The 20 Best Movies on Apple TV+ Right Now

This Shakespearean adaptation, directed by Joel Coen, is absolutely beautiful. Entirely in black and white, the shadows and shapes of the sets powerfully bring to life the orations of the play. Acted out by Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Harry Melling, Kathryn Hunter, and more, the 2021 The Tragedy of Macbeth is a wonderful film to watch with your parents or your artsy friends.

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Based on the novel by Frank Herbert, Dune is a breath of fresh air—thrilling, electrifying, yet chilling. The visuals for the film are incredibly original, and the use of CGI effects unprecedentedly advanced. It's directed by the Sci-Fi master Denis Villeneuve and stars the actors Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya: a terrific combination.

The highly anticipated Dune: Part Two was released this year, and Part Three is in the works.

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This classic film from 1965 is simply unforgettable: the theme song colors our childhood nostalgia, yet the visuals are smart enough to stimulate our—slightly—older minds. Reconnect with your inner child by rewatching Charlie Brown, the best Christmas edition, and if you haven't at all, then definitely watch it with your kids or younger family members!

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The second Denis Villeneuve film on this list, Blade Runner 2049 is a thought-provoking, action-packed, science fiction film. Set in a dystopian, consumerist society where neon lights color the sky instead of the sun, the scenes from Blade Runner 2049 might remind you of a less extreme version of Osaka's Dotonbori area. Ryan Gosling plays as K, a bioengineered human known as a replicant. He falls in love with the holographic A.I. Join, played by Ana de Armas, and goes on a journey to find meaning and possibility. Jared Leto, the antgonist, and Harrison Ford also have important roles.

Take a look at the futuristic visuals... while hoping we'll have better ideals in 2049 than shown in this film!

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Probably, the most famous Apple Original movie, and the only one to win an Academy Award, Coda is a powerful story that deservedly won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay in 2022. It is also the first film with a predominantly deaf cast to win the Best Picture award.

At the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, CODA won four awards, including the Grand Jury Prize. This critically acclaimed film is moving for its earnest and thorough portrayal of deafness within the familiar context, and more generally for its story of a family learning to support each other.

To watch on a very sunny or a very rainy day!

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It came out in the 90s, yet teenagers keep falling in love with the main characters' dynamic today. Starring Julia Stiles as Kat and Heath Ledger as Patrick, this heartwarming romantic comedy revives our high school dreams (no matter how unrealistic). Watch for the Y2K fashion, and stay for the nostalgic romance.

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Christopher Nolan gave us yet another bewildering yet mesmerizing film when he released Inception. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb, Cillian Murphy as Fischer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur, and Tom Hardy as Eames, this film combines the talents of the renown actors with the mind-bending visuals and complex storytelling of Nolan. The story follows Cobb, a thief with a unique ability to enter people's dreams and steal their secrets, who is given the mission to plant an idea in someone's subconscious all while being pursued.

Don't expect to completely understand the science, but expect to be intellectually stimulated.

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Written and directed by Academy Award winner Errol Morris, The Pigeon Tunnel tells the fascinating true story of British and Irish author David Cornwell, who worked for both the Secret Service and the Secret Intelligence Service, all while writing espionage novels (conveniently) under the name John le Carré.

David Cornwell himself appears, making this documentary film even more compelling. The New York Times called it "intellectually rich and cinematically disciplined." If you'd like to learn more about one of the greatest spy novelists, watch it.

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An Apple Original film, Cha Cha Real Smooth has been a movie recommended to 20-year-olds again and again due to its complex and heartfelt approach to the dilemmas of growing up. Starring Cooper Raiff as Andrew and Dakota Johnson as Domino, this comedy-romance leaves you contemplative and wistful. It won the Audience Award at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and continues to impress and move.

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If you're looking for a guy in finance... maybe watch The Wolf of Wall Street first. A 2013 Martin Scorsese film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, this movie is the ultimate Wall Street show. Many call this their favorite film, and although that might be a personality forewarning, it's definitely still worth a watch.

The Wolf of Wall Street was a major commercial success and today ranks first on Scorsese's highest-grossing films worldwide. On the fraudulent activities of Wall Street broker Jordan Belfort and on the consequences of greed, this film gives a profound and intense portrayal of the business world.

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Take a break from the intensity of life and watch a romantic comedy classic: 27 Dresses. As you can imagine from the screen writer of The Devil Wears Prada, it's the ideal comedic romance: there's betrayal, fabulous outfit changes, and a blue-eyed gentleman. Starring Katherine Heigl as Jane, James Marsden as Kevin, and famous for its dance scene to "Bennie and the Jets," this movie is heart, ear, and eye candy.

