Miramax/Paramount/Orion
While it may live in the shadow of other better-known streaming services, Hulu, once regarded simply as “that TV thing” has managed to maintain itself as a viable competitor in terms of offering a great variety of content online, including an impressive selection of quality movies, offering up everything from iconic classics to contemporary indie fare. Here’s a look at the 25 best movies on Hulu right now. (Note: We took films in the Criterion Collection out of consideration as they’ll soon be joining the new service Filmstruck.)
Cloverfield (2008)
The film that changed how movies were marketed, this found footage/kaiju mashup from director Matt Reeves and producer J.J. Abrams chronicles the adventures of a handful of party guests whose night is interrupted when a massive creature starts wreaking havoc across Manhattan. Like many Abrams projects, the film is littered with Easter eggs designed to keep fans looking for clues for years to come. It also spawned a (sorta) sequel earlier this year, 10 Cloverfield Lane, which indirectly ties into the events from the first film, answering some questions, while raising new ones.
Interstellar (2014)
Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending science fiction epic stars Matthew McConaughey as a former astronaut who travels through a wormhole in search of a new planet for humankind to inhabit. Shot on both 35mm and 70mm IMAX film, Interstellar is a visual astonishing, utilizing a variety of special effects both practical and digital. Co-writer (and brother to the director) Johnathan Nolan studied gravitational theory at the California Institute of Technology while working on the script to help him better understand the science behind his story. Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne also worked as a consultant on the film, which showed up in several top 10 lists of 2014.
Noah (2014)
Director Darren Aronofsky had a script for this ambitious biblical epic about the man chosen by God to build an ark to keep the species of Earth alive while He floods it ready in 2000. But Aronofsky’s interest in the project goes back to his junior high years. To help market the film, he and frequent collaborator Ari Handel first converted the script into a graphic novel drawn by Niko Henrichon to help them secure funding. Post-production took over a year, with Industrial Light and Magic saying the film had some of the most complex special effects the company had ever attempted.
Spy Kids (2001)
He might be best known for his sweet embrace of B-movie lore thanks to films like Sin City and Desperado, but writer/director Robert Rodriguez’s family-friendly tale about rival spies who fall in love, get married, and have kids who follow in their footsteps is nothing but unadulterated, delightful fun. A hit in 2001, Spy Kids earned praise for its upbeat, intelligent, and creative approach to kids’ entertainment. It also spawned three sequels.
Nebraska (2013)
Nebraska native Alexander Payne’s meditation on small-town family life stars Will Forte in a dramatic turn as David Grant, a man who’s forced to deal with his increasingly difficult father, played by Bruce Dern. Equal parts bittersweet father-son tale and road-trip of self-discovery, Nebraska, which was shot in black and white, went on to receive six Academy Award nominations.
Everything Must Go (2010)
Will Ferrell veers into tragicomic territory as Nick, a man whose life is turned upside down after losing his job, his wife, his home, and his life savings all over the course of a few hours. Based on the Raymond Carver story “Why Don’t You Dance?”, the Dan Rush-directed film follows Nick after he’s given a three-day window to sell his worldly possessions, which are left scattered on his front lawn. While he’s doing that, he does his best to try and scrape together what he can of his life with the help of neighborhood kid Kenny (C.J. Wallace).
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Once Anthony Hopkins stepped into the role of Hannibal Lecter, he proved so mesmerizing that his performance alone would inspire two more films (one of which, 2003’s Red Dragon, was a sort-of remake of Michael Mann’s 1986 film Manhunter, in which Brian Cox also played Lecter memorably). Based on the Thomas Harris novel, the film co-stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, an FBI agent-in-training who consults Lecter, a famed serial killer and cannibal, for clues on how to track down another killer known as Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). The film was a critical and cultural triumph for director Johnathan Demme, sweeping the Oscars that year, winning Best Actor, Actress, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture.
