The option tostreammovies for free, albeit ad-supported, has changed the face of online content consumption in the last few years. While Tubi has certainly become the reigning champ with its vast catalog, other services like Plex offer a wide range of content, while Amazon Freevee has also taken a chunk out of the market, though they are being shut down soon. If you are willing to tolerate a return to commercials (you knew they would never go away), ad-supported free streaming services offer some of the best content you will find.
Pluto TVis an underrated contender in the world of free streaming. Their catalog contains an abundance of big blockbuster hits, classics, and hidden gems. Like all free streaming platforms with a plethora of content, it can be challenging to navigate their collection. To help you out, we have put together 10 of the best movies you will find on Pluto TV, considering viewers with as diverse tastes as the selection on the streaming platform.
10Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
Planes Trains and Automobiles
A man must struggle to travel home for Thanksgiving with a lovable oaf of a shower curtain ring salesman as his only companion.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles,written and directed by ’80s legend John Hughes, is a tale of two clashing personalities fighting it out during the holidays. It follows Neal Page (Steve Martin), a marketing executive, as he attempts to get to Chicago in time for Thanksgiving. His chance meeting with traveling shower-curtain salesman Del Griffith (John Candy) sets off a series of events that disrupt both plans. The two form an unlikely and tenuous bond as they slowly lean on each other to reach their destination.
One of the Best Comedies of the ’80s
The pairing of Steve Marin and John Candy under the direction of John Hughes is just too perfect for ’80s film fans to pass up. Smartly written,Planes, Trains and Automobilespresented a buddy comedy that perfectly balanced humor with heart. The fact that the film is so relatable in how it deals with the chaos of the holidays has made the feature timeless, still a laugh-out-loud classic decades after its release.
The All-Time Best 80s Movies Ever Made, Ranked
80s movies are some of the most beloved in cinema, as well as their directors. From Heathers to Back to the Future, here are the all-time best.
9Good Will Hunting (1997)
Good Will Hunting
Good Will Huntingcenters its story on the life of brilliant yet troubled Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a cleaner at MIT who is in and out of trouble with the law. After catching him solving a complex equation posed to his students, a professor decides to take a chance on the gifted mathematician. This leads the professor to stand up for WIll after being arrested and brought to court, offering the alternative of giving him a proper mathematics education instead of prison. Part of his rehabilitation comes with therapy from Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), who is also struggling with his past.
A Well-Crafted Drama
Beyond boasting phenomenal performances from Matt Damon and Robin Williams,Good Will Huntingshone as a masterfully crafted drama that opened up its characters' insecurities to craft an unforgettable tale of friendship. Authenticity was the key to the film’s success, touching on the nuances of the human condition and how things are never black and white. While deeply contemplative,Good Will Huntingalso added a touch of humor, which only further endeared audiences to the flawed characters it portrayed. The movie would also win two Oscars, includingRobin Williams taking Best Actorin a Supporting Role.
8The Usual Suspects (1995)
The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspectsweaves a criminal story of deceit around a questionable narrator, Roger “Verbal” Kint, who is being interrogated as one of the sole survivors of a massacre on a ship. Kint recounts the meeting and the deaths of the other criminals involved in the operation that would lead to the explosion which caused their deaths.
A Smartly Written Crime Thriller
The Usual Suspectsis the ideal movie to jump into and go for a ride, with its many twists, turns, and uncertainty. Told in a nonlinear and complex fashion, piecing everything together makes for an engaging experience. Yet, it is the perfect cast, smart script, and iconic scenes (such as the police line-up featured on the poster) that have made the movie the classic that it is today.
7The Wicker Man (1973)
The Wicker Man
Sergeant Howie arrives on the small Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the report of a missing child. A conservative Christian, the policeman observes the residents' frivolous sexual displays and strange pagan rituals, particularly the temptations of Willow, daughter of the island magistrate, Lord Summerisle. The more Sergeant Howie learns about the islanders' strange practices, the closer he gets to tracking down the missing child.
Sergeant Neil Howie, who holds his faith close to his heart, is dispatched to a remote village to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. Yet, when he arrives, he finds himself treated like a distasteful outsider, with the locals acting paranoid or dismissive of his presence. As he begins to spend more time on the island, he begins to discover strange rituals that are taking place that slowly drive him towards solving his case. However, the closer he gets, the more he worries about his safety as the locals start to turn on him.
A Masterpiece of Folk Horror
Don’t let Nicolas Cage’s “bee-famous” remake fool you; the original classic is pure cinematic perfection and one of the greatest entries in thebeloved folk horror genre.A murder mystery that unravels into something infinitely more sinister,The Wicker Mancrawls under the viewer’s skin, creating a sense of unease leading to its shocking conclusion. Visually lush, the movie also boasts one of the best scores of all time, making for an all-around immersive experience. 1973 may seem like a lifetime away for newer horror fans, but revisiting this classic will garner a deeper appreciation for the genre’s evolution.
6This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
This is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is a 1984 mockumentary that follows fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap, composed by real-life comedians Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, as they go on tour with a film crew that records their eccentricities. It is one of the most influential mockumentaries of all time and the source of the common saying “dial it up to eleven”.
Following the fictional metal band Spinal Tap,This Is Spinal Tapis one of those comedies that defines the term ‘cult classic.’ Viewers get the ‘behind the scenes’ look at the infamous band through their various incarnations and the events surrounding their current tour, which is not quite going as planned. A comedy of errors that pokes fun at British rock of the era,This Is Spinal Taphas become cemented in pop culture.
