Paramount Pictures / Paramount
Peacock gives fans the movies they want to see, but it also quickly takes them away. Lost in Translation, Back to the Future, Arrival, both volumes of Kill Bill arrived on Peacock last month, and all of those films are gone now that April has begun. It’s not as if Peacock’s lineup for April isn’t great. The Godfather trilogy, Casino, the Spider-Man trilogy, and Hot Tub Time Machine are terrific additions. But we’ll be surprised if all of them are around when May begins.
In the meantime, here are the best movies on Peacock right now. Note that some films are only available to Peacock subscribers on the two premium tiers.
Can’t find anything you like on Peacock? Lucky for you, we’ve also curated guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, and the best movies on Amazon Prime Video.
The Godfather (1972)
Paramount Pictures
The Godfather‘s cinematic reach is immense over five decades after its release in theaters. The entire trilogy is on Peacock, but the first movie is an unmatched masterpiece that retains its power to this day. In one of his best-known roles, Marlon Brando portrays Vito Corleone, the crime boss of the Corleone crime family in the mid-40s, with Al Pacino as his youngest son, Michael Corleone.
When the film starts, Michael is intentionally outside of the family business. However, an attempt on Vito’s life forces Michael to embrace the darker aspects of his family and himself. The Corleone family will always need a Godfather, and there’s no one better suited to step up than Michael himself.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%Genre: Drama, CrimeStars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert DuvallDirector: Francis Ford CoppolaRating: RRuntime: 157 minutes
Casino (1995)
Universal Pictures
Goodfellas stars Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci reunited with director Martin Scorsese in Casino, a very different kind of crime movie. In the ’70s, Sam “Ace” Rothstein (De Niro) is sent to Las Vegas to look after the mob’s interests in Tangiers Casino and keep its illegal cash flowing back to the mafia. He even picks his best friend, Nicky Santoro (Pesci), to protect him.
Nicky and Sam are both prone to bad decisions that threaten to expose the mob and the casino to unwanted attention. Sam marries a woman named Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone), who is not only unfaithful to him but may also completely turn Nicky against him.
Rotten Tomatoes: 78%Genre: Drama, CrimeStars: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Don Rickles, Kevin PollakDirector: Martin ScorseseRating: RRuntime: 158 minutes
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
Hot Tube Time Machine‘s title may give away the premise of the movie, but it also underplays how much of the film centers around regret and second chances. In the present, Adam Yates (John Cusack) and his nephew, Jacob (Clark Duke), reunite with Adam’s friends, Lou Dorchen (Rob Corddry) and Nick Webber-Agnew (Craig Robinson), at a rundown Colorado resort where they vacationed decades earlier.
One energy-drink hot tub mishap later, all four of them find themselves transported back to 1986 just as their lives started to go wrong. Adam, Lou, and Nick appear to be in the bodies of their younger selves. But if they aren’t careful with their choices, Jacob may cease to exist, and they won’t have a future to go home to.
Rotten Tomatoes: 64%Genre: Comedy, Sci-fiStars: John Cusack, Grace Loh, John Morris, Matt MooreDirector: Steve PinkRating: RRuntime: 98 minutes
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Sony Pictures
For a long time, Spider-Man 2 was considered one of the best superhero movies ever made. It’s still pretty high on the list in our book, as the cast settles into their roles. Two years after the events of the first film, Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) starts inexplicably losing his powers. And he’s already seemingly lost the love of Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), who is engaged to marry another man. Mary Jane also suspects that Peter is Spider-Man, and she’s frustrated by the way that he keeps her at an emotional distance.
Peter’s new mentor, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), has a positive influence on him until he accidentally becomes Spider-Man’s latest nemesis, Doctor Octopus. And Doc Ock’s reign of terror not only threatens Peter’s life, but Mary Jane’s as well.
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%Genre: Superhero, ActionStars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary HarrisDirector: Sam RaimiRating: PG-13Runtime: 127 minutes
Oppenheimer (2023)
Universal Pictures
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer may be the director’s best film to date, and it walked away with Best Picture at this year’s Oscars. Cillian Murphy stars as J. Robert Oppenheimer, and the film explores his life in non-chronological order. As a young man, Oppenheimer becomes a pioneer in the realm of quantum physics before World War II makes him realize that Germany will weaponize nuclear fusion unless America beats it to the punch.
Oppenheimer’s difficult relationships with his lover, Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh), and his wife, Kitty Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt), are also explored before he leads the Manhattan Project in building the first Atomic Bomb. In flash-forwards, former Navy Rear Admiral Lewis Strauss (Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr.) develops a vendetta against Oppenheimer as he does everything he can to discredit and tarnish his legacy.
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%Genre: DramaStars: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence PughDirector: Christopher NolanRating: RRuntime: 160 minutes
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Lionsgate
3:10 to Yuma is the second adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s story, and director James Mangold was up to the task of updating this Western tale. In 1884, a rancher named Dan Evans (Christian Bale) has the misfortune of being robbed of his horses by Ben Wade (Russell Crowe). Although Ben spares Dan’s life, he leaves him desperate for money.
When Ben is arrested, Dan accepts a significant payment to join the posse who are supposed to deliver their prisoner to the train referenced in the title of this movie. However, a lot of people want Ben dead before he can get there, and he won’t stop trying to get away.
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%Genre: WesternStars: Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Peter Fonda, Gretchen Mol, Ben FosterDirector: James MangoldRating: RRuntime: 122 minutes
Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled private detective, Philip Marlowe, isn’t exactly in vogue anymore. But the classics never truly go out of style. In the 1975 adaptation of Chandler’s Farewell, My Lovely, Robert Mitchum steps into the role of Philip as he finds himself in the midst of two difficult cases that may be related.
In the first, a bank robber named Moose Malloy (Jack O’Halloran) hires Phillip to find his missing girlfriend, Velma (Charlotte Rampling). In the second case, Phillip is helpless to prevent the murder of his client, Lindsay Marriott (John O’Leary). Not even police intimidation can keep Phillip from finding answers and solving the mystery.
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%Genre: Mystery, SuspenseStars: Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, John Ireland, Sylvia Miles, Anthony ZerbeDirector: Dick RichardsRating: RRuntime: 95 minutes
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