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982)
After 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture failed to blow anyone’s hair back, the studio gave the greenlight to a sequel with a lower budget, and wrestled away creative control from Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. The smaller, grittier story played off an old character from the original series, Ricardo Montalban’s tyrannical Khan 15 years later. While the film restored some of the swashbuckling elements of the original series, it also set the pattern for the theory of even/odd differentiation in the Star Trek movie series, which states the even numbers are always better than the odd numbered movies. You can test this out for yourself, thanks to the sheer number of classic Star Trek movies currently available to stream on Hulu.
Top Gun (1986)
Based on a 1983 article in California Magazine, Tony Scott’s flag-waving tale of Navy fighter pilots left a permanent thumbprint on the cinematic landscape thanks to its dogfighting sequences, slow-motion volleyball games, and ubiquitous catchphrases. A pop-culture milestone, the film was so wildly popular that it spiked enrollment in the Navy by 500 percent.
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
This is the movie that made Eddie Murphy a superstar, and for good reason. His turn as the street-smart Detroit cop Axl Foley, who goes to Beverly Hills to solve the murder of his best friend, is one that basically built the template for how an action-comedy star should approach his role. The fish-out-of-water tale was a monumental success, and ended the year as the highest-grossing film of 1984. It went on to spawn two sequels and a failed television pilot (but might yet yield a fourth movie).
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Writer/director John Hughes’ ode to senioritis, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off follows the titular high school senior (Matthew Broderick), who orchestrates an elaborate day off to spend with his mopey best friend (Alan Ruck) and girlfriend (Mia Sara). He also breaks the fourth wall from time-to-time, keeping us in the audience up to date on his free-spirited inner monologue. Like most of Hughes’ films, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off takes place around the Chicago area, but here Hughes goes out of his way to include as many landmarks as he could to try and capture the spirit of Chicago, not just the location.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009)
The original, Swedish-language adaptation of first installment in novelist Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo follows a path of intrigue laid out by disgraced journalist Mikael Bloomquist (Michael Nyquist). After serving a stint in prison for libel, he teams up with a hacker, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate the disappearance of his niece some 40 years earlier. The book was such a sensation worldwide that it was adapted again in an English language version by director David Fincher just two years later.
Apocalypse Now (1979)
One of the most ambitious war movies ever made, Apocalypse Now is almost as famous for its troubled production as the film that resulted from it. Director Francis Ford Coppola dealt with numerous problems trying to adapt Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness into a Vietnam War parable — all of which are chronicled in the 1991 documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse. Coppola’s ambition paid off, however, and after its release in 1979, Apocalypse Now would go on to receive near-universal acclaim, which makes sense for a film overflowing with iconic shots and lines of dialogue that have reverberated in pop culture ever since. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, though somehow it only won for Best Sound and Best Cinematography.
Selma (2014)
A historical drama about the landmark voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., Selma stars David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr. Director Ava DuVernay keeps the focus tight by telling the story of King’s life and actions at a particular point in his career as an activist and revealing much about his character and the commitment and strategic planning needed to bring about change. Released at the tail-end of 2014, and become one of the most well-reviewed films of the year, it earned a nomination for Best Picture, and would win for Best Song, “Glory,” a collaboration by John Legend and Common.
The Naked Gun (1988)
The creative team of Zucker/Abrams/Zucker, previously responsible for Airplane! and Hot Shots!, adapted their short-lived TV series Police Squad! for the big screen with 1988’s The Naked Gun. Leslie Nielsen reprises his role as the hapless detective Frank Drebin, and the film kept the same satirical, over-the-top, slapstick-heavy tone as the series, winning over audiences everywhere. Naked Gun would be followed by two sequels, along with an upcoming installment that’s somewhere between a sequel and a reboot, depending on who you ask.
Frances Ha (2012)
Filmed in striking black and white, Frances Ha stars Greta Gerwig as a struggling, 27-year-old New Yorker, chronicling her everyday problems, like moving into a new apartment, falling out with her best friend, and just trying to make ends meet. Gerwig co-wrote the movie with Noah Baumbach, who directed. While Baumbach is known for stories that take on a distinctively dour tone, Frances Ha is a warm-hearted, earnest slice-of-life look at a woman who doesn’t quite yet know where she’s going.
