If your inner drama queen is craving some stimulation and you’re looking for a movie that guarantees all the feels, we’ve got you covered. Here are the best emotionally and narratively dramatic movies and shoes to stream now.
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Actor: Asavapatr Ponpiboon, Chartchai Ketnust, Duangjai Hiransri, Gandhi Wasuvitchayagit, Nattawin Wattanagitiphat, Nutthasid Panyangarm, Ornanong Panyawong, Phakphum Romsaithong, Pradit Prasartthong, Sornchai Chatwiriyachai, Teerawat Mulvilai, Thanayut Thakoonauttaya
Director: Bhanbhassa Dhubthien, Chartchai Ketnust, Krisda Witthayakhajorndet
While investigating a gold heist in Johannesburg, Chili (S'dumo Mtshali) is jaded after an undercover operation fails spectacularly. With one chance left, he must choose between following the law and protecting the wealth of higher-ups or going against it and helping a heist crew dole out the riches to those in need. Wealth redistribution is at the heart of the film, with greed on all sides thwarting any prospects of prosperity for the city. The action-crime-thriller examines economic inequality via the lead cops trying to effect change, all while leaning into a warm visual style that shifts cameras to mirror the tensions. It's a nice touch to the average Robin Hood and "for the people" narrative, but the CGI choices and generic action scenes can get distracting at times.
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Actor: Brenda Ngxoli, Deon Lotz, Presley Chweneyagae, S'Dumo Mtshali
Director: Donovan Marsh
Built entirely around the star power of its lead performers, A Very Good Girl does, indeed, provide ample opportunities for both Kathryn Bernardo and Dolly de Leon to chew the scenery with wild abandon. But even their most campily delivered one-liners are only entertaining in the moment, as the film twists itself into increasingly complicated (and still oddly sanitized) knots to keep its thrills going. It ends with an incredibly muddled view of the kinds of violence perpetrated by the wealthy and the less fortunate, as if the studio funding the movie prevented it from becoming the bolder, edgier story it seems to want to be.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Actor: Althea Ruedas, Ana Abad-Santos, Angel Aquino, Chie Filomeno, Dolly de Leon, Donna Cariaga, Gabby Padilla, Gillian Vicencio, Iwa Moto, Jake Ejercito, Joji Vitug, Kaori Oinuma, Kathryn Bernardo
Director: Petersen Vargas
In the sea of mommy-horror films, Run Rabbit Run would float somewhere in the middle. Despite Sarah Snook's imposing commitment to playing a mother haunted by her past, the story doesn't meet her halfway with a memorable script. The dynamic between mother and daughter gets stuck in an exhausting loop of sudden bursts of anger and angst followed by glaringly quick reconciliation. Twists and scares are present as Snook's character, also named Sarah, confronts the dark and disturbing truths of her past, but it feels more mandatory than useful. The potential for transforming gripping familial tension into horror is lost in a meandering mother/daughter fight.
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Actor: Damon Herriman, Genevieve Morris, Greta Scacchi, Julia Davis, Katherine Slattery, Lily LaTorre, Michala Banas, Naomi Rukavina, Neil Melville, Sarah Snook, Trevor Jamieson
Director: Daina Reid
There's a powerful drama in here somewhere, where the toll of wrongful imprisonment tests the resolve of an Armenian repatriate, as he clings to traces of hope that he can see just beyond his prison cell window. Unfortunately, Amerikatsi constantly overstates itself through corny jokes and music choices, and it overestimates how compelling its mostly single-location narrative can be. This is a film that, for all its good intentions, relies far too heavily on fish-out-of-water quaintness and Rear Window-esque storytelling from a distance—downplaying the emotional and psychological toll of imprisonment and the violence inflicted upon other Armenians during this time. Amerikatsi doesn't really tell us much about the situation in the country at the time; it only ever tries too hard to make us feel something.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Hovik Keuchkerian, Jean-Pierre Nshanian, Michael A. Goorjian, Michael Goorjian, Mikhail Trukhin, Narine Grigoryan, Nelly Uvarova
Director: Michael A. Goorjian, Michael Goorjian
Genre: Drama
Actor: Aml Ameen, Chanté Adams, Diane Lane, Jeff Daniels, Jon Michael Hill, Lucy Liu, Sarah Jones, Tom Pelphrey, William Jackson Harper
Genre: Drama
Actor: Brian Cox, Brooklynn Prince, Che Tafari, Hank Cartwright, Ina Chang, Jason Rouse, Jeanine Jackson, Jonathan Togo, Kelly Reilly, Lowell Deo, Melanie Nicholls-King, Parker Hall, Trinity Bliss
Director: Dean Israelite
Trying to make a mostly two-hander drama with one primary location is much harder than it looks, and What If unfortunately doesn't succeed in taking on the challenge. It has a list of relationship issues that it wants to address (which, to be fair, come off as plausible sources of tension once they're finally brought up) and the performance from Alessandra de Rossi is reliably affecting. But a lack of chemistry between her and JM de Guzman—as well as a tedious first half that shows us their characters' blossoming relationship in the cheesiest ways—makes it very hard to care about them when the arguing eventually starts. Without a strong dramatic foundation, the conflict feels shallower than it should. And without a good use of setting, it all becomes tedious to watch.
