Best movies On NOW: TV worth watching (December 2023)

Promising Young Woman is a fantastic film that shines a cold light on 'good men' and their actions around women. Carey Mulligan is Cassie, someone scarred by their past who takes men to task for their actions with staggering results. It's an uncomfortable movie, that gets dark at times but an utterly essential watch.

Image Credit: Universal Pictures

The original Jurassic Park trilogy is currently available to stream on NOW, as well as Jurassic World and its increasingly dodgy sequels. If we had to pick one, then it's got to be the original Jurassic Park - without a doubt one of the best monster movies ever made.

Image Credit: Universal Pictures

Looper is a superb time-travel caper where Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a hitman that kills his victims in the future. What ensues is a tale that's sometimes hard to understand but stick with it and it will more than reward you.

Image Credit: Sony Pictures

The Raid may well be getting a remake but nothing will better this classic action flick. Made by welsh director Gareth Evans, with help from some of the best martial artists from Indonesia, the film is about an elite task force that have the job of ridding a tower block of a drug lord and his small army. What ensues is one of the best action movies ever made. Stunning stuff. Its sequel is also available to stream on NOW.

Image Credit: PT Merantau Films

If you have yet to see Top Gun: Maverick then stop what you are doing and WATCH NOW. It's a proper old-school action movie with one of the best Hollywood stars of our generation, mr Tom Cruise. This is much more than a retread of the first movie - it's a reaffirming, exhilarating thrill ride throughout.

This was originally an HBO movie but it could easily be shown on the big screen. Hugh Jackman puts in a fantastic performance as superintendent. Dr Frank Tassone who has seen his high school go up the ranks which is all well and good until we find out that its rise is all part of a huge embezzlement scheme. The most shocking thing about this story is that it’s based on actual events. Allison Janney also stars and, as always, is impeccable in her role as Tassone’s assistant.

Image Credit: Warner Bros

The Batman is a stunning slice of film noir, taking Batman back to his detective roots and giving him a menacing villain who feels all-too real in today's world. It's a hard, brutal watch sometimes but Robert Pattinson is impressive in the cape and cowl, while Colin Farrell is unrecognisable as The Penguin.

With Top Gun: Maverick doing, er, great guns on the big screen there is no better time to revisit the classic '80s movie. Cashing cheques his body can't cash, Tom Cruise is Maverick a young pilot chosen for the Top Gun flight school, where the best of the best train for air warfare. Yes, it's pure cheese but the action scenes still look fantastic.

Image Credit: Paramount

Steven Spielberg's terrifying shark tale was the advent of the blockbuster as we know it and it still holds up well today. The reason: we don't actually see the shark that much, but John Williams scary score and some clever shots make us feel like Jaws is ever present.

You can stream the entire Cornetto trilogy on NOW. That’s Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End. All three are worth a watch, but the original had that impact on a generation few comedies can replicate. It’s a zombie comedy, at a time before pop culture had all but too much of the saggy flesh-eaters. Full of wit, and propelled by the warmth of a real-life friendship between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Shaun of the Dead bears a rewatch (or a dozen) better than most.

Alex Garland's Ex Machina is one of the most lauded sci-fi movies of the last decade. It examines what separates an advanced humanoid machine from a "real" person, wrapped up in a stylish and provocative thriller. It also won an Oscar for its visual effects.

The king has arrived on NOW, with Baz Luhrmann's Elvis now streaming. This is a classic music biopic, given a kaleidoscopic spin, thanks to Luhrmann's amazing directing. The best thing about the movie, though, is Austin Butler as Elvis - a part the actor disappears into. The better said about the cartoon-villain that is Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker the better but not even that OTT performance ruins the show.

This one went under our radar when it was on the big screen but The Duke is a delight. This true tale of a taxi driver who is constantly trying to fight for worker's rights in Newcastl decides to do something that will finally get him noticed: stealing one of the most famous paintings of all time. Jim Broadbent is superb as the ageing anarchist, while Helen Mirren is ace has his steadfast wife. Brilliant stuff.

Robert Eggers is known for his uncompromising movies. The Witch and The Lighthouse are unique in their look and terrifying in their detail. The Northman swaps scares for brutality and is an epic look at Norse mythology. Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman and Anya Taylor-Joy all star in this vicious Viking saga.

This super smart thriller from Steven Soderbergh was shot during the pandemic, but it suits the plot fo the film. Zoë Kravitz plays a worker at a smart speaker company whose job it is to make sense of verbal instructions the speaker gets stuck. This involves her listening to snippets of dialogue - and one of the conversations she heres sounds like a murder. It's Conversation for the Alexa world and we had a lot of fun watching it.

Image Credit: HBO Max

Based on the equally brilliant Ben Macintyre novel of the same name, Operation Mincemeat focuses on a true spy tale that was an act of deception that helped the Allies win World War II. It's a superb, old-school watch with the acting talents of Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald and more.

Nope finishes off an incredible trilogy of horror movies from Jordan Peele, alongside Get Out and Us. This one adds an extraterrestrial element, causing comparisons to Spielberg. But this is an altogether darker tale than you'd expect from the master of cinema. Is it the best of the trio? Probably not, but it is the most spectacular.

