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

All of the Indiana Jones movie are now on NOW TV but Raiders is our pick. It's one of the best movies of the 80s that needs no introduction. It's got everything you want. Indy! A big rolling ball! Nazis! Nazis whose face melt! Brilliant fun.

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

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The LOTR collection is now available on NOW and the movies are still a delight. We can't quite believe that the first movie is some 20 years old now! All three movies are worth a watch (and in one sitting, if possible) and if you are watching them on Sky, then you can also get them in 4K!

Image Credit: New Line Cinema

The original Jurassic Park trilogy is currently available to stream on NOW, as well as Jurassic World. Hopefully these will get you in the mood for the upcoming Jurassic World sequel, Jurassic World Dominion which is heading to cinemas in 2022. If we had to pick one, then it's got to be the original Jurassic Park - without a doubt one of the best monster movies ever made.

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One of the most profound movies of recent years, Nicolas Cage is phenomenal as a recluse who goes on a revenge trip when his prized truffle hunting pig is kidnapped. Despite the rather ludicrous plot, this is a fantastic movie and Cage's best performance in years.

Image Credit: Neon

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

Image Credit: Sony Pictures

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

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Quentin Tarantino's classic movie Pulp Fiction is streaming on NOW and it's a fantastic, endlessly quotable film. The story follows the lives of numerous criminals and low lives in America, including ultra-cool hitmen, the wife of a crime boss, a fixer and a pair of loved-up armed robbers.

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

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

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Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of the most enjoyable Marvel movies from Phase 4 of the MCU. If you have managed to stay away from spoilers so far, then good for you: all we say is that this adventure is a mind-bending one with familiar faces and a rather poignant character arc for Spidey. This one comes highly recommended.

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

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

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

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

Based loosely on the childhood of director Kenneth Branagh, Belfast is a stunning film, showcasing the Troubles in Ireland through the lens of a small, passionate community. Jude Hill is Buddy, a child getting on with life while the world around him is in constant flux. Judi Dench is fantastic as is grandmother but it's his parents played by Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan that are the real stars here - two people trying their hardest to give their children a life worth living.

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

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

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

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

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

The mark of a great documentary is that you can enjoy it, be engrossed by its story, even if you have no particular interest in the subject matter. Senna is the perfect example of this in action. It follows the career of F1 driver Ayrton Senna. But this film is so good, you'll be hooked even if F1 usually sends you to sleep. It's a tale of ambition, fierce rivalry and tragedy that should not be missed.

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

This one is a lot of fun. While we aren't going to give the plot away here, the movie manages to honour the previous Ghostbuster films while updating saga with a younger, likeable cast. Director Jason Reitman has done his dad Ivan - the director of the original movies - proud with his rendition of Ghostbusters, something that's even more poignant after Ivan's recent death.

Image Credit: Sony Pictures

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

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

It was met with lukewarm reviews when it hit the big screen but there is a lot of fun to be had with Uncharted, a loose adaptation of the hit video game franchise. Tom Holland is as likeable as ever as explorer and thief Nathan Drake and while the plot - which involves looking for a lost fortune of treasure - doesn't make much sense, it's a fun and exciting watch.

Image Credit: Sony Pictures

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

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

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

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

This film is considered by some to be the very best Spider-Man film. It's an animated feature in which spideys from across the multi-verse team up to take on Kingpin. Our hero isn't the standard Spider-Man Peter Parker either, but Miles Morales. This film is visually stylish and packed with charm.

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

The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain is a beautiful, eccentric piece of filmmaking by Will Sharpe who made the equally fantastic Landscapers TV show and will soon star in the second series of White Lotus. This movie is based on the true tale of Louis Wain (Benedict Cumberbatch), an artist who made a living (and his name) painting cat pictures. There's much more to the tale than this, though, which also stars Claire Foy and Toby Jones and is narrated by Olivia Coleman.

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

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

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

Image Credit: Blumhouse

Will Smith was a deserving Oscar winner for his role as the father of Venus and Serena Williams, who has a meticulous plan to turn his daughters into tennis greats. The movie is a heartwarming look at what you can do with passion, drive and talent - even when the odds are stacked against you.

Image Credit: Warner Bros

It may have flopped on the big screen, but the latest Matrix movie is a real treat. Now, don't go in expecting more of the same. The Matrix Resurrections feels like a remix and a rewrite of the original with some fun knowing moments that are more out of a Black Mirror episode than a Matrix movie. Stick with it, though, and you will find a lot to like here.

Image Credit: Warner Bros