Craving a little dystopian sci-fi or some too-crazy-to-be-a-true-story financial comedy to help get you through your work week? OK, how about a Ben Stiller dodgeball classic, or an Oscar-sweeping dark dramedy? All this and many more movies are available onHulu.
If you’re as averse to flipping and scrolling through titles as I am, I’ve pulled together this list of five of the best movies the service has streaming right now.
2023
Runtime
1 hour 45 minutes
The name of this sobering and silly satire of the 2021 GameStop stock debacle should have been “Holy F*ing St,” because it’s probably the line most repeated throughout its hour-and-45-minute runtime.
Paul Dano shines as stock bro YouTuber Keith Gill (aka Roaring Kitty), whose daily videos spark millions to invest in the failing video game retailer, causing major hedge fund players who’ve been shorting the stock to lose their shirts.
I remember this true story happening in real-time, andDumb Moneycaptures its David-vs-Goliath absurdity with quick wit and a bonkers cast, which includes Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, Nick Offerman, America Ferrera, and Vincent D’Onifrio.
2024
2 hour 19 minutes
I can’t believe I waited so long to watch this darkly comedic, sexy, and dramatic film, especially since it swept all five of its categories at last year’s Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, and Best Lead and Supporting actor wins for its stars Mikey Madison and Yura Borisov.
Anorais a Cinderella story turned on its head, and follows its eponymous character, Anora “Ani” Mikheeva (Madison), a feisty Russian-American exotic dancer working in a Brooklyn club. She’s hired to “entertain” Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the young son of a powerful Russian oligarch, but in a whirlwind of money and passion, the pair get married, much to the chagrin of Ivan’s family, who send in the goons to have it annuled.
Anorais funny, slapstick at times, but it’s also heartbreaking and dark as the veil of Ivan’s world is pulled back, leaving Ani to face her reality again.
2019
2 hour 2 minutes
James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez know a thing or two about world building, so it’s no wonderAlita: Battle Angelfeels so vast, rich, and visually stunning. Based on the Japanese mangaBattle Angel Alita, this 2019 film’s heavy mix of live action and hybrid performance-capture CGI still holds up.
Rosa Salazar is digitally superb as Alita, a discarded cyborg with no memory who’s brought back to life by cyber-doctor-father-figure Dyson Ido (Christopher Waltz). But the seemingly innocent Alita is no ordinary cyborg—turns out she’s an elite killing machine from a bygone era.
Set in the cyberpunk dystopia of Iron City, as Alita discovers who she is she becomes a bounty hunter, tracking down rogue cyborgs, and competes in the brutal blood-sport of Motorball, a kind of roller-derby-meets-rugby spectacle that she hopes to use to bring down Iron City’s opressors.Alitais one of those films that if I see it when I’m scrolling for something to watch, I justhave topress play.
2004
1 hour 32 minutes
As far as Ben Stiller performances go, there are two that top my list of favorites—Derek Zoolander andDodgeball: A True Underdog Story’s villain, pumped-up gym bro White Goodman. Stiller is delightfully slimy as the egotistical Goodman, the owner of fitness conglomerate Globo Gym, who wants nothing more than to turn Peter La Fleur’s (Vince Vaughan) struggling Average Joe’s gym into a parking lot.
To save Joe’s from foreclosure, Peter and his clientele of misfits—that includes a scrawny high schooler (Justin Long) and a guy who thinks he’s a pirate (Alan Tudyk)—must compete in a high-stakes dodgeball tournament where they inevitably take on Goodman’s team of ringers.
I once played in a recreational dodgeball league, where lines from this brilliant comedy were spewed ad nauseam on and off the court. And for good reason. From legendary dodgeball guru Patches O’Houlihan’s (Rip Torn) motto, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball,” to the origin of the pop-culture staple, “I just threw up in my mouth a little bit,“Dodgeballhas given us so much.
2 hours 21 minutes
Writer/director Zach Braff recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of this indie classic by putting on an intimate concert in Los Angeles that included performances from many of the now-iconic bands that madeGarden State’s soundtrack one of the best. The first time I ever heard The Shins' song “New Slang” was when Braff’s tortured protagonist, Andrew Largeman, meets Natalie Portman’s sweet, epilepsy-burdened Sam, in a doctor’s office.
“You gotta hear this one song—it’ll change your life, I swear,” she says, passing him her headphones. It did.
The song, and Sam, would become the emotional anchors for Large’s (his nickname) remaking of himself when he returns to his childhood home in New Jersey for his mother’s funeral. See, he’s been gone for a decade, trying to make it as an actor in L.A. But really, he’s been running from a lifetime of trauma he must now confront, and he does so with the help of Sam and his old friend Mark (Peter Sarsgaard).
Garden Stateis easily one of my favorite movies of all time, with an emotional center that will push and pull you from both brinks of tears—sadness and joy. And if it doesn’t, then maybe its soundtrack will.
That should give you more than enough fodder for a night or two of great movie-watching. But if you prefer bingeing an entire season of a TV showcheck out our weekend roundups of thebest series you may binge in just a few days.
Hulu
Hulu has an excellent, ever-changing lineup of blockbuster movies just waiting for you to explore.
