Best movies On NOW: TV worth watching (December 2024)

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.

Image Credit: Universal Pictures

Alex Garland's Ex Machina is one of the most lauded sci-fi movies of the last decade. It examines what separates an advanced humanoid machine from a "real" person, wrapped up in a stylish and provocative thriller. It also won an Oscar for its visual effects.

Steven Spielberg's terrifying shark tale was the advent of the blockbuster as we know it and it still holds up well today. The reason: we don't actually see the shark that much, but John Williams scary score and some clever shots make us feel like Jaws is ever present.

With Top Gun: Maverick doing, er, great guns on the big screen there is no better time to revisit the classic '80s movie. Cashing cheques his body can't cash, Tom Cruise is Maverick a young pilot chosen for the Top Gun flight school, where the best of the best train for air warfare. Yes, it's pure cheese but the action scenes still look fantastic.

Image Credit: Paramount

One of the few movie series we’re tempted to re-watch every year, this is an epic tale of adventure that stands up in every area. 20 years on, the visual effects still look (mostly) great, and the performances remain iconic. Just set aside 10 hours or so and you’ll be transported to another world. The Hobbit movies are also available on NOW, but they just aren’t quite at the same level.

This film has more awards than a Christmas tree has ornaments. It’s a biopic of Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy stars alongside Florence Pugh, while Robert Downey Jr. also makes a star turn. Don’t be turned off by the three-hour runtime. This is a thrilling watch from director Christopher Nolan, one that keeps you hooked through the entire thing.

Step back into the world of Marty McFly and Doc Brown. NOW currently offers all three of the Back to the Future movies, three classic slices of comedy sci-fi adventure. The original is still the best, but if you grew up with these movies there’s a good chance the second two films hold just as many nostalgic memories.

They finally did it. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a movie that truly captures the ramshackle fun of a D&D campaign. It's also a riot of a film in its own right, one you can enjoy with no knowledge or interest in Dungeons & Dragons. It sadly wasn't a big smash at the box office, but comes with a strong recommendation if you're after a fun cinematic ride. Chris Pine stars as the leader of a bunch of adventurers, and there are strong turns from Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant.

JK Simmons and Miles Teller star as mentor and mentee in this quasi-thriller about drumming. Teller is a music student who wants nothing more than to impress his teacher, leading him down a toxic road of aspiration and failure. It's a candidate for the best drumming movie ever.

Long before Fortnite made the concept of “battle royale” a pop culture touchstone, we had this movie, a violent Japanese satire. A rise in juvenile delinquency leads to the BR act. This sees a randomly selected school class taken to an empty island each year, to fight to the death until only one contender remains. It feels fresh more than 20 years on. The sequel is also available to stream, but it’s not a patch on the original.

NOW currently stocks the entire Mission: Impossible series, including the latest Dead Reckoning Part 1. It’s wild that almost 30 years in, this series is still one of the greatest action movie franchises. And Tom Cruise is still holding on to his action movie credibility, and in style, past the age of 60. Dead Reckoning might slip into our top 3 Mission Impossible movies, but we love them all. Bar the questionable Mission: Impossible 2, anyway.

An epic based on Spielberg’s memories of growing up in American in the post World War 2 era. Sammy Fabelman is an aspiring filmmaker, played by Gabriel LeBelle. Michelle Williams and Paul Dano play his parents, in a love letter to film as a medium. It’s a beautifully made family drama you glide through thanks to the sheer mastery of Spielberg.

Jennifer Lawrence is Maddie, a 32-year-old woman whose life isn't quite going to plan. But she then sees an advert from a family looking for someone to teach their son about the ways of the world before he heads off to college. It's a bit of an edgy premise, but look beyond that and you'll find a funny and charming rom-com elevated by Lawrence's performance.

If you want the best view on the life of Amy Winehouse, start with this documentary by Asia Kapadia rather than the newer Black to Black. It's a top watch with contributions from the singer's friends and family, and doesn't gloss over some facets of the story like the more recent dramatisation.

The second part of Dune managed a minor miracle in making this sci-fi epic feel as expansive and impressive as the original from 2021. It sees Paul Atreides struggle with his identity as a burgeoning quasi-messianic figure while the natives of Arrakis go to war against the Harkonnen forces. We don’t get a clean wrapped-up ending, but you can blame Dune Author frank Herbert for that one.

A new take on the novel by Alice Walker, which you may know best from Steven Spielberg’s 1985 movie adaptation. This fresh version is based on the broadway musical of the book, and focuses more on the empowerment angle of the story than the tougher stuff of the novel and (to a lesser extent) the Spielberg version. Still, it’s a joyous watch.

Is the The Super Mario Bros. Movie really a great film? Opinions vary, but it is certainly a notable one we think many NOW subscribers will want to know about. It made more than $1.36 billion at the box office, making it easily the most successful video game adaptation to date. Chris Pratt is Mario, while obvious choice Jack Black is Bowser. Even if you only stick it on for the kids, the film is over and done in just over 90 minutes.

OK, so on paper The Beekeeper sounds like it might be rubbish. Jason Statham is a retired Beekeeper, a shady group of operatives who take out individuals on command. Oh, and he’s an actual beekeeper too. But when his kindly landlady commits suicide after being scammed out of her charity’s money, he goes on a rampage. Sounds like nonsense. And maybe it is, but it’s also an absolute blast with some fantastically bracing action scenes.

