10 Best Movies On Kanopy That You Should Watching Update 04/2024

Best Movies On Kanopy

Using Kanopy, you can watch more Netflix content if you already have a Netflix subscription and a library card or university login. Here are the top movies accessible on Kanopy, but not on Netflix, if you’re looking for something new.

Want to see what else is available on all streaming services? Look no further. So we built agoodmovietowatch.com, to alleviate the drudgery of never knowing what to watch. An algorithm-free guide to the best content available on the internet is what you’ll find on this site. Instead of making suggestions based on what you’ve previously seen, we solely suggest films based on their overall quality.

1. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

Robert Downey Jr., Rosario Dawson, Channing Tatum, and Shia LaBeouf all shine in this multi-award-winning drama that is star-studded to the core. It has won two Sundance Film Festival awards and is nominated for numerous other accolades. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is based on the autobiographical book of the same name by author, director, and musician Dito Montiel, who reminisces about his violent childhood in Queens in the 1980s (Shia LaBeouf plays the young Dito in the film) (Downey Jr. plays present-day Dito). Directorial debut for a real-life Dito as well, evoking the loose, freewheeling manner of 1970’S Italian films like Scorcese. Flashbacks and fourth-wall bending monologues are used to tell the dramatic story, while the unconventional filmmaking approach creates a raw and immediate experience. This coming-of-age story is bursting with energy!

2. BPM

120 BPM is Robin Campillo’s debut feature-length film as a screenwriter. Campillo was a member of the Parisian chapter of the anti-AIDS advocacy group ACT UP in the early 1990s, and Nathan, the group’s newest and HIV-negative member, falls in love with Sean, one of the group’s founding and more radical members, who has AIDS. ACT UP pushed for more and better research into treatment, prevention, and awareness by using fake blood and spectacular direct action. A time when many people, tacitly or overtly, viewed the disease as the result of the homosexual community’s predilection for pleasure and partying. The film’s title, 120 bpm, is a reference to the average amount of beats per minute of a house tune. Some of Arnaud Rebotini’s effective original cuts, but with a gloomy tinge, reflect the ecstasy-driven house music of the time. Because, despite the ACT UP crew’s love, friendship, and emotion, the lack of adequate treatment threatens to take the lives of these young people’s loved ones, which BPM portrays with such passion.

3. Detachment (2012)

Detachment (2012)

“The Pianist” director Tony Kaye’s film concerns a substitute English Literature teacher (Adrien Brody From “The Pianist”) who exclusively works at a school in an impoverished urban neighborhood. There are several reasons for his decision, but the most important one is that he is trying to suppress his negative feelings about life and the triviality of our existences by not bonding too strongly with pupils and colleagues (although it sounds depressing it is absolutely not). Also, he looks after his only living relative, his beloved grandfather, who lives in an assisted living facility. As expected, they have a profound and emotional connection. Detachment is a film that you should watch whenever you contemplate your existence, your place in the world, or your connections with others.

4. About Elly (2015)

This long-awaited film from A Separation filmmaker Asghar Farhadi has finally arrived in the United States six long years after its initial premiere. Here at A Good Movie to Watch we are unapologetic admirers of Farhadi, so let us start with that. His fourth film has a frightening mystery at its core. It is a reunion of old friends from Iran who bring Elly to see her German divorcee buddy Ahmad who is traveling from Germany for the vacation. When Elly abruptly vanishes, it appears like everything is going according to plan. In typical Farhadi fashion, a nuanced storyline, delicate directing, and on-point performances, including one of the most well-known Iranian actors of today, Golshifteh Farahani, aid in the unraveling mystery and poignant issues about gender and politics. While the film is entertaining, it will also provide you a glimpse into the lives of middle-class Iranians, torn between their own expectations and those of society and tradition in the current era.

5. What Maisie Knew (2012)

What Maisie Knew (2012)

The makers of The Kids Are All Right have a new Juliane Moore-starring family drama. She portrays a flamboyant rock star in a custody struggle with her estranged spouse, a narcissistic art dealer played by the unexpected Steeve Coogan. In the wake of one of them getting engaged to the girl’s nanny, the other feels compelled to follow suit. Based on Henry James’s titled book from 1897, it portrays the narrative of a gentle, sensitive young girl who has to deal with being pawned by selfish parents. Onata Aprile, the young actress who portrays Maisie in the film, does an excellent job with the role. The film adaptation of Nancy Doyne and Carroll Cartwright’s ahead-of-its-time story likewise nails every note with emotion. One of the most moving films I’ve ever seen.

