Whoever said "nothing in life is free" had obviously never heard of Tubi. The service is one of several burgeoning streamers that can be accessed free of charge through a web browser or dedicated app, and although these complimentary platforms can’t rival the best streaming services for new movies and TV shows, they do boast an impressive (and ever-changing) collection of older titles for you to enjoy.
Of course, the sheer number of free ad-supported TV (FAST) services at your disposal in 2024 makes it difficult to know which movies are available on which platform, so in this weekly guide, I’ll be recommending five of the best free movies to stream on the best free streaming services, including Tubi, Amazon Freevee, Kanopy, and more.
Blackberry (Kanopy)
Release date: May 2023
RT Score: 97%
Length: 121 minutes
Director: Matt Johnson
Main cast: Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Matt Johnson, Cary Elwes
If you’re someone who enjoyed the corporate politics of The Big Short and The Social Network but hasn’t yet seen Matt Johnson’s excellent tech tragicomedy BlackBerry, you’d do well to visit free streaming service Kanopy this week.
This Canadian-made biopic details the how and why of Blackberry’s rapid rise and even faster fall, paying particular attention to the relationship between the company’s two polar opposite founders: the brilliant-but-business-averse inventor Mike Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel) and ruthless corporate climber Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton).
In my Blackberry review, I described the film as "a bittersweet comedy with a sting in its tail, and a stark reminder that innovation waits for no one". Add it to your watchlist.
Margin Call (Tubi, Hoopla)
Release date: January 2011
RT Score: 87%
Length: 109 minutes
Director: J. C. Chandor
Main cast: Stanley Tucci, Zachary Quinto, Jeremy Irons, Kevin Spacey
I’ve already sung the praises of J. C. Chandor’s excellent finance drama Margin Call elsewhere on TechRadar, but seeing as the film only has around two weeks left on Tubi and Hoopla, I’m taking this opportunity to re-recommend what is, for me, one of the best big screen dramatizations of the 2008 financial crisis.
Set over 24-hours in a fictional Wall Street investment bank, Margin Call follows a group of sharp-suited executives who find themselves forced to choose between bankrupting their own company or derailing the entire US housing market. Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci count among the movie’s all-star cast, while Jeremy Irons turns in his most menacing performance since The Lion King.
500 Days of Summer (Hoopla)
Release date: January 2009
RT Score: 85%
Length: 95 minutes
Director: Marc Webb
Main cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend, Chloë Grace Moretz
If you’ve ever had your heart broken and want to be reminded of what it feels like (I’ll tell you: like an elephant sitting on your chest for months on end), 500 Days of Summer is a must-watch. This now iconic rom-com tells the story of Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a melancholic greeting card designer who strikes up a workplace romance with his free-spirited colleague Summer (Zooey Deschanel) only to discover that falling in love can be as painful as it is glorious.
If 'boy meets girl' isn’t enough of a synopsis to pique your interest, rest assured that 500 Days of Summer features one of the best film soundtracks of the last 20-years (when Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition hits, don’t say I didn’t warn you).
The Rescue (Tubi)
Release date: September 2021
RT Score: 96%
Length: 114 minutes
Director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin
Main cast: Rick Stanton, John Volanthen, Jim Warny, Jason Mallinson
Whenever I’m asked for documentary recommendations, I feel compelled to give two answers: Icarus, which is one of the best Netflix documentaries, and The Rescue on Disney Plus. Frustratingly, the latter was locked behind Disney’s subscriber paywall for several years, but now, The Rescue is available to stream for free on Tubi in the US.
Directed by the filmmaking duo behind the equally brilliant Free Solo, National Geographic’s The Rescue chronicles the two-week-long mission to save twelve Thai teenagers and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in 2018. Combining never-before-seen footage, exclusive interviews, and stress-inducing reenactments, this feature-length documentary is among the most moving films of the last decade, and a must-watch even if you already know (or think you know) how its headline-grabbing story ends.
The Founder (Amazon Freevee)
Release date: December 2016
RT Score: 81%
Length: 115 minutes
Director: John Lee Hancock
Main cast: Michael Keaton, Laura Dern, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch
Have you ever wondered how McDonald's went from being a single California diner to a 40,000-strong fast food empire that feeds around 1% of the world's population every day? John Lee Hancock’s The Founder – which is now streaming on Amazon Freevee – will tell you.
This 1950s-set biopic centers on Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), the cunning but ruthless entrepreneur who turned McDonald’s into a global phenomenon at the expense of its original founders, Dick and Mac McDonald (Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch). Like Blackberry, The Founder poses uncomfortable questions about capitalism and the price of success, but it’s also quite simply an entertaining romp through mid-century America.
For more free streaming coverage, read our recent roundups of the five movies with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes on Plex, the five movies with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes on Pluto TV and the three movies on Amazon Freevee with over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes.
