The Oscars are coming this Sunday, March 2. In honor of cinema’s version of Super Bowl Sunday, two of our picks for the three great Hulu movies that you need to stream this weekend are Oscar-nominated films from decades ago. The catch is that neither of those movies will be available on Hulu until March 1.
In the meantime, you can catch our first pick of the week, the acclaimed drama Ghostlight, on Hulu right now. It may not have been Oscar-nominated, but this was one of the best films of 2024.
Need more recommendations? We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Ghostlight (2024)
Ghostlight flew almost completely under the radar last year, but among the few who have seen it, this was regarded as one of the best indie movies of 2024. Keith Kupferer headlines the film as Dan Mueller, a man whose relationships with his daughter, Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), and wife, Sharon Mueller (Tara Mallen), have been strained since the suicide of their son, Brian. Dan’s wrongful death lawsuit against Brian’s girlfriend, Christine Hawthorne (Lia Cubilete), is also weighing the family down.
Unexpectedly, Dan discovers an outlet in the arts and a newfound desire to act opposite a woman named Rita (Dolly de Leon). When both Dan and Rita are cast as the leads in Romeo & Juliet, he runs the risk of throwing his job and his family away in the pursuit of his passion… and because he’s far from over Brian’s death.
Watch Ghostlight on Hulu.
L.A. Confidential (1997)
If Titanic hadn’t been so unbeatable in 1997, L.A. Confidential could have taken home the Best Picture Oscar that it deserved. As one of the best 1990s crime movies, this noirish masterpiece takes place in 1953, and there’s something rotten in the heart of Los Angeles. Three different police detectives, Edmund Exley (Guy Pearce), Wendell “Bud” White (Russell Crowe), and Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), have a piece of the larger puzzle, but they don’t initially understand how the strands tie back to each other.
It doesn’t help that Exley and White despise each other or that Ed had a sexual encounter with Bud’s lover, Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger), behind Bud’s back. Murder, extortion, and more crimes slowly draw the detectives closer together. But none of them realize that the real threat to the city and themselves is already rooted in their lives.
Watch L.A. Confidential on Hulu.
Sideways (2004)
To close out the weekend, it’s time to go Sideways with a comedy/drama that has a touch of romance as well. Paul Giamatti stars as Miles Raymond, a school teacher and struggling writer who accompanies his friend, Jack Cole (Thomas Haden Church), on a pre-wedding road trip through California’s wine country.
All Miles wants is a chance to relax with his friend and forget about his own troubles. Jack, on the other hand, is all too eager to hook up with a woman named Stephanie (Killing Eve’s Sandra Oh). Miles also attracts some romantic attention from a waitress, Maya Randall (Virginia Madsen). However, Jack’s dishonesty and infidelity towards his future wife may come back to haunt both men.
Watch Sideways on Hulu.