Top movies this month: Split, Cropsey, To Be Takei, The Descent, The Perks of Being A Wildflower, Amores Perros, The Artist, My Week With Marilyn, The Deep Blue Sea, and more!
Everyone loves free movies, and Fandango at Home boasts over 20,000 of them. But where do you begin with that many films to choose from? You start with RT’s curated list of the best 50 titles.
On the menu this month are Certified Fresh thrillers like M. Night Shyamalan’s Split and Prano Bailey-Bond’s Censor as well as critically-acclaimed dramedies, including Dylan Kidd’s Rodger Dodger and Ridley Scott’s Matchstick Men.
Whatever genre you’re in the mood for, we’ve gathered a list of 50 films and ranked them by Tomatometer score to create our guide to the 50 best free movies on Fandango at Home. Check out the list below, and add these films to your watchlist this month.
#1
Critics Consensus: A charmingly low-key character study brought to life by a tremendously talented cast, Local Hero is as humorous as it is heartwarming.
#2
Critics Consensus: James Marsh’s doc about artist Phililppe Petit’s artful caper brings you every ounce of suspense that can be wrung from a man on a (suspended) wire.
#3
Critics Consensus: LOLA stylishly fuses time-travel and found footage elements to craft a clever what-if story that buzzes with timeless ingenuity.
#4
Critics Consensus: Short Term 12 is an emphatic, revealing drama that pulls audiences into the perspective of neglected youths.
#5
Critics Consensus: One of the silent era’s most influential masterpieces, Nosferatu‘s eerie, gothic feel — and a chilling performance from Max Schreck as the vampire — set the template for the horror films that followed.
#6
Critics Consensus: Bolstered by a strong performance from Matthew McConaughey in the title role, Mud offers an engaging Southern drama that manages to stay sweet and heartwarming without being sappy.
#7
Critics Consensus: A well-acted, intensely shot, action filled war epic, Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker is thus far the best of the recent dramatizations of the Iraq War.
#8
Critics Consensus: Smart, stripped-down, and thrillingly grim, Blue Ruin proves that a well-told revenge story can still leave its audience on the edge of their seat.
#9
Critics Consensus: Well-acted and dramatically moving, The Pianist is Polanski’s best work in years.
#10
Critics Consensus: A stunning feat of modern animation, Ghost in the Shell offers a thoughtful, complex treat for anime fans, as well as a perfect introduction for viewers new to the medium.
#11
Critics Consensus: Empathetically written, splendidly acted, and beautifully photographed, Ida finds director Pawel Pawlikowski revisiting his roots to powerful effect.
#12
Critics Consensus: A crowd-pleasing tribute to the magic of silent cinema, The Artist is a clever, joyous film with delightful performances and visual style to spare.
#13
Critics Consensus: Anchored by another tremendous performance in a career full of them, All Is Lost offers a moving, eminently worthwhile testament to Robert Redford’s ability to hold the screen.
#14
Critics Consensus: Like Body Heat, The Last Seduction updates film noir techniques for a modern era, imbuing this erotic film with ’90s snark.
#15
Critics Consensus: Passionate, angry, and insightful, The Tillman Story offers a revealing portrait of its subject’s inspiring life and untimely death.
#16
Critics Consensus: Newcomer Saskia Rosendahl gives an astonishingly assured performance in the title role, and director Cate Shortland establishes a delicate, disturbingly ominous tone in the powerful World War II drama Lore.
#17
Critics Consensus: The brutality of Amores Perros may be difficult to watch at times, but this intense, gritty film packs a hard wallop.
#18
Critics Consensus: The additional footage slows down the movie somewhat (some say the new cut is inferior to the original), but Apocalypse Now Redux is still a great piece of cinema.
#19
Critics Consensus: Shot in naturalistic style, this is a powerful indictment of absurdity and indifference in the face of human suffering.
#20
Critics Consensus: An intense, well-crafted thriller, Tell No One is equal parts heart-pounding and heart-wrenching.
#21
Critics Consensus: A searing debut by director Lance Hammer, this subtle and contemplative Mississippi set drama lingers long after its conclusion.
