\n<\/p>\n
When it comes<\/span> to originals,\u00a0Netflix and\u00a0Amazon have the deepest libraries of prestige movies. But ever since\u00a0CODA<\/em>\u00a0won the Best Picture Oscar, it\u2019s become clear that some of the best movies are on Apple TV.<\/p>\n As with any streaming service, not every film on the roster is a winner, but from\u00a0the Billie Eilish documentary to Sundance darlings, Apple\u2019s streaming service is building up a strong catalog to run alongside its growing slate of\u00a0beloved TV shows.<\/p>\n Below are WIRED\u2019s picks for flicks you should prioritize in your queue. Once you\u2019re done, hop over to our list of the\u00a0best movies on Netflix and the\u00a0best movies on Disney+. If you\u2019re feeling a little more episodic, our guide for the\u00a0best shows on Amazon might be just the ticket.<\/p>\n If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism.<\/em> Learn more.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n For those who don\u2019t know, the movie\u2019s title is an acronym for \u201cchild of deaf adults.\u201d It\u2019s the story of Ruby, the only hearing person in a family that includes two deaf parents and one deaf sibling. When Ruby discovers a love of music, she’s forced to reconcile her own aspirations with those of her family, who run a small fishing business and often need her to help communicate. Warm and gripping,\u00a0CODA<\/em>\u00a0is the kind of movie that will have you cheering and crying at the same time. This is the one that put Apple TV\u2019s filmic offerings on the map\u2014and it\u2019s as good now as it was when it was making its way to Oscar glory.<\/p>\n It may feel a little on-the-nose but in F1: The Movie<\/em>, Brad Pitt plays an aging Formula One driver trying to make a comeback when an old friend pulls him back onto the track. Problem is, there\u2019s a hot new driver on the scene (Damson Idris) looking to take all the glory for himself. Sure, it sounds like a lot of movies you\u2019ve seen before, but in the hands of writer-director Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick<\/em>) the drama is palpable and the action is thrilling\u2014even if you\u2019re just watching at home on your couch.<\/p>\n When poet Andrea Gibson found out they were facing an incurable cancer diagnosis, they wrote a new bucket list of things to do in the time remaining. Director Ryan White\u2019s Come See Me in the Good Light<\/em> chronicles Gibson\u2019s life during that time: the moments spent with partner and fellow poet Megan Falley; performances of their life’s work; and \u201chappiness being easier to find once we realize we do not have forever to find it.\u201d An audience favorite at the Sundance Film Festival, White’s documentary may be heart-wrenching, but it’s also funny\u2014and full of joy.<\/p>\n Set during the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018, The Lost Bus<\/em> tells the story of a school bus driver (played by Matthew McConaughey) who manages to get 22 children to safety as their community goes up in flames. Directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Greengrass, the movie is about the heroism of average people and the possibility of second chances. You know, all the good stuff.<\/p>\n Director Spike Lee’s latest teams him up once again with longtime collaborator Denzel Washington to tell the story of David King, a music mogul who believes his son has been kidnapped and must figure out how to get him back. Also starring A$AP Rocky, this reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s 1960s classic High and Low<\/em> is both a tense thriller and\u2014like many of Lee\u2019s best movies\u2014a love letter to New York City and the music it makes. The film opened in theaters this summer and hit Apple’s streaming service in September.<\/p>\n Bono has a long history with Apple\u2014one that goes back to the days when his silhouette marked the \u201cArtists\u201d icon on iTunes and the company was selling special U2 iPods. Now he\u2019s working with the company to release Bono: Stories of Surrender<\/em>, a movie version of his one-man show, in which he performed U2 songs and told the stories of his life. It also features some behind-the-scenes footage from the tour. You can also watch it in an immersive format on Apple Vision Pro.<\/p>\n Billed as \u201cthe greatest civil rights moment most people have never heard of,\u201d Deaf President Now!