567 Best Easy Movies to Watch (Page 23)

Entergalactic, a vibrant animated romcom from the mind of musician Kid Cudi, follows new neighbors Jabari (Cudi) and Meadow (Jessica Williams) as they navigate their way through the ups and downs of modern love. They’re both established artists at the height of their careers, but when it comes to romance, they’re still scraping for lessons, which they mostly get from equally clueless but funny friends.

Featuring songs from Cudi’s latest record of the same name, Entergalactic doubles as a visual album that comes to life with every beat and movement. It also stars many familiar names, among them Timothée Chalamet, Vanessa Hudgens, Ty Dolla $ign, Jaden Smith, and Macaulay Culkin.

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance

Actor: 070 Shake, Arturo Castro, Bill Lobley, Christopher Abbott, Fawn Stone, Francesca Reale, Ian Edelman, Jaden Smith, Jessica Williams, Keith David, Kenya Barris, Kid Cudi, Laura Harrier, Luis Guzman, Macaulay Culkin, Meryl Streep, Montego Glover, Teyana Taylor, Timothée Chalamet, Ty Dolla Sign, Vanessa Hudgens

Director: Fletcher Moules

Rating: TV-MA

Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and John Hawkes (The Sessions) star in this easy road drama about a father who tries to rekindle with his son. After the mother passes away, they try to execute her dying wishes of spreading her ashes in her home country of Ireland. The son, Lerman's character, is freshly released from jail and accepts to take the trip on the one condition that he never sees his father again. This premise makes for a fun mix between a family drama and an adventure movie. Both characters have a lot to discover in Ireland: about the country, each other, and themselves.

Genre: Adventure, Drama

Actor: Aine Ni Mhuiri, Amy De Bhrún, Andrea Irvine, Aoibhin Murphy, David Grant Wright, Denis Conway, Des Keogh, Emily Berry, Jack McEvoy, Joan Sheehy, John Hawkes, Lalor Roddy, Logan Lerman, Marion O'Dwyer, Mary McEvoy, Noella Brennan, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Sarah Bolger, Sean Mahon, Shaw Jones, Steven Blount, Zylan Brooks

Director: Elfar Adalsteins

Rating: Not Rated

The Beatles ‘64 zeroes in on a precise moment in The Beatles timeline: their American debut, which propelled them from English boyband to Global sensation. Since their appearance in The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, they’ve been on a nonstop upward trajectory to success. The documentary, co-produced by Martin Scorsese, explores why that is by expanding their two-week trip in the US into food for thought: why did they blow up the way they did? Was it because the country was in shambles and needed an escape? Was it because developments in tech and media unwittingly jumpstarted the fandom/parasocial craze? The documentary considers all this by having historians, experts, music icons, and even fans weigh in. In that sense, it can be all over the place, but the music and the pristine, restored clips of interviews with the Beatles and their performances onstage make it a worthwhile watch.

Genre: Documentary, Music

Actor: David Lynch, Ed Sullivan, George Harrison, John Lennon, Leonard Bernstein, Little Richard, Martin Scorsese, Muhammad Ali, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Ronald Isley, Ronnie Spector, Smokey Robinson, Yoko Ono

Director: David Tedeschi

Rating: R

Much sweeter and much more bittersweet than one might expect, World's Best does some deceptively clever things with its major themes of math and rap. Somehow, this pre-teen coming-of-age story finds a way to play with preconceived notions of equations always resulting in certain answers, and of modern hip hop being all about swagger and status. Unsurprisingly (or maybe disappointingly for some), the film ultimately touches on grief and loss, which an increasing number of Disney films have been doing as of late. But World's Best keeps itself fresh through its sincere, energetic tone, colorful production design, and spirited performances by Utkarsh Ambudkar and the young Manny Magnus. So even when the rapping gets corny (which it does more often than it should), the spirit behind it is so endearing that it's hard to be mad.

Genre: Comedy, Family, Music

Actor: Chris River, Christopher Jackson, Dorian Giordano, Doug E. Fresh, Jake Choi, Jordan Heron, Jorja Rae Inksetter Lardy, Karan Soni, Kathryn Greenwood, Kayla Njeri, Manny Magnus, Max Malas, Maya McNair, Neil Crone, Noah Lamanna, Piper Wallace, Punam Patel, Robyn Matuto, Sathya Sridharan, Tricia Black, Utkarsh Ambudkar

Director: Roshan Sethi

Rating: PG

Based on the rumors, When Frank Met Carlitos is a fun reimagination of how the meeting between Carlos Gardel and Frank Sinatra went. While the meeting is entirely fictional, it’s an interesting what-if scenario, as the real-life Sinatra went into music because of American singer Bing Crosby, who in turn, was notably inspired by Gardel, the Il Muto. Split between their languages, Gardel and Sinatra still have a shared understanding, piecing together each other’s thoughts through shared loan words, and imparting knowledge through dramatic song. As the fictionalized versions of the best singers from the American continent interact, the TV special seems like a send-off from a wiser generation to their younger counterparts.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music

Actor: Antonella Misenti, Oscar Lajad, Pablo Turturiello

Director: Natalia del Castillo

In the world of excavation and wonderous breakthroughs, Unknown: The Lost Pyramid is a refreshing take on archaeology by showing the discoveries of Egyptian history from native Egyptian archaeologists. Following Dr. Hawass and his mentee, Dr. Waziri, as they race against the elements of the desert, the documentary uses their passion and egos to spearhead the narrative. Thus, every step closer feels both prideful and invasive with the constant reminder that they're excavating 2000+-year-old tombs. Comprehensive explanations and illustrative cinematography illuminate the meticulous labor that goes into Egyptology.

