When it comes to the best calendar year for cinema releases, we’ve heard arguments for 1939 (The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Gone With the Wind etc.), 1971 (The French Connection, The Last Picture Show, McCabe & Mrs. Miller etc.) and 1999 (The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, Magnolia etc.), but maybe it’s time to consider something a little more recent? 

A new theory has recently started doing the rounds that 2007 might be in with a shout — if not the best year ever, then perhaps the most recent “great year” in American cinema. What’s interesting about each of those years is that they all come at pivotal moments for the movies: a final flush before WWII, the early, anything-goes days of New Hollywood; the last days before digital took over; and both the last year before the MCU and the year that the iPhone launched. 

Looking back, it’s interesting how blockbusters shifted, but it’s especially glaring how many great comedies we used to have. Read on to discover more about the films of 2007 and use the guide below to find out where to stream the best of them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. There Will Be Blood

Let’s start with the last film to be released that year, Paul Thomas Anderson’s modern classic, There Will Be Blood: a great American saga that is also probably the majority of people’s pick for the greatest film of that decade. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, a self-proclaimed “oil man” whose relentless quest for greed and power does little to compensate for his bottomless well of hatred. 

It remains one of Day-Lewis’s defining performances, and if you like what the actor did in Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, or appreciate PTA’s latest classic, One Battle After Another, you should definitely check it out. 

2. No Country For Old Men

At the 2008 Oscars, where movies from 2007 competed, most major categories were a showdown between Anderson’s movie and another modern Western: the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men. Unluckily for Anderson, the Coens basically went home with the lot for this air-tight and darkly entertaining adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s New Mexico crime novel—a film that you will especially love if you’ve been enjoying watching Fargo in more recent years. 

Looking back, 2007 was actually a great year for Westerns, with Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma both receiving recognition at the Oscars. Anderson’s movie now has the greatest reputation, but I certainly wouldn’t hold it against the Coens—it’s a great movie, and they deserved their crowning triumph.

3. Superbad

2007 was also a standout year for comedies, with Blades of Glory (starring Will Ferrell), Hot Rod (Andy Samberg), and Knocked Up (Seth Rogen) all released at various points during the summer. Better than all of them, in my opinion, was the Rogen-scripted Superbad — a film I’ve watched (and laughed at/with) countless times, and I think will continue to do so for years to come. 

Perfectly cast in a story about three high schoolers trying to buy booze for a party, the film launched the careers of Michael Cera, Jonah Hill and the now two-time Academy Award winner Emma Stone, so if you’re a fan of their more recent work in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street or La La Land, you have to go back and check this one out.

4. Zodiac

After There Will Be Blood and No Country, the third movie you will likely see on most Best-of-the-Decade lists is David Fincher’s Zodiac, which might also be the most influential of those three. This is the film (along with Fincher’s spiritually connected series Mindhunter) that created what would become the go-to style for true crime shows and documentaries going forward—and if you want a fascinating rundown of those trends, make sure to check out Charlie Shackleton's excellent new doc, Zodiac Killer Project.

Fincher’s film is a relentlessly gripping and frightening procedural about a journalist attempting to track down the Zodiac killer, who terrorised the people of San Francisco with a series of murders in the 1960s and 1970s. If you’re a fan of Fincher’s movies (particularly Se7en and Gone Girl), you know what to do. 

5. Hot Fuzz

If you’re looking for a different kind of comedy than the ones I’ve listed above, 2007 also boasted a few more offbeat classics. The John C. Reilly-starring music industry satire Walk Hard has basically become the go-to litmus test for every sincere music biopic that’s come since—a This is Spinal Tap for dramatised “true stories” of how famous musicians made it to where they are.

Another is the movie adaptation of John Waters’ Broadway smash, Hairspray—think Grease except with Waters’ sense of humour and Travolta in drag. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez also released their Grindhouse experiment, which features QT’s much-overlooked exploitation movie, Death Proof. Perhaps the best of these inventive genre mashups, however, was Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz, his home-run follow-up to Shaun of the Dead—a movie that did for ‘80s action (like Commando) what Shaun did for zombies. 

6. The Bourne Ultimatum 

For all its charms, you would be hard-pressed to argue that 2007 was a classic year for blockbusters. The box office top ten for that year features Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and National Treasure: Book of Secrets (both solid) alongside a bunch of fine, third-in-the-franchise instalments: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Shrek the Third, Spider-Man 3.

The best of these third instalment movies was easily The Bourne Ultimatum, an awesome film that closed out the definitive action franchise of that decade with typical thrills and frantic energy. If you’ve seen the first two, you know what to do, but if you’re new to the series, it’s best to start from The Bourne Identity and work your way up!

7. Juno

Away from the big studios, there were plenty of newly-minted, indie classics hitting cinema screens in 2007, too. The micro-budgeted Irish movie Once made it all the way to the Oscars as Noah Baumbach released Margot at the Wedding and Todd Haynes brought out his experimental Bob Dylan movie, I’m Not There.

The most beloved and successful indie that year was, without a doubt, Juno, a movie that brought together the writer-director team of Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman and launched the career of Elliot Page, each of whom was nominated for Oscars for their efforts. After the success of Little Miss Sunshine the previous year, Juno confirmed that American independent cinema was a force to be reckoned with again.

8. Ratatouille

It clearly wasn’t enough that 2007 had some of the best action, comedy, indie and prestige movies of the decade; it also had arguably the greatest Pixar film too—certainly up to that point. At the Oscars in 2008—which, as you can imagine, was absolutely STACKED—Brad Bird’s Ratatouille (a gorgeous story about a friendly rodent who secretly becomes the most talked about chef in Paris) bagged five nominations, including Best Original Screenplay. 

This is a beautiful film if you are in any way romantic about the French capital, but also if you’re a fan of that golden age of Pixar (think movies like Up and WALL-E).

9. Michael Clayton

Another conspicuously abundant genre in 2007 was the crime movie. Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, was a big hit, and we even got Sidney Lumet’s swansong, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, with Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The best crime movie of the year, and a work that’s only become more influential in the years since, is Michael Clayton. This is a film about shady corporate conspiracies that stars George Clooney and was written and directed by Tony Gilroy—and if you enjoyed the intelligent, resonant writing that Gilroy brought to Andor, you really need to check this one out.

10. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

We’ll cap this list with a quick rundown of all the exciting things that were happening in international cinema. At the Oscars at the beginning of the year, The Lives of Others beat Pan’s Labyrinth (both instant classics) to the Oscar. In Venice, Ang Lee’s erotic thriller Lust, Caution won the Gold Lion as the Spanish found footage horror [REC] shocked audiences in an out of competition slot—it has since gone on to become a cult classic.

The best international movie that year, however, was Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, a still shocking, fiercely serious, but deeply moving film about abortion rights and state control that deservedly beat both No Country and Zodiac to the Palme d’Or in Cannes. If you’re looking for something a little outside the mainstream, it is well worth seeking out!

In these trying times, there are few better ways to let it all out (and maybe have a moment of shared catharsis) than having a good cry at the cinema. As I write this, I can think of quite a few cases (Brief Encounter, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Bridges of Madison County, Far From Heaven, Up) where the opening titles are enough to make me well up, if not turn me into a full-blubbering mess. 

If reports are to be believed, Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet (a film about Agnes and William Shakespeare and the loss of a child) has been eliciting a similar reaction from audiences around the world ever since it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival back in August.

As we await the film’s UK release in January, it feels like a good time to think back on all the other films over the last ten years that have struck a similar, near-universal, weepy chord. The following list is naturally subjective, but I know I’m not alone in saying that these ten movies really do get me every time. So grab a box of Kleenex and read on to discover more, and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. Moonlight (2016)

Given how skewed the list is towards films from before 2020, I’ve either gotten more cynical in my old age or the films being made have gotten less heart-wrenching. Whatever the case, 2016 offered three very different films that each left me in a puddle of tears.

The first is Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, a genuine modern classic (one that fans of early A24 like Room and American Honey will adore) and the first openly queer love story to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The story takes place in three acts, each from a pivotal time in the protagonist’s life: his formative adolescence with an unlikely father figure, a teenage moment that suggests a queer awakening, and a later acceptance of that pent-up longing. I’m already welling up just thinking about it. 

2. Certain Women (2016)

The next great 2016 tearjerker that comes immediately to mind is Kelly Reichardt’s portmanteau film Certain Women, and specifically the middle third, which features another story of unrealised love (I’m already starting to see a pattern). This one boasts a wonderful performance from Kristen Stewart as an anxious night class teacher, but it’s Lily Gladstone (playing a student with an evident crush) who steals the show.

This was Gladstone's breakout performance and is still (IMHO) her finest work, so if you loved her in films like The Wedding Banquet and Killers of the Flower Moon, you owe it to yourself to check this out. 

3. Manchester by the Sea (2016)

You probably don’t need reminding about this one, but Kenneth Lonnergan’s Manchester by the Sea is still one of the most devastating films of the Century—and if you like Lonnergan’s You Can Count on Margaret, you’ll certainly like (if that’s even the word) this one too. Just be warned, this isn’t the easy-going what might have been? kind of weepy; this is a full-on, pull-your-heart-out tragedy, so make sure to steady yourself beforehand and maybe have a drink poured for after. 

That said, for this specific genre of film, it’s surprisingly rewatchable. The story takes place in the titular New England enclave and, somewhat like Hamnet, follows a woman (Michelle Williams) and a man (Casey Affleck) as they attempt to process the death of a child.

4. Call Me By Your Name (2017)

If you are a film-lover between the ages of 20-35, I can pretty much assume that Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name has claimed at least a few drops from your lacrimal glands—and in case you’ve yet to see it, it’s an endlessly stylish and deeply felt queer coming-of-age film that fans of Carol and Moonlight will adore. 

The film stars Timothée Chalamet (in what was basically his breakout role) as a 17-year-old with an all-consuming crush on a slightly inappropriately older man. It takes place in Northern Italy in 1983, and yes, a peach is involved.

5. Lady Bird (2017)

Of all the films on this list, I’d say I’ve probably watched Lady Bird the most times. Greta Gerwig’s debut (an instant classic that fans of Little Women will particularly love, not to mention a work that only grows in reputation as the years pass by), really has a bit of everything—humour, sincerity, great performances, nice tunes, relatable heartbreak and a genuinely deep well of sadness. 

Saoirse Ronan stars as the director’s eponymous stand-in, a charismatic and extroverted but refreshingly flawed teenager attempting to navigate the last year of high school—prom, boys, college, virginity, and a mother (a wonderful Laurie Metcalf) who loves her but—and here come the tears—might not actually like her all that much.

6. Eighth Grade (2018)

When you look back at it, A24 really had a monopoly on these kinds of movies for a while, there at the end of the 2010s. Bo Burnham’s beautiful debut Eighth Grade, a film I’ve watched at least four times, is a case in point—a movie that (like Lady Bird) never forgets to be funny, even when it's tearing your heart out.

Elsie Fisher stars as Kayla, a cool kid who hasn’t quite found her confidence yet. In her spare time, she offers musings to almost no one on her YouTube channel, but the film never mocks her for the effort and remains touchingly on her side throughout. The killer blow comes during a fireside chat, when we get to see her for a moment through her father’s loving eyes.

7. Marriage Story (2019)

One of the biggest developments in how we watch movies in the last decade has been the rise and influence of meme culture. This has been something of a double-edged sword—some filmmakers seem to invite it with certain compositions (in the end of the day, free publicity is free publicity), but a particularly potent meme can sometimes overshadow a scene’s emotional power.

Case in point is Noah Baumbach’s relentlessly sad Marriage Story, which is now probably best known for the moment when Adam Driver punches a hole through the wall. If you can get past that familiarity, however, this is a movie on par with the director's early breakout, The Squid and the Whale and up there with the likes of Kramer vs Kramer in the pantheon of sad dad divorce stories. 

8. Drive My Car (2021)

I feel guilty for only including one non-English language film on this list. Hirokazu Koreeda, in particular, has left me in bits on a few occasions over the last ten years, most notably with After the Storm, but Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car is the one that did the most damage. 

This is Hamaguchi’s follow-up to Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, a movie I love even more, but when it comes to tears, you can’t do much better than this Oscar winner. The film follows a playwright as he works on a production of Uncle Vanya in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Between rehearsals, while driving around town in the reddest Saab 900 you’ll ever see, he strikes up an unlikely and beautiful bond with his driver. If you’ve yet to see it, seek it out.

9. Aftersun (2022) 

I was tempted to also add All of Us Strangers to this list, but given Paul Mescal’s presence in Hamnet (not to mention his devastating performance in Normal People), three mentions on one list just feels like overkill—even for an actor of his generational talent.

Whatever the case, Charlotte Welles’ exquisite semi-autobiographical debut feature, Aftersun (a film so famously heartbreaking that I’m pretty certain it influenced this year’s John Lewis advert), remains the actor’s finest moment—it was at least enough to secure him a shock nomination at the Academy Awards. He didn’t quite nick that, but he certainly took his fair share of tears.

10. The Old Oak (2023)

We’ll end this list with a film that makes me cry just thinking about it—both for what it does and says, and also for the fact that it seems it will go down as Ken Loach’s final project. The Old Oak, like so many Loach films before, is a story about working-class solidarity—this time between TJ, a friendly publican in Durham, and Yara, a Syrian refugee. 

It’s an achingly beautiful piece of work, full of sadness and regret but not without a good dose of strength and hope to wash it down. And if you’ve ever enjoyed a Loach film (think movies like Kes, I, Daniel Blake or The Wind that Shakes the Barley), I highly recommend seeking it out. The director will hopefully celebrate his 90th birthday next year; let’s celebrate him while we can!

Planning a New Year’s Eve night can be a pain. Do you dress up and go out to squeeze into a bar? Do you risk life and limb trying to set off a few fireworks? Or, worse still, do you spend your January 1 hangover cleaning up after all the friends you had around? If you’d rather avoid all of the above, there are plenty of movie options to put on (either curled up on the couch or on a background screen at a house party) to ring in the new year—you can even set some of them up to make that moment happen with a cheers or a bang. 

The following list contains 11 great movies, each with a suggested time—down to the second—of when to press play to make that perfect midnight moment line up exactly. Read on to discover when and use the guide below to find out where to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. & 2. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Endgame (2019)

We’ll start things off with two classics of the genre: the two-part finale of the MCU’s Infinity Saga: Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. For most readers, these movies need no introduction—for everyone else, let’s say they’re probably the best superhero team-up movies we’ll ever see. 

Regardless, they also offer two distinct ways to ring in the new year. Start Infinity War at 21:48:54, and 2026 will begin with Thanos’s snap and the deathly silence that comes afterwards. Go with Endgame (starting at 21:29:30), and you can finish 2025 with Iron Man’s snap, meaning the first few moments of the new year will be spent watching Thanos and his army disintegrate, albeit as one of our heroes disintegrates, too. The choice is yours.

3. The Great Gatsby (2013)

What better way to ring in the new year than to raise a glass with Leonardo DiCaprio himself? This experience can be yours thanks to Baz Luhrmann’s characteristically extra adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, in which Leo (perfectly cast) plays the title role of the mysterious playboy.

This was the second time that Baz and Leo worked together, and if you like what they did with Romeo + Juliet, you will probably like this one just as much. Start the film at 23:29:57, perhaps with the movie projected on the wall at a party, and you should hit the famous meme image just as the countdown ends.

4. Phantom Thread (2017)

It would be rude to make a list like this and not include at least a few films that actually take place, at least in part, on New Year's Eve. Perhaps the most beautiful of them all is Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, a film about the things we do for the people we love—and if you’re looking for comps, think The Favourite meets Devil Wears Prada, and you’ll have some idea of what tone to expect.

Start this gorgeous two-hander (Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps star) at 22:14:40, and the clock should strike midnight just as Reynolds (Day-Lewis) watches all those lovely, colourful balloons rain down.

5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

A certified classic of this admittedly niche subgenre of NYE midnight movies takes place in a world where, as far as I’m aware, the concept of a New Year’s Eve party does not exist. We are, of course, talking about Middle-earth and Peter Jackson’s adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, specifically the second instalment, The Two Towers—and if you like the middle section of trilogies (think Empire Strikes Back, Godfather: Part 2), this one is a real doozy.

The film’s narrative builds towards an epic battle between Saruman’s army of Uruk Hai and a smaller group consisting of one dwarf, some elves, and lots of men from Gondor, led by a refreshed King Theoden. The tension builds as we wait for the fight to start—a moment when the King utters the immortal line, “So it begins.” If you would like your year to begin with those ominous words, start the film at 21:13:19.

6. Independence Day (1996)

As the title suggests, Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day largely takes place on the days around the 4th of July, meaning it couldn’t be much farther from New Year’s Eve if it tried. It does, however, contain a fateful countdown—one that Jeff Goldblum’s sexy math wiz discovers in an alien transmission.

It is possible to line the movie up so that Goldblum’s character, David, says “Time’s up” at the stroke of midnight, but I think a more stylish choice would be to hit play at 23:12:35 and ring in the new year with Emmerich’s iconic destruction of The White House. Nobody does disasters quite like Emmerich, and if you’ve enjoyed the director’s more recent work on movies like Moonfall and 2012, this one is the real banger.

7. When Harry Met Sally (1989) 

Getting back to more seasonal films, few have captured the feeling of New Year’s quite like When Harry Met Sally. This is a film that most people associate with autumn, purely due to the incredibly soft-looking Aran sweater worn by Billy Crystal in some famous moments—and if you like movies with good knitwear (think Knives Out, The Holiday), you will certainly enjoy this one.

The most pivotal moments in the story come later on, however, not least the New Year's Eve party, where Harry and Sally finally come to a certain realisation. If you want to time your countdown with the one on screen, start the movie at 22:30:27.

8. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) 

Another film that can be placed in the sub-subgenre of things blowing up at the stroke of midnight is Star Wars, George Lucas’s enduring space opera about a boy called Luke Skywalker and a Vader called Darth. 

The first film in the long-running franchise follows Skywalker’s journey from his uncle and aunt's farm on Tatooine all the way to the Battle of Yavin. This legendary rebel attack ends with Skywalker firing two torpedoes, perhaps with the help of The Force, into the Death Star’s exhaust, creating a chain reaction that results in the station blowing up spectacularly. If you fancy that being the first image to touch you see in 2026, hit play at 22:02:43.

9. Trading Places (1983)

Moving back to earthly delights, why not try Trading Places? This is a movie that's become a festive favourite despite not boasting a great deal of festive cheer. It does, however, build to a climax on December 31st, and if you’d like your midnight to line up with Eddie Murphy saying “Merry New Year” on screen, start the film at 22:31:06.

The film stars Murphy as a down-on-his-luck street hustler who is chosen (as a bet) by a couple of wealthy stock traders to see if he can trade places with one of their most promising employees (Dan Akroyd). This is one that fans of comedies like A Fish Called Wanda and Beverly Hills Cop will love.

10. Forrest Gump (1994) 

Another classic New Year's Eve party scene comes at around the halfway point of Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump—a must-watch movie for fans of Tom Hanks in his heyday (think the likes of Big and Cast Away. The sequence takes place in New York City, where Forrest finds himself after returning from Vietnam. 

Early in the day on NYE, he meets Lt. Dan, and the two old friends go to a bar to ring in the New Year. If you’d like to sync up with the countdown, start the film at 22:38:55—I just hope you look a little happier when the time comes to celebrate.

11. Jaws (1975)

We’ll end our list—as I hope you end your year—with a bang! Like Star Wars and Independence Day, movie fans looking to ring in the year with some fireworks can turn to Stephen Spielberg’s 1975 classic, Jaws—a film that should be watched by any Spielberg fan (especially if you like the early stuff like Close Encounters).

The story, of course, concerns a killer shark that terrorises the inhabitants of Amity Island—that is, until a crew of three takes a boat (and then a bigger boat) to hunt it down. This leads to a triumphant explosion that should (if you hit play at 22:03:30) help you to ring in 2026 in a sufficiently triumphant manner. 

History buffs, beware! These films take historic events and figures and give them a Hollywood makeover with some glaring flaws—but that’s part of the fun. Sometimes, a wildly inaccurate story simply makes for a better film, favouring emotional truth over fact.

From epic battles to royal intrigue, these movies might not make a history professor smile, but they’re absolutely worth watching for the sheer entertainment and heart they bring to these stories. Ready to dive into history as it never really happened? Here’s a lineup of 10 films that wildly bend the facts, but still manage to capture our imaginations.

1. Braveheart (1995)

Braveheart is one of the most beloved but most egregious of historical offenders. Starring Mel Gibson as William Wallace, the film tells the story of the Scottish rebellion against England in the late 13th century, led by the daring Wallace.

Historically, this film is all over the place. Wallace wasn’t the poor farmer the film makes him out to be; he was actually nobility, trained in warfare from a young age. The battle scenes—including the iconic Battle of Stirling Bridge—oddly omit the bridge itself, and the costumes favour romanticised kilts and blue face paint, sadly never worn in 13th-century Scotland. The infamous “Jus Primae Noctis” law allowing English lords to sleep with brides on their wedding night is also a complete fabrication. But despite the historical inaccuracies, the film’s passionate speeches, fierce battles, and Gibson’s fiery performance make it a timeless film about freedom and the fighting spirit.

2. Marie Antoinette (2006)

Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette offers a visually sumptuous and intimate portrayal of the young queen, but takes quite a few liberties with historical accuracy. While grounded loosely in real events, the film’s aesthetic and use of modern pop music—not to mention Marie’s Converse shoes—clearly show that historical accuracy took a back seat.

The portrayal of Marie as a pink-haired, somewhat aimless teenager indulging in sweets captures an emotional truth rather than historical reality. The film only lightly addresses much of the complex political situation in France at the time, focusing instead on the isolation and pressures of court life. Key details like Marie’s children and relationships—and her possible affair with Count Fersen—are only briefly touched upon. However, the infamous quote, “Let them eat cake,” is rightly debunked in the film, as Marie never said it. 

Despite these inaccuracies, Marie Antoinette succeeds in evoking the queen’s loneliness and opulence, and the eventual tragedy of her world through a stylised lens that blends past with present.

3. The Patriot (2000)

Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson as Benjamin Martin, delivers Revolutionary War heroics with plenty of spectacle—yet history is often left in the dust. But a film called The Patriot was never going to deliver a balanced view of the two sides.

Gibson’s Martin is loosely inspired by several figures, including Francis Marion and Daniel Morgan, but is fictionalised as a flawless family man who single-handedly defeats legions of British redcoats. Every British soldier in The Patriot is depicted as a sadistic, almost cartoonish war criminal; and while the film’s villain, Colonel Tavington, channels the real-life Banastre Tarleton, it greatly exaggerates his cruelty, depicting him committing atrocities like burning civilians alive in a church—events that never happened in the American Revolution, and actually more closely mirror Nazi crimes during World War II. Also controversial is the depiction of freed slaves working contentedly for Martin, glossing over Marion’s own troubling legacy with slavery and violence against Native Americans. 

However, it must be noted that The Patriot’s battle sequences—especially Cowpens and Camden—reflect authentic military tactics, and the Emmerich and the film’s costume department even consulted with the Smithsonian to create historically accurate sets and costumes for the film. Despite The Patriot's clear agenda and bending of Revolutionary War history to support that, its stirring moments of courage and sacrifice strike a deeply early 2000s-style emotional chord.

4. Alexander (2004)

Oliver Stone’s Alexander is a sweeping epic that covers the conquest of half the known ancient world in under four hours, which means timelines get squished tighter than a Greek phalanx. The notoriously un-Macedonian-looking Colin Farrell plays the legendary Alexander the Great with brooding intensity, but the film takes a few detours from reality: Royal family drama gets turned up to soap opera levels, and some key battles are either carelessly rearranged or oversimplified.

As for politics? They’re more melodramatic than Machiavellian, and let’s just say the film’s exploration of Alexander’s personal relationships is a bit more cinematic fantasy than textbook history. Despite all this, Alexander manages to channel the sheer epic ambition of its hero, with grand visuals and intense battles that make it impossible to look away. 

5. Anastasia (1997)

The beloved animated film Anastasia weaves a charming fairytale from one of history’s darkest mysteries—but it’s unfortunately as far from the truth as one can get. In 2007, DNA evidence confirmed that the real Grand Duchess Anastasia was indeed executed alongside her family during the Russian Revolution in 1918, crushing the film’s hopeful yarn of amnesia and escape. 

Despite the tragic reality behind the story, the film remains one of my childhood favourites. From Meg Ryan, John Cusack, and Christopher Lloyd’s stellar voice acting as Anya, Dmitri, and Rasputin, to the beautiful musical numbers, Hank Azaria’s talking bat Bartok, and the fairytale ending, it turns a tragic chapter of Russian history into a magical adventure. It may rewrite history, but it captures the longing for family, identity, and hope with undeniable charm.

6. Kingdom Of Heaven (2005)

Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven offers a sweeping, visually stunning glimpse into the Crusades—but don’t expect a history lesson without a few artistic liberties. The film centres on Balian of Ibelin, played by Orlando Bloom, a character inspired by a real noble defender of Jerusalem—though the film invents much of his backstory, including his French origins and tragic personal journey.

While King Baldwin IV’s leprosy and his efforts to keep peace are portrayed with some accuracy, much of the politics in the film is oversimplified or fictionalised. Likewise, relationships like the one between Balian and Sibylla are there for pure drama and to add personal stakes. The portrayal of Saldin is generally respectful and avoids the typical villain tropes seen in Crusades films, though his tolerance and chivalry are somewhat romanticised. 

The film also compresses timelines and events for pacing, and the complex role of the Templars and Hospitallers is flattened for easier storytelling. But despite the bending of the facts, Kingdom of Heaven succeeds in blending history with 21st century perspectives on tolerance and conflict, creating an epic that’s as much a modern allegory as a medieval drama.

7. The Last Samurai (2003)

Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai offers a sweeping, sword-swinging spectacle that’s equal parts history lesson and Hollywood fantasy. Inspired loosely by real French soldier Jules Brunet, Tom Cruise’s character Nathan Algren is an American thrown into Japan’s Meiji Restoration drama—a time when samurai swords clashed with modern rifles and traditional values faced off against rapid Westernisation. If you’ve seen the series Shogun, you can put it into the timeline some 200 years after, when Japan finally fully opened to Western trade.

While The Last Samurai captures the spirit of the samurai’s right to preserve their culture, the film simplifies the complex political realities of the time into a classic “tradition vs progress” showdown. The samurai didn’t all live in mountain hideouts, and many had already accepted change long before the 1877 rebellion that the film dramatises. In addition, the ‘white saviour’ mastering samurai ways is pure Hollywood fiction.

Still, there’s no denying that The Last Samurai is a great film. From its lush costumes, intense battles, and the rare view it provides of samurai culture, it’s a thrilling if not perfectly accurate ride through a fascinating time in Japanese history.

8. Amadeus (1984)

Miloš Forman’s Amadeus is a dazzling, larger-than-life portrait of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his supposed bitter rivalry with Antonio Salieri—but don’t let the drama fool you. The film is less a faithful dramatisation and more a theatrical fantasy inspired by Alexander Pushkin's 1830 play Mozart and Salieri, rather than strict history. 

Historically, there’s little evidence of the venomous feud portrayed; Mozart and Salieri had a cordial, if competitive, relationship. The film captures Mozart’s mischievous, sometimes childish personality accurately, which comes from his real letters filled with humour and scandalous jokes. However, the idea that Salieri schemed to murder Mozart is pure dramatic invention, and scenes like Mozart dictating the Requiem to Salieri never happened—Mozart’s student actually completed it.

Despite the historical liberties, Amadeus brilliantly brings Mozart’s genius and 18th-century Vienna to life with lush sets, sensational music, and that unforgettable laugh. 

9. Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (1991)

Kevin Reynolds’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves takes the classic outlaw tale and cranks up the drama—but unfortunately, its historical accuracy is as bad as Kevin Costner’s British accent. Set (loosely) around 1194 during King Richard’s absence on the Crusades, the film blends medieval clichés with modern sensibilities. Kitchy mullets, grimy battlefields, and a ruthless Sheriff of Nottingham (cue Alan Rickman at his iconic villain best) define its gritty vibe—but nixes any expectation of period precision.

The film invents or reshapes much of the story: Robin’s noble origins clash with early ballads in which he’s a commoner; Maid Marian’s name actually appears centuries after the real Robin’s time; and somehow, Morgan Freeman’s Azeem managed to invent the telescope centuries too early. But despite all the historical liberties and style choices, the film nails the thrill of rebellion— not to mention the memorable “Call off Christmas!” scene—that still makes it an entertaining classic.

10. JFK (1991)

Oliver Stone’s JFK is a thrilling, conspiracy-packed dive into one of America’s most enduring mysteries: the assassination of President John F Kennedy. But if you’re expecting a straightforward history lesson, you might be disappointed. The film artfully blends fact, speculation, and outright invention. Stone adopts Jim Garrison’s controversial investigation as a launching pad, spinning a tangled web of government coverups, shadowy intelligence agencies, and “Deep State” conspiracies.

While JFK masterfully captures the era’s paranoia and the public’s distrust of official narratives, many historians have critiqued its factual accuracy and selective storytelling. Important details are dramatised or omitted to fuel the counter-narrative and ramp up the suspense. Despite its flaws, JFK remains a compelling exploration of trauma, truth, and suspicion that creates a hypnotic tale that invites us to speculate even further on what really happened.

With Wake up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery now on Netflix—just in time to give us the perfect movie to stick on when we’re sick of talking to our relatives—the time-honoured ‘Whodunit’ is once again cinema’s most talked about genre. 

This is the third instalment in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out universe, a franchise that has singlehandedly brought the daytime-TV-coded crime staple hurtling back into fashion, one piece of perfectly calibrated knitwear at a time. All of which begs the question: Once the crimes of Dead Man are solved, which gruesome case files should you be opening next?

Before we get started on our list of the 10 Best ‘Whodunits’, it’s important to set some boundaries. First of all, this is not a catch-all ‘murder mystery’ list, so don’t expect to see classics like Zodiac or Memories of Murder. As perfect as those movies are, we are sticking to the format here—meaning a group of distinct and eccentric characters, rounded up in a single location with a crime to solve and plenty of twists and turns along the way. 

Secondly, the same goes for those Raymond Chandler-inspired movies like Johnson’s earlier film Brick or Who Framed Roger Rabbit—I mean, sure, they make us wonder “who” has done “it”, but they’re just not the same. In any case, read on to discover more and use the guide below to find out where to stream them.

1. Knives Out (2019)

Let’s start with the high watermark of the current revival. Upon release in 2019, Johnson’s Knives Out was immediately heralded as a gripping and hilarious banger—certainly enough that Netflix felt compelled to fork out almost half a billion USD for the pleasure of the next two sequels. This deal has now given us both Glass Onion (just okay?) and Wake Up Dead Man (a clear return to form).

The first Knives Out, however, remains the gold standard—a wonderfully knotty mystery that keeps you guessing till the very end. And like any great ‘Whodunit’, it boasts a cast that will keep you glued to the screen—including Ana de Armas (No Time to Die), Chris Evans (Captain America: Civil War) and even the late, great Cristopher Plummer (The Sound of Music).

2. A Haunting in Venice (2023)

Given Johnson’s success with Knives Out, you’d think that the new wave of ‘Whodunits’ all came after it—but to give it its due, Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express (released in 2017) kind of got there first. That movie was nothing special, to be honest, nor was the Gal Gadot-starring sequel, Death of the Nile, but with the trilogy-making A Haunting in Venice, Branagh finally found the right mixture of intrigue and camp.

This is the one where Branagh’s Poirot is pulled out of retirement for one last job, and Michelle Yeoh plays a psychic medium—so if you like seeing Yeoh doing weird stuff like this, you’re probably gonna like it. 

3. Rear Window (1954)

A quick glance at Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window—a movie about an injured writer who starts to believe he’s seen a terrible crime through one of his neighbour’s windows—might not suggest a straight up ‘Whodunit’, but just look at how Hitch sets it up: the crime is elusive, the suspects are each a specific ‘type’, and the surroundings—that incredible set in particular—give the movie the typical ‘Whodunit’ feel of a tabletop board game.

This is one to check out if you’re a fan of Hitchcock’s movies from that period, especially Vertigo and North by Northwest.

4. Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Naturally, Agatha Christie—the patron saint of the genre—is very well represented on this list, and if you’re a fan of what Branagh has been up to with the author’s work, I’d highly recommend going back to check out this classic from 1974.

The production could hardly be glitzier—directed by Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men), this incarnation of Murder on the Orient Express stars Albert Finney (Erin Brockovich) as Poirot in a cast that features Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave and Ingrid Bergman, who won her third Oscar for the role. 

5. Gosford Park (2001)

After directing Nashville and The Player, Robert Altman had basically become synonymous with a new kind of ensemble drama. With that in mind, his decision to write and direct Gosford Park—a classic ‘Whodunit’ If ever there was one—makes all kinds of sense. 

Like a good game of Cluedo, all the pieces are very much in place here: the cavernous mansion, the outsider detective, and a classic roster of suspects—everyone from the ruthless matriarch to the ruthless social climber is present and accounted for. If you’re looking for a classy comp to Knives Out—i.e. a murder mystery that leans into all the genre’s most delicious tropes—look no further. 

6. Clue (1985)

While we’re on the topic of Cluedo, this movie literally took its name from the board game—at least the one it’s known by in North America. For comparison, if Gosford Park is Knives Out’s classier cousin, Jonathan Lynn’s riotously self-aware movie Clue leans more into the genre’s potential for comedy.

Based directly on the board game, this one stars wonderful character actors like Cristopher Lloyd and Eileen Brennan alongside the great Tim Curry—so if you’re a fan of him in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, you will want to see it. 

7. The Hateful Eight (2015)

With its mood, setting and score, The Hateful Eight is naturally best known as Tarantino’s Western—but it’s also the director’s ‘Whodunit’. We get the lone night, the single location, the eccentric character types, the gradually unravelling mystery and the twists and turns—all well-worn staples of the genre.

This is naturally one to check out if you like Tarantino’s style, but also if you’re fond of snowy Westerns like McCabe and Mrs Miller.

8. Witness for the Prosecution (1958)

One of the less well-known Christie adaptations on our list comes courtesy of the legendary director Billy Wilder, who, along with making legendary comedies like The Apartment and Some Like It Hot, also helped establish film noir with classics like Double Indemnity.

We might be testing the limits of the ‘Whodunit’ definition with this story of a man accused of murdering a wealthy widow, but Witness for the Prosecution, a film that won Best Picture in 1958, is well worth checking out. If you like the classics and appreciate courtroom dramas like 12 Angry Men, be sure to do just that

9. Death on the Nile (1978)

Branagh might not have nailed this Christie classic in 2022, but John Guillermin’s 1978 version of Death on the Nile is well worth seeking out. Filmed on location in Egypt, the Towering Inferno director managed to round up a cast featuring Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Jane Birkin, Mia Farrow, David Niven and Maggie Smith, with Peter Ustinov in the Poirot role.

This is definitely one for the Murder, She Wrote fans out there, or for anyone who appreciates Bette Davis (All About Eve) at her sardonic. I mean, just check out this poster.

10. The Last of Sheila (1973)

We’ll end our list, perhaps fittingly, with The Last of Sheila —a movie that was written by the unlikely duo of Anthony Perkins (Psycho) and Stephen Sondheim (West Side Story). This 1973 ‘Whodunit’ takes place on a luxury yacht, where a movie producer attempts to work out who amongst his fellow passengers is responsible for the death of his wife.

This might not be the best known of the movies on our list, but the casting—it features Raquel Welch (One Million Years B.C.) and James Coburn (The Magnificent Seven) alongside a young Ian McShane (John Wick)—is just as tasty.

There are still a few days to go in the calendar year, but barring a surge from Avatar: Fire and Ash (which is more than possible, though I sense this one might not conquer the world quite like its predecessors), the highest-grossing movies of 2025 look more or less set in place. So, with Zootopia 2 still in theatres, let’s take a minute to sift through the tea leaves and see what clicked with audiences this year.

Even a cursory glance at the top ten is enough to reveal some shifts in viewing habits. For one, not counting the Covid summer of 2020, this is the first time in 14 years that no Marvel movie has broken into the top ten — with Fantastic Four: First Steps (11th), Brave New World (14th) and Thunderbolts (15th) all underperforming. In their place, and building on the recent success of movies like Super Mario Bros. (second in 2023) and Inside Out 2 (first in 2024), we’re seeing a clear domination of animated and family movies, with a couple even coming from non-English-language territories.

Indeed, the top film of 2025 made more money than any movie in the Harry Potter, Jurassic Park or Star Wars franchises, but made 99% of its money in mainland China. Read on to learn more and use the guide below to find out where to watch them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

10. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning ($0.6 billion)

Tom Cruise might have been hoping that Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, the final sprint of his three-decade run as Ethan Hunt, would have placed a little higher on the year-end list, but the last couple of M: I movies just haven’t drawn quite the same crowds as earlier installments—certainly nowhere close to the heady days of Rogue Nation and Fallout. 

Whatever the case, I still highly recommend seeing this one—especially if you’re a fan of how director Cristopher McQuarrie, over four M: I movies now, has mixed no-nonsense plotting with some of the most elaborate stunts ever caught on camera.   

9. Superman ($0.61 billion)

Marvel might have struggled a little in 2025, but there was at least one superhero movie on the top-ten highest grossers this year: James Gunn’s Superman. This is the movie that launched Gunn’s DCU, so if you’re a fan of the director’s sense of humour (think Guardians of the Galaxy, Peacemaker) and appreciate all things Man of Steel, you’ll surely want to give it a watch over the festive season.

As Kal El, David Corenswet leads a deep bench of charismatic actors—including Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luther) and Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen).

8. F1: The Movie ($0.63 billion)

Hollywood might have stopped making movie stars, but there are still some around who know how to open a movie. Case in point, this year was Joseph Kominski’s F1, in which Brad Pitt played a retired racecar driver who gets lured back onto the world’s circuits for one last season.

This was Kominski’s follow-up to the awesome Top Gun: Maverick, and it basically does for Formula 1 what that film did for military jets—in other words, using the most technically advanced equipment available to give you the feeling of what it might actually be like to drive one of these things.

7. How to Train Your Dragon ($0.63 billion)

The second live action remake—and another story, like Lilo & Stitch, about the bond between a human and a fantastical creature—to make the list of the year’s most successful movies was How to Train Your Dragon, a faithful and gorgeous adaptation of the 2010 computer-animated feature about a young Viking who makes friends with a dragon named Hiccup.

Both were written and directed by Dean DeBlois, a filmmaker and animator who started working at Disney in 1994, contributing to the story for Mulan before directing his debut feature, which was, to go full circle, the original Lilo & Stitch.

6. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle ($0.66 billion)

Given the success of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot more anime movies released theatrically in the coming years. The second movie in director Haruo Sotozaki’s Demon Slayer franchise was an obvious sensation, a movie that not only became the highest-grossing anime of all time, but it blew the previous record holders (Spirited Away, Your Name., Demon Slayer: Mugen Train) out of the water.

If you’re unversed in the series’ narrative, it’s probably best to go back and watch at least the previous movie, if not the animated TV show, too. But if you’re a fan of shows like My Hero Academia and Attack on Titan, you’ll definitely vibe with it.  

5. Jurassic World: Rebirth ($0.86 billion)

Now here’s a franchise that just keeps rolling, at least when it comes to getting cinemagoers in seats. After the not very loved Chris Pratt years, the seventh movie in the series, Jurassic World: Rebirth, managed to bring things back to relative basics and ended up, at least in my opinion, delivering the best Jurassic Park movie not directed by Steven Spielberg.

It managed to do this by bringing original screenwriter David Koepp on board to rekindle some of that Spielberg wonder while hiring Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Rogue One), a master of visual scale, to direct. Added to that, we got Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey, as well as Mahershala Ali playing a character called Duncan Kinkaid, who wore a beret—what’s not to like?

4. A Minecraft Movie ($0.95 billion)

Whatever you do, don’t say “chicken jockey.” Outside the world of Chinese animation, the biggest multiplex story of the year was the mania that surrounded A Minecraft Movie’s release—especially the videos that started to do the rounds of the chaotic scenes whenever Jack Black’s character said that phrase.

