If Hulu isn’t the first streaming service you think of when you’re looking for a movie to watch, allow us to attempt to change your mind. With Oscar winners like Anora and A Real Pain, genre hits like The Monkey and Predator: Killer of Killers, and great older movies like The Abyss and the John Wick franchise, the streamer has a wide variety of films to choose from. The newest addition to our list is Swiped, which tells the true story of how the dating app Bumble was founded. You’ll find all that and more on our list of the best movies to watch on Hulu.
This list isn’t just about the absolute best movies of all time; it’s about the best movies to watch on Hulu right now. That means this list will look a little different from the other ones out there, as we’re focusing on Hulu originals, new arrivals to Hulu, and our own personal favorites.
Last updated Oct. 8; newer additions are at the top.
Swiped
Director: Rachel Lee Goldenberg
Cast: Lily James, Dan Stevens, Myha’la, Jackson White, Ben Schnetzer, Clea DuVall
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Metacritic score: 42
Lily James stars as Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd in this extremely made-for-streaming movie that’s something like a gentler, high-gloss version of The Social Network. The film tells the story of how Herd was forced out of Tinder, the dating app she helped found, by sexist tech bros, and turned that setback into the creation of Bumble, the dating app that puts the power of choice in women’s hands. Interestingly, Herd is not involved in the movie, and says she hasn’t seen it. She shouldn’t worry about it! The movie is very nice to her! -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
John Wick
Director: Chad Stahelski
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick
Genre: Action
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 68, 75, 73, 78
All four entries in the mainline John Wick film franchise are currently streaming on Hulu (Ana de Armas-led spinoff Ballerina is available on demand). My favorite is John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum. There are many reasons why it’s the best one, but here are three: the knife fight scene, the scene with Halle Berry’s dogs, and the way Ian McShane says “EXCOMMUNICADO.” All the John Wick movies are great, though. It’s fun that they’re making like 15 spinoffs, plus John Wick 5, even though John Wick [SPOILER ALERTS] at the end of 4. Who cares? It’s still fun, and Keanu Reeves’ body is still up for it, so why not? John Wick doesn’t get enough credit for being the most influential movie franchise of the past decade. Every action movie since John Wick is pretty much doing a variation on John Wick, but there’s no substitute for the real thing. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
The Monkey (2025)
Director: Oz Perkins
Cast: Theo James, Christian Convery, Tatiana Maslany, Colin O’Brien, Adam Scott, Elijah Wood
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 62
Hot horror director Oz Perkins’ second movie in less than a year (you’ll find his other one, Longlegs, further down this list) is a Stephen King adaptation that’s as darkly funny as it is scary. Theo James (Netflix’s The Gentlemen) stars as twin brothers who are haunted by a murderous monkey toy. They thought they got rid of it when they were kids, but it’s back, and it’s leaving a trail of death and destruction through their lives. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
The Amateur (2025)
Director: James Hawes
Cast: Rami Malek, Laurence Fishburne, Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jon Bernthal
Genre: Thriller, Action
Rating: PG-13
Metacritic score: 52
Rami Malek returns to Mr. Robot mode for this techno-thriller. He plays Charlie Heller, a CIA desk jockey who takes action after his wife is killed by terrorists and the government doesn’t do enough to bring the killers to justice. Using his computer savvy — as well as more physical tactics he learns from his handler, Agent Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne), who doesn’t think Charlie is capable of pulling the trigger and taking a life — Charlie goes on a mission of revenge. Rachel Brosnahan, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jon Bernthal also star. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
The Abyss (1989)
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: PG-13
Metacritic score: 62
James Cameron’s first water-based movie (not counting his debut, B-horror flick Piranha II) brought viewers into the great director’s obsession with the mysteries of the ocean. When an American submarine sinks in a deep-sea trough, the Navy partners with the crew of an experimental deep-sea drilling platform to recover it. What they find down there will change the world forever, because it’s not of this world. Ed Harris stars in this sci-fi epic that won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Like all of Cameron’s movies, the effects still look great today, especially in the restored version streaming on Hulu. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Cast: Lindsay LaVanchy, Louis Ozawa, Rick Gonzalez, Michael Biehn