You might guess the surname of the person who directed Infinity Pool thanks to its preoccupation with body horror and the body’s mechanics. Yep, it’s Cronenberg. But this film was made by Brandon Cronenberg, not his father David Cronenberg. Alexander Skarsgard and Cleopatra Coleman are a couple on holiday, lured into an off-kilter debauched society where any crime is met by death.

This serial killer chiller is fantastic. Directed by horror maestro Scott Derrickson, the film takes you to places you don't expect as it tells the story of a kidnapped child and the help he gets from an unexpected, supernatural source. Ethan Hawke is glorious as the twisted serial killer but it's the kids that steal the show.

They finally did it. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a movie that truly captures the ramshackle fun of a D&D campaign. It's also a riot of a film in its own right, one you can enjoy with no knowledge or interest in Dungeons & Dragons. It sadly wasn't a big smash at the box office, but comes with a strong recommendation if you're after a fun cinematic ride. Chris Pine stars as the leader of a bunch of adventurers, and there are strong turns from Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant.

Every now and then a nasty horror movie breaks out of its genre fanbase to touch a wider audience. Cabin in the Woods did that back in 2011, and was lauded as one of the smartest genre flicks of its time. It’s referential, playing with conventions of the genre like a next-generation Scream. Oh, and it also stars Chris Hemsworth, who would go on to mega-stardom in his role as Thor in the Marvel movies.

The entire wizarding world movie collection is available to stream on NOW. That includes the eight core movies plus the three Fantastic Beasts films. That’ll keep you busy. If you’re planning a marathon, make sure you stick through with it until at least the third movie. That’s when they kick up a gear in quality, if you ask us.

If you're sick of the cinema being full of Marvel movies the whole time, you need to celebrate releases like Tár. It's the story of a high-flying orchestra conductor, Lydia Tár, whose life we watch unravel on-screen. It earned Cate Blanchett a best actress Oscar nomination, and a well deserved one as this might just be the best performance of her entire career.

An epic based on Spielberg’s memories of growing up in American in the post World War 2 era. Sammy Fabelman is an aspiring filmmaker, played by Gabriel LeBelle. Michelle Williams and Paul Dano play his parents, in a love letter to film as a medium. It’s a beautifully made family drama you glide through thanks to the sheer mastery of Spielberg.

Pearl is the follow-up to X, Ti West’s critically celebrated horror film where the filming of an adult movie in rural America ends up in a bloodbath. Pearl acts as an origin story, set in the early 20th century. Mia Goth is brilliant as a wannabe star driven to acts of violence in her desire to succeed. A rare case of a follow-up being just as compelling as the original.

Winning the lottery is a dream for many, but To Leslie shows what can happen when sudden wealth takes hold. This is the movie that got Andrea Riseborough an Oscar, and it is easy to see why - she shines in this small-town Indie flick.

Long before Fortnite made the concept of “battle royale” a pop culture touchstone, we had this movie, a violent Japanese satire. A rise in juvenile delinquency leads to the BR act. This sees a randomly selected school class taken to an empty island each year, to fight to the death until only one contender remains. It feels fresh more than 20 years on. The sequel is also available to stream, but it’s not a patch on the original.

Step back into the world of Marty McFly and Doc Brown. NOW currently offers all three of the Back to the Future movies, three classic slices of comedy sci-fi adventure. The original is still the best, but if you grew up with these movies there’s a good chance the second two films hold just as many nostalgic memories.

There are better biopics but The United States Vs Billie Holiday is all about Andra Day's sublime central performance, which recently won her a Golden Globe. We see Holiday go through the 30s to 50s garnering acclaim for her voice but she becomes a target of the government and spirals out of control.

Image Credit: Hulu

M. Night Shyamalan has had a funny old career. After a handful of years seen as one of Hollywood’s brightest lights, we got a decade of duds. But since 2015’s The Visit, Shyamalan has produced some of the quirkiest and most interesting genre movies, including Knock at the Cabin. A family on holiday is held captive by a bunch of killers claiming to be propelled by a much higher motive. But what’s really going on? A singular mystery that’s over and out in 100 minutes

One of the few movie series we’re tempted to re-watch every year, this is an epic tale of adventure that stands up in every area. 20 years on, the visual effects still look (mostly) great, and the performances remain iconic. Just set aside 10 hours or so and you’ll be transported to another world. The Hobbit movies are also available on NOW, but they just aren’t quite at the same level.

Sean Baker has made some wonderful offbeat movies - please go seek out The Florida Project and Tangerine - and Red Rocket follows this tradition, adding a bit more dark comedy to the mix. The premise is that an ex adult film star heads home, to a town that doesn't really accept him. With mostly amateur actors taking the roles, this is a funny and sometimes cruel film.

We went into this one apprehensive as it felt too soon to reboot the Scream franchise, but this quasi sequel is a lot of fun and manages to upend the expectations of the horror genre. While it's great to see many of the old cast back, the new characters are the ones that really shine here.

Image Credit: Blumhouse