Usually, a good movie and great performances go hand-in-hand. If you’re looking to be blown away by acting talent, look no further. Here are the best movies and show featuring great acting.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Actor: Agustín Almodóvar, Alfonso Vallejo, Antonio Banderas, Bibiana Fernandez, Carmen Maura, Eusebio Poncela, Fernando Guillén, Fernando Guillen, Fernando Guillén Cuervo, Germán Cobos, Germán Cobos, Helga Line, Lupe Barrado, Manuela Velasco, Marta Fernandez Muro, Miguel Molina, Nacho Martinez, Pedro Almodóvar, Rossy de Palma, Victoria Abril
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Between HBO's The Rehearsal and Peacock's Paul T. Goldman, it would seem that genre-bending reality-based shows are having a moment. Among the more lighthearted and enjoyable ones out there is Jury Duty, which follows a trial involving improvisational actors, save for one: Ronald Gladden, a friendly everyman who has yet to realize that everything around him, from the inane case to his oddball co-jurors, is fake. Every now and then though, thanks to the sheer ridiculousness of it all, Ronald looks like he's at the cusp of figuring it out, but the guy (bless his soul) is just too damn nice to get there.
And that's what makes Jury Duty so watchable. It finds a heart in the ever-hopeful Ronald who, as the appointed foreman, goes out of his way to help his fellow jurors. Whether that means reading a script with James Marsden (who plays a hilariously narcissistic version of himself here), building up nerdy genius Todd's confidence, or even just encouraging ol' Barbara to stay awake, he's there every step of the way. More than just laugh at Ronald's ignorance, we're also asked to look at his capacity for caring for people, which makes Jury Duty not just funny and experimental, but unexpectedly endearing as well. If you're looking for a show that's both easy and eccentric, familiar and new, then you should put this on.
Genre: Comedy, Mockumentary, Reality
Actor: Ben Seaward, Cassandra Blair, James Marsden, Kirk Fox, Maria Russell, Mekki Leeper, Pramod Kumar, Ross Kimball, Susan James Berger, Trisha LaFache, Whitney Rice
Director: Jake Szymanski
Jaane Jaan is one of those thrillers where you hope that the main characters would get away with murder. Based on the 2005 Japanese novel, the Hindi adaptation still has the cat-and-mouse dynamic between the relentless detective and math genius protecting the suspect, along with their elaborate chess-like mind games. However, the film changes a major plot point from the novel, and without spoiling too much, it turns the math teacher, now named Naren, into a less sympathetic character. Given today’s sensibilities, it’s easy to understand why the change was made. After all, just because someone’s a genius, it doesn’t mean that they’re someone to be admired. Jaane Jaan still keeps up the exciting thrills and suspense of the original novel, but in making its changes, it becomes unclear who the film is rooting for.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Actor: Jaideep Ahlawat, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Karma Takapa, Lin Laishram, Naisha Khanna, Saurabh Sachdeva, Suhita Thatte, Ujjwal Chopra, Vijay Varma
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Genre: Drama, Music
Actor: Adam Driver, Alex Karpovsky, Benjamin Pike, Bonnie Rose, Bradley Mott, Carey Mulligan, Charlotte Booker, Declan Bennett, Ethan Phillips, F. Murray Abraham, Frank Ridley, Garrett Hedlund, Helen Hong, Ian Blackman, Ian Jarvis, Jack O'Connell, Jake Ryan, James Colby, Jeanine Serralles, Jerry Grayson, John Ahlin, John Goodman, Justin Timberlake, Marcus Mumford, Max Casella, Mike Houston, Oscar Isaac, Ricardo Cordero, Roberto Lopez, Robin Bartlett, Sam Haft, Stark Sands, Stephen Payne, Steve Routman, Susan Blommaert, Sylvia Kauders
Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Huesera: The Bone Woman might not be the scariest film horror fans would see, but it does strike at the heart of the scary experience of motherhood. Through eerie sounds of breaking bones and weirdly contorted hands at the edge of beds, the film depicts new mother Valeria being haunted by the titular spirit, despite her prayer to the Virgin Mary. Valeria pleads for her husband and family to listen, though each time she does becomes proof of her faults as a mother. The terror in newcomer Natalia Solián’s face makes it all feel believable, but it’s the folk-inspired imagery of first-time feature director Michelle Garza Cervera that turns this film into a feminist masterpiece.
