Best Drama Movies to Watch (Page 22)
In life and cinema, drama is everywhere. You’ll find it in thrillers, animations, romances, you name it. For entertainment that explores the human experience with sensitivity and sincerity, here’s a mixed bag of the best dramas to stream now.
Adam Sandler rarely plays a role straight, but when he does, you know it’s good. In Hustle, Sandler is Stanley Sugarman, a basketball scout stuck in the long game, waiting for his chance to finally coach an NBA team. On a recruitment trip to Spain, Stan discovers a talented but unknown player named Bo Cruz. They […]
What does corporate heaven, the Dark Ages, the Oregon Trail, and a post-apocalyptic world have in common? Nothing, except that they are all settings for each season of Miracle Workers. The eccentric comedy anthology series plays out somewhat like a set of extended Saturday Night Live skits, with one of its youngest writers Simon Rich […]
There is no shortage of resources—be it books, films, articles, or interviews—about the atrocities Ferdinand Marcos unleashed on the Philippines. And yet, in the years since his exile and eventual death, his family has returned to power in the country, winning the hearts and (manipulated) minds of the masses. In The Kingmaker, director Lauren Greenfield […]
After loyally covering up for his mafia bosses and serving 25 years of jail time, Dwight Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone) is surprised to discover he’s been kicked out of his New York turf and transferred to Tulsa “middle of nowhere” Oklahoma. It takes a while, but Dwight eventually (and funnily) finds his footing in town, establishing […]
Disproving the notion that American animation is only for kids, the latest project from Genndy Tartakovsky (most known for Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack) is an uncompromising action epic that puts most multimillion-dollar live-action blockbusters to shame. Though Tartakovsky has stated that Primal will continue on as an anthology series, the first two seasons tell […]
In The Kid Detective, Adam Brody stars as Abe Applebaum, a once-beloved child prodigy turned pathetic P.I. stuck in the glory days of his past. At 32 years old, he’s still solving petty mysteries and coasting on his parents’ money, but things start to change when he is finally dealt with a real, adult case: […]
This difficult movie is about a seventeen-year-old from the U.S. underclass who has to deal with an unplanned pregnancy. Autumn is creative, reserved, and quiet, but those are not qualities that her environment in rural Pennsylvania seems to value. On the opposite, she is surrounded by threats, including disturbing step-father and boss characters. Dangers escalate […]
A sweet and romantic German movie about two Berliners who meet randomly and go on a road trip to the south of Europe. It might seem like a silly premise but it’s actually a philosophical movie, one that feels very realistic. The two characters debate human nature, politics, relationships, etc; almost throughout their trip. And […]
In his last film, American Serb film historian Peter Bogdanovich celebrates silver screen legend Buster Keaton. The subject alone is compelling to watch. It would be easy to pull clips from Keaton’s works, dig through the headlines, pull in some celebrity interviews, and call it a day. However, in Bogdanovich’s hands, this documentary handles Keaton […]
Palmer may not be treading new ground, but it does tackle relevant themes with impressive sensitivity. With Palmer (Justin Timberlake), it reveals the stigma that haunts ex-convicts well after they’ve redeemed themselves. And with Sam (a charming Ryder Allen), it brings to light the heartbreaking and often dangerous bigotry queer children face. These are heavy […]
Revolutionaries come in many forms. Some prefer to rally in the streets, while others, like the businessman Bernard Garrett, championed race equality in his field of finance. Discreetly and rather dangerously, he purchased buildings and offered loans to his fellow Black men at a time when they were denied these rights and more. It was […]
It’s rare now to hear the phrase “girl power” without being immediately suspicious of its intentions, reduced as it were to cheesy adspeak and empty platitudes. But in the case of Rocks—a movie helmed by a predominantly female crew and co-written by the teenage cast themselves—the slogan fits. There is power in this type of […]
What makes Apollo 11 stand out is its sharp minimalist approach, allowing the archival footage of the mission to the moon to speak for itself. It’s stunning to think that at one point or another we had collectively seen a bulk of the footage in this film, and yet somehow let it lay dormant until […]
From a short pilot episode in October 2019, Hazbin Hotel has finally opened its doors for the small screen four years later. With the hellish premise and raunchy humor, it was surprising that A24 would choose this weird show from indie animator VivziePop as its first dip into animation, but with its release on Prime […]
Though it sets itself up as a mystery series, the tense and dramatically heavy Save Me avoids easy questions and focuses instead on how a crisis can affect different members of a community in equally painful ways. The show isn’t immune from random coincidences and contrivances, but even these little twists in the plot point […]
A young lawyer has to defend a murderer after passing the bar only three months prior in this satisfying German drama. To make matters worse, the victim happens to be his mentor, a wealthy and seemingly kind-hearted business man. As for the perpetrator, he refuses to say a single word. Caspar, the lawyer, is from […]
