Best movies on to watch on NOW (August 2020)
Your guide to the best critically acclaimed comedies, romance movies and sci-fi adventure films available right now on NOW.
When it comes to choosing a film to watch, sometimes the choice can overwhelming - there are so many different great films in a variety of genres readily available on a range of streaming platforms.
To help make that choice a little bit easier for you, we've put together a list of some of the best movies available on NOW (formerly known as NOW TV), featuring classics and modern releases in just about every possible genre.
And if you still can't find what you're looking for, we have a guide to the best Amazon movies, best Amazon series, the best Netflix movies, best Netflix series, and your guide to Disney+, which recently launched in the UK.
You can sign up for a monthly Sky Cinema pass on NOW TV for £11.99 a month - with a seven day free trial also available if you want to try it out first.
Last updated 2nd June 2020
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)
Quentin Tarantino tends to be a "love him or loathe him" type of filmmaker, and his latest effort was no exception, proving predictably divisive when it was released in the summer of 2019. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as ageing actor Rick Dalton and Brad Pitt as his friend and stunt double Cliff Booth, the film chronicles one day in Hollywood in the February of 1969 and then, crucially, one evening six months later.
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood does a tremendous job of creating a fully realised period setting, and also stars an excellent performance from Margot Robbie as real life actress Sharon Tate - it's not for everyone, but if you love Tarantino, and you love Hollywood - then this is sure to go down a treat. Watch on NOW TV
Rocketman (2019)
Throughout the years, many famous musicians have been handed the biopic treatment - so many, in fact, that the entire genre was mercilessly parodied in the 2007 film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Rocketman differs to many of these biopics in its approach, however, in that it is a bonafide all-singing, all-dancing musical - with Taron Egerton giving an electrifying performance in the lead role as Elton John.
The film charts the Your Song singer's rise to fame and his collaboration with Bernie Taupin, but also doesn't shy away from more serious topics - focusing on the star as he battles drug and alcohol addictions and comes to terms with his sexuality. Watch on NOW TV
The Favourite (2018)
A period drama like no other, Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos' latest film saw Olivia Colman bag an Oscar for her turn as Queen Anne - and that performance is just one of many things that are great about this off-kilter comedy. The film largely centres on a battle for the affections of Queen Anne between her right-hand woman Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) and newcomer to the estate -and Sarah’s cousin - Abigail (Emma Stone). As the Queen's health rapidly deteriorates, the rivalry over who serves her becomes increasingly volatile - with very interesting consequences. Watch on NOW TV
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
A whole host of the Avengers films are available on NOW TV, but it's this climatic triumph which is the pick of the bunch.
Endgame quickly became the highest grossing film of all time following it's release last year - and nearly all of the millions who flocked to see it were left satisfied about how it wrapped up an arc which had been gestating for over a decade. Including the final outings of some of the franchise's biggest stars in addition to some excellent performances from cast members who are only just getting started, the film is an ambitious, action-packed spectacle - and when, it comes down to it, it packs a huge emotional punch as well. Watch on NOW T V
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
Marielle Heller has developed a reputation for packing her films with a great degree of warmth, and that is certainly the case in this retelling of the true story of celebrity biographer, Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy). Based on Israel's 2008 confessional memoir of the same name, the films follows the writer as she aims to get her career back on track by forging letters from dead writers with the help of her eccentric friend Jack (Richard E Grant). Amongst its many virtues, the film features exceptional acting - with both McCarthy and Grant having been Oscar nominated for their performances. Watch on NOW TV
Us (2019)
When it came to following up his monumental 2017 hit Get Out, the pressure was always going to be on for Jordan Peele - but he more than delivered with this chilling doppelgänger horror movie. It focuses on a family who, while enjoying what they intended to be a relaxing vacation, find that they are being haunted by creepy figures who bear a striking resemblance to them - and who soon begin violently attacking them. As with Peele's first feature, this film serves as a socio-political allegory, while it also features an incredible dual performance - one of the best in recent memory - from Lupita Nyong'o. Watch on NOW TV
Eighth Grade (2019)
It's hard to believe that this coming-of-age drama was comedian Bo Burnham's directorial debut - it's an incredibly assured film and one which looks like it could have been made by a filmmaking veteran. Elsie Fisher stars as Kayla Day, an introverted teenager who struggles with social anxiety and frequently posts videos she's made online. As every good coming-of-age film does, Eight Grade charts Kayla's journey to self-acceptance and the discover of who she really is, while also focusing on her relationship with her kind single father - culminating in one tear-jerking scene in their back garden. Watch on NOW TV