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Actor: Aida López, Alfonso Dosal, Emilram Cossío, Enoc Leaño, Gina Morett, Martha Claudia Moreno, Mayra Batalla, Mercedes Hernández, Natalia Solián, Pablo Guisa Koestinger, Samantha Castillo, Sonia Couoh
Director: Michelle Garza Cervera
Genre: Drama, Music
Actor: Anthony Smee, Bill Paterson, Carla Mendonça, Celia Imrie, Charles Dance, David Morrissey, David Shimwell, Delia Lindsay, Emily Watson, Grace Chatto, James Frain, Jon Rumney, Keylee Jade Flanders, Kika Mirylees, Linda Spurrier, Maggie McCarthy, Nick Haverson, Nyree Dawn Porter, Rachel Griffiths, Robert Rietti, Rupert Penry-Jones, Vernon Dobtcheff
Director: Anand Tucker
When your dad is single, and he isn’t in a relationship with someone else, naturally, a kid would wonder about their real biological mother. Hi Nanna is a take on this familiar tale, though Shouryuv’s directorial debut makes it feel brand new by telling the love story in a way a father would tell his daughter– mindful of the audience, so slightly embellished, but no less sweet. By doing so, it makes the viewers yearn for the lost love before raising our hopes and revealing the possibility of getting it back, especially with the natural chemistry of Nani and the striking Mrunal Thakur.
Genre: Drama, Family, Romance
Actor: Angad Bedi, Baby Kiara Khanna, Jayaram, Mrunal Thakur, Nani, Nassar, Neha Sharma, Priyadarshi Pullikonda, Shilpa Tulaskar, Shruti Haasan
Director: Shouryuv
With the success of Narcos, Netflix has created multiple shows about drugs in Latin America to the point that the genre is a tad oversaturated, but with Sofia Vergara heading the miniseries on the real-life cocaine queenpin, Griselda is one that you have to watch. Unlike other depictions of Blanco, Vergara’s series puts her front and center, focusing on the initial struggles it took for her to be taken seriously and the darkness that emerged once she got her way. And of course, Vergara is fantastic, sliding into the drama with an ease that makes us want to see more. While the show isn’t fully accurate, and six episodes are too short to tackle her decades-long rule, Griselda nonetheless is compelling television.
Genre: Crime, Drama
Actor: Alberto Ammann, Alberto Guerra, Christian Tappán, Juliana Aidén Martinez, Martín Rodríguez, Sofia Vergara, Vanessa Ferlito
To mere observers, a grudge can seem like just that: a grudge. Shallow, inconsequential, and probably fixable. But for those involved, the cut feels deeper and saltier, despite (or because of) its inexplicable nature. This maddening feeling is what Ryan Murphy both explores and honors in Feud, and boy does he go all in: vicious dialoge, prima donna veterans, stylish costumes, and period-accurate sets. But the real cause for celebration is the empathy he affords to both sides of the feud. There is delicious drama of course, which is what makes this as addictive and watchable as any episode of The Real Housewives, but there is also space for difficult feelings and contradictory ideals. Real archenemies can’t get enough of one another, like Crawford and Davis, and Capote and his swans. It’s that obsession that ultimately makes feuds, and Feud, utterly fascinating.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Calista Flockhart, Chloe Sevigny, Diane Lane, Naomi Watts, Tom Hollander
Genre: Drama
Actor: Audrey Wasilewski, Cory Hart, Crystle Lightning, Isabel Deroy-Olson, Jason Alan Smith, Lily Gladstone, Patrice Fisher, Ryan Begay, Shea Whigham, Tamara Podemski
Director: Erica Tremblay
Realistic, intimate, and compelling, Elena is a movie that makes you think a lot after you finish watching it. It is an inherently Russian movie, however there is something about how the story is told that makes it a universal family drama. A woman from a modest background to which she still has a lot of attachement is married to an old wealthy business man. Upon learning that the man might write her off his will, she feels pushed to get her hands dirty to honor her responsibilities towards her original family. The question of right and wrong when faced with extreme situations is at the heart of this aesthetically slow-burning family drama.