Genre: Animation, Sci-Fi, Action
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 78
Dan Trachtenberg (director of Prey and the upcoming Predator: Badlands) took some time out from directing live-action Predator movies to make an animated one. Predator: Killer of Killers is an R-rated anthology film that finds three of Earth’s toughest fighters from different eras — a Viking, a ninja in feudal Japan, and a World War II fighter pilot — going up against Predators who come to challenge them. It’s bloody good fun. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
The Last Showgirl (2024)
Director: Gia Coppola
Cast: Pamela Anderson, Billie Lourd, Dave Bautista, Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song, Jamie Lee Curtis
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 66
Pamela Anderson gets a career-redefining role of a lifetime in this indie drama from writer-director Gia Coppola. Anderson stars as an aging Las Vegas showgirl facing an uncertain future when the revue she has danced in for 30 years announces that it’s closing. It’s an intimate character study that Anderson is clearly drawing on a lot of her own life experience for. She earned rave reviews for her performance, as well as nominations for Golden Globe and SAG Awards. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Summer of 69 (2025)
Director: Jillian Bell
Cast: Chloe Fineman, Sam Morelos, Matt Cornett, Charlie Day, Paula Pell
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Metacritic score: 60
Years after breaking out on SNL, Chloe Fineman finally has her first lead film role in this teen sex comedy from director Jillian Bell, the Workaholics star who’s making her feature debut. Fineman plays an exotic dancer whom a high schooler (newcomer Sam Morelos) hires to teach her about sex in order to have the confidence to seduce her crush before graduation. It’s a raunchy comedy with heart in the vein of Superbad and Bottoms. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
The Order (2024)
Director: Justin Kurzel
Cast: Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, Marc Maron
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 75
Jude Law stars in this tense crime thriller that’s based on a true story. He plays Terry Husk, an FBI agent investigating a violent white supremacist organization led by Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult) in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1980s. Law gives one of his best performances in years, and Hoult continues to demonstrate that he’s one of the most interesting and versatile actors of his generation. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Anora (2024)
Director: Sean Baker
Cast: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Darya Ekamasova, and Aleksei Serebryakov
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 91
Writer-director-producer-editor Sean Baker’s fractured Cinderella story follows Ani (Mikey Madison), a sex worker from the Russian enclave of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, who marries Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the boyish son of an oligarch, and embarks on a whirlwind rags-to-riches-and-back tale as she tries to hold on to her new life in the face of opposition from Vanya’s family. The empathetic film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Madison’s star-making, fully alive performance. Baker personally won four Oscars, the most anyone has ever won for a single film in a single ceremony. It’s a special little movie. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
A Complete Unknown (2024)
Director: James Mangold
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Edward Norton
Genre: Music Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 70
Timothée Chalamet earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as young Bob Dylan in this crowd-pleasing biopic. It’s not as transformative a performance as his Dune: Part II co-star Austin Butler becoming possessed by the spirit of Elvis Presley in Elvis, but it’s still pretty great. Monica Barbaro and Edward Norton were also nominated for their performances as Joan Baez and Pete Seeger, respectively, and the film was nominated for Best Picture. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Longlegs (2024)
Director: Osgood Perkins
Cast: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Alicia Witt, Blair Underwood, Kiernan Shipka
Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 77
