It’s Labor Day weekend, and we all know what that means. It's time to soak up the last of the summer sun and find some great movies to stream.
But how do you decide which ones are worth your time? If your to-watch list is looking a little dry or you feel like you’ve scrolled through all your streaming subscriptions and come up empty, we’re here to help. Here are seven movies that have only just become available to stream or download, along with where you can watch them.
For more recommendations, see our full list of 7 new movies and TV shows to watch this weekend on Netflix, Prime Video and other great streaming services. Or check out these new-to-Netflix movies that scored an impressive 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline (Hulu)
With a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a thriller involving eight Texas ecoactivists — you guessed it — attempting to blow up a pipeline to disrupt the trade in crude oil.
It’s essentially an ecological take on the heist movie, as the activists juggle evading the FBI with their own internal disputes and struggles. It’s a bit like if Oceans Eleven were remade with climate change rather than wealth at the heart of the movie.
Streaming now on Hulu
Don’t Worry Darling (Netflix)
Technically this one isn’t exactly new — it has been on Max since its release last September — but its sudden arrival on Netflix is great news for those without Max.
It’s a mystery thriller starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles (yes, that one) which seems to have neatly divided critics and viewers. The former give the movie a modest 38% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, while 74% of the audience votes give it the thumbs up.
Now that it's on Netflix, you can decide for yourself. Set in the 1950s, the plot concerns Alice and her husband Jack’s move to the company town of Victory which despite seeming idyllic on the surface, appears to hide something sinister underneath.
Streaming now on Netflix
Hypnotic (Peacock)
Another one that seems to have divided critics and viewers — with a 34%/62% split on Rotten Tomatoes — this Ben Affleck psychological thriller involves a police detective tracking down a suspect who supposedly has the power to force people to aid his crimes via the power of hypnotic suggestion.
It’s apparently a wild ride, with a plot that gets increasingly knotted with twists and turns the further in you get. It’s a movie with multiple layers, and Affleck himself believes you won’t get the most out of it until you watch it twice.
Streaming now on Peacock
Arrival (Netflix)
Arrival may not exactly be new, but it has just popped up on Netflix and it remains one of the best movies released in the last few years, with a Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of 94% (and 82% for the audience).
Even though it involves extraterrestrials arriving on Earth, this isn’t your average science-fiction story. Amy Adams stars as a linguist enlisted to try and communicate with the alien visitors, before tensions lead to all-out war.
It was widely praised on release, but despite Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Production Design and Sound Mixing, it only picked up the Best Sound Editing award.
Streaming now on Netflix
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (digital)
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hasn’t quite reached the stage in its life when it’s included as part of a streaming subscription, but you can now watch it in the comfort of your own home by buying it outright.
Set in 1944 (with a digitally de-aged Harrison Ford) and in 1969, the plot concerns Jones and his estranged goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) teaming up to try and locate two halves of a time-traveling device called the Archimedes Dial before it falls into the wrong hands.
Is the first Indiana Jones movie in 15 years worth the wait? Our Deals Editor Rory Mellon has some views on this in our “Watch or Wait” column. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny does offer plenty of cinematic spectacle that shines on the big screen,” he wrote.
“However, it’s lacking the fun factor of Indy’s previous outings, and it relies a little too much on nostalgia from the previous movies to the degree that it could alienate some fans who don’t know their Lost Ark from their Last Crusade.”
On Rotten Tomatoes, Indiana Jones 5 balancing a 69% critics rating with an 88% audience score. At least that's better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Buy digitally now on Amazon
Fences (Netflix)
Denzel Washington not only reprises his Tony award-winning Broadway role but takes the director's seat in this film adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Fences. With its highly acclaimed source material and a Hollywood legend both in front of and behind the camera, it's no surprise that Fences chalked up a slew of Oscar nominations and is sitting at a Rotten Tomatoes critics' score of 92%.
In the film, Washington stars as Troy Maxson, a disillusioned sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburg who has spent his life growing steadily bitter after racial discrimination cost him his dream of becoming a professional baseball player. A simmering tension with his wife, another brilliant role by Viola Davis, and family reaches a breaking point when his son (Jovan Adepo) is given the chance that Troy never had. Grounded by two powerhouse performances, Fences will captivate you from start to finish.
Streaming now on Netflix.
Moving on (Hulu)
The hilarious duo Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are at top form in Moving On, a dark comedy that follows two estranged friends who reconnect at the funeral of another mutual pal. Claire (Fonda) and Evelyn (Tomlin) decide to kill the widower (Malcolm McDowell) to enact revenge for the harm he caused decades earlier. As they plot and scheme, the duo comes to grips with the past and with each other.
Tomlin and Fonda have the same crackling chemistry and comedy chops that carried their show Grace and Frankie through seven seasons on Netflix. That the longtime collaborators have nailed the transition to the big screen with movies like 80 for Brady and Moving On should come as no surprise.
Streaming now on Hulu