6. A Man Called Ove (2015)

Inspired by the bestseller of the same name written by Fredrick Backman in 2011, we meet Ove, an old man who fears his days are numbered in this smash comedy-drama from Sweden. After the death of his wife, a grumpy retiree spends his days policing the rules of his neighborhood’s block association. He’s the kind of cranky, elderly neighbor you’d rather not have around. In spite of Ove (Rolf Lassgrdbest )’s efforts, a new family refuses to give up and becomes friends with him. You grow to care for the character as the novel progresses and, in classic “walk a mile in his shoes” fashion, you begin to fall in love with him. As a matter of fact, no one is born sour and pessimistic. It’s no surprise that this is a heartwarming and romantic movie. A superb lead performance and a lovely, darkly humorous script keep it from going too far off course. The outcome is a pleasant, enjoyable, and thought-provoking dramedy with a lovely message.

7. Gook (2017)

Gook (2017)

A slur against individuals of Asian origin, this 2017 film by Justin Chon made him a household name. Then there was the 1992 Los Angeles riots period drama in which he starred as the main character, an Asian-American man. Black and white film chronicles the narrative of Eli, a Korean-American shoe store owner with his brother Daniel (David So), in a series of vignettes that are interspersed throughout the film. Kamilla (Simone Baker), a black girl from the neighborhood, forms an odd connection with the two boys. Her family does not approve of her spending time with them. An unflinching look at America’s inter-minority racial relations is illuminated by this film, which was released in the wake of LA’s Rodney King riots and an untimely killing of a black kid by a Korean convenience store owner. In the 2020s, a subject that has come back to haunt the United States. The film is as ferocious as it is amusing, as savage as it is lighthearted. Beautiful and disturbing at the same time.

8. McQueen (2018)

This film by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui will guide you into the realm of high fashion with ease, even if you don’t know anything about him or the industry. This documentary, named McQueen, is a heartfelt tribute to the British fashion icon that goes to great efforts to honor him. When McQueen was just 17 years old and living in a British council apartment with his three sisters, he was known as the “enfant terrible of the 1990s” because of his unconventional designs and spectacular exhibitions. From Bjork’s album Homogenic and the music video for her song Alarm Call, music aficionados may recognize his creations. The documentary’s scope and complexity may leave you wanting more, and you may find yourself exploring Wikipedia and YouTube for an additional hour in order to stay in the mood of the film. In 2010, Alexander McQueen committed suicide.

9. The Guilty (2018)

The Guilty (2018)

Please take a few deep breaths before pressing play on the movie. You’ll need a lot of extra air to get through this year’s thriller without fainting. A breath-taking atmosphere is created in Gustav Möller’s directorial debut by using very little in terms of resources. While The Guilty has the sense of a $100 million production, it just features a single man in a dark room. Rather than using special effects to obscure our vision, it focuses on our imaginations instead. Short and brief, the plot revolves around a cop who gets a call that transforms a normal shift into something far more terrifying. All we have to give you before you finish your breathing exercises is this information. Jakob Cedergre’s performance, the narrative, and the sound design all contribute to the film’s minimalist approach. An exhilarating roller coaster ride.

10. Fireworks Wednesday (2007)

On our site, there are two auteur directors who we suggest more than anyone else. Both Hirokazu Koreeda (Japan) and Asghar Farhadi (Iran) are masters of nuanced drama. Asghar Farhadi, an Iranian-born Oscar-winning filmmaker, is one of the world’s most famous directors. His third picture, Fireworks Wednesdays, laid the groundwork for him to become one of the international cinema’s hidden champions. According to Hedye Tehrani and Hamid Farokhnezhad, who play Mozhdeh and Morteza Samiei respectively, the film depicts their lives as a marriage in struggle, as is common in his tales. With Roohi, a maid who is soon-to-be a bride in mind, she sends her to eavesdrop on their neighbor, a beautician. There is no way the pair can stop the spinning out of control that occurs when Roohi takes matters into her own hands. On the eve of Chaharshanbe Suri, an Iranian event marked by fireworks on the Wednesday preceding Iranian New Year, all of this takes place. Is there going to be a bang in the end? Fahradi’s acting is so fantastic that this could easily turn into a melodrama, yet it doesn’t. He’s an excellent player.