As winter approaches, it’s a great time to snuggle up and enjoy a movie night at home! Of course, with Netflix releasing new originals every week and HBO Max releasing Warner Bros.’ 2021 slate, it has been a pretty great year for movie nights, but if you’re just catching up, no worries. We’ve been doing the work all year of keeping track of the best new (and classic) movies to hit all the major streaming services throughout the year. As we get into the cozy season, we know that work is even more important. Read on for the best new movies to stream this week on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, and Apple TV+.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, and the best movies on HBO.
Netflix
The Harder They Fall (2021)
A new Western starring Idris Elba, Regina King, LaKeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz, The Harder They Fall hits a lot of classic notes while remaining completely fresh. Outlaw Nat Love discovers that his nemesis Rufus Buck is being released from prison, so he rounds up his gang to track Rufus down and claim glorious revenge. However, Buck has his own crew, and they’re not exactly ready to lay down arms.
Passing (2021)
A complex drama analyzing racial ambiguity in a tumultuous time, Passing is an excellent vehicle for the brilliance of stars Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga. In 1920s New York City, Irene (Thompson) becomes intertwined with a Black childhood friend who is passing as white and has made the decision to lean into it completely.
Love Hard (2021)
An original holiday rom-com, Love Hard is a great casual watch during the Christmas season. After meeting her dream person on a dating app, LA-based writer Natalie Bauer travels across the country only to discover that she’s been catfished. However, her failed wish to surprise her beau at Christmas comes with surprising benefits.
21 Jump Street (2012)
Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are hilarious in this reboot of the ’80s TV series about a police force’s secret Jump Street unit that sends cops undercover into high schools as students to suss out drugs. Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) couldn’t be more different on the force, but when they go undercover to take down a drug ring, they soon find they had more in common than they thought. And they both have no idea how to manage high school now that it’s been a few years.
It Follows (2014)
A deeply creepy, slow-burning horror, It Follows is not for the faint of heart. After teenage Jay (Maika Monroe) has sex with her new boyfriend for the first time, she soon learns that she has inherited a fatal curse. Death, manifested in human form, will creep toward her forever until she passes the curse on. Jay’s friends don’t believe her and think her paranoid, only to begin seeing death for themselves, scratching, crawling ever nearer.
Hulu
The Matrix (1999)
With the new Matrix: Resurrections due out on December 21, now’s a great time to catch up on the Wachowskis’ original trilogy. The entire original saga is now streaming on Hulu. Follow Neo (Keanu Reeves) down the rabbit hole as he discovers the world he’s been living in is a mere projection designed by machines to manage humanity while fighting a post-apocalyptic war to exterminate humans once and for all.
The Fifth Element (1997)
A beloved ’90s sci-fi film, The Fifth Element takes place in a very ’90s conception of 23rd-century New York City. Cabbie Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) picks up Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), only to soon realize he carries the fate of the world in his hands. Leeloo is an embodiment of the “fifth element,” meaning she must combine with the other four before the Great Evil can come and destroy the world. Bizarre, fast-paced, and constantly engaging, The Fifth Element is an awesome blend of sci-fi, cyberpunk, and action.
Fargo (1996)
A movie so good it inspired an Emmy-winning TV series, Fargo is the Coen brothers at the peak of their small town story-weaving talents. Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) is a car salesman who has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle. Deep in debt and furious at his wealthy father-in-law’s refusal to bail him out, Jerry hires two thugs to kidnap his wife and demand a ransom. But when the thugs shoot a state trooper, the entire scheme blows up in everyone’s faces. Especially Jerry’s.
Rushmore (1998)
One of Wes Anderson’s best, Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray are electric as multigenerational competitors for the affection of a young woman’s love in this silly, provocative comedy. Miss Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams) is the new face at a prestigious prep school, quickly attracting the attention of ambitious teenager Max (Schwartzman). But when Max asks his schoolmate’s father (Bill Murray) for love advice, he unwittingly steers the man directly into Miss Cross’s arms. Suddenly, the two men are in a full-on war for her attention.
Snatch (2000)
Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn are a match made in heaven in this high-paced, bonkers crime romp about the British underground. Turkish (Jason Statham) is an illegal boxing promoter who convinces gangster Brick Top (Alan Ford) to offer bets on Mickey (Brad Pitt), an Irish bare-knuckle boxer who has agreed to take a fall. But Mickey doesn’t take the fall, costing Brick Top a whole lot of money. Meanwhile, Frankie Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) has come to London to sell a stolen diamond, only to find himself placing a bet with Brick Top’s bookies as multiple criminals come to steal the diamond from him. Sound crazy? It is.
Amazon Prime Video
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2021)
Louis Wain became famous in the early 1900s for his eccentric, psychedelic portraits of cats. In this wacky period drama, you’ll follow the artist’s strange life and quest to unlock the “electric” mysteries of the world. As he grows to better understand his own life, so grows his relationship with his wife and muse, Emily Richardson.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
The classic cartoon and real-life crossover stars the brilliant Bob Hoskins as a down-on-his-luck private eye, hired by cartoon producer R.K. Maroon to investigate an adultery scandal. Maroon suspects the wife of his biggest star, Roger Rabbit, has been unfaithful with Marvin Acme, the owner of Toontown. But when Acme turns up dead, Roger is the primary suspect. Framed and on the lam, Roger comes to the private eye to help him unravel the mystery and save his life.
