Netflix is also always adding new films to its platform, with the action-comedy The Man From Toronto the latest to drop. However, while some viewers loved the John Wick-style movie, critical opinion was mixed so it doesn’t quite land a spot on our top list. Our comprehensive guide is reserved for the best of the best to make sure you enjoy whatever you select to stream. 

So if you’re looking for the best Netflix comedies to stream right now, look no further. We’ve trawled the streaming platform to select 23 of its best side-splitting movies. And rest assured, it doesn’t matter if you’re watching in the US or the UK as all of these picks are available in both locations. Ready for some giggles? Let’s get stuck in…

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The best Netflix comedies to watch right now

Jackass 4.5

Sometimes, you feel like watching a comedy with a decent plot that’s going to draw you in, make you care for the characters, and leave your cheeks hurting and your heart all warm and fuzzy. Other times, you just want to see a bunch of grown-ups willingly put themselves into uncomfortable, often painful situations and laugh at their misfortune. Enter Jackass 4.5, which pulls together deleted scenes from Jackass Forever. Johnny Knoxville, Danger Ehren, Steve-O, Dave England, Rachel Wolfson, Zach Holmes, Chris Pontius, Jasper Dolphin, Eric Manaka, Sean ‘Poopies’ McInerney, Wee Man, and Preston Lacy all feature. 

Don’t Look Up

The starry, Oscar-nominated dark comedy Don’t Look Up sees two astronomers trying to spread the message that a giant comet is going to wipe out life on Earth. Unfortunately, nobody seems to be listening. 

Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence star as astronomers Randall and Kate, while Meryl Streep is President Orlean, and Jonah Hill is her son and Chief of Staff. Mark Rylance, Timothée Chalamet, Tyler Perry, Cate Blanchett, and Ron Perlman co-star. Adam McKay directs. 

Inside

We haven’t included any of Netflix’s many stand-up comedy specials in this list of the best Netflix comedies, instead focussing on proper movies. However, Bo Burnham’s Inside falls into a very weird place of being both a comedy special, but also bordering on being a proper movie. 

Made and released during the Coronavirus pandemic, Inside is unlike anything else made across the same period. It starts off laugh-out-loud funny, with some great songs about white women’s Instagram profiles and Facetiming with your parents. However, it soon looks inward, with Burnham addressing depression and a growing discontent with the internet. We won’t spoil anything more, but the overall experience is a thought-provoking film.

The Mitchells vs. the Machines

From the producers behind Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse… need we say any more? Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s fingerprints are all over this animated movie from Gravity Falls alumni Mike Rianda. The movie follows the titular family of four (plus pug), as teenage daughter Katie (Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson) prepares to leave home for film school. She’s content to fly, but dad Rick (Danny McBride) spies a chance to mend their ailing relationship by driving her, cross-country, to her dorm room, along with mum Linda (Maya Rudolph), and brother Aaron (voiced by Rianda).

While some gags will whoosh over the heads of younger audience members, but amid the apocalyptic chaos, there’s plenty that families will relate to, from dysfunctional disagreements to screen-time addiction to irritatingly perfect neighbors. Plus, there’s a genius use of a licensed product to rival anything in The Lego Movie. When it comes to The Mitchells Vs. The Machines, everyone’s a winner.

Moxie

Moxie is actor and comedian Amy Poehler’s second time in the director’s chair. The comedy-drama follows Vivian (Hadley Robinson), a shy 16-year-old, who’s fed up with the sexist and toxic status quo at her high school and decides to take inspiration from the rebellious past of her mother (Poehler). She anonymously publishes a zine that sparks a school-wide, coming-of-rage revolution as it condemns sexism and the behavior of the school’s boys. 

There are jokes aplenty, but Moxie’s also a sweet story that, while maybe not having quite the satirical bite Poehler was after, is an uplifting, modern message. The Morning Show’s Marcia Gay Harden and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Clark Gregg also star in the Netflix release.

Deidra & Laney Rob A Train

When Deidra and Laney’s mother, a frustrated box store employee, unleashes holy hell at work and winds up behind bars it’s up to Deidra to figure a way to feed them and their younger brother. The best caper comedies are born from dire situations such as these. That’s the burning idea at the heart of this warm chuckle fest from director Sydney Freeland and screenwriter Shelby Farrell. Deidra’s (Riverdale’s Ashleigh Murray) life is upended, making her typical schemes like flipping papers for cash seem humdrum in comparison. 

Her ambitious mind now free to explore more extraordinary circumstances, the plot surges forward as she opts to loop her sister into the plan to rob not just a train, but several. What makes this such a winning pic is the sharp, snappy dialogue and its commitment to placing the story in the hands of a racially-diverse cast. Part of Netflix’s more recent foray into edgier teen content, Farrell’s script drops a slew of one-liners that make this comedy both sweet and sharp.

Set It Up

Part of Netflix’s comedy refresh, Set It Up twists every typical romcom trope into something new. Zoey Deutsch and Glen Powell star as Harper and Charlie, personal assistants to two of New York’s busiest execs, played by Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs. With no social lives, due to their hectic schedules, the underpaid and overworked duo concoct a genius plan; set their bosses up with the hopes of getting some time off. 

We’re in the midst of a romantic comedy resurgence if you hadn’t noticed, and Set it Up is one of the very best to emerge. The plot may hit along similar beats – hey, that’s what you *want* from a rom-com – yet it pushes at the boundaries, and breathes some fresh air into the formula. Powell and Deutsch have ridiculous chemistry that’s easy to champion from the minute they join forces.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

Part of ‘flix’s attempt to reboot the rom-com, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is a refreshing, lighthearted tale that revolves around the love life of one Lara Jean Covey (Lara Condor). After her older sister moves away to college, Lara Jean’s life changes when five secret love letters she had kept hidden somehow find their way into the hands of their recipients. One of the boys, Peter, enters into a fake relationship with Lara Jean – to wind up HIS ex, and to prove Lara Jean doesn’t fancy her sister’s ex. Confused? You won’t be, but you’ll love the optimism and John Hughes-esque atmosphere.

