Best movies On NOW: TV worth watching (May 2022)

One of the greatest movies of all time, The Shawshank Redemption is a fantastic adaptation of Stephen King's novella, focusing on the friendship of two men incarcarated in the notorious Shawshank prison. Both Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins excel as the prisoners wanting a better life.

All of the Indiana Jones movie are now on NOW TV but Raiders is our pick. It's one of the best movies of the 80s that needs no introduction. It's got everything you want. Indy! A big rolling ball! Nazis! Nazis whose face melt! Brilliant fun.

Promising Young Woman is a fantastic film that shines a cold light on 'good men' and their actions around women. Carey Mulligan is Cassie, someone scarred by their past who takes men to task for their actions with staggering results. It's an uncomfortable movie, that gets dark at times but an utterly essential watch.

Both versions of Total Recall are now on NOW TV but it’s the 1990 version that you really need to care about. Arnold Schwarzenegger is brilliant as a confused construction worker who may or may not have booked himself on a mind-altering holiday to Mars. Full of violence, humour and some slick special effects this one movie we can’t believe is 30 years old now.

A film that pretty much plays out like one big car chase, Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the best action movies ever made. Director George Miller has performed miracles to get this movie made and it's all to see on the screen. The cast are brilliant and we may well see some of them again in the prequel Furiosa.

You will never want to play the drums after watching this movie, such is the intensity of drum teacher JK Simmons performance. He’s ferocious as the jazz drum teacher trying to get the most out of his pupil Mile Teller. Director Damien Chazelle has created a brilliant, brutal movie about pushing things to the extreme in the search for perfection.

Nope, we didn’t think we could get excited by a movie about statistics and baseball, either, but this is a wonderful movie with a big hearty message: even if you aren’t the best, you can still win. Brad Pitt stars as a baseball coach who has a ragtag team to deal with, but has an ace up his sleeve: a brand-new way to figure out how to play to the strengths of the team he has got.

The original Jurassic Park trilogy is currently available to stream on NOW, as well as Jurassic World. Hopefully these will get you in the mood for the upcoming Jurassic World sequel, Jurassic World Dominion which is heading to cinemas in 2022. If we had to pick one, then it's got to be the original Jurassic Park - without a doubt one of the best monster movies ever made

The LOTR collection is now available on NOW and the movies are still a delight. We can't quite believe that the first movie is some 20 years old now! All three movies are worth a watch (and in one sitting, if possible) and if you are watching them on Sky, then you can also get them in 4K!

Yes it's four hours long and completely self indulgent. And, yes, it's in 4:3 which means stupid black bars down the side of the picture but this is a must watch. It is so different to the movie that was first released, adding in a ton more footage and really is an epic watch. This is definitely one for the fans.

Blade II is exceptional comic-book movie fodder. Directed by Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro, it's a movie that adds more fantastical elements to the Blade franchise, one that ups the violence and really broadens the scope of the vampiric vigilante. From the set pieces, to the genius decision to have one of the Bros bros in as the main big bad, Blade II is brilliant fun.

One of the best movies of 2021, Another Round is a stunning look at a group of teacher friends who hit a mid-life crisis and try to drink through it. The movie features a career-best performance from Mads Mikkelsen and puts Thomas Vinterberg - who shot to fame as part of the Dogme 95 movement - back at the top of the 'unique' director pile.

Nobody really saw Bob Odenkirk as an action star until his turn in this explosive movie. Nobody is about a dad who gets mixed up in some Russian mafia business after his house is robbed. It's a fun, bonkers action movie with an all-star cult case, including Doc Brown himself Christopher Lloyd and the legend that is Michael Ironside.

Tenet is a mind-bending puzzle that plays around with time and will have you scratching your head half the time and jumping for joy the next. It's a film that demands a rewatch, so it's perfect then for NOW as you can stream it as many times as you want. Plot? Ha, we're aren't even going to try and explain that one - we'll leave it for you to interpret.

Both Paddington movies are on NOW and they are an absolute treat. Our pick is Paddington 2, though, which is up there as one of the best sequels made (seriously). Paul King's beautiful and vibrant direction is on winning form here, as is the story that sees Hugh Grant ham it up as Phoenix Buchanan, a former actor who has it in for the Brown family. Heart-warming stuff.

Looper is a superb time-travel caper where Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a hitman that kills his victims in the future. What ensues is a tale that's sometimes hard to understand but stick with it and it will more than reward you.

This sequel to A Quiet Place was never going to live up to the first movie, given the surprises that film offered but this is a decent continuation of the story that showcases the amazing survival skills of The Abbott Family who have mastered the art of silence. For a 'quiet' film there are certainly a lot of loud scares.

You know exactly what you are getting with Godzilla Vs Kong - two heavyweight monsters knocking 10 bales of the good stuff out of each other. Yes, there is a plot somewhere but this is all about the fight scenes and they are utterly superb.

