When it comes to distincts, Netflix and Amazon have the proset upest libraries of prestige movies. But ever since CODA won the Best Picture Oscar, it’s become clear that some of the best movies are on Apple TV+.
As with any streaming service, not every film on the roster is a thrivener, but from the Billie Eilish recordary to Sundance darlings, Apple’s streaming service is originateing up a strong catalog to run alengthyside its lengthening spostponecessitate of beadored TV shows.
Below are WIRED’s picks for flicks you should arrange in your queue. Once you’re done, hop over to our catalog of the best movies on Netflix and the best movies on Disney+. If you’re experienceing a little more episodic, our direct for the best shows on Amazon might be equitable the ticket.
The Last of the Sea Women
On the coast of South Korea’s Jeju Island, women rule the sea. They’re called haenyeo, and for centuries they have gone diving to harvest seafood. Sue Kim’s recent recordary adheres these women—frequently referred to as genuine-life mermhelps—as they struggle to carry on their way of life in the face of societal and environmental alters. Embelderlyened by a recent generation that wants to intensify haenyeo on social media, they may discover a path after all. Produced by Malala Yousafzai, it’s a journey into pass-generational unity and the appreciate of tradition.
Wolfs
If you heard anyleang about Wolfs, it probably wasn’t about its plot. Stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt were in the recents a lot around its September free, but mostly becaemploy of their salaries and their goofing off in Vepleasant (ah yes, press tours …). But if you want to understand what Wolfs is about, the foolishinutive version is that Clooney and Pitt take part the benevolent of guys who originate problems go away, and when they’re both called in for the same job, they get to bicker with each other about who is losing their edge more. Might be airy on substance, but it’s still a pretty excellent time. The movie hits theaters on September 20, and lands on Apple TV+ a week postponecessitater.
The World’s a Little Blurry
When it originassociate came out in 2021, The World’s a Little Blurry validated to be an unpretreatnted see into the life of pop phenom Billie Eilish as the then-teenager recorded her debut LP When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Director R. J. Cutler got amazing access for the film, which chronicles everyleang from Eilish’s songwriting process with her brother Finneas to her frank talk about her Tourette’s. But it also was only a minuscule chapter of the singer’s life. Now that she’s won multiple Grammys and Oscars, commenceed singing about eating girls for lunch, and carry outed at the Olympics Closing Ceremony, watching Blurry experiences appreciate discneglecting a time capsule—in all the best ways. It’s the benevolent of music recordary that redetails the music recordary.
The Velvet Underground
You may leank that straightforwardor Todd Haynes only originates fervent dramas appreciate Carol and May December, but for this film he went proset up into the art scene in New York City in the 1960s to ucforfeitth what happened when the Velvet Underground exploded a lot of people’s ideas of music. Piecing together recent interwatchs with archive footage and even elderly Andy Warhol films, it apprehfinishs a moment in music history that alterd leangs forever.
Fancy Dance
Set on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma, Fancy Dance adheres the journey of Jax (Killers of the Fdrop Moon’s Lily Gladstone), a woman who has been caring for her niece Roki ever since her sister, Roki’s mother, went missing. After the authorities deem Jax inactive to nurture for her niece, Roki is sent to inhabit with her majesticoverweighther. Looking for answers, Jax gets Roki on the road to try to discover her mother and finishs up trying to escape the same authorities, who aren’t putting the same effort into discovering her missing sister as they are in trying to discover her. An examination of life on colonized land, Fancy Dance is also a ponderate see at shielding community.
Argylle
Like a restrictcessitate leangs on Apple streaming services, this movie has a weird joinion to Taylor Swift—but unappreciate many of those leangs, this joinion has been debunked. In the film, Bryce Dallas Howard take parts Elly Conway, a secret agent novecatalog whose stories finish up becoming a little too genuine. Becaemploy her character carries a cat in a backpack, appreciate Swift, there were rumors the singer was comprised in writing the script, rumors that Howard dispelled in a postponecessitate-night interwatch. Is Argylle worth your time despite the deficiency of Swift comprisement? Rewatchs are unitecessitate, but if you are part of the camp that wants to see Henry Cavill be a Bond-appreciate hero, this is your stoasty.