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Alessandra de Rossi, Ana Abad-Santos, Chard Ocampo, JM de Guzman, Nicole Omillo
Director: Manny Palo
Many telenovelas and soap operas make a bid for the ridiculous, and in general the world is better off for it. But if a soap can't stick the landing when it tries to manufacture conflict, it just ends up becoming infuriating to watch. Such is the case with Linlang, a Filipino drama that already sets itself up weakly from the outset through the idea of cheating as a plot device, and fails to give us anything crazy enough to earn its sudden bursts of action and perpetually intrusive score. It's almost impressive how none of these characters seem to be capable of communicating with each other like adults—which can be fun in small doses, as these people leap to conclusions with full aggression at the drop of a hat. But these misunderstandings also just stretch out plot points unnecessarily, ultimately reinforcing very tired, very traditional family values.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Soap, Thriller
Actor: JM de Guzman, Kaila Estrada, Kim Chiu, Maricel Soriano, Paulo Avelino
Director: FM Reyes, Jojo Saguin
There's no doubt that this documentary on Jolly Joseph ought to be more interesting to those who are closer to the actual events of the case; it definitely has enough mystery and intrigue to be a good story. But the way it's been presented here is just too tedious for its own good, sticking to the same-old true crime devices and eventually devolving into discussion that sounds more like gossip. It's understandable that the primary suspect isn't in this film to be able to provide some sort of counter perspective, but the interviewees who do get to say their piece don't add particularly memorable insight into the circumstances surrounding these details, which can just be read up online.
Genre: Crime, Documentary
Actor: Jolly Joseph, M. S. Mathew, Remo Roy, Renji Wilson, Rojo Thomas
Director: Christo Tomy
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Actor: Angela Kovács, Edvin Ryding, Felicia Truedsson, Jakob Hultcrantz Hansson, Jakob Öhrman, Kardo Razzazi, Katarina Ewerlöf, Peter Franzén, Tintin Poggats Sarri, Tuva Novotny
Director: Richard Holm
Stilted and awkward from the beginning, the first two episodes of Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale that were watched for this review promise a rough start for a series that just doesn't have enough of its own personality. Characters and conflict are introduced in ham-fisted fashion, with this fantasy world never given enough shape to make the magic elements feel significant to the story. It's not necessarily a problem that the show functions more as a small-town crime drama—it can be interesting to have magic be so normalized in this setting—but even these hints of mystery feel obligatory, rather than motivated to explore more of its story.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Amy De Bhrún, Elaine Cassidy, Hazel Doupe, Kelly Campbell, Stephanie Levi-John, Stephen Lord, Valerie O'Connor
One would hope that, even with a premise like this, My Life with the Walter Boys could have some sort of emotional center to pin everything down, but if the first two episodes watched for this review are any indication, the series is too content playing out as an odd romantic fantasy. It's not even necessarily that this show skirts the grey area of falling for one's foster brothers; it's that all of these romantic feelings sprout up far too abruptly. It doesn't help that the rest of the series that surrounds these cliche moments of teens staring longingly at each other seems to be caught between wanting to be a serious study of grief and a typical fish-out-of-water young adult drama. In either mode the show is dull, and all its production values can't conceal how contrived so much of this story is for no reason.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Actor: Ashby Gentry, Connor Stanhope, Corey Fogelmanis, Jaylan Evans, Johnny Link, Marc Blucas, Nikki Rodriguez, Noah LaLonde, Sarah Rafferty, Zoë Soul
It would be unfair to focus only on Jagun Jagun's obvious budget limitations (relative to the blockbusters churned out from the United States), when there's clearly still much creativity at work here. Impressively lived-in production design, solid fight choreography, and a go-for-broke lead performance by Lateef Adedimeji ensure that there's always something worth looking at—not an easy feat when a movie is constantly looking for the most cost-effective ways to pull off its admittedly complex vision.
Unfortunately, the choppiness of the filmmaking here really just catches up with the movie's sincere attempts at storytelling; inconsistent sound, poor editing, and lots of awkward staging make Jagun Jagun more of a chore to watch than anything. And it doesn't help that the story they're telling—while compelling in its broad strokes of revenge, betrayal, and the endless cycle of war—often gets caught up in scenes that lack momentum. We're lucky to be able to see more African films on major streamers, but this is one that still seems to be trying to imitate an established style instead of finding its own voice.
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Actor: Bukunmi Oluwashina, Femi Adebayo, Ibrahim Yekini Itele, Lateef Adedimeji, Odunlade Adekola
Director: Adebayo Tijani, Tope Adebayo
The fourth Kandasamys installment may only appeal to viewers who've been there from the beginning, but no matter your history with the South African Indian series, The Baby really offers far too little. With unconvincing third-act drama and extremely loose connection tissue between scenes, it becomes very difficult to see what the point of all this is, unless you are truly charmed by the bickering of this dysfunctional family. Unfortunately there isn't any wit to the clashing of personalities here; these are characters who aren't even trying to get on the same page, so set in their stubborn ways that it becomes infuriating to watch them butt heads for no good reason.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Jailoshini Naidoo, Koobeshan Naidoo, Madhushan Singh, Maeshni Naicker, Mariam Bassa, Mishqah Parthiephal
Director: Jayan Moodley