Amazon Freevee may be shuttering its virtual doors in the coming weeks, but the rest of the best free streaming services are in rude health. Plex, for instance, recently debuted a brand-new (and decidedly swanky) interface for its mobile app, while Tubi boasts double the monthly active users of Netflix’s ads-based subscription tier.
Both Plex and Tubi offer two of the best free-to-access movie libraries around, and below, I’ve rounded up five of the best movies to watch on free streaming services this week.
Aftersun (Hoopla, Kanopy)
Release date: May 2022
RT Score: 95%
Length: 101 minutes
Director: Charlotte Wells
Main cast: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall
Indie darling Paul Mescal is currently slicing through Praetorians in Gladiator 2, but the Irish actor’s best big screen performance to date remains Aftersun, which is now streaming for free on Hoopla and Kanopy.
Charlotte Wells’ semi-autobiographical drama centers on the experience of an 11-year-old Scottish girl (Frankie Corio) who vacations to Turkey with her loving but visibly troubled father (Mescal). Aftersun earned rave reviews upon its release in 2022, and for good reason; it’s a stylish, understated, and emotionally affecting achievement in low-budget filmmaking.
No Time to Die (Pluto TV)
Release date: September 2021
RT Score: 83%
Length: 163 minutes
Director: Cary Fukunaga
Main cast: Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch
If Aftersun is too low-key for your tastes, you’ll find a much more action-packed, star-studded, and decidedly more expensive film – No Time to Die – streaming for free on Pluto TV this week.
Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond finds the British superspy tasked with taking down a maniacal bioterrorist (Rami Malek) who has uncomfortable ties to his lover, Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). Sure, the film’s plot takes more than a few turns for the ridiculous (get a load of the DNA-targeting nanobot bioweapon), but No Time to Die is nonetheless a fittingly emotional farewell for one of the best Bonds ever.
A Few Good Men (Pluto TV – leaving soon)
Release date: December 1992
RT Score: 84%
Length: 138 minutes
Director: Rob Reiner
Main cast: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon
One of the most iconic courtroom dramas of all time, A Few Good Men, is leaving Pluto TV soon, so get watching ASAP if you’re keen to see (or re-see) an in-form Jack Nicholson face off against a fresh-from-Top Gun Tom Cruise.
Based on acclaimed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's 1989 play of the same name, Rob Reiner’s star-studded movie follows the court-martial of two US Marines charged with murder and the efforts of an upstart lawyer (Cruise) to defend them. It takes a while to get going, but once it does, A Few Good Men is a masterclass in first-rate dialogue.
JFK (Tubi – leaving soon)
Release date: December 1991
RT Score: 84%
Length: 188 minutes
Director: Oliver Stone
Main cast: Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurie Metcalf
This acclaimed Oliver stone thriller stars Kevin Costner as New Orleans district attorney Kim Garrison. Unconvinced that Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman) acted alone in killing John F. Kennedy, he sets out to uncover the truth behind the president's assassination.
JFK is widely regarded as one of the best political dramas, receiving eight Oscar nominations and winning two. JFK's cultural impact over 30 years later is one to be admired, especially for its well-crafted suspense and intrigue.
Annihilation (Pluto TV – leaving soon)
Release date: February 2018
RT Score: 88%
Length: 115 minutes
Director: Alex Garland
Main cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson
Based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer, Annihilation follows Lena (Natalie Portman) and a group of female scientists who enter 'The Shimmer', an abnormal quarantined zone of mutating plants and animals caused by alien phenomena.
Annihilation is a smart and absorbing female-led sci-fi that's been remembered for years to come (I mean, that bear scene is horrifying).
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