50 Best Movies Available to Stream That You've Never Seen

The directorial debut of Jeff Nichols, “Shotgun Stories” is about two families in the South linked by the same father whose rivalry explodes into violence after his death. The film holds a 90% Freshness rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 80% of audiences like the film.

This tale of an unlikely friendship between two young outcasts boasts an eclectic cast that includes Harry Dean Stanton, Gena Rowlands, Sharon Stone, Gillian Anderson, and James Gandolfini. The movie received positive reviews from 75% of critics and 79% of audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, though it may appeal most to pre-teen viewers.

Julianne Moore stars in this eerie social drama about a suburban housewife who enters a dubious new-age retreat while suffering from undetermined illness from the environment. “Safe” was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 1995 and debuted that summer after being acquired by Sony Pictures Classics. The movie was directed and written by Oscar nominee Todd Haynes and received an 86% Freshness rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 75% of audiences enjoyed the film.

A homosexual Castro critic and a heterosexual Communist in Havana develop a relationship in this Oscar-nominated coming-of-age story. The movie “movingly depicts” the friendship “against the backdrop of a pivotal moment in Cuban history,” according to Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics Consensus. Critics on the site gave the flick an 81% Freshness rating, while 84% of audiences liked it.

Ira Sachs directed this piercing look at how a dispute between adults can impact the friendship of young children. The film stars Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Ehle, and Paulina García, and holds a 96% Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics. Nigel Andrews of the Financial Times said, “as a picture of ticking intergenerational lives and their complex movements, it’s as exact as a watch.”