Over the past few years, Apple TV has quietly built a library of movies worth watching this weekend, and these three are a good place to start.
This time we have a WWII thriller that Tom Hanks cared enough about to write himself, a redemption story set in small-town Louisiana that will catch you off guard, and a Sundance crowd favorite about the messy, directionless stretch between college and real life.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best free movies, and the best movies on Amazon Prime Video.
Greyhound (2020)
- Genre – War, Action, Thriller
- IMDB rating – 7.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes (critics) – 78%
Tom Hanks wrote the screenplay for this one himself, adapting C.S. Forester’s novel, and that personal investment shows in every frame. He plays Commander Ernest Krause, a first-time Navy captain tasked with leading a convoy of 37 Allied ships across the North Atlantic in 1942, hunted the entire way by German submarines.
There is almost no backstory, no romance subplot to speak of, and very little downtime. It is just 82 minutes of sustained, claustrophobic tension on the open sea. I really like how this movie has no big speeches or heroic moments; it’s just a man doing his job under immense pressure.
You can watch Greyhound on Apple TV.
Palmer (2021)
- Genre – Coming-of-age, Drama
- IMDB rating – 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes (critics) – 72%
Justin Timberlake plays Eddie Palmer, a former high school football star who returns home to a small Louisiana town after 12 years in prison, trying to quietly rebuild his life. Things get complicated quickly when his neighbor’s free-spirited young son, Sam, lands in his reluctant care. Sam is gender-nonconforming in a town that is all about church and football.
Watching these two outsiders find each other is genuinely moving. The film follows a familiar redemption arc, but it earns every emotional beat. I really like how it never asks you to overlook what Palmer did to get there. This underrated movie on Apple TV is warm, occasionally tearful, and better than its quiet reputation suggests.
You can watch Palmer on Apple TV.
Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022)
- Genre – Coming-of-age, Drama, Comedy
- IMDB rating – 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes (critics) – 85%
Cooper Raiff wrote, directed, and starred in this film at just 25, which makes its emotional maturity all the more surprising. He plays Andrew, a newly graduated 22-year-old who drifts back home and stumbles into work as a party starter at bar mitzvahs, where he meets Domino, a guarded single mother played by Dakota Johnson, and her young autistic daughter, Lola.
What starts as an unlikely friendship between Andrew and Domino quietly becomes one of the more honest portrayals of what it feels like to be stuck between who you were and who you’re supposed to become. The film won the Sundance Audience Award, and it deserved it. I really like how Raiff never lets Andrew off the hook for being self-absorbed, even when you’re rooting for him.
You can watch Cha Cha Real Smooth on Apple TV.