For a high school rom-com set in 2018, it’s surprisingly light on teen tech. The kids use their cell phones (obviously), but the central conceit here revolves around a surprisingly sweet one – handwritten love letters. The rest of the movie’s charm spirals off from that notion, making this a rom-com likely to leave a lasting impression.

The Edge of Seventeen

Non-Netflix original available in US/UK

Starring Hawkeye’s Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge of Seventeen follows Nadine, a high school student who struggles to see eye to eye with her mother and brother, and considers her father her only ally. Things in her life take a turn for worse, though, when her best friend, Krista, starts dating her seriously annoying sibling.

Haley Lu Richardson, Hayden Szeto, Kyra Sedgwick, Blake Jenner, and Woody Harrelson also star. Kelly Fremon Craig directs.

Bad Trip

Eric André and Lil Rel Howery star in this road trip comedy, playing two best friends traveling from Florida to New York City so one of them can confess his love for his high school crush (Michaela Conlin), all the while being chased by the other’s criminal sister (Tiffany Haddish), whose car they have stolen for the trip. The movie is filmed using hidden cameras and, like André’s previous work, there’s plenty of surreal comedy and absurd situations. Prepare to be surprised by some very funny and cringe-worthy skits.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams co-star as a pair of small-town Icelandic songwriters who go by the name Fire Saga. Clamoring for the fame and glory that comes from winning the titular music competition, they wind up representing their country through an amusing early sequence that wipes out the actual Iceland team. This hammy send-up of the Eurovision Song Contest plays like an extended Saturday Night Live skit. It manages to avoid the tedium you might expect from that setup by sharing its comedy gold throughout the cast. This isn’t JUST Ferrell’s show. 

McAdams brings much merriment via her deadpan deliveries. Yet the best laughs hail from Dan Stevens, who deftly steals the entire movie as ostentatious Russian Alexander Lemtov, keen to sabotage and save the Fire Saga duo. This spoof is ridiculous, runs long, and is responsible for far too many memes yet you’ll be laughing along merrily and thoroughly warmed by the love story at its centre. 

Always Be My Maybe

A trio of Asian American talent from Fresh Off The Boat join forces for a thoroughly refreshing love story. Ali Wong and Randall Park, who wrote and appeared in the aforementioned show respectively, co-star as childhood sweethearts who reconvene 15 years later under drastically different circumstances. The fact it’s also directed by Nahnatchka Khan, Fresh’s showrunner, is what shapes this Netflix Original into a feature that’s far better than you’d expect. 

Always Be My Maybe skirts barfy saccharine territory despite the homeliness of its story. Wong’s character, Sasha, has struck it big as a successful chef who returns home to San Francisco to help open a new restaurant while Park’s Marcus has barely moved on at all. Despite the gap in their living circumstances, the pair rekindle their relationship, and comedy hijinks ensue. The warmth of the setup hails from the deeply-explored subtleties between Sasha’s Vietnamese upbringing and Marcus’ Korean-American family (it was his mother who taught Sasha to cook, after all). Throw in a dynamite A-list cameo, truly awful rapping from Marcus’ musical troupe, and Wong on top form, there’s plenty here to enjoy.

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Someone Great

Someone Great sounds like a sentimental romantic comedy you’ve seen countless times before. Heck, even the promo and marketing materials paint it as such. But despite its vague title it’s a sweet and funny farewell, as three friends spend one last day together in New York City. Eager to shed her Jane the Virgin persona, Gina Rodriguez snags the meatiest role as Jenny, a music journalist whose 9-year relationship with Nate (Lakeith Stanfield) ends the night before she leaves for a Rolling Stone job in California.

This prompts her two besties (DeWanda Wise and Brittany Snow) to blow off their workdays to help her source tickets for a must-see show before she departs. Thankfully, the film flits to and from the love story, instead of focusing mostly on the friendships The Someone Great of the title turns out to be the friends that help her through the hardest time in her life and the person that Jenny never believes herself to be when she’s beholden to Nate. Although the movie shines when Jenny’s off-screen and Wise and Snow’s hijinks take centre stage.

Monty Python’s Life of Brian

Non-Netflix original available in US/UK

Having recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, Life of Brian still stands as one of the funniest films ever made. To prove that Holy Grail wasn’t a fluke, and eager to craft a winning follow-up, the Monty Python crew got together and gave us Life of Brian. Another period film, another set of ridiculous circumstances blended together to be as offensive as possible. This time, the focus is on a young Jewish man named Brian, who, through an unfortunate mixup, is heralded as being the Messiah. But he’s not. He’s a very naughty boy.

Razor-sharp dialogue, witty one-liners, daft slapstick scenarios; there isn’t a type of comedy that Life of Brian doesn’t wrangle into its story. This is a classic comedy which will no doubt still be topping ‘best of’ lists in another forty years.

Werewolves Within

Non-Netflix original available in UK

After proving his horror-comedy chops with 2020’s Scare Me, which starred himself, Chris Redd, and The Boys’ Aya Cash, filmmaker Josh Ruben released Werewolves Within last year – and it’s just as much of a hoot. Or should we say howl?

