June 2025’s Best Streaming Titles: Serenity, Phineas and Ferb, Fight Club, Squid Game, Vertigo, Jaws, MacGyver

I have a soft spot for this movie about a quirky relationship between a Charlie Chaplin-obsessed man and a woman suffering from mental illness (presumably schizophrenia). I watched it countless times in high school with my friends, and it’s all kinds of cute and earnest — so folks prone to cynicism beware. It also popularized The Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” which might honestly be a strike against it, depending on how you feel about the song.

Bloodsport is the film that put Jean-Claude Van Damme’s name on the map. Supposedly inspired by a true story (which is total baloney), Van Damme plays Frank Dux, an army captain who also happens to be a ninja, as he battles his way through the Kumite, an illegal martial arts competition. Make no mistake: Bloodsport is not a great movie, but it is an entertaining one, especially if you’re looking for some mindless martial arts mayhem (read my review).

Gareth Edwards’ take on the venerable Big G seems less focused on big monster smackdowns and more on building suspense and atmosphere. When I first saw it, I was a bit underwhelmed, because the whole reason you watch a Godzilla movie is for the kaiju battles. But I found the film much better and more engrossing than I remembered on a recent viewing. If nothing else, it might help erase any lingering memories of Roland Emmerich’s 1998 film.

Directed by John Sturges and inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven follows a motley group of seven gunfighters who are hired to protect the small Mexican village of Calvera from a gang of vicious bandits. Although a remake, Sturges’ film has been widely praises for its own merits, and is considered one of the greatest Western movies of all time. It certainly doesn’t hurt that it boasts a star-studded cast that includes Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Eli Wallach.

Before they blew away the box office with Top Gun: Maverick, Joseph Kosinski and Tom Cruise teamed up for this 2013 sci-fi film about the last two humans on Earth who are tasked with monitoring the planet following an alien invasion. But a shocking discovery threatens to undo everything they thought they knew. The film received mixed reviews at the time, but its visual effects were widely praised, and helped lay the foundation for series like The Mandalorian.

A group of former spies and special operatives are hired to steal a briefcase with unknown contents. It’s the sort of mission that’s bound to go smoothly without any betrayals or doubles-crosses… right? Ronin features a star-studded cast (Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Sean Bean, Jonathan Pryce) and puts them through the wringer, including some of the greatest car chase sequences in movie history.

When Firefly went off the air after just one season, the series’ fans rallied on the internet, clamoring for more. Due in part to their efforts, writer/director Joss Whedon was able to pitch a full-length feature to give his beloved sci-fi western a bit of closure (read my review). Serenity stars Nathan Fillion as Captain Malcolm Reynolds, who leads his crew of ne’er-do-wells on a mission that could bring the solar system’s totalitarian government to its knees.

Phineas and Ferb are back, just in time make some big plans for summer vacation. Plans that will almost certainly involve wild inventions, wacky adventures, wonderful musical numbers, and big sister Candace doing her darndest to bust them. Meanwhile, the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz will continue his quest to take over the entire Tri-State area — with Perry the Platypus, aka, Agent P, hot on his heels.

Ridley Scott’s original Alien was as much a horror movie as it was a sci-fi flick. But with Aliens, director James Cameron decided to throw in lots of action, as well. Set nearly 60 years after the original film, Aliens finds Ellen Ripley returning to the moon where the xenomorphs were first encountered in order to investigate why the human colony there has gone silent. Joining her are a colorful bunch of Colonial Marines, and they’ll need all of the firepower they can muster to deal with what awaits them.

Tim Burton is, to put it mildly, an eccentric director. But Big Fish finds him channelling those eccentricities into one of his most straightforward and charming movies, about a man who discovers that there might be some truth to all of his father’s tall tales. Both of Burton’s parents died in the years leading up to his work on Big Fish, which almost certainly informs its storyline and gives it some emotional heft.