This historical show with immaculate production value is about the fall of Constantinople in 1453. It’s fully in English, despite being a Turkish production, featuring a mix of entertaining interviews and dramatic reenactment. The way it’s narrated is reminiscent of History Channel documentaries (with frequent recaps), which is unfortunate. Still, the story and the production […]
Perhaps the most complete biographical drama of its year, Fosse/Verdon is a vast and brilliantly made artistic glimpse into the mind of a highly troubled genius. Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams both deliver the performances of their lifetimes, and Thomas Kail (jumping from stage to screen for the first time) shows much potential as an […]
Asako is in love with Baku—deeply and almost delusionally, in a way that can only manifest in young love. But when the freewheeling Baku ghosts Asako for good, she moves from Osaka all the way to Tokyo to start a new life. Years later, she’s startled to meet Baku’s doppelganger in Ryohei, an office man […]
This drama is about two friends attempting to rave in 1994 Scotland, after a recent Thatcher-era law banned the act and all music “characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”. Johnno and Spanner, one living in fear of his older brother and the other of his stepfather, want to turn things around […]
Nadia is a game developer and proud aging hipster living in New York. Her story starts at her thirty-sixth birthday party looking at herself in the bathroom mirror. On her way out, she finds a friend who hands her a joint laced with cocaine, “that’s how the Israelis do it” her friend says. Nadia hooks […]
The first Norwegian series made by HBO is a crazy and fun detective thriller. People from three different centuries start washing up at our time in the Oslo bay: from the Stone Age, the Viking Age, and the 19th century. Before you know it, downtown Oslo is full of people drying up hunted animals and […]
To pacify Chinese authorities after politically-charged drama To Live (1994), filmmaker Zhang Yimou decided to pivot to the gangster genre with Shanghai Triad. At first glance, it’s a standard period drama introducing the titular crime organization. Through the eyes of newly initiated Tang Shuisheng, Yimou paints a familiar portrait of violence underlying the city, symbolized […]
It’s no fun being plus-sized—or at least, that’s the message that we get everywhere, from tragic documentaries to self-help articles to shows that make weight the butt of every joke. Fat people are often perceived as inactive and sad and stubborn when those aren’t mutually exclusive with one’s size. In fact, there’s nothing inherently wrong […]
The Dig is a reliable telling of an archaeological expedition. The setting is Britain in World War II, and a widow (played by Carey Mulligan) hires an archaeologist (played by Ralph Fiennes) to dig through her estate where a historic discovery is waiting to be found. The biggest thrills are a conflict regarding control of […]
Lisa Kudrow and many other recognizable faces star in this sweet British comedy that feels like a Fleabag take on LGBTQ+ love. Mae (played by Canadian comedian Mae Martin) is a stand-up comic in London who starts dating a fan, George (Charlotte Ritchie). Up to that point, George had only dated men. Martin also co-wrote […]
This new documentary is about the exact scale to which social media is harming us, as testified to by people from the industry: ex-executives at Google, Instagram, Facebook, and even the ex-President of Pinterest. All have left their companies for (incredibly valid) ethical concerns that they share here. It’s a blend of interview footage and […]
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A calm choir leader lives a secret life as eco-warrior in this visually stunning and intelligent story about our complex times. If you’re familiar with Icelandic movies, this one has just the right amount of that Icelandic quirkiness – making it a proper feel-good movie with a message. This is added to the superb acting […]
At first, Midnight Runners seemed to be a lighthearted buddy cop flick where two friends just make their way through the police academy. It starts off pretty funny. Park Seo-joon and Kang Ha-neul clearly had fun forming the bond between their characters with a competitive spirit. However, this bond sets the stage for some subtle […]
Whoever paired Christina Applegate with Linda Cardellini should be given a raise. As the inadvertent crime duo Jen and Judy, the actresses are magnetic—their chemistry simply radiates through the screen. Whether they’re solving a crime or attempting to incite one, you can’t help but root for them. As long as they’re on screen interacting, everything […]
What does a filmmaker do when you’re banned from making movies? For their safety, they might move abroad or switch professions altogether. For director Jafar Panahi, it means doing things differently. Taxi was made in the titular vehicle, with a camera simply placed on the dashboard as Panahi poses as a driver. It’s a simple […]
Unlike other adaptations of young adult novels that get caught up in overly romanticized teenage angst, the eight-episode Hulu version of John Green’s Looking for Alaska is far more self-aware about its own precocious characters. Because no matter how much earnest faux-wisdom they spout, all their intelligence still hits a brick wall when faced with […]
On his first day of class in the remote village of Lunana, the city teacher Ugyen asks his students what they want to be when they grow up. One of the children, a young boy named Sangay, answers that he aspires to be a teacher “because a teacher touches the future.” Lunana: A Yak in […]