If that all sounds like gibberish to you, it’s because it kind of is. Like Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, A Minecraft Movie (which was directed by Napoleon Dynamite’s Jared Hess) wasn’t an attempt to make a story set in the world of the game as much as a movie about all the little idiosyncrasies that make people love the game to begin with. Whatever the case, it worked!

3. Lilo & Stitch ($1 billion)

The first of two live-action remakes on this year’s Box Office top-ten is an adaptation of a modern Disney classic: Lilo & Stitch. Starring Maia Kealoha as the titular Hawaiian girl who adopts a wild but adorable alien, named Stitch, this reimagining of the beloved 2002 Disney animation cruised to a cool $1 billion after hitting cinemas in May to become the most successful summer movie of the year. 

If you’re nostalgic for the original, you’ll naturally want to check it out. The same goes for fans of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, a delightful A24 animation that was director Dean Fleischer Camp’s breakout hit. 

2. Zootopia 2 ($1.1 billion)

The most recent juggernaut on this list is Disney animation’s Zootopia 2, the long-awaited sequel to the excellent 2016 original, in which a detective bunny and a con artist fox have to work together to crack a case a working metropolis inhabited by animals—imagine if Chinatown was animated like Ratatouille and had the humour of Puss in Boots and you’ll have some idea of what to expect. 

Like the first installment, Zootopia 2 explores important themes like greed and prejudice while offering viewers an action packed adventure with some truly heartfelt moments—not to mention a wonderful voice cast. I can’t recommend it enough.

1. Ne Zha 2 ($2.2 billion)

It’s hard to know where to begin with Ne Zha 2, a movie that broke record after record this year without anyone you know having heard of it. This movie is now the highest-grossing animated movie, non-English language movie and non-Hollywood movie of all time. It also reached that mark with only $20 million of its ticket sales coming from outside China.

The all-conquering sequel, in which the eponymous young god forms an uneasy alliance with a former enemy to fight against the evil Shen Gongbao, combines elements of Chinese mythology with a modern animation style—so if you enjoy the world of Kung Fu Panda and the action of movies like How to Train Your Dragon, you might be interested in checking it out. 

From a former British Navy Intelligence officer’s power fantasy scribblings in a Caribbean shack in the early 1950s, one of cinema’s longest-running series was born. Ian Fleming’s James Bond, codename 007, is one of those rare icons whose fame extends far beyond the page and screen – the suave British spy is a cultural landmark whose identifiers and tropes are instantly recognisable and mimicable.

Despite being a film franchise glutton, Bond has been a blind spot for me for years. So, I gave myself a mission: watch and judge them all, based on stunts, theme, set and costume design, Bond girls, villain(s), theme song, gadgets, and, of course, the actor in the tux. Here’s my ranking of every James Bond film, from least to most favourite, as a first-time watcher. 

26. For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Roger Moore fans, be warned: you’ll be seeing a lot of him down here. So far, no Bond actor has been bad in the role, but despite his charms, Moore’s definitely the most de-fanged version of the rogueish agent. For Your Eyes Only is similarly not a bad film, but coming after the bombastic high of Moonraker, it falls very short.

If For Your Eyes Only was a bad film, in fact, it might be more memorable. As it stands, the Greek-set story of revenge and missile misuse is extremely thin on action, depth, or spark from Moore, who feels like he’s going through the motions after nearly a decade in the role at this point. The one saving grace? Margaret Thatcher talking to a parrot. 

25. The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)

The presence of Hammer Horror icon – and future Lord Of The Rings and Star Wars alum — Christopher Lee as the titular villain is this film’s sole boon, and potentially my excitement about him led to this one feeling like such a letdown. The most disappointing part is the wasted potential of The Man With The Golden Gun, which draws an ideological line between Moore’s 007 and Lee’s Francisco Scaramanga: Bond kills for Queen and country; Scaramanga for the highest bidder. 

The island hideout is one of the most inventive in the series, with Bond trapped in a fun fair-style maze, hunted by Scaramanga and his signature weapon, and an assassin small enough to hide in a box. If the movie leaned harder into their dynamic, it would’ve been much meatier; instead, it’s mostly flab.  

24. Live And Let Die (1973)

The best thing about Live And Let Die is a killer theme song, courtesy of Paul McCartney’s Wings (though I prefer the Guns ‘N’ Roses cover featured in Grosse Point Blank). This is Moore’s first outing as James Bond, taking over from Sean Connery, and he has a tough time living up to the man who originated the part on the big screen.

With Harlem gangsters, voodoo, and street-level crime, the film is very of its time in terms of African American on-screen representation. Putting that aside, it struggles to match the panache of how previous supervillains have been portrayed (this one is unimaginatively named Mr Big) or the stakes they set: Bond literally walks all over a crocodile trap. Got to say, though, death by inflation will stay with me for a while…

23. A View To A Kill (1985)

Christopher Walken and Grace Jones match each other’s freak in A View To A Kill, and for that reason alone, I wish I could put it higher on this list. Unfortunately, there are just too many weird, disconnected ideas in this one: something is going on with ex-Nazis drugging race horses, a woman ‘performs’ with live butterflies in an Eiffel Tower restaurant, and a detective called Achille Aubergine is nearly too French to function.

There’s an opening skiing scene (Bond loves to ski) with a Beach Boys needle drop that’s random and clunkily executed, which sort of sums the entire film up. Walken’s Silicon Valley autocrat villain feels horribly prescient; otherwise, this one’s a hot mess. Should you still watch it, though? Absolutely. That Duran Duran song is straight fire, too.

22. Octopussy (1983)

A movie title that is still wild to see written down, or say out loud to anyone asking what you’re planning to watch tonight. Octopussy is one of the late Cold War releases in which you can see the franchise struggle between a nuanced and black-and-white depiction of the Soviet Union, which Western forces were by this point much friendlier with.

Suitably, the main villain is a Soviet general gone rogue, funnelling stolen jewellery into a bid to disarm Kremlin enemies. In trying to have its Cold War cake and eat it, Octopussy feels hollow and the series bereft of new or interesting ideas. Neither bad nor good, but Moore seems to enjoy himself, er, more.

21. You Only Live Twice (1967)

The first appearance of Sean Connery on this list, and while I have a lot of affection for it, You Only Live Twice is another film that’s all over the place. In a feat of peak Bond absurdism, the opening kills off the character… Only to explain exactly what the nonsensical title means. Then we’re off to Japan, and if you don’t have much tolerance for racial insensitivity, you may want to skip suffering through Connery’s ‘Japanese disguise’ altogether.

Generally, this is the series at its lowest for cultural stereotyping and female objectification, especially of Asian women, but some pluses include the first face reveal of Bond’s most persistent adversary, Ernest Blofeld, and his incredible volcano spacecraft launchpad. The surprise piranha bridge dunk (which should be a cocktail name) never gets old, and I think the theme song is really underrated, too.      

20. Thunderball (1965)

Perhaps best known for putting Connery in a jet pack, and worst known (by me) for its extensive underwater fight scenes. In Thunderball, Blofeld’s elusive organisation SPECTRE steal nuclear bombs from NATO and demands £100 million of diamonds in exchange for not using them. If you know your Austin Powers, this is the movie from which a lot of Mike Myers’ gags come, including an eyepatched ‘Number Two’ to Blofeld.

What bogs the film down are the aforementioned underwater scenes, which are technically impressive but incredibly bloated and dull to sit through: the water slows the fighting down, and it’s hard to make out who’s doing what through all the oxygen masks and flippers. 

19. Never Say Never Again (1983)

This is the only technically ‘unofficial’ Bond film on the list, which are all Eon productions – a company formed specifically in 1961 to produce James Bond films. However, as it features Connery’s return to the role after leaving it in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, it feels worthy of inclusion, especially as it nearly gave the ‘real deal,’ Octopussy, a run for its money.

Never Say Never Again is a remake of the Fleming story that Thunderball was based on, with an added layer of meta-commentary on Connery’s age (meaning Bond’s age, too) and ability to still perform. He puts such aspersions to rest by being really good at video games and pleasing women (take that, haters), like the gloriously unhinged Fatima Blush. A mixed bag, overall, with more value as a franchise curiosity than a really solid entry.

18. The Living Daylights (1987)

The first Timothy Dalton-led Bond, both in film chronology and on this list. Only starring in two 007 movies, the swarthy Welshman gets lost in the shuffle, being neither an infamous one-trick pony like George Lazenby (up next on the list), nor long-serving, like the rest. But post-Daniel Craig, Dalton’s brooding take on the character was clearly ahead of its time.

The story is one of the more convoluted in the series, but its focus on characterisation really shines, with Bond’s relationship with the KGB cellist he’s protecting feeling like something based on mutual affection rather than raw sexuality. The climactic desert battle is quintessential ‘80s bombast, but the rest lacks some of the sophisticated style of Connery and Moore’s eras.  

17. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

I mentioned earlier that Bond loves to ski, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the Bond ski movie. So much so, in fact, it apparently inspired fanboy Christopher Nolan’s inclusion of a similar scene in Inception. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has lots of fans among modern directors, and when you watch it, you’ll see why.

Sandwiched between Connery, Moore, and Connery again, the sole Lazenby film is a tonal mishmash of slow and silly flights of fancy – like a harem of brainwashed babes on a snowy mountain – and brilliant high-stakes action. I particularly love Telly Savalas’ quietly confident take on Blofeld, and the jarringly tragic revenge he wreaks on Bond at the end. The repercussions of this ending have a lasting effect on the character far beyond Lazenby’s portrayal.

16. Moonraker (1979)

At a certain point in a franchise’s existence, you have to send your characters to space. It happens to Jason Vorhees, it happens to the Muppets, it happens to the Fast & Furious gang, and in Moonraker, it happens to James Bond. I don’t make the rules; I simply wait for the inevitability of leaving Earth’s atmosphere to unfold on the screen before me.  

And you know what? It’s never not cool. Even though the majority of Bond villains are hellbent on doing awful things to our planet and the people on it, Moonraker’s baddie is the most ethically insidious: space shuttle thief Hugo Drax plans on taking the planet’s best and brightest off-world, and blowing up everyone who’s left behind. He has an iconic henchman in the silver-toothed Jaws, played by the 7’1.5” Richard Kiel, who also has an unexpectedly sweet redemption arc. It’s this attention to detail and the grand scale of this space-race adventure that make Moonraker one of the most memorable Moore films.  

15. The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Pierce Brosnan was my generation’s Bond, so I have to admit nostalgia inevitably seeps into my judgment of his contributions to the franchise. The plot of The World Is Not Enough is convoluted at the best of times – let’s just say it involves the bad guys manipulating the price of petrol via nuclear meltdown, submarines, and kidnapping the daughter of a murdered billionaire.

The film is elevated and hampered by its respective Bond Girls: one, Elektra, is a deliciously duplicitous femme fatale, and the other is Denise Richards playing a nuclear scientist called Dr Christmas Jones, dressed, for some reason, like Laura Dern in Jurassic Park. Critics lambasted her for being miscast, which I don’t disagree with, but I actually find her earnestness a good counterbalance to Sophie Marceau’s bitter treachery. Super, super underrated theme song, too.  

14. Spectre (2015)

We move on now to our first Daniel Craig film, and the worst of the actor’s five movie run, IMO – not helped by having to follow the masterful Skyfall. That isn’t to say that Spectre is a bad watch: Ralph Fiennes steps into Judi Dench’s shoes to play a leaner, meaner M, while Andrew Scott is wonderfully slimy as a government rival looking to prove the redundancy of the 00 programme in a world where wars are waged with keystrokes, not men in tuxedos.

The film’s title announces the return of the evil, shadowy organisation headed up by Blofeld, played by Christoph Waltz, which Eon recovered the rights for after a protracted legal battle with the company behind the offshoot Connery film, Never Say Never Again. Waltz’s introduction is spine-tingling, but this aura doesn’t quite sustain itself, and the complex threads of Spectre’s plot ultimately boil down to a slightly uninspired damsel-in-distress climax. Sam Smith’s theme song is a real stunner, though.  

13. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Diamonds Are Forever is notable for being both Connery’s comeback 007 film following the sudden exit of his successor, George Lazenby. It’s also the original Bond actor’s last ‘official’ outing as the spy. It’s a shame, then, that Connery doesn’t bow out of the Eon series on a note as strong as the ones Shirley Bassey belts out for one of the best theme songs of all time. But as uneven as Diamonds Are Forever is, it’s at least one of the goofiest offerings.

The film boldly starts with Blofeld’s apparent death at Bond’s hands as vengeance for the supervillain murdering his bride in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Then, the agent heads to Vegas to thwart a diamond smuggling operation, which feels beyond his purview until it’s revealed they’re being used to power a giant space laser. (What else would you use diamonds for?) The most delightfully odd part is Wint and Kidd, a pair of eccentric assassins heavily implied to be a gay couple, who try to take Bond out by hiding a bomb in a cake on a cruise liner.     

12. Dr No (1962)

Though there were some aborted TV attempts prior, this is the OG Bond film, and there’s loads to love about it: the lavish mid-century modern aesthetic, Connery’s effortless cool, its aspirational globetrotting, and its introduction of the character himself, which immediately emphasises 007 as being someone to pay attention to.

I also appreciate some of the simple spy tricks Bond does here without the high-tech gadgets he soon becomes synonymous with, as well as the dinner scene with the film’s eponymous supervillain, reminiscent of Count Dracula eyeing up his prey. Dr No is worth watching to see where it all began, even if later instalments blow it somewhat out of the water.

11. From Russia With Love (1963)

This is the second Bond film in the series, and also one of the most highly regarded. It follows on somewhat directly from Dr No, with SPECTRE out for James’ blood after the death of the aforementioned villain, and Bond himself tasked with facilitating a Soviet intelligence officer’s defection in Turkey. Her handler is Colonel Rosa Klebb, a counter-intelligence operative with a sadistic, sapphic edge and a blade hidden in her shoes to prove it.

Compared to the fantastical travelogue that is Dr No, From Russia With Love is a slower affair that leans more into the double-crossing side of espionage, as well as the tangled web of Cold War politics. If you like more grounded, modern spy thrillers like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, this is the vintage 007 adventure that’ll appeal to you the most. My favourite moment is when Bond rumbles an undercover Soviet masquerading as an Englishman through his wine pairing aboard the Orient Express. A red with fish? Her Majesty would never.  

10. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

The Spy Who Loved Me is without a doubt the high point of Moore’s tenure as the MI6 antihero. Coming on the heels of the poor-performing The Man With the Golden Gun, this third entry in the Moore run needed to swim or risk sinking both star and franchise. Just as well Bond has a submarine car, perfect for thwarting a businessman’s plan to create his own underwater Atlantis and destroy everything on the surface.

With the Cold War cooling off, The Spy Who Loved Me has little tethering it to a tangible real-world threat, resulting in ambitious stunts, a wonderfully lavish villain lair and one of the most memorable henchmen, the metal-toothed Jaws. If you only watch one Roger Moore Bond film, make it this one. 

9. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Tomorrow Never Dies is a time capsule of the encroaching new Millennium aesthetic, tone, and theme, the latter being anxieties around increased surveillance and clickbait-driven mass media that have only become more pronounced with time. Perhaps that’s why I’m placing it higher on this list than others might.

Despite being very overblown (a consistent critique of the Brosnan films), the casting makes up for its flaws: as well as Brosnan’s imitable charms, Jonathan Pryce is a scenery-chewing tech mogul with the black heart of Lex Luthor and the black costume of Steve Jobs; Michelle Yeoh gives James the runabout during a wild motorcycle chase in China, and Teri Hatcher is a seductive but tragic love interest. Pure entertainment.

8. GoldenEye (1995)

More than just the source material for that really good N64 game, and named after Fleming’s Jamaican writing retreat, GoldenEye is also the first outing for Pierce Brosnan after a six-year hiatus for Timothy Dalton, and the first Bond film for director Martin Campbell, who went on to helm Casino Royale, and clearly has a knack for soft reboots.

GoldenEye didn’t have the crutches of Fleming’s stories or the Cold War to rely on for inspiration, which it ends up using to its advantage as a sort of meta-commentary on the character’s relevance. Sean Bean is in top form as an embittered MI6 agent-turned-terrorist, a twisted mirror to Brosnan’s effortlessly suave Bond. Their nail-biting fight dangling over a satellite dish still holds up against any modern action blockbuster. 

7. Licence To Kill (1989)

If you’re predominantly familiar with the Daniel Craig films, Licence To Kill, Timothy Dalton’s second and final stint as the iconic spy, really sets the stage for the brooding, loose cannon the character becomes. After an attack on his CIA buddy Felix Leiter, Bond rashly quits MI6 and goes on the warpath. 

Naturally, this grimmer tone is divisive to this day among critics, fans, and even those in the film, but if you’re a fan of the bloody, oily, and sweaty machismo of the era – Predator and Rambo, for instance – you’ll likely enjoy it. Much like Craig, Dalton sharpens the edges and dirties the martini of Fleming’s quintessential antihero in a way I find satisfyingly appropriate for a man who kills with a quip and is trained not to form emotional attachments.

6. Quantum Of Solace (2008)

Quantum of Solace is the most-maligned of the excellent run of Craig films. The title, taken from a short story in a Fleming anthology, sounds like gibberish, and like Licence to Kill, it was deemed at the time of release to be too maudlin and messy compared to the classic caper feel of Casino Royale. While I can definitely see where its detractors are coming from, I’d urge anyone sleeping on Quantum to wake up to it.

Following his doomed romance in Casino Royale, 007 rebounds on another vengeance quest alongside fellow scorned agent, Camille, which, helpfully for the people of Bolivia, dovetails into stopping a plot to control the country’s water supply. As it became clear Craig’s tenure would be the first fully sequential story of the series, Quantum is retrospectively an important bridge from Casino Royale to Skyfall, allowing Bond time to lick his wounds and form an unusually sexless connection to a woman based on mutually beneficial revenge – one of the most dramatic and surprisingly tender conclusions to any of his relationships. It also establishes a closer relationship between him and Judi Dench’s M, which is crucial to the emotional bedrock of Skyfall. 

5. Die Another Day (2002)

I knew when I started putting this list together that Die Another Day would come dangerously close to the top five for some fans’ liking – and here it is, right on the edge. And to those haters, I say: Do you really hate fun that much? Do you not like invisible cars? Halle Berry? Tundra chase scenes? Insane face reveals? Madonna as a dom-mummy fencing instructor? Have you no soul?

If you’re not too precious about a Bond film pushing the upper limits of realism into straight-up fever dream territory, Die Another Day is an absolute blast. The story, which you needn’t pay any attention to, involves 007 sniffing out a traitorous MI6 agent who has both a connection to a famous British industrialist and North Korea. I genuinely didn’t know about its wild plot twist, and it had me hooting and hollering at the TV. It’s a shame Brosnan’s final Bond film was so mercilessly lambasted, but I tip my hat to him for holding together this out-of-control snowmobile.     

4. Casino Royale (2006)

As much as I’ll go to bat for Die Another Day, I have to admit, Casino Royale is a fantastic salve to its early ‘00s silliness. Introducing Daniel Craig and his heinously blonde hair to the franchise, the film is perhaps the biggest cultural reset in Bond history thus far, wiping the slate clean to redraw the character as both more book-accurate and more in-tune with the cynicism and paranoia of a post-9/11 world that Brosnan’s last film ignored.

Making Craig a younger, rougher iteration with less experience and more to prove as he infiltrates a high-stakes poker game was a smart move, as was the casting of Mads Mikkelsen as his inscrutable opponent in a ball-breaking, star-making turn. If previous Bond films have been criticised for either being too fantastical or too grounded, Casino Royale magically hits that sweet spot between the two – an instant modern classic. 

3. No Time To Die (2021)

If Bond has to die, there’s no better way for him to do so than in No Time To Die. Having retired and parted ways with Spectre Bond girl Madelaine Swann, a secret daughter of the terrorist organisation, Bond is pulled back into action to help her escape a revenge plot by Machiavellian biochemist and SPECTRE enemy, Safin, played by a typically cold and calculating Rami Malek. 

You’d expect the spy’s last adventure to be on the slower, sadder side, but No Time To Die delivers some of the best action sequences and set pieces of the entire series, from Blofeld confronting Bond via a bionic eye at a party in Cuba to infiltrating Safin’s brutalist fortress from the air. Ana de Armas and Natasha Lyonne’s supporting spies are worthy of their own spinoff adventures, and as the closer to the Craig run of films, the film ties everything together from the previous 15 years very cathartically.    

2. Goldfinger (1964)

I had to give one of the classics its due this high up the list, and it really couldn’t be anything but Goldfinger. So much of Bond that is etched into the wider cultural zeitgeist either originates or is codified here: a raft of gadgets, incredible set pieces, elaborate kills, and most notably, the titular villain’s famous response to 007’s “Do you expect me to talk?” as a laser inches towards his crotch: “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!”

Goldfinger is so obsessed with the metal in his name, he devises an elaborate plan to rob Fort Knox of the stuff. Weaved into this is the only other censor-bothering name outside of Octopussy, Honour Blackman’s pilot Pussy Galore and her all-female flying troupe, his henchman Oddjob, who eschews a conventional gun for frisbeeing a sharp-edged Bowler hat, and a bucketload of disposable gangsters doing bad Al Capone accents. Greedy, psychotic and supremely confident, the only thing that could have made Goldfinger a more iconic villain would have been if plans to have Orson Welles play him had come to fruition. Connery, meanwhile, is at the peak of his powers as Bond – cool, calm, but with a hint of a knowing wink at the absurdity of it all.  

1. Skyfall (2012)

I know many Bond fans would probably put Goldfinger as their number one, but for me, Skyfall is not only the best Bond film – it’s one of the best action films. Released in time to ring in the film series’ 50th anniversary, it’s a masterful capstone from director Sam Mendes, bringing not only the Craig movies to their zenith, but also incorporating enough nostalgic nods to feel like a fitting tribute to one of cinema’s longest-running franchises.

If we break Bond down into its key filmic elements as I did at the start, there’s no other film on the list that so easily ticks every box – and then some. Javier Bardem plays the ex-MI6 agent turned cyberterrorist, Raoul Silva, who has an axe to grind with Judi Dench’s M. It’s a backstory that’s been employed several times in the series, but never to such a raw, Freudian degree. Silva somehow embodies all the traits you want from a classic Bond villain while still being wildly unpredictable, keeping 007 on the back foot until the very end.

The stunningly realised Macau casino and London Underground chase scenes are wonderfully entertaining, but Skyfall becomes a very different beast when it reaches the shoot-out at Bond’s Scottish estate. Murky from midnight fog and heated by gunfire and burning rafters, Mendes’s finale is as gothic and brooding in aesthetic as it is operatic in tone. Bond has saved the world countless times, but fighting for the life of the closest thing he has to a parent, the stakes have never felt higher, and the myth that is the man becomes more human.   

Real New York streets, stressed-out people, cosmic synth music, handheld cameras… Of all the idiosyncratic American filmmakers to emerge from the 2010s, it’s both pleasing and surprising that Josh and Benny Safdie are the ones to have garnered the strongest name recognition. 

In 2019, they followed the breakout success of Good Time with Uncut Gems, a film that dropped directly to Netflix and immediately positioned them amongst the best talents of their generation. Now, in 2025, working independently of one another, they’ve both taken a big swing at something bigger.

In the last few months, the siblings have released two separate but still unmistakably Safdie sports movies, each starring one of the most famous actors in the world: first Benny’s The Smashing Machine, and now Josh’s Marty Supreme. With both currently in cinemas (just about), what better time to look back over their careers, both their most successful collaborations and their lesser-seen early ones? 

The following list, which I’ve arranged in ascending order, covers every feature film they’ve made together and separately. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

8. Lenny Cooke (2013)

Fans of more recent Safdie movies (or sports docs like the magnificent Hoop Dreams) should consider going back to check out the brothers’ 2013 documentary on Lenny Cooke, a hugely promising college basketball player who, for various reasons, got passed on in the 2002 NBA draft.

The doc, a touching but gritty study of unrealised potential, hits on a lot of the themes the brothers would later explore in movies like The Smashing Machine and Uncut Gems. 

7. The Pleasures of Being Robbed (2008)

Having collaborated on short films together since their late teens, the brothers released their first feature in 2008, when Josh (who wrote and directed) was 23-years old and Benny (who edited) was just 22. Like any good debut, The Pleasures of Being Robbed offers fans a wonderful opportunity to see the raw expression of their talents—Josh’s in particular, who also appears in the film in a supporting role.

The story follows a kleptomaniac (played by Eleonare Hendricks, an actress who went on to appear in other indie gems by Jesse Eisenberg and Chloé Zhao) who attempts to break her cycle of bad behaviour by leaving New York—but naturally, like many a Safdie protagonist after her, it doesn’t quite go according to plan.

6. The Smashing Machine (2025)

Given the bad press around The Smashing Machine’s release, it’s hard to say what the film’s legacy will be at this point. I do, however, think that Benny’s first solo outing as director will eventually find a loyal audience—even if it fails to return a profit. This is a film that goes against the grain of what we expect from an underdog sports movie (imagine The Wrestler as a downbeat synth opera, mostly set in Japan), so it’s probably no surprise that it left most viewers a little cold.

I do, however, still recommend seeing it, especially for the chance to see The Rock giving such a genuinely vulnerable performance. It speaks to the strength of their artistic bond that the director and star have already signed on for another project.

5. Heaven Knows What (2014)

I first discovered Heaven Knows What when I was trying to find some hidden gems for a yearly wrap-up piece in 2014—and of course, it blew my mind. Here were two directors in their late 20s making a film about a recovering addict, written by, based on and starring the woman herself. It was also shot by NY indie godfather Shawn Price Williams and scored by Ariel Pink—meaning it looked and sounded incredible.

If you’ve never seen an early Safdie movie, this is a great place to start—especially if you like the raw, youthful style of films like Kids and The Florida Project. 

4. Daddy Longlegs (2009)

Though both brothers had worked on Pleasures of Being Robbed and Lenny Cooke, Daddy Longlegs is arguably the first true “Safdie Brothers film”, as it was the first time that the brothers both wrote and directed together. The subject matter also makes it their most personal work: the semi-autobiographical story focuses on the relationship between a divorced projectionist and his two sons—imagine a Safdie version of Paper Moon or Kramer vs. Kramer, and you’ll know what kind of vibe to expect.

The casting is typically impressive: Lee Ronaldo of Sonic Youth’s two sons stand in for the directors themselves, while Abel Ferrara, a legendary New York director and the Safdies’ most enduring influence, appears in a small role.

3. Good Time (2017)

For all the brothers’ achievements before Good Time, that film’s ecstatically received premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival felt like a true arrival. This was their first time working with an established star, Robert Pattinson, and their first time collaborating with Oneotrix Point Never, the idiosyncratic analogue synth composer whose sound is now synonymous with the directors’ work—and if you appreciate the electronic scores in movies like Under the Skin and The Social Network, just wait till you get a load of this one.

The story follows two brothers (played by Pattinson and Benny) through a typically manic narrative involving a bank robbery, a bag of cash, and a Sprite bottle filled with liquid LSD. Imagine the energy and colours of Spring Breakers told through the lens of a Michael Mann heist movie, and you’ll have some idea of what you’re in for. 

2. Marty Supreme (2025)

If you’ve been on the World Wide Web, or at least the film-specific corners of it, in the last few weeks, you’ve probably already heard of Marty Supreme. This is Josh’s first solo effort since the brothers parted ways. It’s also currently rolling out one of the best marketing campaigns in recent history, including a bizarre Zoom call meeting, a bright orange blimp, and one of the most sought-after garments of 2025.

Thankfully, the movie itself, which stars Timothee Chalamet as a wannabe professional table tennis player in the 1950s, is an absolute blast—a film that blends the breakneck style of Uncut Gems with the propulsive sports narrative of Guadagnino’s Challengers.

1. Uncut Gems (2019)

If Uncut Gems ends up being the last film that the Safdie brothers ever make together, it will stand as a perfect example of the best parts of their unique talents: Benny’s wonderfully dreamy, occasionally cosmic approach, and Josh’s anxiety-inducing energy and clear talent for stringing an audience along. 

The film stars Adam Sandler as a gambling addict attempting to line up the perfect parlay, but it’s the detail of the character’s world (the story is set in New York’s diamond district) that really makes the film pop. Check it out if you love Sandler (especially his dramatic turns in movies like Punch-Drunk Love) or the movies of Abel Ferrara (especially Bad Lieutenant). And if you haven’t seen either of them, don’t worry, just go watch it!

Ever since humans first began looking up at the stars, we’ve dreamed of being among them. Probably. Maybe. Actually, we were more likely confused by and scared of them for a good few hundred years, but once we got over that, we eventually made it up there. The same is true, it seems, of our film franchises. And some of them did it far faster than the human race.

For certain genres, properties, or characters, ending up on an intergalactic voyage is par for the course. Superheroes aren’t out of place in space, for instance, nor is any franchise that leans reasonably heavily into sci-fi or futuristic technology. But what about vampires, slasher villains, puppets, board game enthusiasts, prehistoric animals, or just a ragtag group of street racers? 

If you’re anything like me, you may be fascinated with the curious, usually ludicrous, trope of a beloved, long-running media series that has no business exiting Earth’s atmosphere saying, ‘Get in loser, we’re going to space!’ and launching itself off for its third, sixth, or ten billionth instalment. Maybe they’ve run out of ground-level stories to tell. Maybe they legitimately think it makes sense. Maybe it’s just fun. Whatever the reason, here are ten such franchises listed below, ranked, in ascending order, by how justifiable they were.      

Honourable Mentions 

Because we apparently do live in the best timeline, actually, there are too many surprisingly space-bound franchises to squeeze into a top ten list, so here are some honourable mentions.

• Godzilla – Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla (1994): Godzilla is famously found deep under the ocean or smashing a path through a densely populated city, but one of the creature's many variants is from space. The animated Netflix film trilogy also featured humanity leaving and returning to Earth due to kaiju destruction. 
• Airplane – Airplane II: The Sequel (1982): Faulty equipment sends a plane careening towards the sun in this parody sequel, with space-affiliated legend William Shatner in tow. 
• Critters – Critters 4 (1992): Considering the titular creatures are aliens, it was only a matter of time before Critters went back home. Here, they also travel to the year 2045 and mimic Alien pretty hard.

10. James Bond – Moonraker (1979)

The reason I’m putting Moonraker at the bottom of the pile here is that while a space station is a considerable detour for the British spy, it’s not too beyond the realm of possibility for such a well-travelled character. At this point in the series, we’d already seen Sean Connery blast off with a jetpack, so Roger Moore in zero gravity was a distant but distinct inevitability.

Designed to cash in on the sudden space opera fervour generated by Star Wars: A New Hope, Moonraker is, however, a prime example of a franchise going to space for no real reason other than… Why not? This is especially true considering Fleming’s original novel is entirely set on Earth. It’s still one of the strongest entries on this list, though – capitalising on the comedic lightness unique to Moore, introducing one of the grandest supervillain HQs, and featuring one of the most memorable henchmen, Jaws. 

Number of movies it took to go to space: 11

9. Jumanji – Zathura (2005)

You may have never heard of or forgotten all about this spiritual sequel to Jumanji. Directed by Jon Favreau and released a decade after the first film, Zathura also has the same literary origin as Jumanji, so author Chris Van Allsburg is as much to blame for the ‘Wait, why are we suddenly in space?’ factor of it all as Sony is. 

The inciting incident is very much the same: two brothers discover a magical board game that sends their entire house, and everyone in it, into outer space. Forced to complete the game to get back home, they encounter scaly aliens, a mysterious astronaut, and some interesting time-bending wrinkles along the way. It’s been pointed out that the Jumanji link does the film a disservice, and I agree – if you forget about the Robin Williams-shaped hole, it’s a great, mid-budget, space adventure for older kids. Josh Hutcherson and Kristen Stewart, pre-Hunger Games and Twilight, respectively, are also among the cast.

Number of movies it took to go to space: Two

8. Dracula – Dracula 3000 (2004)

Being immortal can be pretty boring. Or I assume so, anyway, I haven’t cracked that formula yet. But I assume if you stick around long enough, remaining on Earth must become less and less appealing, as is the idea of doing yet another Dracula movie.

I have a soft spot for anything vampy, even the Gerard Butler-starring Dracula 2000, in which the progenitor of vampires awakens in time for mardi gras in the new millennium. Dracula 3000 has nothing to do with the latter, and it’s probably just as well for everyone involved. Critically reviled, the film takes Stoker’s novel a century into the future aboard a salvage spaceship, which stumbles across an abandoned vessel carrying the body of Count Orlock. It’s the bones of an idea that the likes of Casper Van Diem, Udo Kier, and Coolio (what a cast list…) somehow struggle to find the fun in. Nosferatu 2, anyone?

Number of movies it took to go to space: Between 150-200, depending on your ‘Dracula’ definition…

7. Hellraiser – Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)

The diminishing returns of the Hellraiser series shifted the films – and the last with any involvement from creator Clive Barker – from supernatural horror to science fiction for Bloodline. The fourth film is also the first and last in the timeline, starting 200 years in the past with a French toymaker and then jumping hundreds of years on to his descendant, who has created a space station designed to ensnare and kill the Cenobites once and for all.

Though I’m more forgiving of this film’s ambitions than most, there’s nothing in the three films preceding this one that has even the barest hint of what’s to come. You could argue, however, that the mysterious otherworldliness of Pinhead and his gang lend themselves to any setting. Hellraiser is also such a relentlessly weird franchise that this kind of unpredictability is as baked in as Doug Bradley’s white face paint. 

Number of movies it took to go to space: Four

6. The Muppets – Muppets From Space (1999)

Victorian London, Treasure Island, Manhattan… Is there any place the Muppets can’t go? According to the Henson gang’s sixth feature film, the answer is that nowhere in the cosmos is Muppet-free. “Gonzo's species has always been a mystery,” reads the first two lines of Muppets From Space’s synopsis, “but after having nightmares of being denied entry to Noah's Ark, he begins to realise just how alone he is in the world.” Nightmares, Noah’s Ark…. That’s where we’re starting from.

The search for Gonzo’s cosmic origin is about as far removed from the variety Muppet Show stage as you can get. As a result, a lot of the wit and warmth of the series’ humble felt beginnings are lost in the noise of wacky, sci-fi shenanigans. The original concept involved Kermit being abducted by an alien race, believing him to be their lost ruler. The Gonzo plot, at least, gives Muppets fans some blank-filling lore. 

Number of movies it took to go to space: Six

5. F9 (Fast & Furious)

The thing that makes the Fast & Furious franchise tick isn’t its reliance on vehicles, family, or sipping a cold Corona at a BBQ as the credits roll. It’s the characters taking themselves very seriously, no matter what is happening. That appears to extend to at least one of the series’ core directors, Justin Lin. “Going to space was not something I took for granted, or I was very flippant about,” Lin said of the infamous car-in-space scene in F9, adding that he even consulted NASA to craft “one of the most sound action set pieces in our franchise.”

It’s this commendable commitment to realism and a degree of self-awareness that prevents it from being nearer the top of the list. What began as a joke about how to raise the already sky-high stakes among fans, and later, writers, came to fruition with Roman and Tej freaking out while orbiting Earth in the most suped-up vehicle yet – justified, storywise, by preventing the villain, Cipher’s satellite upload. While fans, and even the head of the studio, have bemoaned it as a ‘jump the shark’ moment, I’m just disappointed they didn’t push it further and race across Mars.    

Number of movies it took to go to space: Nine

4. Leprechaun – Leprechaun 4: Lost In Space (1997)

Leprechauns are famous for being on cereal boxes, hanging out in Alabama on St. Patrick’s Day, and for the long-running horror film series that, in its fourth entry, does the thing we’re talking about. Played by Warwick Davis, the titular malevolent gold-hunter tries to marry an alien princess in the year 2096 to gain control of her planet, only to be thwarted by a bunch of angry marines he previously wronged.

Naturally, or unnaturally, I should say, the unkillable creature escapes death by… spiritual penis transmission. You can’t make this stuff up, and yet, someone did. If you like this sort of shlocky, B-movie slasher fare, it’s a good option for a bad film night with friends. If you’re looking for quality, logic, series continuity, or any kind of justification for a tilt into sci-fi, look elsewhere. The only thing stopping this one from cracking the top three is that the next two films are set in ‘da hood’, which is somehow even stupider. 

Number of movies it took to go to space: Four

3. Air Bud – Space Buddies (2009)

There are 14 Air Bud films, and a reboot on the way, so the statistical likelihood of going to space was ballooning with each passing release – especially when they shifted to straight-to-DVD. Throw in the fact that the series is also predicated on the belief-suspending What If? of a basketball-playing dog, and the seeds for a canine cosmonaut, no matter how deep underground, were sown.

That said, going from the basketball pitch to a space shuttle is still “one giant leap for dogkind”, as per the tagline for Space Buddies. In fairness to the film, the six ‘buddies’ end up in space by accident rather than some contrived animal astronaut programme, but they also go for walkies on the moon and meet a ferret there, voiced by Amy Sedaris, so let’s not award too much credit for logical restraint. 

Number of movies it took to go to space: Nine

2. Ice Age – Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)

Ice Age: a bunch of prehistoric talking animals (one of whom is real-life Muppet voice Ray Romano), smatterings of cavemen, and, you know, the ice age. There’s no reason or means for anyone in these films to think about going to space, let alone actually making it there. 

But what about dinosaurs? There are dinosaurs in Ice Age: Collision Course. And where there are dinosaurs, there are asteroids – the things that famously kill dinosaurs. And where do asteroids come from? See where I’m going with this..?

But asteroids fall from space, they don’t go to it. But it’s fine, because the animals in Collision Course know what electromagnetism is, and they have access to a volcano and some electromagnetic crystals that can relaunch asteroids. This stops one really big asteroid from colliding with Earth, the cause of which is Scrat, the Looney Tunes-inspired squirrel who is perpetually in mortal danger for trying to get a single acorn. And we don’t have time to also get into the ‘Scratazons’ – aka alien squirrels – and Scrat’s battle with a black hole in Collision Course’s two accompanying short films. And wait, how does anyone know what electromagnetism is?! 

You know what, I’m not paid enough to think this hard about Ice Age movies, and we have to move on to the top spot…

Number of movies it took to go to space: Five

1. Friday the 13th – Jason X (2001)

On paper, Jason Vorhees, the silent, hockey-masked serial killer with a supernatural aversion to death, rising 400 years in the future to slay again in space, is utterly preposterous. In practice, it’s also preposterous. But throw your disbelief out of an airlock, and you may agree with me that Jason X is a work of mad genius.

After leaving Camp Crystal Lake for locations as varied as Hell and, uh, Manhattan (not the Muppet one, sadly), writer Todd Farmer pitched the concept to the studio as the only next move for the long-running slasher franchise, arguing that a “fish out of water” environment could reinvigorate the stakes. As well as space, the “hoods” of L.A., Antarctica, and the jungle were also on the docket, but in those exotic locales, we may never have gotten malfunctioning robot nipples, cryogenic head shatterings, VR sleeping bag bashing, so much revealing knitwear, and Jason’s platinum power-up. Friday the 13th has no business being here, but if this is wrong, I don’t want to be right.  

Number of movies it took to go to space: 10

It’s now 30 years since the release of David Fincher’s beautifully bleak thriller movie, Se7en, and it’s safe to say the film has not lost an inch of its appeal over the decades. Even on a rewatch, that brutal twist at the end of the movie still hits like a sledgehammer.

To think that Fincher was only 32 years old when he made the gritty detective movie is unbelievable. Clearly, it was a sign of great things to come, as he’s gone on to become one of the consistent directors of the modern era since.

Fincher is a filmmaker who has truly mastered one of the most difficult yet impressive skills any creative can possess: the art of the movie twist. So much so that in this list of the best thriller movie twists of all time, we’ve had to include two of his twistiest tales, among the work of other greats.

WARNING: There will be discussion around plot twists ahead, but nothing spoiling what those twists are. 

1. Se7en (1995)

Se7en may be celebrating a big birthday this month, but there is nothing joyous about this macabre masterpiece. From the very first minute of the film, we’re met with relentless rain, grimy shadows, and graphic, gory corpses. It’s a story of two mismatched detectives – the young and ambitious Mills (Brad Pitt) and the reluctant, retirement-ready Somerset (Morgan Freeman) – as they hunt a ruthless serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his calling card.