Featuring the likes of Harvey Guillen (What We Do In the Shadows), Anni Krueger, Milana Vayntrub, Cheyenne Jackson, and Sam Richardson, it follows forest ranger Finn, whose first few days working in a sleepy mountain town quickly become a nightmare when he and the other residents discover that a vicious creature is terrorizing the community. Due to a nasty snowstorm, hey can’t escape, or call for help… will they survive?

Dolemite Is My Name

Launching his career with raunchy standup, Eddie Murphy’s subsequent dive into family-friendly comedies didn’t exactly leave his hardcore fans pleased. When might we see the return of his no-holds-barred former self? His comeback movie, the Netflix Original Dolemite is My Name, is a damn fine start. While it might not pack quite the same R-rated punch as Raw it’s not supposed to. 

Murphy stars as Rudy Ray Moore, an entertainer desperate to strike it rich. His humble musical beginnings soon make way for his foray into the movie business, where he charts his own path as blaxploitation icon, Dolemite. In the title role, Murphy excels, stealing every scene he’s in, proving that he’s got dramatic and comedy chops. His supporting cast, including Wesley Snipes, Tituss Burgess, Craig Robinson, and Keegan-Michael Key absolutely slay. 

The Fundamentals of Caring

Based on the novel by Jonathan Evison, this buddy road trip movie walks the line between poignant drama and sharp, observational comedy perfectly. Paul Rudd stars as Ben, a failed writer who takes a wholly different approach to life after the tragic death of his son. He adopts a new livelihood as a caregiver which leads him to meet the brusque Trevor (Craig Roberts), a teen with muscular dystrophy who asks his new caregiver a simple request: to take him on a road trip. 

The duo hit the road after convincing Trevor’s mom (the brilliant, and sadly underused, Jennifer Ehle) to let them visit “The World’s Deepest Pit”. Their jaunt is of course not about the destination. It’s about the gags – and revelations – they make along the way, many of which revolve around Ben having to help Trevor pee. Selena Gomez’s achingly-hip Dot jumps in on the action, with cheeky throwaway lines oozing crush-worthy cool, giving this fun, heart-warming comedy a little added bite.

Carrie Pilby

Non-Netflix original available in US/UK

Bel Powley continues her streak of compelling performances in this criminally-underseen New York City dramedy from To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before director Susan Johnson. As the precocious Carrie, who graduated Harvard at the tender age of 19 and towers over those twice her age, Powley is, understandably, a tad bratty. Somehow her own preternatural thesp skills temper Carrie’s precociousness. While she echoes Woody Allen’s nervous Manhattanite nerds, she’s a wholly likable protagonist, a book smart woman who places her own value ahead of those in her orbit. 

The movie opens with Carrie’s therapist suggesting that she craft a five-point plan. With no friends, no partner, and few interests, the goal is for her to integrate people back into her life. So begins her journey to open herself up to a world she believes herself superior to, which, understandably yields rather amusing results. 

The Forty-Year-Old Version

Radha Blank’s own life is the inspiration for her directorial debut, The Forty Year-Old Version. She plays Radha, a woman whose biggest creative accomplishments lie nearly a decade in her past. Initially reluctant to change, she eventually snaps and decides she can’t trudge through more of the same. Emboldened, she hits up a local beat boy to support her rapping aspirations, while seeking a theatrical home for her new play. 

Movies about the creative process can feel a little inside baseball at times, yet, Blank’s debut is more inclusive. Uproariously hilarious without being alienating, the concept of trying to making it against all odds is a universal one Blank handles with aplomb. The Forty-Year Old Version is an authentic and painfully-funny dive into how we handle dissatisfaction later in life, and the endless rewards that can bring if we’re willing to be brave and change our circumstances. 

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The Lovebirds

One of 2020’s first big post-lockdown successes, The Lovebirds sees Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani play two lovebirds who are anything but. Their relationship is on the rocks and their breakup plans are interrupted by a car crash that spirals into a world of conspiracies and criminals. It’s a comedy, honest.

Following on from that climatic incident, The Lovebirds becomes pure farce, flitting between hilarious set-piece after hilarious set-piece, each designed to make you cringe and wince. 

The Eternals fans could also do a lot worse than seeking out the film. With Marvel’s cosmic caper likely to flex Nanjiani’s dramatic (and very real) muscles, this is the perfect starting point for those looking to see what he has to offer.

The Lovebirds, like so many rom-coms, revels in the chemistry between the two leads as their situation slips further and further out of their control. No spoilers here, but let’s just say you won’t see a certain form of torture coming. It also cements Nanjiani as one of the most interesting and necessary actors when it comes to modern-day relationships. A perfect double bill with The Big Sick, if you ask us. One of the best Netflix comedies you can really laugh along with.

The Prom

One of Ryan Murphy’s many, many projects over the last few years at Netflix, The Prom is a Golden Globes-nominated, star-studded musical extravaganza that combines the talents of Hollywood leading lights such as Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman in a comedy designed to bring a smile to your face.

Streep is joined by James Corden as a pair of Broadway stars fallen on hard times, perked up by a plan co-concocted by Kidman’s Angie and unemployed actor Trent (Andrew Rannells) that sees the foursome attempt to revive a schoolgirl’s prom night with her girlfriend.

What follows is a glitzy, cheesier-than-cheese romp filled with showtunes and all the trimmings of a big stage musical. The sort of scale and scope for something so niche is a Netflix hallmark at this point – and Ryan Murphy makes the most of the bigger budget with a series of showstoppers. At its heart, it’s ultimately a LGBTQ+ movie that brims with optimism and a sense of belonging. It may have divided critics, but you’ll be singing and dancing by the time the credits have rolled.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Coen brothers bring their unique style to a series of short tales told throughout the Old West. Over the course of six stories, the American frontier serves as a backdrop for a range of characters to come to the fore, to reveal their own truths about life in the American West. Sharpshooters, bank robbers, prospectors, and more lay bare their lives in these wildly different stories. 