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This 1990 biographical crime drama is the second Martin Scorsese film in this list. Based on the 1985 nonfiction book Wiseguy by Pileggi, the film focuses on the story of mob associate Henry Hill and the people who surrounded him from 1955 to 1980. Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta, becomes enraptured with the mafia lifestyle of his Italian neighborhood, and begins working for mafia associates Jimmy Conway (played by Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (played by Joe Pesci). Violence, murder, and trials further color his story.

If you're in the mood for a thrilling true story, then the GoodFellas should be your next watch.

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Directed by Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is a documentary on the life of actor Michael J. Fox. Scenes of present-day interviews with Michael J. Fox juxtapose with snippets of his past and how he went from a Canadian army base kid, to an international pop culture actor—especially when he starred in Back to the Future—to being diagnosed with the incurable disease Parkinson's at 29.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie won four Emmy Awards, including the Outstanding Documentary Academy Award. This documentary is a beautifully vulnerable and powerful example of how to be at peace with uncontrollable events.

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From the same makers as renown Song of the Sea, WolfWalkers is a beautiful animation aimed to enchant and move. Also an Apple Original, it was nominated for the Oscar's Best Animated Feature award. The story is as follows: a young girl follows her father's footsteps and hunts with her father, trying to wipe out the last wolves in Ireland. In the forest, she befriends a red-head, free-spirited girl who can transform into a wolf at night. Eventually, she must choose whose ethics to follow—whether to save the forest and its fauna or not.

This is the sort of animated movie you can watch with your kids on the big screen, but also by yourself, cozied up in bed at night. Enjoy the fascinating art of the animation.

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This comedic drama, by A24 and Apple Originals, is a soulful exploration of the bond between parents and their children in times of hardship—how beauty can foster within the uncertainty of life. The story, written and directed by Sofia Coppola, focuses on Laura, by Rashida Jones, and her father, Felix, by Bill Murray. Laura is in the midst of a mid-life crisis and goes to her father for guidance. Felix, a renown player, convinces his daughter that her husband is cheating on her, and the two embark on adventures to figure out the truth.

Come for the stars and stay for the father-daughter relationship: On The Rocks will make you want to call your parents.

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If you want to escape to a completely different time—in fact, a completely different universe, then The Fifth Element should be your next watch. This 1997 science fiction film directed by French filmmaker Luc Besson is exactly that: fantastic and fantastical. Set in the 23rd century, this story follows the New York City cabbie, Korben Dallas (played by Bruce Willis), who becomes responsible for the fate of the world when the fifth element, Leeloo (played by Milla Jovovich) comes into his cab. He must reunite her with the four other elements to save Earth.

Bizarre yet visually captivating, The Fifth Element is a great watch for a lazy afternoon.

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Gone Girl is a stirring 2014 psychological thriller by expert director David Fincher. Centered on a married couple that seem happily at peace, the story devolves when the wife, Amy, played by Rosamund Pike, goes missing. The husband, Nick Dunne, played by Ben Affleck, tries to solve the mystery, but public pressure and a police investigation place him as the prime suspect. The story becomes a complex assortment of shadowed puzzle pieces, the truth warped by the manipulative wife.

If you're in the mood for a thrill then Gone Girl should be your next watch.

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Another Martin Scorsese film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon is a vivid crime film based in 1920s Oklahoma, based on a real, awful story. It's centered on the murders of the Osage, the indigenous people of the Osage Nation that retained mineral rights on their reservation—but who were stolen from by a local corrupt political boss. Also starring Robert De Niro as the hidden murderer and Lily Gladstone as an Osage woman who Ernest (DiCaprio), marries, Killers of the Flower Moon is a turbulent plunge into the greed and corruption within America.

In 2023, the was nominated for ten Academy Awards, nine British Academy Film Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and three SAG Awards. Gladstone made history winning Best Actress at the Globes and SAGs.

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Read Gladstone's Best Red Carpet Looks

The Banker is a 2020 American period drama film about two of the first African American bankers in the US. The movie deals with the racism inflicted upon Bernard, played by Anthony Mackie, and Joe, played by Samuel L. Jackson, when they attempt to get into real estate. The two convince a white man, played by Nicholas Hoult, to be their front. As the three deal with conflict and arrest, Bernard and Joe fight for equality, and to be given the same chance for upward mobility.

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To end this list on an entertaining note, Spirited is exactly that—a spirited film filled with holiday cheer and thrilling misfortune. A modern and satirical re-interpretation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, Spirited tells the story of a misanthrope, played by Ryan Reynolds, who refuses to be transported by the ghost of Christmas past, played by Will Ferrell.

An Apple Original, this film will remain on Apple TV+ for you to watch during the holidays, but if summer is getting too warm, consider a re-watch now!

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