Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

Money is the root of all evil, and in Sidney Lumet’s 2007 crime thriller, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, money rots the Hanson family from the inside out. After finance executive Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) realizes his embezzling activities are on the cusp of being discovered, he convinces his similarly cash-strapped younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke), to rob their parents’ jewelry store. The brothers’ “victimless” crime does not work out as hoped, and as their father seeks revenge on the mysterious perpetrators, his two sons struggle to clean up the mess they left behind. The last film Lumet made before he died in 2011, Before the Devil is arguably his best. EW’s critic at the time writes, “Lumet’s camera has become an invisible cage, inviting us to study the behavior of the human animals trapped inside.” —Ilana Gordon

Where to watch Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead: Freevee

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Sidney Lumet

Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris, Marisa Tomei

Related content: Sidney Lumet on his Oscar past

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

In 1994, three student filmmakers trekked through Maryland’s Black Hills Forest to shoot a documentary about a witch, only to disappear without a trace. A year later, their footage is discovered, offering insight into the events leading to their vanishing. When The Blair Witch Project was released in 1999, it helped redefine the horror genre by creating a market for found footage films, thanks to an online advertising campaign so believable that audiences assumed the actors to be truly dead. The film’s premise — while terrifying — is ultimately superfluous. In true Hitchcockian form, the actual terror in The Blair Witch Project lies in the unseen and unexplained moments, inviting audiences to fill in the blanks. The film producers understood that the unknown is always the scariest option, and their film proves them right. —I.G.

Where to watch The Blair Witch Project: Freevee

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez 

Cast: Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, Joshua Leonard 

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Candyman (2021)

Nobody knows how to subvert horror tropes and transform them into social commentary quite like Jordan Peele, who wrote the script for the urban legend slasher movie Candyman. A sequel to the 1992 version of the film and the fourth movie in the Candyman franchise, Peele’s take — directed by Nia DaCosta — centers the story in a quickly gentrifying area of Chicago, near the now shuttered low-income housing section called Cabrini-Green. The movie’s monster is Candyman, a killer with a hook for a hand who has terrorized the area for decades, and can be summoned by repeating his name five times in front of a mirror. When visual artist Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) learns the story behind the legend from a longtime Cabrini resident, he becomes obsessed with the killer, and his obsession overtakes both his artwork and sanity. A cult classic horror film adapted for modern audiences and peppered with the social and cultural criticism that distinguishes Peele’s work, Candyman will grab you with one hand and hook you with the other. —I.G.

Where to watch Candyman: Freevee

EW grade: B– (read the review)

Director: Nia DaCosta

Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo

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Charade (1963)

Stanley Donen‘s playful comedic thriller stars Audrey Hepburn as a widow pursued by the gang of violent thieves who murdered her husband. In the face of danger, she’s aided by Cary Grant in prime late-era form. Often dismissed as a Hitchcock wannabe, Charade is, in reality, a very knowing and well-plotted nail-biter, featuring gorgeous international locations and some terrific chemistry between Hepburn and Grant. The film was remade in 2002 as The Truth About Charlie, with Mark Wahlberg in Grant’s role and Thandiwe Newton standing in for Hepburn, though it doesn’t hold a candle to the classic original work. —Declan Gallagher

Where to watch Charade: Freevee

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Stanley Donen

Cast: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, George Kennedy, James Coburn

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Dan in Real Life (2007)

A romantic comedy about a single father trying to have it all, Dan in Real Life was one of the first opportunities for Steve Carell to prove that his acting and comedic chops run so much deeper than what he showcased on The Office. Carrell plays Dan, a widowed advice columnist struggling to parent three daughters. During a family reunion in Rhode Island, Dan meets Marie, the woman of his dreams (Juliette Binoche) — as well as her boyfriend, who happens to be his younger brother (Dane Cook). Determined to support their relationship, Dan attempts to suppress his romantic feelings for Marie, concentrate on his relationship with his daughters, and get out of his own way. EW’s critic writes, “The whole movie spins around Carell’s inspired performance as a man who is going quietly nuts because the universe has decided to toy with him.” A romantic comedy for both realists and optimists, Dan in Real Life is the perfect film to watch with family. —I.G.

Where to watch Dan in Real Life: Freevee

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Peter Hedges

Cast: Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, John Mahoney, Emily Blunt, Dianne Wiest

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Donnie Darko (2001)

Sleepwalking, hallucinations, and rabbit costume-clad figures prophesying humanity’s imminent destruction are just a few of the treats provided in Donnie Darko, a trippy sci-fi thriller with a stacked cast. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Donnie, a teenager struggling with his mental health, who begins experiencing visions that take a toll on his everyday life. Also starring Jake’s real-life sibling Maggie Gyllenhaal as Donnie’s sister, the film was quickly adopted by college kids and film students as the movie to watch in the early aughts. Donnie Darko struggled at the box office primarily due to bad timing: The film’s theatrical release was scheduled for shortly after the 9/11 attacks and the movie — which features a plane crash — suffered accordingly. Regardless, the film soon achieved cult classic status, and, according to Jake Gyllenhaal, remains one of his proudest career moments. —I.G.

