humorless as the web-toed man who will lead humanity into the future, but the action sequences are still killer (and refreshingly devoid of CGI), and Dennis Hopper makes for a fabulously maniacal villain. And it's even better if you can catch the extended TV cut, which adds in 45 minutes of plot trimmed from the original release.

Where to stream: Starz—though if you want to see the longer version you'll have to spring for the (excellent) Blu-ray edition

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The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

The Coen brothers’ drug-fueled bowling alley noir The Big Lebowski famously threw a gutter ball in theaters before stoners propelled it into a massive cult success on video, and I’d like to see the same sort of reassessment of this earlier flop, a blackly comic morality play about the inventor of the hula hoop (Tim Robbins) that’s like a dark reflection of the screwball comedies of the 1940s. The zany characters and over-the-top visuals might have you wondering what it’s all about, but you’ll honestly be too entertained to really care.

Where to stream: The Roku Channel

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Cry-Baby (1990)

Crass cult film icon John Waters found mainstream success with 1988's Hairspray, a ‘50s period musical about an unflappable young woman’s obsession with appearing on a teen dance show, so his followup—a ‘50s period musical about an unflappable young woman’s obsession with a good-hearted hoodlum (played by Johnny Depp in peak teen pinup form)—seemed a good bet.

Nope: It made around $8 million on a $12 million budget and vanished into video store obscurity. But its tale of singing toughs and the girls who love them proved too irresistible, and it eventually attracted the cult audience it deserved—to the point it was even remade as a Tony-nominated (if quickly shuttered) Broadway musical, walking much the same path as Hairspray (which went from movie to stage and back again).

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)

A sure thing that sure wasn’t, this adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s blockbuster novel, a long-winded saga of 1980s excess, became an infamous flop even before its 1990 release, despite the involvement of award-winning director Brian De Palma and a cast that includes big stars like Melanie Griffith, Tom Hanks, and Bruce Willis.

At the time it was regarded as a poor take on a zeitgeist-y book, and scraped out just a third of its $47 million budget in ticket sales, but it plays better at a remove—when’s the last time anyone actually read The Bonfire of the Vanities?—or as a companion piece to the dishy 1991 book The Devil’s Candy, journalist Julie Salamon’s no-holds-barred, fly-on-the-wall account of its troubled production.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

On paper, this one should’ve been a massive success: a romantic comedy pairing Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, written and directed by playwright John Patrick Shanley, who’d just won an Oscar for Moonstruck. And yet: Turns out 1990 audiences didn’t know what to make of a weird fable about a man with a fatal illness who ventures to the South Pacific to throw himself into a volcano. Its highly artificial screwball flair did eventually find its adherents, but not until it had already garnered a reputation as a poorly conceived box office disappointment.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Heathers (1989)

You mean to tell me audiences in 1989 couldn’t appreciate this black-as-night teen comedy satire about a pair of murderous high school students (Christian Slater and Winona Ryder) getting revenge against a same-named clique of awful rich girls? What was their damage? Luckily, this devilish romp from Daniel Waters (whose brother Mark would find success with the similarly sharp but more broadly appealing Mean Girls) hasn’t aged a day in the decades since it managed to earn just $1 million in theaters (well, except for the gay panic stuff... and the fact that it would never, ever be made today).

Where to stream: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Tubi

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Chameleon Street (1989)

This late-80s curio was the only movie director Wendell B. Harris Jr. ever got to make, and that's a damn shame. I don't want to say too much about it—it's one of those movies it is best to go into blind—but the opening titles tell you it's the true-ish story of a Catch Me If You Can-esque conman who built a life out of inhabiting a string of disparate identities. Despite earning acclaim at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival, it was put on the shelf and earned only a cursory release a year later. But it's a brilliant film, if challenging and ambitious, and I'm pleased it is attracting a growing cult following. It's now easy to find on basically every free streaming service, and I highly recommend giving it a try.