Coen fans tend to vary wildly on which is their favourite movie from the duo – and that’s why Buster Scruggs is a winner. It steals from across their career, snagging bits and pieces from their entire repertoire, linking together the six-part anthology flick through their signature style of black comedy and compelling drama. And the cast? To die for.

The Incredible Jessica James

Another stand-out Netflix Original comedy that embraces the cliches and makes them palatable thanks in large part to its spot-on casting. Jessica Williams stars as Jessica James, a twenty-something New Yorker reeling from her split with Damon (Lakeith Stanfield, who, yes, is playing another ex-boyfriend). The movie opens as she launches back into dating, her scathing, take-no-prisoners schtick an apparent turn off from the get-go. 

Enter Boone. Chris O’Dowd trots out his loveable Bridesmaids persona again as a fellow recent dumpee who immediately hits it off with Jessica. The fun explored between this pair is the shared heartache they each experience, that’s a neat story trick that works to unite them. Williams and O’Dowd’s chemistry is terrific, and their humour infectious.

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The post Best Netflix comedies: 23 funny movies to stream right now appeared first on Game News.

We’ve done our best to predict when the new episodes might arrive on Netflix, for starters, as well as when a trailer for the new season might drop. We’re also keeping you up to date with all the confirmed casting information so far, and we’ve given you a recap of season 3 and theorized about what could be on the cards for the students of Moordale Secondary in the series’ fourth outing. So, for all that and more, keep scrolling to discover everything we know so far about Sex Education season 4.

Sex Education season 4 release date speculation  

Sex Education was renewed for season 4 in September 2021 and filming is set to begin sometime in summer 2022. Season 3 started filming in September 2020 and was released a year later, so it seems likely that season 4 will premiere next summer. Keep your eyes peeled for further updates in that department.

Sex Education season 4 trailer: When can we expect one? 

Sex Education season 3 was released in September 2021 and Netflix released the first full-length trailer two weeks before it hit the streamer. If season 4 follows the same time frame, we’ve got quite a while to wait before we get our first taste of the next installment of the show.  

Sex Education season 4 cast 

No casting information for Sex Education season 4 has been confirmed yet, but we know that Simone Ashley is definitely not returning as Olivia – Ashley joined the cast of Bridgerton for the show’s second season as leading lady Kate Sharma, and she has since confirmed that she’s swapped modern-day high school for Regency high society once and for all. 

Patricia Allison, who plays Ola, has also confirmed she “won’t be joining the team” for the new season, while Tanya Reynolds, who plays Ola’s love interest Lily, is also exiting the show. “I’m not [returning], actually, which is sad, very sad,” Reynolds told Radio Times (opens in new tab). “It’s just the natural progression of these shows – when you have such big ensemble casts and so many characters, I think you have to let a few older characters go to make way for newer ones, which is absolutely the right thing, the way it should happen.”

Ashley isn’t the only Sex Education cast member with a lot on her plate – Ncuti Gatwa, who plays Otis’ best friend Eric, was recently cast as the Doctor in Doctor Who, while Emma Mackey, who plays Maeve, has roles in upcoming movies including Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. While nothing has been said about whether or not Gatwa or Mackey are returning, it’s possible that they may have smaller roles in the next season to account for their busier schedules. 

As for who else we predict might be returning, we’re pretty sure we haven’t seen the last of the Milburns, AKA Otis, played by Asa Butterfield, and his sex therapist mother Jean, played by Gillian Anderson. There are also series regulars and Otis’ fellow students Connor Swindells (Adam), Aimee Lou Wood (Aimee), Kedar Williams-Stirling (Jackson), and Mimi Keene (Ruby).

Sex Education season 4 plot 

Warning: Sex Education season 3 spoilers ahead.

Sex Education season 3 concluded another chapter in Otis and Maeve’s will-they-won’t-they relationship – the season finale ends with the pair finally getting together before promptly parting ways, as Maeve heads off to the US for a study program over the summer. Season 4, then, will explore whether distance has made either of their hearts grow fonder.

Elsewhere in the season 3 finale, Eric and Adam break up, as Eric is struggling to be in a relationship with someone who isn’t comfortable with who they are. Plus, Jean gives birth and recovers from surgery after suffering a hemorrhage during labor. She also receives the results of the baby’s paternity test, so it’s likely that we’ll see the fall-out of that result in season 4. 

And, in a move that will probably be the biggest plot point of the new season, the students of Moordale Secondary find out that their school is being sold to developers and are told that they need to find alternative arrangements to finish their education. According to The Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab), the new season “will feature a mix of old and new faces as Sex Education moves on from the shuttered Moordale High in favor of a new school” and we can expect a “creative reset”.

Need more viewing inspiration? Check out our picks of the other best Netflix shows that are available to stream right now.

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“To everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you,” Universal tweeted (opens in new tab), though that love isn’t being felt by everyone. In fact, some cinemas in the UK have banned the trend entirely – Odeon reportedly displayed a sign warning suited viewers that they’d be turned away from the film “due to recent disturbances,” with a spokesperson for the chain telling Indy100 (opens in new tab): “Due to a small number of incidents in our cinemas over the weekend we have had to restrict access in some circumstances.” Check out the sign, and some videos of the GentleMinions trend, below.

