From Superman to Weapons, there are plenty of great new movies to catch in theaters this week, but if you’re keen to enjoy some (free) entertainment from the comfort of your own home, why not check out what the best free streaming services have to offer?
Below, I’ve highlighted five of the best free movies to stream on Tubi, Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, and more this week – from influential heist thrillers to iconic comedies.
1) Heat (Plex)
Release date: December 1995
Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%
Length: 1171 minutes
Director: Michael Mann
Main cast: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd
I don’t put much stock in the Oscars, but it surprises me every time I’m reminded that Michael Mann’s Heat earned zero – yes, zero – nominations at the 1996 Academy Awards.
This seminal crime thriller – which is now streaming on Plex – centers on the conflict between LA detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and career thief Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro), who hopes to pull off one last heist before leaving the game forever. Having inspired everything from The Dark Knight to Grand Theft Auto, Heat is now firmly established as one of the best films of the 1990s and a must-watch for fans of either of its lead actors.
2) American Psycho (Plex)
Release date: April 2000
Rotten Tomatoes score: 68%
Length: 103 minutes
Director: Mary Harron
Main cast: Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto
Luca Guadagnino is set to direct a new adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ controversial novel American Psycho, but Mary Harron’s perfectly adequate, Christian Bale-starring original is currently streaming for free on Plex.
As culturally relevant now as it was at the turn of the millennium, American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman (Bale), a self-obsessed New York City investment banker who moonlights as a ruthless serial killer. Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, and Reese Witherspoon also star in this iconic thriller, which smartly blends elements of horror and comedy to satirize the yuppie culture of the 1980s.
3) The Naked Gun (Pluto TV)
Release date: 1988
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
Length: 85 minutes
Director: David Zucker
Main cast: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalbán, George Kennedy
Liam Neeson is currently starring in the surprisingly well-reviewed reboot of The Naked Gun, and David Zucker’s hilarious 1988 original – officially titled The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! – is currently streaming for free on Pluto TV (alongside its two sequels).
This police procedural spoof follows bumbling police lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) as he attempts to uncover a criminal plot involving mind-controlled assassins. A continuation of the 1980s TV series Police Squad!, The Naked Gun is unapologetically crass and remains one of the funniest comedy movies ever made (even if Zucker’s earlier film, Airplane, is funnier still).
4) A Most Wanted Man (Samsung TV Plus)
Release date: August 2014
Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%
Length: 122 minutes
Director: Anton Corbijn
Main cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s penultimate film, A Most Wanted Man, has just landed on Samsung’s free streaming platform, Samsung TV Plus.
Directed by Anton Corbijn, this John le Carré novel adaptation centers on a Muslim refugee from Chechnya (Grigoriy Dobrygin) who, after illegally entering Hamburg to start a new life, is suspected of terrorism by a covert anti-terror unit. Hoffman plays Günther Bachmann, an intelligence officer who leads the unit in question. If you’re a fan of films like Munich, The Bourne Identity, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, A Most Wanted Man will certainly scratch the same espionage itch.
5) Mud (Tubi)
Release date: May 2013
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Length: 130 minutes
Director: Jeff Nichols
Main cast: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland
One of the most underrated movies of the 2010s (in my opinion), Jeff Nichols’ Mud is now streaming for free on Tubi.
This Huckleberry Finn-style film tells the story of two Arkansas teenagers, Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), who stumble upon a fugitive (Matthew McConaughey) hiding out on a small island in the Mississippi River. To say more risks spoiling the film’s story, but Mud is a simple, touching, and beautifully shot coming-of-age movie in the Stand by Me mold.
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