There are more quality shows on TV than ever before, but choosing the right viewing option can be overwhelming and stressful. Thankfully, TV Guide is here to help you find the right service for you!

• Groundbreaking Originals

  Netflix

  Netflix offers multiple streaming and DVD plans that are affordably priced and give subscribers HD, ad-free access to the streaming services' library and original programming slate, which includes TV shows, movies, documentaries and comedy specials.

  main benefits

  • Netflix is an ad-free streaming service no matter your subscription level.
  • Access to Netflix's entire library featuring complete seasons of a number of hit TV shows as well as originals like Stranger Things.
  • The ability to download individual episodes to phones and tablets.

• All-Around Best Value

  Hulu

  Hulu offers a deep catalogue of original programming and older beloved favorites while also offering viewers the opportunity to catch up on currently airing network series. Hulu also recently added a live-viewing plan, available with and without commercia

  MAIN BENEFITS

  • Affordable commercial and no-commercial plans to fit your budget
  • New live tv plan includes 50 hours of cloud DVR storage and the ability to stream on 2 screens at the same time
  • Extensive library featuring complete collections of your favorite shows as well as original programming like the Emmy winning The Handmaid's Tale

• The Big Box Store of Streaming

  Prime Video

  You can buy, rent and instantly watch movies and TV shows via Prime Video. A Prime Video subscription grants instant access to Amazon originals and thousands of popular titles from the U.S. and around the world with the option of adding third-party subscr

  MAIN BENEFITS

  • Ad-free access to hit movies and complete seasons of popular TV shows
  • Instant access to acclaimed Amazon originals like Transparent, Catastrophe, and Mozart in the Jungle
  • The ability to download select episodes to mobile devices or rent or purchase episodes that aren't available as part of Prime

• It's Not a Streaming App, It's HBO

  HBO Now

  HBO Now offers subscribers affordable access to the premium channel's extensive content library without paying for an additional cable package.

  MAIN BENEFITS

  • Access to HBO's extensive library, which includes award-winning series, specials, documentaries and more
  • Subscribers have the ability to watch big premieres, including Game of Thrones, as they air live on TV
  • One account allows you to stream on multiple devices

• The Most Live Options

  DirecTV Now

  DirecTV Now offers subscribers access to on-demand programming and live streaming, with the ability to add premium streaming options for an additional monthly fee.

  main benefits

  • Access to 120+ live TV channels and 25,000 on-demand titles
  • DirecTV Now app allows viewers to stream programming on their TVs, phones, tablets, or computer
  • Pick and choose which premium channels you want starting at an additional $5 per month

• Discover Something New

  CBS All Access

  In addition to offering live-viewing of your local CBS station, CBS All Access subscribers enjoy access to full seasons of past CBS series and recent episodes of current series, as well as exclusive original programming.

  MAIN BENEFITS

  • Access to all episodes of current CBS shows, prior seasons of current shows, and CBS' ad-free classic show library on several streaming devices
  • Exclusive access to Star Trek: Discovery and The Good Fight
  • Affordable commercial and no-commercial plans to fit your budget

• Affordable A La Carte TV

  Sling TV

  Sling TV is an affordable and customizable live-viewing service that offers viewers two basic packages, with the opportunity to pick and choose extra channels depending on your interests.

  MAIN BENEFITS

  • Personalized channel lineup you can change at any time
  • The Sling TV app allows you to watch on your TV, phone, tablet or computer
  • Offers a cloud DVR for just $5 extra per month

• Not Just for Gamers

  PlayStation Vue

  Despite its name, PlayStation Vue does not require a PlayStation console. It's a live-streaming service available on a variety of TV-connected and mobile devices that offers four different package levels.

  MAIN BENEFITS

  • A single account can stream on up to five devices at any given time
  • Offers DVR and On Demand programming
  • Personalized DVR, favorite channels and recommendations for up to 10 profiles

Sign up for our Watching Newsletter to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

The sheer volume of films on Netflix — and the site’s less than ideal interface — can make finding a genuinely great movie there a difficult task. To help, we’ve plucked out the 50 best films currently streaming on the service in the United States, updated regularly as titles come and go. And as a bonus, we mention 50 more great movies on Netflix within many of our writeups below. (Note: Streaming services sometimes remove titles or change starting dates without giving notice.)