Thoroughly entertained by this sign @ODEONCinemas and then saw a bunch of kids in suits refused entry! #gentleminions pic.twitter.com/zo7seJ5COlJuly 3, 2022

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I love being gen z. We have so much power😭💀💀🤌🏼 #tiktok #MinionsTheRiseOfGru #Minions #gentleminions pic.twitter.com/2OUarPhubjJuly 2, 2022

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better start believing it. #gentleminions pic.twitter.com/54Yo8652r3July 3, 2022

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The film had a record breaking opening weekend, grossing over $200 million worldwide, though how much of that came from teenagers in suits is a mystery. Minions 2, following on from 2015’s Minions – a prequel spin-off of the Despicable Me franchise – is an origin story for Steve Carell’s Gru, showing how he came to be in charge of his legion of tiny yellow henchmen. The first Minions film was a huge success, grossing over $1 billion. It remains to be seen if the sequel can follow in its footsteps, though, as only two films in the pandemic era have crossed the billion dollar mark at the box office so far: Spider-Man: No Way Home and Top Gun: Maverick. 

Minions 2 is in theaters now, if you feel like digging out your suits. For everything else the year has in store for us, check out our roundup of all of 2022’s major movie release dates. 

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Touted as one of the most promising line-ups in the festival’s history, this year’s slate ultimately proved a broadly solid if generally unexceptional selection, with no obvious breakout hit akin to 2019’s Parasite among the competition for the Palme d’Or. We saw a lot of films. Not all of which we had time to write about at length, but you can read our thoughts on the good, great and truly terrible that didn’t make the Total Film top 10 in our review of Cannes 2022.

As for the crème de la crème, the picks of the Palme, put these at the top of your list when they finally release in cinemas – every one is well worth your time (note: Top Gun: Maverick and Men have been omitted, despite receiving 5* reviews from TF, as both premiered and we’re reviewed by us ahead of Cannes Film Festival). Without further ado, here’s the Total Film top 10 of Cannes 2022.

Close

The movie: In provincial Belgium, a pair of 13-year-old boys find the bond they have had since childhood put to the test when a new school year starts. Embarrassed by Rémi’s neediness, Léo rejects him in favour of new alliances and pastimes. Then something happens that forces him to face up to the consequences of his actions.

Our verdict: Sensitive, graceful and impeccably restrained, Lukas Dhont’s heartbreaking story of two childhood pals drifting apart belongs to a long and noble tradition of poignant coming of agers. The way he gets us to root for and invest in his youthful characters, only to then deliver a devastatingly emotional sucker punch, is more than a tad manipulative. As with his 2018 debut feature Girl, though, this is all in the service of fostering a greater empathy for those who don’t conform and are cruelly ostracized for it.

Read our full review of Close.

Decision To Leave

The movie: After a mountain climber falls to his death, a South Korean detective interviews the dead man’s wife and finds her curiously unimpacted by the fact she has just become a widow. Suspecting foul play the cop sets out to investigate, only to develop a romantic obsession with this mysterious femme fatale that puts his own marriage at risk.

Our verdict: Hitchcock vibes abound in Park Chan-wook’s melodrama, an achingly romantic throwback to the noirs of yesteryear that infuses a contemporary crime thriller with a distinctly retro vibe. Elegant visuals, a Hermannesque score and sophisticated costumes all contribute to the nostalgic mood, while modern devices like fitness apps and Siri are playfully incorporated into its narrative. A drawn-out second half, though, does make the film feel at least 20 minutes too long.

Read our full review of Decision To Leave.

Elvis

The movie: Baz Luhrmann’s biopic of the King of Rock ’n’ Roll spans 30 years of Elvis Aaron Presley’s tragically curtailed life, from formative early encounters with gospel and rhythm & blues music to his untimely death from heart disease at the age of just 42.

Our verdict: A trad but terrifically enjoyable musical biopic with swagger to spare, and a star-making central performance from Austin Butler. Luhrmann is one of cinema’s great, sincere showmen and he tackles the Elvis story with typically exuberant aplomb, striking just the right balance of bombast and character beats. It’ll leave you all shook up.

Read our full review of Elvis.

Falcon Lake

The movie: French actor Charlotte Le Bon makes her directorial debut with this adaptation of Bastien Vivès’ bande dessinée Une Soeur, about a 13-year old Bastien and 16-year-old Chloe, who share a sexual awakening summer romance while holidaying with their families on the Manitoba beauty spot. 

Our verdict: Shot in full-frame, sun-kissed soft-focus, Le Bon’s bittersweet ode to young love is a nostalgic and effortlessly charming two-hander, with a pair of perfectly judged performances from the age-mismatched leads. Remarkably assured behind the camera, Le Bon locates gently spooky overtones that payoff with haunting consequences. Up there with The Lost Daughter and Booksmart as the best actor-turned-director debuts in recent memory.

Funny Pages

The movie: A wannabe cartoonist drops out of high school and impulsively moves to the city. Having found dirt-cheap accommodation in a sweltering basement, he strikes up a friendship with a volatile loner who used to work in comic books in the hope he will help him follow in the footsteps of his artistic heroes.

Our verdict: Directed by Owen Kline, son of actor Kevin and a protégé of the Safdie brothers, this rough-and-ready rite-of-passage comedy appears to have a direct line to the scrappy energy of early 1970s cinema. Grainy Super 16mm photography gives it a hand-made quality akin to a film school short, while an extended farcical set-piece set around a calamitous Christmas dinner ends things on a high. As funny as Funny Pages is, though, it has a sad pathos that gives every laugh a tinge of tragic despair.

Read our full review of Funny Pages.

Holy Spider

The movie: In early 2000s Iran, a former soldier turned construction worker is murdering sex workers in the belief he is doing God’s holy work. Frustrated by the authorities’ lackadaisical attitude, reporter Rahimi (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) makes it her mission to bring this opportunistic serial killer to justice.

