For the first time in a long while, there are some options to choose from at the multiplex. Dune: Part Two is still dominant, and who doesn’t want to take a return trip to Arrakis? If you have kids, you can take them to see Kung Fu Panda 4, which is somehow persisting as a durable movie franchise even after all these years.
For those who don’t like any of these options, there’s always streaming. If you want to save a few extra dollars, Digital Trends has compiled a short list of three movies you can stream for free this weekend. The occasional ad break is worth it, especially for the three films below.
The Goonies (1985)
Some things that were popular in the 1980s have become horribly dated now. For instance, would anyone be caught dead in a Jazzercise class? Or think former SNL cast member Joe Piscopo is funny? And don’t get me started on the cars, which lacked the gas-guzzling coolness of ’70s roadsters and were just ugly to look at. One thing that hasn’t aged is the adventure classic The Goonies, which is just as funny, exciting, and thrilling as it was when it was first released in 1985, which is nearly 40 years ago at this point.
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Directed by Richard Donner and produced by Steven Spielberg, The Goonies follows a gang of misfit kids trying to find a long-dead pirate’s buried treasure so they can help save their homes, which are in danger of being foreclosed upon by greedy, yuppie land developers. Far-fetched and preposterous, The Goonies is chockful of laughs, mostly courtesy of Chunk, the rotund member of the gang who has a big heart and an even bigger appetite, and zips by at a breakneck pace thanks to Donner’s snappy direction. Look for future Avengers: Endgame baddie Josh Brolin as the musclehead Brand and Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan as a pint-sized James Bond.
The Goonies is streaming for free on Sling TV.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Who knew the director of Zodiac and Se7en had a sentimental heart? David Fincher took a break from serial killers to direct an odd love story about childhood sweethearts who have the worst timing in the world. That’s because one of them, the titular Benjamin (Brad Pitt), was born old and ages backward. As he grows younger each year, everyone else, including his beloved Daisy, grows older, which puts a massive damper on any potential romance.
Based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is more than just a love story — it’s an epic journey through the 20th century as Ben gets to experience wars, ballets, and even Hurricane Katrina. The cast is terrific, with Pitt, Taraji P. Henson, and Tilda Swinton standing out with warm, incisive performances.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is streaming for free on YouTube.
Logan’s Run (1976)
For sci-fi fans looks for a bit of retro fun, you can do worse than Logan’s Run. The 1976 film is charmingly simple, with a great premise, cheap but colorful sets (you can spot the miniatures a mile away), and an earnest corniness that’s also oddly charming.
Cabaret actor Michael York stars as Logan, a policeman known as a Sandman who enforces a strict law: once you reach the ripe old age of 30, you have to sacrifice yourself to Carousel, an elaborate ritual where mass suicide takes place. Your other options are just as grim: be hunted and killed in the giant enclosed city Logan’s Run is set in, or become a Runner and take your chances in the desolate outside world. It’s soon apparent Logan is forced to choose to sacrifice himself, die violently, or run, and his journey is filled with narrow escapes and shocking revelations that are a hoot to watch.
Logan’s Run is streaming on Tubi.
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