Our list of the best movies on Amazon Prime Video is here.

This vivid, evocative memory play from Alfonso Cuarón is a story of two Mexican women in the early 1970s: Sofía (Marina de Tavira), a mother of four whose husband (and provider) is on his way out the door, and Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), the family’s nanny, maid and support system. His scenes are occasionally stressful, often heart-wrenching, and they unfailingly burst with life and emotion. Our critic called it “an expansive, emotional portrait of life buffeted by violent forces, and a masterpiece.” (Fans of challenging drama should also seek out “The Master” and “A Serious Man.”)

A young boy’s search for his mysterious heritage and his musical voice takes him, quite literally, beyond this world in this charming, touching and joyful treat from Disney and Pixar. Set in Mexico on the Day of the Dead, the screenplay (by co-director Adrian Molina and Matthew Aldrich) cheerfully interweaves the traditions of the holiday and culture with its own rules of death and afterlife. Our critic wrote, “it plays a time-tested tune with captivating originality and flair.” (Movie musical fans should also queue up “West Side Story” on Netflix.)

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ (2017)

In this, the eighth installment of the “Star Wars” saga, the writer-director Rian Johnson (“Looper”) bends the boundaries of the series in fascinating ways — tinkering with iconography, exploding expectations and taking the universe in unexpected directions. “The Last Jedi” delivers the blockbuster goods, with chases, dogfights and lightsaber battles galore. But it is also a subtle and thoughtful meditation on the franchise itself, and the necessity of storytellers who are willing to take big risks. Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, and John Boyega all shine, but the powerhouse performer is Mark Hamill, who brings a lifetime of hope and disappointment to his long-awaited revival of Luke Skywalker. Our critic called it “a satisfying, at times transporting entertainment.” (Johnson’s first feature film, the scorching neo-noir “Brick,” is also streaming on Netflix.)

The latest from Joel and Ethan Coen is an anthology film set in the Old West, a series of stories of varying length and style, some as short and simple as jokes, others with the richness and depth of a great short story. Our critic wrote, “It swerves from goofy to ghastly so deftly and so often that you can’t always tell which is which,' and what seems at first like a filmed notebook of ideas and orphans instead becomes something of a workshop; it’s a place for the Coens to try things, experimenting with new styles and moods, while also delivering the kind of dark humor and deliciously ornate dialogue that we’ve come to expect. (Admirers of this post-modern Western may also enjoy Sam Peckinpah’s classic “The Wild Bunch,” also on Netflix.)

Director David Fincher’s breakthrough film was the serial-killer thriller “Seven,” but he had no intention of repeating himself with this 2007 mystery. Because the real-life Zodiac killer was never apprehended or tried for his crime, Fincher sidestepped the big payoff of most true crime stories, crafting instead a film that focuses on the kind of obsessiveness it takes to follow that trail, year after year, without a satisfactory conclusion. Our critic called it “at once sprawling and tightly constructed, opaque and meticulously detailed.”

Flint Lockwood (energetically voiced by Bill Hader) creates a satellite that can turn water into food, transforming his forgotten fishing island into a gourmet destination and a tourist hot spot. But when the portions start to mutate into oversized super-foods, Flint has to find the courage to finish what he started. Anna Farris, James Caan, Mr. T and Bruce Campbell are the standouts in the voice cast, and while the little ones will love the images of hot dogs and spaghetti falling from the sky, there’s also a lesson to learn about being yourself and doing what’s right. Our critic called it “a single serving of inspired lunacy.”

Freely updating Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson’s 1932 bootleg-gangster classic to the coke-fueled era of early ’80s Miami, “Scarface” gives us some of Al Pacino’s most operatic overacting (and that’s saying something), Brian De Palma’s wildest filmmaking (ditto), and Oliver Stone’s most memorable dialogue. (“Say hello to my little friend!”) Throw in Michelle Pfeiffer as the slinkiest mob moll since Virginia Mayo, and you’ve got a certified ’80s classic; our critic called it “as terrifying as it is vivid and arresting.”

Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti shine as two New York creative types whose attempts to start a family — by adoption, by fertilization, by whatever it takes — test the mettle of their relationships and sanity. The wise script by the director Tamara Jenkins is not only funny and truthful but also sharply tuned to their specific world: Few films have better captured the very public nature of marital trouble in New York, when every meltdown is interrupted by passers-by and looky-loos. “Private Life,” which our critic called “piquant and perfect,” is a marvelous balancing act of sympathy and cynicism, both caring for its subjects and knowing them and their flaws well enough to wink and chuckle.

The director Alan J. Pakula meticulously details the early days of Watergate — the crime, the cover-up and the scandal that ultimately brought down the Nixon presidency. The reporting of that story was unpacked by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in their 1974 book; aside from casting Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman to play them, Pakula and the screenwriter William Goldman steadfastly refused to glam up this decidedly un-Hollywood story, focusing not on the dramatic fall of the president but on the grunt work of shoe-leather reporting. Our critic called it “riveting.”

So much of this 1981 Steven Spielberg adventure has entered the realm of pop culture immortality — the rolling boulder, the melting Nazi face, the truck chase — that it’s easy to forget how fleet-footed, fresh and funny it is. Riffing on the Saturday afternoon serials that thrilled them as children, director Spielberg and producer George Lucas packed a full series of heroes, villains, cliffhangers and fisticuffs into a single crowd-pleasing feature. Our critic called it “one of the most deliriously funny, ingenious and stylish American adventure movies ever made.” (For more of Dr. Jones, check out “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” on Netflix.)

‘City of God’ (2003)

This 2003 Oscar nominee from the director Fernando Meirelles renders its oft-told tale of neighborhood crime with such brash energy and intoxicating exuberance that it feels brand new. Meirelles and his co-director, Kátia Lund, construct their film as a slum-kids “Goodfellas”; like that film, “City of God” is based on true events, capturing the awful seductiveness of the criminal life and the dire consequences for those who choose it. Our critic called it a “scorching anecdotal history of violence.” (Meirelles’ next film, “The Constant Gardener,” is also on Netflix, as is the similarly sprawling crime epic “Once Upon a Time in America.”)

The British comedy troupe Monty Python created its funniest, wildest and cult-friendliest feature-length comedy with this 1975 send-up of the legend of King Arthur — and of medieval literature in general, and of big-screen epics. Graham Chapman is the ostensible lead as Arthur, leading his Knights of the Round Table on a quest for the Grail, but the plot is merely a clothesline on which to hang blackout sketches and self-aware gags, and there are many. Our critic called it “a marvelously particular kind of lunatic endeavor.” (For more fun with Python, queue up the button-pushing 1979 Biblical spoof “Life of Brian.”)

‘The Third Man’ (1950)

The director Carol Reed’s adaptation of the novel by Graham Greene depicts a struggling novelist (Joseph Cotton) who travels to Vienna to investigate the death of his old pal Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to discover that there’s much more to the story than he’s been told. The stylish cinematography and unforgettable score help make this one of the finest of all noir films; our critic called it “a bang-up melodrama.” (Fans of classic thrillers were also want to watch Hitchcock's “Strangers on a Train”; the Welles-directed “The Magnificent Ambersons” is also streaming on Netflix.)

‘Gremlins’ (1984)

With Steven Spielberg as an executive producer, this beloved 1984 horror-comedy seems, in its opening scenes, to be born of the same gentle, suburban community portraiture that gave us “E.T.” But then the director Joe Dante shows his teeth as the film turns into a melee of death and destruction, executed with skill and with a wink, resulting in what our critic called “a wiseacre mixture of movie-buff jokes, movie genres and movie sensibilities.” (Fans of dark ‘80s fantasy will also want to stream “The Dark Crystal.”)

Over a 12-year period, the director Richard Linklater surreptitiously constructed “Boyhood” around the non-actor Ellar Coltrane, folding that boy’s development from age 6 to 18 into a fictional narrative about growing up under a devoted single mother (Patricia Arquette) and a father (Ethan Hawke) whose presence in his life is much less consistent. Watching Coltrane age is a uniquely powerful experience by itself, but Linklater keeps the frame open to larger developments in culture and politics, too, as well as to the particulars of family life in Texas. Manohla Dargis called it “Mr. Linklater’s masterpiece.” (Love coming-of-age dramas? Try “Good Will Hunting” or “Mustang.”)

