When music movie coda won the 2022 Best Picture Oscar, it marks a major shift in filmmaking: a film made by a streaming service maybe won the most sought after award in Hollywood, And The service in question is not necessarily Netflix. Sneaking through the back door is Apple TV+, which has quietly produced a compelling library of star-studded blockbusters and small-scale wins since its launch in 2019.

Scheduled for release this year is by Martin Scorsese Flower Moon Killerjust wowed audiences at Cannes – and was called “extraordinary” by our critic Clarisse Loughrey – as well as Ridley Scott’s historical epic Napoleonstarring Joaquin Phoenix.

But until then, there’s a lot to explore on the platform (which, aesthetic-minded people should note, is the most beautiful streaming platform out there), from music documentaries by Todd Haynes to Jennifer Lawrence’s best performance you’ve probably never seen. watched. Here are 12 of our favorites…

causeway

Brian Tyree Henry received an Oscar nomination this year for his open portrayal of a grieving man in causeway, next to a career best Jennifer Lawrence. She plays an ex-soldier sent home after suffering a traumatic brain injury in Afghanistan who struggles to find her place in the world. Lawrence is phenomenal here – consider it the start of a thrilling new chapter in the Oscar winner’s career.

Cha Cha is So Smooth

This is a hilarious comedy about a childish man (writer and director Cooper Raiff) who becomes attached to a single mother (Dakota Johnson) and young daughter (Vanessa Burghardt) while trying to overcome post-college discomfort. It’s a lot of words Sunshine girl Independent school, but charming enough to do it.

Watch Cha Cha Really Smooth with a seven days free trial by AppleTV+

Cherry

This offensive Tom Holland’s harrowing pornography went down like a lead ball upon its release in 2021 – although its original material, a novel by Nico Walker, has garnered acclaim. welcome many years ago. Holland is mistaken for an addicted bank robber and Anthony and Joe Russo’s rude directing style feels a bit like someone trying to piece together a Korn video with their feet. But there’s also something fascinating about it – even the border camp.

coda

One who pleases the syrupy crowd of the highest order, coda Aim for the heart and – at least depending on your skepticism quota – almost get there. Emilia Jones plays the only hearing member of a deaf family (led by Marlee Matlin and Oscar winner Troy Kotsur) who pursue their dream of becoming a singer.

liberate, release, free

This action frenzy fell victim to Will Smith’s post-Oscar slap-wearing, but it’s still worth watching: Smith plays a 19th-century Louisiana slave who escapes from his captors, in a The film combines elements of real-life history with explosions, gunfire, and Hollywood spectacles.

Watch Emancipation with a seven days free trial by AppleTV+

Selena Gomez: My mind and I

This incredibly intimate documentary marks filmmaker Alek Keshishian’s return to pop star docuseries 30 years after he defined the genre with Madonna’s film. It’s challenging. His subject here is Selena Gomez, who graduated from a famous Disney kid to an international pop star while enduring a number of psychological and career traumas. This is an honest, haunting work.

Watch Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me seven days free trial by AppleTV+

sharper

Told with elegant textures, sharper is a two-hour game of hand building spirals. Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan and Justice Smith are among those involved in an elaborate scam involving one of New York’s richest men (played by John Lithgow).

Watch Sharper a seven days free trial by AppleTV+

Still: A Michael J Fox movie

Michael J Fox’s sheer likability fueled this moving documentary about his life, career, and Parkinson’s diagnosis in 1998, which severely impacted his ability to act on the screen. his photo but has led to decades of support. Director Davis Guggenheim explores Fox’s past through a series of archival footage and reveals Fox of today as someone who embodies a powerful blend of grief, gratitude, and sweet optimism.

Watch Still: A Michael J Fox Movie seven days free trial by AppleTV+

jigsaw puzzle

Inexplicably, this look at the making of the beloved eighties video game is part heist and part epic action movie. Director Jon S Baird reveals the game’s plot through Taron Egerton screaming in the boardroom and then screaming during high-speed car chases – it’s up to you if you want to google it to what extent after the credits are issued.

look at the puzzle a seven days free trial by AppleTV+

Macbeth’s Tragedy

Denzel Washington features a house falling apart in this strange and visually sparse role Macbeth, which Joel Coen (working without his brother Ethan for the first time) is filled with nightmarish images and sharp black and white photos. Frances McDormand is Lady Macbeth, but it’s theater veteran Kathryn Hunter – playing all three weird sisters – who steals the show.

Watch Macbeth’s Trading Game a seven days free trial by AppleTV+

underground velvet

Todd Haynes’ documentary explores the quasi-supernatural origins of creativity and madness that evoked The Velvet Underground in 1960s New York. It’s also a film that avoids the blind cult of idols. its subjects — from the capricious Nico to the notoriously miserable Lou Reed — and frame them as reality. Specifically the absolute geniuses who probably worked hard to be around. But when the material is so good, does it matter?

Watch The Velvet Underground a seven days free trial by AppleTV+

werewolves

Filmmaker Tomm Moore has long cornered the market on beautifully animated stories brimming with magic and Irish folklore. werewolves is his follow to Kells’ Secret And song of the seaand involves a fledgling wolf hunter befriending a mysterious girl in the woods outside of Kilkenny.

Watch Werewolf a seven days free trial by AppleTV+

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