Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* has officially kicked off the 2025 summer movie season with a bang. From now until August, many major blockbusters will premiere, from hopefuls trying to launch entire cinematic universes, like James Gunn’s Superman, to bold new chapters of beloved and long-running franchises, like Jurassic World: Rebirth.
However, if you’re not in the mood to go to the cinema, or you just want a different, more obscure option to watch from home, we’ve got just what you need. From crime dramas starring fan-favorite actresses to stylish neo-noirs with large ensembles full of now-recognizable actors, these underrated movie gems are perfect antidotes to the loud, explosive spectacle of the blockbusters at the movie theater.
Looking for something else? We’ve also rounded up the best new movies to stream this week, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Amazon Prime, and the best movies on Disney+. For Netflix fans, check out the 10 most popular movies on Netflix right now.
Drew Goddard’s stylish neo-noir thriller Bad Times at the El Royale stars a large ensemble and follows several individuals whose paths cross at the run-down El Royale, a hotel at the California-Nevada border. Among the unfortunate souls are an aspiring singer, a Catholic priest, a car salesman, a young hippie, and the hotel’s young, heroin-addicted manager.
Capturing the spirit of the classic noirs of yore, Bad Times at the El Royale is an engaging, thrilling, and cleverly constructed tale of misfortune powered by a healthy dose of neon and panache. Goddard’s direction is dynamic, further powered by a stellar cast at the top of their games. Standouts include two-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo as singer Darlene Sweet and Chris Hemsworth as unhinged cult leader Billy Lee. Thunderbolts*‘ star Lewis Pullman also offers a standout performance as Miles, the El Royale’s traumatized manager.
Bad Times at the El Royale is available to stream on Fubo.
Emmy nominee Aubrey Plaza delivers a career-best performance in the 2022 crime thriller Emily the Criminal. She plays Emily Benetto, a young woman struggling with mounting student debt. Unable to secure a job because of a criminal record, Emily becomes involved in a credit card scheme that pulls her into the dangerous underworld of Los Angeles.
Emily the Criminal rises on the strength of Plaza’s stellar and committed performance. As the young and desperate Emily, Plaza is simply outstanding, powering this remarkably dark and all-too-convincing crime thriller that packs tons of social commentary while still offering an engaging and edge-of-your-seat plot. Emily is a complicated and confrontational character, a brilliant creation resulting from the mix of a clever writer/director and a perfect star.
Emily the Criminal is available to stream on Netflix.
If you, like many others, became a fan of the incredible Wunmi Mosaku following her scene-stealing role in Ryan Coogler’s spectacular vampire horror Sinners, then do yourself a favor and watch Netflix’s His House. This horror thriller sees Mosaku playing Rial, a woman who, along with her partner, is a South Sudanese refugee struggling to adapt to her new life in an English town, where an evil force lurks beneath the surface.
A visceral and impressive debut by writer/director Remi Weekes, His House is the perfect blend of social commentary and genuine scares. The film offers chills aplenty, featuring several remarkable sequences that are as terrifying as they are clever. Furthermore, it presents a compelling portrayal of the refugee experience coated in a smart and effective narrative sprinkled with good, old-fashioned B-movie traits that will have audiences as entertained as they are scared.
His House is available to stream on Netflix.
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?