A quasi-reboot The Suicide Squad is an adult-only superhero movie that doesn't hold back when it comes to vulgarity and some of the ol' ultraviolence. Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and myriad other anti-heroes are forced to join secret Task Force X, where they go on a 'suicide' mission to retrieve a scientist. The results is a hot bloody mess that's fun to watch but not for the fint of heart.

Bombshell is a fascinating look at the women who accused then Fox News CEO of sexual harassment and the repercussions this brings to them and the news industry as a whole. Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie all star and are fantastic. Theron is almost unrecognisable, wearing prosthetics to portray news anchor Megyn Kelly.

This was originally an HBO movie but it could easily be shown on the big screen. Hugh Jackman puts in a fantastic performance as superintendent. Dr Frank Tassone who has seen his high school go up the ranks which is all well and good until we find out that its rise is all part of a huge embezzlement scheme. The most shocking thing about this story is that it’s based on actual events. Allison Janney also stars and, as always, is impeccable in her role as Tassone’s assistant.

The Raid may well be getting a remake but nothing will better this classic action flick. Made by welsh director Gareth Evans, with help from some of the best martial artists from Indonesia, the film is about an elite task force that have the job of ridding a tower block of a drug lord and his small army. What ensues is one of the best action movies ever made. Stunning stuff. Its sequel is also available to stream on NOW.

We nearly didn't put Gunpowder Milkshake in this list, as the first time we watched it we were underwhelmed but after another viewing we're glad we gave it a second chance. This tale of a mother (Lena Heady) and daughter (Karen Gillan) hitman team is A LOT of fun.

One of the most profound movies of recent years, Nicolas Cage is phenomenal as a recluse who goes on a revenge trip when his prized truffle hunting pig is kidnapped. Despite the rather ludicrous plot, this is a fantastic movie and Cage's best performance in years.

There are better biopics but The United States Vs Billie Holiday is all about Andra Day's sublime central performance, which recently won her a Golden Globe. We see Holiday go through the 30s to 50s garnering acclaim for her voice but she becomes a target of the government and spirals out of control.

Dune is an absolute feast for the senses. Its cinematography is lush and expansive, the music blistering and the direction outstanding. It's one of the best sci-fi movies in years and is surprisingly coherent, given the complexities of the novel(s). Plot wise, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet and his family travel to one of the most dangerous planets in the solar system to make sure its precious Spice is mined for good. What ensues is a journey that changes his life forever.

This super smart thriller from Steven Soderbergh was shot during the pandemic, but it suits the plot fo the film. Zoë Kravitz plays a worker at a smart speaker company whose job it is to make sense of verbal instructions the speaker gets stuck. This involves her listening to snippets of dialogue - and one of the conversations she heres sounds like a murder. It's Conversation for the Alexa world and we had a lot of fun watching it.

Judas And The Black Messiah was one of our favourite movies in 2021, so it's great to see the movie now available to the masses. Daniel Kaluuya quite rightly one the best supporting actor Oscar for his role as the head of the Black Panther Fred Hampton. This is a stunning true story.

This one is a lot of fun. While we aren't going to give the plot away here, the movie manages to honour the previous Ghostbuster films while updating saga with a younger, likeable cast. Director Jason Reitman has done his dad Ivan - the director of the original movies - proud with his rendition of Ghostbusters, something that's even more poignant after Ivan's recent death.

This mash-up of Freaky Friday and Friday The 13th is fantastic fun. Starring Vince Vaughn as a serial killer who body swaps with a teenage school girl the result is a great twist on the comedy horror genre.

While many TV shows don't transition to the big screen that well, this isn't the case with People Just Do Nothing: Big In Japan. It's a fantastic continuation of the series and there is good reason they are in Japan: their song Heart Monitor Riddem is used on a game show in the country and this gives them a great excuse to try and make it in the country.

One of the standout horrors of the last few years, Don't Breathe was a breath of fresh air for the genre. This sequel changes things up somewhat but Stephen Lang is back as the visually challenged Nevy veteran, who this time is out to protect his foster daughter.

This film adaption of Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical is a woozy, wonderful movie that is packed with fantastic songs, choreography and heart. About trying to find a better a life and make the best out of what you have, In The Heights will have you both singing and crying.

Bill & Ted Face The Music is a huge nostalgia blast and while it isn't quite as fun as the previous efforts it's bloody brilliant to see these characters back. Bill & Ted (Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter) have failed in their bid to unite the world and now there is one last ditch effort to create the perfect song. The way they go about doing it: going through time and trying to steal it from themselves. Think about it too much and the whole thing unravels but it's still a lot of fun.

While it doesn't quite live up to the brilliance of The Sopranos, this prequel is a well made taster for the show. We recommend you swat up on your Sopranos knowledge before going in to get the full benefit, as some familiar names crop up throughout - Michael Gandolfini is great playing a younger version of Tony, the role his father had - albeit with much younger faces!