As we get ready to officially kick off the summer months, it’s worth asking what good movies there are to watch in theaters and at home.
While it’s easy to know about the latest Marvel film, it’s sometimes hard to really dig into the wide array of movies past and present.
We here at For the Win want to give you a weekly opportunity to get 10 quick movie recommendations of movies that have just come out and movies that came out long ago.
You might like our suggestions, and you might scroll right past them. All the same, we hope that you find something on this list that piques your interest.
BlackBerry
BlackBerry made me want to run through a wall and scream about the beauty of movies for adults until I was hoarse. This really is one of the year’s best movies.
It’s truly the Canadian spin on The Social Network, so you know they’re going to nail the “ah no, shouldn’t have done that, pal” parts better than we did.
Glenn Howerton is extraordinary in this. One of the best “guy yells when he gets mad” performances I’ve seen. Jay Baruchel is also great.
Matt Johnson, that guy’s goin’ places. Movies!
Where to Watch: Theaters
Hypnotic
This is an electric cocktail of Christopher Nolan mind-bending and Troublemaker Studios exploitation ridiculousness. You’ve had this concoction in better forms, but the ice cubes light up in this drink, and there is sugar on the rim.
Ben Affleck knows exactly what kind of movie he’s in, one that just relishes in trying to pull out the rug from under you every 5-10 minutes. This one just moves without much concern for spending too much time on an exposition dump, even if that is like half of the dialogue. The other half is just Affleck and the cast quipping wise with each other and giving each other tough guy looks.
You can’t really say this film isn’t riffing on better movies because it absolutely is, but it’s still got a silly streak that’s really exciting. It’s a film untethered to anything but whatever would be the next insane twist you couldn’t see coming. Robert Rodriguez still knows how to give the audience a good time, and he’s in enough control of the material here to make it stick. The opening bank heist is as good as advertised with real explosions. Real explosions!
I had a great time with this. You have to be willing to suspend your disbelief a bit and embrace the corniness of the dialogue, but Rodriguez knows what he’s doing. He always has. It’s rough around the edges, but dang it, it still tastes great even if it’s just a DIY imitation of what’s come before.
Where to Watch: Theaters
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is going to have the same effect on today’s kids that Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom had on kids in the 80s, and I mean that as the highest compliment.
If James Gunn really is the heir apparent to Tim Burton, this is his Edward Scissorhands and his Batman Returns all rolled up into one big, messy, heart-wrenching hug from a Rocket Raccoon. Also, this is Chris Pratt’s best performance since Parks and Recreation. All about this movie.
Where to Watch: Theaters
Judy Blume Forever
The rare biographical documentary that seeks to understand the subject rather than showcase them. It makes smart decisions with how to tell Blume’s story, and the stylistic flourishes don’t distract in the slightest.
The interviews are all worthwhile, and the modern ties feel relevant and urgent. I was quite impressed by this. I’m glad Mrs. Blume got the quality documentary she deserved.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
This movie is a miracle in this day and age: a politically sticky, rigorously nuanced meditation on the times we’re in.
It’s basically a Gen Z spin on Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing. It’s a much more complicated film than it might seem, and it’s all the better for it. This is one of 2023’s best.
Where to Watch: Theaters, video rental on demand
Tetris
How does this work as well as it does?
Taron Egerton is a darn movie star, even if by textbook definition he’s not. This is just a good, mid-budget adult drama about an optimistic American entrepreneur racing against the clock and against the USSR and shady business guys to win a Tetris contract, so it’s Miracle with video games rights, which heck yeah, man!
It might be a wee bit too cutesy for its own good, but it’s also a stunning testament to just picking a good story not a lot of people know about and telling it seriously with a imaginative director, a rocksteady script and reliable actors. It’s a darn good time at the movies (on my TV).
Where to Watch: AppleTV+
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Harmless; it amounts to a Burger King kid’s meal and night of Nintendo 64. I’m not sure Illumination will ever take one single risk, but I do think their cheery, color-splosion style for 7-year-olds works for a movie about Super Mario Bros.
Jack Black is really the only voice actor who goes the full mile, even if I think Chris Pratt is doing more than you’d expect. I had much more fun watching this than I am thinking about it, but I’m not going to sit here and act like I didn’t take that 90-whatever minutes I spent in this and put it into a Nintendo Switch for my house.
Am I stooge for commercial intent? Sure, but I also had fun playing Mario Kart for the first time since college, so who’s the real loser?
Where to Watch: Theaters, video rental on demand
Journey to Italy
Roberto Rossellini knew exactly how to end this movie, and it makes the whole journey getting to that ending all the more worthwhile.
Exquisite filmmaking: we’re all going to die one day, and your spouse is quite literally one of the only things you can cling to while you’re here to grapple with that mortality.
The secret to a happy marriage: going to Italy and being pushed to the brink of divorce and then at the last minute finally realizing that a small conversation about how you actually feel would’ve solved everything years ago.
Where to Watch: HBO Max, Criterion, Kanopy, video rental on demand
The Tomorrow War
It’s only fitting that Chris Pratt honors his place among the Schwarzeneggers by doing the kind of sci-fi action movie Arnold would’ve done in the 90s.
Is Pratt miscast here? Sure, but so was Arnold in Kindergarten Cop. Being miscast is okay if you kind of know you’re miscast, and Pratt is good enough to realize that and just do his thing anyway.
This isn’t a great movie, but it’s a pretty good one. It’s got some really intriguing ingredients (the aliens! the plot! the family dynamic!), but it’s also never compelling enough to really make that leap into the next echelon.
However, it’s technically original, and it’s trying to go for some grander emotional beats. Chris McKay is a solid live-action director, and while I preferred Renfield to this, I don’t think he missed the mark at all. Some of the alien fight sequences are pretty engaging, and much more cerebral than your typical Transformers fight.
I didn’t see this two years ago because I heard it wasn’t good, and now I kind of wish I’d watched it then. It’s solid! I’d watch another Tomorrow War. I wouldn’t want to be in a Tomorrow War, and maybe that’s the most effective thing about it. It’s good enough at the world building and the action that it’s worth your time.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Holes
The Greenlake Redemption.
Holes still rocks all these years later. It’s thorny, emotionally resonant young adult storytelling with a good filmmaker behind the wheel and a deep cast. We really didn’t know how good we used to have it.
Also, the theme song still kicks.
Where to Watch: Disney+, video rental on demand