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Unforgiven (1992)
This epic revisionist Western is often regarded as one of Clint Eastwood's finest moments - both as director and star. The films focuses on ageing outlaw William Munny, who returns for one last job - years after he seemed to have left his career as a vicious gunfighter behind. The movies frequently appears on lists of the finest films ever made and picked up four Oscars - including Best Picture and Best Director. The supporting cast also features a wealth of acting talent, including Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris. Watch on NOW TV
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Rambo: First Blood (1982)
There are now five films in the Rambo franchise - most of which you can find on NOW TV - but the original remains the best of the bunch. Starring Sylvester Stallone in the now iconic role, the film focuses on struggling Vietnam war veteran John Rambo who is wrongfully arrested following an incident in a small town and escapes into the mountains, with the town's cruel sheriff and his cronies hot on his tail. The film is one of many that were released in the '70s and '80s centring on traumatised Vietnam vets - and it remains one of the best known and most revered. Watch on NOW TV
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Notting Hill (1999)
Richard Curtis' much loved rom-com stars Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts at the very top of their game, and remains one of the most popular films in the genre - having briefly become the highest-grossing British film of all time following its 1999 release. Grant stars as bookseller William, whose life is changed when high profile American actress Anna Scott (Roberts) walks into his shop. The two quickly fall in love, but, this being a rom-com, it's not all smooth sailing, and their different social statuses cause on or two problems. Watch on NOW TV
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Groundhog Day (1990)
Bill Murray has played many iconic roles during his career and his turn as grumpy weatherman Phil Connors in Harold Ramis classic 1990 comedy is amongst the best of them. The film centres on Phil's trip to cover a small town's annual festival, which quickly goes wrong when he discovers that he has somehow ended up in a time loop that forces him to repeatedly live the same day. His only way out? Discovering the error of his ways and fixing his obnoxious, cynical attitude. Watch on NOW TV
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Wes Anderson films are extremely distinctive, and this 2001 comedy remains one of the best examples of his trademark style. Following a family of once high achievers who have fallen on harder times, having failed to deliver on their promise as child geniuses. When the family's patriarch, Royal (Gene Hackman) discovers that his ex-wife has plans to remarry, he makes one last ditch attempt to bring them all together again - by pretending that he has a terminal illness. The films features an impressive ensemble cast, including Hackman, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Danny Glover, Anjelica Huston and Bill Murray. Watch on NOW TV
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Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Aardman Animations have developed a stellar reputation for barely ever putting a foot wrong, and the first (and so far only) feature length Wallace and Gromit feature film is about as close to perfect as a family movie can be. The inventor and his trusty dog companion have started up a pest-control service, and are soon called on to solve a rabbit problem at the home of wealthy aristocrat Lady Campanula Tottington in time for the village's Giant Vegetable Competition. Things get slightly more complicated though, when a giant rabbit appears on the scene... Watch on NOW TV
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Labyrinth (1986)
Due largely to David Bowie's typically larger than life performance as the Goblin King, this film has been afforded cult status - with a huge and devoted fanbase. It tells the story of a teenager who wishes that her annoying baby brother would disappear - only for that wish to unexpectedly come true. The girl sets out to rescue her brother from the goblins who have taken him - but it's not going to be easy, as there are several strange creatures to be encountered along the way - and things aren't helped by the fact that she is racing against the clock. Watch on NOW TV
Chinatown (1974)
Regarded as one of the best American films ever made, this neo-noir mystery stars Jack Nicholson as private detective J.J. "Jake" Gittes, in what remains one of the legendary actor's most well-known roles. While investigating the husband of a wealthy socialite, Gittes comes across a shocking secret - and as he looks further into it he slowly gets drawn into a web of lies and corruption. Alongside Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston also give tremendous performances in what is correctly considered a masterpiece. Watch on NOW TV
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Psycho (1960)