M. Night Shyamalan has had a funny old career. After a handful of years seen as one of Hollywood’s brightest lights, we got a decade of duds. But since 2015’s The Visit, Shyamalan has produced some of the quirkiest and most interesting genre movies, including Knock at the Cabin. A family on holiday is held captive by a bunch of killers claiming to be propelled by a much higher motive. But what’s really going on? A singular mystery that’s over and out in 100 minutes

Arriving at NOW just weeks after it left cinemas, Lee is the story of Lee Miller, a fashion model who became a war photographer during the second world war. Kate Winslet stars, alongside Andy Samburg as her collaborator Davy Scherman, another photographer, for Life Magazine. It’s a story worth telling, of a figure you may not have considered an important part of history before.

You can watch the entire Harry Potter cinematic legacy on NOW. This includes the eight core films, from the Philosopher’s Stone to Deathly Hallows Part 2, as well as the three Fantastic Beasts movies. Perhaps it’s time to get your ranking of these epic fantasy adventures in order. You’ll need to set aside more than 24 hours for the job, though. Get some popcorn in.

Trailers made us worry Wonka was going to be a disaster. But, in one of 2023’s best cinema surprises, it’s great. Timothée Chalamet takes on the imposing role of Willy Wonka, but this is a story of a younger Wonka, before his days as the mysterious head of a chocolate factory. It's a musical with a real sweet tooth, but what else would you expect from Paul King, director of the first two Paddington movies?

Dev Patel’s directorial debut Monkey Man plays out like a Mumbai take on John Wick. He works his way into the city’s dark underbelly in order to get revenge for the murder of his mother. It was made with just 10% of the budget of John Wick Chapter 4, but still looks great and features some properly wince-inducing violence in its later stages. It’s definitely rated R/18 and isn’t a family-friendly watch. But the adults in the room shouldn’t miss it.

This Michael Mann movie doesn’t centre on the Ferrari team drivers. And it’s not a documentary about the vehicles. Ferrari is roundly about Enzo Ferrari himself. It’s set primarily during the summer of 1957, a time of personal upheaval for a middle-aged Ferrari, and a crucial juncture for the marque as a racing powerhouse. Mann spent decades trying to get this film made. The race scenes are the real highlight here.

Remember BlackBerrys? The phones with the keyboard on the front? They were mega-popular back in the pre-iPhone years, the default choice for high-flying execs. BlackBerry manages to turn the rise and fall of that tech giant into a hugely compelling drama. Stars Jay Barushel and Glenn Howerton, of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame.

Pearl is the follow-up to X, Ti West’s critically celebrated horror film where the filming of an adult movie in rural America ends up in a bloodbath. Pearl acts as an origin story, set in the early 20th century. Mia Goth is brilliant as a wannabe star driven to acts of violence in her desire to succeed. A rare case of a follow-up being just as compelling as the original.

Julianne Moore plays a woman jailed for starting a relationship with a minor, who she is currently still seeing, years later. Natalie Portman is an actress due to play her in an upcoming film. And the spotlight starts to reveal the cracks in their partnership. May December is loosely based on a real-life story that played out in the late 90s. It's a daring and challenging film from Todd Haynes, director of Far from Heaven, Carol and Dark Waters.

After an earthquake destroys most of South Korea's Seoul, one remaining tower block building becomes the sanctuary for the city's surviving residents. It's a disaster movie. But after the dust settles Concrete Utopia becomes more of a look into human nature, and how fragile a society's goodwill really is.

Talking dogs? Strays sounds a terrible idea, but it actually works. It’s an R-rated comedy starring Will Forte, Randall Park, Isla Fisher and Will Ferrell. Forte plays Doug, a naive doggie abandoned by his owner. He teams up with a bunch of lovable strays to get his revenge.

Blue Beetle was a box office flop, but is quietly one of the better superhero movies of recent years. It's not part of Marvel. And while it's a DC film, it's not actually part of that rising cinematic universe either. This is a superhero movie that, for once, you can appreciate in isolation. And it's a fun family watch, with a good heart at its core.

Nic Cage is on rare low-key form in Arcadian, a post-apocalypse survival thriller in which a family — a father and his two sons — try to stay alive in an Earth invaded by aliens. There are creepy aliens, and a caustic blend of sci-fi and horror. Just don’t expect the usual double dose of Cage. The most common criticism of Arcadian is he’s absent for a good chunk of it, so temper expectations before hitting play.

This 2023 comedy is pure Wes Anderson. If this director’s style is like nails on a chalkboard to your sensibilities, avoid this one. But it might just be Anderson’s best movie since The Grand Budapest Hotel. A kids’ stargazer convention out in the desert gets interrupted by an actual alien invasion. Features some classic Anderson collaborators including Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody.

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.

Image Credit: Hulu

This is quietly one of the best video game movie adaptations ever made. David Harbour and Orlando Bloom star as older mentors for Archie Madekwe’s Jann Mardenborough, a gamer who becomes a professional racer. Wish fulfilment for joypad jugglers? Sure, but Gran Turismo is also a solid racing movie from Neill Blomkamp, director of District 9.

The single most successful movie at the box office of 2023. More than that, it was also one was of the most fun watches of the year too. Margot Robbie is Barbie. Ryan Gosling is Ken. They venture out of Barbieland into the real world, which causes a rift that threatens to tear Barbieland apart. It’s a joyful watch from Greta Gerwig - no surprise when her previous films include Lady Bird and Little Women.