30 Best Live Stream Movies You Should Watch
Remember live-streaming movies? Just like American Psycho 2: All American Girl (with Mila Kunis and Williams Shatner), Dollman vs. Demon Toys, Bratz: Stars and Style, Hellraisers 5-10, Amityville 5-19 (!), “41 Year Old” The old virgin who confused Sarah Marshall and got very upset about it… Not all of them were bad, but a lot of them were… not good.
The rise of streaming has had an interesting impact on the market: Content-hungry streaming services have begun premiering big-budget films that were previously shown in theaters, and the pandemic has only accelerated this trend. While viewing in theaters still gives films a certain legitimacy, many great films have never been shown on those 100-foot screens.
While they may have played at festivals or seen a brief limited release (enough to qualify for big awards), the following 30 worthy films skipped theaters entirely and were shown directly on one of the major streamers.
Beasts Without a Nation (2015)
With its first original film , Beasts of No Nation, Netflix tried to create a model that fell apart almost immediately. Idris Elba’s film about a child soldier in West Africa certainly seemed like a film that could do well in theaters, so the streamer released the film simultaneously in theaters and what was then its on-demand service. The problem was that movie theaters hated the idea and major chains boycotted the film. Still, it’s a searing portrait of the human toll of war that deserves a more thoughtful release.
Where to watch: Netflix
His house (2020)
Good horror frightens us; the great horror remains with us, reminding us that the worst lives beyond the panels of the television or movie screen. His House acts both as an effective chiller for the story of a house haunted by evil, but also as a powerful and disturbing story about survivor’s guilt and the refugee experience in general.
Where to watch: Netflix
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
Based on the play by August Wilson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is largely confined to a couple of rooms at a Paramount recording studio in the summer of 1927. That scale suggests the film wouldn’t have been a gangster success among the action spectacles that have come to dominate the movie theater business, so streaming was probably always an option despite COVID. This hint of spectacle doesn’t detract from the film’s sultry splendor, but rather highlights the outstanding performances from everyone involved, led by Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. It received five Academy Award nominations and also earned the Best Picture award.
Where to watch: Netflix
Roma (2018)
Despite the fact that some of our most impressive directors of the last few decades have worked in or come from Mexico (Iñárritu, del Toro, Escalante, etc.), Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma remains the only Mexican film to win an international feature Oscar “, and it was the first original streaming film to be nominated for Best Picture. Beautifully shot, the semi-autobiographical story of Cuarón’s life in Mexico City in the early 1970s manages to blend the deeply personal with an epic feel—an impressive combination.
Where to watch: Netflix
Blood Machines (2019)
Blood Machines wears its inspiration on its sleeve, and a lot of it has to do with the sci-fi and horror films of the 80s and 90s that could once go straight to video. Essentially, this hour-long film won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but the Kickstarter-funded film is as ambitious and inventive as it gets. (Since its initial release, Shudder has divided the film into three “episodes”, but don’t get confused. It’s the same thing, just in parts.)
Where to watch: Shudder, AMC+.
Selah and Peaks (2019)
Debut writer-director Tayarishi Poe’s visually distinctive film Selah and the Peaks plays out like a Shakespearean (almost) tragedy about high school power structures. It’s a conceit that’s been used before, more than once, but never in Selah’s style – the coming-of-age story manages to convey not only the freedom of a teenager, but also a very real sense of danger and drama. that it’s all wrapped up.
Where to watch: Prime Video , Freevee
Vast Night (2019)
There’s not much that’s new in the story of a small-town DJ and a switchboard operator who discover what appears to be an alien invasion in the 1950s. However, the film is very memorable, with a style and confidence in every frame of the film that belies its tiny budget. The leads, Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz, are also candid.
Where to watch: Prime Video , Freevee
My name is Dolemite (2019)
Eddie Murphy earned himself a permanent spot on the A-list decades ago, but his career has always been a roller coaster ride that moves from impressive highs to ill-conceived lows—chasing an Oscar-nominated role in Dreamgirls with Norbit was the choice . Dolemite ‘s Rudy Ray Moore is a perfect match for Murphy’s talent, allowing him to play the real-life director’s brash absurdities with enormous heart. This is one of our occasional reminders of Murphy’s genius: he , of course, followed up the stupid and disappointing Coming 2 America .
Where to watch: Netflix
Happiest Season (2020)
Hulu’s Happiest Season probably isn’t on anyone’s list of cinematic masterpieces. Very few (if any) films in the modern Hallmark-style Homecoming for Christmas genre will clear such a bar. However, there’s a reason we love these things, and it adds a little prestige to its charm in both the cast (Kristen Stewart, Aubrey Plaza, Victor Garber, etc.) and the director (Clea Duvall). . What’s more, the film became a shining standard-bearer for queer representation in 2020, which saw a record (i.e. non-zero) number of LGBTQIA+-friendly holiday family films.