In this time twisty sci-fi actioner, Tom Cruise plays a disgraced soldier who’s quickly killed while trying to defend Earth from mysterious alien invaders — only to discover that he now relives the same day over and over again. Not only does this allow him to become a super-soldier Groundhog Day-style, but it might also be the key to defeating the aliens once and for all. In the hands of a lesser cast and crew, Edge of Tomorrow’s premise could be ridiculous and boring, but that is most certainly not the case here (read my review).

This classic Adam Sandler comedy from 1996 stars Sandler as a wannabe hockey player who discovers a secret talent at playing golf — which comes in handy when he needs to save his grandmother’s house from foreclosure. Needless to say, Happy Gilmore’s unorthodox playing raises the ire of professional golfers, most notably Shooter McGavin (played with slimy glee by Christopher McDonald). Happy Gilmore also stars Carl Weathers as Happy’s one-handed coach and The Price Is Right’s Bob Barker in a truly glorious cameo.

When Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer leads his elite military rescue team into the South American jungle, their mission quickly gets complicated when it becomes clear that something’s hunting them. Something that’s not from this world. Predator is one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s classic ’80s film roles, and it still totally holds up thanks to some charismatic performances, Stan Winston’s awesome creature effects, and John McTiernan’s taut direction.

The Predator films have chronicled the vicious alien hunters’ past excursions on Earth. This adult animated anthology further explores that idea with stories set in the Viking era, feudal Japan, and World War II that pit human warriors against an inconceivably dangerous foe. The anthology is co-directed by Dan Trachtenberg as a prelude of sorts to his upcoming Predator: Badlands film.

When it was released in 1999, Fight Club generated no small amount of controversy due to its dark, seemingly nihilistic plot about a couple of guys (Edward Norton, Brad Pitt) who start an underground fight club that eventually grows into an anarchist cell. But all of the hullabaloo over the film’s darkness and violence overlooked the fact that it also made some valid points about the hollowness of consumerism and materialism (read my review). Since then, Fight Club’s reputation has grown, with some critics calling it a defining movie of the late 20th century.

Guillermo del Toro has proven himself with fantastical arthouse fare like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone. However, his adaptation of Mike Mignola’s acclaimed Hellboy comic is proof that the director is skilled at more straightforward action stuff, as well (read my review). Well, maybe “straightforward.” In Hellboy, a demonic-looking superhero and a clandestine government agency square off against Nazi occultists who want to summon extra-dimensional horrors that will bring about the end of the world.

Bong Joon-ho’s darkly comedic thriller about two South Korean families, one rich and one poor, who become inextricably linked together, was one of the most acclaimed films of 2019. Not only was it the first non-English film to win “Best Picture” at the Oscars, but it also won for best director, original screenplay, and foreign language film. Beyond America, it was the first South Korean film to win the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, which it won unanimously.

I still remember the first time I saw Spaceballs. I was in junior high at the time, and I had no idea what the movie was, but the moment I saw the “We brake for nobody” bumper sticker on Spaceball One, I knew my life would never be the same. One of the most quotable movies of all time — e.g., “I am your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate.” — Spaceballs is a true comedy classic.

When Jake and Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) learn that their old orphanage needs $5,000 to keep going, they decide to track down the members of their old blues band and put on a show to raise the money. Along the way, they’ll demolish a shopping mall, enrage a country band, take on some Nazis, and cause massive vehicular chaos across the state of Illinois. Easily one of the best Saturday Night Live films, The Blues Brothers is a true cult classic.

To keep from going stir crazy while recuperating from a broken leg, a professional photographer (James Stewart) takes to spying on his neighbors in their apartment complex, and becomes convinced that one of them’s a killer. Of course, this being an Alfred Hitchcock film, nothing’s as it appears. Rear Window was added to the United States National Film Registry in 1997.

In this classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller, a former detective (James Stewart) who’s afflicted with an acute fear of heights begins to lose his grip on reality after he falls in love with a woman who reminds him of another woman who committed suicide. Since its release in 1958, Vertigo is often considered Hitchcock’s greatest film as well as one of the greatest films of all time.

