10 best movies on Apple TV+ to watch in December 2024
Apple TV+The holidays are coming! December is finally here, and Christmas is only a few weeks away – so, if you’re planning on hunkering down in front of Apple TV+ this month, these are the best movies you should watch.
It truly is the most wonderful time of the year; cozy nights on the couch, hot chocolate, and the excitement of Christmas creeping in every day. I’m sure you have a list of the best Christmas movies to watch, but you should consider checking out Apple TV.
Alongside its roster of quality series (including the ever-brilliant Severance), the streaming service offers some of the best movies at no extra cost to subscribers, meaning no add-ons are required.
You might be surprised by what’s on offer on Apple TV thanks to its quality-over-quantity approach. Unlike *ahem* some other platforms, there’s a real focus on mid-budget passion projects here.
10. Greyhound (2020)
AppleTom Hanks’ vehicle, Greyhound, features America’s favorite movie star as a US Navy Commander. German boats chase Ernest Krause’s World War II convey through the Atlantic in this urgently-paced war movie.
This dramatization of the longest naval battle in history (The Battle of the Atlantic) is fitted with all the nuts and bolts you’d expect from a mature entry in Hanks’ filmography. Viewers praised its efficient approach to the story upon release and how Hanks does a lot with little on paper.
Though it doesn’t have the most memorable characters, Greyhound’s craftsmanship and sense of scale go a long way. Your dad will probably love it, and who can blame him?
9. Napoleon (2023)
It’s no longer shocking to see an expensive Ridley Scott epic on Apple TV+ in the streaming era. However, fare like Napoleon still requires a double take. A relatively small platform funded this?
Our Napoleon review said, “If Napoleon himself were to direct this film, his self-portrait onscreen would nearly match Scott’s frame for frame. It doesn’t always work and often becomes so off-putting that the 2-hour 40-minute runtime becomes excruciating. But in the context of the French Revolution, that’s exactly what Bonaparte would have wanted.”
8. CODA (2021)
AppleThe Oscar-winning CODA focuses on teenager Ruby, the only hearing member of her deaf family. When the family business is in dire straights, she’s torn between pursuing her love of music and being present.
It’s a sweet, strangely by-the-book coming-of-age story – aside from the clear hook. The characters are endearing, and it ends with a wholesome third act that makes the ups and downs satisfying. CODA will forever go down as one of the most divisive movies on Apple’s service, with its historic Oscar win drawing praise and scrutiny in equal measure.
7. Boys State (2020)
AppleBoys State is one of those lightning-in-a-bottle think-tank documentaries deeply buried in a streaming service’s corners. Documentary filmmaking is not glamorous, but projects like Boys State prove how much innovation is still untapped, and it’s one of the most important movies on Apple TV+.
The 2020 doc follows a social experiment where everyday young boys are tasked with running a fictional ‘democracy’. In a decade where incel culture, the far-right movement, and online toxicity drive much of the conversation about America’s young men, Boys State sounds off-putting on paper.
However, the documentary doesn’t prematurely condemn anyone. Instead, it showcases inherent kindness, the open-minded qualities of youth, and, yes, also how negative reinforcement and socialization can drum those things out of boys. The non-judgemental approach makes it an insightful watch for adult viewers that explores topical issues with a glass-half-full outlook.
6. Girls State (2024)
AppleA companion piece to Boys State, Girls State was made less than five years later. It might not sound like a long time, but for today’s young people, a lot can change quickly.
Taking the same experiment but flipping it to put the fabricated power structures in the hands of girls is more of a good thing. That being said, it’s also remarkably different because of the change of subjects.
Girls face different social issues, and the threat toward bodily autonomy in the US is on their minds. This made Girls State tenser than its predecessor, but it’s nonetheless hopeful and generous to its young subjects.
5. Fancy Dance (2023)
AppleThis drama starring Lily Gladstone follows Jax and her niece Roki (Isabel DeRoy-Olson) as they try to keep what’s left of their family together after the disappearance of Jax’s sister. Set in an Oklahoma reservation, director Erica Tremblay tells a multilayered story that touches on the epidemic of missing Native American women and the strength of familial bonds.
Fancy Dance is the kind of drama that you don’t often see funded. Gladstone’s commitment to Native American stories in the wake of her Killers of the Flower Moon fame is on display; it’s an authentic film grounded by the characters’ lives as much as it’s ‘about’ something.
Carolina Costa’s understated cinematography instills a strong sense of place. Her lens observes reservation life and social drama while finding beauty in Jax and Roki’s surroundings. It’s a genre mash that doesn’t always get the gear shifts right, but it hits hard when it does.
4. Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022)
You’ll find a bunch of romantic comedy movies on Apple’s platform. You won’t find Ghosted on our recommendations because it’s terrible (and not in the fun, camp way), but Cha Cha Real Smooth is a filling slice of life.
Starring Cooper Raiff – who also directs – as Andrew and Dakota Johnson as Domino, it’s about a party host who strikes up a friendship with a mother and her autistic daughter.
It received praise from the community it depicts, particularly because of autistic actor Vanessa Burghardt’s performance. She told Variety, “It wasn’t about her being on the spectrum; it was just about her life and how she was feeling. I’d never seen a script like that where the autistic person was treated as a character rather than something being used to move the plot forward.”
3. Causeway (2022)
AppleTouted as Jennifer Lawrence’s comeback role following her brief ‘oops, I’m over-exposed‘ time away from the spotlight, Causeway casts her as a US soldier who suffered a brain injury in Afghanistan.
Messy in nature but deftly executed, it was refreshing to see Lawrence play against type opposite an endearing but equally flawed Brian Tyree Henry.
It explores her struggles to adjust to civilian life. without condescending or sanding down edges. And the drama lies in Sharon’s small wins and defeats – learning how to drive again, coming out to her new friend, and making mistakes she’s not sure she can squarely blame on her injury.
2. Wolfwalkers (2020)
AppleIrish 2D animation house Cartoon Saloon is known for its lush stories and gorgeous hand-drawn scenery; Wolfwalkers is the best of the pack.
It opens how you’d expect an animated movie geared towards girls to: Robyn is kept in a metaphorical cage. Her father wants to put her to work as a maid, but she dreams of adventure. The square go might be familiar, but Wolfwalkers soon strays from the beaten path. When Robyn meets a wolfwalker – a folklore creature who can transform into a wolf – named Mebh, they have to contend with ignorance, hunters, and English colonizers.
Wolfwalkers is vividly presented and narratively clever. It keeps things simple enough for a young audience but doesnt pull its punches in the heavy themes or intense execution.
1. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
AppleKillers of the Flower Moon is a Martin Scorsese picture, we could end the discussion there. But we won’t, because this stands out as one of his most experimental ventures in his storied filmography.
Based on the 1920s Osage Nation murders, it’s a moving and brutal depiction of Native American displacement and the violence enacted against the communities.
While Leonardo DiCaprio received top billing, Gladstone’s Mollie Burkhart runs away with it. Her blood-curdling cries as her family drops like flies is the story’s DNA. We watch deplorable, stupid people steal and deceive. Scorsese imbues the movie with romance and humor to stop it from being one note, but it’s a sordid and eye-opening tale.
The editing, cinematography, and emphasis on the score make it a stylistically different experience from Scorsese’s other movies. You get the sense the subject matter challenged him as a filmmaker. For someone who has been directing for so long and has made countless brilliant things, that tells you how important this was.
For more content, check out the best movies coming to streaming this month, as well as new shows to add to your watchlist. Before we reach the end of the year, check out our list of the best TV shows of 2024.