Where to stream: Prime Video, Peacock, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Tubi

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The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

One weird, dour Terry Gilliam “children’s” movie was a hit—1981's Time Bandits—so why not this one? Unfortunately, this chronicle of the high-flying adventures of oddball aristocrat Baron Munchausen (John Neville) cost way too much ($46 million) and made way too little ($8 million). But its episodic plot, which takes you on an airship to the moon, on a voyage under the sea, and beyond, plays well on video—and it’s fun seeing future stars like Sarah Polley and Uma Thurman in early roles.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Ishtar (1987)

Writer/director Elaine May’s folly has long been synonymous with the hubris of Hollywood, the epitome of a flop: an outrageously expensive dry “comedy” starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman as a pair of half-talented musicians unwittingly drawn into a foreign policy disaster in the fictional middle eastern nation of the title. It lost so much money (nearly $100 million in today’s dollars), it remains infamous decades later, despite the fact that almost no one has seen it (it lost so much money, you see).

Well, give it a rental and you’ll discover: It’s actually pretty good, particularly the first half, the kind of rambling, good-natured, star-filled romp they really don’t make anymore.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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The Hunger (1983)

Warner Bros. recently announced plans to remake this stylish 1983 vampire flick, which seems ill-advised: Director Tony Scott brought the full weight of his music video aesthetic to his adaptation of the pulpy Whitley Strieber novel, basically defining the “glampire” goth aesthetic that would become a cliché by the time Buffy the Vampire Slayer appeared on TV, and it’s hard to imagine it any other way. But there’s also the matter of trying to improve on roles inhabited by the likes of Susan Sarandon (as a naive geneticist), Catharine Deneuve (as an immortal succubus), and, most of all, the late David Bowie (as an ageless killer suddenly grappling with his own mortality). Sure, the plot is nigh-incomprehensible nonsense—but the style.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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One From the Heart (1982)

After directing both of The Godfather films to blockbuster grosses and critical acclaim—not to mention redefining the war film with Apocalypse Now—Francis Ford Coppola could seemingly do no wrong, which is probably how he managed to secure a $23 million budget for this stagey, highly artificial, contemporary Las Vegas-set ode to classic musicals.

After a troubled, pricey production, early screenings of the film went so poorly that many distributors elected not to show it, resulting in a disastrous sub-$1 million box office gross that nearly spelled the end of Coppola’s Zoetrope Studios. It’s hardly a movie for everyone, but you can clearly see its slice-of-city life influence in later Oscar sensation La La Land, and even a misfire from Coppola is worth seeing at least once.

Where to stream: Digital rental

The logic of film marketing suggests we need to know everything about a movie before we’ll pony up for a movie ticket—but that doesn’t mean that’s the right way to see every movie. There’s a lot of competition for our attention these days, meaning many of us do a lot of vetting before we actually sit down to watch something. But trailers too often telegraph a film's entire plot, even as social media discourse memes its cleverest moments to death before you get a chance to buy a ticket (or open up Netflix).

The spoiler debate can get annoying, sure, but some movies simply seem designed to be watched with as little foreknowledge as is possible. Some of them feature twist endings, but sometimes even knowing the premise is a spoiler. (In the spirit of the piece, you’ll forgive me if I don’t say much about the plots of these movies, and the trailers are included only for illustrative purposes. Yes, this is a little weird; use your best judgement.)

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Barbarian (2022)

In the opening minutes of this twisty thriller, Tess (Georgina Campbell) arrives at her Airbnb-esque rental house in a sketchy neighborhood, only to find it's been double-booked by Bill Skarsgård. When she feels bad and lets him in, you're pretty sure you know what kind of horror movie you've stepped into. Nope!

Where to stream: Amazon

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Sorry to Bother You (2018)

The story of a Black telemarketer who pretends to be white, Boots Riley’s directorial debut plays, at first, like a strictly social satire before veering into territory both more biting and way more fucked up.

Where to stream: Amazon

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The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

There have been countless “cabin in the wood”-style horror movies, with every possible variation of the many associated tropes done to...death; Sam Raimi was already parodying and subverting the genre with his Evil Dead movies way back in the 1980s. We know these movies, and we know how they’re meant to work. While it initially looks like Cabin in the Woods is a Scream-style deconstruction of the subgenre, it soon reveals itself to be something far more ambitious. While the trailer makes it clear that something weird is going on, the biggest twists are far from predictable.