Squid Game’s second season ended on cliffhanger, with Gi-hun watching in horror as his friend Jung-bae is executed by the Front Man (read my review). Will Gi-hun and his motley crew be able to take down the terrible games once and for all? Or will this twisted competition — in which hundreds of players vie for millions of dollars through a series of deadly games until just one survivor’s left alive — continue on? Given the acclaimed series’ first two seasons, it’s safe to say that its third and final season will be bloody, twisted, and utterly thrilling.

What happens when a brash, hotshot attorney crosses paths with a down-on-his-luck father trying to make ends meet? Chaos and suspense, in this modern morality tale by director Roger Michell. Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson star as the two men, each from vastly different backgrounds and levels of privilege, who find themselves resorting to increasingly desperate measures to outsmart and outmaneuver each other.

This World War 2 film is based on the life of famous Russian sniper Vasily Zaitsev, who must battle the encroaching German army during the infamous Battle of Stalingrad. But as his reputation increases, he finds himself being used by the Russian government for propaganda purposes and caught in a cat-and-mouse game with a legendary German sniper. As with most war films, Enemy at the Gates plays fast and loose with history, but the drama between the two opposing snipers is often riveting.

This is one of those movies that I’ll pull up every now and then just because it’s so solidly made and entertaining (read my review). Based on the best-selling Tom Clancy novel about an experimental Russian submarine, and starring Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery, The Hunt for Red October is classic Cold War action/intrigue that is eminently watchable. (But what else would you expect from director John McTiernan?)

More than forty years after its release, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark remains one of the greatest action/adventure movies of all time, and introduced one of cinema’s most iconic heroes: Indiana Jones, globe-trotting Nazi-punching archaeologist extraordinaire. Heavily inspired by the serials of the ’40s and ’50s, Indy’s movie debut finds him traversing the globe to find the titular biblical artifact before Hitler’s forces do. Raiders of the Lost Ark is filled with thrilling action set pieces and culminates in a truly unforgettable showdown between the forces of good and evil (read my review).

In this harrowing adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel, a hunter discovers a bunch of drug money and decides to keep it — which puts him in the sights of a psychotic hitman (Javier Bardem, in a chilling performance). Meanwhile, the only one who might save him is an aging, world-weary sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones, also giving a fantastic performance). No Country for Old Men may not have the quirky humor that the Coen Brothers are best known for — O Brother, Where Art Thou? this most certainly is not — but its depiction of human evil and darkness is captivating and provocative in its own right (read my review).

Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow star in this delightful homage to the classic pulp sci-fi serials of the ’30s and ’40s. When some of the world’s most famous scientists are kidnapped, it’s up to the heroic Sky Captain (Law) to solve the mystery, which brings him and intrepid journalist Polly Perkins (Paltrow) into conflict with a mysterious secret society. One of the first films to be largely be shot against a blue screen, Sky Captain is filled with delightful dieselpunk-inspired visuals, like flying aircraft carriers and menacing robots.

Make yourself a White Russian and get ready to spend some time with the Dude… I’ll admit, the first time I watched The Big Lebowski, I kind of hated it. It seemed so directionless and pointless. But then I realized that it’s more about the characters and their interactions then any standard plot (though one does exist). The movie boasts a number of classic scenes, from the discussion about the importance of rugs to a discussion about nihilism. Oh, and the trippiest bowling dream sequence in cinema history.

After hearing about the brutal murder of a Kansas family, acclaimed author Truman Capote becomes fascinated by the story, and insists on traveling to Kansas to document it for his next book (which would eventually become In Cold Blood). The late Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a bravura performance as Capote, portraying the author as a charming and talented man who is not above using manipulation to achieve his own selfish goals for fame.