The Cult Favorite Mockumentary
One of the most quotable comedies ever made,This Is Spinal Taphas remained a revered cult classic for decades. Whether turning an amp up to 11 or the reveal of a tiny Stonehenge leading to an intense argument, the humor never lets up for a moment.This Is Spinal Tapis the type of movie you revisit again and again, saying your favorite lines along with the movie; having it available for free on Pluto TV is all the more reason to dive back in. The success ofmockumentaries on filmand TV owes a lot to this groundbreaking comedy.
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Ever since The Office, there have been 20 years of mockumentary television shows, and these are the best.
5Blue Ruin
Dwight Evans' lives his life as a beach vagrant. He has no contact with his sister, and his parents were murdered ten years prior. When he gets word that his parents' killer, Wade Cleland, is set to be released from prison, Dwight decides that he has nothing left to lose and sets out on a quest to avenge his parents' deaths. Dwight succeeds in killing Wade, but complications emerge when his botched getaway allows the Cleland family the opportunity to vow revenge.
Dwight Evans lives a life of solitude, living out of his vehicle, haunted by the death of his parents that disrupted his once happy life. When he learns that his parent’s killer, Wade Cleland, has been released, he decides to head to his hometown to seek revenge. An eye for an eye leads to the entire Cleland family getting involved as the tension escalates.
Jeremy Saulnier’s Early Masterpiece
Director Jeremy Saulnier would finally get the deserved recognition for his cleverly crafted tales of crime and actionwithRebel Ridgewhen it became a Netflix hit. Yet those who tuned into Saulnier’s earlier work,Blue Ruin, knew that the director presented a unique and profound talent in the genre.Blue Ruinis a masterfully crafted crime thriller with sharp visuals, a strong cast, and a gritty and realistic approach to violence. In the best sense, it’s a tense experience, and fans ofRebel Ridge(or his filmGreen Room) need to check outBlue Ruinon Pluto TV.
4Let the Right One In
Let the Right One In
Set around the apartment blocks of a small town in Stockholm in the 1980s,Let the Right One In, follows a sensitive boy named Oskar whose existence is marked by bullying and loneliness. Things change when a new neighbor moves in, a small girl who begins to protect him with her bizarre strength. Oskar becomes interested in the girl, who tells him that she is a vampire. Not believing her at first, Oskar becomes more involved in her killings as the bond between the two grows.
Coming of Age with a Vampire
The vampire genre comes and goes in popularity, but only once in a blue moon does a fresh take come along and re-invigorate audiences' bloodlust for bloodsucking horror.Let the Right Onecrafted a dark tale of a young boy befriending a vampire, drastically changing his life. Yet, the underlying dread of this friendship and how a young boy becomes an unlikely accomplice to some horrific acts make this Swedish horror film unforgettable and bleak. The movie would get an American remake, and while it is essentially shot-for-shot, the original was the film that first impacted and impressed horror fans worldwide.
3Taxi Driver (1970)
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is a mentally unstable Vietnam vet who has fallen into the job of a taxi driver in the bustling city of New York. Spending his days waxing about the filth and scum of “The City That Never Sleeps,” Travis gains a bit of optimism when he becomes infatuated with Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a campaign worker for a presidential candidate. After being rejected, Travis starts to spiral and focus his efforts on saving a young sex worker (Jodie Foster), only to find himself in a series of violent altercations.
Robert De Niro at His Most Explosive
Arguably,Taxi DriverfeaturesRobert De Niro’s most explosive and memorable performanceof his career.Paul Schrader’s script drenches itself in the dirty underbelly of New York City in a way that both shocked and entertained audiences. It has become iconic, often cited as one of the best and most influential movies of the 1970s. This is Martin Scorsese at his best, and it is a must-watch for cinephiles; it remains as impactful as it was on release.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
A mysterious gunfighter tries to work together with a bandit and a bounty hunter to find a hidden treasure. The men are forced to forge a difficult alliance as each knows only part of the location. The big problem is that none of them has any intention of sharing the wealth once they’ve found it.
Set during the American Civil War,The Good, the Bad and the Uglyrevolves around three main characters who are all searching for a stashed cache of gold: Blondie (the Good), Tuco (the Ugly), and Angel Eyes (the Bad). The three end up clashing on their path to riches, leading up to one of the most iconic showdowns in the entire Western genre.
One of the Best Westerns Ever Made
The plot of Sergio Leone’s film is far less important than the visual journey to the end.The classic Western is the poster child for the cool, stylish Westerns from Italy (Spaghetti Westerns) that dominated the 1960s and 1970s. From Clint Eastwood’s grizzly yet reserved personality as he cuts down his rivals and the beautiful cinematography depicting the lawless land, to the iconicscore by Ennio Morricone, the movie is pure perfection from start to finish.
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1The Hunt (2012)
The Hunt is a Danish drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg. It stars Mads Mikkelsen as Lucas, a kindergarten teacher whose life descends into chaos following false accusations of child abuse. The film critically examines themes of hysteria and the fragility of community judgments.
Kindergarten teacher Lewis (Mads Mikkelsen) slowly starts to rebound after a painful divorce, which causes him to lose contact with his son. Joint custody and a new relationship through work has Lewis finally seeing the world in a positive light. However,when one of his students falsely accuses him of sexual abuse, he loses everything and becomes vilified by his community. Now, Lewis must work to clear his name while dealing with death threats, assaults, and a complete breakdown of all his relationships.
Chronicling One Man’s Unjust Downfall
The Huntconcerns what’s considered the most unforgivable crime that anyone can commit.This makes its exploration of an innocent man dealing unjustly with an irredeemable label a deeply engaging drama.While thehatred from the community is understandable, as a viewer, seeing a kind and loving man’s world dissolve after finally turning his life around is harrowing.The Huntoffers Mads Mikkelsen his best, and the movie acts as a testament to his skill, which saw him become a worldwide revered star.