What’s so interesting about the narrative structure of Se7en is that Fincher reveals to us who the serial killer is with two of the deadly sins still to go. That’s because the ultimate twist is still to come, as Mills asks the question he really doesn’t want an answer to: “What’s in the box?”

You can watch Se7en on Netflix right now, and whether you’ve seen it before or not, it’s an absolute must; just maybe not if you’re eating or if you’re particularly averse to blood and guts.

2. Shutter Island (2010)

From ‘What’s in the box?’ to ‘What’s in his head?’, this Martin Scorsese thriller is one of the most wonderfully ambiguous movies of the 21st century. Shutter Island, a Dennis Lehane story that Scorsese adapts almost word for word, centres on the unravelling mind of Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he investigates a missing persons case at an isolated and mysterious mental institute. By the end, we are forced to question whether Daniels is who he thinks he is, or if he is actually the focal point of a radical psychological experiment.

While Scorsese is best known for his mobster movies, I actually think Shutter Island is my favourite work of his. It’s so dark and complex – even a bit scary at times – and has one of the most profound ending lines you’re likely to hear, as Teddy Daniels ponders: “Which would be worse: to live as a monster, or to die as a good man?” Our entire moral compass is put to the test, which is a fascinating position to be in as a viewer. 

My daughter and I saw this at the cinema not so long ago, and she had a very clear answer as to what is really happening in Shutter Island. I would argue it’s not important; it’s the journey to get there and the tantalising doubt that makes this movie so special, much like Inception, in many ways. Watch it on Prime Video and decide for yourself.

3. Oldboy (2003)

I still remember the first (and only) time I watched Oldboy. I grimaced at the torture and mistreatment of Dae-su Oh. I hooted and hollered at the epic action sequences, not least of all that iconic hallway fight. Then, I sat there slack-jawed and stunned to silence as the big reveal hit home – it’s a genuinely sickening, sadistic twist, but it might just be the best one on this list. To this day, it’s still one of the most impactful and oddly gratifying film-viewing experiences of my life. So much so that I’m almost afraid to watch Oldboy again and tarnish that.

I definitely will, though. This Park Chan-wook movie is truly one of the great thrillers of the last 25 years, maybe more. Now, with works like The Handmaiden and Decision to Leave, we know very well that the Korean director is a special talent, but at the time of Oldboy’s release, the world stood up and took notice; that’s for sure. Thankfully, there are so many ways to watch this, be it through BFI Player, Sky, or Shudder; so, there’s really no excuse not to give it a go.

4. Get Out (2017)

Jordan Peele went from being a brilliant comedian to one of the most exciting voices in horror cinema overnight with the release of Get Out. The razor-sharp social commentary piece is delightfully dark and very, very intense, and the way it builds to its enthralling crescendo is intelligent, rich storytelling at its finest. Filled with symbolism and clever clues, Peele’s story is the kind that gets more and more rewarding every time you watch it.

This is a film driven by racial themes, as Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) meets the family of his girlfriend, Rose Armitage (Allison Williams), for the first time and discovers they have some horrible, deep-rooted secrets. Of all the movies on this list, I’d say Get Out is the most universal and accessible. It’s nowhere near as bleak or grisly, and in fact, it’s quite funny at times. If you like movies like Speak No Evil or Knock at the Cabin, you’ll have a good time with Get Out.

5. The Mist (2007)

If you are actively seeking something bleaker than what’s been listed already, you cannot go wrong with The Mist. We know Stephen King loves crafting pitch-black, nightmarish tales that blur the line between horror and thriller, and The Mist is no different; in fact, it might just be the most brutal of them all. While the majority of the film focuses on social unrest and inhumane behaviour amid the supernatural phenomenon of an all-encompassing and dangerous mist, it’s the final moments of this Frank Darabont movie that really hit the hardest.

Like Oldboy, the twist in The Mist is the kind of moment that will leave you absolutely gobsmacked. But while the Park Chan-wook film has a surreal satisfaction to it, The Mist is just straight-up depressing. Don’t let that put you off, though. This movie is absolutely worth watching… You just might never want to watch it ever again once you do. You can find it on Plex for free right now, or rent it for a couple of quid on Apple TV.

6. Prisoners (2013)

Denis Villeneuve may be more interested in grand, sweeping sci-fi stories like Dune and Blade Runner 2049 these days, but when he tackles more grounded, gritty stories like Prisoners (and his other work like Incendies and Polytechnique), he produces something equally special. This winding mystery thriller centres on the kidnapping of two young girls and the lengths one parent (Hugh Jackman) and one detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) will go to solve the case and ensure justice is served.

Prisoners is pretty distressing at times, especially if you’re a parent yourself. But the payoff by the end is fantastic. It’s one of those plot twists that is almost a double bluff, really. I showed my daughter this film recently, and she said the twist was weirdly the thing she suspected the least, and that’s why she half-saw it coming. I think that paradoxical move is exactly what makes Prisoners such a gripping story. If you’ve watched films like Gone Baby Gone or You Were Never Really Here, you’ll have a good idea of the vibe you can expect here.

7. Gone Girl (2014)

We promised you a double dose of David Fincher, and that’s exactly what we’re delivering with this bookender. While we could have picked from a number of his films, like Fight Club or The Game, it’s Gone Girl that gets the nod from me, for the sheer shock factor alone. When this movie came out, I went to see it at the cinema with zero knowledge as to what it was about. I genuinely thought it was going to be some kind of romance story (it kind of is, if you think about it), but it ended up being one of the most surprising, satisfying revenge stories I’ve ever seen.

The narrative flip Fincher makes halfway through Gone Girl, and the extreme places the story goes to towards the end are the kind of brave, bold choices few filmmakers would make. The performance of Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne is one for the ages, too. While Gone Girl is quite long at just under two-and-a-half hours, it’s a blistering watch that I think will appeal to a wide range of audiences. It’s on Disney+, too, just to make it even easier for you to dive into this truly wild ‘love’ story.

The great thing about Christmas is that the whole family gets together under one roof… Until it comes to picking a film that everyone can get on board with.

Obviously, there are a bunch of brilliant Christmas movies to watch this time of year that are usually surefire crowdpleasers. But there’s always someone who’s not feeling the festive cheer. So, what do you do to make sure everyone’s happy on the day?

We know time is tight on Christmas Day, so to save you the hassle of scouring all your various streaming services for the perfect movie, we’ve put together this list of the best of the best on each platform. These cracking family movies are so universally loved that the only thing you’ll have to worry about now is who gets the last mince pie.

1. Chicken Run (2000) - Netflix

Yes, we know Christmas is all about the turkey, but a different kind of poultry could be the ideal accompaniment to your afternoon on the big day. Chicken Run is an absolute classic, whatever the time of year, but there’s something about Aardman Animation that just has those quintessential festive vibes. With a fine blend of humour for kids and grown-ups alike, a clever riff on The Great Escape, and cute claymation visuals, I defy anyone to turn their nose up at Chicken Run.

It’s on Netflix now, which makes it super easy to track down. Plus, it’s only 84 minutes long, so it’s not going to take up too much of your day. If you enjoy any of the Wallace and Gromit movies or flicks like The Wild Robot and Fantastic Mr Fox, you’ll love Chicken Run.

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - Disney+

I watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens every year, but 2025 is a special year as it’s the tenth anniversary of the release of the sequel trilogy opener. I still remember how hyped I was to see this at the time, and it well and truly lived up to expectations, and then some. Now, on the film’s birthday, there’s no better time to visit a galaxy far, far away one more time.

Star Wars movies often release around Christmas anyway, which helps make them a great choice for the festive season. The best thing about The Force Awakens is that it’s so accessible for all audiences. Whether you care about the franchise or not, this reboot is as close to a standalone story as you’re going to get in the Skywalker Saga, so it doesn’t really require in-depth knowledge of what came before it. 

Catch it on Disney+, along with all the other Star Wars films, in case you fancy continuing the adventure.

3. Transformers One (2024) - Paramount Plus

Tap into even more nostalgia with the latest outing from the robots in disguise with Transformers One. This animated hit is guaranteed to bring together multiple generations; whether you enjoyed The Transformers back in the ‘80s or grew up watching Michael Bay’s bombastic movies, you’ll be delighted with this new addition to the series. You may just find that the kids in the house become fans of the franchise, too.

Transformers One is an origin story for Optimus Prime and Megatron, and was one of the most surprising and satisfying little movies of last year. I took my five -year-old son to watch this at the cinema, and he loved it. I can’t wait to watch it again with him this Christmas. 

It’s on Paramount Plus, is only one hour and 44 minutes long, and is a real crowdpleaser, blending cool action and silly humour perfectly.

4. Barbie (2023) - Prime Video

Hopefully, consumerism and materialism don’t dominate your Christmas celebrations too much, because you simply have to save some room for Barbie. She may be the most iconic doll in the world, but thanks to Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, audiences were treated to a fresh angle on the classic toy a few years ago. 

There’s no way a live-action Barbie movie should have worked, but it ended up being one of the best movies of 2023 (Oppenheimer won the battle if you ask me, but it was pretty close). It’s absolutely hilarious, for a start, with a razor-sharp script from Gerwig which combines thought-provoking social commentary with slapstick comedy, largely from Ryan Gosling’s Ken. The poppy visuals and catchy soundtrack will lure in younger viewers, while the fun story at the heart of it all will keep older viewers smiling long into Christmas evening.

You can catch Barbie on Prime Video right now, and you really should.

5. Wolfwalkers (2020) - Apple TV

I will never miss an opportunity to encourage people to watch Wolfwalkers – or any Cartoon Saloon film, for that matter. The animation style alone is enough to dazzle every member of the family and keep everyone mesmerised through its brisk 102-minute runtime, but it’s the narrative at the centre of the movie that’s the true hook. An Irish folk tale with magical creatures and a spirited young girl trying desperately to alter the way of thinking in her village, Wolfwalkers is packed with emotion and awe-inspiring supernatural elements. I’ve watched this with my teenage daughter and with my young son, and they both loved it so much that we’ve rewatched it multiple times. 

Wolfwalkers is one of the best movies on Apple TV, so if you’re already subscribed there, it should be the absolute priority on Christmas Day.

6. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Sky

While everyone has a case of Wicked fever right now, I think it would be rather fitting to go back in time to 1939 and watch where it all started with The Wizard of Oz. Not only will it give younger viewers important context as to where Glinda and Elphaba end up, but it’ll also deliver a stunning wave of nostalgia for older viewers, too.

I totally get why people are so obsessulated with Wicked: For Good and its predecessor, but let’s be honest, they don’t come close to the magic of The Wizard of Oz. To say that the movie is now over 85 years old, it’s absolutely beautiful to look at and features some unbelievable technical elements that make it a truly timeless classic. 

You can watch it on Sky right now, and if your kids are anything like mine, their minds will be blown when Dorothy steps out of that sepia-tone house and into the technicolour dream that is Oz.

7. Paddington (2014) - BBC iPlayer

Do I even need to explain this one to you? We all know Paddington makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy inside, and that’s exactly what we all need on Christmas Day. Whether you stick it on in the morning as presents are being opened, or for that post-meal flop when everyone cosies up on the sofa, Paddington is not going to let you down. It’s impossible for anyone not to love this movie, and while it’s not a Christmas film at all, it unquestionably fits the festive mood due to how sweet it is.

I’ve lost count of how many times my family have watched this – and the equally brilliant Paddington 2 – but with it being on BBC iPlayer at the moment, we will definitely be tucking into some marmalade sandwiches and giving it another rewatch on December 25.

8. James and the Giant Peach (1996) - ITVX

Like the other films on this list, there is nothing specifically Christmassy about James and the Giant Peach, but Roald Dahl stories lend themselves so well to this time of year. They’re charming and quirky and work on so many levels that adults and kids can enjoy them equally. Of all his stories that have been adapted into movies, I feel like James and the Giant Peach goes under the radar a bit, but it’s so wonderfully creative in its visuals (which flow between live-action and stop-motion animation) and surprisingly funny that it deserves a reassessment this winter.

James and the Giant Peach is also so short, at just 79 minutes long, that it is the ideal gap-filler for that time when you’re waiting for Christmas dinner to be ready. If your kids are into films like Kubo and the Two Strings and Where the Wild Things Are, this will be a surefire win. Although word of warning, there are some slightly unsettling scenes at the start that younger viewers might not enjoy – but it’s worth the adventure if they can make it past that point.

It’s on ITVX now, so it couldn't be easier to find.

If you’re not exactly decking the halls with glee this year, you’re not alone. Maybe you can’t handle another sappy Christmas film where the dour protagonist learns the same heartwarming lesson. Maybe you just want something vaguely festive without diving headfirst into tinsel and sentimentality. Either way, you can still soak up that cosy end-of-year vibe—the fairy lights, snow, and quiet moments of reflection—without actually having to sit through a generic Christmas movie. 

These seven films all take place around Christmas, but the holiday itself is more of a backdrop than the main event. You get the twinkling lights, the office holiday parties, the melancholy, and some action-packed chaos, while safely avoiding the usual “Christmas spirit saves the day” trope. So, grab your hot cocoa, dim the lights, and settle in for seven great movies to watch at Christmas that aren’t about Christmas.

1. Die Hard (1988)

The eternal debate over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie will probably rage on forever, but one thing is clear: it is absolutely not about Christmas. Set on Christmas Eve, the film follows NYPD officer John McClane as he heads to his estranged wife Holly’s office holiday party to try and patch things up—only for the building to be taken over by Hans Gruber and his crew of German terrorists, leaving John as the only free agent capable of fighting back.

While Die Hard is first and foremost an action classic, Christmas is woven throughout the film more subtly. Office decor, holiday bangers like Run-D.M.C’s incredible if not dated ‘Christmas in Hollis,’ and even Bruce Willis whistling ‘Jingle Bells’ create a distinctly seasonal backdrop without the film ever turning into a sermon about goodwill. It’s got just enough holiday flavour to get a taste of the holiday spirit without making you feel like you’re drowning in good cheer.  

2. Little Women (2019)

Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women has a few key Christmas moments and themes, but the film’s heart lies elsewhere. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel, Little Women follows the story of the four March sisters—Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth—as they navigate life during and after the American Civil War, balancing creative ambition, economic realities, and complicated forms of love.

Two important Christmases appear in the film, and both highlight the March family’s values without tipping into corny territory. In one early sequence, the sisters give their Christmas breakfast to the impoverished Hummel family, only to come home to a surprise feast arranged by Laurie’s grandfather, which becomes a heartwarming celebration of generosity and community across socio-economic status. Little Women remains a story profoundly about the power of sisterhood, family, creativity, and choosing one’s own life path.

3. In Bruges (2008)

If you’ve had it up to here with holiday cheer, In Bruges is the perfect salve for your oversaturated soul. Darkly funny, violent, and surprisingly moving, the film stars Colin Farrell and Brendon Gleeson as Ray and Ken, two Irish hitmen sent to lie low in the medieval city of Bruges after a job goes horribly wrong, resulting in Ray accidentally killing a child. 

The action unfolds in the run-up to Christmas, with cosy pubs, traditional Christmas markets, and festive lights providing a stark contrast to the characters’ guilt and moral dilemmas. While the timing could easily be swapped for another season, the Christmas setting adds a bittersweet layer of sentimentality that deepens the film’s overarching reflections on friendship, redemption, and the contemplation of whether sins can ever truly be forgiven.

4. Carol (2015)

If you’re in the mood for a beautifully crafted forbidden romance this holiday season, look no further than Carol. Set in 1950s New York during the Christmas period, the film follows aspiring photographer Therese and the glamorous, mysterious Carol as they fall in love while Carol’s divorce and custody battle intensify around her.

Director Todd Haynes uses crowded department stores, the bustle of Christmas shopping, and the softly glowing city streets to create an intimate aesthetic for Carol and Therese’s relationship to unfold within. Here, Christmas feels like a gentle supporting character that is present in the decorations and soundtrack, but mainly there to heighten the sense of longing, possibility, and a quiet holiday magic that will crack your heart open upon every viewing.

5. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

If you’re craving something more subversive with your eggnog, might I suggest Stanley Kubrick's disturbing masterpiece, Eyes Wide Shut? The acclaimed director’s final film follows couple Bill and Alice Hartford—played by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman—after Alice reveals that she once fantasised about cheating on Bill, sending him spiralling over the course of one long, hallucinatory night of sexual jealousy, moral confusion, and even a masked orgy hosted by a sinister secret sect.

Kubrick shifted the setting of Arthur Schnitzler’s original novella from mardi gras to Christmas, surrounding the characters with twinkling lights, office parties, and overly decorated trees. The festive backdrop—all warmth and surface-level joy—clashes magnificently with the film’s darker themes of secrecy, desire, and power, making it one of the most disturbingly off-kilter “holiday” films you could watch.

6. Tangerine (2015)

Tangerine is unconventional in almost every way, which makes it a great pick for a not-quite-so-Christmassy Christmas film. Shot entirely on an iPhone 5s, the film follows trans sex worker Sin-Dee Rella and her friend Alexandra over the course of one wild Christmas Eve in Los Angeles, as Sin-Dee tracks down her boyfriend and the woman he’s been cheating with.

Christmas itself only vaguely registers in the film, with a few mentions of family plans, scattered decorations, and colourful lights along the streets. Instead, the story leans into the friendship between Sin-Dee and Alexandra, and their resilience in the face of economic hardship and bigotry. The holiday timing is mostly used as a contrast between the idealised image of Christmas and the reality of life on the margins.  

7. Steel Magnolias (1989)

Despite being released in 1989, Steel Magnolias remains one of those films that feels emotionally timeless. Set in a small town in Louisiana, it follows a tight-knit group of women—played by Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, and others—as they support each other through weddings, health crises, everyday dramas, and one devastating tragedy.

The story spans several years and marks time through major occasions like weddings, funerals, Easter, and yes, Christmas—including the moment when Shelby tells her mum she’s pregnant. The film was primarily shot in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and it incorporates the town’s real Christmas festival, complete with the elaborate light displays along the riverfront. The result is a film that taps into the themes of friendship, love, and endurance that resonate nicely with Christmasy values while avoiding the sap.

If you know anything about the original Miracle on 34th St., it’s probably that it features an eight-year-old Natalie Wood in a role that basically made her a star. The actress would spend the next decade making roughly three movies a year until earning her first Academy Award nomination for Rebel Without a Cause at 17. She went on to make The Searchers with John Wayne and star in West Side Story, before dying in highly mysterious circumstances at the age of just 43. 

But of course, we’re not here to talk about Natalie Wood—we’re here to talk about Edmund Gwenn, her Miracle co-star and the only actor in history to win an Oscar for playing Santa Claus. 

How Edmund Gwenn Won an Oscar for Miracle on 34th Street

As a fan of the lovely Richard Attenborough/Mara Wilson version from 1994, I never felt a huge urge to watch the original; for whatever reason, it always struck me a bit like A Christmas Story—one of those movies that Americans adore but just never translated overseas. I eventually decided to stick it on a few years back after learning that it won three Oscars, and I’m happy that I did—it’s just as warm and cosy as the ‘90s remake, but with less product placement and more of the great Maureen O’Hara (The Quiet Man). Together with Wood and Gwenn, they’re a pleasure to watch.

At the 1948 ceremony, two of the film’s Oscars went to the screenplay writers, with the third going to Gwenn, making him the first and only person to win an Oscar for playing Kris Kringle—or Santa Claus, if you’re inclined to believe. It’s remarkable as, by that time, Hollywood was starting to move away from post-war sentimentality and into the cold embrace of film noir. The year before, the classic post-war weepy The Best Years of Our Lives won seven Oscars, beating out Hitchcock’s Notorious, David Lean’s Brief Encounter, Robert Siodmak’s The Killers and Franz Kapra’s It’s a Wonderful Life—all stone-cold bangers that explored darker themes the Academy may have been ready for. 

Compare that to the 1948 Best Picture winner, Gentleman’s Agreement, a sturdy drama about antisemitism that ushered in the career of Elia Kazan—a new breed of director whose dedication to realism would basically define Hollywood for the next decade—and you start to see which way the wind was blowing.

Miracle on 34th Street & It’s a Wonderful Life Were Released in the Same Year

Within six months of each other, in fact. Kind of crazy, right? Funnily enough, neither one looked anything like a Christmas classic upon release. Life famously failed to connect with audiences at first and only became a seasonal staple after the studio allowed the copyright to slide in 1974—meaning TV stations could basically play it on repeat, for free; and Miracle was bafflingly released in early June, with a trailer that made absolutely no reference to Santa or the festive season. 

Given all that, it’s probably less surprising that Miracle converted three of its nominations while the more challenging It’s a Wonderful Life—a movie where the bad guy gets away with it and a character played by Jimmy Stewart (an actual combat hero) considers suicide—went home with nothing. Then again, if Miracle won the battle, I think it’s fair to say that Life won the war.

Who Was Edmund Gwenn?

Gwenn was born in Wandsworth in London in 1887—a long way away from New York and the Macy’s Day Parade. As an actor, he started on stage before transitioning to silent films in England, working for celebrated British directors like Carol Reed and Alfred Hitchcock, and later into sound pictures. He would continue to collaborate with Hitchcock after both had made the move to L.A. 

Gwenn got his first Hollywood role playing Katherine Hepburn’s father in Sylvia Sage and would eventually appear in over 80 movies over the course of his career, including Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent and the sci-fi classic Them! His remains now rest in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and you can even find his star on the Walk of Fame, right next to John Gilbert’s—the moustachioed silent-era legend who is said to be the inspiration for both The Artist and Brad Pitt’s character in Babylon. Not bad!

Will Another Santa Ever Win an Oscar Again?

You’d have to say it’s unlikely, but we have had two wins for the Joker in the last 20 years alone—a stat that might baffle Oscar historians 50 years from now—so who knows? 

Come January, it’s possible that the central duo of Wicked, Elphaba and Glinda, will be responsible for a total of four Oscar nominations between them in the space of a year—so, maybe if Stephen Schwartz decides to write a Santa-inspired musical, we might see St. Nick on the stage of the Dolby Theatre again. As Glenn’s Kringle would tell you, “Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.” Here, here. 

Given the amount of Christmas classics on offer these days, it’s easy to forget the thriving scene of seasonal movies that aren’t particularly festive (Gremlins and The Apartment come to mind), not to mention the ones that don’t really take place at Christmastime at all (Carol, Little Women, every Harry Potter). 

Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut has more in common with the former, in that it definitely takes place at Christmastime but doesn’t exactly leave you feeling warm and joyful on the inside. This is a movie that’s been picked apart in online message boards ever since its fateful release in 1999, mere weeks after Kubrick’s death, and that chatter has only increased in recent times.

The topic of most of those discussions usually has more to do with the film’s message and symbolism (it basically suggests that the richest of the rich like to meet up and enjoy bacchanalian sex parties) than whether or not it’s a Christmas movie, but given how it tends to spike on our charts around the festive season, it’s probably something worth looking into—so let’s do that!

What Is Eyes Wide Shut About?

Stanley Kubrick’s final film is basically about a marriage that’s in the early stages of falling apart—starring a famous married couple who were about to do just that. Tom Cruise plays a young but highly sought-after New York City doctor who finds himself at the entryway to the upper echelons of the city’s high society. After attending a Christmas party at one of his clients’ townhouses, during which both he and his wife (played by Nicole Kidman) enjoy some very saucy flirtations (with two models and a wealthy older Russian, respectively), Cruise’s character, Bill, becomes obsessed with the suggestion that a mysterious sex party is about to happen. 

Over the course of the film, he will spend a few lonely, anxious nights trying to track it down while trying to keep his relationship afloat. In short, this is a film about sexual desire during which virtually nobody commits the carnal act.

What Does Eyes Wide Shut Have to Do With Christmas?

The unmistakable Christmas vibes come as a result of the film’s production design, which Kubrick wanted to appear, as much as possible, like a waking dream. To do this, he had the Greenwich Village-set story filmed in London and Bedfordshire, with some street scenes even filmed with rear projection on a studio lot. To accentuate that strangeness, Kubrick also chose to set the film during the festive season, using the familiar warmth and wholesomeness of colourful Christmas lights (which appear in almost every scene) to disorient the viewer and to make the darkness and depravity of what Bill is looking for feel all the more taboo. 

Even casting Kidman and Cruise at the height of their fame, and seven years into their marriage, appears to have been part of Kubrick’s plan: the director is said to have played constant mind games with both of them on set as a way to make the couple feel lost and jealous. Is it any surprise they separated a little over a year after the film’s release? Probably not. 

How Did Such a Transgressive Movie Become a Christmas Favourite?

I think there are two answers to that. 

Firstly, as long as Christmas continues to colonise more and more weeks at the end of the year, the trend of anti-seasonal watching will only grow. We should note that Eyes Wide Shut’s reputation as one of Kubrick’s best has only been solidified in recent years—presumably at least in part because the public is a lot more accepting of the idea that the wealthiest might be getting up to depraved things behind closed doors. Given that connection, it’s hard to think of a less festive message than the one this film offers, meaning it’s the perfect movie to put on for those of us who’ve had enough goopy yuletide sentimentality. 

The other reason, I think, is that it also, perhaps counterintuitively, looks great in a room full of lights, tinsel and baubles. For all its darkness, it’s hard to think of another film that’s captured the warm glow of Christmas quite as beautifully as this one, so even though Kubrick is attempting to weaponise those feelings against us, the film can’t help but evoke them all the same. Is there a more aspirational Christmas image than that of Cruise and Kidman at the peak of their ‘90s beauty, swanning into a decadent New York apartment, him in a tuxedo and her in a sheer-sleeved Galliano dress? Some tricks might have been used to make Cruise look on her level—but hey, nothing wrong with a little movie magic. 

Other 'Christmas' Movies With a Similar Vibe to Eyes Wide Shut

Of course! As I mentioned above, Billy Wilder’s immortal classic The Apartment ticks plenty of similar boxes, as does, in its own way, the actually-quite-dark It’s a Wonderful Life. 

There are plenty of action movies that take place at Christmas (famously Die Hard, but also the Shane Black trilogy of Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3 and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). Gremlins is arguably more of a horror movie than a Christmas movie (to which Terrifier 3 says, “hold my mulled wine”). 

For something closer to the unique yuletide cynicism of Eyes Wide Shut, however, try something like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and American Psycho. Whatever the case, Merry Christmas, I guess!

Whether you’re a true believer or merely a curious cat who loves a conspiracy theory, the age-old question of whether we are alone in the universe is a fascinating one. It’s inarguably the most important question underpinning our very existence, and it’s inspired some of the greatest sci-fi movies and TV shows of the last 100 years, many of which we owe to Steven Spielberg.

If you like to separate fact from fiction, though, you’re more likely to veer towards the documentary section on streaming services like Prime Video and Netflix. While you’re there, you may have spotted an intriguing new release called The Age of Disclosure, and it should absolutely be your next watch.

If you’ve already watched it, you’re one of the many, many viewers who pushed this documentary into record-breaking territory. Here’s what The Age of Disclosure is about, why it’s been so popular, and how it’s intrinsically linked to Spielberg’s new movie.

What is The Age of Disclosure?

Directed by Dan Farah, who was a producer on Spielberg’s Ready Player One, this documentary is only one hour and 49 minutes long, but it packs so much information into that relatively short runtime.

Incredibly, Farah has managed to get 34 government, military, intelligence officials, and ex-employees to speak out on the matter of UFOs and that the US government has long known of the existence of non-human life on Earth. The problem is, no one wants to share that information with the general public.

Luis Elizondo, formerly of the United States Department of Defence, is the key voice in all of this. Elizondo has seen it all and believes it’s time for the world to learn the truth about what the government is hiding. Essentially, he claims to have irrefutable evidence that extraterrestrial life has visited our planet many, many times, even suggesting aliens are here living among us.

According to Elizondo, nations across the globe are attempting to reverse engineer the technology they discover from various crash sites, and the future of the human race is set to drastically change, for better or worse. 

The Age of Disclosure is explicit in its stance on the matter, but that lack of neutrality is quite refreshing and certainly helps to give this documentary a sense of urgency and purpose. If, like me, aliens are a source of great curiosity for you, you’ll find it an absorbing watch.

The Age of Disclosure Nets a Prime Video Record

Clearly, The Age of Disclosure has found an audience on Prime Video, and a big one at that. So much so that it’s been claimed that the streaming service has never had a more successful documentary.

Upon its release earlier this month, The Age of Disclosure became the highest-grossing documentary Prime Video has ever put out, surpassing the Oscar-winning hit Free Solo. That’s impressive enough, but it’s also outdone the likes of Sinners and One Battle After Another – incidentally, my two favourite movies of 2025 – in the rental and purchase charts during its first week of release.

Even now, two weeks out from its debut, The Age of Disclosure is still in the top ten for Prime Video’s new releases chart and is top of the pile for the documentary genre.

You Have to Watch This Doc Before Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day

If all of this wasn’t enough to tempt you into watching The Age of Disclosure, it’s important to know that this documentary is the perfect precursor to Steven Spielberg’s next movie, Disclosure Day.

The first trailer for the director’s new sci-fi thriller dropped recently, and if you haven’t seen Emily Blunt bugging out and talking like an alien in the clip yet, check it out immediately and let the hype levels rise.

It may be fiction, but Disclosure Day looks like it will tackle the very thing Luis Elizondo and Co. are pushing towards: for the world to see that aliens are real and they’re all around us.

This is a welcome return to the topic of alien life for Spielberg, who previously tackled the subject with movies like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He’s a master of his craft, and Disclosure Day already seems like a brilliant blend of sci-fi and horror elements, making it one of our most-anticipated movies of 2026.

In the meantime, watching the record-breaking The Age of Disclosure will get you suitably warmed up for what is sure to be a wild ride. 

Earlier this month, the movie world heard a sharp intake of breath when Netflix announced that terms had been agreed to acquire Warner Bros., one of the oldest and most storied movie studios in Hollywood, for the eye-watering sum of $82 billion USD. Naturally, a deal of this size is going to take time—even if everything goes to plan (and barring another, bigger bid from Skydance), it likely won’t go through until at least the end of next year—but that doesn’t mean we can’t do a little speculating, now does it?

The biggest question marks around the deal so far have been over a) what will happen to theatrical distribution models (let’s all say a prayer for them) and b) what the streaming giant plans to do with WB’s catalogue of pre-existing IP—which, along with the studio’s history, know-how and resources, is surely the key reason why Netflix decided to fork over all that money in the first place. Read on to learn more about what might happen to the 10 biggest Warner Bros. franchises and use the guide below to find out where to stream them (for now) on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. Harry Potter

We’ll start this list with a few long-running franchises that are already in various stages of operation. One of the most interesting to look at is Harry Potter, as HBO is currently deep into production on a new TV adaptation of the timeless children's books. The first season is reportedly being filmed at the moment, with writing on the second already underway. Like the movies, each series is set to play out over a single school year and will be shot consecutively, allowing audiences to see the young actors grow up.

With the planned acquisition possibly going through in late ‘26 or early ‘27, all eyes will be on this first eight-episode season’s release, which is currently scheduled for around that time. Given how much marketing, planning and resources have already gone into it, however, it’s hard to imagine Netflix disrupting it in any way. On the other hand, given that the plan is for a decade's worth of shows, if they’re going to act, they will have to do it early. 

Whatever the case, there’s no reason for them not to explore some spin-offs in the meantime. Who among us wouldn’t want to see a Cheers-style sitcom set in The Three Broomsticks or an Azkaban prison drama? Heck, call it Sirius is the New Black.

2. Matt Reeves’ Batman Universe

Matt Reeves’ Batman Universe has been looking a little fragile ever since James Gunn took the reins at DC, so news of the acquisition probably did little to calm the nerves. The first movie—in which Robert Pattinson starred in a more noir version of Gotham than the Nolan or Snyder movies—overcame a messy, post-pandemic release to become a relative hit at the box office. Since then, the Colin Farrell-led spin-off series, The Penguin, went down a treat with fans and earned an Emmy nomination for Best Limited series alongside various awards for the cast. 

The mood around Reeves’ sequel, until very recently, had been a little less harmonious—with the writer-director continually tinkering with the script until finally completing it this summer. Now, with Scarlett Johansson in talks to appear (she’s rumoured to be playing Harvey Dent’s fiancée, Gilda Gold), the movie is finally set to shoot in early 2026 with a release day pencilled in for summer the following year. 

With that all in place, it’s hard to see anything changing, but if Netflix has to decide between Reeves and James Gunn, you have to feel it might be swayed by the latter’s more colourful approach. 

3. James Gunn’s DCU

And speaking of Gunn, I imagine it’s safe to assume that the head honcho of DC Studios will be allowed to continue to do his thing. Of all the shows on Max, it’s not difficult to see Peacemaker as a Netflix property, and the idea of releasing an expanded universe of pre-established superhero stories is pretty much exactly what the IP-light Netflix wants to gain from this deal.

The question is whether the streaming giant will be happy to let someone else be in full control of their new crown jewel. Next year, both Supergirl and Clayface will be released, as well as the Lanterns TV show, before the sequel to Gunn’s Superman, currently titled Man of Tomorrow, hits cinemas in summer 2027. There are currently 14 (yes, 14) other projects in various stages of pre-production, but Netflix might want to wait and see how things pan out next year before committing to them. 

4. Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is another property that’s already fully in-production on various fronts, so Netflix is unlikely to be changing too much in the short term. 2026 will be the first year in which fans of Westeros will be treated to two new seasons of GoT adjacent shows: the first being A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is set to begin on January 18; the second being the third season of House of the Dragon, which is primed to bring more aerial slaughter and incestuous longing onto our screens in June.

Given the richly detailed history of George R.R. Martin’s books, this is a world that Netflix will likely have its eye on for potential expansion. At the time of writing, I wouldn’t be too concerned for Season 2 of Knight (which is already scheduled for ‘27) or even the planned 2028 release of Dragon Season 4. Whether the showrunners are asked to wrap things up at that point, however, as Netflix focuses its attention elsewhere, will be interesting to see. 

5. The Lord of the Rings

Now here is an interesting one. For obvious reasons, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. have been reluctant to go anywhere near the idea of rebooting the central narrative of The Lord of the Rings. Instead, they’ve offered fans a trilogy of Hobbit movies that, regrettably, few people loved, and an animated movie of The Battle of the Rohirrim, which, regrettably, few people saw. 

In 2017, Amazon bought the TV rights to adapt stories from the “First Age,” meaning that no matter what happens with Netflix, its Rings of Power TV show will not be affected—which probably sounds like bad news to most people reading this who aren’t me. 

So in theory, Netflix will be in a position to reboot Peter Jackson’s original trilogy. Of course, this would be complete sacrilege—but as the Harry Potter series shows, these things happen. 

6. The Matrix

If, when you close your eyes and imagine the Warner Bros. logo, it appears in a swarming sea of emerald green binary code, you’re probably already wondering what the Netflix acquisition might mean for The Matrix.

The original trilogy ended in 2003 (Lana’s weirdly experimental Matrix Resurrections only added an interesting coda to the saga in 2021), so a full reboot (an idea that Warner Bros. has played with over the years) doesn’t seem out of the question. Drew Goddard is said to be in production on a brand new Matrix film, which was announced in 2024, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that put on hold. 

If we’re speculating, there is an enormous amount of potentially untapped stuff here. Just imagine a Black Mirror-style anthology show telling similar stories to what we saw in the Animatrix (Charlie Brooker could even write it) or a feature film covering the rise of the machines.

7. Dune

Netflix might have arrived a little too late for the Dune trilogy (the finale of which will be with us around this time next year), but acquiring the rights to Frank Herbert’s novels opens up plenty of opportunities. 

One potential option would be Prelude to Dune, a trilogy of prequel novels that were written by Herbert’s son to explore the history of the three main houses: Atreides, Harkonnen and Corrino. These stories take place only a generation or so before the first Dune and could provide fans with some House of Dragon-style backstory for these ancient and powerful families. 

8. Mad Max

Though beloved and hugely influential, Mad Max was something of an ‘80s relic until George Miller finally released Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015. Now, even if Miller can’t pull off the upcoming Mad Max: The Wasteland, it’s already one of the most influential action franchises of this century, too. 

Of course, it’s hard to imagine the streaming giant going all in on the Australians’ dedication to stuntwork and practical effects, but like some of the other franchises on this list, and as Miller himself even showed with Furiosa, there are all kinds of new territory to be explored in Max’s world. What about a Taylor Sheridan-scripted family saga set in Gas Town or an American Graffiti-styled War Boy coming-of-age story? The possibilities are kind of endless.

9, 10 & 11. Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Don Draper whiteboard meme: Sure, Freddy vs Jason was a terrible idea, but what about Freddy vs. Jason vs. Leatherface vs. Pennywise? No, I didn’t think so either, but using A24 and Netflix’s Welcome to Derry model to give these slasher icons the miniseries treatment might not be such a bad idea.

Even a full reboot of either one wouldn’t be so crazy—there arguably hasn’t been a good instalment in any of these franchises since Wes Craven’s New Nightmare in 1994, so it’s not like they have a tough act to follow from recent years. 

The Star Wars franchise is a funny old thing. From the glorious highs of the Original Trilogy to the disappointing Skywalker Saga ending in The Rise of Skywalker, and an array of hits and misses on the small screen, it’s been quite the journey for those of us who enjoy a trip to a galaxy far, far away.

Thankfully – and rather surprisingly – Andor is one of the highest highs we’ve experienced; certainly in the Disney era, at least. Who would have thought that a spin-off series starring a character who only featured in one spin-off movie would be the focal point of one of the greatest sci-fi shows of all time? Not me, that’s for sure, but I’m very happy I was wrong about that.

And now, for anyone else who has ever doubted Andor, there is almost unequivocal proof that it’s peak Star Wars.

Diego Luna Makes Star Wars History at the Globes With Andor

Nominations from awards bodies are not always the ideal measure of success or quality. Some of the Best Picture winners at the Oscars are questionable, to say the least.

However, Andor has once again been acknowledged by the Golden Globes this year for its second season. Or, should we say, Diego Luna has. The star of the show and actor behind the titular character, Cassian Andor, has now picked up his second Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance in a Drama Television Series, after first being nominated back in 2023.

Deservedly so, as well. The work Luna does on the show is phenomenal, combining gritty action with raw, powerful emotion as his character evolves from roguish mercenary into an inspiring leader for the Rebellion. There are so many impressive actors in Andor, and so much incredible work behind the camera, too. At the end of the day, though, this show simply would not work if it weren’t for Luna’s top-tier performance.

Before Luna, Alec Guinness Was Star Wars’ Only Acting Nominee

The reason why this is so significant is that, while Star Wars movies have often been in the conversation for the more technical awards, it’s very rare that any Star Wars actors get major award recognition.

In fact, before Diego Luna came along and impressed the Golden Globes committee, Alec Guinness was the only actor ever to be nominated for a role in a Star Wars project. He was given the nod by the Golden Globes in 1977 (and by the Academy in 1978) for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: A New Hope.

He ultimately won neither of those awards. Truth be told, it would have been quite surprising if he had. It’s a good performance, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nothing out of this world – it’s definitely not as impressive as Luna’s turn as Cassian Andor.

Other Star Wars Performances That Deserve Awards

In all that time since, it’s astounding that no one else has been recognised by any of the major awards bodies for their work in the franchise.

If you look at Andor alone, the likes of Stellan Skarsgård, Denise Gough, and Genevieve O’Reilly put in magnificent performances, and, shockingly, none of them have been nominated alongside Luna. Skarsgård should have been acknowledged for his blistering “sunrise I’ll never see” speech alone, frankly.

I would have selected Adam Driver for his work as Kylo Ren, too. He’s great in The Force Awakens, but it’s in The Last Jedi where he truly excels, letting all his anger and passion pour out as his dedication to the Dark Side of the Force is put to the test by Rey. Speaking of which, Daisy Ridley does fine work in that movie, too. She’s the perfect juxtaposition to the intense and formidable Driver, bringing so much warmth and vibrancy to the Light Side.

Perhaps Star Wars is ‘cursed’ when it comes to awards. Or maybe it’s just that those in charge of those kinds of decisions just don’t see the merit in science fiction, just as the Academy seems to be averse to celebrating great horror performances (Toni Collette was robbed, and I’ll never get over it).