Where to watch Donnie Darko: Freevee

EW grade: N/A (read the review) 

Director: Richard Kelly 

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Seth Rogen, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze, Ashely Tisdale  

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Insomnia (1997)

Erik Skjoldbjærg‘s Norwegian thriller about a cop (Stellan Skarsgård) investigating a murder in an Alaskan town that never sees nighttime was remade by Christopher Nolan under the same title in 2002. Nolan’s effort is quite good, but it doesn’t capture the same moral ambiguity as Skjoldbjærg’s original, nor does it have the same creeping dread or inimitable atmosphere. Indeed, Insomnia gets into your bones like a vicious chill. —D.G.

Where to watch Insomnia: Freevee

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg

Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Maria Mathiesen, Bjørn Floberg, Marianne O. Ulrichsen, Sverre Anker Ousdal

The Invisible Man (2020)

If you’re going to remake one of the most iconic, foundational horror movies (and novels) of all time, this is how to do it. Director Leigh Whannell, who’s come a long way from co-creating the Saw franchise that made him a household name, modernizes the premise to empathetically explore an abusive relationship and the ways in which the specter of a violent partner can resurface even after a split. Elisabeth Moss is fantastic as the ex of a monstrous tech mogul who can’t find rest until she knows he’s out of her life for good. “A lot of the story’s grip-hold is owed to Moss’s performance: raw, jittery, almost unbearably tense,” EW’s critic writes. “She’s a woman whose own body is a prison, as long as her ex walks around without one.” Speaking to EW, Whannell also addresses the film’s most shocking scene, which unfolds where you’d least expect it. “I wanted something that felt very safe to the audience, so that when [it] happened, the audience would be knocked on their arse.” — Kathryn Vandervalk

Where to watch The Invisible Man: Freevee

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Leigh Whannell

Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman, Oliver Jackson-Cohen

Related content: Watch a deleted scene from The Invisible Man

Last Night in Soho (2021)

Edgar Wright takes viewers on an aesthetic, murderous journey through England’s swinging ‘60s in his psychological thriller, Last Night in Soho. When aspiring fashion designer Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) moves to London for school, she finds herself fixated on Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), a blonde bombshell she meets in her dreams. But the more time Eloise spends asleep and observing Sandie’s glamorous nightclub life, the more she finds herself thrown into a decades-old mystery that has her questioning her own sanity. A stylistic caper featuring Diana Rigg‘s final role before her death, EW’s critic says, “An original Avenger and former Bond Girl, she might have actually come closest to embodying the mad, mod world Wright so lovingly recreates here on screen.” —I.G.   

Where to watch Last Night in Soho: Freevee

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Edgar Wright 

Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg

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Lion (2016)

Finding your way home is impossible when you don’t realize you’re lost, as is the case for Saroo (Sunny Pawar). Raised in Tasmania by adoptive parents who found him as a 5-year-old in Calcutta, twentysomething Saroo (Dev Patel) has a revelation: He was discovered there after being separated from his biological mother and brother. This prompts him to embark on a journey to locate his birthplace and reunite with his long-lost relatives. Based on the autobiography by Saroo Brierley — the author’s birth name, Sheru, translates to “lion” — the film offers outstanding, compassionate performances from its cast, coupled with a visually captivating odyssey. Described by EW’s critic as “a complicated true story has been airbrushed into a postmodern legend,” Lion is praised as “a celebration of global citizenship.” —Sammi Burke

Where to watch Lion: Freevee

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Garth Davis

Cast: Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Rooney Mara, David Wenham, Nicole Kidman, Abhishek Bharate, Divian Ladwa, Keshav Jadhav, Priyanka Bose 

Related content: Lion: How Nicole Kidman’s own experience with adoption informed her performance

Miss You Already (2015)

Harnessing her signature visual flair — characterized by a moody blue filter and intimate, hand-held camerawork — Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke brings forth an earnest disease dramedy centered on female friendship. Miss You Already follows the enmeshed lives of lifelong pals Milly (Toni Collette) and Jess (Drew Barrymore), who both receive life-altering news: Jess is unexpectedly pregnant with her third child and Milly is diagnosed with breast cancer. As the two face these anxiety-inducing milestones head-on, their friendship undergoes the grueling test of perseverance. As noted by EW’s critic, the film “becomes something messier, more nuanced, and much more affecting: a movie about love and loss that doesn’t dissolve into soft focus when the hard parts start.” —James Mercadante

Where to watch Miss You Already: Freevee

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Cast: Toni Collette, Drew Barrymore, Dominic Cooper, Paddy Considine, Mem Ferda, Tyson Ritter, Frances de la Tour, Jacqueline Bisset