‘The Witch’ (2016)

A Puritan family, banished to the woods of New England by its community, encounters a frightening force of true evil in this potent mixture of art-house drama and supernatural thriller from the writer and director Robert Eggers. Resisting jump-scares and cheap thrills in favor of slow burns and discomforting dread, Eggers builds his story to a climax that seems both terrifying and inevitable. Our critic called it “a finely calibrated shiver of a movie.” (For more arty horror, see “The Wailing;” if your tastes run more mainstream, try “Poltergeist.”)

Three crime stories — a hit man out to dinner with his boss’s wife, a boxer who decides not to throw the big fight and a contract killing gone awry — are shuffled like cards in a deck, told out of order and with delightful narrative curveballs in this 1994 hodgepodge from the writer-director Quentin Tarantino. He writes the kind of tasty, self-aware dialogue that actors love to devour, and he puts together an enviable ensemble cast of big names, fallen stars and rising talents to deliver it. Our critic calls it a work of “depth, wit and blazing originality.”

A small-time punk band unknowingly books a gig at a white supremacist bar and quickly regrets the decision in this white-knuckle thriller. “Green Room” requires a strong stomach — the action leans grisly, and its portrayal of bigots pulls no punches — but the director Jeremy Saulnier keeps the pace so taut and the filmmaking efficient, it leaves the viewer breathless. A.O. Scott called it “a tense and nasty siege movie.”

Brie Larson won an Oscar for her powerful leading performance in this moving adaptation of the novel by Emma Donoghue, in which a woman held for years in captivity tries to escape from her kidnapper with the help of her young son. Lenny Abrahamson’s intimate direction emphasizes the claustrophobia of their surroundings, but tantalizes with the promise and possibility of escape. (For more Oscar-winning drama, stream “Milk,” “The Aviator” and “The King’s Speech.”)

Joel and Ethan Coen won their first Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director (and their second for Best Screenplay) for this gripping, moody, and darkly funny adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s dusty 2005 novel. Telling the stories of a ruthless killer (Javier Bardem, who took home an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), a morally flexible rancher (Josh Brolin) and a small-town sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) whose paths cross when a border drug deal goes south, the Coens construct a Western contemporary in both its setting and style, setting the table for the standard stand-offs and shoot-outs, then turning those expectations inside out. Our critic called it “bleak, scary and relentlessly violent.” (For more crime with a whiff of Western, queue up “Hell or High Water.”)

Two contract killers are sent to the Belgian tourist town of Bruges to wait for their next mission in this sharp, witty cross between “Pulp Fiction” and “Waiting for Godot.” The writer-director Martin McDonagh couches the existential dilemma of his hitmen characters in questions of Catholic guilt and redemption, and ends up with a picture far richer and more nuanced than the Tarantino rip-off promised by its ads. (For a somewhat sillier action/comedy with a similar setting, check out “Hot Fuzz.”)

A 52-year-old Georgian woman shocks her family, and her entire community, when she decides to move out of the cramped family apartment — leaving her husband, children and parents behind in order to finally begin a life of her own. “In this world, there are no families without problems,” she is told, and the conflicts of the script by Nana Ekvtimishvili (who also directed, with Simon Gross) are a sharp reminder that while the cultural specifics may vary, familial guilt and passive aggression are bound by no language. Manohla Dargis praised its “sardonically funny, touching key.” (For more critically acclaimed foreign drama, try the Oscar nominated Hungarian film “On Body and Soul” or Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish smash “Pan’s Labyrinth.”)

In investigating the death of a trainer at SeaWorld, the director Gabriela Cowperthwaite traces the sordid history of the capture and training of performing killer whales, masterfully juxtaposing SeaWorld’s own commercials and promo videos with the grisly tales of accidents, attacks and public relations spin. Paced like a thriller and written like a deft courtroom summation, it is intelligent, methodical and harrowing; our critic called it a “delicately lacerating documentary.” (Netflix is also streaming the acclaimed documentaries “The Look of Silence” and “Icarus.”)

The Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won a richly deserved Academy Award for best foreign film for this story of a man, his wife, their child and the family they disastrously intersect with. In dramatizing the moral, social and legal fallout of a domestic episode that was either a misunderstanding or an assault, Farhadi displays his gift for telling stories that hinge on the tiniest events. A.O. Scott called it “tightly structured” and “emotionally astute.” (Fans of this foreign morality play may also enjoy “Burning.”)