Still, hopefully, Luna can take this award home in 2026 and truly become a pioneer for the greatest franchise to ever exist.

When I think of James Cameron, different variations of the man come to mind. There’s the action movie legend who delivered hit after hit in the early ‘90s—some of which were genuine masterpieces; there’s the bullish maestro behind Titanic, holding up his Best Director Oscar and shouting “I’m the king of the world” to a room full of people who, in that moment, might have regretted their vote; and then there’s the late career Cameron, a man who has now dedicated 20 years of his life and career to making a series of movies that everybody sees but few people seem to love. 

Whatever you think of him (I’ll admit, I’m a diehard), there’s no doubting the impact Cameron has had on modern cinema—a filmmaker who’s been on the cutting edge of special effects for decades, at least since the mercury-like T1000 walked out of that burning wreckage in Terminator 2. In truth, that dedication to the craft of movie magic has been the story of his career, even since his earliest days in the industry. With the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, let’s look back over how Cameron got to this point, and how evidence of his past life is hidden in plain sight in Titanic. 

Read on to learn some more and use the guide below to find out where to stream the movies we mention on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

James Cameron’s Journey From Painter to B-Movie Director

Despite all that world-conquering success, Cameron’s entry into the business sounds as scattered as they come. He originally went to Community College to study Physics and English before dropping out, working random jobs, before deciding to become a filmmaker after seeing Star Wars.

Like many of his peers, Cameron cut his teeth at Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, where he landed a job as a model builder and matte painter. As Cameron’s mother was an artist who had encouraged him to paint from a young age, he was able to quickly get a foothold at the studio. Soon enough, he was making posters for movies like Piranha II: The Spawning, meeting his first wife, Gale Ann Hurd (who would also produce The Terminator) and inventing a style he called “tech noir.” 

Working on sci-fi movies with shoestring budgets, he also crucially learned how to get bang for his buck. My favourite Cameron story from that time is from the production of Battle Beyond the Stars, when he famously stayed up all night stapling styrofoam burger boxes and McDonald’s trays to the wall and spraying them with lacquer to make them look like the walls of an alien spaceship. Corman is said to have been so impressed by Cameron’s thrifty ingenuity that he decided to let him direct Piranha II. The rest, as they say, is history. 

How James Cameron Mastered Visual Effects for John Carpenter

Cameron’s most high-profile gig during the New World Pictures years was undoubtedly his long mythologised role as a special effects artist on John Carpenter’s Escape from New York. Using a model of the city’s skyline and some matte painting trickery, Cameron was able to create the incredible glider landing sequence pretty much without the help of digital effects, which were far more expensive than practical work at the time. 

In a 2018 interview, Carpenter said that, even then, Cameron stood out from the pack, referring to him as the “resident genius” on set. It was during that production that Cameron also met Robert Skotak, a special effects artist who went on to collaborate with him on four films, winning Academy Awards along the way for both Aliens and Terminator 2.

James Cameron’s Skills Are Hidden in Plain Sight in Titanic

Three decades into Cameron’s career, I guess it’s fair to say that Titanic looks like his crowning achievement. That was a project he had to fight tooth and nail to get made, but one that went on to become arguably (if you take box office, Oscars, and cultural impact into account) the most successful movie ever made—at the very least since Gone With the Wind. 

The shoot was a famously challenging one, a constant battle to deliver his vision with the studio breathing down his neck, but Cameron, the son of the artist, continued to do what he’d always done—including drawing the picture of Rose that would eventually be used in the movie. He also contributed the sketches we see in Jack’s notebook earlier on and, best of all, the hands we see during the painting scene are actually his—although, as Cameron is left-handed, the shot had to be flipped in the edit.  

The director has yet to appear like this in any of the Avatar movies, but even as the technology gets more and more complex, he continues to be involved in creating the concept art for Pandora. I expect he’ll continue to do so.

Are you ready to feel really old? Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now ten years old. If you still remember the moment you first saw the trailer for the movie (and watched it 1,000 times as I did), then you’ll probably be wondering where that time has gone.

The J.J. Abrams flick resurrected the beloved saga a decade after the release of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. It brought back the iconic trio of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia, while also introducing us to a new era of heroes and villains.

You may have watched The Force Awakens a dozen times since it was first released – maybe more – but even the most ardent Star Wars fan might have missed some of the very clever, fun, and fascinating details we spotted in the movie to mark this significant milestone.

1. FN-2187’s Subtle Connection to Princess Leia

We are really glad Finn became a traitor to the First Order and joined the Resistance. That decision led to us getting a cool new hero to root for, but it’s worth remembering where he came from for a moment. Or at least, what he used to be called. Finn’s Stormtrooper name was FN-2187, a code given to him by the First Order. But it actually has ties to Princess Leia.

You’ll recall that in Star Wars: A New Hope, Leia is kept prisoner on the Death Star. Specifically, she is held in Detention Block AA-23, Cell 2187. It’s a small but satisfying nod to the Original Trilogy, and also aligns with something George Lucas often did in his Star Wars films. The mastermind behind the franchise previously made a film called THX 1138, and he used those numbers on multiple occasions, including when Luke Skywalker says he was transferred from Cell Block 1138.

2. Obi-Wan Kenobi Speaks to Rey

It was clear from the get-go that Rey was going to be special, but her connection to the Force becomes far more explicit when she touches the famous Skywalker lightsaber for the first time at Maz Kanata’s castle. In that moment, Rey hears the voices of the Jedi Masters that have come before her, including Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

What’s interesting about the latter, though, is that we actually get two generations of the character in that tiny snippet of dialogue. Kenobi says, “Rey, these are your first steps.” The majority of that was newly-recorded lines read by Ewan McGregor, who first played Obi-Wan in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. However, the team behind The Force Awakens were also able to splice together a line reading from Alec Guinness, who played Obi-Wan in the Original Trilogy. Guinness says the word “afraid” in A New Hope, so they cleverly just took the middle chunk of that to make it sound like he was talking to Rey.

3. The Force Awakens’ Hidden A-List Cameos

Speaking of voice work, The Force Awakens is full of top talent that you probably never even realised were involved in the film. The most famous of them all is Daniel Craig. We don’t see his face, but he’s the voice of the Stormtrooper who is supposed to be guarding Rey and is the first victim of her burgeoning Jedi mind control powers.

The James Bond star is not the only one. Simon Pegg is a massive fan of sci-fi like Star Wars and Star Trek, and he was drafted in to voice Unkar Plutt, the mean junkboss on the planet of Jakku.

Even weirder still, the loveable droid BB-8 has comedy star Bill Hader to thank for his excitable squeaks and beeps. Hader recorded noises for the character before his voice was distorted to go higher-pitched. Meanwhile, fellow comedy actor Ben Schwartz – the voice behind Sonic the Hedgehog – was credited as a consultant for the voice work on BB-8.

4. Han Solo’s Newfound Faith in the Force

Throughout the Original Trilogy, Han Solo is more than a little sceptical of the Force. While he recognises Luke is a hero and quietly admires his talents, he never truly buys into the mystical ways of the Jedi. Clearly, something changed his mind on all that between the end of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

When Rey and Finn cross paths with Han and Chewie, they get pretty excited about the fact that he knew Luke Skywalker. But, instead of playing down the legendary Jedi, Han says, “It’s true. The Force, the Jedi. All of it. It’s all true.” This is a brilliant bit of character development for the scruffy nerfherder, and probably has something to do with the fact that his son, Ben Solo, was imbued with the powers of the Force, too.

5. Maz Kanata Flies the Flag for Mandalore

Going back to that visit to Maz Kanata’s castle, a few notable flags are flying outside the grand building. One belongs to the 501st Legion, an infamous group of Stormtroopers who were also known as Vader’s Fist. As you can guess, they were essentially his most dangerous henchmen during the Imperial Era.

More exciting, though, is the fact that we see the insignia of Mandalore on one of the flags. The symbol obviously has links to the likes of Boba Fett, who made his name in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Din Djarin from The Mandalorian. It’s hard to say why that flag is flying or which specific character helped to get it there, but we like to think that Boba Fett had a drink or two in the smuggler’s haven at some point in his bounty hunting career.

6. Poe Dameron Was Supposed to Die in The Force Awakens

Poe Dameron, played by Oscar Isaac, is one of the most popular characters in the franchise now. From his excitable first meeting with Finn to his valiant rescue mission on Takodana, the pilot steals the show in The Force Awakens (and let’s not forget his very apt and hilarious reaction to the news that “somehow”, Palpatine had returned in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker).

However, if you actually pay attention to his screen time in the first movie of the Sequel Trilogy, you’ll notice Poe goes missing for a very long time. That’s because the original plan was for the character to be killed off while helping Finn escape the First Order right at the beginning of the movie. While filming, though, Abrams and Co. realised that Isaac’s performance and the nature of the character had real value, and they decided to keep him alive. He’s not mentioned at all after escaping with Finn and seemingly crashing on Jakku, and how he’s alive is never explained. Still, when a character is this fun, who cares?

7. The Exact Moment Kylo Ren Abandons the Light

From one of the most popular characters to one of the most intriguing: Kylo Ren is the best part of the Sequel Trilogy, largely because he’s quickly shown as a ruthless yet flawed villain filled with a great inner conflict. That battle between good and evil within Kylo Ren is really brought to the fore in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but in The Force Awakens, it seems he has extinguished the light forever.

Spoiler alert: Kylo Ren (AKA Ben Solo) kills his dad, Han Solo, in the climactic moments of the 2015 film. It’s a riveting scene where father and son share a moment that flickers between heated angst and heartfelt compassion. As Han appears to be winning over his estranged son, the light behind them is bright and blue. However, that light becomes nothing but red as the doubts creep back into Kylo’s mind, and he does “what needs to be done.” Given the connotations of those colours and the Jedi and the Sith, this is obviously no coincidence.

In all the years I’ve written about movies, I’ve never felt shortchanged when writing a top ten at the end of a calendar year. That said, not all times are created equally, and in the history of the cinema, some years do justifiably stand out. 

Film scholars tend to point to 1939, a 12-month period when moviegoers could have bought tickets to first-run screenings of Mr Smith Goes to Washington, The Rules of the Game, Stagecoach, Dark Victory, Only Angels Have Wings, Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and, best of all, Ninotchka. Not bad at all.

In 2024, we were reminded of how great it must have been to be a movie lover in 1999—a year when films like The Matrix, Beau Travail, The Sixth Sense, Fight Club, The Blair Witch Project, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Office Space, Cruel Intentions, 10 Things I Hate About You, Eyes Wide Shut, and Notting Hill, amongst many others, all lost out on Best Picture to American Beauty.

But enough of that digressing. 2025 saw the 50th anniversary of what some consider the most radical year in cinema—and even if you don’t agree with that, it was certainly one of the most consequential. Off-screen, George Lucas formed Industrial Light and Magic to help with constructing A New Hope; with Sneak Preview, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert went on air together for the first time; and Pier Paolo Pasolini (more on him later) was murdered in Rome. There were also, of course, some incredible things—which I’ve listed below in no particular order—happening on-screen. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

Jaws

I think the best way to think about 1975 is as a year when things began, and other things started to end—a passing of the baton, let’s say, or at least a readjustment of how Hollywood operated going forward. No film had more to do with this shift than Jaws, which famously invented the summer blockbuster while reminding the studios—who’d just spent the last five years letting the lunatics run the asylum—what was most important to them: aka, the bottom line.

Whether you see that as a gift or not, nobody would argue that Jaws is anything less than a masterpiece—a perfect film about an island, a shark and a boat that wasn’t big enough, which announced Steven Spielberg as the greatest storyteller of his generation. If you’re a fan of E.T. or Close Encounters, you probably don’t need reminding!

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Speaking of letting the lunatics run the asylum: even as Jaws laid waste to box office records around the globe, a few masterpieces of the New Hollywood era were still floating around. The best of these was Milos Foreman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a masterclass in acting, filmmaking and satire that justifiably became one of only three films in history to win the “big five” at the Academy Awards.

The film stars Jack Nicholson as a convicted criminal who decides to try and shorten his sentence by cosplaying as a psychotically unstable person. The movie sees Nicholson become the head of a merry band of inmates in the psych ward of Oregon State Hospital, all under the watchful gaze of his nemesis, Nurse Ratched. If you like Jack at his most playfully unhinged (somewhere between the Jack of Five Easy Pieces and the Jack of The Shining), you’re gonna love it.

Dog Day Afternoon

Another New Hollywood classic that was released that year was Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon, a film that only seems to grow more and more influential as the years go by—just look at the work of the Safdie Brothers (Good Time and Uncut Gems especially) after watching it and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

And while we’re on the topic of radicalism, few films captured the countercultural energy of the era quite like it. The story follows a bank robber who needs the money to help his partner transition, as it was not quite called at the time. That Lumet chose to approach that topic with basic empathy shows just how much the film was ahead of its time. Now, altogether, Attica!

Nashville

The third New Hollywood classic from our rundown of 1975 is Robert Altman’s Nashville — the one that most people seem to agree is the director’s best. Taking place over the course of a few days, Nashville, as the name might suggest, offers a panoramic portrait of the city’s thriving Country music scene through the slightly less melodious lives of some of its inhabitants.

With his wildly successful debut, M*A*S*H, Altman had basically reinvented the ensemble film, using overlapping dialogue in scenes that seemed to be viewed from afar—a style that proved incredibly influential, not least on Paul Thomas Anderson (think Boogie Nights and Magnolia).

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

And while we’re on the subject of melodies, 1975 was also a landmark year for musicals, and specifically the rock opera: a now dormant and much derided subgenre that perhaps is due a revival. This is the year when The Who released the druggy (and pretty batshit) Tommy, a film (directed by the transgressive British filmmaker Ken Russell) that took their song Pinball Wizard as an elevator pitch.

Even better, and also more enduring, was The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a film that still plays in my local cinema at least once a year. Indeed, 50 years on, it’s still remarkably fun and sexy, with wonderful performances from Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon and no shortage of great tunes. If you like your musicals camp (think Grease) and a little raunchy, you’ll love it.

Grey Gardens

Another genre on a steady rise in the mid-70s was the documentary—this was thanks largely to the rise of what was called “vérité” filmmaking as well as the growing affordability of portable cameras. In 1970s America, the Maysles brothers were at the heart of that movement, and Grey Gardens remains their most influential work. It’s probably my favourite, too. 

The film is a portrait of a mother and daughter (both relatives of the Kennedys) living together in a decaying mansion in a way that feels like Sunset Boulevard but also still weirdly relatable, even aspirational. It’s no accident that it’s still being endearingly memed 50 years on. 

Death Race 2000 

Another fan favourite subgenre that started to grow in 1975 was the battle royale. Television was only two decades old at this point, but filmmakers had already started to wonder where all that hunger for content might eventually lead. Norman Jewison’s Rollerball imagined a future world where corporations ruled, and the most watched show is a gladiatorial sport where people really die. 

At the same time, Roger Corman’s breeding ground studio, New World Pictures, was releasing Death Race 2000, a landmark early example of a genre that would inspire everything from The Running Man to Battle Royale. The movie, which features a deadly race across the USA, introduced no less than Sylvester Stallone to the world and was also the first job of sound designer Ben Burtt. Is it too much to suggest that without this movie, lightsabers wouldn’t hum in quite the same way? It’s possible.

Barry Lyndon

Outside of the states, there were also plenty of exciting things happening. In the UK, the Pythons released The Holy Grail, one of the best comedies of all time, while Stanley Kubrick made Barry Lyndon, a movie that more and more people seem to be coming to realise is his greatest masterpiece.

The film, which was largely shot in Ireland, follows the titular hero from poverty to riches and back again in one of the darkest and most darkly hilarious stories of hubris ever told. Determined to recreate the look and feel of the era, Kubrick painstakingly shot entire scenes with only candlelight. The resulting film is not only one of his funniest (and if you enjoy Dr Strangelove, make sure to check it out) but really one of the most ravishing productions of all time.

Shivers

While all those aforementioned masters were out delivering some of their best work in 1975, a few future auteurs were just getting started. In Australia, Peter Weir (who went on to make The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society and Master and Commander) released his haunting breakout film, Picnic at Hanging Rock. Meanwhile, in Canada, the young David Cronenberg released his debut feature, Shivers, thus starting an astonishingly consistent, and consistently astonishing, 50 years (and counting) behind the camera. 

Fifty years on, the film, which has all the psycho-sexual, body-horror elements that fans of the director would come to love, is still a visceral thrill—especially for anyone who’s appreciated more recent, clearly Cronenberg-inspired films, like The Substance or Titane.

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

If we look even further away from Hollywood, aesthetically and geographically, Andrey Tarkovsky released his classic film Mirror, while, in Belgium, Chantal Akerman released Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles—a film that was recently voted (in a very reputable poll) the greatest of all time. 

Whatever the case, Akerman’s observational masterpiece has been a pillar of European cinema for decades now, and if you’re a viewer with a taste for the austere—think films like The Piano Teacher—this could be one for you.

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom

And while we’re on the topic of austere, we’ll end our list with one of the most bracing and most radical films ever made. As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, the great Italian poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini was brutally murdered while cruising in Rome one night in 1975—a crime that has been attributed over the years to everyone from homophobic thugs to Italian nationalists to the CIA. 

Whatever the case, many of those conspiracy theories cite the director’s final work, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, as having had something to do with it. The film, which has lost absolutely none of its provocative bite over the years, moves the Marquis de Sade’s classic novel to fascist Italy as a way to imagine the depths of depravity that can be reached when wealth and power go unchecked for too long. If you have the stomach for it (it’s no mistake that it regularly features on lists of the most banned, provocative and dangerous films of all time), it's a one of a kind. 

If you don’t know what kind of filmmaker Luca Guadagnino is, consider this tasty morsel: in the years since Quentin Tarantino released Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, the Italian has made a remake of a classic horror (Suspiria), a cannibal romance starring Timothee Chalamet (Bones and All); a sweaty, sexy, sports movie (Challengers); an adaptation of a William S. Burroughs novel starring James Bond (Queer); and a campus-set film that dives into some of the most hot-buttoned topics of the day (After the Hunt). Say what you want about any of them, the man has considerable range, is nothing if not prolific, and he knows, ahem, how to make a splash.

Another thing worth knowing about Guadagnino is that he tends to announce all kinds of projects (most recently an AI drama starring Mark Rylance and a new adaptation of American Psycho) that never get made. As we wait to hear what the next one might be, here’s a list of every film the director has made since his 1999 debut. Read on to discover more, and use the guide below to find them on services like Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

The Protagonists (1999)

Given the main things we now associate with the director—his film knowledge, evocative style and taste for genre—it’s probably no surprise that his earliest work demonstrated all three. The film is called The Protagonists and stars Tilda Swinton as an actress working in an Italian film crew who have come to London to restage a real murder that happened a few years earlier. 

Tilda Swinton has gone on to be his most enduring collaborator, so if you appreciate what they went on to achieve together in I am Love and A Bigger Splash, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Melissa P. (2005)

If protagonists leaned into Guadagnino’s taste for genre filmmaking, his follow-up, Melissa P., showcased his fascination with provocative eroticism. The film is based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Melissa Panarello titled 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed, which detailed the sexual awakening of a 15-year-old girl.

This is one you might appreciate if you liked Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name or Catherine Breillat’s recent film Last Summer — just be warned, it’s a rather daring piece of work.

I am Love (2009)

Guadagnino’s first two films had announced him as a director to watch, but he reached a whole other level of arthouse fame after the release of I am Love in 2009. The Milan-set movie, his second collaboration with Swinton, is a stunning production — enough, at least, for it to be nominated for Best Costume at the Oscars.

The film centres on an illustrious affair between a wealthy textile merchant’s wife (Swinton) and a younger man (Edoardo Gabbriellini). If you enjoy stories about promiscuous rich people—think Dark Waters, Match Point—you might just appreciate this one, too.

A Bigger Splash (2015)

After I am Love, Guadagnino followed it up with the wonderful A Bigger Splash, the second part of what he would later call his Desire trilogy. The movie takes place on a hot and sweaty Italian island (for a good comp, think White Lotus, or movies like Le Piscine and Swimming Pool), where a foursome of beautiful people (Swinton again, alongside Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, and Matthias Schoenaert) trade jokes, jabs, and flirtatious glances—at least until something goes horribly wrong.

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival but surprisingly went home empty-handed, as did Fiennes for what has to be one of his most joyful roles — so if you’re a fan of his work, you need to check it out!

Call Me by Your Name (2017)

At the time of writing, I think most appreciators of Guadagnino’s work, even the most diehard fans of Challengers, will likely agree that Call Me by Your Name still looks like the director’s masterpiece. Like Melissa P., the story follows a teenager’s sexual awakening, but it’s a far more sensitive story, even accounting for the iconic peach scene.

It maybe helped that the director managed to convince the legendary screenwriter James Ivory (think Remains of the Day and Howards End) to help him adapt André Aciman’s novel, or that he managed to get the first great performance out of Timothée Chalamet (for which the actor was nominated for his first Oscar), but whatever the case, the film remains a wonderfully sensuous, tender and heartbreaking watch. 

Suspiria (2018)

Guadagnino originally acquired the rights to Dario Argento’s Giallo horror Suspiria in 2008 but put it on the back burner for a decade before finally getting his version out in 2018. For the script, the Italian relocated his fellow countryman’s story from Freiburg to Cold War era Berlin, giving the story a new and interesting flavour — one that fans of movies like Possession and The Hunger will be familiar with.

The film saw the director reteam with Dakota Johnson, who played the role of the ingénue who ends up in a ballet school that seems to be run by a coven of witches. 

Bones and All (2022)

After the financial disappointment of Suspiria, the director took a short break from feature filmmaking to focus on other projects—notably making the coming-of-age miniseries We Are Who We Are for HBO. He returned with another horror film, Bones and All, in 2022, this one a cannibal love story that reunited the director with Chalamet and also saw him work with Mark Rylance for the first time—and if you liked the actor’s performances in Bridge of Spies and Wolf Hall, you want to see the brilliantly unsettling work he contributes here.

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Guadagnino was finally awarded the Silver Lion for Best Director. 

Challengers (2024)

In 2023, Guadagnino was given the honour of opening the Venice Festival with his new film, Challengers. Sadly for the festival, the SAG-AFRA strike meant that none of the stars could attend, so the film was withdrawn and opened the following March—which, if its box office success (and he kinda needed one) was anything to go by, turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

This is probably the most fun and straight-up mainstream entertainment film that the director has made: a slick, stylish and sweaty sports movie that features a tennis based love triangle between three players. They are played by Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist—and if you like those actors in movies like Dune, La Chimera and West Side Story, something tells me you’ll appreciate this one.

Queer (2024)

Thanks, in part, to the delay of Challengers’ release, Guadagnino fans only had to wait a few months before his next film premiered (you guessed it) at the Venice Film Festival. Starring Daniel Craig, Queer is an adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ semi-autobiographical story of the same name, which details the writer’s time as a boozy, recreationally drug-addled horndog in Mexico City — imagine Naked Lunch meets A Single Man and you’ll be somewhere in the region of this film’s sultry mood. 

Like Guadagnino’s best, it’s a sexy and sweaty piece with wonderful costumes (from J.W. Anderson) and an excellent score by returning Challengers composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

After the Hunt (2025)

Exactly one year later, Guadagnino was invited to open the Italian festival again, this time with the hotly anticipated After the Hunt—a film starring Julia Roberts as an acclaimed professor at a prestigious university who dragged into the middle of an accusation of misconduct levelled by her closest student (played by Ayo Edebiri) against one of her closest colleagues (Andrew Garfield).

The movie is an outright provocation, and even though it’s not entirely satisfying in what it’s trying to do, it’s interesting to see Guadagnino attempt to grapple with such spicy topics. If you are a fan of films like Tár and Dream Scenario, you might find this one frustrating but you’ll likely find it interesting, too.

Forget your shopping list and arranging the extra chairs; there’s nothing more important at this time of year than making sure you make the right Christmas movie choices. It’s all about establishing the right vibe for the right audience, whether you’re catering for grown-ups only or if the festive season is more for the kids in your house.

Assuming the latter is the case, parents can buy themselves a couple of hours of peace and quiet around this busy period if they stick the right film on. However, while getting your child the wrong present is bad enough, pressing play on the wrong movie could ruin the Christmas celebrations entirely.

Well, that’s exactly what happened to a load of parents back in the 1990s, when a random slasher movie sneaked its way onto screens and frightened unwitting kids across the world. 

The Jack Frost Movie Mix-Up That Plagued The '90s

We all know and love the iconic 1998 Christmas movie Jack Frost, right? Michael Keaton stars as the absent father who breaks one promise too many. As he ventures out on yet another music tour instead of spending Christmas at home, he’s killed in a road accident, but returns a year later in the form of a snowman to finally spend some quality time with his son. 

It’s quite a weird film, when you think about it, but it’s a lovely one, too. There’s a good balance of humour and heart, and families have been watching Jack Frost year after year ever since.

However, just one year before the release of that Keaton cult classic in 1997, there was another Jack Frost – and this one is an 18-rated, brutally violent comedy horror. With the two films sharing the same title and coming out around the same time, you can imagine a fair few mistakes were made when families were renting Christmas movies in 1998. The funny thing is, this grievous error still occurs to this day. When will people learn?

The Jack Frost Horror Movie Is Anything But Family-Friendly

In recent years, we’ve seen a spate of beloved children’s stories turned into horror movies. Releases such as Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Popeye the Slayer Man have all seen the light of day thanks to copyright licensing expiring on the characters at the heart of those tales.

While the titles give away the more sinister tone of those films, the whole Jack Frost fiasco is, admittedly, an easy mistake to make. The horror movie isn’t just full to the brim with terrible acting, unconvincing special effects, and a diabolical script, though. It’s actually incredibly bleak and very, very inappropriate for kids.

It’s not necessarily scary, but the violence is next level. There’s even a sexual assault scene that will live long in the memory. More than anything, though, the Jack Frost horror movie is just bizarre, and it’s no wonder it traumatised so many children who watched it by mistake.

Which Jack Frost Movie Is Right For You?

But hey, courses for horses, and all that, there will be some of you reading this and thinking the horror version of Jack Frost sounds like your kind of film. So, should you give it a chance? For a start, it’s under 90 minutes, which is always a bonus, so if you’re looking for something trashy and quick to watch as a dark alternative to the usual Christmas viewing, this could be the one for you.

Fans of Christmas horrors like The Gingerdead Man and Silent Night Deadly Night, or less festive flicks like Leprechaun and Terrifier, will be well on board with this one. You can rent it on Apple TV for just 99p, or catch it for free on Tubi.

However, if you’ve got kids around at Christmas, then definitely go for the 1998 Jack Frost. It’ll make you all warm and fuzzy inside, plus the younger viewers will naturally think that a talking snowman is pretty cool.

If you’re into Christmas movies like Elf and The Santa Clause, or the likes of Mrs Doubtfire and The Parent Trap, you’ll love Jack Frost. You will have to pay £3.49 to rent it, but it’s well worth the time and money.

Boom, baby! Believe it or not, the 25th anniversary of The Emperor’s New Groove is already upon us, and regardless of how old that makes you feel, it’s a great excuse to wax nostalgic about one of my favourite childhood films.

Starring an eclectic voice cast including David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, and Patrick Warburton, The Emperor’s New Groove is an all-out animated comedy that recounts the story of the spoiled Emperor Kuzco after he is accidentally transformed into a llama by his scheming advisor Yzma. After realising Yzma actually intended to kill him, Kuzco must learn humility and patience as he seeks help from the gentle shepherd Pacha to become human and reclaim his throne once again.

The key voice cast of The Emperor’s New Groove has stayed remarkably busy over the past 25 years, branching into acclaimed TV roles, iconic voice work, hit sitcoms, and—in Eartha Kitt’s case, a late-career renaissance that lasted right up until her death in 2008. 

Here’s what everyone has been up to since Kuzco, Yzma, Pacha, and Kronk first shimmied across our screens to Tom Jones’s “Perfect World” in 2000.

David Spade (Kuzco)

David Spade was one of the defining American comedy voices of the early 2000s, breaking out on Saturday Night Live in the 1990s before teaming up with friend and fellow comedian Chris Farley for the beloved cult comedies Tommy Boy and Black Sheep. From there, he brought his trademark snark to the vain, self-absorbed Emperor Kuzco in The Emperor’s New Groove.

After The Emperor’s New Groove, Spade headlined a string of comedies geared towards adults. Joe Dirt was released in 2001 and starred Spade as a mulleted, sideburned janitor with a heart of gold who embarks on a cross-country quest to find his parents. A few years later, he played a washed-up former child actor trying to make a comeback in the aptly titled Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. He continued to pop up on the big screen throughout the 2000s and 2010s, including joining Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, and Rob Schneider in the star-studded buddy reunion comedy Grown Ups. 

Spade also became a familiar presence on TV, starring in sitcoms 8 Simple Rules and Rules of Engagement and carving out his niche as the sarcastic womaniser whose bad behaviour is (mostly) forgiven because he is self-aware and relentlessly funny. In 2015, he moved into reality TV with his prank show Fameless, which skewered people desperate for fame; and from 2019 to 2020, he hosted the pop culture-focused late-night talk show Lights Out with David Spade on Comedy Central.

More recently, Spade has leaned into the podcast boom. In 2022, he teamed up with fellow SNL alum Dana Carvey for Fly on the Wall, where the two riff off each other as they discuss current events, swap stories from their SNL days, and chat with comedians and actors about life in the spotlight. And in 2025, he returned to his standup roots with the release of his special Dandelion on Amazon Prime Video, proving that the sardonic charm that made Kuzco so memorable is still very much intact.One to watch: Grown Ups

John Goodman (Pacha)

John Goodman was already a household name before lending his distinctive voice to the kind-hearted villager Pacha, thanks to his role as Dan Conner on Roseanne (1988–1997)—a part he later revisited in the series’ revival and its spin-off, The Conners, through the mid-2020s. 

On the big screen, he became a regular collaborator with the Coen brothers, playing a variety of iconic roles in their films from the late ‘80s to 2000, including Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, cementing his status as a character-actor legend.

Since The Emperor’s New Groove, Goodman has also become a voice acting mainstay, most famously as Sully in Pixar’s Monsters, Inc and its sequels. He also continued to appear in high-profile films such as Argo, Flight, and 10 Cloverfield Lane throughout the 2010s, and more recently, he starred as televangelist Eli Gemstone in HBO’s dark comedy The Righteous Gemstones, which aired its final episode in May 2025.One to watch: The Big Lebowski

Eartha Kitt (Yzma)

Eartha Kitt was already a renowned star as both a singer and an actress before she brought scene-stealing menace as the voice of Yzma. She is most well-known for performing the iconic Christmas song “Santa Baby” and for her history-making role as Catwoman in the 1960s Batman series, making her the first black woman to ever portray the character. 

With her role as the chaotic sorceress Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove, Kitt found a whole new generation of fans late in her career. She reprised the role in the direct-to-video sequel Kronk’s New Groove in 2005, and in 2006’s TV spinoff The Emperor’s New School, winning multiple Emmys and Annie Awards for her voice performance as Kuzco’s unhinged advisor. 

Outside of the Groove universe, Kitt appeared as Madame Zeroni in Holes, continued to perform on Broadway, and did additional voice work on animated projects like My Life as a Teenage Robot and Wonder Pets!.

Eartha Kitt died on December 25, 2008, at the age of 81, leaving behind a legacy that stretched from classic nightclub stages to playing one of Disney’s most outrageously funny villains.One to watch: Batman

Patrick Warburton (Kronk)

Patrick Warburton’s deadpan delivery made Kronk an instant fan favourite as the struggling henchman caught between the devil and angel on his shoulders and a boundless love of cooking.

Warburton has since made a prolific career as both a live-action and voice actor. On TV, he led the cult superhero comedy The Tick in the early 2000s, and later anchored the long-running CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement (also starring David Spade), as the blunt but lovable Jeff Bingham.

As a voice actor, Warburton became well known for his roles as Joe Swanson on Family Guy, Brock Samson on The Venture Bros, Steve Barkin on Kim Possible, Ken in Bee Movie, and Buzz Lightyear in the animated series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. He also reprised his voice role as Kronk in both Kronk’s New Groove and The Emperor’s New School.One to watch: The Tick

Wendie Malick (Chicha)

Wendie Malick, who voiced Pacha’s no-nonsense wife Chicha, was already a familiar sitcom face thanks to Dream On and Just Shoot Me! (also starring David Spade). The latter of which earned her Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for playing the gloriously self-absorbed Nina Van Horn. In the 2010s. Malick enjoyed another ensemble comedy success as Victoria Chase on Hot in Cleveland, which introduced her to a new generation of fans.

More recently, Malick has become a go-to voice actress, notably playing matriarch Beatrice Horseman on BoJack Horseman and witch mentor Eda Clawthorne on Disney’s The Owl House, alongside recurring live-action roles on series like The Ranch and American Housewife. One to watch: BoJack Horseman

By the time you read this, I feel safe in speculating that Zootopia 2 (or Zootropolis, or Zoomania, depending on where you are in the world) will be the most successful film of 2025 that isn’t a Chinese animation called Ne Zha 2. This also means there’s probably a good chance you’ve already seen Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde’s second adventure in the richly textured animal world of Zootopia — and if you haven’t, I definitely recommend it, especially if you’re looking for some golden age Pixar-level family viewing over the festive season that boasts a good message along with all the usual jokes and movie homages. 

This lively sequel to the great 2016 Disney animation reunites many of the same voice actors that made the first movie so memorable — including Ginnifer Goodwin (as Judy), Jason Bateman (Nick), Idris Elba (Chief Bogo), Shakira (Gazelle) and Jenny Slate (Bellweather) — alongside some new but familiar voices like Ke huy Kwan (as Gary De’Snake) and Andy Samberg (Pawbert Lynxley). Buried a little deeper in the credits, however, are several surprising cameos. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find out where to see them in their most famous roles on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

11. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Zeke, a dik dik

Dwayne Johnson might have devoted much of 2025 to focus on promoting (and possibly nabbing his first Oscar nomination for) The Smashing Machine, but the legendary wrestler turned action star just couldn’t help appearing in the most successful American movie of the year in his downtime.

Naturally, the actor once again showed his range by playing Zeke, an adorable dik-dik that gets stuck in a tuba during the car chase through the Zootennial parade. Jumbo unit promptly shows up to blow him out and, naturally, we never see him again.

10. Michael J. Fox as Michael J.

How’s this for a bit of nominative determinism: Back to the Future legend Michael J. Fox appears in Zootopia 2 for a brief cameo as Michael J., a fox whom Nick encounters during his brief time in prison. 

This cameo is short and sweet (you actually need to keep your eyes peeled for it), but it’s punctuated by an unmistakable quote from the actor’s most famous role — or to quote Marty McFly, “What’re you lookin’ at, butthead?” 

9. Quinta Brunson as Dr Fuzzby

It turns out, when Quinta Brunson isn’t looking after her students in Abbott Elementary, she runs a police-partners counselling course in the police headquarters of Zootopia — or more accurately, a quokka named Dr Fuzzy does.

Fans of all things Quinta can also hear the actor’s voice in season 4 of Big Mouth, where she portrays Missy’s cousin from Atlanta. You will also be able to hear her opposite Bill Hadar in a new animated adaptation of Cat in the Hat, which is set for release next year.

8. Robert Irwin as Furwin

Through the movie, Nick dreams about a faraway beach and a delicious-sounding drink called a Pina Koala. At the end of the movie, we get to actually see what that looks like, as Bellwether attempts to make her escape, only to be foiled by our furry heroes.

Before that, she meets a friendly Aussie Koala voiced by Robert Irwin — and if that name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the son of the legendary wildlife personality and conservationist, Steve Irwin. Now that’s a touch of class, mate.

7. Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song as Cattrick and Kitty Lynxley

Whether they’re posing with toothbrushes for Richard Kern or fielding questions for Cosmopolitan, Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin continue to be one of the most liked celebrity couples in the business. 

For Zootopia 2, the Home Alone and New Girl stars stayed endearingly close again, voicing Cattrick and Kitty, the eldest and meanest of Milton Lynxley’s evil litter.

6. Danny Trejo as Jesús

If you’re looking for someone to voice a cool, calm and collected basilisk from Central America, it almost seems rude not to ask Danny Trejo to do it. The famously prolific character actor clocked in his 463rd IMDb credit with his portrayal of Jesús in Zootopia 2, a mostly friendly reptile who tricks Judy and Nick into eating some grubs before high-tailing it like his namesake across some open water. 

Fans of the actor’s voice work are, of course, spoiled for choice when it comes to viewing options, but be sure to keep an ear out for him when watching Minions (where he voices Stronghold) and Rick and Morty (Jaguar).

5. Stephanie Beatriz as Bloats

Given that Stephanie Beatriz is perhaps best known for playing the no-nonsense police detective Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, you might not be surprised to hear that she voices another one in Zootopia 2 — although this time, without putting too fine a point on it, the detective is a hippo.

When it comes to animated movies, however, this is far from Beatriz’s first rodeo: if anything, you might even be more familiar with the actress’ voice from her central roles in Encanto (as Mirabel) and The Lego Movie 2 (as General Sweet Mayhem).

4. Jean Reno as Bûcheron and Chèvre

Younger viewers might not be aware of this, but for a good decade or so in Hollywood, basically any French character in a movie seemed to be played by Jean Reno. Perhaps as a little nod to that, both Bûcheron and Chèvre, the two French goats we see on the Zootopia police force, are voiced by the Leon star.

For his fellow countrymen, Reno’s vocal cords are particularly legendary, as the actor voiced Mufasa in the French version of The Lion King. 

3. Roman Reigns and CM Punk as Gene Zebraxton and Gene Zebrowski

Rounding out Nick and Judy’s colleagues are Gene Zebraxton and Gene Zebrowski, two zebras who don’t get a whole lot to do aside from fist pumps and saying “Ze-bros!”, which, of course, is more than enough to leave an impression.

The stripy duo are played by the real-life twosome of Roman Reigns and CM Punk, professional wrestlers in WWE who are better known for their rivalry in the ring than any kind of fist-bumping friendship. That’s called acting, my dear. 

2. Bob Iger as Bob Tiger

One cameo that surely had the kids in the audience whooping for joy was Disney CEO Bob Iger, who portrays a tiger named, you guessed it, Bob Tiger. 

Jokes aside, the character is actually a nod to Iger’s time as a weatherman, a job he held long before his nearly two-decade reign as the most powerful man in Hollywood. The cameo is being seen as a farewell before his planned retirement at the end of next year. Fair enough.

1. Ratatouille

Okay, so Patton Oswald may not have offered his voice here, but his Remy — the unlikely chef hero of Brad Bird’s Ratatouille — can be seen for a brief moment when Judy and Nick are making their getaway from the Lynxley party. 

I must admit, my eye was immediately drawn to the namesake dish being plated by the chef, as the animation style was almost identical, which made the big (or little) reveal all the more delightful. 

2025 was a huge year for anime movies – and that’s not just hyperbole to make you continue reading this article. Three of the hottest global properties, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, released theatrical instalments that were wildly successful at the box office, with Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, the prelude to the series’ animated finale, competing with the likes of Marvel and DC’s biggest and brightest heroes on comeback tears.

Yep, it sure is a good time to be a weeb, and the good times are set to keep on rolling into 2026 with another strong slate of anime films. The 12 I’ve cherry-picked below are arranged in order of least to most anticipated, factoring in existing fanbases, the creators behind them, and international appeal. It should be noted that some of the release dates are estimates and may be subject to change. 

12. The Keeper of the Camphor Tree (Kusunoki no Bannin)

As this film is adapted from a Japanese bestseller that won’t have an English translation out until June, it hasn’t had much of an opportunity to build anticipation yet among English-speaking audiences. Based on its popularity in its native tongue, and trailer, however, The Keeper of the Camphor Tree looks like something both anime fans and Japanese literature lovers should have on their radars.

Produced by A-1 Pictures (Fairy Tail, Sword Art Online, Solo Levelling), the story mixes slice-of-life quiet with stirring mysticism, as protagonist Reito becomes the nighttime caretaker for the mysterious, titular tree that attracts all manner of troubled visitors looking for answers from it. It gives me the look and feel of films by the likes of Mamoru Hosoda, Naoko Yamada, and Ghibli.

