There aren’t as many free streaming sites as there used to be, but Plex is flexing its muscles with a lineup of films that are often overlooked by other streamers. Admittedly, Plex doesn’t have access to the most recent box-office hits, but it has some great movies… and some pretty awful ones.
To help you get started on this streamer, we’ve put together our ranking for the most watchlisted movies on Plex. All of these films are among Plex’s top-ranked movies as of February 12, but the number of films available on Plex may change before the end of the month.
Looking for something else? We’ve also rounded up the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, and the best shows on Amazon Prime.
10. Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)
Before You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless In Seattle, Joe Versus the Volcano was the first rom-com to feature Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as the co-leads. Hanks plays Joe Banks, a former firefighter whose depression and physical decline are seemingly explained when he is diagnosed with a rare condition that will kill him in a few months.
Ryan has multiple roles in the film, including Patricia Graynamore, a woman hired to take Joe to his final destination. Because Joe doesn’t have anything to live for, he agrees to jump into a volcano as a human sacrifice for a superstitious island tribe. After Joe and Patricia form a close romantic bond, he may have trouble completing his end of the bargain with the tribe.
Watch Joe Versus the Volcano on Plex.
9. Snowden (2016)
To some, Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is an American hero for exposing the government’s ability to spy on its citizens. But others consider him to be a traitor who is hiding out in Russia, potentially for the rest of his life. In director Oliver Stone’s Snowden, the fateful meeting between Edward and a reporter is just the beginning of the story.
Through jumps in time, viewers witness Edward’s on-and-off-again relationship with Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley), as well as the reasons why he became so disgruntled with America’s surveillance tactics against its citizens and allies that he burned down the life he knew in order to take that classified intel to the public.
Watch Snowden on Plex.
8. Lord of the Flies (1990)
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is getting a new adaptation from the BBC, but the 1990 film still holds up nearly 35 years later. Two dozen military academy students — including Ralph (Balthazar Getty), Jack (Chris Furrh), Piggy (Danuel Pipoly), and Simon (James Badge Dale) — survive a plane crash on a remote island with no direct way of getting home.
Ralph attempts to rally the survivors to stick together and wait for rescue, while Jack has a mental breakdown and goes savage in the jungle. More of the kids gravitate towards Jack and embrace their inner beasts. By the time anyone locates these boys, it may be too late to save their souls or their lives.
Watch Lord of the Flies on Plex.
7. Limitless (2011)
The premise of Limitless is pretty irresistible to anyone who has ever wanted more out of life. With the help of an experimental drug, Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) has such a dramatic increase in cognitive abilities that he’s almost superhuman when he’s using the drug.
Unfortunately for Eddie, the side effects are severe, and someone has been murdering the other people who were using the drug. Eddie is also hunted by a loan shark, Gennady (Andrew Howard), who took a single pill from Eddie’s stash and became obsessed with getting more. As the walls close in on Eddie, he’ll have to figure out how to survive without his miracle drug.
Watch Limitless on Plex.
6. Side Effects (2013)
Director Steven Soderbergh goes to some unexpected places in Side Effects, a crime drama that revolves around Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara). After Emily displays symptoms of severe depression over the impending release of her imprisoned husband, Martin Taylor (Channing Tatum), her psychologist, Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), consults with her previous doctor, Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones), to find a solution.
Victoria suggests an experimental drug that puts Emily in an altered state when she kills her husband. Now, Emily faces a murder trial for her actions, and Jonathan’s reputation will be irreparable unless he determines what really happened the night Martin died.
Watch Side Effects on Plex.
5. Frank (2014)
It may seem counterintuitive to hide Michael Fassbender’s face under a papier-mâché mask, but that’s kind of the point of his title character in Frank. He’s a mentally ill band leader who can only function in society if he’s covering up his face with this mask. Frank is actually a gifted singer who has gathered Clara Wagner (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Don (Scoot McNairy), Nana (Carla Azar), and Baraque (François Civil) to play with him, even if they don’t know much about how to actually be a band.
That’s where Jon Burroughs (Domhnall Gleeson) comes in. The band’s eccentricities stun Jon, but he sees real potential in this group and starts exerting his influence on Frank, much to the anger of Clara.
Watch Frank on Plex.
4. American Psycho (2000)
Five years before he was Batman, Christian Bale was Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. The story is set in the late ’80s, and Bateman is an investment banker living in New York with a beautiful fiancée named Evelyn Williams (Reese Witherspoon). It would almost be a perfect life, except Bateman hates Evelyn, and he’s so jealous of his colleague, Paul Allen (Jared Leto), that he murders him.
That one little murder is just the tip of the iceberg of Bateman’s depravity, and he draws the attention of a private investigator, Donald Kimball (Willem Dafoe), who is looking into Paul’s disappearance. The bodies start piling up as Bateman’s double life comes under enormous pressure, but there may be more to his mental illness than meets the eye.
Watch American Psycho on Plex.
3. The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
Al Pacino looks like he’s never had more fun than when he’s hamming up The Devil’s Advocate as John Milton. Keanu Reeves stars as Kevin Lomax, a hot-shot lawyer recruited by Milton to move from Florida to New York and join his high-profile law firm.
As Kevin follows through on the offer, he neglects his wife, Mary Ann (Charlize Theron), and knowingly represents guilty clients who belong behind bars. The film broadly hints that Milton’s true nature is demonic and that Kevin is endangering everyone around him by staying in the law firm. He just doesn’t take the warning signs seriously until it’s too late.
Watch The Devil’s Advocate on Plex.
2. Jackie Brown (1997)
Quentin Tarantino’s third film, Jackie Brown, tends to be overlooked in his credits. But this adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch is just as good as any of Tarantino’s other films. Foxie Brown actress and Blaxploitation icon Pam Grier had her comeback role as Jackie, a stewardess who helps a local crime boss, Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson), smuggle drug money into the country.
When ATF Agent Ray Nicolette (Michael Keaton) catches Jackie with Ordell’s cash, she plays a dangerous game by engineering a final con to get a large sum of money from Ordell and play him and the feds off each other while she escapes the consequences of her actions. She may even have an ally in bail bondsman Max Cherry (Robert Forster), but it would be a mistake for Jackie to overlook Ordell’s fury when he discovers her true intentions.
Watch Jackie Brown on Plex.
1. Heat (1995)
Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are both cinematic icons, which is why their face-to-face scene in Heat carries so much power beyond the film itself. De Niro plays Neil McCauley, a thief whose best days are behind him, and he’s considering getting out of the game. Pacino plays Lieutenant Vincent Hanna, the man who has to bring Neil in however he sees fit.
Director and screenwriter Michael Mann adapted his own novel, L.A. Takedown, for this film. It’s one of the greatest movies Mann ever made, and it’s our pick for the best movie among Plex’s most watchlisted selections.
Watch Heat on Plex.
