The Roku Channel may be free, but there’s an impressive breadth of varied films that can be found to stream on the service. Cinematic classics, 2020s Oscar contenders, campy horror and touchstones of queer cinema are among the many films you can find to watch on Roku this month.
Here are the seven best movies to watch on Roku in March.
“The Apprentice”
You could remake “The Apprentice” 1,000 times with 1,000 people and 999 of them would probably be borderline unwatchable. But director Ali Abbasi, writer Gabriel Sherman and lead actors Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong (Oscar-nominated for their work) manage to take the most consequential figure in modern America and tell a genuinely interesting story about his rise to fame.
It’s a tough sit, sometimes a sickening one, yet Stan delivers a genuinely nuanced and fascinating performance as Donald Trump in what would be (between this and “A Different Man”) an elevatory year for the actor. “The Apprentice” isn’t perfect, but it’s quite possibly the best version of this film that could exist.
“But I’m a Cheerleader”
Jamie Babbit’s “But I’m a Cheerleader” was hardly a hit at its time of release, decried as a broad and shallow portrayal of homosexuality. Over time, its gained a reputation not just as a campy cult classic, but as a cherished entry in the queer cinematic canon.
Written by Brian Wayne Peterson with a story by Babbit, this film follows a high school cheerleader (Natasha Lyonne) who is sent to a conversion camp after her parents begin to suspect she’s a lesbian. While there, she strikes up a relationship with Graham, played by Clea DuVall. The film is keenly directed, sharply written and beautifully colorful.
“Hundreds of Beavers”
“Hundreds of Beavers” feels like a 100-minute practical joke in all the best ways. Mike Cheslik’s $150,000 comedy follows an applejack maker who tries to win the love of a merchant’s daughter while at war with (you guessed it) hundreds of beavers. But these aren’t just any ordinary beavers — they’re beavers played by actors in mascot costumes.
This largely dialogue-free feature constantly outdoes itself, evolving from a passably funny bit to a genuinely hilarious hodgepodge of jokes layered over each other. The arc and evolution of the bit is genuinely masterful, making for one of the most enjoyable films of the decade.
“I Saw the TV Glow”
Every once in a while, a movie comes along that almost immediately establishes itself as a part of the film canon. I cannot imagine a world in which the filmmakers of tomorrow aren’t citing Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow” as an inspiration, a flashpoint moment in their love of cinema.
Ironically, “I Saw the TV Glow” is about, in part, the movies that made us — the show or film you discovered late at night that completely unlocked a hidden part of yourself. What “The Pink Opaque” is for Owen, “TV Glow” surely will be for audiences who watched this film when they really needed it.
Schoenbrun closes out their “Screen Trilogy,” which started with “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair,” later this year with “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.” I can’t wait to see what they have in store next.
“The Master”
Paul Thomas Anderson is fresh off a Best Picture win with “One Battle After Another,” a film that also brought him wins for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. That movie may not be on Roku, but another PTA hit is: “The Master.”
The film follows a disturbed World War II veteran (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls under the thrall of a charismatic cult leader (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Like most of PTA’s films, “The Master” revolves around power — who has it and how it can be wielded over others. Also, like most of PTA’s films, “The Master” is an excellent and utterly fascinating piece of cinema.
“Ran”
One of the most influential filmmakers of all time drew from one of the most influential storytellers of all time more than once throughout his career. In “Ran,” Akira Kurosawa adapted William Shakespeare for the third time in his filmography, taking inspiration from “King Lear” like “Throne of Blood” was inspired by “Macbeth” and “The Bad Sleep Well” by “Hamlet.” This is widely regarded as one of Kurosawa’s finest films — and, as a result, one of the best films of all time.
“Re-Animator”
Stuart Gordon’s “Re-Animator” is a disgusting, gory good time. Gordon wrote the film alongside Dennis Paoli and William J. Norris, adapting from H.P. Lovecraft’s “Herbert West–Reanimator.”
The body horror cult classic follows a medical student who begins using an experimental serum to reanimate dead bodies, yielding some pretty gross consequences. It’s a poppy, campy must-watch for horror fanatics.
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