You'll find an array of Hitchcock classics on NOW TV - also including Vertigo and Rear Window - and this classic of the horror genre is up there with the very best of them. Starring Anthony Perkins as cinemas most famous psychopath Norman Bates, the film shows exactly why Hitchcock was known as the Master of Suspense - and features the famous shower scene, which remains one of the most iconic sequences ever captured on film. It centres Bates' Motel, where a young woman on the run arrives to stay the night - only to be alarmed by the owner's curious relationship with his domineering mother. Watch on NOW TV
Shutter Island (2010)
Martin Scorsese's 1950s set psychodrama might not be one of his most iconic works, but its tremendous fun nonetheless, featuring an excellent lead performance from Leonardo DiCaprio, in what was his fourth collaboration with the director. It follows a US marshal, traumatised by his past, who heads to a hospital for the criminally insane on a remote island to investigate the disappearance of a woman who murdered her children - only for his suspicions to grow as he makes some alarming discoveries. Mark Ruffalo and Ben Kingsley star alongside DiCaprio. Watch on NOW TV
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
One of the most iconic Westerns of all time - Paul Newman and Robert Redford star in this tale of two notorious outlaws who are forced to abandon their spate of bank and train robberies when a gang is formed to bring them to justice. Instead, the pair make plans to escape to a new life in Bolivia, but there are numerous obstacle along the way. The film was a massive box office success upon it 1969 release, and won a quarter of Oscars - for best screenplay, best cinematography, best original song and best original score - while it was also nominated for Best Picture, losing out to Midnight Cowboy. Watch on NOW TV
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The Godfather (1972)
When it comes to lists of the greatest films ever made, The Godfather always tends to feature prominently - and with good reason. Alongside it's equally excellent sequel, Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece revolutionised the gangster genre - while also helping to make Al Pacino a household name. After the patriarch of the Corleone crime family is hospitalised, he entrusts control of his business to his three sons - the unpredictable Sonny, weak-willed Fredo, and Michael - the youngest brother, who reluctantly takes the reins but proves to be the most ruthless of them all. Watch on NOW TV
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
A classic of Hollywood's Golden Age from legendary director Billy Wilder, this film explores the darker side of Hollywood, telling the story of former star Norma Desmond - who is desperate to relive her glory days at any cost. She persuades a struggling screenwriter to pen the script that she is sure will bring about her return to fame - only for him to deceive her, taking her for his lover and ensuring that the arrangement ends in a terrible tragedy. Gloria Swanson is exceptional in the lead role as Norma Desmond, while William Holden also gives a strong performance as writer Joe Gillis. Watch on NOW TV
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Taxi Driver (1976)
The combination of Martin Scorsese's exquisite direction, Paul Schrader's excellent script and Robert De Niro's outstanding lead performance result in one of the finest and most powerful films ever made. The film follows Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle, who searches for redemption by attempting to save the soul of a New York child prostitute played by Jodie Foster. As Bickle becomes more and more disillusioned by the corruption and violence around him, as he descends further and further into depravity - culminating in an act which remains shocking to this day. Watch on NOW TV
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Halloween (1978)
The legendary slasher film from John Carpenter has spawned loads of sequels, remakes and reboots - but none of them come close to recapturing the terror of the original. The films follows homicidal masked madman Michael Myers who goes on a killing spree in his home town shortly after he is released from a 15 year prison sentence. Although a psychiatrist is quickly on his trail in a bid to stop the loss of more lives, a shy teenage girl played by Jamie Lee Curtis is unaware of the grisly fate in store for her. Watch on NOW TV
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
One of the highlights in Steven Spielberg's unrivalled filmography, Close Encounters finds its star Richard Dreyfuss on tremendous form in a sci-fi tale for the ages. It follows a man who sees a fleet of UFOs and develops an increasing fascination - driving his wife to despair. Meanwhile, another woman has a similar fixation after her son mysteriously vanishes, and a team of scientists investigates a series of strange events around the world. Eventually, they are all drawn to a mountain where aliens are about to make contact... Watch on NOW TV
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Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
Few films can bring about pure joy quite to the extent of Singin' In The Rain - not just one of the best movie musicals of all time but one of the best films full stop. The film tells of a silent-movie star's attempt to win the heart of an aspiring actress playing his romantic interest in a film- although she does not initially take kindly to this real-life romance. Gene Kelly is a delight as ever in the lead role, while co-stars Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen and Millard Mitchell are equally deserving of praise. Watch on NOW TV
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