<\/em> chronicles an eight-day standoff on the campus of a Deaf university in Washington, DC, in 1988. At the time, Gallaudet University\u2019s board of trustees had named a hearing president over a pair of qualified deaf candidates. In response, the students staged a week-plus of protests, walkouts, rallies, and boycotts. Eventually the hearing president resigned and deaf dean I. King Jordan was named president. This documentary from Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim chronicles the students\u2019 efforts using photography and sound design meant to immerse the audience in the Deaf experience.<\/p>\n For anyone who doesn\u2019t know, \u201cnumber one on the call sheet\u201d just means \u201cthe star\u201d\u2014the most vital performer in any production. It\u2019s a status that has eluded Black actors for generations. In this two-part documentary, some of Hollywood\u2019s most well-known stars talk about their time trying to get to that coveted spot. Angela Bassett, Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Jamie Foxx, Michael B. Jordan\u2014Number One on the Call Sheet<\/em>\u2019s own call sheet is stacked with legendary performers telling the stories of how they got to the top, and what it means to be there.<\/p>\n Written and directed by Oscar-winner Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave<\/em>), Blitz<\/em> shows World War II through the eyes of a 9-year-old boy named George (Elliott Heffernan). Sent by his mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) to the safety of the English countryside, George escapes in an attempt to be rejoin his mom and grandfather in East London. What ensues is George\u2019s harrowing quest to be reunited with his mom, but this is a McQueen film, so that\u2019s only part of the story.<\/p>\n So, you know that conspiracy theory about Stanley Kubrick faking the Apollo 11 moon landing? If you don\u2019t, you really should go down a Wikipedia rabbit hole on that one. When you\u2019re done, watch this Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum comedy about a marketing whiz (Johansson) who gets hired to film a mocked-up version of Neil Armstrong\u2019s famous giant leap for mankind on the off chance the mission didn\u2019t go as planned. This one has been on Apple TV for a while now and is still one of the service’s most popular films currently. Probably with good reason. It’s wild stuff, but no less wild than looking for clues to Kubrick\u2019s secret involvement with NASA in The Shining<\/em>.<\/p>\n On the coast of South Korea’s Jeju Island, women rule the sea. They’re called haenyeo<\/em>, and for centuries they have gone diving to harvest seafood. Sue Kim’s new documentary follows these women\u2014often referred to as real-life mermaids\u2014as they struggle to keep their way of life in the face of societal and environmental changes. Emboldened by a new generation that wants to amplify haenyeo on social media, they may find a path after all. Produced by Malala Yousafzai, it’s a journey into cross-generational unity and the value of tradition.<\/p>\n When it originally came out in 2021, The World’s a Little Blurry<\/em> proved to be an unprecedented look into the life of pop phenom Billie Eilish as the then-teenager recorded her debut LP When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?<\/em> Director R. J. Cutler got amazing access for the film, which chronicles everything from Eilish\u2019s songwriting process with her brother Finneas to her frank talk about her Tourette\u2019s. It also was only a small chapter of the singer’s life. Now that she has won multiple Grammys and Oscars, started singing about eating girls for lunch, and performed at the Olympics Closing Ceremony, watching Blurry<\/em> feels like opening a time capsule\u2014in all the best ways. It\u2019s the kind of music documentary that redefines the music documentary.<\/p>\n You may think that director Todd Haynes only makes intense dramas like Carol<\/em> and May December<\/em>, but for this film he went deep into the art scene in New York City in the 1960s to unearth what happened when the Velvet Underground exploded a lot of people\u2019s ideas of music. Piecing together new interviews with archive footage and even old Andy Warhol films, it captures a moment in music history that changed things forever.