Peacock: The 16 best movies to stream now

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle serves as the spiritual successor to the original 1995 movie by Robin Williams. Instead of a board game, this movie uses a video game as a gateway from our world to the wonderful game world of Jumanji. This entry launched the Jumanji film trilogy of today and is very entertaining, thanks to the writing, the visuals and the chemistry between its actors: Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Jack Black and Kevin Hart.

• Director: Jake Kasdan
• Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Nick Jonas.
• Running time: 119 min

Rian Johnson’s love of the murder mystery genre is on full display in Knives Out. The writer-director brings together a famous cast here, including the likes of Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ana de Armas, Don Johnson, Toni Collette and Christopher Plummer, to explore the mysterious death of the famous writer. Everyone is a suspect in the first, and still the best, entry into the franchise.

• Director: Rian Johnson
• Stars: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Stanfield
• Running time: 130 min

Steven Spielberg’s classic thriller, which started the summer blockbuster trend fifty years ago, made the great shark a terrifying monster. Many see Jaws as a worthy film, from beginning to end, and there are reasons for that: the writing, the direction, the emotional stakes and the performances from its characters all elevate the film to its cinematic realm.

• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Stars: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw
• Running time: 124 min

Bob Odenkirk, action star? After the actor, who started out as a comedian and writer, became a household name thanks to his work as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, his roles have become darker and more dramatic. In Nobody, he plays a retired government assassin who lives a simple home life until an attack on his home ignites his anger — and introduces his unsuspecting family to John Wick’s life.

• Director: Ilya Naishuller
• Stars: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Ironside, Colin Salmon, RZA
• Running time: 92 min

Before James Cameron had audiences in stitches with the movies Terminator 2, Titanic and Avatar, he made waves with Abyss. The sci-fi film features special effects that push the envelope of 1989, the year of its release, and follows the race between the US and Russia to find a crashed nuclear submarine. Down in the depths of the ocean, the sailors face another potential threat: alien creatures.

• Director: James Cameron
• Stars: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn
• Running time: 140 min

Men in Dark stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as Agent Jay and Agent Kay, members of a secret agency that monitors all alien activity on Earth and protects humanity from invasive threats. The sci-fi comedy, based on the Marvel comic of the same name and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, was the third highest-grossing film of 1997 and spawned three sequels.

• Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
• Stars: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D’Onofrio, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub
• Running time: 98 min

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair combines both Kill Bill movies into one long story, well. It’s the way Quentin Tarantino first saw this project and it took some patience, if I’m honest. However, seeing volumes 1 and 2 presented together is a “must see” for martial arts fans, Tarantino fans or fans of thriller cinema.

• Director: Quentin Tarantino
• Stars: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen, Vivica A. Fox, Sonny Chiba
• Running time: 253 min

Freaky takes a note from body-swapping films like Freaky Friday and Vice Versa and puts a new twist on the horror genre. Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon brings his unique sensibility to the story, which finds Vince Vaughn playing a deadly killer who switches bodies with a girl named Millie. The result is a campy, sweet and wonderfully heartwarming film. You’ve never seen Vaughn like this.

• Director: Christopher Landon
• Stars: Kathryn Newton, Vince Vaughn, Celeste O’Connor, Misha Osherovich, Emily Holder, Nicholas Stargel
• Running time: 102 min

This is the second half of the two-part film adaptation of the Wizard of Oz-inspired Broadway hit musical Wicked. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo return as former friends Glinda and Elphaba – now known as the Wicked Witch of the West. It’s been five years since the events of the first film, and their paths must cross again to uncover the Wizard of Oz’s fraudulent ways.

• Director: Jon M. Chu
• Stars: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum
• Running time: 137 min

Hamnet, based on the book of the same name, reflects on the tragedies of William Shakespeare’s life and family before he found fame as a poet and playwright. It’s a well-crafted tragedy that will sneak up on you in the final act. Have a box of tissues nearby.

• Director: Chloe Zhao
• Stars: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Noah Jupe, Jacobi Jupe, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn
• Running time: 125 min

Director Steven Spielberg drew on his childhood to bring to life this semi-autobiographical film about a boy who loves cinema. A coming-of-age story about the power of movies and how his parents’ difficult divorce helped inform his art.

• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Stars: Michelle Williams, Gabriel LaBelle, Paul Dano
• Running time: 151 min

Commitment follows music promoter Jimmy Rabbitte, who takes it upon himself to create an R&B group to fill a void in Dublin’s music scene. He has one problem: The band he’s putting together is made up entirely of Irish people who have no knowledge of that particular genre of music. Well, they do it anyway. The result is an incredibly powerful, heartfelt and uplifting film.

• Director: Alan Parker
• Stars: Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Andrew Strong, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle Kennedy
• Running time: 118 min

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the first full-length feature featuring the famous comedy troupe. The film takes place during the time of King Arthur and follows the group as they embark on a quest to find the Holy Grail. This is one of those movies that should be considered required viewing for comedy fans.

• Directors: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
• Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin
• Running time: 91 min

In Point Break, a gang of divers dons the mask of a former president and robs banks. And they’re pretty good at it, too. Enter FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), a young and naive law enforcement officer who infiltrates the group and teams up with its leader, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), to take them down. Kathryn Bigelow directed this epic action movie, which was a memorable role for Swayze and a star-making turn for Reeves.

• Director: Kathryn Bigelow
• Stars: Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey, Lori Petty
• Running time: 122 min

Shrek became the first film to win an Academy Award for best animated feature. It’s crazy to think that animated films weren’t recognized for Oscars until 2001, but Shrek deserved to win. The voice acting of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy is spot on and delivers hilarious comedy and memorable pop moments. The movie helped usher in a new era of CGI effects and put DreamWorks on the map. More than two decades later, it’s still a very enjoyable watch.

• Director: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
• Stars: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz
• Running time: 90 min