Are you a movie nerd always on the lookout for the next best thing to watch? Or, you are a casual audience indulging in a fun movie night with friends and family once in a while. Theater and streaming platforms have hundreds of films from around the world, making it difficult to know where to begin. So, we have made your job easier! We sifted through all the noteworthy latest releases and narrowed it down to 10 must-watch titles across genres like action, comedy, horror, and family-friendly fare, which will keep you hooked from the beginning till the end.
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Oppenheimer:
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh
Director: Christopher Nolan
Why it is recommended: Christopher Nolan, maestro of epic storytelling, expertly captures the inner life of the man who invented the atomic bomb. He takes an interesting tack by examining the life of the man who invented the nuclear bomb rather than its production.
Cillian Murphy gives a great portrayal of Oppenheimer, expertly capturing the scientist's many facets. The audience is taken aback by Robert Downey Jr.'s compelling performance as the villain Lewis Strauss. Emily Blunt's performance as Oppenheimer's wife Kitty, as well as those of Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, and the rest of the cast, enriches the film as a whole.
One of the film's most striking sequences was created without computer-generated imagery, thanks to the production team's hard work. The postwar address given by Oppenheimer is another high point, as are his exchanges with Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) and the excellently written conversations between the characters.
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Barbie:
Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Will Ferrell
Director: Greta Gerwig
Why it is recommended: Robbie and Gosling give stellar performances, and the film benefits from a stellar ensemble cast and a sharp script that help make this comic adventure from Greta Gerwig all the more enjoyable. The two actors are a fantastic fit for the classic lead roles, bringing a new level of humanity to Barbie and Ken while also capturing all of the film's humorous undertones.
Unlike the numerous animated Barbie films, this one features more mature themes that may resonate more with older audiences. The film's psychedelic, nostalgic comedy manages to sit well beside the film's serious societal critique. Gloria's impassioned lecture about the ways women must and must not act in human society hits home, while Ken's hilarious justifications for patriarchy will have you in fits of laughter. The script isn't all laughs, either; Robbie and Gosling also have several heartfelt speeches that steal the show. The film relies on their memorable performances, but the crew behind the scenes also deserves recognition and put lots of effort into creating an authentic set.
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Sound of Freedom:
Starring: Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, Kurt Fuller, Bill Camp, Jose Zuniga, Scott Haze, Eduardo Verastegui
Director: Alejandro Monteverde
Why it is recommended: In "Sound of Freedom," starring Jim Caviezel, the topic of human trafficking is explored. Based on real events, it follows former Homeland Security agent turned vigilante Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel), as he undertakes a perilous quest to free hundreds of children from the hands of sex traffickers.
Ballard learns that the boy's sister is still held hostage by the same cruel child traffickers from whom he rescued the boy. He then sets out on a dangerous expedition to free the girl. In the face of imminent death, he abandons his profession and ventures deep into the Colombian forest, risking everything to save her.
Alejandro Monteverde, the film's director, strikes a nice balance between the film's two major emotions—hope and despair—in the performances of Mira Sorvino and Bill Camp as Katherine and Vampiro. The screenplay, which Monteverde co-wrote with Rod Barr, is powerful and uncompromising without being sanctimonious. Its earnest narration succeeds admirably in making people aware of human trafficking.
It's clear that Caviezel invested a lot of himself in this part, shedding to depict Ballard's unyielding will. His performance is real, authentic, and vulnerable.
All in all, "Sound of Freedom" does a good job of broaching a sensitive subject that has to be discussed. The film is an intense emotional roller coaster full of action, mystery, and suspense.
It provides much-needed insight into a matter that is of global significance. Despite its tragic beginning, the story ultimately inspires hope and courage. Everyone involved in making this picture, from the directors to the actors, should be applauded for helping to bring these difficult topics to light.
The imagery is stunning, and the film also features a spooky musical composition. It's the kind of film that, in the end, makes you cry tears of delight.
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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One:
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Why it is recommended: This gripping thriller is made possible by Cruise and his longtime colleague Christopher McQuarrie. As a prime example of Cruise Control, Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning—Part One is a nail-biting action film that keeps you on the edge of your seat from the opening credits to the final scene. Cruise definitely takes the franchise moniker to heart, as evidenced by his ability to pull off seemingly impossible action sequences. And "he" actually does, making sure the camera catches his expression as he drives down the Spanish Steps in Rome reverse or rides his motorcycle off the side of a mountain.
Cruise drives a tiny, manual Fiat around Rome's famed sites, narrow streets, and cobblestones. The directors make sure the audience doesn't get bored during the lengthy scene by keeping the laughs flowing. With magnificent international settings like the Arab Emirates, the Austrian Alps, and Venice, and a straightforward plot that doesn't force viewers to think too deeply, Cruise's spy thriller serves as a welcome reminder of why we love good fast-paced stories.
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How to Blow Up a Pipeline:
Starring: Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage
Director: Daniel Goldhaber
Why it is recommended: While developing its characters and setting up its plot twists, "How to Blow Up a Pipeline" draws from a vast pool of movie history, making it one of the most creative American thrillers in years. The film's central characters, a group of young American self-described "terrorists" attempting to blow up a Texas oil pipeline to protest a variety of social ills, are presented as a legitimate though troubling force for social change and are even compared to revolutionaries throughout history, including the founders of the United States of America, which is sure to cause controversy.
Daniel Goldhaber, Jordan Sjol, and Ariela Barer "How to Blow Up a Pipeline" is an adaptation and reimagining of Andreas Malm's same-titled nonfiction book. Malm's book argues, among other things, that climate change is a rapidly accelerating threat to human life; the pacifist protests have not shown much positive impact. Thus taking more extreme action has been unavoidable. Everything from the dynamic but never showy camerawork and crisp, short, flowing scenes to the retro-synth score (by Gavin Brivik), reels the audience in immediately, then judiciously flashes back to fill in everyone's backstories and shows the different reasons why each of them is drawn to such extreme action. It evokes a sense of classic thrillers from the '70s and '80s.