Release date: January 30 

11. The Dangers In My Heart (BokuYaba)

The Dangers In My Heart has been serialised as a web manga since 2018, and adapted into a light novel, print manga, and TV anime series – plenty of places to pick up fans, and necessitating the need for this theatrically released compilation film. 

If you’re not familiar with it already, the premise is pretty eyebrow-raising: lonely, nerdy middle-schooler Kyotaro Ichikawa spends his school days indulging in violent daydreams about his classmates, including the beautiful Anna Yamada. Could a budding friendship between them curb his masochistic desires? In the name of incels, let’s hope so! Mixed reception from critics and a warmer one from audiences speaks to the Marmite nature of this setup. As the film is a streamlined version of the series, it’s as good a place as any to jump in and make your own mind up.

Release date: February 13

10. Girls und Panzer: Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu! – Acts 2, 3 & 4

Cute girls operating WWII-era tanks for sport sounds like a male gaze parody sketch, but Girls und Panzer (transliteration: Girls and Tanks) is very real and sort of serious – or, at least, earnest. This is a franchise with two anime series (one in 2012 and the other in 2017); Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu! kicks off a four-part film series based on the spinoff manga of the same name.

There’s scant information about this quadruple theatrical helping other than it will highlight the “unknown daily lives of students of Ōarai Girls' Academy” as well as other schools beyond the tankery (I love that that’s a word.) If chibi-faced high school girls operating heavy machinery is something you need in your life, nothing else will hit the spot quite like this.

Release date: December 26, 2025; January 30, March 6, and April 10, 2026

9. Sound! Euphonium: The Final Movie – Part One

You may remember Kyoto Animation, commonly abbreviated as KyoAni, making headlines in 2019 for a horrendous arson attack. Thankfully, the beloved studio is recovering at an impressive but no doubt financially pressured rate; the first part of the final Sound! Euphonium movies is one of several projects produced in the last couple of years.

Sound! Euphonium is one of many music-based, slice-of-life series that are essentially just good vibes – think The Kids on the Slope and K-On!. This one centres around high school girls in brass bands with a mix of wistfulness and drama as they prepare for a championship. 

Release date: April 24

8. Gintama Movie: Yoshiwara in Flames (Shin Gekijoban Gintama: Yoshiwara Daienjo)

In the same vein as One Piece’s 25th anniversary remake of the ‘Fish Man Island’ arc, Gintama, a long-running series that essentially parodies shows like One Piece, is compiling and remaking its ‘Yoshiwara in Flames’ arc as a theatrical film with fresh animation and scenes from the manga that didn’t make it into the original TV anime.

Yoshiwara is a seedy, lightless city that Gintama’s ‘Odd Jobs’ trio travels to for a mission, where they’re soon pulled into a war with the ‘Night King’ Hōsen. It’s a great, self-contained, action-packed saga for a cinema release, and while a lot more tongue-in-cheek, Demon Slayer fans should appreciate its historical setting.  

Release date: February 13

7. Doraemon: Nobita and the New Castle of the Undersea Devil

Doraemon has been part of Japanese pop culture since 1969, so it may not surprise you to learn that Nobita and the New Castle of the Undersea Devil is the 45th film in the series. If you haven’t seen the other 44, here’s what you need to know to get up to speed: Nobita is a ten-year-old boy, and Doraemon is his blue, talking robot cat with a bottomless gadget bag who is sent back in time by Nobita’s descendant to help him out.  

One of these films, Stand By Me Doraemon, was notably directed by Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki. This latest one doesn’t have that creative pedigree behind it, but as a summer vacation adventure to an underwater world, it’s one that kids who appreciate the Pokémon movies will enjoy.

Release date: February 27  

6. Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Walpurgisnacht Rising

Puella Magi Madoka Magica was something of a cultural reset when it first aired in 2011. A dark spin on the magical girl genre, it dirties the sparkliness of things like Sailor Moon with psycho-horror sci-fi – certainly not child-friendly, but definitely older edgelord compliant.

While the first two spinoff films were just compilations of the TV show, the third, Rebellion, released in 2013, had an original story and got serious awards recognition in Japan. Walpurgisnacht Rising is the much-anticipated, delayed sequel to Rebellion, so you’ll want to get caught up on that one before heading to the cinema. 

Release date: February

5. Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circle

You know Gundam, right? You’re reading a list of upcoming anime movies after all. But just so I won’t be accused of gatekeeping, let’s go over the basics: Mobile Suit Gundam is one of the Mount Rushmore robot heads of mecha – people piloting giant robots, often but not always in space, as Gundam usually is.

The Sorcery of Nymph Circle is a sequel to the 2021 Hathaway film, which followed 2018’s Narrative. The series takes place in the franchise’s main timeline, Universal Century, and in the aftermath of Char’s Counterattack. Still with me? Okay. Sorcery continues Hathaway hero Noa’s battle against terrorist Mafty. You may have your interest piqued if you like space operas and big robot stuff like Pacific Rim, but there’s a bit of a steep learning curve to get into Gundam.

Release date: January 30    

4. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Movie — Tears of the Azure Sea

The patron saint of isekai with the whole plot in the title, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is one of the OGs from the mid-2010s boom, and still one of the better examples. Surprisingly, this is only the second Slime film to be made, following the first, Scarlet Bond, in 2022. 

You know the drill: salaryman Mikami dies and wakes up in a fantasy world, but in the form of a Dragon Quest-style slime called Rimuru. Over three seasons of the TV anime, he’s been climbing the ladder of power to carve out a place for creatures like him, assuming a bishonen humanoid form in the process. The films build on his hard-fought acceptance from the Demon Lords, and will likely go over your head if you’re not up to date with the series.

Release date: February 27

3. Cosmic Princess Kaguya!

Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is the latest retelling of the well-known Japanese fairy tale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. It was notably the source for the 2013 Ghibli film The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and has been touched upon in everything from Sailor Moon to Naruto. It may also be something those who saw the anime film Belle, a pop musical retelling of Beauty and the Beast, will be interested in.

In the story, Kaguya is a Moon princess who is reborn on Earth in a bamboo stalk. She attracts numerous suitors, including the Emperor of Japan, whom she tries to deter by dishing out impossible missions to earn her hand. Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man opening titles director Shingo Yamashita makes his debut here as a feature-film director, while Vocaloid superstars are collaborating for the soundtrack. This one’s heading to Netflix, too, which is a boon in accessibility for any original work.  Hopefully, given anime's box office wins in 2025, the streamer will also deem it worth a limited theatrical run as well.

Release date: January 22

2. The Apothecary Diaries

The Apothecary Diaries has been steadily, and unexpectedly, making a big name for itself. The surprise has nothing to do with its quality – a compelling and cosy historical medical mystery drama with smatterings of romance – and more to do with shojo properties usually getting drowned out by noisier stuff aimed predominantly at boys and young men.

As well as the first half of the third season coming next October, an original film hits theatres shortly after in December, written by creator Natsu Hyuuga. There’s no info on the plot available yet, but the Japanese trailer is filled with juicy Maomao x Jinshi moments!

Release date: December  

1. All You Need Is Kill

You might remember a 2014 sci-fi action blockbuster called Edge of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise. Well, that film was loosely based on the manga, All You Need Is Kill, drawn by Death Note’s Takeshi Obata, and has finally received an anime adaptation from Studio 4°C. The plot is basically the same as the Cruise movie: a soldier fighting aliens is stuck in a time loop, respawning every time he dies and using what he learned to survive for longer each time.

Studio 4°C have a wonderfully eclectic catalog ranging from The Animatrix to Children of the Sea, and this adaptation looks no different. Fans of the live-action version are in for a far more colourful experience, as well as a lead heroine, Rita, rather than Cruise’s Major William Cage or the manga’s Keiji Kiriya. Still, if you especially enjoy the core Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers conceit, there’s plenty of familiarity, too.

Release date: January 9

Whether you’re Lily Allen or Mohammad Salah, it’s a truism that affects us all: ending things is never easy. When it comes to our most beloved TV shows—aside from the odd exception (Mad Men always comes to mind)—it’s basically a given that some fans will not be left fully satisfied. Whether things are too rushed, wrapped up too neatly, or left with too many dangling loose ends, there will usually be a section of loyal acolytes who are left feeling a little shortchanged.

It’s too soon to say which camp the long-awaited final run of Stranger Things will end up in, but as we wait to see what happens to Max, Will, Mike and Eleven, there are plenty of older case files to look back on to give us an idea. The following shows all, for one reason or another, left the watching public in two or more warring camps — but we should also note that, in every case, it was only because we cared so much to begin with. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

No use burying the lede here. HBO’s final season of Game of Thrones is arguably the greatest fumble in TV history — a run of episodes and moments so half-cooked, baffling and unearned that they retroactively tarnished some of the enjoyment of future rewatches. 

To call the series divisive, however, is probably incorrect, as I imagine most people felt equally betrayed by the last few episodes. The more typically “divisive” period of the show was probably the years after showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff overtook George R.R. Martin’s source material and started going a little rogue, not least regarding the speed at which characters seemed to move across continents. This was an era (around the end of Season 5 onward) that split the fanbase between those loyal to Martin’s books and those who only knew the show.

Whatever the case, the finale has not turned fans off completely: in 2026, we will see the release of the third season of House of the Dragon as well as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a new spinoff/prequel show. The king is dead, long live the king!

The Sopranos (1999-2007)

Ah, The Sopranos—now here is a properly divisive season, for more reasons than one. The most obvious point of diversion, of course, was the show’s legendary finale—during which the family gathers at a diner, Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing starts to play, men are shown making movements on the street outside, and then, all of a sudden, a cut to 10 seconds of a black screen before the credits rolled. 

When the episode aired in June 2007, viewers at home famously wondered if the station had cut out, leading to an online frenzy — but this ending was exactly what showrunner David Chase intended it to be: a visceral shock. Even before that, some fans had started to wonder if the decision to drop the perfectly rounded 13-episode arcs of the first five seasons for a two-part, 21-episode run had robbed the final season of its predecessor’s air-tight structure. I must admit that those critiques are not unfounded (it’s definitely the weakest of the show’s seasons), but when you’re up against perfection, it is difficult to make par. 

The finale, however, at least in my opinion, works an absolute charm. If you haven’t seen it, the show is basically the defining fictional crime story of the 21st century — a worthy heir to The Godfather and Goodfellas, and all the great mob stories that came before them. 

Lost (2004-2010)

Everyone loves a good mystery box show. The problems arise when it comes to tying up all those loose ends. No show was as famously gung-ho at throwing narrative curveballs as Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams’ Lost, and no other show took so much flak when it came to resolving them—or not resolving them, as the case may be.

Lost began with a simple idea: a plane crashes on an island and, one by one, we start to learn about each passenger’s history as they attempt to survive. On top of that foundation, however, Lindelof threw everything from Polar Bears to time travel to allusions to the almighty, ending on a heavily religious note that was, in a way, the first explanation for the island that most viewers thought of. 

Watching it at the time it came out, I began to lose interest around the loopy time travel stuff in Season 5, but finished it all the same. Watching it again a couple of years ago, I found those later seasons incredibly moving. If you like twisty plots, survival stories like Yellowjackets and Cast Away, and also enjoy watching very beautiful and charismatic people do cool stuff, I can’t recommend it enough.

Gilmore Girls (2000-2016)

If, like any self-respecting Gilmore Girls fan, you started your annual rewatch at the beginning of autumn, chances are you’ve already arrived at the divisive final season of the show’s original seven-year run (2000-2007). The lore(lei) behind this one isn’t hard to decipher: creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband and collaborator Dan Palladino left the show before that original final season over contract disputes, leaving fans with a farewell that felt rushed and tonally off. 

Luckily, some Gilmore Girls fans eventually got the closure they were looking for when Sherman-Palladino returned with the one-season mini-series, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life — but even this divided fans. Whatever side you might end up on, it’s still a pleasure to return to — a comfort watch on the level of Friends or The Office that never fails to keep you company in the colder months of the year. 

Killing Eve (2018-2022)

Killing Eve, a show written by Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge and starring Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy), Jodie Comer (28 Years Later) and Fiona Shaw (Andor), tells the story of an intelligence officer who becomes obsessed with the lethal assassin she’s been tasked with hunting down—a feeling that soon becomes mutual. 

That delicious setup was enough to sustain the show for four seasons and 32 episodes (a huge length for the BBC) while allowing fans to speculate on what the characters might eventually mean to each other. In the end, the decision to take a sharp and unexpected turn in the finale proved both dissatisfying and underdeveloped to the show’s many fans.

Seinfeld (1989-1998)

Similar to Gilmore Girls, Seinfeld fans (in a way) got to revisit and dissect their frustrations at the show’s original final seasons during various points in series creator Larry David’s later show, Curb Your Enthusiasm. The writer actually left Seinfeld after Season 7, and most fans agree that the post-David years (Seasons 8-9) are just not on the level of what came before.

The most divisive part was the show’s grand finale, an unsatisfying meta experiment during which Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George go on trial, allowing characters from previous seasons to come out and grill them on their behaviour. David didn’t write it, but he did recreate it in his finale for Curb, giving Seinfeld fans an unlikely bit of closure a full 26 years after the episode originally aired.

How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)

For a series that basically set up its own finale in the words of its title, giving itself nine seasons and as many years to prepare, it’s amazing how much How I Met Your Mother eventually got wrong—at least in the eyes of some sections of the fanbase.

It’s true, the How I Met Your Mother finale had one main job, and while The Mother, Tracy McConnell (played by the great Cristin Milioti), was successfully introduced at the end of Season 8, fans were disappointed by how little screentime she was given in Season 9. On top of that, the series’ 22-episode arc took place exclusively during the weekend of Barney and Robin’s wedding, only for the show to reveal, at the very end, that they divorced three years later. Harsh.

Dexter (2006-2013)

Another series that attempted to offer some closure, a good few years after the fact, was Dexter. This is a series (a bit similar to shows like Hannibal and You) about a CSI investigator who moonlights as a serial killer — or was it the other way around?

The 2013 finale, in which our morally dubious hero leaves it all to become a lumberjack, left most fans scratching their heads. A new and more satisfying finale was then promised in Dexter: New Blood, released in 2021 and 2022, but the showrunners again dropped the ball, at least in the eyes of many fans—and, barring supernatural forces, there’s no coming back from that one.

If musical biopics have overtaken superhero movies as Hollywood’s most reliable earners, then we are currently in the peak IP era. Since the enormous success of Bohemian Rhapsody, we’ve seen biopics on everyone from Elton John to Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston, and now, with movies like A Complete Unknown and Deliver Me From Nowhere, they’re starting to attract some of the finest acting talent in the business. This is all poised to go to another level next year with the release of a Michael Jackson movie (starring the popstar’s nephew) and a whopping four (yes, four) Beatles movies.

This unprecedented approach (which sounds a bit like The Avengers meets Rashomon) will allow the Fab Four (Paul Mescal as Paul, Harris Dickinson as John, Barry Keoghan as Ringo and Joseph Quinn as George) to each have their own movie, presumably with overlapping timelines, and all directed by Sam Mendes. As we wait for this tantalising project (at the time of writing, we’re yet to see a trailer) to materialise, there are already a wide variety of excellent Beatles movies to dig into. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

1. A Hard Day's Night (1964)

A Hard Day’s Night might be the oldest movie on this list, but it’s still the best and most authentic. Filmed using newly available handheld cameras, director Richard Lester not only captured the band’s youthful energy but also captured the very real, ground-level phenomenon of Beatlemania itself—screaming girls and all.

A Hard Day's Night is now regarded as a bit of a classic and a landmark for mockumentary filmmaking and the cinema vérité style—so if you’re someone with an interest in film history (especially movies like Don’t Look Back or Gimme Shelter), this might be the one for you!

2. Get Back (2021)

In 2021, while most of us were still in lockdown (psychologically at the very least), Disney+ released Get Back, a movie (or miniseries, if you prefer) that felt like a gift and a time machine. Working with state-of-the-art equipment, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson remastered a treasure trove of footage from the recording of Let It Be, releasing it as a movie that felt like an immersive, behind-the-scenes documentary – similar to movies like The Wrecking Crew and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, which gave fans the experience of being in the room. 

For Beatles fans, this one is a must-watch—an opportunity to see what it might have been like to hang out with these guys and a rare chance to see artists creating iconic music in real time. The full doc is over eight hours long, but it’s more than worth diving into!

3. Help! (1965)

Help! is one of the silliest movies on this list, but it’s a pretty good hang, and it shows the Fab Four in their bubbly, early pomp. Reuniting with Richard Lester a year after Hard Day’s Night, it’s a musical made to coincide with the release of the album of the same name. Naturally, if you like that record in particular, this might be one for you.

The madcap plot, which features a sacrificial ring and mad scientists, follows the Beatles as they try to protect Ringo from an Eastern cult. That might not sound anything like what they sing about on the album, but if you love that ‘60s Beatles energy (or are partial to movies like Tommy or The Wall), you’ll probably have a blast.

4. That Thing You Do! (1996)

Despite having only rewatched this movie earlier this year, I can’t actually recall if The Beatles are mentioned in it. Regardless, That Thing You Do! is so steeped in and enamoured by the Beatlemania era (it follows the rise of a young American band), it’s impossible to think of the movie as anything but an homage.

That Thing You Do! is the directorial debut of Tom Hanks, so if you like the actor’s heartfelt ‘90s output (especially movies like Forrest Gump and Apollo 13), you’re probably gonna love it. Steve Zahn and Liv Tyler both feature, and the tune, frankly, is a bop.

5. One to One: John and Yoko (2025)

The most recent doc on our list was released earlier this year after an acclaimed debut at the Venice Film Festival last Autumn. One to One: John and Yoko is the kind of documentary that looks to give an impression of the artist by zooming in—in this case by focusing on the 18 months that John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived together in Greenwich Village, leading up to the One to One benefit concert in Madison Square Garden in 1972.

The movie is directed by the Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Kevin Macdonald, so if you liked his previous work on Marley (a doc on Bob) and Whitney (about Houston), this might be up your street.

6. George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2021)

George Harrison was always the most idiosyncratic member of the Beatles—the one you say is your favourite if you’re in the mood for sounding a little different. This remarkable documentary, directed by none other than Martin Scorsese, stands as a towering portrait of the artist: his early days growing up in Liverpool, his time with The Beatles, his spirituality, and his untimely death in 2001 at just 58 years old.

Stretching out over three-and-a-half hours, Living in the Material World is a meaty piece of work, but like anything made by the great director (notably his other movie docs Shine a Light and The Last Waltz), it’s a pleasure to settle into.

7. Nowhere Boy (2009)

Given how protective The Beatles (and their various estates) are of their work and history, it’s probably no surprise that we’ve yet to see a modern biopic about them. The closest thing so far was Sam Taylor-Johnson’s 2009 movie Nowhere Boy, which starred a then-18-year-old Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the young John Lennon. 

This is an interesting one to watch if you like the kind of movies that take an unusual approach to show an artist’s origin story—think stuff like Control, or I’m Not There. Just be warned, though: apart from the Ono sanctioned the use of Lennon’s song Mother, there aren’t any Beatles tunes in this one.

8. Yesterday (2019)

If you’re looking for a movie that takes the opposite approach to Nowhere Boy (i.e., it has many of the Beatles' hits but basically none of them in it), Yesterday might be the one for you. The movie uses a premise that wouldn’t feel out of place in an episode of The Twilight Zone: what if, by some weird anomaly, you woke up one day as the last person on earth who remembered The Beatles’ music.

Written by Richard Curtis, Yesterday is an admittedly shmaltzy movie, but thanks to some nice performances and the typically deft directorial hand of Danny Boyle (more Millions, less 28 Days Later), it’s a pleasant enough viewing experience. 

9. Yellow Submarine (1968)

Of course, we were always going to include Yellow Submarine on this list. This iconic animation has been entertaining lightly inebriated college students for almost 60 years now with its surrealist visions, kaleidoscopic colours, and popular tunes.

The animation recalls the strangeness of the Monty Python inserts, so if you’re into that kind of stuff (or other surrealist animations like Fantastic Planet), you should check it out—there’s a reason why it’s still considered a landmark in animation cinema.

10. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

No list of music movies would be complete without a reference to the great Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. This is one of those spoof-type movies (think This is Spinal Tap and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) that ends up being so influential that both critics and filmmakers now use it as a reference point for what musical biopics should avoid.

The star (played by the great John C. Reilly) is more of a Johnny Cash type, but his journey through music history does allow for a meeting with the Fab Four, who are played hilariously by Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman. 

Whether you’re the type to have the decorations up by mid-November or someone who runs for the hills at the first whiff of a clove-studded orange, you’re probably as susceptible to the charms of a good Christmas film as anyone else. Rooting around to write this piece, it dawned on me that the subgenre of stories involving St. Nick himself has actually provided fewer films than I’d remembered — but we do tend to watch the ones that stick a lot.

The following list contains more genres than you might imagine, including comedy, action, animation, and straight-up festive heart-warmers. There are some not-very-good films that still gave us good Santas. There are also some quite good films that gave us bad ones. Regardless, you’ll find them below, ranked in ascending order. Read on to discover more, and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

12. Tom Hanks in The Polar Express (2004)

We begin our list in two places: The North Pole and, less hospitably, the uncanny valley. Robert Zemickis has always been the kind of director who likes to work at the cutting edge of special effects (think recent movies like The Walk and Here), but his mo-capped 2004 Christmas movie, The Polar Express, is probably best known for pushing the boat out a little too far.

As a result, the film can be unsettlingly humanlike at times, but it’s mostly a delight—and who doesn’t want to see Tom Hanks (aka America’s dad) as the man himself? 

11. Paul Giamatti in Fred Claus (2007)

Given the actor’s lovable, gruff nature and physical charms, it was only a matter of time before Paul Giamatti was asked to play Santa Claus. Unluckily, his opportunity came in the not particularly funny Vince Vaughn comedy Fred Claus, in which Vaughn plays the jolly guy’s degenerate brother.

The film is one of Vaughn’s post-Wedding Crashers comedies, so if you’re okay with the movies from that era (The Break-Up, Four Christmases), then you’ll probably have a good time with it. Regardless, Giamatti, as ever, is a delight.

10. Jim Broadbent in Arthur Christmas (2011)

Given the number of great animated Christmas movies out there, there’s no shortage of solid Santa vocal performances to choose from. One of the more delightful and low-key comes from Jim Broadbent in Arthur Christmas.

This festive action caper (which follows Santa’s youngest son on a quest to deliver one last present) comes from the geniuses at Aardman Animations, so if you like films like Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Chicken Run, this is one you’ll want to check out. 

9. JK Simmons in Klaus (2019)

The next animated film on our list is Klaus, a gorgeous 2019 Netflix release that offers a kind of origin story for the man in the red suit. The protagonist is a Norwegian postman who gets stationed in the far north, where he meets a toy maker who seems like he might have other skills to offer.

The signature voiced J.K. Simmons actually played Santa in the flesh in last year’s Dwayne Johnson-led action film, Red One, but his work here is even better—especially if you liked his voice work in shows like Invincible and BoJack Horseman.

8. David Harbour in Violent Night (2022)

A more recent trend in Christmas films is to blend the festive cheer with another, less festive genre. A few of these, like the aforementioned Red One, have opted for action, and none with more of a sense of ‘90s fun than the 2022 film Violent Night, which basically marketed itself as a blend of Home Alone and Die Hard.

For the lead role of this axe-wielding Santa, the filmmakers cast David Harbour—an actor who, funnily enough, was already known for playing a Red Guardian. The story takes place in a compound on Christmas Eve, where Santa must save a family from a group of mercenaries.

7. Tim Allen in The Santa Claus (1994)

If you were born at some point in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, there’s a good chance that Tim Allen’s performance in The Santa Clause was burned onto your retinas. The film probably isn’t considered as much of a classic these days as it used to be, but in terms of offering an alternative take on Christmas mythology (Allen plays a divorced Dad who has to take on the role after accidentally killing St Nick), it kind of got there first—so credit where credit’s due.

This is one that fans of festive movies from around that period, like Home Alone 2 and Jingle All the Way, will probably love.

6. Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Our highest-ranked animated film is, of course, a Christmas classic in its own right—and kind of a classic in general, especially for fans of gothy stop frame animation (think Coraline, Corpse Bride). All that said, Henry Sellick and Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas doesn’t exactly star Santa, but this incarnation, voiced by Chris Sarandon, is nothing if not memorable.

Having been abducted by Jack Skellington, Sarandon’s festively plump Claus gets to show some range as he’s quickly scared out of his leather boots, first by Lock, Shock, and Barrel and then by the terrifying Oogie Boogie.

5. Kurt Russell in The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

Given how bearded Kurt Russell looked when he made his comeback in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, are we surprised that someone asked him to play Santa just a couple of years later? Whatever the case, we now have two Christmas Chronicles movies—and if you enjoy Russell’s vibe in films like Death Proof and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, let’s just say he doesn’t change his approach too much here.

The first of the two—in which two kids have to help Santa out after accidentally causing his sleigh to crash—is easily the best.

4. Ed Asner in Elf (2003)

Thinking back over all these movies, you start to notice a few different types emerging. There’s the endlessly warm kind, the cool dad kind, and then there’s the tough love, no-nonsense kind. At the time of writing, no one has done the latter as well as Ed Asner did in Elf.

The actor really only appears in a handful of scenes in this air-tight, Will Ferrell classic (imagine Barbie meets Step Brothers, but set at Christmas, and you’ll have some idea of the vibe), yet every moment he has on screen is solid gold. 

3. Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa (2003)

Now, if Asner is the best example of the patriarchal Santa, nobody did the anti-hero version quite like Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa. The movie, surprisingly enough, was directed by none other than Terry Swigoff—and if you appreciate the slacker energy of the director’s previous movies (think Ghost World and Crumb), this is definitely the Christmas film for you.

Thornton’s Santa is, of course, not exactly the sleigh-riding kind, but the film does build to a relatively festive conclusion—once you get past all the bad behaviour, of course. 

2 & 1. Richard Attenborough/Edmund Gwenn in Miracle on 34th Street (1994/1947)

As we reach the end of our countdown, it’s time to forget all those alternative approaches and just bask in the presence of the real deal. It’s almost impossible to choose between the two Miracle on 34th Street films, so in the spirit of Christmas, I’ve decided to award them joint first. 

The 1947 original (which, given the time period, will appeal to fans of It’s a Wonderful Life) stars Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood (who was just eight years old at the time), but it’s the great Edmund Green who steals the show as St. Nick—the actor remains the only person to win an Oscar for playing the role. 

If I had to choose one, however, it would be Richard Attenborough, who gives a performance that is pure warmth in the 1994 version—and honestly, that monologue about being “a symbol” just gets me every time. This one was written by the great John Hughes, so if you like Home Alone, you’re gonna love it.

We’re more than a week into December, and the end-of-year lists are starting to come in quick and fast. One that’s always interesting to take a look at is the American Film Institute’s, otherwise known as AFI. Voted on by a jury of industry experts (who are encouraged to factor in both artistic achievement and cultural impact), it’s not exactly the place to go for offbeat choices, but it’s interesting to see what some of the top film people in America consider to be the year’s most important movies.

2025 is no different—in fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see most of these films nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The ones that don’t make that final list will likely lose their spot to one of the movies that weren’t eligible for inclusion on the AFI’s list—i.e. international favourites like It Was Just an Accident (Iran), The Secret Agent (Brazil), No Other Choice (South Korea), and Sentimental Value (Norway).

Read on to learn more about the AFI’s top ten movies of 2025—which they list in alphabetical order, so we will too—and use the guide below to find them in theatres or on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. For the movies yet to be released in the UK, we will have that information up as soon as it’s available. 

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Despite the astronomical amount of money that the Avatar movies tend to make around the world, often pushing the limits of digital effects and exploring new aesthetic territory in the process, it’s fair to say that the films themselves are not everyone’s cup of tea.

I presume that the latest, Avatar: Fire and Ash, will be no different, especially for the fact that it largely repeats a lot of the narrative structure of the last film, The Way of Water. It does, however, bring back Payakan, everyone’s favourite talking space whale, and add a vengeful and dangerous new antagonist into the mix in Oona Chaplin’s Verang—and yes, she is Charlie’s granddaughter. 

Needless to say, it’s not for the unconverted, but if you’re a fan of all things Pandora, you can basically book your IMAX tickets now.

Bugonia

Though produced via Ireland’s Element Pictures and directed by the Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, Bugonia managed to make the cut for the AFI’s top ten thanks to being at least partly produced by Focus Features. This is a loose remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet!, an eco sci-fi about an alien who comes to earth to warn of an invasion—but nobody believes him.

In Lanthimos’ film, the protagonists are two brothers who abduct a tech CEO whom they believe to be the nefarious alien. The CEO is played by Emma Stone in what is now her fourth collaboration in a row with the Greek provocateur—so if you liked all the weird stuff they got up to with The Favourite and Poor Things, you will probably like this one, too.  

Frankenstein

Having seen some images and read some tepid reactions to Guilermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, I’d say my expectations were not sky high when I sat down to watch it—which is sometimes the best way to be. The beloved director (the singular artist behind such modern classics as Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water) has been threatening to adapt Mary Shelley’s novel for years, but the resulting film is surprisingly fresh. 

It’s also nicely melancholy, and fittingly gruesome—which should be especially pleasing to hear for horror fans. Del Toro structures his take like Shelley’s narrative, introducing us to this fantastical world through the eyes of an arctic explorer before switching to Dr Frankenstein’s (Oscar Isaac) POV and then—lastly and most compellingly—the Creature’s (Jacob Elordi).

Hamnet

Though it’s only played at a number of film festivals and a few select cinemas in the United States so far, Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the biggest tear-jerkers of the decade. The film stars Jessie Buckley (already a hot favourite for the Oscar for Best Actress) and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William Shakespeare, respectively, in a story that follows how the couple attempted to process the death of their son.

Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s bestseller, this is a deeply felt story about trauma. It’s also a film that finds a sense of refuge and calm in images of the natural world—which is to say, if you appreciated Zhao’s work on movies like Nomadland and The Rider, you’ll know exactly the kind of tone to expect here.

Jay Kelly

One of the movies on this list that’s already available to watch at home is Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly—there was a theatrical release, but Netflix has already (kindly enough) put it up for streaming just in time for the holiday season. 

This is a story about an ageing movie-star (George Clooney) looking back over his life and wondering what it was all about—imagine Lost in Translation but set in Italy and mixed with one of Clooney’s Nespresso ads (this is not a dig), and you’ll have some idea of what to expect. Jay Kelly also features Adam Sandler in a rare dramatic role, so if you’re a fan of his work in Uncut Gems or Punch-Drunk Love, this might be up your alley. 

Marty Supreme

And while we’re talking Uncut Gems, fans of that incredible nail-biter should put director Josh Safdie’s new film, Marty Supreme, at the top of their to-watch list—if it’s not there already. This is the movie that’s currently catching the internet’s attention with an orange-tinted marketing campaign that’s so far featured an unhinged Zoom meeting, a massive blimp above L.A. and a much sought-after zip-up jacket.

By the sounds of things, the movie (in which Timothée Chalamet plays the real-life professional ping pong champ Marty Reisman) has plenty of substance to go with all that style—another sports flick to add to the Safdie canon, albeit one that sounds more on the level of Uncut Gems than The Smashing Machine.

One Battle After Another

At the time of writing, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another looks like the movie to beat this awards season. This will be music to the ears of the director’s legions of fans, not least for the fact that the man behind Magnolia, Boogie Nights, and There Will Be Blood (to name just three) has never won a single Oscar.

If he does it for this film, however, it will be nothing if not fitting: One Battle After Another, a whirlwind story about a washed-up revolutionary trying to find his kidnapped daughter, looked like an instant classic from the moment it was released and is currently topping best-of lists across the board. As they say, he’s due one.

Sinners

As we near the halfway point of December, with news of Netflix’s potential acquisition of Warner Bros. still fresh in the memory, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners might just have been the most uplifting cinema story of the year—certainly for anyone who values the theatrical experience. This is a movie by a young director who cut his teeth in the IP system (making Creed and Black Panther) before unleashing something big and new and deeply personal.

What made Sinners such a success is that he mixed his own rich and textured ideas (about the importance of music to displaced and diaspora communities) with a tried and trusted genre—aka the vampire movie. Sinners, for lack of a better word, is awesome, and if you’re a fan of films like Near Dark and From Dusk Till Dawn, I can’t recommend it highly enough. 

Train Dreams

Another movie on this list that’s already available to watch on Netflix is Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams, a film the streaming giant picked up way back at Sundance that has become a word-of-mouth hit among critics and audiences this year. Set in America’s Pacific Northwest, this is a tender, heartbreaking story about grief told from the eyes of a logger and railroad worker around the turn of the 20th century.

It’s a poetic and remarkably cinematic film that fans of Chloe Zhao and Terrence Malick (think Days of Heaven, The Tree of Life), in particular, will adore. 

Wicked: For Good

Seeing Wicked: For Good on this list did make me wonder about when the voting took place. John M. Chu’s film, a direct follow-up to last year’s musical smash, certainly has its fans, but the critical reception has been middling, and the producers will now be on high alert about its awards chances after seeing the film fail to secure a nomination for Best Picture at the Golden Globes.

Whatever the case, it’s already banked a lot of money, and if you liked the first one, you won’t need reminding to watch this one—just be warned, it’s the darker of the two.

Considering how often you see Stephen King’s name pop up in the credits for movies and TV shows, it’s amazing that the writer’s well of work just refuses to run dry. And with somewhere in the region of 260 novels, novellas and shorts under his belt, it seems unlikely that that will happen any time soon. And that’s before we factor in the possibility for reboots, remakes and complementary miniseries—not to mention all the stuff (Weapons and Stranger Things come to mind) inspired by his style.

In 2025 alone, UK cinemas welcomed the release of no fewer than four (yes, four) movies adapted from King’s work, along with a couple of TV series that began potential multi-season arcs. In the coming years, it looks like these will be joined by several new projects, including one set in the world of his most famous story. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like Netflix, AppleTV, Prime Video and elsewhere.

The Life of Chuck (2024)

When The Life of Chuck won the audience award at TIFF in 2024, it sounded like a sure thing for at least a few nods on the awards circuit earlier this year. For whatever reason, that never came to pass, but if you’re not against a little schmaltz (think ‘90s Zemeckis, like Forrest Gump) and enjoy adaptations of King’s non-horror work (think Shawshank, Stand by Me), you might really enjoy it.

The story begins in an unusual, end-of-the-world setting and only reveals itself after the first act. I recommend you go in as blind as possible.

The Monkey (2025)

Osgood Perkins has become unavoidable in the last couple of years, utilising his Hollywood brand name (he’s the son of Psycho’s Anthony Perkins) in a bid to become a King-like name in horror cinema. The recently released Keeper is his third theatrical feature in just 16 months, and if you liked that one and Longlegs, you’ll probably get a kick out of The Monkey, too!

The story uses the reliable setup of a Final Destination movie, where the kills seem inevitable, and the fun comes in trying to work out how they’ll happen.

It: Welcome to Derry (2025 - )

Earlier this year, Netflix and A24 teamed up to release Welcome to Derry, a spinoff of a remake of a 1990 King adaptation (IT) that basically ruined some childhoods, including my own. This newer incarnation (like the movies it’s spun from) is a little gorier but also softer around the edges (think Stranger Things) and a good deal more fun—so if that’s your vibe, this could be the one for you.

The show is a gnarly expansion of the IT universe that explores the lore of Derry, including how Pennywise became the clown. 

The Long Walk (2025)

While I can’t say I fully loved The Long Walk as much as I’d hoped to, the movie has the kind of thrifty, throw-back, minimal feel that I find quite attractive in a dystopian movie. I also find the cast (which includes David Jonsson from Alien Romulus and Cooper Hoffman from Liquorice Pizza) quite attractive, too, which always helps.

The movie is somewhere in the realm of the televised Battle Royale genre (think Death Race, Running Man), focusing on a government-organised walk to the death that takes place each year through the American heartland.

The Running Man (2025)

And speaking of The Running Man,  he most recent King adaptation that’s hit our screens is Edgar Wright’s remake of that Arnold Schwarzenegger classic. This is one for fans of the previous movie, of course, but also anyone who appreciates Wright’s more action-focused work—like Baby Driver and Hot Fuzz.

The movie stars current red-hot leading man Glen Powell as a guy who has to survive 30 days while most of the public attempts to kill him. 

The Institute (2025 - )

The most low-key King release this year is the MGM+ show The Institute. This one follows a kid with special abilities who is taken to a mysterious centre full of other gifted children—imagine a mix between Stranger Things and Shutter Island, and you’ll have some idea of what to expect.

Created by TV legend Jack Bender (Lost, Game of Thrones), The Institute stars Joe Freeman as Luke Ellis alongside Ben “Prince Caspian” Barnes as former police officer Tim Jamieson.

Carrie (2026)

Despite various rumours over the years, we never got to see the Shining TV series (said to be titled The Overlook) that HBO Max, and later Netflix, were apparently producing. This upcoming Carrie miniseries, however, based on King’s legendary novel and produced by Mike Flanagan for Amazon Prime, definitely looks like it’s coming our way.

Flanagan’s show will be the fifth adaptation of King’s debut, after Brian DePalma’s 1976 classic, a forgettable 1999 sequel, a TV movie from 2002 and the decent Chloë Grace Moretz remake from 2013. The cast is naturally mostly newcomers, but Scream’s Matthew Lillard (who appeared in Life of Chuck) is on board to play the school’s principal. 

Billy Summers (TBA)

Having already adapted King’s Lisey’s Story, Castle Rock and 11.22.63, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot are now in production on his 2021 bestseller, Billy Summers—a crime story about a hitman who pretends to be a writer while working a job in a small town.

Bad Robot had originally envisaged it as a ten-episode miniseries, but it now seems to be going ahead as a feature, with Warner Bros. set to release it. Sounds promising!

Mister Yummy (TBA)

Just this month, Deadline reported that an adaptation of King’s 2015 short, Mister Yummy, was in development at Intrinsic Value Films. Naturally, little information is currently available, but the project sounds like an interesting one.

The story focuses on an elderly man in a retirement home who starts to see visions of a man he once fell in love with. This one sounds more like the dramatic, introspective King of stories like Stand by Me and Life of Chuck—so if they’re your bag, consider putting this one on your radar. 

Fairy Tale (TBA)

King’s 2022 fantasy novel Fairy Tale was actually optioned very soon after the book’s release, with Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum) attached to direct. It’s now looking more likely that the story will be told as a miniseries, with J. H. Wyman (who worked on Fringe) acting as showrunner.

The story follows a young boy who acquires a set of keys that give him access to another realm—Narnia fans take note. 

Good morning, sports fans! Chances are, if you enjoy watching people kick, hit, or throw balls in real life, you’re probably partial to a sports movie from time to time. But we can’t expect you to be in 100% competitive mode all the time, and that’s where comedy crossovers come in.

There are lots of epic sports drama movies out there that tap into the underdog story or the mission to be the very best in your field. But the release of Happy Gilmore 2 in 2025 reminds us that sometimes, sports can be very silly.

We can’t put the new movie in the hall of fame just yet, but the original sure does make the podium. Read on for the top ten funniest sports comedies of all time, ranked from ten to one.

10. Space Jam (1996)

A lot of the movies on this list aren’t necessarily family-friendly, but Space Jam certainly is. So, if you’re looking for something the kids can enjoy, this is a great introduction to sports movies. 

I remember watching this film as a child and being absolutely obsessed with the alien villains, and also thinking it was incredibly cool that Michael Jordan was friends with Bugs Bunny.

As you’d expect from the Looney Tunes, the comedy in Space Jam is very juvenile and slapstick, but there are also moments of double entendre for the grown-ups in the room. It’s short, sweet, and very silly… and it’s also way better than its sequel, Space Jam: A New Legacy.

9. A League of Their Own (1992)

Chances are, Gen Z sports fans have probably tuned into the TV show version of A League of Their Own (which is also great), but it’s important to go back to where it all began and watch the movie. 