“This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks.” With those simple but accurate words, the producer and star Warren Beatty helped kick off a whole new movement of subversive, challenging, youth-oriented moviemaking. Directed by Arthur Penn, the film initially received mixed criticism — our critic dismissed it as “a cheap piece of bald-faced slapstick” — but in the passing years, its power and influence became undeniable. Every performance is a gem, but Beatty and Faye Dunaway rarely rose to this level in their other work, mixing sexuality, danger, restlessness and ennui.

Jonathan Demme’s final feature film was shot on the last two nights of Justin Timberlake’s “20/20 Experience” world tour, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The pairing of director and subject is unexpected, but Demme is up to the job; as in his Talking Heads film “Stop Making Sense,” he deftly captures the energy, electricity and playfulness of a live concert performance, a directorial feat that is harder than it looks. (For a grittier music documentary, check out “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.”)

‘The Little Prince’ (2016)

Director Mark Osborne (“Kung Fu Panda”) took an unconventional approach to adapting the classic children’s book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry for the screen, placing its story of an aviator’s encounters with a magical little boy inside a contemporary tale of a little girl’s friendship with that aviator (now a grizzled old man). It sounds like a recipe for disaster, fixing a book that isn’t broken, but “The Little Prince” is a small miracle, maintaining the magic and sweetness of the original while contextualizing it for a new generation. Our critic called it “unusually forceful and imaginative.” (Viewers looking for more offbeat family fun should try “Coraline” or “Billy Elliot.”)

Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) directs this wide-ranging deep dive into mass incarceration, tracing the advent of America’s overcrowded (and disproportionately minority-filled) modern prison system back to the 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution. Free spongebob episodes. It’s a giant topic to take on in 100 minutes, and DuVernay understandably has to do some skimming and slicing. But that necessity engenders its style: “13TH” tears through history with a palpable urgency that pairs nicely with its righteous fury. Our critic called it “powerful, infuriating and at times overwhelming.” (Documentary fans should also seek out “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.”)

‘Deliverance’ (1972)

The brutal, muscular novel by James Dickey gets an appropriately unsettling big-screen treatment in this film adaptation from the director John Boorman. Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox play Atlanta businessmen who head to the Georgia backwoods for a canoeing trip and get a bit more local color than they planned for. Nominated for three Oscars (including best picture), our critic called it a “stunning piece of moviemaking.” (For another adaptation of first-rate fiction, try Ben Affleck’s take on Dennis Lehane’s “Gone Baby Gone.”)

‘Moon’ (2009)

This brainy sci-fi story from director Duncan Jones (“Mute”) is almost entirely a one-man show, and Sam Rockwell, as a working-class astronaut on a solo mission, is the man for the job — he’s alternately tragic, funny, driven and bitter, often in the same scene, frequently playing to himself. “Moon” is thrilling and thought-provoking, with a stunning finale. Our critic called it a “modest, haunting first feature.” (For more science fiction, check out “Ex Machina”; for science non-fiction, try “Apollo 13.”)

The scorching stage favorite from Edward Albee came to the screen like a clap of thunder in this searing adaptation from the director Mike Nichols (his feature directorial debut). Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor bring the full force of their tempestuous offscreen relationship — our critic called it “the best work of her career” — as George and Martha, the miserably married university couple who invite over a young couple (George Segal and Sandy Dennis) and eat them alive. Fast-paced, furiously funny and blisteringly acted, it’s remains a towering piece of work.

After almost 20 years of popcorn moviemaking, Steven Spielberg proved himself to be not only a serious dramatist but also one of our most gifted historical chroniclers with this 1993 film. In it, he tells the true story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a German businessman and member of the Nazi party who became the unlikely savior of more than 1,000 Jewish workers in his factories. Our critic wrote that Spielberg directed the film “with fury and immediacy.” (For more historical drama from Spielberg, queue up “Lincoln”; for another Oscar-winning story of the Holocaust, try “The Pianist.”)

This historical drama from writer-director Julie Dash proved something of a challenge for general audiences when it was originally released in 1991. But its reputation has grown in the years since (thanks, in no small part, to the explicit homage paid to it by Beyoncé’s “Lemonade”), elevating it to its proper place among the most important independent films of its era. Our critic called it “a film of spellbinding visual beauty.” (If you like gorgeous period pieces, try “The Immigrant.)