Where to stream: Peacock, Amazon

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Parasite (2019)

Bong Joon-Ho’s unlikely and deserving Best Picture Oscar winner starts out like a darkly humorous satire, the kind of sharply pointed comedy of manners and social class that South Korean filmmakers often do so well. Then it nimbly shifts gears, and spends the rest of its runtime careering into much darker territory.

Where to stream: Max, Amazon

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Django Unchained (2012)

The number one question that people ask about Django Unchained on Google is “is Django Unchained historically accurate?” Which suggests that fewer people have seen a Quentin Tarantino movie than one might suspect. Every Tarantino film of the past decade+ has taken place in some sort of real-life historical context, then tossed history out the window in often rather satisfying ways, as happens here. Save your internet deep dive for after you’ve watched it.

Where to stream: Starz, Amazon

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10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

The first and third Cloverfield movies are sci-fi action spectacles, and the only thing I can really say about 10 Cloverfield Lane is that it's not. A woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) gets into a car accident and is rescued by an older man (John Goodman), but rescued might not be the right word. I've already said enough.

Where to stream: Amazon

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Oldboy (2003)

Even protagonist Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) comes into Oldboy with no idea what's going on. Bad and confusing things happen to him, he has no idea why, and his subsequent quest for vengeance (and answers...but mostly vengeance) goes to truly wild places.

Where to stream: Netflix, Amazon

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Memento (2000)

The movie that put Christopher Nolan on the map was a genuinely original mind-blower back in 2000, and still retains much of its power to surprise (and confuse) two decades later. If you can watch it without knowing the premise, do so immediately.

Where to stream: Peacock, Freevee, Amazon Prime

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The Prestige (2006)

Another mind-bender from the brothers Nolan, The Prestige takes a story inspired by real-life warring magicians and performs some slight of hand of its own, deftly blending genres and taking a hard left turn from its initial straightforward period piece trappings.

Where to stream: Amazon

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The Lighthouse (2019)

Come for Robert Pattinson in an old-timey mustache, stay for the gallery wall-worthy cinematography, subversion of vintage movie-making techniques, an all-time weird Willem Dafoe performance, and a plot that goes places.

Where to stream: Max, Amazon

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Triangle of Sadness (2022)

One of the darkest comedies of recent memory, Ruben Östlund's surprising Oscar frontrunner feels like at least three movies in one, with narratives that take sharp right turns at unexpected moments, taking potshots at greed and capitalism all the way. Best watched in ignorance, and on an empty stomach.

Where to stream: Hulu, Amazon

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Beau is Afraid (2023)

The anxious fever dream that is Beau Is Afraid isn't going to be for everyone, but there's really no point in trying to figure out if it's going to work for you without diving right in—and certainly if you've seen director Ari Aster's earlier films Hereditary and Midsommar, you can understand why you want to go in knowing as little as possible. (It was my favorite movie of 2023, but at least as many hated it as loved it.)

Where to stream: Paramount+, Amazon

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Shutter Island (2010)

The elements of noir are solidly in place in Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel, right down to Leonardo DiCaprio’s rumpled suit and period Boston accent. Then the tone quickly shifts, leaving us guessing as to what genre of film we’re in, exactly.

Where to stream: Amazon

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The Red Shoes (1948)

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s deliriously colorful spin on the Hans Christian Anderson legend only looks like a romantic fairytale fantasia.

Where to stream: Max, Tubi, Freevee, Amazon Prime

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Holy Trinity (2019)

Director Molly Hewitt’s colorful directorial debut didn't make a huge splash, but it’s surely destined for cult status. The upbeat sex-and-king-positive film involves a dominatrix who can communicate with the dead, and I’ll leave it there.

Where to stream: VHX TV

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Dark City (1998)

It doesn’t take long for Dark City to reveal itself as something other than the highly stylized neo-noir that it sets out as, but the plot twists and nimble blending of genres make it consistently surprising. The superior director’s cut (available for rental via Prime Video) fleshes out the world while doing a lot less hand-holding, so it’s even better if you’re looking for surprises.

