Lookee here: We have a Sunday afternoon to kill. What a lovely problem to have. It's too bad that with all the great new movies coming and going from the best streaming services, figuring out what to watch next can quickly turn into a headache.
If you are tired of endless scrolling and looking for a movie that is guaranteed to deliver, you're in the right place. To help you kick that decision paralysis to the curb, I've rounded up seven critically acclaimed masterpieces — from pulse-pounding thrillers, to sweeping romances, haunting folk horror, and Academy Award-winning dramas —each with near-perfect scores of 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes.
Whether you are tuning in on Prime Video, Paramount+, Max, or Netflix to finish off your weekend with a bang, here are the best top-tier films to add to your streaming queue right now.
'Parasite' (Paramount+)
Who's it for: Not billionaires; those who love a slow-burn drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Anytime I do these Rotten Tomatoes round-up and I have an opportunity to shout out Bong Joon-ho's historic Best Picture winner, I take it. "Parasite" is an "eat the rich" tale that follows the destitute Kim family who catch a lucky break when one (Choi Woo-shik) lands a job tutoring the daughter of the wealthy but naive Park family.
His sister Ki-jung (Park So-dam) forges a university diploma to secure him the position. But once inside the lavish Park household, the Kims start plotting to sneak everyone onto the family's payroll — only to discover they're not the first desperate family to try this kind of scheme.
Watch "Parasite" on Paramount+ now
'Moonlight' (Prime Video)
Who's it for: The alphabet mafia and fans of character-driven storytelling
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Another Best Picture winner, Barry Jenkins’ "Moonlight" is a breathtaking and deeply intimate portrait about what it means to be a Black gay man in America. Unfolding across three chapters of one man's life, it follows Chiron (played by Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes in each respective stage) as he grows up in a rough neighborhood of Miami and later Atlanta.
As a kid, he’s abused and bullied; as a teen, he’s hazed and arrested; and once he's grown, he's left grappling with how those experiences shaped him. It's a poetic masterpiece about toxic masculinity and sexuality with a knockout performance by Mahershala Ali as Chiron’s mentor.
Watch "Moonlight" on Prime Video now
'Anatomy of a Fall' (HBO Max)
Who's it for: If Cell Block Tango is your favorite song from "Chicago"
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
"Anatomy of a Fall" is the kind of film where you quickly realize you've gotta choose whose word to trust. But really, who is telling the truth doesn’t matter as much as how their stories make you feel. Sandra Hüller leads an impeccable cast in the performance of a lifetime, an icy mother who makes her son promise "you must never lie to yourself" as she does her best to navigate living under the thumb of an angry man.
When his father, the equal parts conniving and charming Swann Arlaud, winds up dead, suspicion falls on her immediately. But the truth, as gradually comes to light through a grueling trial, is somehow even more tragic. It's hard to explain why "Anatomy of a Fall" is so great without spoiling the steady drip of discovery at the heart of this film, so if I'm being annoyingly vague, it's on purpose.
Watch "Anatomy of a Fall" on HBO Max now
'It Follows' (Paramount+)
Who's it for: Horror fans and non-horror fans alike
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
"It Follows" is easily the horror movie I recommend most to folks who don't like horror movies. It leans heavy into suspense with precious few jump scares, and its wild hook snags your attention from the get-go. Maika Monroe stars as Jay, a young woman who finds herself cursed after a one-night stand. And I mean that literally. The conditions are simple and iron-clad: An entity that can look like anyone will hunt you down and kill you.
The only way to escape the curse is to have sex with someone else to pass that tragic fate onto a new target. As Jay and her friends race to find a way to break the curse without condemning someone else, paranoia sets in. Its slow-burn tension and ever-present sense that anyone could be a threat make “It Follows” the kind of movie that’ll have you hiding behind your hands and mean-mugging every background character gets a little too close.
Watch "It Follows" on Paramount+ now
'Call Me By Your Name' (Netflix)
Who's it for: The hopeless romantics and those who don't want summer to end
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
Another nominee for Best Picture, "Call Me by Your Name" is the final sun-drenched chapter in director Luca Guadagnino’s “Desire” trilogy. Timothée Chalamet made a name for himself as 17-year-old Elio Perlman, a fumbling teen who runs headfirst into his sexual awakening over one fateful '80s summer in northern Italy.
Sparks fly when he meets Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old graduate student of his father staying with them over the summer. When his stay inevitably ends, it brings all the heartbreak you'd expect. Nominated for four Academy Awards, the film is a sensual and tenderly honest celebration of first love and desire.
Watch "Call Me By Your Name" on Netflix now
'Creed' (Paramount+)
Who's it for: Anyone who loves a good underdog story (and/or Michael B. Jordan)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
If you only watch one movie this weekend, it's gotta be Ryan Coogler's "Creed" on Paramount+. Especially if you haven't seen it — but even if you have, Coogler's one of those directors with such an eye for detail it rewards rewatch. This spin-off of the "Rocky" series sees Sylvester Stallone reprise his iconic role as the underdog champ in a riveting sports drama that packs an emotional punch.
Long-time Coogler collaborator Michael B. Jordan stars as Adonis Johnson, the son of legendary heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, who sets out to Philadelphia to get trained by his father’s old rival and friend, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). Between its raw emotional depth, seriously impressive fight choreography, and incredible lead chemistry, "Creed" is one of the only sports dramas I actually recommend.
Watch "Creed" on Paramount+ now
'The Witch' (Prime Video)
Who's it for: The witchies, the girlies, and the goats
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
Now if you are a horror movie fan and you haven't seen "The Witch": Where ya been, dude? Before Robert Eggers jump-scared audiences with mermaid Willem Dafoe in "The Lighthouse," his directorial debut helmed by a young and haunting Anya Taylor-Joy haunted our nightmares with the best modern folk horror story since "The Blair Witch Project."
Set in 17th-century New England, it centers on William (Ralph Ineson) and his family who put down roots on a remote farm in the forest after getting banished from their settlement. When their youngest son, Samuel, is nowhere to be found, all signs point to the eldest daughter, Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), and her witchy business being behind it. Shut in by the winter's cold and going mad with worry, William becomes convinced that something evil is lurking in the woods — and that Thomasin is to blame.
Watch "The Witch" on Prime Video now