Nicolas Cage gives one of the most disturbing performances of his career in this hit indie horror movie. Giving away too much of who he is would spoil it, but be assured he’s very creepy. Scream queen Maika Monroe stars as a young FBI agent investigating a string of Satanic murders in the early 1990s. It turns out she has a connection to the case that manifests in hard-to-explain ways. It’s an homage to The Silence of the Lambs with the occult horror cranked up, and Oz Perkins’ meticulous direction makes it look beautiful even when the plot stops making much sense. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (2025)
Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Genre: Music Documentary
Rating: TV-MA
Metacritic score: 77
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s previous music documentary, the Oscar-winning Summer of Soul, was so good that it earned him an automatic must-watch tag on his next project before even knowing what it was about. Fans of Summer of Soul, get ready, because Questlove’s new film, SLY LIVES!, is all about one of Summer of Soul‘s most entertaining subjects: the the funk, soul, and rock group Sly and the Family Stone. Whereas Summer of Soul focused on the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, SLY LIVES! details the legacy and influence of the “Everyday People” and “Family Affair” band. -Tim Surette [Trailer]
A Real Pain (2024)
Director: Jesse Eisenberg
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 86
Kieran Culkin won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his funny and sad performance in this dramedy. He stars alongside the film’s writer and director, Jesse Eisenberg, who was an Oscar nominee himself for Best Original Screenplay. They play cousins who were close when they were kids but have grown apart who go on a trip across Poland together in honor of their late grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor. It’s a poignant film about family, pain, and generational trauma that maintains a light touch even when it’s dealing with heavy topics. -Liam Mathews
Cuckoo (2024)
Director: Tilman Singer
Cast: Hunter Schafer, Dan Stevens
Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 62
Yet another uncomfortable horror banger from Neon, Cuckoo will satisfy a certain subset of cinephiles who aren’t too interested in a comprehensible plot and are more into a terrifying abstract mood. Euphoria‘s Hunter Schafer throws her name in the ring for today’s leading scream queen as an annoyed teenager who goes to live with her dad at a German resort. There, she gets pursued by a strange older lady and notices a whole bunch of unusual stuff going on. It’s one of the better horror movies of the year if — and that’s a big IF — you don’t mind its nebulous storytelling. -Tim Surette [Trailer]
Alien: Romulus (2024)
Director: Fede Alvarez
Cast: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 64
If you watch Alien: Romulus at home on Hulu, no one can hear you scream. The latest addition to the Alien franchise follows a crew of young scavengers who board a seemingly abandoned spaceship to look for valuables. You and I know know it’s not really abandoned, though, and that they don’t find valuables, they find a murderous alien. You know how it is. This is a fun sci-fi horror flick that reinvigorates the long-running franchise. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Thelma (2024)
Director: Josh Margolin
Cast: June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, Malcolm McDowell
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 77
The great June Squibb proves it’s never too late for some action. The 94-year-old veteran of stage and screen gets the first starring role of her career in this terrifically fun indie dramedy. She plays the title character, a feisty, independent grandmother who gets scammed out of $10,000. But rather than take the hit, she goes on a mission to get her money back. It’s not exactly John Wick, but it’s about as close to John Wick as a 94-year-old can get. It’s a big-hearted movie that will make you cry a little and laugh a lot. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Director: Cameron and Colin Cairnes
Cast: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordan, Ian Bliss, Fayssel Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli
Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 72
Character actor David Dastmalchian (Oppenheimer) is terrific in a rare starring role in this supernatural spooker as Jack Delroy, a 1970s late night talk show host whose desperation for ratings leads to him booking a demonic entity as a guest on his show, in the form of a possessed child, and an author who wrote a book about her. Dastmalchian nails the talk show host’s smarmy patter, as well as his terror when he realizes that he’s at the mercy of even more powerful and sinister force than the Nielsen corporation. The title sort of implies that the Devil is hosting the show. Technically he isn’t, but in a way he is. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Immaculate (2024)
Director: Michael Mohan
