Apple TV+doesn’t have a ton of movies in its library (that you don’t have to rent), but what it does have are award-winning titles of some of the highest quality you can stream. From Oscar-crushing blockbusters like Scorsese’sKillers of the Flower Moonto gorgeous animated films likeWolfwalkers, there are hits to be had.
I’ve watched most of what Apple TV+ has on offer over the years, and I’ve put together this list of some of my favorites that I think make for a great weekday or weekend watch.
2023
Runtime
1 hour 57 minutes
A Cold War Russia thick with tension, high-stakes business backstabbing, espionage, and … Tetris? I would never have thought it possible to make a film so cool about the origins of an 8-bitvideo game from the ’80s, but this true story Apple Original pulls it off.
Tetrisstars Taron Egerton as American video game salesman Henk Rogers, who goes on a zany, globetrotting adventure to bring what would become one of the most iconic video games in history to the West. Henk must out-negotiate and outsmart the parties vying for control of the game—from industry tycoons to KGB operatives to Russian power brokers—while also staying true to the game’s creator, Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov), whom he befriends.
Egerton is excellent as Rogers, whose kid-like delight at seeing and playing Tetris on the handheld Game Boy prototype for the first time is kind of at the heart of the film.
2005
2 hours 5 minutes
John Krasinski has come a long, long way fromworkplace comedyat Dunder Mifflin. He’s fought alien creatures inThe Quiet Place, got stretchy as Reed Richards, and was literally Jack Ryan. Now, inFountain of Youth, he plays a sort of Robert Langdon-meets-Indiana Jones treasure hunter named Luke, who’s been hired to find the titular immortalizing fountain by the wealthy Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson).
Reluctantly helping Luke is his sister, Charlotte (Natalie Portman), a brilliant museum curator looking to spice up her domesticated life. Chasing them down is a tenacious Interpol agent and hired mercenary/love interest (Eiza González) as they romp through some breathtaking global locales. It may be a bit formulaic and predictable, butFountain of Youthis a fun Guy Ritchie-directed popcorn movie you can watch while your teenagers play on their phones.
2025
2 hours 7 minutes
I didn’t think I was going to likeThe Gorge.The trailer leaned a little much on the flirty, cross-chasm romance between former U.S. Marine Levi Kane (Miles Teller) and Lithuanian covert operative Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy). But luckily, the trailer was just telling part of the story, which took the darkadventure-horror filmin a direction I wasn’t expecting.
Assigned by joint factions to guard two sides of “The Gates of Hell,” a massive gorge in an undisclosed location, Levi and Drasa break the mission’s “no-contact with the other side” rules, and a romance blossoms. But when they’re forced to descend into the mysterious world below the fog, they discover the hidden, mutated, and supernatural remnants of wartime experimentation, and they must stop it from getting out.
Teller and Taylor-Joy’s on-screen chemistry is strong, and they hold their own in the action sequences with ease. Combined with some excellent special effects and creepy costume design,The Gorgewas a nice surprise.
2020
1 hour 42 minutes
Wolfwalkerswas one of the first things I ever watched on Apple TV+, shortly after it launched back in late 2019. Created by Ireland’s award-winning Cartoon Saloon animation studio, its stunning and unique animation style was like nothing I’d ever seen before, and its story of strained loyalty and acceptance spoke to me.
InWolfwalker’s 1650s village of Kilkenny, the wolves of the surrounding forbidden wood are the enemy, and must be eradicated. It’s their way of life. But when Robyn (Honor Kneafsey), the young daughter of wolf hunter Bill Goodfellow (Sean Bean) meets a shapeshifting girl who can transform into a wolf at night, Robyn learns that she, too, is a “wolfwalker.” Her love for her father and her new-found kin are put to the test as the townsfolk threaten the wolves' existence.
2022
1 hour 45 minutes
Are you superstitious? Have you got a lucky rabbit’s foot or penny? Ever wonder where the luck power for them comes from?Luckattempts to answer that question. One that the kids will love,Luckis a cute and touching animated movie that follows the tragically unlucky Sam, whose luck finally changes when she meets Bob, a magical black cat (voiced by Simon Pegg) who gives her a lucky penny … that she accidentally flushes down the toilet.
Sam needs all the luck she can get, though, to help her young orphan friend to get adopted. Sam follows Bob to the mystical Land of Luck, where she finds that it is unbalanced and in chaos, affecting the humans of the world. The unlikely pair, with the help of leprechauns, dragons, and other assorted characters, work together to restore the balance between good and bad luck.
Whether you’re in the mood to binge one of Apple TV+’s manygreat TV series over a couple of daysor getting lost in one of the streaming service’s beautifully produced films, we’re here to help you slice through the noise and find something good to watch this week.