Where to stream: Tubi, Amazon

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Coherence (2013)

What could possibly be surprising in a low-budget relationship drama set over the course of a dinner party? And what’s up with that comet?

Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, Amazon Prime

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Triangle (2009)

Is it sci-fi? Is it horror? I'm not telling. For fans of all things trippy and mindbending, it works on just about every level.

Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, Freevee, Crackle, Amazon Prime

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Us (2019)

The contours of Jordan Peele’s followup to Get Out don’t become clear until the final act, but the film never feels like it’s waiting on a big reveal or a twist (though there are a few). The surprises are littered throughout.

Where to stream: Amazon

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Nope (2022)

Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer star as the sibling caretakers of a rural California horse ranch, who find themselves beset by...something? Wildly original, if frequently vexing, the tagline calling it a "neo-Western science fiction horror film" tells you all you need to know.

Where to stream: Starz, Amazon

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Dicks: The Musical (2023)

Larry Charles directs this jaw-dropingly crude and goofy musical, written by stars Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp, who play separated at birth twin siblings, but you'll know this definitely isn't The Parent Trap. long before the sewer boys appear onscreen. If you need additional convincing, the supporting cast includes Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally, and Megan Thee Stallion.

Where to stream: Max, Amazon

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Split (2016)

One of our most interesting, wildly inconsistent filmmakers, M. Night Shyalaman managed the closest thing he’s had to a slam-dunk in years with Split, a horror thriller anchored by a brilliant (if, problematic) performance from James McAvoy. Though there are surprises right up until the end, the director eschews his traditional reliance on a twist ending in favor of something more like a twist beginning.

Where to stream: Netflix, Amazon

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Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

This Elizabeth Taylor vehicle with co-stars Katherine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift may be quite a bit talkier than many of the other movies here, but its impressive weirdness (drawn from the Tennessee Williams play) piles up throughout its runtime. By the end, you’ll almost certainly be wondering how this ever could have possibly been made, with this cast, in 1959.

Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, Amazon

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Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

In genre terms, IMDb considers Big Trouble in Little China a fantasy martial arts action-comedy (that began life as a western), and that’s probably more than enough information to tell you if it’s for you. By quite a stretch it’s the weirdest of the great John Carpenter/Kurt Russell collaborations of the 1980s.

Where to stream: Amazon

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Slack Bay (2016)

As absurd as film gets, led by a fabulous performance from Juliette Binoche, I’m not sure I could spoil Slack Bay if I wanted to. As much as any film here, it defies even the most rigorous attempt at summary.

Where to stream: Amazon

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The Invisible Man (2020)

Finally: a Universal monster reboot done right. This one that takes the bare bones premise of H.G. Wells novel (and James Whale’s excellent 1933 film version) and by shifting its focus, creates something new and interesting.

Where to stream: Freevee, Amazon

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Malignant (2021)

I make no guarantees, as this seems to be very much a love it/hate it affair...but I’m personally team Malignant. Its genuinely batshit plot twists are just this side of silly, and, when blended with some over-the-top horror, all add up to a good time at the movies.

Where to stream: Max, Amazon

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Starship Troopers (1997)

Though slightly less common in 1997, when digital effects were expensive and streaming services weren’t desperate for genre content, this type of space-marines-fighting-aliens movie was still the kind of thing that we’d seen a million times. Or so we thought. Professional provocateur Paul Verhoeven clearly had little interest in something so straight-down-the-middle, opting for a film that satirizes the book it’s based on rather than adapts it.

Where to stream: Netflix, Amazon

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Werewolves Within (2021)

It’s on the lighter side, as werewolf-themed horror movies go, and that’s to its credit. It’s a rather charming (but often grisly) mystery with impressive twists, turns, and misdirects.

Where to stream: Hulu, Shudder, Amazon

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Kaboom (2010)

Kaboom probably isn’t New Queer Cinema titan Gregg Araki’s best, but it’s certainly his most fun, colorful, and fast-paced. While having a fair bit of sex, a bunch of college students face the potential end of the world.