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Actor: Aleksandr Kazakov, Aleksandr Slastin, Aleksey Maslodudov, Aleksey Rozin, Anastasiya Sapozhnikova, Andrey Smirnov, Anna Gulyarenko, Dmitry Pavlenko, Ekaterina Tarkovskaya, Elena Lyadova, Igor Ogurtsov, Ivan Dobronravov, Ivan Mulin, Larisa Khalafova, Lyudmila Alexeyeva, Nadezhda Markina, Oksana Semenova, Olga Lapshina, Vasily Michkov, Vasily Zotov, Yana Lvova, Yaroslav Zhalnin, Yuriy Borisov
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Glossy and intense, Celebrity strips away the glamour of influencer life by taking the allure of fame and weaving an entrancing mystery into it at the end of every episode. A-ri's climb to the top is paralleled by the secret of her supposed death and return, which she reveals through a live stream. With a large cast, the intrigue never fully wanes as these influencers grate the nerves while contributing to their own demise. The promise of learning about everyone's secrets and finally understanding how A-ri dies keeps you at the edge of your seat, even if the influencer angle feels cliche.
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Actor: Han Eu-ddeum, Jun Hyo-seong, Jung Yoo-min, Kang Min-hyuk, Lee Chung-ah, Lee Dong-gun, Moon Tae-yu, Park Gyu-young, Park Ye-ni
Director: Kim Cheol-kyu
Genre: Drama
Actor: Amber Havard, Rob Morgan, Sarah Albright, Troy Hogan, Yolonda Ross
Director: Annie Silverstein
Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, and Ray Romano star in this true story of a big academic corruption case. Hugh Jackman is (of course) excellent as a successful and dedicated superintendent with a complicated personal life. However, when a curious student with the school journal starts digging around in a project he promotes, she uncovers what will become the largest public school embezzlement in the history of the U.S.
The performances stretch the story to its full potential, as this movie would be nothing without its incredible cast. It should be watched for the acting. Eventually, it suffers from a problem common to all movies based on newspaper articles: the story can be told in a single article.
Genre: Crime, Drama, History, TV Movie
Actor: Alex Wolff, Allison Janney, Annaleigh Ashford, Brent Langdon, Brian Sgambati, Catherine Curtin, Darlene Violette, Dina Pearlman, Doris McCarthy, Finnerty Steeves, Geraldine Viswanathan, Gino Cafarelli, Giuseppe Ardizzone, Halle Curley, Hari Dhillon, Hugh Jackman, Jeremy Shamos, Jimmy Tatro, John Scurti, Jorge Chapa, Justin Swain, Kathrine Narducci, Kayli Carter, Larry Romano, Natasha Goss, Pat Healy, Peter Appel, Rafael Casal, Ray Abruzzo, Ray Romano, Rene Ojeda, Robert 'Toshi' Kar Yuen Chan, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Stephen Spinella, Steve Routman, Victor Verhaeghe, Welker White, Will Meyers
Director: Cory Finley
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Brenda Lo, Cherie Chung, Chow Yun-fat, Danny Bak-Keung Chan, Danny Chan Bak-Keung, George Gerard, Gigi Suk Yee Wong, Gigi Wong, Huang Man, Wu Fu-Sheng, Yun-Fat Chow
Director: Mabel Cheung