Each night, you look into your lover’s eyes and ask, “Will no legacy media outlet tell me what are the best movies on Hulu?” Luckily, Vanity Fair is here for you. One glance at the platform’s A-to-Z listing reveals that there are almost too many good movies on Hulu to choose from, and it can become a chore to figure out which to choose.
After a deep dive into the Hulu archive (the Hu-chive?), we’ve selected a top mix of classics, comedies, dramas, horror pictures, documentaries, and, importantly, a few titles that got overlooked upon their initial release. Our list is in alphabetical order, so you gotta scroll close to the bottom to get to And Your Mom Too. Hu loves ya?
A Glitch in the Matrix (2021)
Director: Rodney Ascher
Genre: Documentary
Notable Cast: Keanu Reeves (archival), Elon Musk (archival), Philip K. Dick (archival)
MPA Rating: Not rated
Rotten Tomatoes: 66%
Metacritic: 62
A gem awaiting rediscovery, this good-faith analysis of individuals who are convinced we live in a simulation is either an eerie exploration of insanity or the most important documentary you’ll ever watch…because it’s all true. Rodney Ascher, whose previous work includes the Shining-obsessed Room 237, uses The Matrix as a touchpoint for this (expanding?) syndrome, and interviews his subjects virtually, using gaming avatars. Read our mind-scrambling interview with the director here, then prepare to soak your brain in a vat for a while.
Beyond the Lights (2014)
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Genre: Romantic drama
Notable Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver
MPA Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Metacritic: 73
A classic showbiz romance updated for today (or 2014, but that’s close enough), with Gugu Mbatha-Raw as an R&B/pop sensation trapped by fame and Nate Parker as the hunky security guard/would-be politician who first saves her life, then takes her heart. This is glossy soap opera filmmaking at its finest, with an extended sequence at a beachside hideaway that may have you hitting pause and heading to Travelocity. One of the better romantic movies to watch on Hulu.
Blackberry (2023)
Director: Matt Johnson
Genre: Comedy
Notable Cast: Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Michael Ironside
MPA Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Metacritic: 78
Canadian indie stalwart Matt Johnsoncreator of marvelous mock-documentaries like The Dirties, Operation Avalanche and Nirvanna the Band the Showtackles the rise and fall of the once-ubiquitous titular tech gadget in this hilarious boardroom comedy. Jay Baruchel is particularly spectacular as a brilliant and creative inventor pulled between his desire for perfection and Glenn Howerton’s increasingly antic pursuit of money. Research shows there’s a great deal that’s been fictionalized here, but the essence of IPO bubbles remains sincere.
La Chimera (2024)
Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Genre: Crime/Comedy
Notable Cast: Josh O'Connor, Isabella Rossellini, Alba Rohrwacher
MPA Rating: Not rated
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Metacritic: 91
This charming Italian film (which had a rare, unplanned “extended run” throughout 2024 in New York arthouses, a once-common phenomenon that hardly exists in the streaming era) stars Josh O’Connor as a sensitive thief returning to his band of artifact bandits. He possesses an ability to know where to dig while sniffing out Etruscan treasure in tiny towns. A kaleidoscope of colorful characters emerge, as does a criminal plot in this sunsoaked and very amusing tale—one of the best new movies on Hulu.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Director: Peter Weir
Genre: Drama
Notable Cast: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke
MPA Rating: PG
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Metacritic: 79