Our verdict: Reminiscent of Zodiac, Manhunter and the 1967 film adaption of In Cold Blood, Ali Abbasi’s fact-based crime thriller is a grimly compelling procedural that starkly sets out the toxicity of zealotry fuelled by misogyny. Making a fictionalized, composite female character so central to its plotline is problematic, as are the graphic scenes depicting violence against women. For the most part, though, this is a clinical, angry slice of filmmaking that takes an entire society to task for its heartless complicity.

Read our full review of Holy Spider. 

Leila’s Brothers

The movie: Said Roustayi’s dense family drama weaves a complex tapestry of tradition and the struggle for a better life in modern day Tehran. Leila has a plan to lift her four layabout brothers out of poverty by opening a shop – easy enough if it weren’t for their stubbornly unhelpful father and Trump’s economy-tanking Tweets.

Our verdict: Possessing the ability to grip like a great stage story, and managing to whip along at pace despite clocking in at nearly 3hrs, Roustayi’s arresting way with dialogue is matched only by his colourful and believably tight-knit cast. Like a great Asghar Farhadi morality play, but funnier. 

Moonage Daydream

The movie: Part concert film, part psychedelic art installation, part elliptical account of the major stages in David Bowie’s artistic evolution, Moonage Daydream defies documentary convention to create something thrillingly unique in the space.

Our verdict: Narratively, there’s just enough of a throughline for those with even the bare minimum of background biographical info to keep up with what can generously be called a story here. But where the film really sings (literally) is the stunning remastered performance footage, remixed in multi-channel surround sound from Bowie’s original stems. It’s like hearing Bowie anew.

Read our full review of Moonage Daydream.

Return To Seoul

The movie: A young woman who was born in Korea, adopted as a child and raised by a white couple in France returns to the country of her birth to reconnect with her roots. Over a number of years she forms an attachment to the father she has never known while trying to get in touch with the mother who gave her up.

Our verdict: Low-key, naturalistic and resolutely unemphatic, Davy Shou’s portrait of cultural dislocation doesn’t set out to win the viewer’s affection any more than its heroine does. Slowly, though, it grows on you, avoiding easy epiphanies and pat resolutions in its search for a deeper meaning and resonance. As Frédérique, aka Freddie, Park Ji-min gives us a protagonist who is prickly, spiteful and generally pretty exasperating. That we end up falling for her regardless is a testament to the film’s capacity to beguile.

Triangle Of Sadness

The movie: A glamorous social influencer and her model boyfriend are offered a free cruise on a luxury yacht. Their fellow passengers are a rogue’s gallery of Russian oligarchs, arms dealers and tech nerds. When the ship capsizes and they are stranded on a desert island, though, wealth and privilege count for nothing.

Our verdict: Darkly funny, narratively daring and cuttingly satirical, Ruben Östlund’s follow-up to his Palme d’Or-winning The Square is every bit as pointed as the geometrical polygon in its title. Not since Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life has so much puke been spewed in the service of comedy, while the ideological divisions between Woody Harrelson’s boozy captain, the yacht’s obsequious crew members and its pampered clientele makes it resemble nothing so much as Downton Abbey At Sea.

Read our full review of Triangle Of Sadness.

Apart from Elvis (out in the UK and US on 24 June), none of the films mentioned in this article currently have a UK or US release date. For more coverage from Cannes 2022, check out our review of Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up, through that link.

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Fans of the franchise will already know that the green guy didn’t originally have the voice he ended up with, and the Austin Powers actor has talked openly about re-recording the dialogue for the first movie before. Now, though, he’s admitted to having done so for free, and that the change was inspired, in part, by his own heritage.

“I wanted it to be good. Fairy tales were about the class system,” Myers recently told Vanity Fair (opens in new tab). “You had worker people, and then you had this people who were, for no reason, the king and queen. They weren’t elected or anything. So I always thought that ogres were working people, growing up as a working person. I tried it as a Canadian, and it just didn’t have any oomph. 

“Then I said, ‘Can I record it again as Scottish?’ Because I know fairy tales are a Eurocentric form. Scottish people are near and dear to me. I have relatives in Scotland and background in Scottish, and they’re working people. It’s a working people accent. And they went, ‘No, we like it the way it is,’  and I said, ‘Oh, come on, just let me.'”

Myers went on to say that executive producer Steven Spielberg wasn’t entirely convinced, but he eventually agreed to let him try it. Upon hearing Shrek’s new sound, the legendary Hollywood filmmaker sent Myers “a lovely letter” saying, “You’re so right, it’s way better as Scottish. Thank you so much.” 

Released way back in 2001, Shrek sees, well, Shrek strike up an unlikely friendship with a chatty donkey (Eddie Murphy), before half-heartedly embarking on a mission to save Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from the sleazy Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow), in the hopes of regaining his swamp. It spawned a whole bunch of sequels and spin-offs including Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek Forever After (2019), Puss in Boots (2011), and a few short films, too. It is believed that, accumulatively, the feature-length movies have made around $3.5 billion worldwide.

More recently, Myers has appeared in new comedy series The Pentaverate, in which he portrays a number of different characters (including Shrek). If you’re already binge-watched the whole show, check out our roundup of the best Netflix shows for some viewing inspiration. 

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The show, which is still in the early stages of development, currently has a tongue-in-cheek working title of The Best Show in the World and Hwang told Deadline that it would reflect his own experience of Squid Game’s overnight success on Netflix and being thrust into the limelight. 

And Squid Game has certainly been successful – it’s the platform’s most-watched show ever and has been streamed for more than 1.6 billion hours. It racked up 142 million views over its first 28 days of release, which bypasses all previous records held by Netflix movies and shows.