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Alvaro Morte, Benedetta Porcaroli, Giorgio Colangeli, Dora Romano
Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 57
Sydney Sweeney stars in this slow burn story of a Catholic nun who seemingly spontaneously becomes pregnant. Is this baby a blessing from the Lord, or could there be some other nefarious force at work here? This is a horror film, so, uh, spoiler: it’s the nefarious one. One of a pair of mysterious pregnant nun movies to hit theaters in 2024, Immaculate does cover some of the same ground as The First Omen does. But unlike that very solid film, Immaculate‘s story doesn’t have to fit the lore of some existing 50-year-old movie, which makes it a better watch. -Phil Owen [Trailer]
Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge (2024)
Director: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Trish Dalton
Genre: Documentary
Rating: n/a
Metacritic score: 63
To many, the name Diane von Furstenberg is synonymous with the wrap dress. It’s expected, since the Belgian entrepreneur built her fashion empire around that clothing item. But in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Trish Dalton’s documentary Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge, Furstenburg is introduced as far more than a designer. The film is an intimate portrayal of her life, from being the daughter of a Holocaust survivor to the wife of Prince Egon von Furstenberg to a global voice empowering women. Woman in Charge paints an undeniable portrait of a trailblazer who never shied away from pushing boundaries. And while interviews with figures like Oprah Winfrey and Marc Jacobs certainly establish Furstenberg as an industry icon, it’s the interviews with her family that are the film’s most poignant. –Kat Moon [Trailer]
Perfect Days (2023)
Director: Wim Wenders
Stars: Kōji Yakusho and Arisa Nakano
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG
Metacritic score: 80
Japan’s entry for the Best International Feature Film award at the 2024 Oscars (it lost to The Zone of Interest) is directed by the very non-Japanese Wim Wenders, the legendary German director behind Buena Vista Social Club; Paris, Texas; and Wings of Desire. Perfect Days is a quaint and poignant film about a man (Kōji Yakusho) who cleans public toilets in Tokyo for a living and enjoys the little things in life. Don’t expect a typical movie experience from this one; it’s a meditative look at living in the now, with a quietly standout performance from Yakusho and minimalist direction from Wenders. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
The First Omen (2024)
Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Stars: Nell Tiger Free, Sonia Braga, Ralph Inneson, Maria Caballero
Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 83
Way back in the original The Omen, a politician’s stillborn child was secretly replaced with an Antichrist baby — The First Omen is the story of where that baby came from. Despite the franchise baggage, The First Omen works well as a creepy little standalone story, and Tiger Free is outstanding as the protagonist, a nun-in-training who was just brought to the Vatican at the request of the priest who ran the orphanage she was raised at. It’s a slow burn, and the ending that ties the franchise together is kind of awkward, but The First Omen has a lot to offer fans of religious horror — it’s a lot more compelling than 2023’s Exorcist sequel; that’s for sure. –Phil Owen [Trailer]
Ferrari (2023)
Year: 2023
Director: Michael Mann
Stars: Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz, Shailene Woodley
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 73
Legendary director Michael Mann paints a poignant portrait of Enzo Ferrari with this film, never shying away from his flaws and telling an unexpectedly resonant personal story. And despite Adam Driver being far too young for the role — Enzo Ferrari was nearly 60 during the events of the film, two decades older than Driver — the multi-time Emmy and Oscar nominee pulls it off nearly flawlessly. Despite Ferrari being all about cars, it’s the quieter portions of the film that give it its substance. –Phil Owen [Trailer]
The Contestant (2023)
Year: 2023
Director: Clair Titley
Stars: Tomoaki Hamatsu, narrated by Fred Armisen
Genre: Documentary
Rating: n/a
Metacritic score: 71
In 1998, a Japanese reality show convinced a man named Tomoaki Hamatsu to participate in a strange contest: He had to live in complete isolation, without any clothes, and live off only what he could win from magazine sweepstakes cards. And then the whole thing was livestreamed and became a national sensation — the man lived like this for more than a year without having a clue about his popularity. That really happened, and this compelling documentary from director Clair Titley retells the story both from Hamatsu’s perspective and that of the TV producer who exploited him. But it’s in the final act, which focuses on Hamtsu’s later life and his attempts to climb Mount Everest, where The Contestant hits the hardest. All that and it lasts under 90 minutes. –Phil Owen [Trailer]