#22
Critics Consensus: Crafted with eccentric moodiness and style by Steven Soderbergh, The Limey is also a gritty neo-noir showcase for the talent of leading man Terence Stamp.
#23
Critics Consensus: Funny, clever, and endearingly unusual, Frank transcends its quirky trappings with a heartfelt — and surprisingly thought-provoking — story.
#24
Critics Consensus: Based on a powerful true story and led by note-perfect performances from Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, Philomena offers a profoundly affecting drama for adult filmgoers of all ages.
#25
Critics Consensus: Half Nelson features powerful performances from Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps. It’s a wise, unsentimental portrait of lonely people at the crossroads.
#26
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#27
Critics Consensus: A delightfully unique tribute to the transporting power of cinema, Leonor Will Never Die marks director/co-writer Martika Ramirez Escobar as a talent to watch.
#28
Critics Consensus: Riveting and bone-chillingly creepy, Cropsey manages to be one of the best documentaries and one of the best horror movies of the year.
#29
Critics Consensus: Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet deftly combines horror, sci-fi, and humor in Delicatessen, a morbid comedy set in a visually ravishing futuristic dystopia.
#30
Critics Consensus: This film delves deeply into the minds of suicide bombers, and the result is unsettling.
#31
Critics Consensus: Though ostensibly an intimate look at the Dixie Chicks after their 2003 anti-Bush remark, the film achieves broader relevance by exploring how media, politics, and celebrities intertwine.
#32
Critics Consensus: To Be Takei rests almost entirely on its subject’s inherent likability — and, for the most part, that’s more than enough.
#33
Critics Consensus: Occasionally uneven but bold and viscerally effective, Censor marks a bloody good step forward for British horror.
#34
Critics Consensus: The movie could have benefited from a more experienced director, but a great cast and script overcome any first time jitters the director may have had.
#35
Critics Consensus: Beautifully filmed and powerfully acted, Ema puts a thoroughly distinctive spin on its story of emotional trauma and self-discovery.
#36
Critics Consensus: Deft direction and strong performances from its all-female cast guide The Descent, a riveting, claustrophobic horror film.
#37
Critics Consensus: Like the best horror/comedies, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil mines its central crazy joke for some incredible scares, laughs, and — believe it or not — heart.
#38
Critics Consensus: Lighthearted to a fault, Much Ado About Nothing‘s giddy energy and intimate charm make for an entertaining romantic comedy — and a Shakespearean adaptation that’s hard to resist.
#39
Critics Consensus: The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a heartfelt and sincere adaptation that’s bolstered by strong lead performances.
#40
Critics Consensus: Beautiful visuals, James Gray’s confident direction, and a powerful performance from Marion Cotillard combine to make The Immigrant a richly rewarding period drama.
#41
Critics Consensus: A tense and gripping spectacular piece of snow-bound historical German film-making.
#42
Critics Consensus: The powerful singing in Amandla makes for an uplifting, compelling documentary.
#43
Critics Consensus: Breezy and well-acted, Matchstick Men focuses more on the characters than on the con.
#44
Critics Consensus: Hauntingly bleak and thrillingly ambitious, The Double offers Jesse Eisenberg a pair of compelling roles while reaffirming writer-director Richard Ayoade’s remarkable talent.
#45
Critics Consensus: Michelle Williams shines in My Week with Marilyn, capturing the magnetism and vulnerability of Marilyn Monroe.
#46
Critics Consensus: Featuring an outstanding performance by Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea is a visually stunning, melancholy tale of subsumed passion.
#47
Critics Consensus: Faithful to the source material without sacrificing its own cinematic flair, Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth rises on the strength of a mesmerizing Michael Fassbender performance to join the upper echelon of big-screen Shakespeare adaptations.
#48
Critics Consensus: Split serves as a dramatic tour de force for James McAvoy in multiple roles — and finds writer-director M. Night Shyamalan returning resoundingly to thrilling form.
#49
Critics Consensus: Grand Piano is so tense in its best moments — and appealingly strange overall — that it remains rewarding in spite of its flaws.
#50
Critics Consensus: Though the movie may be too intense for some to stomach, the wonderful performances and the bleak imagery are hard to forget.