Nicholas Angel is London’s best cop. He’s so good, in fact, that he makes all of the other cops look bad. Which is why he gets transferred to the sleepy town of Sandford, where the crime rate is zero and nothing bad ever happens. But when locals start disappearing, Angel’s convinced something’s going on. Has Sandford gotten to him, or has he cracked the biggest case of his career? Inspired by classic buddy cop films like Lethal Weapon, Hot Fuzz is action comedy of the highest sort (read my review).

The first time I saw The Matrix was one of those moviegoing moments, where your mind is completely and thoroughly blown, and you can honestly say you’ve never seen anything like that before. In the ensuing years, the film has been copied, parodied, and whatnot to kingdom come, and the two sequels — 2003’s The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions — muddled up the mythology a bit. But there’s no denying that The Matrix is a sci-fi/action movie classic. Whoa…

Considered by some to be the first true summer blockbuster when it was released in 1975, Jaws was an absolutely massive box office success — and it put director Steven Spielberg’s name on the map. With its classic “shark” theme, shocking violence, and implacable antagonist, Jaws cast a spell over audiences. Supposedly, the film caused one unfortunate viewer to have a mental breakdown after seeing it and its stressful effects on audiences have been studied by researchers.

Kurt Russell stars as Jack Burton, a cocky, loud-mouthed trucker who finds himself in way over his head (though he won’t admit it) when he’s caught up in a war between rival Chinatown gangs, a war that soon becomes supernatural. One of John Carpenter’s best films, Big Trouble in Little China is a rowdy, hilarious ode to classic kung fu films (read my review). As Burton, Russell delivers one of his most iconic performances, with James Hong and Victor Wong stealing the show as rival Chinese sorcerers.

Now here’s a slice of prime ’90s Hollywood “so bad it’s good” cinematic fluff. In Demolition Man’s vision of the future, criminals are reprogrammed while in cryogenic stasis, leading to a utopian society. Until a psychopath breaks free, that is, and — of course — there’s only one man who can stop him. Come for the gratuitous violence and cheesy one-liners, stay for Wesley Snipes’ scene-chewing and Sylvester Stallone’s “man out of time” shtick.

When Fearless was released, it was touted as Jet Li’s final wushu (i.e., traditional martial arts) film. A loose re-telling of the life of Huo Yuanjia, a real-life martial arts master who helped defend China’s national honor in the early 20th century, Fearless easily ranks as one of Li’s best films (read my review). While it boasts some impressive combat sequences (choreographed by the legendary Yuen Woo-Ping), the film’s ultimate message of piece and forgiveness makes it more than just another martial arts epic.

Given his work with Keegan-Michael Key on the beloved sketch show Key & Peele, it would only make sense to expect Jordan Peele’s directorial debut to be a work of comedy. Instead, he delivered one of the most acclaimed horror films in recent memory. After a young Black man meets his white girlfriend’s upper-class family, he begins to notice strange behavior and soon finds himself caught up in a nefarious conspiracy. Get Out was a commercial and critical success, winning a “Best Original Screenplay” Oscar for Peele.

Coming after the brilliance that was Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown seemed pretty reserved, even underwhelming. Tarantino’s adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch is arguably his most understated film, but it features the absolutely dynamite pairing of Robert Forster as a world weary bail bondsman and blaxploitation queen Pam Grier as the titular stewardess who sets out to double-cross a violent gun runner.

Throughout the mid-to-late ’80s, there was no TV hero cooler than MacGyver. Played by Richard Dean Anderson, the mononymic hero eschewed guns and violence as he went about his secret agent duties for the Phoenix Foundation. Instead, he devised ingenious ways to escape danger, capture the bad guys — and woo the occasional love interest — with nothing more than his wits, scientific knowledge, and Swiss Army knife.

If you’re of a certain age, then just the mention of Swamps of Sadness is bound to give you some trauma. But that’s exactly why The NeverEnding Story remains a classic after all this time, blending darkness with magic and whimsy. (Though disavowed by the original author, The NeverEnding Story was a critical and commercial success in 1984.) And it doesn’t hurt to have a flying luck dragon on your side, either.