We’re midway through March, which can only mean one thing: Spring is coming! Say goodbye to winter and hello to the blossoming of flowers, new beginnings, and surely more heat than any human should ever withstand. And while March has several hotly anticipated movies, the heat might be so intense that you might not want to leave your home often—or ever, really.
So, if you’re staying in and looking for something to watch, look no further than these three underrated movies you can find on streaming. Why watch La La Land for the umpteenth time when you can try something new for a change? These underappreciated gems might’ve flown under the radar when they came out, but that doesn’t mean they should remain in obscurity forever. So grab a cool glass of iced tea, kick back your feet, and enjoy these underappreciated movie gems.
If you’re in the mood for a truly black comedy, look no further than Don Roos’ 1998 gem The Opposite of Sex. A never-better Christina Ricci stars as Dedee Truitt, a wicked, manipulative, opportunistic, selfish, and quasi-misanthropic pregnant 16-year-old who arrives at her half-brother Bill’s home after running away from her mother. Soon, Dedee inserts herself into Bill’s life, causing trouble for everyone around.
In its own problematic yet refreshing way, The Opposite of Sex is a subversive and pioneering film about sexual fluidity and experimentation. In Dedee, Roos and Ricci create a modern anti-heroine for the ages, a provocative and disruptive figure who is unsympathetic yet never unlikable. It’s a fascinating and inflammatory creation courtesy of an actress who never quite reached her full potential. Ricci is aided by an incredible supporting cast, including a scene-stealing Lisa Kudrow as Bill’s friend, Lucia. It’s not an overstatement to say both Ricci and Kudrow were robbed of Oscar nominations—and considering who actually won in ’99, the Academy’s snubs become all the more egregious.
The Opposite of Sex is available to rent or purchase on Amazon and other digital vendors.
The year was 1996; Janeane Garofalo and Uma Thurman were still starring in motion pictures, and Ben Chaplin had everything to become the late ’90s hottest leading man. The three joined forces for Heathers‘ director’s romantic comedy The Truth About Cats & Dogs, a modern reinterpretation of the classic tale of Cyrano de Bergerac. The plot follows Abby, a radio show host who, insecure about her looks, asks her attractive neighbor Noelle to pretend to be her and meet the handsome Brian, a young man who called her show.
The premise of The Truth About Cats & Dogs is utterly silly, but that’s why we love it so much. Thurman is charming, and Chaplin is utterly delightful. However, Garofalo’s Abby is irresistible, the kind of sympathetic ’90s heroine you can’t help but root for. The film rises to new heights thanks to this trio of likable actors who make a Herculean effort to sell this absurd yet ultimately winning story, the type that can only exist in the movies. We come to this place for magic, indeed.
The Truth About Cats & Dogs is available to rent or purchase on Amazon and other digital vendors.
There are underrated movie gems, and then there’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. A remarkably original and daring sci-fi action-adventure picture and one of the best examples of dieselpunk, Sky Captain reunites Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow five years after The Talented Mr. Ripley. Joined by Angelina Jolie, the trio stars in this film about the titular character, a daring and dashing pilot who uses his private air force, the Flying Legion, to fight an attack on New York by deathly robots. Joined by his ex-girlfriend, Polly Perkins, the pair travel to the Himalayas searching for the reclusive scientist behind the attack.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is pure, unadulterated sci-fi fun. Bolstered by stunning, groundbreaking, and distinctive visuals, the film effectively transports audiences to a new world full of possibilities, echoing classic themes of war movies while imbuing them with a decidedly futuristic approach. The result is a unique adventure movie overflowing with creativity and visual flair that never asks too much from its audience. Sky Captain is one of the best sci-fi movies you can stream on Max, and you really should. It’s thrilling, occasionally silly, and endlessly entertaining.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is available to stream on Max.
China just gave Hollywood a cautionary tale about AI filmmaking. Sanxingdui: Future Past, billed as the country's first fully AI-generated movie, hit theaters on October 23 and bombed at the box office.
According to Futurism, the film's reported $1.5 million production budget landed on more than 10,000 screens. Yet it pulled in only about $181,000, averaging roughly $20 per screen, making the budget difficult to recover.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?