The Stones and Brian Jones (2023)
Year: 2023
Director: Nick Broomfield
Stars: Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and others
Genre: Documentary, Music
Rating: n/a
Metacritic score: 75
Kurt & Courtney director Nick Broomfield looks back at the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll with this documentary about Brian Jones, the founder of the Rolling Stones, and the band that would eventually move on without him. Jones started the Rolling Stones in 1962 before seeing his influence on the band fade away as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards took creative control, leading to his ouster in 1969. He died less than a month later, but his footprint on the British rock scene remains as strong as ever. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Beyond Utopia (2023)
Year: 2023
Director: Madeleine Gavin
Genre: Documentary
Rating: PG-13
Metacritic score: 84
This acclaimed documentary from director Madeleine Gavin follows families trying to escape North Korea after living a life of hardship and lies brought upon them by the North Korean government. Using rare footage of life inside North Korea, Beyond Utopia captures the harrowing and life-threatening journey toward freedom, aided by South Korean pastor Seungeun Kim, who has helped over a thousand North Koreans defect. While the human stories are captivating, it’s worth noting that some critics found the movie failed to detail America’s involvement in making North Korea what it is today. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
No One Will Save You (2023)
Year: 2023
Director: Brian Duffield
Stars: Kaitlyn Dever
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rating: PG-13
Metacritic score: 64
No One Will Save You, a nearly wordless thriller from Brian Duffield (Love and Monsters, The Babysitter), stars Kaitlyn Dever as a creative but lonely young woman named Brynn, whose alienation turns literal when extraterrestrials invade her childhood home one night. In order to confront her intruders, Brynn will have to face her past. Beam this one up; it’s a lot of fun. –Kelly Connolly [Trailer]
How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023)
Year: 2023
Director: Daniel Goldhaber
Stars: Lukas Gage, Marcus Scribner, Kristine Froseth
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 76
Hulu is still one of the strongest streamers for great under-the-radar movies, and this 2023 film from Neon is a good one. How to Blow Up a Pipeline follows a group of young people who band together to take out a controversial oil pipeline, tiptoeing the line between environmental activism and domestic terrorism. It was a hit among critics, who lauded it as a taut thriller with eco-friendly themes, and it features a cast that includes The White Lotus‘ Lukas Gage, black-ish‘s Marcus Scribner, and The Society‘s Kristine Froseth. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Rye Lane (2023)
Year: 2023
Director: Raine Allen Miller
Stars: Vivian Oparah, David Jonsson
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 83
This cute rom-com film set in the London neighborhoods of Peckham and Brixton has a tried-and-true setup — two people reeling from bad breakups have a chance encounter with each other, and you know the rest — but it’s presented in a dazzling, magnetic way thanks to director Raine Allen Miller. Yas (Vivian Oparah) and Dom (Industry‘s David Jonsson) are twentysomethings who use their new friendship to deal with their exes over the course of a day, and who knows, maybe they will fall for each other. Who knows!?!? –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Bruiser (2023)
Year: 2023
Director: Miles Warren
Stars: Jalyn Hall, Shamier Anderson, Trevante Rhodes
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Metacritic score: 81
First-time feature director Miles Warren arrives with the confidence of a veteran filmmaker with this family drama about a 14-year-old (Jalyn Hall) caught between his father (Shamier Anderson) and a mysterious drifter (Trevante Rhodes). It’s a story about fatherhood and parenting, coming of age, and defending yourself. It’s also one of the best things Onyx Collective, a subdivision of Disney focusing on Black stories, has produced. -Tim Surette [Trailer]
Fire of Love (2022)
Year: 2022
Director: Sara Dosa
Stars: Maurice Krafft, Katia Krafft
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 83
