146 Best TV-14 Movies to Watch (Page 4)

Bollywood is the biggest film industry in the world, in terms of output. After all, the Indian film industry churns out 700-800 films per year. Because of sheer output, there are plenty of excellent hidden gems from the South Asian country, some of which we try to cover here in A Good Movie to Watch. However, for a fairly comprehensive introduction to the industry, the English-language miniseries The Romantics is a great place to start. There’s no better filmmaker to take notes from other than Yash Raj Chopra, whose media conglomerate shifted the industry for the past 50 years, so the show tackles his legacy through archival footage and interviews from India’s current roster of film stars. Footage of his films alone are already a compelling watch, but director Smriti Mundra keeps an excellent balance between these films’ personal impact, as well as the corresponding political and film history in which his works were released to. It’s an excellent introduction to the colorful and rich film history of India.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Aditya Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Uday Chopra, Yash Chopra

Director: Smriti Mundhra

Rating: TV-14

This comedy is about a girl whose family moves to the U.S. on September 2001. She grows up to excel academically but, as she asks from the shrine in her room on her first day of sophomore year, she has yet to be cool. “I want to be invited to a party with hard drugs,” she prays, “not to do them, but just to say: no cocaine for me, thanks. I’m good.”

The show is narrated by tennis legend John McEnroe who was known for his explosive temper (played recently by Shia Laboeuf in Borg vs McEnroe). It’s a genius arc because Devi is a “hothead”, exactly like McEnroe. Instead of recoiling, Devi keeps boiling over, making for a fresh and original high-school comedy.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Adam Shapiro, Cocoa Brown, Darren Barnet, Eddie Liu, Jaren Lewison, John McEnroe, Lang Fisher, Lee Rodriguez, Lily D. Moore, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Mindy Kaling, Niecy Nash, Poorna Jagannathan, Ramona Young, Richa Moorjani, Richa Shukla Moorjani, Sendhil Ramamurthy

Rating: TV-14

There's no room for glamour in this heartwrenching yet inspiring documentary of first-hand accounts from mothers who went above and beyond for their children. These days it is hard to escape fancy editing, theatrical reenactments, and law enforcement's clinical recounts in true crime productions, but these four stories inject much-needed empathy for victims. In each episode, the mothers' fight for justice and their children's safety illuminates the strength of a community, the goodwill of strangers, and the perseverance of all (with or without the help of the law). Straightforward and respectful, these first-hand accounts will appeal to viewers wanting humane narratives and a few happy endings. 

Genre: Documentary

Rating: TV-14

Life should be difficult for Charlie Spring, an openly gay student in an all-boys high school. And it is, to be sure—he's mocked, ridiculed, and at times literally shoved to the sidelines. But Hearstopper doesn't just dwell on misery; rather, it shows us the many colors, the multifaceted wonders, of Charlie's life. His friends, family, and newfound crush, Nick, help keep him afloat in the murky waters of teenhood.

Like the show itself, Charlie and Nick are insistently sweet and charming, which can feel bold in a world that is driven by so much cynicism and hate. It's this glowing sensitivity, coupled with the show's inclusive characters and levelheaded insight, that make Hearstopper a heartwarmingly good watch. 

Genre: Drama

Actor: Kit Connor, William Gao, Yasmin Finney

Rating: TV-14

In a world acclimated to the technological advancements and integration of AI, Sudo Hikaru offers illegal medical procedures in the hopes of finding the people behind his mother's stolen data. The Gene of AI takes an interestingly neutral tone towards the integration of humanoids among the population (akin to our current normal with social media and smartphones). Even as the question of ethics and legality weaves through everyday conversations, the idea of AI being inherently bad is never the conclusion. So far, the narrative follows a procedural format that feeds each new case/scenario back into Hikaru's search. 

With a small primary cast and a heavy hand on CGI (which feels deliberate given how the show discusses the human-technology relationship), the show has the potential to deliver a memorable narrative in the transhumanism genre.

Genre: Animation, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Mutsuki Iwanaka, Natsumi Takamori, Takeo Otsuka, Yume Miyamoto

Rating: TV-14

If you have the patience to get through its rocky first season, Star Trek: Lower Decks proves itself to be an adult animated series that's deeply committed to getting significantly better with every season. What started as a sort of budget Rick and Morty riff with grating humor and stiff animation has turned into an effortlessly witty sci-fi show with plenty of life in the way it moves. It's still mostly concerned with having silly little adventures at the end of the day, but what's striking is how complete its adventures and sci-fi ideas are in the span of its 20- to 30-minute episodes.

And as it's found its footing, Lower Decks has also gained the confidence to begin telling more overarching stories by its fourth season, with an even stronger focus on character. These kinds of animated comedies could easily avoid any profound development for its protagonists—and this show doesn't exactly have the most deeply-written crew members in Trek history—but there's real heart in how the lower decks crew reflect on the modesty of their stations and how they view themselves within a larger institution. If it doesn't seem too groundbreaking, that's part of the appeal too; smaller stories still deserve to be told.

Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Dawnn Lewis, Eugene Cordero, Fred Tatasciore, Gillian Vigman, Jack Quaid, Jerry O'Connell, Noël Wells, Tawny Newsome

Rating: TV-14

The episodes of Midnight Diner are just as heartwarming and assorted as the dishes the restauranteur known only as Master prepares for his customers. Much like short stories, they each have their standalone arc and specific conflict, but they all share the same connection: they take place in this diner, which is open only from midnight until early morning, and they follow the lives of everyday Tokyo citizens. There's a broadcaster who seeks the warmth of tan-men after a busy day of work, a has-been comedian who steals his rival comic's corndog, and a realtor who orders pork cutlets to win over lovers. They are mundane and relatable stories told with gentleness and depth, and ingeniously, they all go back to the dish of the day served at Master's diner. For his part, Master helps these characters figure out more than just their orders by doling out advice in his own stoic yet sage way. 

It's sort of like miso soup for the soul in that way; heartwarming and comforting, best served on a cold night.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Ah-sung Ko, Asako Kobayashi, Bsaku Sato, Hirofumi Arai, Joe Odagiri, Junko Miyashita, Kaoru Kobayashi, Ken Mitsuishi, Kimiko Yo, Ko A-sung, Koen Kondo, Kosuke Toyohara, Kotaro Shiga, Mamiko Itoh, Mansaku Fuwa, Mikako Tabe, Mitsuru Hirata, Reiko Kataoka, Risa Sudou, Shohei Uno, Takashi Yamanaka, Tamae Ando, Tamaki Ogawa, Toru Kazama, Toshiki Ayata, Yoshinori Okada, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Yuma Yamoto, Yutaka Matsushige

Rating: TV-14

While live-action manga adaptations are known to have a bad rap, Netflix’s Trillion Game is quite entertaining. Striving to earn a million, maybe even a trillion dollars, is something that many people aspire to do, but the way Haru and the team do it is so unexpected. Ren Maguro keeps a great balance between Haru’s unpredictable yet charismatic nature, while Hayato Sano keeps the shyness of Gaku endearing. They go into the most random situations such as winning millions of yen in investments, going into a hacking tournament, and faking an AI. Is this really how aspiring trillionaires succeed? Maybe not, though they do teach some start-up strategies. But, it’s definitely still a fun ride as Haru bluffs his way into ballsy situations for Gaku to solve through computer engineering.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Hayato Sano, Jun Kunimura, Kanako Momota, Kenjiro Tsuda, Kimiko Yo, Koji Kikkawa, Mio Imada, Ren Meguro, Riko Fukumoto, Ryosuke Sota, Takashi Tsukamoto, Terunosuke Takezai, Tomoya Maeno

Director: Kenta Tanaka, Kentarō Takemura, Murao Yoshiaki

Rating: TV-14

Stills and synopses of The Summer I Turned Pretty make it seem like typical teenage fluff. It isn't. Sure, it starts off cheesy and predictable, but it quickly blossoms into something rich and earnest and far more significant than the sum of its parts. The love triangle is merely a jumping-off point to better understand these flawed characters and the people around them. Outside of Belly's coming-of-age journey, there is her brother who encounters a rude awakening on race and class, and their mother who, fresh from a divorce, attempts to establish an identity of her own. Everyone has their own thing going on in this series, so it's easy to feel invested in their fleshed-out failures and triumphs. 

It also feels authentically young; the music sounds like it was curated by an actual teenager, while the performances are raw and believable, not stilted and forced as it often is with teen series. The Summer I Turned Pretty is familiar, but comfortingly so. Watch this if you're yearning to re-live the magical, heartbreaking feeling of being young and in love for the first time. 

Genre: Drama

Actor: Alfredo Narciso, Gavin Casalegno, Jackie Chung, Minnie Mills, Rachel Blanchard, Sean Kaufman, Summer Madison

Rating: TV-14

In a TV age where dark comedies and slick satires are all the rage, The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is refreshingly light, good-hearted fun. Its humor leans on the surreal, silly, and slapstick, but it doesn’t necessarily sacrifice smarts for a laugh. Here, the legendary robber is reimagined as a reluctant criminal who is more interested in knitting and doing his friends good, a rather sweet fool who unwittingly stands at the opposite end of toxic masculinity. There are jokes about equal pay and light commentaries on class inequality (Turpin and his so-called Essex Gang want to only rob the inordinately wealthy), and you’d think it was all too much, but the show achieves a confident, balanced tone that’s hard to question.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy

Actor: Ellie White, Hugh Bonneville, Marc Wootton, Mark Heap, Michael Fielding, Noel Fielding, Samuel Leakey

Rating: TV-14