Genre: Documentary, Drama

Actor: Afaf Wahba, Zahi Hawass

Director: Max Salomon

This slow romance is set in a Seoul bakery during the 1990s. A boy fresh out of juvenile detention and a part-time employee fall for each other while working there. For a while, their existence is joyful and quiet as they sell bread and bond. However, the Asian financial crisis of 1997 forces the bakery to close. This makes them seek different jobs away from each other. As a romance, Tune in for Love is not original but it doesn’t need to. It’s just easy and enjoyable.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Choi Jun-young, Hae-In Jung, Heo Ji-na, Hong Xa-bin, Jang Se-won, Jung Eu-gene, Jung Eugene, Jung Hae-in, Jung Ji-woo, Jung Yoo-jin, Kim Go-eun, Kim Guk-hee, Kim Hyun, Kim Kuk-hee, Na Chul, Nam Moon-chul, Nam Mun-cheol, Oh Chae-eun, Park Hae-joon, Park Hae-jun, Park Se-hyun, Shim Dal-gi, Sim Dal-gi, Song Duk-ho, Yoo Yeol

Director: Ji-woo Jung, Jung Ji-woo

When artists or musical bands make films, it’s usually a tour documentary or a biopic of some sort, where fans can go in depth with their music, their background, or anything that would explain what makes their music so great. When Talking Heads’ lead vocalist David Byrne made a film, it wasn’t about his hometown in Maryland or his birthplace in Scotland at all– Instead, it was about True Stories, compiling a series of vignettes in a fictional North Texan town. It’s a strange choice, but Byrne manages to capture the bizarre in ordinary small town America, that can get a bit surreal, but nonetheless holds a weird charm that’s excellently scored by the band. True Stories came out of nowhere, but it’s a decent watch.

Genre: Comedy, Music

Actor: Alix Elias, Annie McEnroe, Chris Frantz, David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Jo Harvey Allen, John Goodman, John Ingle, John Pritchett, Leesa Rowland, Louis Black, Matthew Posey, Scott Valentine, Spalding Gray, Swoosie Kurtz, Tina Weymouth, Tito Larriva

Director: David Byrne

Rating: PG

Charming and easy to watch, The Painting is a simple morality tale with unique animation. The film is set in an abandoned painting, whose subjects are actually conscious, living beings. They have three distinct social classes: the Toupins (fully painted), Pafinis (lacking some colors), and the Reufs (sketches). Tired of the discrimination and wanting everyone to be fully painted, three of these beings leave the painting in search of the artist. While the lesson is seemingly simple, the film delves into some existential themes and makes them easy to understand for the younger audience. The film celebrates creating one’s self in an absurd world, rather than passively accepting other people’s definitions. But what stands out most about this film are the designs. Inspired by modernist art, director Jean-François Laguionie created colorful and distinct characters whose faces diverge from the usual bug-eyed Disney/Pixar style. If you’re looking for a different animated film, this might be a good start.

Genre: Animation, Drama, Fantasy

Actor: Céline Ronté, Chloé Berthier, Jean Barney, Jean-François Laguionie, Jérémy Prévost, Jessica Monceau, Julien Bouanich, Michel Vigné, Thierry Jahn, Thomas Sagols

Director: Jean-François Laguionie

Rating: TV-PG

Jennifer Lopez believes that her latest album and its movie accompaniment, This Is Me…Now, are her magnum opus, so she gives the joint project her all. She funds, writes, produces, directs, and choreographs everything with the help of her team, which amusingly includes her lover and muse Ben Affleck. Whether or not it actually is her greatest work of all time doesn’t matter; it doesn’t even matter that people get it. What matters is that she creates it with the undivided fervor of an artist possessed with the knowledge that this is their last chance to make a mark. And it’s that energy that makes this documentary, which is a behind-the-scenes look at This Is Me…Now, so captivating. Lopez is in her element directing the movie-musical of her life. At 54 years old, she’s completely candid (sometimes, amusingly, to Affleck’s dismay) and abandons all need to conform to industry norms. She follows her heart first and her mind second, which explains why her project is as big-hearted and relatable as it is bonkers and all over the place. It’s a bit like The Disaster Artist in that way: watching Lopez’s creative chaos is far more interesting than the creation itself.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Ben Affleck, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Fat Joe, Jane Fonda, Jenifer Lewis, Jennifer Lopez, Keke Palmer, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Post Malone, Sofia Vergara, Trevor Noah

Director: Jason B. Bergh

Rating: R