<\/p>\n Set on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma, Fancy Dance<\/em> follows the journey of Jax (Killers of the Flower Moon<\/em>\u2019s Lily Gladstone), a woman who has been caring for her niece Roki ever since her sister, Roki\u2019s mother, went missing. After the authorities deem Jax unfit to care for her niece, Roki is sent to live with her grandfather. Looking for answers, Jax takes Roki on the road to try to find her mother and ends up trying to escape the same authorities, who aren\u2019t putting the same effort into finding her missing sister as they are in trying to find her. An examination of life on colonized land, Fancy Dance<\/em> is also a thoughtful look at protecting community.<\/p>\n Do you remember the 2020 documentary Boys State<\/em>, about a group of young men in Texas who attend a summer program where the are challenged to form their own government? Girls State<\/em> is similar\u2014it even comes from the same filmmaking team of Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine\u2014but it follows a group of people who have never seen someone of their gender hold the office of US president. It’s also set in Missouri, not Texas. Expect all the same wild ambition and heartbreak\u2014and more than a few life lessons learned.<\/p>\n OK, so Napoleon<\/em> didn\u2019t exactly get critics\u2019 pens flying, but sometimes you\u2019re just in the mood for a big, prestige-y Ridley Scott historical drama, you know? This one stars Joaquin Phoenix as the title character, following his quest to conquer, well, as much as he possibly can. Rather than being a sprint to the Battle of Waterloo, however, this pic gives attention to the French emperor\u2019s emotionally rocky relationship with his wife Jos\u00e9phine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby). What happens when a man can conquer most of Europe but not his own feelings? Watch and find out.<\/p>\n Martin Scorsese\u2019s epic film is based on David Grann\u2019s 2017 book about a member of the Osage Nation, Mollie Burkhart, who sought to get to the bottom of the deaths in her family. Set in 1920s Oklahoma, a time when many Osage were being killed for the money made from oil on their land, Scorsese\u2019s film follows the relationship between Mollie (played by Lily Gladstone, who won a Golden Globe for her performance) and Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and what happens when the FBI comes to investigate the Osage deaths. When WIRED named it one of 2023\u2019s best movies, we called it \u201ca feel-bad masterpiece,\u201d and we stand by that.<\/p>\n Can technology determine whether you’ve found The One? Probably not, but in the latest from writer-director Christos Nikou, an institute run by Duncan (Luke Wilson) claims that it has found the formula for true love anyway\u2014and Anna (Jessie Buckley) wants to figure out if it’s real. The institute, you see, has determined that Anna and her boyfriend Ryan (Jeremy Allen White) are a match, but has doubts. While working at the institute, though, she meets Amir (Riz Ahmed) and finds someone who actually might be her match.<\/p>\n Remember Sing Street<\/em>, that charming indie about a kid in Dublin who starts a band as an escape from his complicated home life? What about Once<\/em>, that charming indie about a pair that spends a week in Dublin writing songs about their love? If you enjoyed either of those\u2014or if they just sound<\/em> like something you might enjoy\u2014let us suggest Flora and Son<\/em>, a charming indie about a mother in Dublin trying to connect with her son through song. Like Sing Street<\/em> and Once<\/em>, Flora and Son<\/em> comes from director John Carney and has all of his signature moves, plus something else: Eve Hewson, who plays the movie’s titular mom. She’s a force, and she hits all of her musician notes perfectly. Makes sense; she’s Bono’s daughter.<\/p>\n Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry might be one of the most beloved players in American basketball\u2014and he is definitely one of the best players, if not the<\/em> best player, in the league. He has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player twice and has won four championship rings. He also has more career three-pointers than anyone in the league. But in the late aughts, he was a kid at a small school, Davidson College, just trying to live up to the potential his coaches saw in him. Underrated<\/em>, directed by Peter Nicks (Homeroom<\/em>), chronicles that journey, showing how Curry bested the predictions of his own NBA draft (many said he didn’t have the size necessary for the league) to become one of the greatest to ever play the game. For basketball fans, it’s a must-watch.