Few fictional characters have embedded themselves in the pop culture consciousness as firmly as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the brilliant monster brought to bone-chilling life by an Oscar-winning Anthony Hopkins in Jonathan Demme’s 1991 adaptation of the Thomas Harris bestseller. The film also won awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress – a quintuple play only matched two other times in film history – all deserving, none perhaps more so than Jodie Foster, whose indelible portrayal of the rookie F.B.I. investigator Clarice Starling sharply combines small-town naiveté with quick-witted strength. Our critic called it “pop film making of a high order.”

‘The Graduate’ (1968)

This wryly funny drama from Mike Nichols, adapted from the novel by Charles Webb, has become such an entrenched piece of popular culture (50-plus years later, you still don’t have to explain what “Mrs. Robinson” means), it is easy to lose track of what a great entertainmentIgnition r kelly original. it is. But it is: Using Dustin Hoffman as his marvelously dry-witted vessel, Nichols dramatizes youthful ennui with a skill rarely seen in American cinema. Our critic called it “funny, outrageous, and touching.” (Another classic coming-of-age movie, Elia Kaznan’s “East of Eden,” is also streaming on Netflix.)

This series-spawning smash is a gloriously inventive stew of dystopian future sci-fi, Hong Kong-style “gun fu,” turn-of-the-century paranoia and jaw-dropping special effects. Its big action set pieces have been imitated to death, but rarely with the visceral energy and giddy enthusiasm brought by the Wachowskis, two independent filmmakers who were given the tools and budget of a big studio picture and had an absolute blast. Our critic called it “a furious special-effects tornado.” (For more classic action, try “The Terminator.”)

It sounds like the setup for an ’80s sex comedy: Two horny teenage boys take an impromptu road trip and talk a seductive older woman into coming along. But director Alfonso Cuarón (“Gravity,” “Children of Men”), “Y Tu Mamá También” frames their story partly through the unexpected but effective lens of class and political struggle, constructing a delicate film with much to say about masculinity, poverty and mortality. And then it’s sexy, on top of that. Our critic called it “fast, funny, unafraid of sexuality and finally devastating.” (For more adventurous foreign cinema, check out “Happy as Lazarro” or “Incendies.”)

‘Carol’ (2015)

Patricia Highsmith’s lesbian romance novel “The Price of Salt,” originally written under the pseudonym Claire Morgan, is sensitively and intelligently adapted by director Todd Haynes into this companion to his earlier masterpiece “Far From Heaven.” Cate Blanchett is smashing as a suburban ‘50s housewife who finds herself so intoxicated by a bohemian shopgirl (an enchanting Rooney Mara) that she’s willing to risk her entire comfortable existence in order, just once, to follow her heart. Our critic said it’s “at once ardent and analytical, cerebral and swooning.” (“Quiz Show” is another must-see drama set in the 1950s; Mara also does stellar work in “Her.”)

The films of the Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu (which include “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” and “Beyond the Hills”) are in many ways morality plays, a practice he forcefully advances in his most recent effort. Through a bleak and crumbling post-Soviet cityscape, the film follows a well-to-do doctor (Adrian Titieni) whose daughter (Maria Dragus) is assaulted just before her college-entrance exams; as he attempts to rescue her future, however, his efforts lead him down a darkening path that obscures his sense of right and wrong. A.O. Scott called the film “nerve-racking and humane.”

‘Mudbound’ (2017)

The fates of two families — one white and one black, connected by a plot of land one owns and the other sharecrops — are inextricably intertwined in this powerful adaptation by director Dee Rees of the novel by Hillary Jordan. Rees gracefully tells both stories (and the larger tale of postwar America) without veering into didacticism, and her ensemble cast brings every moment of text and subtext into sharp focus. Our critic called it a work of “disquieting, illuminating force.” (Co-star Carey Mulligan also impresses in another period drama, “An Education.”)