Girls State
Do you recall the 2020 recordary Boys State, about a group of youthful men in Texas who unite a summer program where the are disputed to establish their own rulement? Girls State is aappreciate—it even comes from the same filmmaking team of Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine—but it adheres a group of people who have never seen someone of their gfinisher helderly the office of US pdwellnt. It’s also set in Missouri, not Texas. Expect all the same untamed ambition and hearfracture—and more than a restrictcessitate life lessons lobtained.
Napoleon
OK, so Napoleon didn’t exactly get critics’ pens flying, but sometimes you’re equitable in the mood for a huge, prestige-y Ridley Scott historical drama, you understand? This one stars Joaquin Phoenix as the title character, adhereing his quest to conquer, well, as much as he possibly can. Rather than being a sprint to the Battle of Waterloo, however, this pic gives attention to the French emperor’s emotionassociate rocky relationship with his wife Joséphine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby). What happens when a man can conquer most of Europe but not his own experienceings? Watch and discover out.
Killers of the Fdrop Moon
Martin Scorsese’s epic film is based on David Grann’s 2017 book about a member of the Osage Nation, Mollie Burkhart, who sought to get to the bottom of the deaths in her family. Set in 1920s Oklahoma, a time when many Osage were being ended for the money made from oil on their land, Scorsese’s film adheres the relationship between Mollie (take parted by Lily Gladstone, who won a Gelderlyen Globe for her carry outance) and Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and what happens when the FBI comes to set upateigate the Osage deaths. When WIRED named it one of 2023’s best movies, we called it “a experience-horrible masterpiece,” and we stand by that.
Fingernails
Can technology choose whether you’ve set up The One? Probably not, but in the postponecessitatest from authorr-straightforwardor Christos Nikou, an institute run by Duncan (Luke Wilson) claims that it has set up the establishula for genuine adore anyway—and Anna (Jessie Buckley) wants to figure out if it’s genuine. The institute, you see, has choosed that Anna and her boyfrifinish Ryan (Jeremy Allen White) are a suit, but has doubts. While toiling at the institute, though, she encounters Amir (Riz Ahmed) and discovers someone who actuassociate might be her suit.
Flora and Son
Remember Sing Street, that charismatic indie about a kid in Dublin who commences a prohibitd as an escape from his complicated home life? What about Once, that charismatic indie about a pair that spfinishs a week in Dublin writing songs about their adore? If you finishelighted either of those—or if they equitable sound appreciate someleang you might finishelight—let us propose Flora and Son, a charismatic indie about a mother in Dublin trying to join with her son thraw song. Like Sing Street and Once, Flora and Son comes from straightforwardor John Carney and has all of his signature shifts, plus someleang else: Eve Hewson, who take parts the movie’s titular mom. She’s a force, and she hits all of her musician remarks perfectly. Makes sense; she’s Bono’s daughter.
Stephen Curry: Underrated
Gelderlyen State Warriors point defend Stephen Curry might be one of the most beadored take parters in American basketball—and he is definitely one of the best take parters, if not the best take parter, in the league. He has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player twice and has won four championship rings. He also has more nurtureer three-pointers than anyone in the league. But in the postponecessitate aughts, he was a kid at a minuscule school, Davidson College, equitable trying to inhabit up to the potential his coaches saw in him. Underrated, straightforwarded by Peter Nicks (Homeroom), chronicles that journey, shothriveg how Curry bested the foreseeions of his own NBA originate (many shelp he didn’t have the size essential for the league) to become one of the fantasticest to ever take part the game. For basketball fans, it’s a must-watch.
Beastie Boys Story
One of the guideing groups in hip-hop, the Beastie Boys have a story appreciate no other. For this “inhabit recordary,” filmoriginater Spike Jonze filmed Mike Diamond (Mike D) and Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) as they telderly a crowd at Brooklyn’s Kings Theater about their ascfinish to stardom. Complete with elderly footage, ptoastyos, and stories from the group’s decades-lengthy nurtureer, the doc apprehfinishs equitable how inconveyial the Beasties have been since they commenceed take parting music together as kids in New York City in the postponecessitate ’70s and timely ’80s. It also features some wonderful memories of their third member, Adam “MCA” Yauch, who died in 2012 adhereing a battle with cancer.