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John Wick: Chapter 4:
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, George Georgiou
Director: Chad Stahelski
Why it is recommended: The nearly ten-year-long franchise centers on the central premise of John Wick romanticizing death and violence. John's no-nonsense killing spree and the way he executes multitudes in style is the reason audiences adore these films; Chapter 4 simply amplifies that feature. John buries morals and the concept of guilt along with his dead wife and puppy. Typical weapons in Hollywood action films include firearms, knives, nunchakus, and katanas. But it's the ingenious ways in which the ideas may be put to use that are not just wacky and smooth, but also really rewarding to see in action. Kills are clean and not in the horrific style we've come to expect from games, even though he's clearing his way through concrete jungles full of well-trained assassins.
As has become customary, the fourth installment picks up immediately following the conclusion of the previous film. When John kills the Elder in Morocco, the only person above the High Table, he sets in motion a chain of events that only he can control. John is no longer on the run for his life, which is one of the minor changes made for John Wick: Chapter 4. Given that both running away and facing the situation head-on will result in hundreds of deaths, but only one will remove the bullseye mark that the High Table has placed on his head, John does what he should have done in the first movie and goes after the High Table directly. Shots linger long enough to appreciate a kill, thanks to Dan Laustsen's cinematography and Nathan Orloff's editing.
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Insidious: The Red Door:
Starring: Ty Simpkins, Patrick Wilson, Sinclair Daniel, Hiam Abbass, Rose Byrne
Director: Patrick Wilson
Why it is recommended: The ideal place to watch The Red Door, or any other horror film, is in the very front, very center of the theater. Also, check to see if the theater has a decent sound system. There are many eerie sounds, but the ones that come from the shadows behind you are the scariest. This is the genre at its most enjoyable and enticing, packed with terrifying scenes that will make your stomach turn in anticipation. The finest part of the movie is when an old lady crawls and approaches Josh as he's trapped in an MRI machine.
Even so, Wilson's film isn't just about fear. The filmmaker takes time in between the scars to develop the story. Wilson should be commended for attempting to shake things up while borrowing elements from past trauma and old family demons. The college adds a new layer, and seeing an older Dalton rediscover his abilities is reminiscent in a different manner than the first time around. Family values are also emphasized. Wilson makes it appear effortless to progress through the plot of the movie.
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Asteroid City:
Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks
Director: Wes Anderson
Why it is recommended: Wes Anderson's latest film, "Asteroid City," features his trademark meticulous vistas, mythical characters, and fascinating quirks. It's funny and wry, but like his other pictures, it's tragic. A Southwest village with a diner, petrol station, and motor inn is partly set in 1955. Anderson wrote the film about desire, mortality, tiny mysteries, cosmic unknowns, and the stories we build of life. After the playwright's introduction, the drama begins. It looks like a Wes Anderson film—detailed, balanced, widescreen. No proscenium, stage, wings, or audience. The town's beautiful sky and yellow desert stretch forever. The characters arrive by vehicle and bus, wonderfully framed in long view and close-up. Dusty rainbow colors amaze the audience. Colors captivate and softly destabilize. These hues indicate that you've entered a new imaginary world that, like the television studio, is familiar yet unfamiliar. Anderson's films, like most, appear like life yet are constantly different. The familiar and the unexpected, like the theatrical and the cinematic, are major themes. Art—voice, sensibility, technique, craft, money, luck, and how the exhilarating, terrible mass of existence is gathered, structured, and released—makes that difference.
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Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3:
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Will Poulter
Director: James Gunn
Why it is recommended: In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, we say our final farewells. James Gunn, one of the most original voices in the MCU, wraps out his arc with these characters in a third film that is definitive in every respect. A heavy air of farewell permeates the film. Both emotionally and intellectually, as seen by its many inside jokes and references to the first two films in the series. This is a magnificent and appropriate send-off for Gunn's Guardians franchise. Gunn does it again, giving a fitting farewell to everyone's favorite group. Once again, Gunn incorporates his signature brand of brilliantly offbeat, quirky, funny, and zany into the superhero genre. The awkwardly funny jokes made at the worst possible times, interspersed with solemn, reflective moments.
Like every other Marvel Cinematic Universe film ever made, Vol. 3 concludes with a massive, high-stakes action blowout. However, Gunn's true creativity makes it work in this film. Be on the lookout for some stunning entering shots and a crazy exciting one-take fight scene in the climactic showdown. This is more than simply meaningless hitting, kicking, and blasting because even the fodder they're fighting isn't generic CGI blobs but twisted animal experimentation.
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Stephen Curry: Underrated:
Starring: Steph Curry
Directed By: Peter Nicks
Why it is recommended: Stephen Curry: Underrated, an Apple TV and A24 documentary, will always raise questions about its perspective. This latest Peter Nicks documentary sits with failures and digs deeper. Even talking head interviews—a mainstay of the style feel more honest. Its attention to the material is admirable, even though it tends to dwell on the past.
It will mostly appeal to Curry fans, but it also has something to offer newcomers. Even if he beat your favorite team, you may enjoy learning more about him. It avoids trying to cover everything and shows how Curry's early basketball experience and college years continue to shape his career. Thankfully, Nicks has managed to produce something original in his most recent work, which ensures that it advances beyond the realm of simple documentary into something more nuanced as a character study of Curry and the path he followed to become one of the best basketball players of all time.