‘Kill Bill, Vol. 1’ (2003) / ‘Kill Bill, Vol. 2’ (2004)

Paying loving tribute to the exploitation movies of multiple eras and cultures, this double-feature dabbles in kung fu, anime, spaghetti Western and blaxploitation, its writer/director Quentin Tarantino deliriously hopping styles like a movie-crazy kid swapping out VHS tapes. But in all the pyrotechnics, he maintains his gift for quotable dialogue and charismatic characters, ending his blood-soaked saga with on a surprisingly warm and human note. Our critics praised the “odd, feverish integrity” of “Vol. 1,” and called “Vol. 2” “the most voluptuous comic-book movie ever made.” (Fans of high-intensity action should also queue up “Train to Busan.”)

Winner of the Oscar for best picture of 2009 (and for best director for Kathryn Bigelow), this harrowing war drama concerns a team of specialists trained in on-the-ground bomb diffusion in Iraq — with a particular focus on Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner), who’s a bit of a loose cannon. Bigelow mines palpable, sweaty tension from this terrifying work, but she doesn’t settle for cheap thrills; the film is most intense when dealing with James’s internal conflicts and his psychological battles with his team. Manohla Dargis called it “a viscerally exciting, adrenaline-soaked tour de force.” (For more Oscar-winning drama, queue up “Gosford Park” and “The Fighter.”)

A young sitcom actress named Jennifer Lawrence burst into the moviemaking mainstream with her tough, memorable performance in this 2010 indie drama from the director Debra Granik. Lawrence is startlingly good as a 17-year-old who’s in way over her head, trying desperately to save her family home and track down her father in the meth-ravaged rural Ozarks of Missouri. Our critic called it “straightforward and suspenseful but also surprising and subtle.” (Indie drama lovers may also enjoy “Personal Shopper” and “I, Daniel Blake.”)

Steve Carell’s wide-eyed leading work in the title role of this 2005 romantic comedy made him a star; it also turned the writer-director Judd Apatow from a TV talent to a movie-making machine. His eye for new faces is remarkable (Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Mindy Kaling, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch, Kat Dennings and Jonah Hill all turn up in early roles), but the film’s tone is its masterstroke: Apatow somehow manages to find a balance that indulges the ribald possibilities of the premise with the sweet romance at the story’s center. Manohla Dargis called it “sidesplitting.” (For more wild comedy, check out John Waters’ “Hairspray.”)

Francis Ford Coppola’s loose, Vietnam-era adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” was a notoriously troubled production, harassed by weather woes, political struggles, budget and schedule overages, and problems with actors. Considering how much drama occurred offscreen, it’s somewhat miraculous that the final product is so singular and powerful — an awe-inspiring fusion of ’60s psychedelic film, ’70s genre reimagining and classic wide-screen epic. Our critic called it “a stunning work.”

‘Cool Hand Luke’ (1967)

Paul Newman turns in one of his most iconic performances as the former war hero Lucas Jackson, whose tenacious, rascally free spirit and refusal to kowtow to authority maddens his keepers on a Florida chain gang — and inspires his fellow prisoners. The director Stuart Rosenberg cranks up the sweaty atmosphere and high intensity, placing the viewer right alongside Luke as he fights, runs and bets his way through his sentence, and Newman calls upon all of his considerable charisma to give the character life. Our critic praised its “intelligent contemplation of the ironies of life.”

Stanley Kubrick’s most controversial film, and perhaps his most disturbing (neither a small claim), was this 1971 adaptation of the cult novel by Anthony Burgess. It is Kubrick at his most stylized, with the narrative’s hyper-violence cushioned by the striking cinematography, futuristic production design and jet-black humor. Our critic wrote that it “dazzles the senses and mind.”

Ang Lee won the academy award for best director for this enthralling mixture of martial arts adventure and heartfelt romance. His narrative is a busy hive of deception, betrayal, loyalty and pride, and while the personal and emotional stakes are high, “Crouching Tiger” is most memorable for its awe-inspiring action sequences — bone-crunching and balletic, thrilling and lyrical, as heroes and villains alike transcend gravity itself. Our critic called it “a heady and delirious brew.”

‘Little Women’ (1994)

Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel “Little Women” isn’t a stranger to film adaptation — earlier movie versions date clear back to the silent era — but this 1994 take from the director Gillian Armstrong (“My Brilliant Career”) adroitly pitches the film to modern audiences without condescending to its old-fashioned sentimentality. Handsomely staged and marvelously acted, this is a first-rate introduction to one of the great works of young adult literature. Our critic called it “the loveliest ‘Little Women’ ever on screen.”