DIRECTOR: Francis Lawrence
CAST: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman
RATING: PG-13

You don’t need to watch The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in order to know what’s going on in the upcoming Sunrise on the Reaping movie, but it’s still a fun watch that will help provide some context for the story. This prequel film, which is now streaming free on Tubi, tells the origin story of future franchise villain, President Snow (played by newcomer Tom Blyth) and his doomed romance with District 12 tribute Lucy Gray (played by the lovely and charming Rachel Zegler). It’s a gripping tale of survival, romance, class, and war. If you love The Hunger Games franchise, this is absolutely the movie for you. (The other Hunger Games movies are also streaming free on Tubi!)

Streaming free on: Tubi

DIRECTOR: Christopher McQuarrie
CAST: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson
RATING: PG-13

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who has helmed all of the Mission: Impossible films since 2015’s Rogue Nation, the seventh movie in this franchise once again finds Agent Ethan Hunt on a mission. (An impossible one. Duh.) This time Ethan and his team are facing off an adversary known as “the Entity,” which sounds sufficiently scary. But if anyone can handle it, it’s Tom Cruise. Though it was a box office disappointment, critics and fans alike loved the epic stunts and breathtaking set pieces.

Streaming free on: Pluto TV

DIRECTOR: Colin and Cameron Cairne
CAST: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss,
RATING: R

Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t mean horror fans aren’t going to stop freaking themselves out by watching scary flicks like this critically-acclaimed 2023 supernatural horror film about a late night talk show host. From inventive, creative, scrappy young filmmakers, Colin and Cameron Cairnes, who wrote and directed the film, this critically-acclaimed found-footage horror film made a splash in the indie scene last year.

Streaming free on: Tubi, Kanopy (with a participating library card)

DIRECTOR: Ti West
CAST: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki
RATING: R

Written and directed by Ti West, MaXXXine is the third film in the Mia Goth-led horror trilogy, following 2022’s X and Pearl. In the film series, Goth stars both as a young, ’70s porn actress named Maxine Minx, and as a disturbed older woman named Pearl. While Pearl was a prequel to X, MaXXXine was a direct sequel to X, and follows Maxine in the 1980s, when she moves back to LA following the horrific events of the first film. The film was a hit at the box office and with critics, even if fans didn’t love it quite as much as the first two films.

Streaming free on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Kanopy (with a participating library card)

DIRECTOR: Sofia Coppola
CAST: Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi
RATING: R

Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, this critically acclaimed biopic is based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley, aka the woman who married the king of rock and roll, Elvis. Cailee Spaeny stars as Priscilla, opposite Jacob Elordi as Elvis. The film chronicles Priscilla’s early years, meeting her future husband, their troubled relationship and marriage, and eventual divorce. The film was well-liked by critics, who praised the film for a nuanced look at a complicated woman, and earned a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination for Cailee Spaeny.

Streaming free on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Kanopy (with a participating library card)

DIRECTOR: Jesse Eisenberg
CAST: Julianne Moore, Finn Wolfhard
RATING: R

Jesse Eisenberg first proved himself to be a formidable filmmaker in this directorial debut—adapted from an audio drama Eisenberg wrote in 2020—about the relationship between an upper-middle-class liberal mother and her influencer teenage son, played by Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard. (Now Eisenberg has followed that up with the Oscar-nominated A Real Pain and the upcoming festival darling, The Debut.) You’ll need a high tolerance for cringe, to be sure, but ultimately When You Finish Saving the World is a fascinating, empathetic study of two deeply flawed people.

Streaming free on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Kanopy (with a participating library card)

DIRECTOR: Kristoffer Borgli
CAST: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, and Dylan Baker
RATING: R

Nicolas Cage has gotten some recent heat for his not-so-awesome performance in the upcoming Madden biopic. We suggest Cage fans enjoy a palette cleanser in the form of this offbeat, sci-fi comedy. Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, the film is produced by Midsommar director Ari Aster, and stars Cage as an embittered professor who becomes an overnight celebrity who starts appearing in everyone’s dreams. Critics praised the film for being funny and surreal.

Streaming free on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Kanopy (with a participating library card)

DIRECTOR: Joachim Trier
CAST: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie
RATING: R

Filmmaker Joachim Trier has been making critically acclaimed films in Norway for decades, but this romantic comedy drama is what got the attention of American moviegoers, thanks to the Oscar nominations it earned for Best International Feature and Best Original Screenplay. Renate Reinsve stars as a woman in her early twenties drifting through careers who falls for an older comic book artist. Critics loved the film for turning well-worn rom-com tropes on their head.

Streaming free on: Tubi, Kanopy (with a participating library card)

Men (2022)

DIRECTOR: Alex Garland
CAST: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear
RATING: R

Written and directed by Alex Garland—also known as the man who brought you Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Civil War—this folk horror movie finds Buckley as a woman named Harper who rents a holiday house, in an attempt to heal from a traumatic incident. Unfortunately, her vacation doesn’t exactly go as planned. Right away, she’s getting a weird vibe from the house’s owner, Geoffrey, played by Rory Kinnear, who also plays various men that Harper meets in the village. Though the film got mixed reviews, most agree that this is another singular, big swing from Garland.

Streaming free on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Kanopy (with a participating library card)

DIRECTOR: Charlotte Wells
CAST: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio
RATING: R

This outstanding directorial debut put Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells on the map as an indie director to watch, and earned star Paul Mescal his first (and so far only) Oscar nomination. It’s a semi-autobiographical coming of age story, inspired by Wells’ memory of going on vacation in Turkey when she was 11 years old. It’s a moving, poignant drama, and it features a transcendent scene where Mescal dances his heart out to Queen.

Streaming free on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Kanopy (with a participating library card)

DIRECTOR: Lance Oppenheim
RATING: PG

With director Lance Oppenheim having a banner 2026 — having directed both Primetime starring Robert Pattinson as NBC Dateline host Chris Hansen, and co-directed the breakout documentary You Can See Everything with Nathan Fielder — this is the perfect time to watch Oppenheim’s feature directorial debut, aka this stylish doc about four residents living within The Villages, an age-restricted retiree community in Florida. The documentary was praised by critics as both entertaining and meaningful.

Streaming free on: Tubi, Kanopy (with a participating library card)

DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson
CAST: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman
RATING: R

Now that we all love Paul Thomas Anderson again in the wake of One Battle After Another, it’s time to give the filmmaker’s controversial last movie, Licorice Pizza—streaming free on Tubi—another chance. This nostalgic coming-of-age drama raised a lot of brows, because it depicts a romance between a teenage boy and a 25-year-old woman. But in my humble opinion, the prickly subject matter is handled with appropriate care. The authentic charm of Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman—the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s son—will make you believe in love again, and Anderson’s skill with the camera will remind you why you love cinema.

Streaming free on: Tubi, Pluto TV

DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott
CAST: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer
RATING: R

This epic historical action flick was the beginning of Ridley Scott’s stretch of box office bombs, but it was still well-liked by critics. The film, which is an adaptation of the 2004 book by Eric Jager, tells the true story of a trial by combat between French knight Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and French squire Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), the latter of whom is accused of raping the former’s wife. And for all you Matt&Ben lovers, you should know the screenplay was written by Affleck, Damon, and Nicole Holofcener.

Streaming free on: Tubi