Related content: Catherine Hardwicke on the cancer stories that inspired Miss You Already

Ocean’s 8 (2018)

Eleven years after Ocean’s 13 premiered, the family legacy lives on through Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), the recently paroled younger sister of Danny. Debbie spent her time in prison concocting a plan for the ultimate heist: a massive diamond robbery that will take place during the annual Met Gala. While Ocean’s 8 doesn’t reinvent Steven Soderbergh’s franchise by any means, it does provide the vehicle for a fun and feminist continuation of the series. Bolstered by an ensemble cast and littered with the unexpected twists and betrayals audiences have come to expect from the Ocean’s films, this is a high-fashion crime comedy with style to spare. As EW’s critic writes, “Ocean’s 8’s girls-just-wanna-have-grand-larceny conceit is the kind of starry, high-gloss goof the summer movie season was made for.” —I.G.  

Where to watch Ocean’s 8: Freevee

EW grade: B (read the review) 

Director: Gary Ross 

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter

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On Golden Pond (1981)

Henry Fonda ended his distinguished acting career with a grand slam. On Golden Pond, released six months before Fonda’s death in the summer of 1982, is a family drama as portrayed by an iconic Hollywood family. Fonda stars opposite Katharine Hepburn and his real-life daughter, Jane Fonda, in a story about an elderly couple’s annual trip to their New England summer home. Jane spearheaded the project, which was adapted from a play, and her character Chelsea’s difficult relationship with her father, Norman Thayer, mirrors the Fondas’ real-life estrangement. Recognized for its excellent performances — Hepburn won her fourth Oscar for hers — On Golden Pond is one of Hollywood’s best executed family dramas. —I.G.  

Where to watch On Golden Pond: Freevee

Director: Mark Rydell

Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda

Related content: Katharine Hepburn: On the set of On Golden Pond

Party Girl (1995)

Before we bask in the imminent Parker Posey renaissance — courtesy of her upcoming role in season 3 of The White Lotus — let’s rewind to 1995, where she rocks the campy clothes of a jobless party girl–turned–library clerk named Mary. In Daisy von Scherler Mayer’s dramedy, self-absorbed Mary finds herself rescued from jail after hosting an illegal underground rave, thanks to her librarian godmother (Sasha von Scherler). To settle her debts, she’s forced to commit the Dewey Decimal System to memory — and thankfully she has the dream support system by her side, including her DJ roommate (Guillermo Diaz), her bestie (Anthony DeSando), and a falafel vendor (Omar Townsend). As the very first feature film to premiere on the internet, Party Girl presents a cozy, escapist tale about the universal experience of uncertainty during your 20s and the uphill search for control of your life. Yet, the film’s cult-classic status owes much to Posey’s tour de force performance, delivering a satisfying blend of melodramatics, physical comedy, and a touch of vulnerability. —J.M.

Where to watch Party Girl: Freevee

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Daisy von Scherler Mayer

Cast: Parker Posey, Sasha von Scherler, Guillermo Diaz, Anthony DeSando, Omar Townsend

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Sliding Doors (1998)

If The Butterfly Effect was a romantic comedy, it would be Sliding Doors. Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Helen, a London publicist whose life after being fired unfolds in parallel storylines: One storyline details what happens to Helen after she catches a train home, the other tells the story of what happens after she misses the train. As Helen’s two paths deviate and coincide throughout the film, her love life and career trajectory unfold in separate arcs, an effective narrative illustration of how the small moments in our lives can have the biggest impacts on our future outcomes. Alternately funny, tragic, and ultimately very, very British, EW’s critic writes, “writer-director Peter Howitt demonstrates a lovely feel for the dreamy poetry of what-ifs — a deeply satisfying formula for romances and melodramas, from It’s a Wonderful Life to Brief Encounter.” —I.G. 

Where to watch Sliding Doors: Freevee

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Directors: Peter Howitt

Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn

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Sophie’s Choice (1982)

The early-’80s psychological drama Sophie’s Choice is notorious for being the vehicle that won Meryl Streep her first Best Actress Oscar — her second of three Oscar wins overall — but the film’s narrative is far less established. Adapted and directed by Alan J. Pakula from William Styron’s 1979 novel, Sophie’s Choice tells the story of Catholic, Polish Auschwitz survivor Sophie (Streep) who, after immigrating to America, engages in a tumultuous love affair with an American Jewish man named Nathan (Kevin Kline). Nathan and Sophie befriend Stingo (Peter MacNicol), an aspiring novelist who recently moved to their New York City boarding house, but the connection between the three friends threatens to topple years of secrets that Sophie has worked hard to obscure. The titular scene is eternally haunting, but the rest of the film is just as compelling, and at times, even stumbles into heartwarming territory, before descending into madness and misery. —I.G.

Where to watch Sophie’s Choice: Freevee

Director: Alan J. Pakula

Cast: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol

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