The series follows a group of people with financial struggles who are invited to take part in a mysterious survival competition with a hefty cash prize. They must compete in a series of traditional games, but with deadly twists, risking their lives for ₩45.6 billion (that’s the equivalent of around $38 million). 

Hwang is also preparing for Squid Game season 2, which is eyeing a Halloween 2024 release date. “Season 1’s success has given me an immense amount of pressure and I am having nightmares about the reception for season 2 not being so good,” he told Deadline.

While we wait for Hwang’s next project to arrive on the small screen, check out our list of the other best Netflix shows that you can stream right now.

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Plot details for the movie are being kept under wraps, but it’s been confirmed that it will be a prequel set in Europe in the ’60s. The movie will be directed by Jay Roach, whose last movie was 2019’s Bombshell, starring Robbie alongside Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron. Robbie received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the drama. 

The movie hasn’t been greenlit yet, but THR reports that insiders say it’s in active development and production is planned to begin in spring 2023. Carrie Solomon is writing the script. 

The first of the 21st Century Ocean’s Eleven movies was released in 2001 – directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney, it was a loose remake of the 1960 movie of the same name. Two sequels followed in 2004 and 2007, while an all-female spin-off, titled Ocean’s 8, followed in 2018, starring Sandra Bullock as the sister of Clooney’s character. 

Robbie has a whole host of big-name projects lined up – she’s set to star in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, which is currently filming, as well as new movies from directors Wes Anderson, Damien Chazelle, and David O. Russell, starring alongside A-listers including Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, and Christian Bale. 

While we wait for the Ocean’s Eleven prequel to arrive on our screens, check out our list of the other upcoming movies to get excited about in 2022 and beyond.

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Eliza Han comes to Riverdale in the pages of Archie & Friends: Summer Lovin’, a one-shot comic by the creative team of Tee Franklin and Dan Parent. The issue will introduce the bi-racial pansexual Eliza who is the brains behind a major tech corporation as a love interest for Harper Lodge, cousin to Veronica. The relationship pits her against infamous Riverdale bully Reggie Mantle in a bid for Harper’s affections. The story will be the first time Harper’s character is revealed as bisexual.

“The best Archie characters are the ones you can drop in and have them create a little fun chaos,” Archie Comics editor-in-chief Mike Pellerito says in Archie’s announcement. “Eliza is another character that you can fall in love with very easily — and there’s a lot more to be revealed about the character besides her sexuality.”

Then, in July’s Betty and Veronica Friends Forever: Summer Surf Party, African American teen coding savant Stacy Banks will shake up the “genius” hierarchy of Riverdale normally ruled over by Dilton Doiley’s mechanical know-how. Stacy’s digital savvy results in the creation of an online word game sensation that creates waves in Riverdale.

The one-shot will again be drawn by Archie veteran Parent and will be written by Archie Comics senior director of editorial Jamie Rotante.

“STEM has become such an important field in today’s world – but it also can be incredibly fun,” Rotante says. “The possibilities of what you can do with it are nearly endless, and the doors it can open for students are invaluable. The chance to bring a STEM-focused student into the spotlight in the modern classic-style Archie titles is especially exciting!”

Rotante adds that despite their brief introductory appearances, the new characters “are here to stay” as part of Archie’s “ongoing commitment to expanding and diversifying its storytelling universe.”

“Any and all new characters are meant to become integrated into the regular cast of characters,” Rotante says in Archie’s announcement. “Riverdale is forever expanding, and we’ll be taking extra care to make sure that none of these new kids get lost in the mix!”

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Though much of its cast dates back to the 1940s, Archie Comics has had a few more recent additions that have stuck around to make an impact on their world. Examples include Kevin Keller, introduced as the first gay character in the Archieverse, and Antoinette “Toni” Topaz, who first appeared in the pages of Jughead comics and now is a major player in the Riverdale TV show. Both characters now appear regularly in the pages of Archie, a future entirely within the realm of possibility for Stacy and Eliza.

Archie & Friends: Summer Lovin’ hits shelves and digital platforms everywhere on June 8th, followed by Betty and Veronica Friends Forever: Summer Surf Party’s release on July 17th.

Archie and his friends seem like normal teens but have been involved with two of the most unlikely comic book crossovers ever. 

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The biopic is loosely based on the 2010 Funny or Die sketch of the same name (opens in new tab) which starred Aaron Paul as the parody singer. The sketch served as a fake trailer for a gritty biopic of Yankovic’s life, poking fun at the often overly dramatized nature of artist biopics. Because of his religious upbringing, Yankovic has stayed away from alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, and even using profanity – all things that are depicted in the sketch. 

In the real trailer, which can be viewed above, Daniel Radcliffe transforms into the parody singer – donning his trademark curly hair and glasses, various Hawaiian shirts, and even pulling out an accordion. There’s also a scene where a shirtless Radcliffe drinks from a bottle of alcohol and spits it into the air – something Paul does in the Funny or Die sketch. This tells us that the film may be more than just ‘loosely’ based on the sketch, and could in fact be an overly dramatized biopic of the musician’s life.

Rainn Wilson makes a brief appearance in the trailer as radio personality Dr. Demento, and the last scene shows Radcliffe letting Evan Rachel Wood’s Madonna into his mansion. The cast also includes Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson, and Nick and Mary Yankovic, as well as James Preston Rogers as Hulk Hogan.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is slated for a late 2022 release. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2022 and beyond.

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If thought-provoking documentaries are more your jam, then Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood may be the pick for you, or maybe you’re a comic book enthusiast and Catwoman: Hunted might tickle your fancy.