When you put Tom Hanks and Geena Davis together in a ‘90s movie, you’re going to get magic, and that’s exactly what happened in the film iteration of A League of Their Own. It might be cliché, but this is the perfect date night movie. If you’re trying to get someone to watch a sports movie who usually prefers a rom-com, or if you’re trying to trick a sports fan into watching a cute romance flick, everyone’s a winner with this one.

8. Happy Gilmore (1996)

Here he is, the reason we’re even making this list right now! I’ve seen some angry golfers in my time, but Happy Gilmore takes the top prize in that regard. Thankfully, it’s very, very funny to see Adam Sander lose his cool on the course. Of all his work in the 1990s, this is my favourite of Sandler’s, and that’s not just because I love golf.

In fact, you really don’t need to like golf at all to enjoy this sports comedy. My partner loved it when we watched it together, and she doesn’t give golf the time of day usually. Happy Gilmore is ludicrous at times, but it’s actually got a pretty great story at the core of it. The best thing is that because of the sequel, the original is on most streaming services at the moment, including Netflix, the exclusive home of Happy Gilmore 2.

7. Blades of Glory (2007)

Will Ferrell appears on this list three times, and this is the first of his movies to make the cut. It seems the comedy legend loves to dive into sports comedies, and he’s very, very good at making them, too. Blades of Glory is arguably his most universally loved, mainly because the actual sports element takes such a backseat here.

So, don’t worry if you don’t know your loop from your lutz; you do not need to be a figure skating expert to have a great time with this one. It’s more like a childish crime caper than anything else, with sabotage and double-crossing the order of the day.

6. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Football (or soccer, for the Americans) is probably the most difficult sport to capture effectively in a film. I suspect that’s largely because of the dynamic nature of the game and how hard it is to convincingly portray that, especially when you stick a camera into the heart of the action. Thankfully, Bend It Like Beckham doesn’t worry too much about the actual game – it’s far more concerned with the human element of it.

It’s very similar to the American football (or soccer) comedy film She’s the Man in many ways, though far less on the nose with its comedy. Bend It Like Beckham is definitely in the rom-com realm as much as it is a sports comedy, with lots of drama and emotional beats underpinning the lighter moments. Much like A League of Their Own, this is perfect for a date night.

5. Fighting with My Family (2019)

Proving that maybe they just don’t make sports comedies like they used to, this is the most recent release of the ten films on this list. The world of WWE gets the Florence Pugh treatment in Fighting with My Family, and it’s not just a really funny family dramedy; it’s also a genuinely very good film, too.

The fight sequences are slick, the story is inspirational and authentic, and there are laughs aplenty throughout. It’s also directed by Stephen Merchant, so if you like the work he does with Ricky Gervais, you’ll be able to get on board with this pretty easily. It’s also on Netflix, which means it’s super easy to track down, especially if you’ve just watched Happy Gilmore 2.

4. Semi-Pro (2008)

Will Ferrell alert! The big man is back, and this time he’s playing basketball. As the frankly ridiculous Jackie Moon, Ferrell essentially lives out what I’m sure is a dream for a lot of folks, in that he buys out his local basketball team and makes himself the star player. If you think that sounds dumb, you’d be absolutely right, and Semi-Pro is not afraid to lean into that mindless territory.

I’ve seen this film more times than I can count, and so many of the quotes from Semi-Pro have been a huge part of my lexicon for the past 17 years. It’s very crude and brash, and it’s not for everyone by any means. But, if you’re into films like Role Models and The Hangover, you’ll be all in on Semi-Pro.

3. Tin Cup (1996)

If you want some golfing action that’s slightly more serious than Happy Gilmore 2, Tin Cup is a guaranteed hole-in-one. Featuring a romantic narrative laced with gently comedic moments, it has a similar tone to something like Jerry Maguire. Rather than slapstick humour, you’ll find yourself chuckling at the playful dynamic between Kevin Costner and Rene Russo as their relationship blossoms.

There’s a very specific type of sports movie in which Tin Cup fits, which is the story of a washed-up ex-Pro finding his love for the game once more to do something incredible. I love that archetype, and that’s why Tin Cup is a firm favourite of mine.

2. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

Alongside Happy Gilmore and post-Millennium, it’s hard to find a more universally loved and widely watched sports movie than Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. A big part of this legacy is the brilliant cast, which includes Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Justin Long, all at the top of their game.

The film is very similar to Blades of Glory in the sense that it doesn’t really matter how much you know about dodgeball (people have to avoid getting hit by a ball; it’s pretty simple), as Dodgeball is more focused on tomfoolery and nefarious plans hatched by cartoonish villains. 

It’s on Disney+ and, to be honest, worth a month of subscription fees for this one alone.

1. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

Ricky Bobby always says, ‘If you ain’t first, you’re last’. Thankfully, he ends up at the top of the leaderboard in our ranking of the funniest sports comedies with Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. And guess what? It’s the third and final entry for Will Ferrell.

Here, he teams up with his long-time collaborator John C. Reilly, and if you like what they did with Step Brothers, you’re going to find Talladega Nights to be a laugh riot. Simply put, you can’t ask for more from a sports comedy: it comes in at under two hours, it’s relentlessly funny, has a few twists along the way, and best of all, free to watch on Prime Video right now.

It wouldn’t be an awards season without a few shocks and snubs, and the 2026 Golden Globes nominations have no shortage of surprises. Taking place in January, the Globes are generally a more low-key and boozy affair than most other awards shows, a party to kick off the glitzy season after the critics' circles have handed out their year-end gongs. It has always been an idiosyncratic beast, and that also goes for who gets nominated. 

For a long time, the Globes were voted on by the HFPA, a group of roughly 90 hacks that nobody had ever heard of (as opposed to the literal thousands of people in the Academy), which meant that a well-targeted campaign of shmoozing could win you a nomination at a fraction of the cost of running for an Oscar. Now, having expanded its voting members to around 310 international journalists in 2023, we’re starting to see a new kind of Globes emerge—an award show with a genuinely more global feel. 

This is particularly evident in this year’s selection, with festival favourites taking up spots usually reserved for major US releases—even though two great American movies (Sinners with seven, One Battle After Another with nine) lead the pack alongside Norway’s Sentimental Value (eight). Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find out where to watch the movies, whether in theatres or on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

SNUB: Wicked: For Good Misses Out on a Best Picture Nod

Wicked: For Good is exactly the kind of big screen popcorn movie that used to be a dead cert for the Globes (think The Greatest Showman, Rocketman), an awards ceremony that splits many of its categories into either Drama or Musical/Comedy—meaning twice the noms. That bifurcation has meant that, given the reluctance to award actual comedy movies, basically any half-decent musical was usually guaranteed at least a mention—but perhaps not anymore.

Wicked: For Good predictably saw nominations for its two actresses (Grande has a good shot of winning) and a couple of songs, but will only be in contention for the still vague “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement" award, which its predecessor, Wicked, won while losing Best Picture Musical/Comedy to Emilia Perez. 

SHOCK: Indie & International Movies Get Huge Globes Recognition

Where movies like Wicked: For Good missed out, international and independents won big. 

Jafar Panahi (Iran), Joachim Trier (Norway) and Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil) all had their movies nominated for Best Drama (It Was Just and Accident, Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent) while in the Musical/Comedy category, Korean filmmaker Park Chan Wook’s No Other Choice was nominated alongside Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia and four films from American indie royalty: PTA’s One Battle After Another, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, as well as Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon—both of which were directed by Richard Linklater.

The weird part is that not one of the six movies in that category is a musical, nor, with the possible exception of Nouvelle, do I think any of these directors would refer to them as comedies. We are used to seeing a little category shenanigans at the Globes (remember The Martian, The Wolf of Wall Street?), but this is a whole new level. 

SNUB: Sydney Sweeney Punches Out Of Acting Categories

Given Euphoria breakout Sydney Sweeney’s magnetic ability to court controversy online, it’s probably not so surprising that the actor failed to make the cut in yesterday’s nominations for either The Housemaid or her more awards-friendly role as the pioneering female boxer Christy Martin in Christy.

This is the kind of part that requires an actor to undergo a physical transformation (think Monster, or to a lesser extent, I, Tonya), so Sweeney must have been quietly hoping for at least a nod from the Globes when she took it on. Unfortunately for her, the movie didn’t make a huge impression with critics and has struggled at the box office—maybe it’s time for a rebrand?

SHOCK: Jacob Elordi Is Nominated For Not One, But TWO Golden Globes

Sweeney can perhaps take some pleasure in seeing her fellow Euphoria alum Jacob Elordi pick up not one but two nominations yesterday. The Australian heartthrob first got a nod for his role in the TV drama Narrow Road to the Deep North (a POW story that fans of Atonement might enjoy) before receiving a shock Best Supporting Actor nom for his role as the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (a film for fans of The Shape of Water, naturally). 

As of today, the awards boffins at Gold Derby have the actor down for a nomination at the Oscars. He’s alive!

SNUB: Katheryn Bigelow Fails to Make An Impact at the Globes

Since becoming the first woman to win Best Director at the Oscars for The Hurt Locker in 2010, Katheryn Bigelow’s name has naturally stayed in the conversation for this category. She was back in 2013 with Zero Dark Thirty, but just missed out with Detroit a few years later. Now, with House of Dynamite, her first film in eight years, the director (and the execs at Netflix) must have been hoping for a comeback. But despite a lot of buzz from Venice, the film has failed to really ignite upon impact.

In truth, the Best Director category was always going to be a knife fight this year, and with Chloe Zhao already a lock for Hamnet alongside a selection of international names, you won’t find too many people arguing about a lack of diversity. 

SHOCK: 2026 Is a Cool Year For Score and Song at the Globes

Whenever I watch an Oscar ceremony (as I now do every year, without fail) and it comes time to hear the performances for Original Song, my mind imagines what it was like in 1996, when Colour of the Wind (Pocahontas) beat out You’ve Got a Friend in Me (Toy Story) for the prize. 

Thanks to an interesting selection of tunes, I might not need to daydream this year. The category for Best Original Song this year includes I Lied to You from Sinners (great), two tunes from Wicked: For Good (inevitable), one from KPop Demon Hunters (fun) and, best of all, a Nick Cave tune from Train Dreams (dreamy). 

This unusual level of good taste is also present in the nominations for Best Score, where names of maestros Hans Zimmer (F1), Alexandre Desplat (Frankenstein), Ludwig Goranson (Sinners) and Max Richter (Hamnet) will be said in the same breath as Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood (One Battle) and the Berlin-based techno DJ Kanding Ray (for the miraculous Spanish movie Sirāt).

SNUB: No Nomination For The Pitt’s Katherine LaNasa 

Viewers on the lookout for shenanigans could find plenty in the TV acting noms, where there was no love for The Gilded Age and not enough for The Pitt, while the weakest season of White Lotus absolutely cleaned up. The most egregious snub was surely for Katherine LaNasa’s supporting turn as nurse Dana Evans in The Pitt, a category where no less than three Lotus actors were nominated.

Nothing against those performances, of course, but LaNasa was the heart and soul of the exceptional ER-set drama. That scene where she attempts to make a cup of tea while shellshocked in one of the last few episodes is honestly one of the best things I’ve seen all year.

SHOCK: What Is Going on in Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement?

In truth, when this category was announced last year, it already seemed like a terrible idea. Sure, it’s an opportunity to recognise popcorn movies that never get nominated elsewhere, but aren’t all these nominees defined as “cinematic achievements”? And like Don said in that now ubiquitous meme, isn’t that what the money is for?

Either way, all kinds of funny stuff seems to be going on in the category this year, including nods for the yet to be released Avatar: Fire & Ash and the Netflix-streaming movie KPop Demon Hunters—both of which were recognised instead of six of the actual top seven highest-grossing movies of the year, including Superman and The Minecraft Movie.

SNUB: Sinners’ Wunmi Mosaku Should Have Been Nominated 

The electric Nigerian-British star Wunmi Mosaku was a standout in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners earlier this year (a miraculous vampire mashup movie that fans of From Dusk Till Dawn will love), but sadly didn’t make the cut with the Globe voters. The movie did get nominated for seven awards, though, including Michael B. Jordan for his dual role as the Smokestack twins. 

It was also the only film nominated in both the Box Office and Best Picture categories—no mean feat.  

SHOCK: Sorry, Baby’s Eve Victor Is (Rightfully) a Best Actress Nominee

Though many missed out, there were heartwarming decisions in other places, not least a first nomination for Rhea Seahorn for the excellent Pluribus after years of being overlooked by the Globes for her work on Better Call Saul. The most delightful, however, has to be Eva Victor’s nod for Best Actress for her incredible turn in Sorry, Baby—a deeply personal movie that Victor (who identifies as non-binary) also wrote and directed. 

Victor’s categorisation in the drama category is not necessarily off, but the film is certainly more of a comedy than If I Had Legs I’d Kick You or One Battle After Another, both of which have their leading actresses (Rose Byrne and Chase Infiniti) nominated in that other category. Whatever the case, this awards season just got a lot more interesting.

Who would have thought that a guy who was once little more than a side character on Sons of Anarchy would go on to become one of the most prolific and successful TV writers of the streaming era? Taylor Sheridan is well and truly the king of Paramount Plus right now, with a sprawling cowboy kingdom and a bunch of crime-based thrillers in his portfolio.

His newest show, Landman, is back for Season 2, and after becoming Paramount’s most-watched series of all time, it’s safe to say this is a big deal. With that honour under his belt, plus the hugely popular Yellowstone franchise (and an executive producer credit on Lawmen: Bass Reeves, too), Sheridan has totally dominated the small screen for the past seven years.

But which Taylor Sheridan show is the best? Do the cowboys reign supreme, or are the oil kings coming for that crown? See which of Sheridan’s shows are worth your time with our ranking of them all. (Spoiler: they are all worth your time, actually!)

7. Tulsa King (2022-)

Listen, it’s always going to be fun to see Sylvester Stallone playing a mafia boss, so please don’t be fooled into thinking Tulsa King is a bad show just because it’s at the bottom of this list – something had to be, and it’s got tough competition. 

If you like shows like The Sopranos and Peaky Blinders, you’ll be all in on this one, which has a wonderful blend of brutal violence and moments of levity that only Stallone can pull off. While it does lack the nuance and depth that some viewers might yearn for, the show still brims with a simple charm: big, brash, loud, and unabashedly macho, and we mean all of that in the most complimentary way possible. Tulsa King is a really easy watch, as long as you don’t mind a bit of violence and profanity.

6. 1923 (2022-)

As a Yellowstone prequel spin-off series, it was always going to be hard for 1923 to live up to the hype, and to be honest, the first season failed to hook me in. That was largely because the characters were scattered around and on their own little adventures. Thankfully, Season 2 brought everyone back together and stepped the violence and tension up a notch, leaving me wanting more of a show I was willing to take or leave when it first aired.

Like Tulsa King, you get some real star power with this one, in the form of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. 1923 tells us the backstory of the Dutton family and their iconic ranch; how they fought against villainous forces to protect what they built, and it develops into a truly thrilling, gritty family drama once Sheridan hits his stride. It reminds me a lot of Ozark – one of my favourite Netflix series of all time – with an array of nefarious bad guys and questionable heroes you can’t help but root for.

5. Mayor of Kingstown (2021-)

While Sheridan does have his critics, largely for his shortcomings as a writer (he’s often guilty of cheesy dialogue and convoluted storylines, which is all part of the fun), he does have an admirable tendency to tackle wider societal issues in his work. Mayor of Kingstown is a perfect example of this, with the US prison system put on the stand, as it were.

The Jeremy Renner-led series is brimming with themes of police corruption, political collusion, and criminal correction. It’s actually very similar thematically to Tulsa King, but while Stallone’s Dwight Manfredi is on the wrong side of the law, Renner’s Mike McLusky is the one pulling the strings in his world. Mayor of Kingstown is not in the same league as The Wire or Breaking Bad, but it’s definitely striving to appeal to the same audiences. Be warned, though, this Sheridan show is very bleak and violent, to the extent that even I would say it’s gratuitous at times.

4. Landman (2024-)

Clearly, Sheridan is doing something very right when it comes to Landman. Almost 15 million viewers in its first four weeks on Paramount Plus, eclipsing the massive audience Yellowstone already boasted. Once again, ideas of land ownership and capitalism are at the heart of the story for Landman – themes that obviously play on Sheridan’s mind a lot. This time, however, the concept of corporate greed really ramps up, leaving us with very few characters that are actually likeable.

That’s not necessarily a problem, especially when the characters are as fun as Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton), a man who speaks his mind, gets things done, and fears no one. He’s not quite as cool as John Dutton, but he’s pretty close. If you’re into movies like There Will Be Blood, Killers of the Flower Moon, and No Country for Old Men, you’ll have a riot with Landman. Just beware: Sheridan’s penchant for poorly written female characters hits a new low here, with the two-dimensional Angela and Aynsley Norris being the main gripe for most viewers.

3. Special Ops: Lioness (2023-)

We are so used to seeing Sheridan set his shows on dusty plains or within urban communities that it was quite surprising when he scaled up his storytelling with Special Ops: Lioness. Zoe Saldana stars in this tale of terrorist organisations and Marine recruits, while A-list stars like Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman support from the wings, giving this show a genuine pedigree.

This is a rare example of Sheridan getting his female characters absolutely spot on, harking back to the brilliant work he did crafting the character of Kate for Denis Villeneuve’s epic movie, Sicario. While it does suffer from the usual Sheridan problems of clichéd writing and overcomplicated narratives, there is no doubt that Lioness is his most gripping and intense show to date. Fans of Jarhead, Black Hawk Down, and Zero Dark Thirty will absolutely love this.

2. Yellowstone (2018-2024)

This is where it all began for Sheridan’s small-screen kingdom, and honestly, in terms of long-term entertainment value, there are very few TV shows that can hold a candle to Yellowstone. 

There’s enough of your stereotypical cowboy capers and rodeo fun here to satisfy ardent Western fans, but at the heart of this five-season-long soap opera is intense family drama and pantomime villains looking to destroy the Dutton family legacy. Think Game of Thrones and Succession, but with ranchers, and you’re on the right lines here.

Kevin Costner leads the show as patriarch John Dutton, and he’s just as cavalier and commanding as you’d expect. There’s incredible support in the rest of the cast, like Kelly Reilly as Costner’s daughter, Beth, and Cole Hauser as her husband, Rip Wheeler. A few work friends and I started watching Yellowstone out of curiosity, almost ironically, if anything. We expected to laugh about how silly and cheesy it was, and we ended up absolutely obsessed. It’s been a couple of years now, and we still talk about the show almost every day. It did make us laugh, but it also made us cry, filled us with excitement, and had us gripped until the bitter end.

1. 1883 (2021)

The 1923 prequel series might not quite have hit the mark for Yellowstone fans, but 1883, the first spinoff, is truly astounding. While the main show is, for want of a better word, a little bit trashy and simple, 1883 is packed with emotion, grit, and genuinely heavy moments that carry a lot of weight. It’s an unflinching and impassioned look at the history of the American West. You can feel how much Sheridan cares about the characters he’s crafted and the real-world issues they experience. From displaced communities to embracing different cultures, this is a story handled with a wonderful mix of delicacy and visceral brutality.

I have no hesitation in saying that Elsa Dutton (played by Isabel May) is the very best character Sheridan has ever created, and this show blows all his other small-screen work out of the water. While Yellowstone is great for anyone wanting to dabble in the cowboy kingdom for the long haul, 1883 is a phenomenal single-season experience. Sadly, it’ll leave you wanting more, but honestly, the ending is perfect as it is. Anyone who’s a fan of Western movies like Dances with Wolves, Hostiles, or 3:10 to Yuma will adore 1883.

Thanks to hits like Stranger Things, the 1980s have become a fertile, neon-lit playground for TV shows to stretch our imaginations, bringing us jaded modern viewers back to a seemingly simpler time before smartphones stole our attention and spontaneity. Some of the best modern series set in the ‘80s bring out the decade’s sparky spirit in fresh, emotional, and downright addictive ways—injecting some much-needed hope from the past into these dark modern times.

If you think Stranger Things owns the ‘80s revival crown, though, think again. These five series, which are ranked below in ascending order, deliver nostalgic vibes with more heart, pizzazz, and banging soundtracks, which make them must-watch escapes through the decade’s music, culture, and analogue life.

5. Mix Tape (2025)

Set in Sheffield in 1989, Mix Tape is a tender coming-of-age romance that follows teenagers Alison and Daniel’s first love, their messy fallout, and their eventual reconnection decades later, sparked by a shared soundtrack of pop anthems.

Adapted from Jane Sanderson’s novel of the same name, Mix Tape delicately weaves the power of music with raw emotional truths about love lost and found. The seamless shifts between ‘80s flashbacks and the present day make this a beautifully nostalgic yet deeply modern story, enhanced by needle drops that hit all the right notes. 

4. GLOW (2017–2019)

Glamming up the golden era of women’s wrestling, GLOW is a vibrant, witty, and heartfelt look at the women behind the neon-lit ring in 1980s Los Angeles. Actress Ruth Wilder and a host of other women who don’t fit the typical Hollywood mould show up to audition for a mysterious pilot: The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW). The women of all shapes and sizes find expression, competition, and camaraderie as they (literally) fight to keep the series alive.

Unfortunately, GLOW was cancelled after its third season due to COVID-19-related budget cuts, but don’t let that stop you! The series balances camp performances with genuine struggles over identity, ambition, and friendship. Through electric fashion, iconic music, and empowering storytelling, GLOW brings to life a forgotten slice of ‘80s culture with charm and grit that beats mere nostalgia.

3. Hysteria! (2024)

Set against the backdrop of the ‘Satanic Panic’, Hysteria! follows the story of a rowdy group of punk teens who pretend to be satanists to gain clout for their new heavy metal band. But things start to spiral out of control when dark, supernatural happenings begin to plague their small town—and the band are the prime suspects.

The show skillfully blends dark humour, horror, and ‘80s nostalgia with an authentic rock-and-roll soundtrack. It captures the chaotic energy of a town caught between fear and fascination, making it a wild ride full of twists that goes beyond your typical throwback entertainment to explore how mass panic and identity collide in unforgettable ways. 

2. Pose (2018–2021)

Ryan Murphy’s Pose follows the complex, vibrant, and deeply emotional stories of the dancers, models, and socialites at the centre of the ballroom dance scene in late ‘80s to late ‘90s New York. It’s a celebration of resilience, love, and expression during a time when AIDS was devastating lives, but hope shone brightest in the fiercest performances.

Over three seasons, Pose offers incredible insight into the ballroom culture of the city’s LGBTQ+ community with dazzling costumes, fierce dance battles, and heart-stopping drama. Pose rewrites the typical ‘80s narrative to include voices and struggles often ignored, making it essential viewing for anyone craving a fuller picture of that unique time.

1. Red Oaks (2014–2017)

A sharp coming-of-age comedy, Red Oaks follows the story of David Meyers, a newly accepted college student who lands a summer job at the Red Oaks Country Club in New Jersey, 1985. There, he rubs shoulders with its elite members and even falls in love with the owner’s daughter, Skye. Meanwhile, his own parents find their relationship drifting apart as they explore new territory in middle age.

Red Oaks effortlessly blends teenage hormones, class tensions, and awkward romances with colourful flashbacks and classic ‘80s rock tunes. But under the laughs and nostalgia are deeper themes of socioeconomic mobility, family pressures, and the uncertainties of early adulthood. David’s summer is full of memorable moments—from filming an awkward adult party to navigating his relationship with Skye and career dilemmas—all while trying to find his path in a rapidly changing world. 

It’s the perfect blend of humour, heart, and sharp ‘80s style that captures the spirit of the decade in a way that’s fresh, funny, and surprisingly emotional. 

Hollywood has a long-standing tradition of casting actors well beyond their teen years to play high schoolers, college freshmen, and awkward adolescents—often with a mix of convincing results thanks to makeup, lighting, and a healthy dose of good will and fantasy from the audience. From the neon-soaked summers of the ‘80s to modern streaming hits, these age-defying performances keep us believing in eternal youth, even when the math doesn’t quite add up. 

Stranger Things set a high bar by starting with age-appropriate kids, but as the seasons dragged on, even they aged over the limit. But as you’ll see, the Upside Down isn’t the only place where these age gaps are found. Whether it’s ghosts in girls’ bathrooms, high school mean girls, or nerdy web-slingers, these actors pulled off teenage illusions that either fooled us completely or we wanted to be fooled enough to let it slide. So, let’s count down the oldest offenders who dialed up the teen vibe!

Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp – Stranger Things (2016–2025)

Stranger Things tried harder than most productions to cast age-appropriate actors. The core four—Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will—were all close to 12 years old at the start of Season 1, and were played by actors around that age, too. Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike, was 13 at the time of filming the first season, as was Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin); Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) was 14, and Noah Schnapp (Will) was 12 years old. 

Although in each season the characters are supposed to be one year older, the real-life timeline was unable to keep filming at such a snappy pace, and the main characters have since aged out of their roles. In Season 5, Finn is 22, Gaten is 23, Caleb is now 24, and Noah is 21. There are some clear telltale signs the core four are well past 16, but the costume and makeup departments do a convincing enough job that I’m happy to buy it.

Nicola Coughlan – Derry Girls (2018–2022) and Bridgerton (2020–present)

While Nicola Coughlan effortlessly blended in with the others on Derry Girls, she was in fact already 31 at the time she started playing the 15-year-old Claire Devlin in the series. Her youthful features also served her well while playing Penelope Featherington in Netflix’s hit Regency-era fantasy series Bridgerton. 

As the roughly 17 or 18-year-old Penelope was shrinking to the sidelines during the seasonal balls and penning her devastating anonymous column, Nicola was actually already 33 years old. Now that’s a fact Lady Whisteldown would have gleefully spread around town!

Paul Rudd – Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

By now, it’s become a running joke that Paul Rudd never ages. From his role at 26 as Cher’s down-to-earth stepbrother Josh in 1995’s Clueless to starring in Marvel’s Ant-Man films at 44, he has pretty much looked the same throughout his entire career. Did he find the Holy Grail? Is he a vampire? The speculation continues! 

Back in 2001, Rudd starred in the iconic teen comedy Wet Hot American Summer as the 17-year-old Andy. Rudd was actually already 31, but what’s 14 years when you’ve got eternal life?

Shirley Henderson – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

In the Harry Potter books, it was well known that Moaning Myrtle—the ghost of the girl killed by the basilisk in the girls’ bathroom on the second floor of Hogwarts—remained the age at which she died: 14. 

In the films, she is played by actress Shirley Henderson, who was already 35 at the time Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was filmed. But her youthful looks, coupled with the opaque ghost filter and her signature baby-ish voice made it genuinely shocking for me when I discovered how old she really was. 

Rachel McAdams – Mean Girls, The Notebook (2004)

Rachel McAdams was already 26 years old when she played a high school junior in the razor-sharp teen comedy Mean Girls. As the popular leader of The Plastics, Regina George, she ruled North Shore High with cruel perfection while making it her business to build up and destroy Lindsay Lohan’s Cady Heron.

In that same year, McAdams also starred in her other breakout role in the tearjerking romance The Notebook. Like in Mean Girls, her character, Allie, is a mere 17 years old at the start of the film. While I personally didn’t find her totally convincing as a teenager in either role, there’s no doubt that she smashed it performance-wise in both films—so I say we let it slide.

Cole Sprouse – Riverdale (2017–2023)

The Archie Comics Netflix series Riverdale was a mesmerising mix of the type of plastic sheen you’d expect from teen drama series like 90210 and sci-fi horror like Supernatural. As per tradition in glossy teen romance series, all of the actors were significantly older than their on-screen counterparts.

Cole Sprouse was already 24 years old when he donned Jughead Jones’s jagged-edged beanie in the first season of Riverdale. Jughead was supposedly just 16 years old; luckily, Sprouse was able to channel his Suite Life charm into the role, despite being firmly in his mid-20s. The show’s soapy twists aged everyone up fast anyway, making it all feel rather well timed.

Keiko Agena – Gilmore Girls (2000–2007)

Lane Kim might have been 16 years old at the start of Gilmore Girls, but the actress who played her, Keiko Agena, was already 27 at the time of filming Season 1. As Rory’s quirky best friend dreaming of rock stardom, Agena nailed the angsty teen energy and awkwardness of those delicate years.

Keiko Agena returned to Stars Hollow for the reunion series Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life in 2016, reprising her role as Lane. In the revival, Agena was 43 years old while Lane was somewhere in her late 30s—somewhat bridging the gap between real life and fiction.

Jennifer Grey – Dirty Dancing (1987)

When Jennifer Grey starred as 17-year-old recent high school graduate Frances “Baby” Houseman in Dirty Dancing, she was already a decade older at 27. Despite the age gap, she was able to carry the role through a mix of bashful acting and a frumpy wardrobe—both of which transformed into a daring confidence and scandalously sparse articles of clothing by the end of the film. 

Although he didn’t play a teen in the film, Patrick Swayze’s Johnny also deserves a nod. Despite his killer dance moves, the actor was already 35 at the time of filming. However, Johnny was supposed to be 25 years old, making the age gap between both the actors and their characters the same, just with a 10-year difference.

Jon Heder – Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

In the deadpan indie hit Napoleon Dynamite, Jon Heder played a 16-year-old high schooler—despite being 26 at the time of filming. His lanky awkwardness and killer Nunchuck skills snagged every vote for Pedro, and his endearingly nerdy style and earnestness made him into a kind of Millennial superhero. 

Speaking of Pedro—the actor who played him, Efen Ramirez, was 30 at the time they filmed Napoleon Dynamite. Meanwhile, Aaron Ruell, who played Napoleon’s brother Kip, was 28 playing a 32-year-old. 

Andrew Garfield – The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

When Andrew Garfield put on the skin-tight spidey suit as Spider-Man and his real-world counterpart Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man, he was 27. Peter Parker was supposed to be a 17-year-old high school student, and while Garfield generally has a boyish, youthful look to him, not everyone was sold on his age. That being said, his performance was so good, and the film itself was beloved by superhero and normie fans alike, that Garfield has since gone down as one of the all-time favourite actors to swing through New York. 

Shoutout to Tobey Maguire, who was also 27 at the time of filming 2002’s Spider-Man. He was even less convincing as a teenager, but I truly didn’t care when I first saw the film.

John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John – Grease (1978)

At 23 years old, John Travolta gave audiences the pelvic swings of a lifetime as 17-year-old Danny Zuko, while Olivia Newton-John embodied the innocent teenage Sandy Olsson while she herself was a cool 29. But perhaps most shockingly, Stockard Channing was already 33 when she played Betty Rizzo, the leader of the Pink Ladies in Grease.

Despite the very clear age difference between actors and characters on screen, the Rydell High gang belting out hits with electric coolness that laughed off their off-screen maturity and made Grease into a timeless classic—greased lightning indeed!

For some individuals, hearing Mariah Carey warble the words “I don’t want…” in mid-November is a call for joyous celebration. For others, it’s a sign to start filling your ears with stuffing. Whichever side you fall on, there is no doubting the appetite out there for movies that go against the festive grain. 

In fact, the subgenre of Christmas horror only seems to deliver more bold, bloody, and bah-humbugy presents as the years pass by. The ten films we’ve arranged below range from genuine festive favorites to truly demented horror—some of which will get you on the naughty list, others that are merely horror-coded interpretations of confirmed Christmas crackers. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

Gremlins (1984)

Let’s kick things off with a couple of movies that keep a toe in both festive and horror camps. There’s no doubting that Joe Dante’s Gremlins takes place at “the most wonderful time of the year” and, aesthetically and vibes-wise, has more than enough of that Amblin Entertainment juice (think movies like Goonies and Poltergeist) to make it a durable family classic. 

On the other hand, this is also a movie about freaky monsters in which more than a few characters die. With all that in mind, Gremlins is almost the perfect Creepmas movie to get you started. As we said, almost.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Of course, no movie in the history of cinema can claim to be both an autumn and a Christmas classic quite like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton (think Edward Scissorhands) and Henry Sellick’s (think Coraline) animation classic.

On top of inspiring an infinite number of art student halloween costumes, this is a movie that manages to deliver a genuinely festive emotional punch while staying firmly in the Creepness movie canon. Oh, and bonus points for all the great tunes.

Terrifier 3 (2024)

Now, with all the family friendly stuff out of the way, let’s move on to the sicko stuff: if you’re looking for something to ruin the after dinner mood, or maybe to help get rid of a few lingering relatives, you can’t go wrong with Terrifier 3—a movie that will be more pleasing to fans of Bone Tomahawk and Saw than appreciators of Miracle on 34th Street.

This is the one where Art the Clown shoves a load of rats down a nice lady’s throat using a blowtorch—a scene that might make you less fussy about whether or not the turkey is a little dry. 

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

Still firmly in the realm of Creepmass, though more in the lineage of dark comedy and folk stories, is the Finnish movie Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. This is the story of a young boy who thinks he has happened upon Santa’s tomb but finds an evil version of Father Christmas instead.

Rare Exports is the kind of movie that balances its sinister plot with some good natured (and decidedly Scandinavian) humour—so if you’re a fan of monster movies from that part of the world (think Troll Hunter and Border), this could be the one for you.

Krampus (2015)

Similar to Rare Exports, the 2015 movie Krampus puts a dark and twisted spin on well worn Christmas folklore. As the title suggests, this one focuses on the European myth of the Krampus—a demonic, horned, anti-Santa who enjoys torturing and abducting children.

The movie stars Toni Colette alongside Adam Scott, so if you like either of their work in stuff like Hereditary or Severance, you should definitely give this one a go!  

Black Christmas (1974)

Black Christmas holds a place in the record books for boasting one of, if not the first examples of the “final girl” trope in horror. It’s also credited with helping to revive the slasher genre. For the benefit of our list, however, it’s also worth mentioning that this was, if I’m not mistaken, the first holiday-based horror movie—so if you’re into movies like Thanksgiving and Halloween, you might enjoy going back to check it out.

The story takes place among a group of sorority girls during the Christmas season and I believe was the (yet another) first movie to use the immortal line: “The calls are coming from inside the house.”

The Lodge (2020)

Naturally, there are a number of horror films that simply take place in winter without needing to dip too much into festive iconography. A great recent one is The Lodge, which comes from the indie studio A24—and if you like the stylish horror that’s usually associated with the production house (think The Babadook, The Witch), I would highly recommend this one.

The story follows a soon-to-be stepmother (played by Riley Keogh) who gets stranded with her soon-to-be stepchildren in a family lodge at Christmastime—which, let’s be real, sounds scary enough even without all the other mad stuff that starts to happen. 

The Shining (1980)

Even more so than The Lodge, The Shining doesn’t engage with Christmas stuff on any real level, but there is certainly plenty of snow, some iconic knitted sweaters, and at least one mention of a fateful New Years Eve party—all of which makes it eligible, IMO, both for this list and any Creepmass watch party. 

Regardless, it’s always a good time to recommend Kubrick’s scariest movie—especially if the person you are recommending to is into the director’s spookier stuff, like Eyes Wide Shut and A Clockwork Orange. 

Violent Night (2022)

If you’ve made it through all the scarier stuff and need a palette cleanser, Violent Night could be a nice way to finish the party—it’s not scary exactly, but it takes a decidedly different approach to the festive season than what you might be used to seeing in a movie that features old St. Nick.

Starring David Harbour as a gun-toting Santa Claus, this is a movie that basically answers the age-old question of what would happen if Die Hard and Home Alone had a baby. 

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Lastly, we’ll end our list with the greatest Christmas movie of them all, It’s a Wonderful Life—a film that, were you to squint the eyes a little, or cut a couple of scenes and replace them with something slightly darker, would easily feel like a particularly grim episode of Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone.

Yes, the people of Bedford Falls eventually rally and Clarence gets his wings, but not before Jimmy Stewart’s anguished journey through a nightmarish version of reality. Ho ho ho. 

We’ve waited six years for Quentin Tarantino to make a new movie. The iconic filmmaker has flirted with various ideas for his next project, but we never expected the next thing he’d put out into the world would have anything to do with Kill Bill.

The epic double-parter was a cultural sensation back in 2003 and 2004. While the violent martial arts revenge story at the heart of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 was incredible enough on its own, the sequel took things to a whole new level of blood-soaked brutality.

There have always been rumours of another sequel to follow on from Kill Bill: Vol. 2, but Tarantino insists that’s not going to happen. Still, if you’re a fan of his work, and, in particular, the tale of The Bride (Uma Thurman), you’re going to love what the director has done now.

Quentin Tarantino’s Unlikely Kill Bill Collaboration With Fortnite

Tarantino has finally been able to bring one of his wildest sequences to life. The only catch is that you have to play Fortnite, of all things, to see it all play out.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Tarantino took a meeting with the folks at Fortnite to discuss some kind of collaboration. The chat went way better than he ever imagined, opening up a fascinating door for the filmmaker.

Speaking at a special Fortnite event in L.A., Tarantino explained: “I showed up to the meeting thinking that they would want to license characters, and they want to get my ideas about what could be a fun thing to do. But no, they had something else in mind.” Turns out, they wanted some kind of story that could last eight to 12 minutes, and Tarantino had the perfect idea.

To launch the new chapter on Fortnite, gamers and Tarantino fans were in dreamland as a project titled The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge premiered in the game on November 30. The animated story is lifted right from a draft of Kill Bill, and the only reason it never got used before, as Tarantino says, is that it was “too crazy, it was just too much action.”

Without spoiling too much, the story essentially sees Yuki – the twin sister of Gogo Yubari – tracking down The Bride to get revenge for killing her sister. If you remember Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Gogo was O-Ren Ishii’s (Lucy Liu) bodyguard, and one of the many victims taken down by The Bride in the chaotic first movie.

Kill Bill Has Finally Been Released As One Movie

For those who don’t play Fortnite, fear not: You can see Yuki’s Revenge in all its glory on the big screen this month. Tarantino is finally getting both the Kill Bill movies a theatrical release as one epic motion picture, with the animated sequence also included.

Aptly titled The Whole Bloody Affair, this cut of the two films has a whopping runtime of 275 minutes (including a 15 minute intermission) and is playing across thousands of screens in the UK and North America on December 5.

This is essentially how Tarantino always wanted the movie to be. Speaking to IndieWire in 2019, he said: “Technically we released it as two movies… but I made it as one movie and I wrote it as one movie... Frankly, the truth of the matter is, I don’t think it would’ve been as popular as a four hour movie.”

Indeed, when referring to his own body of work, Tarantino vehemently believes that he has only made nine films to date, counting Kill Bill as one project. That’s why movie number ten is so precious to him, and why we’re being made to wait to find out what that will be.

When Will We See Quentin Tarantino’s Final Film?

Since the release of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood in 2019, Tarantino has been linked with a handful of projects that never came to be.

He originally was attached to make an R-rated Star Trek movie that would be set in the 1920s, loosely adapting an iconic episode from the original series titled ‘A Piece of the Action’. That’s already a great episode of sci-fi television, but putting Tarantino’s violent spin on it would have been truly brilliant. However, he decided he didn’t want that to be his final film.

Then, it seemed like development was racing ahead on a project called The Movie Critic. Sony was on board, as were actors including Brad Pitt. Rumours suggested the likes of Tom Cruise, Margot Robbie, and John Travolta may also be involved. According to The Hollywood Reporter, though, this all fell apart amid rewrites and indecision, before Tarantino eventually pulled the plug

So, at this moment in time, no one knows what Tarantino’s swan song will be. Even the man himself may have no idea. He’s put a lot of pressure on himself to get it right, though if anyone can live up to the hype, it’s Quentin Tarantino.

2025 has been another interestingly varied year for TV anime. There’ve been new entries from long-running franchises like Digimon and My Hero Academia, and hotly anticipated debut adaptations of Sakamoto Days, Twisted Wonderland and Devil May Cry. Cowboy Bebop creator Shinichirō Watanabe returned with futuristic, stylish sci-fi Lazarus, and Fullmetal Alchemist’s Hiromu Arakawa contributed her distinctive art style to the characters of Moonrise. 

Meanwhile, some breakout debuts made a surprisingly big impact: the Chinese series To Be Hero X wowed audiences with Spider-Verse-esque animation, Gachiakuta dumped gritty, trashpunk all over the shonen genre, and The Summer Hikaru Died (my personal pick for the best of the year) brought the intense melancholy of a Lana Del Ray ballad to both body horror and Boys Love.