Alien (1979)
Since Prometheus is on Amazon Prime Video, you might as well go way down an Alien hole. Alien, Alien Resurrection, Alien vs. Predator, and Alien 3 are all on Amazon Prime Video this month. The classic original follows the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo as they respond to a distress call from an alien vessel on their way home from a mission. When the crew encounters a nest of eggs inside the alien ship, an organism attaches itself to one of the crew, spreading the parasite amongst the crew and descending the mission into terror.
Prometheus (2012)
The quasi-prequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien isn’t in the same league as the original, but it is an entertaining, thought-provoking sci-fi thriller with some genuine shock-worthy moments. Two brilliant young scientists lead an expedition to the darkest parts of the universe to unravel a clue to humankind’s origins on Earth. Shaw (Noomi Rapace) hopes to find some verification of her religious beliefs, while Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) hopes to debunk spirituality in the name of science. Unfortunately, neither can grasp what kind of terrors await them.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Wes Anderson is well-known for his kitschy, cutesy style, but his films are fully in the mainstream now. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is one of the few that may still qualify as “cult” status considering critics hated it, while audiences loved it. Bill Murray (of course) stars as renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou, a man who has sworn vengeance against the rare shark who ate one of his crew members. Back out on the ocean, Zissou is joined by a man who believes Zissou is his father (Owen Wilson) and a journalist pregnant with a married man’s child (Cate Blanchett). As they travel the sea hunting for vindication, they oddly continue to run into figures from Zissou’s past.
HBO and HBO Max
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
It’s Kubrick month on HBO as Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, and Eyes Wide Shut all hit the premium streaming service. Kubrick’s Vietnam War epic follows a cadre of new recruits into the rigors of basic training. As they progress through training, witnessing how some of the horrors of war return to the homefront, the privates take different directions into the war. Ultimately, Private Davis (Matthew Modine) finds himself a Marine Corps journalist participating in the Battle of Hué.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Stanley Kubrick’s classic dystopian film follows Alex (Malcolm McDowell) and his band of “Droogs” who spend their nights getting high and committing extreme amounts of violence. Arrested for bludgeoning a woman to death, Alex submits to behavior modification to earn his freedom. Conditioned to abhor violence, Alex returns to the world a changed man. And a vulnerable one.
Dune (2021)
Denis Villeneuve’s highly-anticipated adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel is on HBO Max. Timothée Chalamet stars as Paul Atreides, the brilliant and gifted son of Duke Leto Atreides born into a destiny beyond his understanding. Tasked to travel the universe’s most dangerous planet to secure the future of his family and people, Paul becomes embroiled in a violent conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of a precious resource. The evil Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) is hellbent on controlling the resource and destroying the Atreides people, and only Paul and his allies stand in the way.
In The Heights (2021)
One of the biggest hits of the summer of 2021 (basically as soon as movie theaters re-opened), In The Heights is now available to stream on HBO. Before Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda made his mark on Broadway with this little musical about the people of Washington Heights, a Latinx New York City neighborhood where the people dream big. Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) owns a bodega and saves his every penny, dreaming one day of moving away to an island paradise. But when a winning lottery ticket comes into the neighborhood, everybody’s got the same dream.
It: Chapter 2 (2019)
Another horror sequel that didn’t quite match the hype of the original, It: Chapter 2 is still perfectly fine spooky fare if you’re looking for a fright night. Every 27 years, the evil clown Pennywise terrorizes the town of Derry, Maine. Now, 27 years after the events of the first film, the Losers’ Club who once banded together to defeat It have long gone their separate ways. When people start disappearing in Derry again, however, Mike Hanlon realizes they didn’t finish the job. Still harboring deep traumas from their childhoods, the Losers must band together to save the town from Pennywise again.
Apple TV+
The Velvet Underground (2021)
A new documentary covering one of rock’s most revered, revolutionary bands, The Velvet Underground, depicts the group as a cultural touchstone and something of a paradox. Rooted in both high art and street culture, The Velvet Underground created a unique, gritty sound that is somehow both unique to the ’60s and completely timeless. Across interviews, never-before-seen performances, recordings, and more, Todd Haynes’ doc immerses you in the making of a sound that would reverberate for generations.
CODA (2021)
An early 2021 Oscar favorite, CODA established a new pedigree of original filmmaking for Apple TV+. Newcomer Emilia Jones is revelatory as Ruby, the sole hearing member of a deaf family. She is a CODA, a child of deaf adults. And while her life revolves around interpreting for her parents and helping her family’s struggling fishing boat stay afloat, she has an extraordinary gift for singing. Although she’s encouraged by her choirmaster (Eugenio Derbez) to apply to a prestigious music school, Ruby finds herself torn between a family that needs her and the almost sadistically ironic gift she has to share with the world.
Come from Away (2021)
Come from Away was a smash hit on Broadway and nominated for seven Tonys. This is the filmed version of the musical, which tells the story of 7,000 people stranded in Newfoundland after all flights into the U.S. are grounded on September 11, 2001. While Newfies graciously welcome the grounded passengers, whom they dub “come from aways,” in the aftermath of the tragedy, the sheer magnitude of the event slowly begins to dawn on everyone.
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