<\/p>\n In 1985, Michael J. Fox was one of Hollywood\u2019s biggest names as the star of a hit TV show (Family Ties<\/em>) and the year\u2019s highest-grossing movie (Back to the Future<\/em>). Just a few years later, at the age of 29, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease. In\u00a0Still<\/em>, Oscar-winning documentarian Davis Guggenheim offers a poignant portrait of Fox\u2019s personal and professional life and his journey from teen idol to advocate for a cure.<\/p>\n Mahershala Ali stars alongside, well, Mahershala Ali in this romantic-sci-fi-drama. Yes, it\u2019s all of those things. Cameron (Ali) is a loving husband (to Naomie Harris) and father who, after learning he has a terminal illness, must decide just how far he\u2019ll go to protect his family from having to know the truth, or deal with the devastating aftermath.<\/p>\n Sharper<\/em> is one of those movies where the less you know about it going in, the better. Just know that no one is what they seem or who they say they are in this neo-noir starring Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, Justice Smith, and John Lithgow. This twisty little thriller flew largely under the radar when it was released in theaters for a half-second in early 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cSundance hit starring Dakota Johnson\u201ds are almost a dime a dozen, but this one, about a young bar\/bat mitzvah party-starter is the, ahem, real deal. It also proves that Cooper Raiff\u2014who writes, directs, and stars in the movie\u2014is one to keep your eye on.<\/p>\n Yes, most people already know the story of Macbeth\u2014Scottish lord with an eye toward ruling his country\u2014but not everyone has seen it through the eyes of director Joel Coen. Shot entirely in black and white and starring Denzel Washington as Macbeth and Frances McDormand as his powerful wife, the film was nominated for three Oscars and brought a very new twist onto a classic Shakespearean tale.<\/p>\n One of the most popular video games of all time,\u00a0Tetris<\/em>\u00a0was a phenomenon for Nintendo Game Boy owners in the 1980s. But\u00a0Tetris<\/em> (the movie) is the story of the people who made the game and brought it from the Soviet Union to the rest of the world. Part historical dramedy, part espionage flick, the movie doesn\u2019t always hit its marks, but if you\u2019ve never heard the story of how\u00a0Tetris<\/em>\u00a0got out from behind the Iron Curtain, it\u2019s worth a watch.<\/p>\n Causeway<\/em>\u00a0kind of came and went when it was released in 2022, but that\u2019s also the sort of movie it is. Focused on a soldier (Jennifer Lawrence) who returns home after suffering a brain injury in Afghanistan, the film from director Lila Neugebauer is about trauma and how people lean on each other to get through it. A worthy watch for the times when you have your own stuff to work through.<\/p>\n Sidney Poitier died in 2022, the same year Apple TV released this documentary looking at the actor\u2019s long-running career\u2014In the Heat of the Night<\/em>,\u00a0Guess Who\u2019s Coming to Dinner<\/em>\u2014and his impact on American culture and politics. With interviews ranging from Spike Lee and Morgan Freeman to Harry Belafonte, the film goes beyond his time in Hollywood, starting with his upbringing in the Bahamas and ending with his massive impact on the civil rights movement and elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
CODA<\/em><\/h2>\n
F1: The Movie<\/em><\/h2>\n
Come See Me in the Good Light<\/em><\/h2>\n
The Lost Bus<\/em><\/h2>\n
Highest 2 Lowest<\/em><\/h2>\n
Bono: Stories of Surrender<\/em><\/h2>\n
Deaf President Now!<\/em><\/h2>\n
Number One on the Call Sheet<\/em><\/h2>\n
Blitz<\/em><\/h2>\n
Fly Me to the Moon<\/em><\/h2>\n
The Last of the Sea Women<\/em><\/h2>\n
The World\u2019s a Little Blurry<\/em><\/h2>\n
The Velvet Underground<\/em><\/h2>\n
Fancy Dance<\/em><\/h2>\n
Girls State<\/em><\/h2>\n
Napoleon<\/em><\/h2>\n
Killers of the Flower Moon<\/em><\/h2>\n
Fingernails<\/em><\/h2>\n
Flora and Son<\/em><\/h2>\n
Stephen Curry: Underrated<\/em><\/h2>\n
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie<\/em><\/h2>\n
Swan Song<\/em><\/h2>\n
Sharper<\/em><\/h2>\n
Cha Cha Real Smooth<\/em><\/h2>\n
The Tragedy of Macbeth<\/em><\/h2>\n
Tetris<\/em><\/h2>\n
Causeway<\/em><\/h2>\n
Sidney<\/em><\/h2>\n