3 Best Movies To Watch On Hulu This Weekend (#1 Is An Oscar-Winning Sci-fi Film From 2014)
If you're going into this weekend with a movie binge in mind, check out these three films that are streaming right now on Hulu. Across its nearly 20-year history, Hulu has remained a constant presence in the world of streaming. Though it isn't nearly as big as platforms like Netflix, it's one of the best options on the market for voracious streamers.
Hulu is known for TV, and is a landing spot for the latest episodes of shows airing right now. The streamer also produces its own original content, and has an award-winning pedigree thanks to shows like The Handmaid's Tale. Nevertheless, Hulu shouldn't be overlooked as an excellent source for movies. Its smaller catalog packs a pretty big punch.
Thanks to the corporate machinations of Disney, Hulu is under the umbrella of the massive brand. While this means the streamer's future is uncertain, it also grants subscribers access to some of the content that Disney usually keeps locked away on their own proprietary service. Coupling that with many new releases that come straight from theaters, and Hulu has a diverse library of movies to choose from.
Instead of wasting precious time sifting through every movie available on Hulu this month, this list assembles some essential picks. It includes a bombastic action flick with huge stars, one of the best horror movies in recent memory, and an Oscar-winning sci-fi flick from 2014. Though it's a pretty diverse selection of genres and styles, the list represents the best of what the streamer has to offer.
3 Bullet Train (2022)
Thanks to movies like John Wick, the action genre has taken a stylish turn in the last decade or so. Bullet Train is a prime example, and the exciting action comedy embraces all the fun of modern cinema. While riding aboard the titular conveyance, a determined assassin comes face to face with a handful of other killers who are all on the same job.
Brad Pitt leads the film, and he's joined by a strong ensemble that fleshes out the humor and thrills of the story. Bullet Train doesn't reinvent the wheel and delivers crisp action with light laughs. The cramped setting adds a bit of intrigue, and the choreography is some of the best from Hollywood in recent memory. Bullet Train is perfect for streaming because it can be enjoyed over and over again.
2 X (2022)
Ti West launched himself into the horror mainstream with 2022's X, and the trilogy-starter still holds up as one of the best fright flicks of the decade so far. The plot concerns the crew of a pornography film in the 1970s, who travel to a remote farm in rural Texas to shoot their next movie. Suddenly, their strange elderly hosts turn into violent killers. The movie borrows the gritty aesthetic of '70s grindhouse cinema.
The other two films in the trilogy, Pearl and MaXXXine, are also streaming on Hulu.
While embracing slasher tropes, X also features an engrossing subtextual narrative about sexuality and personal freedom. It features two modern scream queens (Mia Goth and Jenna Ortega) and has some legitimately shocking moments to chill even the most jaded horror hound. Even if you've seen it before, X is worth a revisit.
1 Ex Machina (2014)
Even after 12 years, Alex Garland's Ex Machina is a vexing piece of modern sci-fi gold. It follows a programmer who gets the chance to visit his eccentric boss' secretive compound. Once there, he is tasked with taking part in an experiment involving a sentient machine that's smarter than anyone could imagine. With the rise of AI, the movie is getting more prescient by the day.
Science fiction is known for being thought-provoking, but Ex Machina's complex themes ask some pretty tough questions. What are the ethics of a thinking machine? Where does humanity end and the computer begin? Questions like that are posed throughout the film's engrossing drama, but it leaves the audience to decide for themselves. There is plenty of light fare on Hulu, but Ex Machina digs a bit deeper.