Whatever your personal tastes, there’s bound to be something for everyone. Ahead of the new month, we’ve rounded up a list of everything that will find its way onto the service by the time May 31 rolls around. Check it out…

The Staircase – May 5

Colin Firth and Toni Collette star in The Staircase, a new miniseries based on a grisly real-life murder trial and Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s French show of the same name, which was released in 2004. 

In 2003, novelist Michael Petersen was convicted of killing his wife, Katherine, after she was found dead in their North Carolina home. This eight-parter examines whether Katherine really did fall down the stairs, as Petersen claims, or whether he bludgeoned her to death and staged the accident.

Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner, Michael Stuhlbarg, Dane DeHaan, Tim Guinee, Juliette Binoche, and Parker Posey also feature, while The Devil All the Time helmer Antonio Campos directs. 

The Matrix Resurrections – May 10

Directed by Lana Wachowski, The Matrix Resurrections sees Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves reprise their iconic roles as Trinity and Neo, respectively. Set sixty years after Revolutions, it reintroduces the latter as a video game developer who is struggling to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

His seemingly ordinary life is disrupted, though, when a group of rebels, led by a programmed version of Morpheus (Ambulance’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), free Neo from a new version of the Matrix, and task him with saving Trinity from a new enemy. Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, Priyanka Chopra, Jonathan Groff, and Jada Pinkett Smith round out the star-studded cast.

Hacks season 2 – May 12

Hacks, a new comedy series starring Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart, came out of nowhere last year, and wound up being one of HBO Max’s most beloved releases of 2021. It earned SAG, Critic’s Choice and Primetime Emmy awards for Smart, and gongs for its creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, too, so it’s hardly surprising that the streaming platform is wasting no time bringing out another season.

In it, Smart stars as Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas stand-up, whose diva tendencies lead her employers to team her up with Ava Daniels, a down-on-her-luck writer who just might have what it takes to calm Deborah down.

Teasing season 2 at the SCAD TVFest, Downs said: “What we were most interested in exploring was what it’s like for someone like her to keep bombing. What is it like when you’re on the road in small venues and not doing well? What does that do to your spirit, and what does that do to your relationship, and what does that do to your psyche?”

New on HBO Max in May 2022

New on HBO Max: May 1

• 47 Ronin
• Assassins
• At Close Range
• An Autumn Afternoon
• Back to School
• The Big Sleep
• Bottle Rocket
• Calladita
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
• Child 44
• Chungking Express
• The Color Purple 
• Conan the Barbarian (2011)
• Devil in a Blue Dress
• Dodes ‘Ka-Den
• Domino 
• Downhill (1927)
• Dragnet Girl
• Early Spring
• Early Summer
• The End of Summer
• Equinox Flower
• Eraser
• Fallen Angels
• Floating Weeds
• FRIDA
• The Fugitive
• Furry Vengeance
• Gang Related
• Good Morning
• Hard Rain
• Hart’s War
• High and Low
• Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius
• Julie
• Killers
• Language Lessons
• Love and Baseball
• The Machine That Kills Bad People
• Masters of the Universe (1987)
• The Missing
• The New Guy
• North Dallas Forty
• Not Easily Broken
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Poseidon
• Red Beard
• Ringo and His Golden Pistol
• Rugrats Go Wild
• Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
• The Rugrats Movie
• The Sapphires
• Sense and Sensibility 
• Sliding Doors
• St. Elmo’s Fire
• The Stepford Wives (2004)
• Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day
• Tokyo Twilight
• Top Secret!
• Transporter 3
• Unbroken
• Underworld
• Underworld: Awakening
• Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
• Welcome to the Dollhouse
• W.E.
• What To Expect When You’re Expecting
• The Wild Thornberrys Movie
• Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
• You, Me and Dupree
• Young Adult
• Zathura

New on HBO Max: May 3

• Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Know

New on HBO Max: May 5

• Las Bravas F.C.
• Queen Stars Brazil
• The Staircase, episodes 1, 2 and 3

New on HBO Max: May 6

• Dear Evan Hansen
• Entre Nos: Carmen and Alfred
• La Afinadora De Árboles

New on HBO Max: May 7

• We Baby Bears season 1, Part C

New on HBO Max: May 9

• Get Hard

New on HBO Max: May 10

• Catwoman: Hunted
• The Matrix Resurrections
• Sesame Street Mecha Builders season 1, Part A
• Robot Chicken season 11, Part B

New on HBO Max: May 12

• Hacks, season 2 episodes 1 and 2
• Who’s By Your Side 

New on HBO Max: May 13

• Hank Zipzer
• Old
• Smalls, season 4

New on HBO Max: May 15

• The Time Traveler’s Wife, episode 1

New on HBO Max: May 17

• Sesame Street Mecha Builders season 1, Part B
• The Mule

New on HBO Max: May 20

• Identidad Tomada

New on HBO Max: May 22

• Fast Foodies, season 2

New on HBO Max: May 23

• Teen Titans Go! season 7, Part B

New on HBO Max: May 26

• Navalny
• That Damn Michael Che season 2, episode 1
• Tig n’ Seek season 4, episode 1

New on HBO Max: May 27

• Blippi Special
• Blippi Visits
• Blippi Wonders
• Blippi: Learn With Blippi
• Ghost, Season 1
• Ghost, Season 2
• Stath Lets Flats

New on HBO Max: May 29

• The Misery Index season 3, Part B

New on HBO Max: May 31

• Miami Vice

If HBO Max isn’t the only streaming service you’re currently subscribed to, then make sure to check out our lists on what new titles are set to arrive on Netflix and Disney Plus in May, too. 

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