The Best Movies on Peacock Right Now
It may be one of the newer streaming platforms, but Peacock has already proven itself a worthy contender with a library of hit NBC shows and movies ranging from cult classics to recent blockbusters. To save you from the tedium of scrolling through the latter, we’ve compiled a list of the best movies you can stream on Peacock right now.
If you’re looking for more streaming inspo, check out the best horror movies on Max, the best thrillers on Netflix, and more of our streaming guides.
BlacKkKlansman
Directed by the great Spike Lee and based on actual events, BlacKkKlansman stars John David Washington as Ron Stallworth, a Black cop who goes undercover to expose the Colorado Springs chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Stallworth uses his white colleague Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) to infiltrate the white supremacist group in a film that’s equal parts hilarious and thrilling, and easily among Lee’s best.
Ocean’s Eleven
Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s trilogy (along with Ocean’s 8) is on Peacock, making it easy to watch all three films back to back, starting with Ocean’s Eleven. George Clooney and Brad Pitt topline this total blast of a heist comedy, with an ensemble that includes Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Elliott Gould, and the late, great Bernie Mac. Few movies are as cool as Ocean’s Eleven, except for maybe Ocean’s Thirteen, and while Ocean’s Twelve disappointed some fans of the first, even a lesser Soderbergh movie is better than most.
Basic Instinct
Released in 1992, Basic Instinct is one of the great erotic thrillers of the era, albeit somewhat controversial given Sharon Stone’s experience on set. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, Basic Instinct stars Michael Douglas as a detective who gets caught up in a crime novelist (Stone)’s sexy web of deceit while investigating the violent death of a rock musician. Verhoeven’s film inspired countless copycat thrillers and helped cement Stone’s stardom.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio’s collaborative career will go down in cinema history as one of the greatest, and The Wolf of Wall Street as one of many peaks. Based on the memoir of wall street broker and white collar criminal Jordan Belfort (played by DiCaprio), the film is a wild ride through Belfort’s debaucherous lifestyle, which imploded following an FBI investigation. The Wolf of Wall Street also stars Kyle Chandler, Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill, and features a star-making turn from a young(er) Margot Robbie as Belfort’s wife.
Point Break
In terms of great heist movies, Point Break is right up there with Heat, Thief, and Dog Day Afternoon. Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 thriller is an all-timer, starring Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah, a federal agent investigating a series of bank robberies committed by a gang of surfing criminals. When Utah goes undercover to take them down, he gets a little too close to the group’s leader, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), and falls for Tyler (Lori Petty), leading to a killer showdown.
Requiem for a Dream
Anyone confused about why and how Jared Leto became the cinematic burden he is today need look no further than Requiem for a Dream (and the short-lived ABC series My So Called Life). Directed by Darren Aronofsky, this tense triptych about the depths of addiction follows the deeply intertwined stories of Harry (Leto), his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly), and their friend Tyrone as they navigate a nightmarish addiction to heroin; and Harry’s mom, the recently widowed Sara (Ellen Burstyn) who becomes addicted to diet pills and develops an eating disorder when she’s invited to appear on her favorite game show. As should be clear from the description, Requiem for a Dream is a tough watch, but a rewarding one featuring incredible performances from all of the above (yes, even Leto).
Burning
If you’re curious about South Korean cinema, you should check out Burning, the 2018 thriller from Lee Chang-dong (Secret Sunshine). The film centers on Jong-soo (Yoo Ah-in), whose chance encounter with childhood friend Hae-mi (Jeon Jong-seo) kicks off a mystery involving her new friend Ben, a series of arsons, and no easy answers. Steven Yeun steals the whole damn show as the handsome and enigmatic Ben.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Filmmaker Eliza Hittman is known for intimate indie dramas that probe the interior lives of recognizable characters in painfully realistic situations (see also: It Felt Like Love, Beach Rats). In Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Hittman follows 17-year-old Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) as she travels with her best friend (Talia Ryder) from Pennsylvania to New York to obtain a legal abortion—a subject that will unfortunately remain timely for the foreseeable future. The title of the film refers to the possible answers Autumn can give when a social worker asks about her sex life: never, rarely, sometimes, and always.
The Invitation
When Will (Logan Marshall-Green) brings new girlfriend Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi) along to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife (Tammy Blanchard), the night grows increasingly tense and strange as the traumas of the past are revisited and picked apart. Directed by Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body), The Invitation explores how we senselessly cling to etiquette, often to our own detriment. There’s much more to this nervy thriller, but the less said, the better.
Clockwatchers
You may have heard comedian John Early talk effusively about his love for Clockwatchers and his intense fandom of Toni Collette. Jill Sprecher’s 1997 indie is slightly less underseen now thanks to Early’s praises, and stars four of our greatest character actors: Collette, Lisa Kudrow, Parker Posey, and Alanna Ubach. If you put them in a movie now, the internet would—rightfully—never shut up about it. Clockwatchers stars the quartet as temps who bond while working a tedious office gig, and feels just as relatable now as it did almost 30 years ago.
Dear White People
Before it was an acclaimed Netflix series, Dear White People was Justin Simien’s feature directorial debut and a major hit at Sundance. The plot is similar to the first season of the series, with Tessa Thompson playing the role of Samantha White, the host of the titular radio show who calls out racist behavior at the predominantly white university she attends—and where she’s vying to become the head of the school’s historically Black student house against her ex-boyfriend. Dear White People is a hilarious comedy with incisive social commentary that still hits, and co-stars Tyler James Williams, Brandon P. Bell, Teyonah Parris, and Kyle Gallner.
(featured image: Focus Features / Well Go USA / Warner Bros.)
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