Flashdance (1983)
Bad reviews couldn’t keep audiences away from this romantic drama about an 18-year-old welder who dreams of becoming a professional dancer. The movie helped make a star of director by Adrian Lyne, who was then best known for his work in commercials, as well as screenwriter by Joe Eszterhas, who would go on to pen Basic Instinct and Showgirls. The film’s perhaps best remembered for either the highly-charged choreography sequences, or the cut-up sweatshirt worn by star Jennifer Beals on the film’s poster, a look she said came about by complete accident.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
The American film debut of writer/director Roman Polanski, Rosemary’s Baby is the deeply unsettling story of a young woman, Rosemary (Mia Farrow), who discovers she’s pregnant with the devil’s baby, thanks to her husband’s deals with a Satanic coven. The film captured the imagination of everyone who saw it back when it was released in 1968, and remains one of the few horror movies to be selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry.
Heathers (1988)
Helping to close out a decade of memorable teen films on a dark note, Heathers is a savagely funny deconstruction of the frivolousness of popular cliques that helped set the tone of many dark comedies that would follow in its wake. The plot involves a popular group of girls known as The Heathers who invite Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) to join them, guaranteeing that she would gain popularity by association. Eventually, Veronica finds herself teaming up with a dangerous sociopath (Christian Slater) in an attempt to break the Heathers’ tyrannical hold on the school.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
A stoner/sci-fi fantasy yarn about two high school seniors, Bill and Ted (Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, back when Reeves was billed second on the poster) who need to complete their big history presentation. The catch is that the two are destined to usher in an era of peace upon mankind, so to help them pull this off, they get help from their friend from the future, Rufus (George Carlin), who gives them a time machine so they can experience history as it unfolds. The result is is a high-concept, light-hearted adventure that’s so charming it’s easy to overlook the historical inaccuracies.
Hook (1991)
Steven Spielberg’s story of a grown-up Peter Pan was recently in the news again thanks to a photo shoot that reunited several of the actors who played the Lost Boys. But it was Robin Williams who stole the show in Hook. Playing Peter Banning, Williams plays the grown-up version of the boy who said he’d never grow up, only to rediscover his whimsical path after the onset boredom of adulthood has set in. Co-starring Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook, and Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell, Hook received mixed reviews upon its release, but has picked up a considerable following over the years, thanks in parts to the kids who grew up watching it.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
The debut film of Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs is an atypical heist movie, following a handful of guys across a disjointed timeline in the time before and immediately after a robbery gone wrong. With a minimal number of characters and locations, the film relies almost entirely on its dialogue, which contains much of the verbal dexterity, pop culture references, and rough wit that would become Tarantino staples.
The Graduate (1967)
No movie has ever captured post-college malaise as well as The Graduate, Mike Nichols’ 1967 satirical comedy/drama exploring the ‘quarter-life crisis’ almost three decades before that was a thing. As the title suggests, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) has just graduated college, and with no real aim in life, he spends the summer carrying on an affair with the wife of his father’s law partner, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), as well as her daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross). While The Graduate will turn 50 next year, it remains a poignant and frustratingly accurate portrayal of alienation and expectation.
Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
Director Alfonso Cuarón’s unflinchingly honest coming-of-age tale follows two friends (Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna) who go on a road trip with an older woman (Maribel Verdú). Wanting to move away from conventional camera techniques that he believed were “too commercial,” Cuarón’s New Wave-inspired portrayal of sex and drug use made it difficult for various countries to rate the film for applicable audiences. The script, which was written by Cuarón and his brother, Carlos, came together in a matter of weeks, since the two were just documenting their own real-life experiences.
Super (2010)
Before James Gunn helmed Guardians of the Galaxy he directed a much different type of superhero movie, 2010’s Super. Super stars Rainn Wilson (The Office) as your average fed-up guy who decides to don a costume and clean up his town — only things don’t end up going terribly well. Unfortunately, the movie ended up sidelined by another “average guy becomes a hero” movie released around the same time, Matthew Vaughan’s adaptation of Kick-Ass, but stands on its own as a sharp superhero parody as well as a stark portrayal of loneliness.