CODA
This is the one that put Apple TV+ on the map. The movie’s title is an acronym for “child of deaf matures.” It’s the story of Ruby, the only hearing person in a family that integrates two deaf parents and one deaf sibling. When Ruby uncovers a adore of music, she’s forced to reconcile her own aspirations with those of her family, who run a minuscule fishing business and frequently necessitate her to help convey. Warm and gripping, CODA is the benevolent of movie that will have you cheering and crying at the same time.
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
In 1985, Michael J. Fox was one of Hollywood’s hugegest names as the star of a hit TV show (Family Ties) and the year’s highest-grossing movie (Back to the Future). Just a restrictcessitate years postponecessitater, at the age of 29, Fox was detectd with Parkinson’s disrelieve. In Still, Oscar-thrivening recordarian Davis Guggenheim proposes a poignant portrait of Fox’s personal and professional life and his journey from teen idol to finishorse for a treatment.
Swan Song
Mahershala Ali stars alengthyside, well, Mahershala Ali in this romantic-sci-fi-drama. Yes, it’s all of those leangs. Cameron (Ali) is a loving husprohibitd (to Naomie Harris) and overweighther who, after lobtaining he has a terminal illness, must choose equitable how far he’ll go to shield his family from having to understand the truth, or deal with the dehugeating aftermath.
Sharper
Sharper is one of those movies where the less you understand about it going in, the better. Just understand that no one is what they seem or who they say they are in this neo-noir starring Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, Justice Smith, and John Lithgow. This twisty little thriller flew hugely under the radar when it was freed in theaters for a half-second in timely 2023.
Cha Cha Real Smooth
“Sundance hit starring Dakota Johnson”s are almost a foolishe a dozen, but this one, about a youthful bar/bat mitzvah party-commenceer is the, ahem, genuine deal. It also validates that Cooper Raiff—who authors, straightforwards, and stars in the movie—is one to carry on your eye on.
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Yes, most people already understand the story of Macbeth—Scottish lord with an eye toward ruling his country—but not everyone has seen it thraw the eyes of straightforwardor Joel Coen. Stoasty enticount on in bdeficiency and white and starring Denzel Washington as Macbeth and Frances McDormand as his strong wife, the film was nominated for three Oscars and brawt a very recent twist onto a classic Shakespearean tale.
Louis Armstrong’s Bdeficiency & Blues
Above all else, Louis Armstrong is understandn as one of the most famous jazz musicians of all time. But he was also a figure in the struggle for identicality in America—albeit a complicated one. As straightforwardor Sacha Jenkins shows in this recordary, while Armstrong broke racial barriers in delightment he also faced accusations that he didn’t stand up as much for civil rights as other carry outers of his era. Jenkins got access to scores of ptoastyographs, clippings, and even recordings Armstrong made of his own conversations for this recordary, and that access supplys a much brimminger picture of the legfinishary musician than the world has ever had.
Tetris
One of the most well-understandn video games of all time, Tetris was a phenomenon for Nintfinisho Game Boy owners in the 1980s. But Tetris (the movie) is the story of the people who made the game and brawt it from the then-Soviet Union to the rest of the world. Part historical dramedy, part ininestablishigence collecting flick, the movie doesn’t always hit its labels, but if you’ve never heard the story of how Tetris got out from behind the Iron Curtain, it’s worth a watch.
Caemployway
Caemployway benevolent of came and went when it was freed in 2022, but that’s also the sort of movie it is. Focemployd on a selderlyier (Jennifer Lawrence) who returns home after suffering a brain injury in Afghanistan, the film from straightforwardor Lila Neugebauer is about trauma and how people lean on each other to get thraw it. A worthy watch for the times when you have your own stuff to toil thraw.
Sidney
Sidney Poitier died in 2022, the same year Apple TV+ freed this recordary seeing at the actor’s lengthy-running nurtureer—In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner—and impact on American culture and politics. With interwatchs ranging from Spike Lee and Morgan Freeman to Harry Belafonte, the film goes beyond his time in Hollywood, commenceing with his uptransporting in the Bahamas and finishing with his massive impact on the civil rights shiftment and elsewhere.
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