What lies ahead of us now are 12 more months of sequels, spinoffs, and newcomers to put on your watchlist. I’ll begin with some honourable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut before moving on to the most essential anime series of the new year, ranked from least to most anticipated. Please note that some release dates have yet to be confirmed at the time of writing, but I’ve included estimated release windows.

Honourable mentions

• Fate/strange Fake (January 3)
• Golden Kamuy, Season 5 (January 5) 
• Fire Force, Season 3 (January 10)
• Oshi no Ko, Season 3 (January 14) 
• Trigun Stargaze (January)
• The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Season 2 (April) 
• Ascendance of a Bookworm (Spring)

10. Sentenced to be a Hero / Scum of the Brave

I’m going out on a limb for this first double-entry with two titles I don’t know much about in their original incarnations (a web novel and manga adaptation), but based on their reception in Japan, their intriguing premises, and the novelty of sharing the same author, novelist and YouTuber Rocket Shoukai, I think they have hit-making potential. Not a bad start to 2026 for Rocket.

Originally slated for October 2025, Sentenced to be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004, to give it its full mouthful of a title, is a dystopian dark fantasy story where “heroism [is] a punishment for only the worst criminals”, as per English publisher Yen Press. Similar to All You Need Is Kill, heroes are forcibly enlisted to fight waves of monsters while trapped in a never-ending resurrection cycle if they perish. Protagonist Xylo Forbartz, convicted of murdering a goddess (so you know he’s not to be trifled with), teams up with another one for the sake of dramatic irony… and badassery, no doubt. If you got deep into Solo Levelling recently, it should fill the time before the next season.

Scum of the Brave, meanwhile, leans more into sci-fi and a lighter tone, focusing on slacker Yashiro, who is roped into mentoring three young bounty hunters in a world where affluent mobsters are becoming surgically superhuman. It’s giving Zom 100 in its apathetic lead and My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen in its educational setting.  

Release dates: January (exact date TBC)

9. Hell’s Paradise, Season 2

One of the more underrated shonen series of the past couple of years, Hell’s Paradise takes place in the Edo period and follows ninja Gabimaru the Hollow. After surviving an execution, Gabimaru is enlisted by Sashiri, his would-be executioner, to help complete her mission to find the legendary elixir of life. 

The manga is gorgeously violent, and the anime, produced by MAPPA, the superstar studio behind Attack on Titan Season 4, Vinland Saga, Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, do a typically splendid job here. If you’re already a fan of the latter two, which also share the same publisher, this is definitely a good, bloody chaser.

Release date: January 11

8. Re:Zero, Season 4

I’m not especially partial to isekai – less the concept of being trapped in another world, which is obviously broad and ubiquitous, and more the cookie-cutter deluge of animated slop based around it. Re:Zero is one of the exceptions, which is why, after a decade on the air, it’s about to enter its fourth season.

If you know isekai, you know the drill: a going-nowhere guy gets randomly sucked into a fantasy world, usually RPG-inspired. In Re:Zero, this guy is Subaru, who can come back to life a few hours in the past each time he dies, and is the only one to remember it. Naturally, this takes a psychological toll each time, so if you’re after something a bit deeper than your standard power fantasy, Subaru’s misadventures might be worth catching up on.

Release date: April (exact date TBC)     

7. Classroom of the Elite, Season 4

Based on one of Japan’s biggest-selling light novel series, Classroom of the Elite fans had to wait five long years for a sequel to the first anime adaptation. As of 2022, the seasons have been releasing much quicker, with the fourth arriving around two years after the last. 

This is a strong recommendation for those who like psychological teen dramas: set in an experimental, rigorously hierarchical school for promising future leaders. It’s something of a Lord of the Flies meets Battle Royale situation, but with mind games rather than death games. Season 4 is only the second school year, too, so there’s plenty more to come.

Release date: April (exact date TBC)

6. The Beginning After the End, Season 2

We’re back in ‘reborn in another world’ territory now with Season 2 of The Beginning After the End, the second batch of episodes following the first cour in 2025. Taking place in a fantasy realm, the story, based on a popular American webtoon, kicks off with the death of ruthless King Grey at the ripe middle age of 38 (extremely elderly in anime terms). He’s reincarnated in another land as Arthur, younger and magically gifted, but with all his memories and knowledge from his past life.

Its high fantasy setting and warring families are very Game of Thrones, and mirroring the HBO show’s final season, The Beginning After the End divided opinion with its first. Some fans were so unhappy with the animation quality that a 40,000-signature-strong petition to remake it made the rounds online. It’s not the disaster that One-Punch Man has become, but it certainly makes the next half a make-or-break instalment.

Release date: April (exact date TBC)

5. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Season 2

By the time the second season of this My Hero Academia spinoff airs, the main series will have wrapped up for good – so if you’re looking to fill that cape-shaped hole in your life, Vigilantes is it. As a prequel, it somewhat works as a standalone, though with plenty of cameos from MHA characters in their younger days, familiarity with the world is beneficial.

Away from the high stakes of the One For All vs All For One war and centred on a protagonist who’s even more of an underdog than Deku, Vigilantes is a fun reprieve that expands the MHA universe with a fresh cast of scrappy heroes and villains operating on the fringes of society.

Release date: January (exact date TBC)  

4. Witch Hat Atelier

Manga readers will no doubt be familiar with this one. As a book series, Witch Hat Atelier has gained a huge international following and racked up award nominations and wins. Its whimsical, witchy world, drawn with traditional art techniques and inspired by classic fantasy literature, is often compared favourably to Ghibli movies.

Moving away from Miyazaki, there’s also a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist in there, both in the Eurocentric setting and the inciting incident: dressmaking, wannabe witch Coco turns her mother to stone with a rogue spell, leading her on a mission to undo her mistake that uncovers an anti-magic conspiracy in her world. Hopefully, the long-awaited anime adaptation can capture the source material’s vintage, fairy tale magic.

Release date: April (exact date TBC)

3. Frieren, Season 2

You may only know Frieren from the viral ‘looking up’ meme, but did you know that wonderfully bad piece of fan art comes from a slightly more wonderful and better drawn anime about a sad, immortal elf? Subtitled Beyond Journey’s End, Frieren follows the titular elven mage as she seeks to reunite with the lost soul of her human comrade while reminiscing about their last quest together, and the small matter of what existence means when time drags on for centuries. 

Meditative and offbeat, Frieren truly breaks the mould for expectations of fantasy anime, and gathered plenty of critical acclaim in its first season as a breakthrough piece of TV in any medium. The pressure’s on for Season 2 to pick up the baton.

Release date: January 16

2. The Apothecary Diaries, Season 3 

This historical mystery series has an ardent following in Japan; it’s taken a little longer for it to find the audience it now has internationally, no doubt boosted by Netflix picking up its first two seasons in 2025. Now, as The Apothecary Diaries prepares to roll out a third, it’s doing so as easily the most in-demand, mainstream shojo show around.

Set in an alternate version of China’s Tang Dynasty, the series follows Maomao, who works as a pharmacist in the Emperor’s palace, solving medical mysteries and forming a ‘will they, won’t they?’ relationship with supposed eunuch, Jinshi. If you enjoy other gentle, historical romance dramas like My Happy Marriage, or live-action fare like Bridgerton, this is a cuty and cosy time.    

Release date: October

1. Jujutsu Kaisen, Season 3

Alongside Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen has been one of anime’s big box office drivers at the cinema in 2025. In 2026, it returns to the small screen for its third season, which those who contributed to the franchise’s aforementioned box office success in November will have already seen the first two episodes of as part of the compilation film’s story.

Adapting ‘The Culling Game’ arc of the manga, the Jujutsu sorcerers face off against new antagonist Kenjaku, while trying to rescue their quirky, OP mentor, Gojo, from his sidelined prison. While darker and more violent than the likes of One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen is a great gateway anime for older kids, or existing anime fans who vibe with supernatural battle series like Bleach, or the newer hotshot pair I namedropped at the top.   

Release date: January 8

With reindeer being hitched to slays and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” blaring in every shop, ‘tis officially the season. So grant yourself full permission to watch the cheesiest, most delightfully cliché holiday films of all time. 

While Christmas films come in all forms, perhaps the most enduring are the romantic comedies. The Holiday and Love Actually are genre classics, of course, but there’s something extra special about the so-bad-they’re-good Christmas films—the mix of tropes, kitschy aesthetics, and absurd plots that warm the heart more than a hot toddy. 

Here are five of the worst Christmas movies you secretly love, and where you can stream them all this holiday season.

5. Falling for Christmas (2022)

A Lindsay Lohan Christmas film? Yes, please! The new Queen of Christmas made a triumphant return with Falling for Christmas, the first in a string of gloriously cheesy festive movies, marking a comeback for the Mean Girls star. Lohan plays Sierra Belmont, a spoiled heiress to a luxury hotel chain who loses her memory in a skiing accident in Aspen. While recovering, she ends up in the care of the handsome Northstar Lodge owner, Jake, and the two slowly fall in love.

Seeing Lindsay Lohan act again after nearly a decade off screen is easily the film’s biggest draw. The delightfully named Chord Overstreet is no match for Lohan’s charisma, but he does a perfectly charming job as the floppy haired, down-to-earth widower she falls for. Falling for Christmas leans into almost every Christmas film trope in the book, and its embrace of a low-budget aesthetic and predictable plot make it a fun, cosy watch for the holidays.

4. The Princess Switch (2018)

By now, most Christmas movie aficionados have seen or heard of The Princess Switch. Starring Vanessa Hudgens as both the “commoner” Stacy De Novo and her royal lookalike, Lady Margaret Delacourt, the film plays like a Christmas mash-up of The Princess Diaries and The Parent Trap. 

The story centres on Stacy, a talented baker whose friend Kevin secretly enters her into a prestigious competition in the kingdom of Belgravia. While there, she literally bumps into the Duchess of Montenaro and discovers they look exactly alike. The Duchess, desperate to experience a “normal” life, suggests they swap places for two days, and Stacy reluctantly agrees. But what starts out as a lighthearted place-swap quickly gets complicated when both fall in love with people from each other’s worlds.

Cheesy, predictable, and ridiculous, The Princess Switch might not be the Citizen Kane of Christmas romances, but its bubbly charm and unabashed 2018 cringe make it more than worth the watch.

3. Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)

“She’s holding him hostage, but he’s stealing her heart!” This incredible tagline might be all the convincing you need to put Holiday in Handcuffs on your Christmas watch list—and yes, it is just as wild as it sounds!

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart plays Trudie, a down-on-her-luck artist and waitress who, after being dumped, missing a job interview, and suffering a full-on breakdown, decides to kidnap a handsome customer, David (played by Mario Lopez), to present to her family at Christmas as her boyfriend. 

As he repeatedly tries to escape the remote cabin, David slowly comes to understand why Trudie felt driven to such drastic measures, and the two begin to fall in love. It’s essentially what would happen in Stephen King’s Misery if it were remade as a Hallmark Christmas film.

2. Hot Frosty (2024)

Ever wondered what the secret to healing a broken heart is? According to this film, it’s learning to love again from a snowman who magically transforms into a hunky human.

In Hot Frosty, Mean Girls alum Lacey Chabert plays Kathy, a widow of two years who has fallen into the habit of taking care of everyone but herself. Her life takes a surreal turn after she ties a scarf on a snowman and he magically turns into Jack: muscular, alive, and very confused. As sweet, naive Jack adjusts to this new human existence, he helps Kathy rediscover laughter, joy, and the possibility of love after loss.

Hot Frosty sits firmly in the realm of self-aware, campy Christmas kitsch—but it's absolutely worth the watch. The cherry on top is the cheeky Mean Girls nod: Chabert’s character sees Lindsay Lohan’s Falling for Christmas (as mentioned on this list) on TV and comments that the actress looks like someone she went to high school with… It’s a pitch-perfect wink that proves the film knows exactly who its audience is.

1. A Christmas Prince (2017)

Arguably the crème de la crème of bad Christmas movies, you can’t help but adore A Christmas Prince. When it was released, Netflix was just beginning to experiment with the Hallmark formula and couldn’t quite afford any Mean Girls alumni yet—but everyone involved rose to the occasion.

A Christmas Prince stars Rose McIver as Amber, a journalist sent to cover the royal family of Aldovia, but who is mistaken for the new tutor to the young Princess Emily and suddenly gains unusually intimate access to the family—despite some major ethical red flags. As she spends more time with them, including the handsome Prince Richard, she finds herself falling for more than just the story.

Despite leaning hard into Christmas rom-com clichés, A Christmas Prince is surprisingly well-rounded and emotionally affecting. Each character feels more three-dimensional than you’d expect, and the plot actually takes its time to unfold. It’s not just about crackling chemistry; it’s about the bonds Amber forms with the different members of the royal family, her relationship with her own father, and the push-pull of her career. It's sincere, it’s silly, and it’s just so good— highly recommended.

When someone mentions Game of Thrones, you probably think of all your favourite characters dying in the most brutal, bloody fashion. It’s a theme that became synonymous with the hit series, and that pattern has not relented in the wake of House of the Dragon hitting our screens.

The fact is, anyone living in Westeros is at risk of meeting a gloomy demise at any moment, and we really shouldn’t get attached to any of the characters. It’s just the way George R. R. Martin’s stories go… at least most of the time.

The next show to come from the franchise could change that. Judging from the source material for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, we may get a happy ending to a Thrones TV show for once.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

The Plot of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

The book titled ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ is a collection of three short stories written by Martin between 1998 and 2010. The three tales are called: ‘The Hedge Knight’, ‘The Sworn Sword’, and ‘The Mystery Knight’.

Across the three stories, Martin charts the journey of two characters: the first, Dunk, is a lowly squire who inherits his master’s possessions after his death, and the second is a young boy known only as ‘Egg’, who tags along with Dunk on his journey and becomes his squire.

By the end of the first tale, we learn Egg is actually called Aegon and is a Targaryen prince, while Dunk is bestowed the knightly title of Ser Duncan the Tall. The latter is tasked with mentoring Aegon to help him become a noble and fair man, and suggests this mission would be best accomplished by venturing out into the world.

Along the way, there are plenty of trials by combat, scandals, betrayals, and narrow escapes from the clutches of danger. There are deaths, too, of course, but you’ll be happy to know that neither Egg nor Dunk meet their maker by the end of the book.

George R. R. Martin Won’t Be Happy If A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms Is Changed

Obviously, both characters do eventually perish, but that happens outside of their novellas during the Tragedy of Summerhall (let’s just say hatching dragon eggs is a dangerous game). So, will HBO stick to the source material, or extend its adaptation right through to Dunk and Egg’s fiery demise?

If the studio ends A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms where it’s supposed to, we will have the most positive and sweetest Game of Thrones spin-offs to look forward to. The unlikely companions should be allowed to bring their journey on the small screen to a close as they do in the book – with Dunk being the hero after protecting Egg from the war-hungry Black Tom Heddle, and he is given a handsome reward of gold for helping Bloodraven bring about the downfall of House Blackfyre.

Using this as the show’s conclusion would be a welcome change of pace for Game of Thrones fans. And, it would probably make George R. R. Martin pretty happy, too. 

We know the writer has previously questioned the way showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss wrapped up the original series, commenting: “The final season has not been completely faithful.” It was Martin’s understanding that the show would run for 10 seasons rather than the eight that we got. There were also suggestions that the author was distanced from the production towards the end, though it’s not clear whether that was his choice or the showrunners’ decision.

Martin never outright criticised the fact that the show went in a different direction from his planned ending for the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ novels, but he did tell Rolling Stone: “All of it is fair. I’m not angry or anything, but there’s a little wistfulness in me.”

Still, we’re pretty sure he would not be best pleased if HBO meddled with his stories again, especially given this is one that he has actually finished.

What We Know About the New Game of Thrones TV Show

Aside from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms potentially being the most lighthearted Game of Thrones show to date, we know a few details about the upcoming series.

There isn’t long to wait for the show. It will begin on January 18 2026, and you’ll be able to watch it weekly from HBO and HBO Max through Sky and NOW. There will be six episodes in total, which does suggest there is very little scope for the showrunners to expand into Summerhall territory.

As for the cast, Peter Claffey will play Dunk, while young actor Dexter Soll Ansell will play Egg. They’ll be supported by Finn Bennett, Henry Ashton, Tanzyn Crawford, Daniel Ings, and Sam Spruell.

Since breaking out in Lars Von Trier’s provocative magnum opus, Nymphomaniac, in 2013, the British actor Mia Goth has quickly become synonymous with some of the darkest, most macabre and eccentric corners of cinema. With the odd exception, her incredible streak of playing horror queens has remained largely unbroken and, in that short period of time, she’s honed her craft in the genre and become something of a horror icon.

From those 12 years in the business, the aptly named Goth has already worked with some of the finest art house horror directors while still finding time for the occasional role outside the genre. The following list, which I’ve arranged in ascending order, naturally leans on the former—not that any of her devoted fans will mind one jot. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find where to stream them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

A Cure for Wellness (2017)

In the years after her breakout, Goth tried her hand with a number of different filmmakers. She played the daughter of Josh Brolin’s mountain climber in Baltasar Kormákur’s Everest and went on to take her first lead role in Stephen Fingleton The Survivalist, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, in 2015. 

Her best performance from those years, however, was probably in Gore Verbinski’s overlong but gripping psychological thriller A Cure for Wellness—a film in the lineage of Soderbergh’s Unsane and Scorsese’s Shutter Island, but also a role that allowed the actress to do what she does best.

Emma (2020

In 2020, Mia Goth proved she wasn’t just a horror actress when she starred opposite Anya Taylor-Joy in a faithful yet unmistakably modernist adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma—think the same sort of energy as Clueless (which was also adapted from the book) except, like the excellent Love & Friendship, actually set in the appropriate period.

For the film, Goth convincingly portrayed Harriet Smith, Emma’s innocent and insecure best friend whose life becomes the target of her meddling.

Infinity Pool (2023)

It’s hard to know what made more of a stir in 2023, Brandon Cronenberg’s sicko horror film Infinity Pool or the pictures that came out of Goth with co-star Alexander Skarsgard on a leash from the film’s premier. Either way, there’s no doubt which one did more to enhance the actor’s burgeoning reputation as someone not to be messed with, on screen or off.

Whatever the case, this is still a film I would wholeheartedly recommend to any horror fans out there—especially if you liked the young Cronenberg’s previous work, Possessor, or another incredible recent horror film from Canada: Pascal Plante’s Red Rooms. 

Frankenstein (2025)

This year, with Frankenstein, Goth managed to add two horror icons to her oeuvre in one foul swoop—Mary Shelley and Guillermo del Toro. Thanks to Netflix, the Mexican director was finally able to make the film he’d dreamed of making basically since seeing the 1931 original when he was 7-years-old.

To be fair, the resulting, Jacob Elordi-starring film—like so many passion projects—is not the director’s finest work, but if you’re a fan of what del Toro achieved with Shape of Water and Nightmare Alley, you’ll probably want to check it out.

Suspiria (2018)

In 2018, Goth starred alongside Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton in Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 remake of the classic horror film Suspiria. This is a movie that reimagine’s Dario Argento’s Giallo classic to cold war era West Berlin—so if you like the idea of seeing that witchy world transposed to the German capitol during such a turbulent time (Possession is probably a better comp than the original), you’ll really like it.

The film also boasts Guadagnino’s typically incredible production design: stunning costumes, incredible sets, bone crunching sound, and a wonderful score from Thom Yorke.

MaXXXine (2024)

Of all her incredible roles to date, Mia Goth is perhaps best known for playing the lead roles in director Ti West’s unique slasher trilogy, X. In the third and final instalment (more on the other two in a minute), MaXXXine, Goth plays an adult film actress trying to break through into the Hollywood mainstream in the 1980s while being stalked by a killer. 

Each of the three movies in West’s franchise adhere to a distinct cinematic style; and for MaXXXine, the director drew from some of the most provocative auteurs of that time, like Brian De Palma (think Body Double, Blow Out) and Paul Schrader (American Gigolo, Hardcore).

High Life (2018)

On the red carpet for MaXXXine, few were surprised to hear Goth list filmmakers like Bernardo Bertolucci, Pedro Almodovar and Alejandro González Iñárritu in her Letterboxd top four. The actor is a renowned cinephile, and that’s a fact that’s been evident in plenty of the projects she’s chosen. Perhaps none more obviously than Clair Denis’s High Life, a sci-fi adventure that plays like a kind of sexy, doomcore cover of films like Interstellar and Ad Astra.

The film, which also stars Robert Pattinson and Denis regular Juliette Binoche, takes place on a ship full of death row criminals who, in return for relative amnesty, have agreed to join a scientific mission to a black hole. 

Nymphomaniac (2013)

It’s rare that an actor’s first role sets the tone for their career, but Goth’s scenes with Stacy Martin in Lars von Trier’s 2013 film Nymphomaniac laid down a very clear marker for the kind of provocative choices the actor would later make. The film is not for everyone, needless to say, but it’s a remarkably daring piece of work—and if you liked LVT’s Melancholia or Antichrist, you might want to give it a shot. 

Von Trier’s two-part opus follows a sex addict from the age of 15 (played by Stacy Martin) to 50 (Charlotte Gainsborough). Goth appears in the second part, playing a kind of protege to the protagonist, and, though only 18 at the time of the shoot, goes admirably toe-to-toe with both Gainsborough and Willem Defoe. 

X (2022)

Despite being on the scene for a while, Mia Goth got her real breakthrough role in Ti West’s X—a film series that would solidify her reputation as one of the biggest horror stars of the decade, if not the 21st Century so far. 

The first film, which revolves around the production of a low budget porno in a remote farmhouse in Texas, draws from a rich lineage of 1970s exploitation films—imagine The Texas Chain Saw Massacre but with Goth and Jenna Ortega in starring roles and you’ll know what kind of film to expect.

Pearl (2022)

X might have laid the groundwork, but West’s dazzling followup, the prequel film Pearl, reached whole new levels of cinematic inventiveness. This is a wildly entertaining and meme-able modern horror that takes its aesthetic cues not from Wes Craven or John Carpenter but early technicolor, like Meet Me in St. Louis and The Wizard of Oz.

Goth not only played the lead of Maxine in X but also the elderly farm owner, a role she reprises in Pearl with a red farm dress, a blue bow, plaited hair and a trusty axe. It’s no surprise that the costume became an instant Halloween classic. 

Ever since the release of the first movie in 1984, The Terminator has been a science-fiction staple: a franchise that explored time travel, artificial intelligence and the battle between human beings and technology—themes that still haunt us to this day, perhaps more than ever. Created by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd, it’s simply a must-watch for all action and science fiction movie fans. 

James Cameron directed the first two Terminator movies, which are still renowned for their groundbreaking action sequences and special effects. The follow-up Terminator movies, directed by Jonathan Mostow, McG, Alan Taylor and Tim Miller, were less well received, but with news that a seventh movie is currently being written by Cameron (however unlikely it still seems), what better time to get back up to speed on the Terminator franchise.

The Terminator universe also includes a number of episodic shows, both live action and anime. This streaming guide includes details about them all in release order, as well as information on where to find them on streaming services in the UK.

The Terminator (1984)

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in all but one movie as The Terminator, starting with the 1984 original. This was basically James Cameron’s big screen debut and it announced the director as one of the art-form's most ruthless storytellers and one of its most creative innovators. As action movies go, few come leaner and meaner than The Terminator, and if you like thrill rides that also give you some ideas to chew on—think RoboCop, The Matrix—this will be right up your alley. The story famously follows a cyborg assassin who travels back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the future mother of John Connor, who is the leader of the human resistance in the future—are you following?

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

As promised, Schwarzenegger will be back! Returning for Judgment Day, Cameron made the choice to reprogram the character into an antihero—a trope we see everywhere these days (even movies like Maleficent and Cruella) but in 1991 it was a kind of genius idea. It also helped make Terminator 2 the highest grossing movie of that year and, at the time, the second highest ever. 

The story sees a new model T-800 Terminator (Schwarzenegger, of course) sent back by the resistance to protect John and Sarah from the T-1000: a ruthless antagonist (played by Robert Patrick) whose frightening ability to move like mercury was also a huge landmark in visual effects.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

12 years later, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines built upon the storyline from Judgment Day but took a different direction with Jonathan Mostow (director of U-571) at the helm. The movie was released the same year as Matrix Reloaded, so be prepared for some similarly CGI-heavy action scenes.

The plot confirms that “Judgment Day” was only delayed to 2004. John Connor and his future wife Kate Brewster (both now in their mid-20s) are pursued by an advanced Terminator called the T-X., a model similar to the T-1000, but with some extra toys built in. Nick Stahl and Claire Danes star alongside Schwarzenegger as an only slightly older looking T-850 model.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008)

If we’re including the TV showTerminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, we need to get a bit creative with the timeline. Released in 2008, the show takes place after the events of Terminator 2 but ignores the storyline of Terminator 3. So, if you’re looking to watch them in strict chronological order, the show should be seen after T2: Judgement Day. The Sarah Connor Chronicles explores all the reliable Terminator themes (AI, time travel, destiny etc.) in episodic fashion, so if you appreciate shows like Fringe and Continuum, it might be up your street.

Terminator Salvation (2009)

Six years after Rise of the Machines' release, Christian Bale took the lead as John Connor in Terminator Salvation, a kind of prequel-sequel movie set in a post-apocalyptic future. Set a few years after the events of “Judgement Day”, the plot focuses on the battle between the human resistance and Skynet. Based in a world not dissimilar to Mad Max and featuring action sequences that recall the Transformers movies (the first of which was released two years before), director McG decided to go for a much darker tone in comparison to the previous Terminator movies, but received mixed reviews from both critics and fans for lacking the depth of the franchise's previous entries. It’s also the only Terminator movie where Schwarzenegger doesn’t appear.

Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series (2009)

Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series is an animated companion prequel to Terminator Salvation, set two years before the events of the movie and covering the early days of the resistance. The show’s seven episodes were animated using a video game engine, so if you like the style of stuff like Advent Children or Halo: Legends, you might be into it.

Terminator Genisys (2015)

It’s fair to say, Terminator Genisys is the least popular movie in the franchise—and not just because of that awful spelling. Genisys revisits the events of the first movie, but in an alternate reality: in this timeline, Kyle Reese is sent back only to discover a different Sarah Connor who has been raised by a T-800 who she calls “Pops”. The movie messed with the canon so much that it basically inspired Cameron to return with Dark Fate—but hey, if you’re a completist, there's no shame in watching! Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke stars as Sarah Connor, with Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese and Arnold Schwarzenegger as an aging Terminator. Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game) and Matt Smith (House of the Dragon) all appear as various antagonists.

Terminator Genisys: The YouTube Chronicles (2015)

Terminator Genisys: The YouTube Chronicles isn’t considered canon in any way—but if you got a kick out of the movie, you might want to check it out. The 3-part comedic web series was made to promote the movie and features Arnie, in character, interacting with some famous YouTubers from that time.

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

Now, here’s where the timelines get a little freaky. Terminator: Dark Fate is actually a direct sequel to Terminator 2, yet I’d recommend watching Rise of the Machines and Salvation, but not Genisys before it. The movie suggests what might have happened if one of Skynet’s plans had worked—so it’s more of an “alternative timeline” than an entire rewrite. The movie saw Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton both return, with James Cameron as a producer, in an attempt to reclaim the franchise. I can’t argue that they were entirely successful, but if you’re a fan of all things JC (True Lies, Avatar) you might want to support the scene here. The movie reunited audiences with a hardened Sarah Connor as she leads a team in the resistance to stop the deadliest Terminator yet, the Rev-9.

Terminator Zero (2024)

Released in 2024, Netflix’s Terminator Zero is the first anime show in the Terminator universe, and if you’re a big Terminator fan who also dig stuff like The Animatrix, you might want to check this one out. The story begins in 2022 and concerns the rise of a different AI company to Skynet. The story then shifts back to 1997, following a soldier’s attempts to protect the company’s founder.

This article has been updated by Rory O'Connor.

With great characters, supernatural twists and a healthy dose of nostalgia, Stranger Things quickly became a fan-favourite on Netflix after it first premiered in 2016. With the show’s long-awaited final run of episodes now  complete, we’ve put together our top picks for shows to keep you in the mood now that the dust in Hawkins has finally settled.

The following series run the gamut from ‘90s classics to more recent fan favourites, but all have in some way reminded us of Netflix’s most beloved show. Here are our recommendations—which I’ve arranged in no particular order—for 11 TV shows like Stranger Things. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find where to stream them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

There’s no shortage of twisted familial relationships and supernatural scares in The Haunting of Hill House, a show that dives into the haunted lives of the Crain family and their terrifying home—and if you got hooked on Stranger Things for its horror aspects (and also enjoy macabre movies like Crimson Peak or The Others), you might really vibe with this one. 

Based on Shirley Jackson’s classic novel, the story (in a way similar to It) jumps between two timelines—the first when the characters are kids, in Hill House, and another  in the present day.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer follows Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who is—you guessed it—a vampire slayer. Over seven seasons, she fights demons, vampires and other weekly monsters and big bads, all in order to keep the world safe. To do so, she relies on help and support of her two best friends, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon), and her teacher Giles (Anthony Head), while also rushing on a hunky vampire, named Angel (David Boreanaz).

Created by Joss Whedon, this supernatural teen drama (which surely influenced the punky vibe of later seasons of Stranger Things) is a classic ‘90s show—and if you loved Whedon’s quippy dialogue in series like Firefly and movies like The Avengers, you’ll absolutely love it. It also has one of the best musical episodes ever made.

The Last of Us (2023-)

Based on the hit video game, The Last of Us follows Joel and Ellie (Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay) as they fight to survive in a post-apocalyptic world rampant with infected, zombie-like creatures. 

This one should appeal to Stranger Things fans who have a soft spot for the layered and unconventional father-daughter bond between Hopper and Eleven—a classic sci-fi trope that you can find in everything from Waterworld to The Road.

The X Files (1993-2002)

In The X-Files, FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigate paranormal cases while trying to keep their simmering chemistry at bay. This is a show that will appeal to fans of Stranger Things’ mix of science fiction and government conspiracy—think shows like Fringe or The Expanse for similar comps, or Vince Gilligan's (who started out on the show) new series Pluribus.

Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny star in what I would best describe as a conspiratorial sci-fi series. In all, the show consists of 11 seasons and a couple of movies—and if that sounds like a lot, there are ways to watch it that cut out the filler and focus on the lore and wider narrative arc.

Dark (2017-2020)

Dark is a hit German Netflix series that’s all about time travel and, like Stranger Things,  also takes place in a small town—and if you like the kind of stories where young people from a small community are faced with seemingly  overwhelming supernatural forces (think E.T. or Super 8, but a little more on the scary side), you’re going to absolutely love this. 

Over three seasons, Dark offers mind-bending prophecies and dark family secrets. It all starts to get a bit loopy after a while—but unlike most time travel stories, the ending is satisfying. 

Yellowjackets (2021-)

When a group of girls find themselves stranded after a plane crash, there’s no telling what they will do to survive. That’s the setup of the psychological thriller series Yellowjackets, a show that, like Hill House, jumps back and forth between two timelines: the first taking place in the wilderness and focusing on the girls’ attempts to survive (think Lost meets Society of the Snow); the other in the present day, where dark secrets begin to surface.

With the earlier parts taking place in the 1990s, the show should appeal to anyone who enjoys the retro vibes of Stranger Things—and similar to Winona Ryder’s role as Joyce, Yellowjackets boasts ‘90s greats like Cristina Ricci, Juliette Lewis and Melanie Lynskey in its cast. Ella Purnell and Sophie Thatcher also feature amongst the younger roles. 

Locke & Key (2020-2022)

Locke & Key follows three siblings who find magical keys with special powers after their father dies. The drama fantasy series is based on the graphic novels by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez and, similar to Stranger Things, will appeal to YA viewers especially. 

The show has elements of horror and suspense but the vibe is primarily about young people on an adventure—imagine something in between The Goonies and The Others and you’ll have some idea what to expect.

Twin Peaks (1990-2017)

In the small town of Twin Peaks, high school student Laura Palmer is killed. The FBI and local police investigate the murder, which quickly proves to be stranger than they could have imagined. 

That’s pretty much the basic setup to David Lynch’s iconic TV show, but if you know anything about Lynch you can probably guess just how weird, funny and terrifying this all gets. Twin Peaks is a phenomenal show but just be warned, it is a good bit more on the scary side than Stranger Things—so if you like that aspect of Things and appreciate Lynch’s work on movies like Blue Velvet or Mulholland Drive, it’s definitely a must watch. 

Paradise (2021-2022)

Set on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, Paradise (not to be confused with the excellent Sterling K. Brown show) is about three girls who vanish from a small town in the 1990s. As the search for them gets underway, a series of supernatural forces interfere.

Like Stranger Things and Dark, this is a teen mystery series with hints of Spielberg and speculative sci-fi —so if you’re a fan of either you’ll probably be into it.

Outer Range (2022-2024)

Outer Range is a show that mixes the American Western with supernatural mystery—imagine a little bit of Signs mixed with a little bit of No Country for Old Men and you’ll have some idea of the tone. The first couple of episodes are also directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios, so there’s plenty of style here to go with the substance.

The plot follows a rancher (Josh Brolin) who discovers an inexplicable void on his farm. It’s an otherworldly drama and, much like Stranger Things, it will keep you guessing until the very end.

The Twilight Zone (2019)

The Twilight Zone is an anthology series that dives deep into the unknown, offering a wide range of stories based on everything from science fiction to the occult. This 2019 reboot was inspired by the iconic American TV series that ran from 1959 to 1964—another show that likely inspired Stranger Things. 

This newer version was created partially by Jordan Peele—so if you like the incredible movies Peele has written and directed (like Get Out and Nope), you'll want to check it out.

While most of the world knows him as Childish Gambino, the many talents of Donald Glover stretch far beyond music. He’s a man who’s not afraid to put his face to a project, get in front of the camera, and generally get silly with it.

For me, he’s one of the most flawless rappers on the planet and his lyrics are, frankly, genius. His music has been a big part of my life for more than a decade. But any time he shows up in a TV series or a film, it’s a totally different kind of joy, and I’ll always rush to check out the latest Donald Glover movie or small screen project.

He’s done a lot of work behind the scenes, like producing hard-hitting, unique shows like Swarm. Glover also has brief cameos in the likes of 30 Rock, Girls, and even briefly pops up in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. However, in this instance, we’re looking at his ten most prominent on-screen roles as we rank the Donald Glover movies and TV shows that you have to check out.

10. The Lion King (2019)

I don’t want to start on a negative note, but I really do wish Disney would stop doing live-action remakes of their already incredible animated movies. I wouldn’t mind if a) they took the story in a slightly new direction instead of just copying the animation frame-for-frame, and b) they didn’t turn dynamic, expressive anthropomorphic characters into uncanny valley CGI experiments. Admittedly, the visual effects in The Lion King remake are very impressive, but that doesn’t mean it’s not weird to see realistic lions talking.

On a more positive note, Donald Glover brings his exquisite singing voice to the role of Simba and along with Beyonce as Nala, he really captures the magic of those memorable musical numbers. For anyone like me who grew up watching the original, you’re probably going to grumble while watching this film, but at least your kids will love it.

9. Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

You can imagine my feelings towards Mufasa: The Lion King are pretty similar to everything I just said about the 2019 film, but I have to give credit here for the fact that Disney at least spawned a new story for us to dive into. There’s always going to be merit in anything that Barry Jenkins touches, and he imbues this movie with a sense of life, spirit, and emotion that was lacking in previous the film.

I wouldn’t say Mufasa is going to change your life, nor is it the kind of film I’d be rushing to watch again, but it was definitely worth just under two hours of my time. It’s easy to track down as it’s on Disney Plus, it offers nice context to The Lion King and puts us back in that world, which is never a bad thing, and it’s a real crowdpleaser for family movie nights.

8. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024)

Finally, an entry where we get to see Donald Glover’s face! If you’re a fan of the Mr. & Mrs. Smith movie from 2005 – and you should be, because it’s so much fun – you’ll naturally enjoy this TV adaptation starring Glover and Maya Erskine. It’s a slightly different spin on that original premise, though the electric dynamic between the two leads is much the same here, and it’s a series packed with great action sequences, too.

It’s a real shame Phoebe Waller-Bridge didn’t stick around to bring this project to life, but the Mr. & Mrs. Smith TV series is oozing with Glover’s creative juices, providing a fresh lease of life away from its predecessor. I loved this show, and so did my partner, and I think that’s partly down to the fact it’s got an episodic feel so it’s never overwhelming or too heavy, but the overarching story is intriguing enough to keep you hooked. It’s on Prime Video, as well, so it couldn’t be easier to start watching.

7. Guava Island (2019)

I wouldn’t normally make reference to a short film in a list like this, but I believe Guava Island deserves a special mention. At 56 minutes long, it’s technically a feature film, albeit a short one, and Glover certainly packs enough into the story here to make it feel like a fully fleshed-out movie. Starring alongside Rihanna and Letitia Wright, Glover shines as the charismatic yet troubled Deni Maroon in a film that weaves multiple genres together. If you’re into mystery thrillers with a comedic and musical twist, you’re going to love this.

Guava Island came out around the time Glover was riding high in the wake of the Childish Gambino album Awaken, My Love and his politically-charged hit This Is America. It made a lot of sense, then, that he would channel his music into a work of fiction like this. The only problem is it’s not streaming anywhere anymore, but if you’re able to track it down, it’s well worth it. Anyone who’s enjoyed movies like Blindspotting, Queen & Slim, or Waves will have a good time with Guava Island.

6. Magic Mike XXL (2015)

The first Magic Mike movie was a roaring success, largely because it strikes a brilliant balance between brazenly catering to the female gaze and tongue-in-cheek parody moments. However, with Magic Mike XXL, Gregory Jacobs took over directorial duties and steered this installment into full-on buddy road trip territory, and it worked a treat.

One thing I always love about movies like this is that you can tell all the actors involved are having the time of their lives, which makes it so much fun to watch. But, while the Magic Mike movies are often regarded as a bit of mindless entertainment, they actually have a great deal to say on the topic of toxic masculinity. I remember me and my brother randomly watched this as a bit of a joke, and came away very surprised and impressed. If you like films like That Awkward Moment, Top Gun: Maverick, or even Channing Tatum’s latest, Roofman, you’ll vibe with Magic Mike XXL.

5. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Donald Glover has long had an affinity with Spider-Man, stretching back to 2010 when Community fans started a campaign to get the actor cast as the hero. He’s always been a huge fan of the character, and while that push from fans didn’t quite work, he did cross paths with the webslinger in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Glover’s role is brief but brilliant: he plays Aaron Davis, whom Spidey fans will know as Miles Morales’ uncle, who eventually becomes Prowler, so we could still see him become more prominent in the MCU in the future.

For me, Spider-Man: Homecoming is probably the weakest of the three Tom Holland Spider-Man movies to date, but that’s more testament to the quality of the trilogy than anything. Michael Keaton’s performance as the villainous Vulture is a real highlight, while the coming-of-age, high school movie influences from the likes of The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off imbue this film with so much energy. My five-year-old son still hasn’t quite connected with the Tobey Maguire Spidey films, but he loves Spider-Man: Homecoming, which should tell you all you need to know about it.

4. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

The Disney Star Wars era has had its fair share of ups and downs, and Solo: A Star Wars Story is considered something of a low point. That’s largely down to its box office takings, though, with the Han Solo origin movie taking roughly $393 million against a $275 million budget (with high production costs factored in, this is the first Star Wars movie to be deemed a financial failure). But guess what? Box office does not dictate the quality of a film, and I’d argue we’ve all been too harsh on this film.

Massive credit should go to Alden Ehrenreich for capturing the mannerisms and spirit of Han Solo without simply copying Harrison Ford. However, it’s Donald Glover as a young Lando Calrissian who steals the show; if you thought Billy Dee Williams was cool, Glover takes Lando to a whole new level. Solo: A Star Wars Story is far from perfect, but it’s packed with thrilling action set-pieces, and above all, it’s what any good Star Wars film should be: lots and lots of fun.