Where to watch: Hulu
Blood Quantum (2019)
Inspired in part by the Listuguj raids in Quebec in 1981, during which hundreds of provincial police officers stormed an Indigenous community to stop fishing (to preserve supplies for nearby businesses), Blood Quantum depicts a zombie outbreak on the Red Crow Indians. “Reservation” succeeds, as all the best horror films do, as, firstly, a skillfully scary and violent thriller, but also as a story about larger real-world horrors. The film’s director, cast and behind-the-scenes creatives are comprised almost entirely of Indigenous and Native American talent.
Where to watch: Shudder, AMC+, digital rental.
CODA (2021)
It’s become fashionable to include CODA among the least deserving Best Picture Oscar winners, but that’s not entirely fair. While it lacks the epic scope or dramatic stakes of typical awards shows, it’s still a carefully crafted coming-of-age story with a very strong cast. Yes, it’s a small film in many ways, but it’s well-crafted, and deaf actor Troy Kotsur’s Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor was as groundbreaking as it was deserved.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Enola Holmes (2020)
Millie Bobby Brown has become something of the face of Netflix thanks to her roles in Stranger Things and a string of original films. Here she plays the main character, the less famous but no less intelligent younger sister of Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill). Based on the series of novels by Nancy Springer, this is a lively and smart mystery perfect for the whole family.
Where to watch: Netflix
Glass Bow: The Mystery of Knives Out (2022)
Rian Johnson’s sequel picks up the franchise from 2019’s Knives Out, the first film starring Daniel Craig’s eccentric detective Benoit Blanc. In the second, Blanc abandons her husband in favor of an invitation to a private island run by a tech billionaire played by Edward Norton (who seems to be doing a slightly uncomfortable impression of Elon Musk). Unsurprisingly, his vacation soon turns into a whodunit involving a host of suspects, including Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista and many more.
Where to watch: Netflix
Get a dukedom! (2019)
This dark British horror-comedy follows a group of slacker students marooned in the Scottish highlands in pursuit of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (a real thing), which requires them to navigate the landscape using little more than a paper map. The teenagers are soon pursued by hunters (one of whom is played by comedian Sue Eddie Izzard) who appreciate the opportunity to cull the “urban” types they perceive as invading the countryside. Teenagers are ill-prepared for anything even remotely natural, let alone escaping serial killers, and the complications pile up more and more horrifyingly.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Red, White and Royal Blue (2023)
Slightly cheesy rom-coms are no longer just for straight guys, as the case of Red, White and Royal Blue (from the best-selling novel by Casey McQuiston) illustrates. Taylor Zakhar Perez plays Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the US President (Uma Thurman), opposite Prince Henry Nicholas Galitzine, heir to the British throne. A public falling out between the two sparks an international incident, which naturally leads to a slow-burning romance between the two, including a couple of mild but still very racy sex scenes.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Fire Island (2022)
A queer, modern take on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice , Fire Island also takes aim at the prevalence of fat/femme/Asian stereotypes in the gay community. Social commentary aside, it’s also a funny, smart romantic comedy with a great cast that includes Joel Kim Booster (as Lizzie Bennett – he also wrote the script), Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora and Margaret Cho as a group of friends who meet every summer head to the titular island, but this summer turns out to be more dramatic (and romantic) than most.
Where to watch: Hulu
Being Ricardo (2021)
Aaron Sorkin biopic Desi Lucy received Oscar nominations for lead performances by Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, as well as JK Simmons in supporting role William Frawley (that’s Fred Mertz, for you slightly less obsessive fans ” I Love Lucy” ) The writer/director naturally chose a rich and relevant moment to focus on: the largely forgotten period of the Red Scare, when Lucy herself was on the verge of losing her entire career due to her past communist ties. If she doesn’t come close to matching Lucy’s stage presence, Kidman is perfect as the behind-the-scenes power player.
Where to watch: Prime Video , Freevee
Nimona (2023)
This Oscar-nominated Best Animated Feature film, based on the graphic novel by N.D. Stevenson, is a heartfelt, joyful and funny fantasy set in a futuristic world peppered with anachronistic medieval trappings. Ballister Baldheart, with the support of his boyfriend Ambrosius Goldenloin, is about to be knighted by the Queen – the first commoner ever to receive this honor. All is well until he is accused of murdering the queen and is forced to flee, becoming the criminal the snobs have already mistaken him for. Luckily (or not), he is joined by Nimona, a teenage werewolf and an outcast from society because of her powers. The two work to clear Ballister’s name, while mischievous Nimona teaches Ballister how to truly live.
Where to watch: Netflix
The Sound of Block Island (2020)
Huge amounts of dead fish are washing up on the shores of Block Island, just one of many alarming developments; One of the local fishermen, Tom, also behaves very strangely, waking up in strange places and generally losing time. His daughter Audrey (Michaela McManus) works for the Environmental Protection Agency and brings her own daughter with her to investigate the fish’s death, reuniting with her brother Tom (Chris Sheffield) along the way. Together, the family discovers that an incredible environmental disaster is to blame for this oddity, as the film builds to a truly frightening climax.
