2 Best Movies to Watch by Storm Reid

While this show is quite explicitly about problems faced by teenagers, it is hard to imagine a teenager watching it. While it has the coolness credentials from the A24 studio behind it as well as Drake as executive producer, it deals with some hard-hitting stuff: pornography, addiction, sexual assault, body shaming, and self-harm. To name just a few. It is visually stunning and stylish, but you certainly cannot accuse the show of sugar-coating or glossing things over. And while it's definitely consciously going for edgy, it also offers great acting from an up-and-coming cast, including a female lead played by Zendaya, a substantial script, and a sleek, diverse soundtrack. Euphoria is graphic, well-made, and in-your-face drama.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Alexa Demie, Algee Smith, Angus Cloud, Eric Dane, Hunter Schafer, Jacob Elordi, Maude Apatow, Nika King, Storm Reid, Sydney Sweeney, Zendaya

Director: Sam Levinson

Rating: TV-MA

When Big Tech and trolls have all but villainized the internet, it's hard to forget that good can come out of it sometimes. But Missing makes a case for its usefulness by making it the sole means by which an 18-year-old tries to find her missing mother. Played by Storm Reid, June Allen is endlessly creative in the digital sphere, which makes sense given she's from a generation that grew up with cutting-edge technology. She makes use of geotrackers, earth cams, and even digital watches to get ahead of the authorities, who for their part, are tied down by legalities and red tape. Missing shows us the potential of the internet, what it can do if used resourcefully and for good, and it's a refreshing take given the (understandably) many films that are fearful of tech.

Missing embraces all this newness and builds a solid thriller out of it, making it a worthy and possibly seminal entry in the screenlife genre.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Actor: Amy Landecker, Briana McLean, Dalila Ali Rajah, Daniel Henney, Danielle Nottingham, Esteban Dager, Jalil Jay Lynch, Jameel Shivji, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Javier Grajeda, Jill Remez, Jill Smith, Joaquim de Almeida, Karina Noelle Castillo, Kelly Stables, Ken Leung, Kimberly Cheng, Lisa Yamada, Mauricio Mendoza, Megan Suri, Michael Segovia, Monica Bhatnagar, Nia Long, Oscar Camacho, Rick Chambers, Roy Abramsohn, Scott Menville, Sean O'Bryan, Sharar Ali-Speakes, Storm Reid, Thomas Barbusca, Tim Griffin, Tracy Vilar, Wolfie Trausch, Zeke Alton

Director: Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick

Rating: PG-13

2 Best Movies to Watch by Storm Reid

1. Euphoria, 2020

2. Missing, 2023