Where to stream: AMC+, Amazon

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Sisu (2022)

Do you like seeing Nais get what's coming to them? This movie gives the Nazis what's coming to them in the most satisfying ways.

Where to stream: Starz, Amazon

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Carnival of Souls (1962)

This ultra-low-budget indie preceded and inspired Night of the Living Dead, and its thoroughly unique style and tone still impresses today. Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) emerges from a car accident and stumbles into a creepy, entirely mysterious abandoned carnival, but you could probably figure out that from the title. Anything more is a spoiler.

Where to stream: Max, AMC+, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, Crackle, Shudder, Freevee, Amazon Prime

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Swiss Army Man (2016)

Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who later went on to direct Everything Everywhere All at Once, made Swiss Arm Man waaay back in 2016, cementing their reputation as masters of emotionally engaging weirdness...and, fortunately, didn’t doom their careers. If it weren’t already clear, this is also the movie in which Daniel Radcliffe proved that he was well and truly ready to step out of Harry Potter’s long shadow.

Where to stream: Max, Amazon

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Birdman (2014)

One of those nearly, but in this case unfairly, forgotten Best Picture Oscar winners, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s very dark comedy is surprising both in its directorial style (the closest thing to a gimmick here), and in the ways that the jokes keep piling up. Iñárritu is known for more overtly dramatic movies (The Revenant, 21 Grams, etc.), but here directs all of that energy at making Michael Keaton’s life a living hell. It features a great performance from Keaton, playing off his once-and-future Batman role.

Where to stream: Amazon

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Don’t Look Now (1973)

Many supernatural thrillers aspire to deeper resonance, and very many of those deal with grief. Few do so as cannily as Nicholas Roeg’s classic, set in a beautiful, but somber, Venice and starring Julie Christie alongside Donald Sutherland doing the best work of his career.

Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, Amazon

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Palm Springs (2020)

Cristin Milioti, Andy Samberg and J.K. Simmons star in this romantic comedy that takes a quick lurch into science fiction—a good case of a film with a plot twist that comes at the beginning, rather than the end, and that keeps surprising throughout.

Where to stream: Hulu

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Annette (2021)

I love to imagine the faces of the non-art house cinema crowd after haplessly happening upon Annette while scrolling through Amazon Prime. “Oooh, Adam Driver! I love him!” they think, clicking play, wholly unprepared for what French director Leos Carax and extraterrestrial musicians Sparks hath wrought.

Where to stream: Amazon Prime

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Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar (2021)

An example of a movie with a trailer that is effective for making it seem much less clever than it is, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar only looks like a Kristen Wiig SNL sketch stretched to its absolute limit. It’s actually way fucking weirder.

Where to stream: Amazon

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Serenity (2019)

Don’t let anyone spoil the stupidity of Serenity for you.

Where to stream: Tubi, Freevee

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Extra Ordinary (2019)

Extra Ordinary pays homage to those crappy horror films you used to rent from the video store based only on the freaky box art. Except it’s actually really, really good. It starts like a parody and gets weirder as it goes; the presence of Will Forte is both a red herring and its secret weapon.

Where to stream: Tubi, AMC+, Amazon

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The Menu (2022)

A couple of foodies (Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult) secured a coveted reservation to an exclusive restaurant on a secluded island. They have a delicious meal, post glowing reviews on social media, and go home happy and full. JK.

Where to stream: Amazon

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Pearl (2022)

A prequel to Ti West's X co-written by star Mia Goth. You'd think you'd know what to expect if you've seen the first installment, which naturally reveals how it all turns out. Not so much.

Where to stream: Amazon Prime

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Psycho (1960)

Psycho did its job much, much too well, and, as a result, the number of film fans left to be surprised by its central twist are few. Still, if you only know Psycho as a famous title, there are more to its surprises (and shifts in perspective) than showers. Much copied, but never bested for shocking its audience: This is, quite simply, how it’s done. But, given that you've probably seen this one, check out the surprisingly effective Psycho II, which does nearly as good a job at keeping its audience guessing.

Where to stream: Amazon Prime

The offering from Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery shows how rival companies are willing to work together to navigate an uncertain entertainment landscape.

© Todd Anderson for The New York Times