3. Atlanta (2016-2022)

It may not be at the top of this list, but Atlanta is certainly the most creative and interesting piece of work Donald Glover has ever created as an actor-writer-producer. Glover stars as Earnest, a down-on-his-luck music producer who tries to ride the coattails of his cousin, the up-and-coming rap sensation, Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry). With madcap pal Darius (Lakeith Stanfield) and baby momma Van (Zazie Beetz) in tow, chaos regularly ensues for the quartet, often with a surrealist spin. But the show tackles some pretty serious themes, most notably poverty and racism.

At times, Atlanta is fantastically funny and razor-sharp in its satirical take on society. At others, the show takes rather dark turns – Season 2, Episode 6, titled ‘Teddy Perkins’, is a horror-esque tale riffing on the mythology around Michael Jackson. This show is so diverse from episode to episode, which is what makes it so fascinating. If you’re into shows like The White Lotus, Beef, Broad City, or films like Sorry To Bother You and Uncut Gems, you’ll relish the madness of Atlanta.

2. The Martian (2015)

Admittedly, Donald Glover doesn’t have the biggest role in The Martian. He doesn’t even go to space. And yet, his brief but brilliant turn as astrodynamicist Rich Purnell is a really fun and pretty integral part of the film – he’s the one who comes up with the plan to rescue Matt Damon (that guy always needs rescuing, doesn’t he?)

The Martian is not only a very entertaining sci-fi film with loads of light comedy from Damon, it’s also pretty emotional by the end. Through it all, Ridley Scott and his team bring a phenomenal level of technical detail to proceedings. This movie is so rewatchable, and now is a great time to do so given we’ve got Project Hail Mary on the way in 2026 (another story from the brilliant Andy Weir). If you’re a fan of introspective science fiction like Ad Astra, Arrival, or Gravity, you cannot miss The Martian.

1. Community (2009-2014)

There could only be one winner in this ranking of Donald Glover movies and TV shows. During the great sitcom boom of the early 2000s and 2010s, Community was able to hold its own against modern classics like The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Modern Family. That’s all down to the outstanding chemistry between the key cast members, including Glover. His character, Troy Barnes, and Danny Pudi’s Abed are the real stars of the show, bringing a wonderful mix of smart and silly to their madcap adventures and side-quests.

Community is the perfect easy watch when you just want to enjoy a group of fools getting into ridiculous situations; the kind of show you can stick on while you eat, or when you’re feeling sleepy and want something that isn’t going to overwhelm you. 

Fans always said they wanted “six seasons and a movie”, and that dream is supposed to come true in the near future – if they ever start filming. In the meantime, you’ll need a subscription to Now TV to watch its original run, or you can rent it at £2.49 per episode on Apple TV. 

The most wonderful time of the year is fast approaching. But before you worry about shopping for presents and defrosting the turkey, there is one far more important job to do: line up the Christmas movies you’re going to watch during the festive season.

Obviously, Christmas movies are hardly a new concept. It’s very likely you’ve all got your own traditions and must-watches at this time of year, but what if you want to shake things up and try something a little different?

Well, JustWatch has assembled a list of the seven best Christmas movies to watch in 2025 – one for every day of the week leading up to the big day – and they’re all delightfully different enough from one another to cater to any vibe you’re looking for, from must-see classics to future ones.

The Holdovers (2023)

If you’re keen to dive into an alternative Christmas story, The Holdovers is the one for you. Sure, it’s got underlying themes of kindness, family, and purpose that ring true for most festive films, but this Alexander Payne dramedy also comes with a healthy dose of cynicism and comedic bite that you don’t often find in Christmas movies. It’s essentially a story of three rather lonely people – an abrasive tutor, a sweet cook, and a troubled teen – who find an unlikely connection after being forced to spend the holidays together.

I remember when The Holdovers was released and, over the course of a couple of weeks, each day it felt like a different friend of mine had seen it and fallen head over heels in love. I think I actually got to it last out of my friendship group, but I felt exactly the same. It’s now absolutely part of our annual tradition to all watch it and wax lyrical about how funny and utterly charming it is. If you’re a fan of films like The Edge of Seventeen, Submarine, and A Real Pain, this could well become your new favourite Christmas movie.

Batman Returns (1992)

From one of the most charming Christmas movies to one of the downright coolest, Batman Returns is the ideal choice for any superhero-obsessed film fans who aren’t about to get bogged down in the debate as to what actually constitutes a Christmas movie. Is it set at Christmas? Yes. And that’s all we need to include it on this list! 

Batman Returns is the sequel to Tim Burton’s brilliant Batman of 1989, and this time, the Caped Crusader has not one, but two villains to deal with: Catwoman and the Penguin. Honestly, you can keep your MCU and forget about James Gunn’s nascent DCU; superhero movies simply do not look as good as this anymore. The snowy streets of Gotham City are captured by Burton with all the dark, surrealist style he’s renowned for, bringing a gothic twist to the festive season. But it’s not all style and no substance with this one; no, Burton puts together a thrilling Batman story that feels ripped right out of the comics, with thrilling twists, violence, and top-tier heroics. 

If you’re a fan of Burton’s other work like Sleepy Hollow, Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak, or even The Crow, you’re going to really dig this film.

Klaus (2019)

Christmas isn’t the same unless you’re watching quaint animated movies with the family, right? And if you need something to please adults and children alike, you should look no further than Klaus. 

This Netflix original offers an interesting take on the origins of Santa Claus, taking viewers to the remote town of Smeerensburg where conflict between two warring families has sucked the joy out of too many childhoods… Until a reluctant postman comes along and changes everything.

For me, the staples of Christmas movie viewing have always been Elf and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I never believed anything would muscle in on that territory, but Klaus did it. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s now my favourite Christmas movie. Its animation style is absolutely stunning, for a start, and it’s also incredibly funny. More than anything, Klaus will hit you in the feels. I hardly ever cry at films, but this one gets me every single time.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

From a modern favourite to an old classic, I would go as far as to say that It’s a Wonderful Life is not just the best film on this list, it’s one of the most perfect movies ever made. 

Almost 80 years on, the story of George Bailey is still warming hearts every Christmas. It’s a movie packed with joy; one that reminds us the importance of selflessness, togetherness, and most of all, love. Be warned, though, it’s not without its sad moments – albeit those very special kind of sad moments where you wipe away a tear with a big smile on your face.

This film will always have a special place in my heart as it’s one my grandmother used to watch with me when I was a child (it’s her favourite Christmas movie). Now as an adult, I’ve made it my mission to watch It’s a Wonderful Life every year, and I somehow seem to love it more and more every time. I watched it at the cinema in 2024, and I’ll be doing so again this year. Whether it’s on a big cinema screen or cozying up in front of the fire at home, it’s impossible not to be enamored with this most magical of films.

Black Christmas (1974)

If the thought of watching sweet Christmas movies that make you feel all fuzzy inside gives you the ick, you might want to inject a spot of horror into your holidays. The original Black Christmas is a great pick for this time of year. It’s basically a home invasion, slasher-style horror movie akin to the likes of Halloween and Scream, but it’s set in a sorority house at Christmas!

At just over an hour and a half, it’s also not going to take up much of your valuable time, but it still packs quite the punch, with several gnarly scenes and a really creepy, mysterious killer behind it all. I’ll admit, it’s not the kind of film I’ll be watching every year, but if you want to go against the grain, this would be a perfect choice for a fun and frightening movie night with your friends – just make sure you lock the door first.

Christmas Karma (2025)

New Christmas films come out every year, and all we can do is take a gamble on the ones we think look good and hope that they’ll become part of our festive roster for years to come. This year’s Christmas Karma is exactly that – a gamble. This twist on the classic Charles Dickens story, A Christmas Carol, has only just hit cinema screens, so you’d have to venture out and watch it, but that’s all part of the fun.

For a start, you can’t really go wrong when a film follows the blueprint of Dickens’ incredible tale. In many ways, It’s a Wonderful Life riffs on that core idea, and look how good that is! Plus, with a cast including the likes of Kunal Nayyar (who played Raj in The Big Bang Theory), Hugh Bonneville, Eva Longoria, and Danny Dyer, you just know this is going to be an entertaining take on the original story. 

And if you don’t fancy trying something new, you could always watch The Muppet Christmas Carol instead. I wouldn’t blame you – it’s absolutely perfect.

The Holiday (2006)

We’ll round out this list with a little something for the romantics in the room. Yes, it’s full of cheesy clichés, but The Holiday knows its target audience and it nails the required tone. So much so, in fact, that it’s a bona fide classic for this time of year. My partner insists we watch it every holiday season, and while I initially grumbled about this, it’s getting harder and harder to hide the fact that I now secretly quite like this rather endearing rom-rom.

It’s a story of two women who are unlucky in love and decide to swap lives for the holidays. One heads for the British countryside, while the other embarks on an adventure in LA. And wouldn’t you know it, they both find their dream man and live happily ever after. There’s no better Christmas movie for a lovely little date night, and anyone who’s into the likes of Bridget Jones’ Diary, Love Actually, or Nora Ephron movies like You’ve Got Mail is going to swoon over this one, for sure.

Fans of the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise didn’t have to wait too long for the sequel to the popular 2023 adaptation of Scott Cawton’s wildly serialised video game. Given the success of so many game-based movies in recent years, it’s no surprise that a wide range of other sequels are also in the works across film and TV—many of them scheduled for release as early as next year.

These include follow-ups to recent smash hits as well as long-awaited reboots—some of which I’m sure you’ve heard of, others that might come as a bit of a surprise. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

Fallout, Season 2 (2025)

Adapting a video game as expansive as Fallout was never going to be easy, so hats off to Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet for making a show that worked for both longtime fans of the franchise and absolute newcomers—and if you happen to be of the latter, imagine a mix of Silo and Futurama and you’ll have some idea of what to expect.

Now, a little over a year and a half since the last season wrapped, we’re returning to the post-apocalyptic wastes to check in with Ella Purnell’s Lucy and Walton Goggin’s Ghoul for another eight-episode run—this time in the tantalising world of New Vegas. Kyle MacLachlan and Aaron Moten also return alongside newcomers Justin Theroux and Macaulay Culkin.

Release date: December 2025

Return to Silent Hill (2026)

Fans of Konami’s infamously terrifying Silent Hill series have had to wait patiently for a new screen adaptation of the long running video game. Next January, 13 years after the last installment, the critically panned Silent Hill: Revelation, Cristopher Gans (who directed the first movie) is coming back with Return to Silent Hill—a direct adaptation of Silent Hill 2.

If you’ve never played the game, imagine a mix between Resident Evil and a night terror and you’ll have some idea of what you’re in for. Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) and Hannah Emily Anderson (Jigsaw) lead the cast, but no word yet on who’s playing the scary baby.

Release date: January

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)

After at least one famously disastrous attempt to bring everyone’s favourite Italian plumber to the screen in the 1990s, Universal did a pretty decent job out the gate with The Super Mario Bros. Movie—an adaptation that delivered plenty of the nostalgia hits that fans had been crying out for without, let’s say, reinventing the wheel. It also made $1.36 billion at the box office—which helps.

The same writer-director team returns for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which promises to deliver the same offbeat humour and kaleidoscopic imagery—think stuff like The Lego Movie and Sonic the Hedgehog and you’ll have an idea. Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor Joy and Jack Black (the first movie’s MVP) reprise their roles alongside newcomers Brie Larson (as Rosalina) and Bennie Safdie (Bowser Jr.).

Release date: April

Mortal Kombat II (2026)

When the first Mortal Kombat movie was released directly to HBO Max during lockdown, it quickly became the most streamed movie in the studio’s history. Naturally, that meant that a sequel would soon follow. This one will thankfully play in proper theatres, which means that fans will get a chance to see all that gnarly, R-Rated stuff as big and bloody as possible.

I must say I’m pretty pumped for this one as Karl Urban is set to lead the cast, playing Johnny Cage, and if the trailer is anything to go by, it looks like he’ll be bringing some of that humour from The Boys with him—so if you’re a fan of that show, make sure to add this one to your list! 

Release date: May

Resident Evil (2026)

Normally, I wouldn’t be super excited to hear that a buzzy director, someone responsible for two of the most entertaining original concepts of the last few years (Weapons and Barbarian), was switching to IP filmmaking, but there’s just something about the idea of a Zach Cregger Resident Evil that sounds awesome to me.

Cregger will presumably be looking to take a new approach after Paul WS Anderson’s wonderfully idiosyncratic sextet of movies. Little is known at this point, but I fully expect a more horror-leaning focus to coincide with the movie’s spooky season release date.

Release date: September

Street Fighter (2026)

The upcoming Street Fighter movie, like Cregger’s Resident Evil, is, of course, more of a reboot than a sequel, but it would be wrong not to give it a mention here. The movie, which is set for release at some point next year, is being produced by Paramount, the studio behind the consistently good Sonic the Hedgehog movies—so there are certainly reasons for optimism. 

Directed by Kitao Sakurai (Twisted Metal) from a script by Dalan Musson (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), the movie is set to feature the WWE stars Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns alongside Eric Andre, 50 Cent and Jason Momoa. Sounds fun!

Another Minecraft Movie (2027)

With movies like Jumanji, Kung Fu Panda 4, Super Mario Bros. and presumably Anaconda all making serious bank, a case could be made that Jack Black is the biggest star in Hollywood at the moment. No movie has done more to burnish that argument than The Minecraft Movie, which, at time of writing, remains the second most successful American movie of the year.

Younger readers will probably (accurately) tell me that that phenomenon had more to do with a chicken jockey, but either way, a sequel was inevitable. Expect this one (which might be titled Another Minecraft Movie) at some point in 2027.

Release date: July

With the second part of Jon M. Chu’s gangbusters adaptation of Wicked now finally in cinemas, fans of the hit Broadway musical can once again be immersed in the wonderful Land of Oz. Starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the now iconic roles of Elphaba and Glinda, the film invites fans to explore the world of The Wizard of Oz from a different perspective — in doing so, it tells the story of how not only Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West came to be, but also the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion.

If you loved Wicked and Wicked: For Good and are craving more fantasy films with a musical flare, there are no shortage of options for you to check out. The following list, which I’ve arranged in no particular order, features magic and fantasy, action and romance, dazzling colour and plenty of memorable tunes. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find out where to stream them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

If you love all things Oz and aren’t quite ready to click your ruby slippers and head back home, there are plenty of other films that take place in the Oz universe. Sam Raimi fans (think Evil Dead and Spider-Man) will likely enjoy the offbeat vibe of his 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful — an origin story for the Wizard himself. Soul music fans, however, will probably thrill to The Wiz, Sidney Lumet’s iconic Harlem-set retelling of the original story starring Diana Ross, Richard Pryor, and Michael Jackson. 

But of course, the classic Wizard of Oz from 1939 is still the gold (or at least yellow brick) standard for all things Good and Wicked — and if you liked Erivo’s performance as the Witch of the West, just wait till you get a load of Margaret Hamilton’s demented take on the role.

Return to Oz (1985)

The other Oz film that deserves a standalone mention on this list, at least IMO, is Walter Murch’s genuinely strange and unsettling 1985 sequel, Return to Oz. This is a film for Oz fans who don’t mind a little horror in their fantasy (think Legend or The Witches), or even those who don’t mind something a little surreal. It’s probably the closest thing to a David Lynch version of an Oz film that we’ll ever see — unless of course you count Wild at Heart.

The film begins with Dorothy in a mental institution and features a wonderful collection of creepy characters, like Jack Pumpkinhead and, scariest of all, the Wheelers. 

Into the Woods (2014)

If you enjoyed singing along to ‘Defying Gravity’ or “For Good” in the cinema, there are plenty of other film musicals that will have you belting out lyrics from your seat. The 1997 Cinderella, starring no less than Brandy and Whitney Houston, features plenty of fun songs and outrageous outfits. The Timothée Chalamet led Wonka is also plenty of fun; as is Annie; and, in its own way, as is Cats.

If I had to choose one to recommend, I’d probably suggest the 2014 adaptation of Into the Woods, a film that will feel pretty familiar to Wicked fans — as it also looks at well known fairy tales from a different angle. It also features the great Meryl Streep as a singing witch — so what’s not to like?

Enchanted (2007)

And speaking of looking at fairy tales from a different angle, the delightful 2007 Disney film Enchanted basically helped to invent that genre. The story follows a princess in waiting, named Giselle, as she travels from her typical animated world to modern day New York — imagine a mix of Shrek and Elf and you’ll have some idea of the vibe.

This was also the film that helped make Amy Adams a star, so even if you only know the actor from something like Arrival, you might enjoy seeing her in her breakout role.

Maleficent (2014)

When Wicked began its run on Broadway in 2003, it was one of the first attempts to reframe a famous story by telling it from a misunderstood antagonist’s POV. We now have a bunch of these, with as far flung films as Joker and Despicable Me arguably following the same blueprint.

One of the first to try was Maleficent — in which the evil witch from Sleeping Beauty (played wonderfully by Angelina Jolie) is given her own backstory and motive. If you love Wicked — especially for its message and its exaggerated costumes — you’ll probably love this one too.

Cruella (2021)

If you liked Wicked and Maleficent, the 2021 film Cruella should be added to your watch list immediately. This is the film that does for One Hundred and One Dalmatians what Maleficent does for Sleeping Beauty and Wicked does for The Wizard of Oz.

As the title suggests, the film is an origin story for Cruella Deville that explores the legendary villain’s rise in the London (or at least a fantastical version of the city) fashion world. She is played by Emma Stone, so if you’re a fan of films like Poor Things or La La Land, this might be the one for you.

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Of course, we can’t talk about all these alternative Disney films without mentioning a few of the originators. When it comes to sing-along songs, there are no shortage of classics to check out (or revisit) — like Aladdin, Frozen, Cinderella, Tangled, Peter Pan, and The Little Mermaid. 

If I had to choose one, for its sweeping romance, gorgeous animation and wonderful songs, it would have to be the 1991 version of Beauty and the Beast. At time of writing, it remains the only 2D animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. 

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Sometimes, the best way to fill a fantasy film-shaped void is to dive back into another immersive fantasy film. For something with a similar level of imagination, dazzling colour and production design, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland seems as good a place as any to start.

This live action remake of the animated classic is not quite on the gothic level of Burton’s early work (like Edward Scissorhands) but if you like the director’s more recent output (like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), this should be firmly in your wheelhouse. 

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

While we’re on the subject of chocolate factories, this timeless 1971 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s story feels like a good fit for Wicked fans, not least if you’re also a fan of Return to Oz — even more than Wonka and the Burton version, there are parts of this film that feel genuinely strange and dark.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory features a few incredible songs and an iconic performance by Gene Wilder in the title role — so if you loved the actor in films like The Producers and Blazing Saddles, you’ll want to see him (or perhaps see him again) here.

Stardust (2007)

Last but not least, if you like Wicked for its engaging blend of action and fantasy, make sure to check out Stardust — especially if you’re a fan of swashbuckling adventures like The Princess Bride or Pirates of the Caribbean. 

The film takes place in a world of fairies and sky pirates and stars Charlie Cox as a young man who falls in love with what he believes is a fallen star (Claire Danes). Oh, and Robert Dinero plays a pirate called Captain Shakespeare.

Gifted with one of the most impressive vocal ranges of any modern star, Ariana Grande is probably best known as a ponytailed pop sensation who’s been dazzling the music world for 15 years now. All that said, while she might have long dominated the worlds’ stages as a star musician, she actually got her start as an actor on Nickelodeon, and has since branched out into film.

Of course, Grande’s most recent starring role was as the good witch Glinda in Jon M Chu’s juggernaut adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked, and its recently released sequel, Wicked: for Good. Read on to learn more about Ariana Grande’s movies and TV shows and use the guide below to find out where to stream them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

Victorious (2010-2013)

When she was still just 17-years-old, Ariana Grande got her first big start playing the sweet but somewhat dim Cat Valentine on the popular (pop-u-lar) Nickelodeon series Victorious, which aired on the channel from 2010 to 2013.

Few would claim that the series, which takes place in a performing arts school (think iCarly meets Fame), is a classic, but if you’re a big Grande fan you’ll probably get a real kick out of seeing her natural charisma here in a more raw form — even as a side character, she easily steals the show.

Sam & Cat (2013-2014)

I have to presume that the series creator of Victorious (who was also behind Zoey 101 and Drake & Josh) felt the same way about Grande, as a spinoff series starring the future pop sensation began directly after Victorious finished its three year run.

The spinoff was titled Sam & Cat and saw Grande continue in the role of Cat Valentine opposite Jennette McCurdy’s Sam Puckett. The show follows the two young women as they move in together and start a babysitter business. 

Swindle (2013)

With the release of her Billboard chart-topping debut album, Yours Truly, 2013 turned out to be a landmark year for the young star. Along with that and Sam & Cat, Grande also appeared in Swindle, her very first TV movie.

The story follows a group of teenagers who attempt to retrieve a valuable baseball card from a crooked collector. This is basically a heist movie made for Nickelodeon audiences, so if you like the idea of seeing Cat and Sam (McCurdy also stars) in an Ocean’s Eleven style farce, you’ll probably dig it.  

Underdogs (2016)

Grande understandably took a break from acting once her music career began to skyrocket, but in 2016, around the time of the release of her third album, she lent her now world famous voice to the English language version of Underdogs.

Funnily enough, this animated movie about a table football player (voiced in English by Nicolas Hoult) and his team was Juan José Campanella’s followup to his Oscar winning breakthrough, The Secret in their Eyes—so if you happen to be a fan of that movie and also enjoy Pixar’s Toy Story and Ratatouille, this might be up your street.

Hairspray Live! (2016)

Grande finally got her first taste of musical fame in 2016 when she played Penny Pingleton in Hairspray Live!, NBC’s live television performance of John Waters’ classic Broadway musical — and if you like the legendary John Travolta-starring original, or appreciate Waters’ more PG13 work, you should definitely give it a shot!

The role gave Grande the chance to work no only with Jennifer Hudson, comedy legend Martin Short and musical theatre legend Kristin Chenoweth, but also a young Billy Eichner. 

Ariana Grande: Dangerous Woman Diaries (2018)

In addition to her television and film roles, Ariana Grande has also had two documentaries made about her. Released in 2018, Ariana Grande: Dangerous Woman Diaries is a four-part docuseries that offers fans a behind the scenes look at her Dangerous Woman tour. 

As well as showing Grande perform (including the moving One Love Manchester show following the bombing at her concert in 2017) and interact with her team, the doc follows her as she records her then-upcoming Sweeteners album. If you appreciate Grande’s music and like docs like Miss Americana and The World’s a Little Blurry you’ll wanna see it.

Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You (2020)

Two years after Dangerous Woman Diaries, Grande released Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You, a close-up look at her London performance during her subsequent Sweeteners world tour. 

Focusing on one performance, Excuse Me is a more contained documentary than its predecessor, but if you like single-show performance docs like Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids, you might actually prefer this one!

Don’t Look Up (2021)

Five years and three hugely successful albums after her appearance in Hairspray Live!, Grande tentatively returned to the screen with a small but memorable role in Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, an eco-disaster movie that also worked as a hilarious satire.

Appearing opposite A-list stars like Timothée Chalamet and Jennifer Lawrence, Grande played the role of pop star Riley Bina — and if you like the idea of seeing the singer play an exaggerated version of herself, and also like McKay’s other movies (think The Big Short, Vice), you’ll probably have a good time. 

Wicked (2024)

In 2024, Grande played her biggest role to date as the good witch Glinda in the live-action adaptation of Wicked, opposite Cynthia Erivo — an actress who she immediately had chemistry with, both on-screen and on the movie’s legendary press tour. 

Directed by Jon M Chu, Wicked was a quick sensation (imagine a mix of Cruella and The Wizard of Oz and you’ll know what to expect), making $750 million at the box office and earning Grande a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards.

Brighter Days Ahead (2025)

Released earlier this year, Brighter Days Ahead is a “visual companion” to Grande’s 2024 album Eternal Sunshine. This short movie, which is made in a style reminiscent of science fiction movie, is also Grande’s directorial debut — and if you’re curious what that might look like, you should probably give it a look!

This one will likely appeal to fans of Grande’s music who also enjoyed Beyonce’s Lemonade.

Wicked: Part Two (2025)

Grande might have lost out to Zoe Saldaña for Emilia Pérez at the Oscars this year, but if awards prognosticators are anything to go by, she looks to be in a strong position to win Best Supporting Actress for her second turn as Glinda in the newly released Wicked: Part Two.

The movie itself picks up where Chu’s predecessor left off, and offers origin stories for some of the most famous characters from the 1939 original, including Tin Man, Scarecrow and The Cowardly Lion — so naturally, if you’re a fan of all things Oz, be sure to check it out. 

Ever since his memorable stint as The Viper on Game of Thrones, Pedro Pascal has emerged as one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood. With all that recent success and fame, however, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the actor has been steadily working since the mid-90s—with appearances in everything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Graceland. Since then, he's joined some of the biggest franchises of all time, including Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Game of Thrones. So, if after all that you’re still craving more Pedro on your screen, we’ve got you covered. Here you'll find the fourteen best Pedro Pascal performances in movies and TV shows.

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

In 2020, Pascal joined Patty Jenkins’s second Wonder Woman feature as the supervillain Maxwell Lord. The film takes place in the 1980s (and if you like period set superhero movies like The First Avenger or Captain Marvel, you might find more to like here than critics gave it credit for) and sees Gal Gadot’s Diana step away from her quiet life to take on the failing businessman Maxwell Lord.

Although Max is in many ways your typical comic book baddie, he goes through quite the arc throughout the film, and Pascal’s performance wonderfully captures the character’s desperation and moral uncertainty.

Triple Frontier (2019)

While Triple Frontier may not be the greatest film of all time, it brings together Pedro Pascal and Oscar Isaac in a gritty action film—and that alone makes it worthy of recognition. The film is also directed by J.C. Chandor, and if you liked his work on Margin Call and All is Lost you might be interested in seeing him work in a totally different gear.

The story follows four former special forces operatives — Pascal’s Francisco “Catfish” Morales, Isaac’s Santiago “Pope” Garcia, Ben Affleck’s Tom “Redfly” Davis, and Charlie Hunnam’s William “Ironhead” Miller — as they team up for a heist on the territory of a South American drug lord. Pascal is not front and centre in this one, but his banter with Isaac and the others elevates the film to a pretty enjoyable watch.

The Equalizer 2 (2018)

Just a couple of years after his big break on Game of Thrones, The Equalizer 2 saw Pascal more than hold his own opposite one of the greatest actors of all time, Denzel Washington — and if you like the Hollywood legend in pure action mode (think films like Man on Fire or Inside Man), this is one you’ll probably be into.

As Dave York, the morally bankrupt antagonist, Pascal displays not only his ample action chops but also his equally remarkable skills at playing a backstabbing villain.

Prospect (2018)

Prospect is one of the most overlooked Pedro Pascal movies that should be on your watchlist. The sci-fi drama sees Pascal actor play Ezra, a merciless prospector searching for rare materials on a forest moon full of poisonous fungal spores. Like his more recent parts (especially in The Last of Us and Fantastic Four), Pascal excels in the role of a conflicted would-be protector, and succeeds in convincingly showing Ezra’s darker instincts and desperation to survive at all costs.

The drama is kicked into motion after a confrontation with the father-daughter duo Cee and Damon (played by Sophie Thatcher and Jay Duplass) — with whom Cee and Ezra wind up joining forces with in an effort to fulfil their mission and stay alive. This is the least famous title on the list, so if you haven't seen Prospect yet, consider checking it out for an underrated Pedro Pascal performance.

The Wild Robot (2024)

One of Pascal’s most understated roles in recent years was lending his vocal talents to The Wild Robot. This is a delightful, animated film — and trust me, if you appreciate films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and The Iron Giant, this film is basically guaranteed to make you cry. The story begins when a high tech robot crash lands on a bird’s nest and takes it upon itself to raise the only survivor, a goose named Brightbill. Pascal voices a fox named Flick who becomes the young bird’s unlikely, carnivorous friend. While you won't get to see Pedro's acting abilities on screen, his charismatic performance as Flick serves the story well enough to accompany Lupita Nyong'o's pitch perfect portrayal of the titular robot.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

Whether you’ve only seen the meme of a crazy-eyed Pedro Pascal and Nic Cage driving in a convertible, or the mere idea of their two names together is enough to pique your interest, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is without a doubt one of the most fun entries on this list — especially for fans of Cage at his most unhinged (like Mandy or Bad Lieutenant.)

For the film, Pascal gets to display his over-the-top comedic chops and easily holds his own against Cage’s typically bonkers performance. The Hollywood legend literally plays himself, albeit as a washed up actor in need of cash who accepts a paid invitation to a wealthy fan’s (Pascal) birthday party — who of course turns out to be trouble. This is easily one of the most fun-filled Pedro Pascal movies, so check it out if you want to see the actor's playful nature on the big screen.

Eddington (2025)

Even considering all the incredible work that Pascal has done in the last few years, 2025 stands out as a landmark year for the actor. It started with the second season of Last of Us, but Eddington’s premier in Cannes marked a new frontier for the actor: a brush with the highest echelons of cinema culture in a film that — whether critics liked it or not — got everybody talking.

The story takes place in the tumultuous summer of 2020 in the titular town and follows a sheriff (played by Jaoquin Phoenix) and a mayor (Pascal) as they lock horns over Covid restrictions, Black Lives Matter protests, and other hot button issues. The film is directed by Ari Aster, so if you’re familiar with his work (Midsommar, Beau is Afraid) you know what kind of anxiety attacks that await you.

Gladiator II (2024)

With his roles in The Mandalorian and The Last of Us, Pedro Pascal basically confirmed his place as modern popular culture’s resident handsome, fatherly protector figure — or, to use an internetism, “Daddy”. In 2024, with Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, Pascal solidified that reputation with his portrayal of General Acacius, an aging warrior attempting to live in accordance with his moral code in a world of rapidly shifting powers and political uncertainty — and if you liked the first movie or Scott’s recent hit The Last Duel, this is one you’ll want to see.

The film is one of Pascal’s biggest blockbuster appearances so far, and sees him star opposite Paul Mescal, who plays the film’s young protagonist, Lucius. Pascal’s portrayal of Acacius gives the character a heartfelt dose of nuance and idealism, and we discover he is much more than the ruthless warrior we first see on screen.

Materialists (2025)

Fans of Celine Song’s beloved debut, Past Lives, will likely be intrigued to see this unusual followup in which Pascal plays the wealthier of high-end matchmaker Lucy’s (Dakota Johnson) two potential love interests — the other is played by fellow MCU alum Chris Evans.

Studio A24 marketed Materialists as a new kind of rom-com, but it’s a much stranger film than even that — think less Pretty Woman and more Closer. In comparison to the other roles on this list, Materialists puts Pascal in a muted performance that suits the tone of this unique love story.

Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

Pascal’s third big moment in 2025 came with his wonderful introduction into the MCU in Matt Shakman’s still underappreciated The Fantastic 4: First Steps. This is a Marvel film that takes place in a multiversal world that looks a bit like our own in the 1950s, but with that nice retro-futurist feel of the original Jack Kirby comics and movies like Brad Bird’s The Incredibles. The story follows Marvel’s first family, led by Pascal’s Reed Richards and Venessa Kirby’s Sue Storm, as they encounter Galactus and the Silver Surfer for the first time.With Pedro Pascal leading the team, he's poised to be a key character in I.  In the role of Reed Richards, he shows great chemistry with the rest of the Fantastic Four, especially Sue Storm's Vanessa Kirby.

The Mandalorian (2019-2023)

He may not show his face very often, but The Mandalorian wouldn't be the same without Pedro Pascal. His undeniable charisma and presence have been more than enough to carry the beloved Star Wars series for three seasons now — and if you like your sci-fi space operas with a Western twist (think A New Hope or Firefly), this is one you’ll want to see.

Next year, Disney and Lucasfilm are set to release The Mandalorian & Grogu, a film that will see Pascal return to play the tenderhearted yet deadly Mandalorian Din Djarin, a lone bounty hunter who decides to risk it all to protect the outrageously adorable Grogu (affectionately known by fans as “Baby Yoda”) through a series of close-shave adventures.

Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Although Pedro Pascal only appeared in a smattering of Game of Thrones episodes during the show’s fourth season, boy did his portrayal of Oberyn Martel leave an impression on the GoT fandom. From his exuberant skills in both combat and the bedroom to his eye-poppingly memorable fight with The Mountain, Oberyn had a whole lot going for him.

If you’ve still to see the show, imagine a sexier, more violent, and more political Lord of the Rings and you’ll have some idea of what to expect. Outside of the show, it’s kind of a heartening story: a working actor finding fame with a mid-career role that captivated audiences at the time and has remained an enduring fan-favourite a decade later. The performance served as Pascal’s big break, catapulting him to a level of stardom that has only grown since.

Narcos (2015-2017)

In his first big role after Game of Thrones, Pascal starred in one of Netflix’s foundational hit series, Narcos, as real-life DEA agent Javier Peña. Although the series’ main focus — on the rise and fall of the notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar (played by Wagner Moura) — deviated in the third season, Pascal’s Peña remained a constant and appeared in every episode.

His performance highlights Pascal’s ability to portray his characters as equally hardened and affected by what happens around them. If you like well-written and bingeable TV shows about the drug trade (Ozark and Breaking Bad are the obvious comps), you’ll probably like this one, too.

The Last of Us (2023 - )

Given all that Pascal has done for his audience in the last few years, it’s tricky to choose his best performances to date. That said, the work the actor has done so far in playing Joel— a man tasked with bringing Bella Ramsey’s Ellie safely across a zombie-filled post-apocalyptic United States—in The Last of Us is kind of hard to argue with. The rough complexity that the actor gives to Joel has made him one of the most admired and compelling characters on television.

The acclaimed series—which was developed by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and based on Naughty Dog’s hugely influential video games, which were also influenced by films like The Road—takes us into a bleak, dystopian world in which a fungus has infected over half the world’s population, turning them into zombie-like creatures. Despite the many iconic roles on this list, I think this stands out as his best performance to date.

After years of stumbling beginnings, reboots, and drawn-out pauses, The Fantastic Four made a triumphant return in 2025 — this time within the Marvel Cinematic Universe — with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The film is now available to stream on Disney+ and AppleTV, but for fans who can’t get enough of Marvel’s first family, there are a whole bunch of previous incarnations to enjoy — and we’re not even talking about The Incredibles. 

It’s true, the Fantastic Four might have just made their ‘first steps’ in the MCU, but the quad have been around on screens big and small since as early as the late 1960s. Read on to discover more about all the Fantastic Four movies and TV shows and use the guide below to find out where you can stream them on services like Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.

Fantastic Four (1967–1968)

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Fantastic Four were originally created as Marvel’s first family, a superhero squad composed of Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), Invisible Woman (aka Susan Storm), Human Torch (aka Johnny Storm), and Thing (aka Ben Grimm).

Over the years, the Foursome have inspired a series of somewhat successful animated television series. The earliest of these came just six years after the characters first appearance in Marvel comics and ran for 20 episodes, with episodes that featured fan favorite villains such as Dr. Doom and Galactus. If you like the retro feel of early Spider-Man, you’ll probably dig it. 

The New Fantastic Four (1978)

The next iteration of the animated series, The New Fantastic Four, arrived a decade later, running for 13 episodes with a slightly more advanced animation style — though we are still very much in the retro, Spider-Man era of TV shows here.

The series once again featured Doom and Mole Man but there were also appearances from less likely villains, such as Magneto from the X-Men franchise. The show is probably most famous for having replaced The Human Torch with a robot named H.E.R.B.I.E. (as the rights to the character were tied up at the time) — of course, both of them would later appear in First Steps. 

Fred & Barney Meet the Thing (1979)

Anyone currently feeling multi-verse fatigue should stop for a moment and spare a thought for Fred & Barney Meet the Thing, a Flintstones/Fantastic Four crossover that makes the Multiverse of Madness look, well, pretty sane.

Over 13 episodes, the show pretty much does what it says on the tin — let’s just say this is one for the completists. 

Fantastic Four (1994–1996)

The longest-running and best remembered of the early iterations of the Four are, and I think I’m not alone in saying this, the two seasons that ran from 1994 to 1996 as part of the Marvel Action Hour. This is the show to watch if you’re a fan of ‘80s and ‘90s TV animated shows like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Transformers.

Over 26 episodes, the show features many of the villains mentioned above alongside guest stars like Thor, Hulk and Black Panther (who was voiced by none other than Keith David.) The great Giorgio Moroder even provided the original score.

Fantastic Four (2005)

The first Fantastic Four film, which was made in 1994 by Roger Corman’s studio as a way (you guessed it) to hang onto the rights, was deemed so awful that it was never officially released—though edits of footage have since been made and the movie has gained cult status. 

Regardless, in 2005, 20th Century Fox finally took a real crack at it with Fantastic Four, an adaptation starring Chris Evans, Jessica Alba, and Kerry Washington. The film was originally not so well received but has, in recent years, found a more appreciative audience — especially amongst fans of pre-MCU marvel movies like Spider-Man and X2.

It’s true, the film’s attempts at humour aren’t great and some of the acting is debatable, but the movie has an undeniably goofy charm. 

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

Vibes-wise, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer has much of the same things going for it as its predecessor, including the charismatic cast and nicely cringy energy. It also introduces Doug Jones’ Silver Surfer, a character that looks impressively realised by the standards of 2007 CGI — and if you like that indulgent era of special effects (like on Michael Bay’s Transformers films), you’ll probably be into it.

Just don’t expect much from this iteration of Galactus — that giant cloud is still inexcusable. 

Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes (2006–2010)

It might not have the nostalgic quality of earlier shows, but these days there’s no doubting that Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes is widely seen as the best animated series yet to feature the squad. 

It only lasted one season, but its straightforward interpretation of Lee and Kirby’s stories from the comic books, plus its sleek animation style, helped ease the disappointment among fans around 2005 live-action film’s release. This is the one to watch if you want something faithful to the original comics that also boasts a modern animation style. 

The Super Hero Squad Show (2009–2011)

For parents of younger fans looking for a more entry-level superhero show, Marvel’s Super Hero Squad Show is probably the best place to start. The show, which ran for two seasons and 52 episodes from 2009-2011 features a whole host of Marvel’s most famous heroes, including the Avengers, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. 

The story is a classic superhero team-up and even features some of the same narrative as seen in the MCU, including Thanos and the Infinity stones, so if you’re a big Endgame fan you might get a kick out of it. 

Fantastic Four (2015)

Perhaps the less said about the 2015 reboot the better — but hey, while we’re here we might as well say something. Like a few too many efforts to bring these characters to the screen, Fox decided to make a new Fantastic Four in order to hold onto the rights. At the start, it all seemed to be going quite well: Josh Trank (red hot from the sucess of Chronicle) was brought on to direct with a cast — featuring Miles Teller (Whiplash), Kate Mara (House of Cards), Michael B Jordan, and Jamie Bell — chockfull of some of Hollywood’s brightest young stars. 

Sadly, the studios chopped it up and the film went on to live in infamy. Teller’s career has taken a decade to recover while Trank, sadly, is still in director's jail. If you must, watch it “for the plot.”

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Four years after the 2015 box office bomb, 20th Century Fox was sold to Disney (who also own Marvel Studios), finally giving the Fantastic Four a chance at live-action redemption within the MCU. In two subsequent Marvel productions, members of the first family made brief cameos in a couple of unlikely places.

The first was Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — where he was portrayed by John Krasinski in a nod to a long established online casting choice. The movie itself is a blast, especially if you’re a fan of director Sam Raimi’s earlier horror work on movies like Evil Dead and Drag Me to Hell. 

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

The other post-takeover cameo came in Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine, a film that offers some of the most outrageous multiversal shenanigans imaginable — which is to say, if you enjoyed Across the Spider-Verse and Loki, you’ll probably love it.

For the film, Reynolds and Levy managed to convince Chris Evans to reprise his role as Johnny Storm — despite the 15 years he had spent playing Captain America in the interim.

The Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025)

In 2025, the Fantastic Four finally reassembled in Fantastic 4: First Steps, their first solo debut in the MCU, with an all new cast including Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Susan Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm.

The story is set on Earth 828, which appears like a retro-futurist, 1950s-like version of our own — imagine a mix of the 1978 series and Brad Bird’s The Incredibles and you’ll have an idea of the earnest, playful tone. The drama is kicked into motion by two events: the arrival of the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) and Galactus and the arrival of Sue and Reed’s baby boy.