This stunning film was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2023 Academy Awards, and for good reason. Fire of Love introduces audiences to Maurice and Katia Krafft, a pair of charismatic French volcanologists who bucked the stuffy stereotypes of scientists from the 1970s to early 1990s. Director Sara Dosa also innovates with a stylish collage of the Kraffts’ massive library of film footage, multimedia animations, groovy music, and entrancing editing. But what makes Fire of Love better than the sum of its parts is the fascinating love triangle between Maurice and Katia, who were married, and the explosive volcanoes that drew them in. It’s a nature documentary, a profile of a couple who found love against all odds, and an art film in one splendid package. -Tim Surette [Trailer]
Riotsville, U.S.A. (2022)
Year: 2022
Director: Sarah Pettengill
Stars: Charlene Modeste
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 83
History repeats itself — or maybe it just never ends — in Riotsville, U.S.A. This well-reviewed 2022 documentary looks back on the social justice movement of the late 1960s and traces how America’s police forces militarized in response. Its focus is on fake towns built by the Army, which were used to train police and the military to violently subdue protests. Director Sarah Pettengill uses archival footage and pointed narration to tell a story that has obvious parallels in the present. –Kelly Connolly [Trailer]
On the Count of Three (2021)
Year: 2021
Director: Jerrod Carmichael
Stars: Jerrod Carmichael, Christopher Abbott, Tiffany Haddish, Henry Winkler, JB Smoove
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 85
Jerrod Carmichael directs this dark buddy dramedy about two best friends – one played by Carmichael, the other by Christopher Abbott – who hatch a joint suicide pact. Before they kill themselves, though, they spend their last day alive taking care of unfinished business and engaging in shameless debauchery. It’s difficult to recommend a movie with such upsetting subject material, but Carmichael’s singular voice makes this one worth it. –Allison Picurro [Trailer]
Prey (2022)
Year: 2022
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Stars: Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller, Horror
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 69
Hulu went ahead and revived the Predator franchise, and this time it’s a prequel. Prey is set in the Comanche Nation in the 1700s, and finds the Predator coming to Earth, where he faces off against a young warrior (Amber Midthunder) trying to protect her tribe. It has all the brawling and killing you want from a Predator movie, and as Jordan Hoffman said in his review for TV Guide, its setting feels refreshing. –Allison Picurro [Trailer | Review]
Fire Island (2022)
Year: 2022
Director: Andrew Ahn
Stars: Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, Margaret Cho, Matt Rogers
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 72
Joel Kim Booster writes and stars in this hilarious, heartbreaking, and horny adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, which reimagines one of Jane Austen’s most famous novels as a gay romantic comedy set on New York’s Fire Island. Booster stars as Noah, the Elizabeth Bennett role, and Bowen Yang plays his best friend Howie, the Jane Bennett; the film hits all the Austenian beats regarding class and social status, but Booster’s observations about being gay and Asian American gives a well-trodden story its updated perspective. It’s likely the only movie you’ll see that has jokes about Quibi, My Cousin Vinny, and Yolanda Hadid. –Allison Picurro [Trailer]
Minding the Gap (2018)
Director: Bing Liu
Stars: Kiere Johnson, Zack Mulligan
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Metacritic score: 90
If you like your documentaries with a side of a punch in the gut, Minding the Gap will suffice! The Oscar-nominated film, from first-time director Bing Liu, follows Liu as he reconnects with two of his old skateboarding buddies while the twentysomething young men all deal with the struggles of growing up after childhoods of abuse and neglect. Archival footage is both exuberant and emotional as the trio escapes troubles through skateboarding and details the problems at home, while new footage shows how their lives have changed (or not changed) through unplanned fatherhood, new family issues, and more all-too-common obstacles. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Palm Springs (2020)
Director: Max Barbakow
Stars: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons, Camila Mendes, June Squibb, Peter Gallagher, Tyler Hoechlin
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance
Rating: R
Metacritic score: 83
The less you know about Palm Springs going into it, the better, but it’s probably no secret at this point that this delightful comedy features Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as a pair of wedding goers who find themselves trapped in a time loop. Their performances are at once goofy and grounded, and there are plenty of surprises packed into every precious minute of this wild, incredibly fun rom-com with touches of sci-fi. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