Where to watch: Netflix, digital rental.
Pinocchio Guillermo del Toro (2022)
A longtime passion project for Del Toro, the director decided to base it on the classic story of fascist Italy between the world wars. Drawing on the dark undertones of the original 1883 novel, which were largely ignored by Disney and other adaptations and brought to life through beautiful stop-motion animation, this is a complex work that adults might appreciate more than children (the Academy certainly liked it – it received Oscar Award for Best Animated Feature Film)
Where to watch: Netflix
Extraction (2022)
The latest installment in the Predator franchise and arguably the best in the series since the first, Prey inexplicably skipped theaters in favor of a streaming-only release. Indigenous actress Amber Midthunder plays a young Comanche woman forced to confront both an alien hunter and even less pleasant French explorers on the Great Plains in 1719. Tense and lean, it offers a path forward for the franchise (Predator fights through time!) I sincerely hope it’s followed, and hopefully includes a theatrical production next time around.
Where to watch: Hulu
Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Returning to the Vietnam War genre with a focus on the (often ignored) experiences of black American soldiers, Spike Lee’s latest film draws a direct line between then and now, telling the story of four veterans who return to Vietnam in search of the remains of their soldiers. the fallen squad leader… and the gold he helped them hide. Every actor in the cast is incredible, including the late Chadwick Boseman in one of his final roles. While it’s no longer unusual for films from major directors to debut on streaming, this film missed its scheduled theatrical release due to COVID, and that’s a real shame.
Where to watch: Netflix
Mank (2020)
David Fincher’s take on the making of one of the greatest and most challenging films ever made is both a love letter to classic Hollywood and a candid look at how sausage is made. Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried were nominated for Oscars for their performances.
Where to watch: Netflix
Presenter (2020)
It would be easy to overlook this (I did for quite a long time), at least in part because the idea is very similar to Unfriended , a not-at-all bad Skype-themed thriller that came out a few years ago. I also generally don’t want to watch anything that deals with COVID too directly, as I’ve gotten (and get) enough of that in real life, thank you very much. However, thanks to sheer style and intelligence, The Host manages to be one of the most effective horror films of the last couple of years, developing a clever concept for its “Zoom session” concept.
Where to watch: Shudder, AMC+, digital rental.
Cool Action Park (2020)
Lordi. It’s completely wild. The true story of a New Jersey amusement park that has survived for decades despite virtually non-existent safety standards and ride designs with a heavy emphasis on whimsy and little regard for physics. Although it does lead to a sharp shift from “holy crap, can you believe it?” The first part of the documentary feels like the film’s merit is that it ultimately doesn’t shy away from the real-life tragedies in the park.
Where to stream: Max
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (2020)
Has there ever been a bigger, flashier TV personality than Walter Mercado? For decades, the (self-described) androgynous Puerto Rican astrologer commanded millions of viewers (and radio listeners) across Latin America and the United States via local channels and later as a regular guest on Univision. With his huge capes, colorful outfits and constant emphasis on the importance of “mucho, much love”, there was no one quite like him, and the documentary does him justice, especially for those who don’t speak Spanish and may be less familiar with his entertainment empire.
Where to watch: Netflix
Beach House (2020)
Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Director Jeffrey A. Brown’s debut feature starts out at a pace that can be seen as either deliberate or a little sluggish, but it builds to something much more cosmically ambitious. Combining ’50s-style creature thrills with threads of infection-related body horror, The Beach House felt uncomfortably timely when it was released just before the Covid pandemic hit, and remains so in our still-traumatized world.
Where to watch: Shudder, digital rental
The Old Guard (2020)
Whatever the A-list, there was a time when Charlize Theron’s appearance in a movie that skipped the theater would have been a serious cause for concern. Like, a devastating turn for a career. Instead, the big-budget action movie about immortal mercenaries became a big enough hit for Netflix to inspire another sequel, and certainly didn’t hurt the careers of anyone involved. As far as superhero movies go, they’re also pretty smart and impressively gay-friendly. Victory for everyone.
Where to watch: Netflix
Square (2013)
Netflix’s first original documentary, The Square , made the festival circuit before landing on the (then) on-demand service. It is still a powerful film that tells the story of the 2011 Egyptian revolution through the lens of the Tahrir Square demonstrations. Although time moves forward in Egypt and the promises of the Arab Spring remain largely unfulfilled, the film makes clear that heady ideals often give way to political realities, giving them a timeless quality.
Where to watch: Netflix
Purple Violets (2007)
Though largely forgotten, The Purple Violets represents an important moment in streaming history: In the direct-to-DVD era, the film skipped both theaters and DVD (initially) in favor of a release on the iTunes Store—something unheard of. in the old days. It’s a good, if not great, romantic comedy directed by Ed Burns with a stellar cast including Selma Blair, Patrick Wilson, Debra Messing and a diminutive Bill Hader in his film debut.
Where to watch: Tubi, digital rental.