There's nothing quite like a great movie to give you some much-needed escapism from the stresses of work, family, and everything else you're balancing. Luckily, there’s a slew of great movies out to freshen up your watch list. Here are some movies to spice up your weekend.
1. The Furious — The Best Straight-Up Martial Arts Film In Years
Imagine Taken if every character was harbouring a particular set of skills. That is the gist of Kenji Tanigaki's martial-arts spectacular, which pairs a mute father with an investigative journalist to dismantle a criminal network.
The plot is just a coat rack. What Tanigaki hangs on it are some of the most frenetic, stand-up-and-high-five fight sequences in recent memory. Comparisons to The Raid and John Wick are everywhere, and The Furious earns them.
The choreography mixes fighting styles into a relentless, inventive barrage where everything becomes a weapon. Sledgehammers and bikes are swung with malice, a kid is dangled from a speeding flatbed truck, and it all culminates in a nonstop 30-minute throwdown at a police station that will make action fans levitate. Critics are already calling it a genre insta-classic.
2. Project Hail Mary — The Sci-Fi Thriller That Makes You Feel Smarter
Based on Andy Weir's novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary is fun, engaging and surprisingly heartwarming.
Ryan Gosling plays Grace, a molecular biologist who wakes up on a ship hurtling through deep space with amnesia. He is the only surviving passenger. Back on Earth, the sun is dimming and the answer to saving humanity lies at his destination.
Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller bring their signature humor to the most stressful situation imaginable. No joke overstays its welcome. Most humans make light of things to grasp their totality, and Gosling nails that perfectly. When the weight of the human race is on your shoulders, if you can't laugh, you will go insane. It is faithful to the book and exactly what a great sci-fi escape should be.
3. Voicemails From Isabelle — The Rom-Com That Actually Has Levels
Grief and love can make us vulnerable. They can also open us up to new possibilities. That is the central theme of this Black List breakout screenplay, now a Netflix hit.
Starring Zoey Deutch as Jill and Nick Robinson as Wes, Voicemails for Isabelle follows Jill, an aspiring pastry chef in the aftermath of losing the love of her life — her little sister.
It is super sweet and very You've Got Mail, because Jill has no idea that Wes, an Austin real estate agent, is now receiving her extremely personal audio diaries meant for her sister. He is listening in on her deep dive into the horrors of dating in San Francisco, and he is all in.
Written and directed by Leah McKendrick, it is charming and lovely on the surface, but underneath it is about two wayward souls who have been searching for their lost loved ones in everything they see. The idea of letting the love that shaped them help make something new, free of guilt, is as terrifying as it is exciting. At a time when it is easy to see nothing but division, the humble romantic comedy reminds us that joy and connection are still possible.
4. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come — Bigger, Bloodier, And More Confident
Seven years is a long time to wait for a sequel to a movie that ended as perfectly as Ready or Not did. Grace survived, the Le Domas family exploded, and credits rolled on one of the cleanest endings a horror-comedy has ever had.
Ready or Not 2 picks up in the ambulance immediately after. It sounds like the most reckless creative decision of 2026, but it is actually a confident one.
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are back with writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, and they expand the mythology. Grace, played again by Samara Weaving, is now facing multiple bloodthirsty families rather than one, with her estranged sister Faith, played by Kathryn Newton, dragged in alongside her. The scale is bigger, the bloodshed is significantly more, and the cameos are deployed with real fun.
5. The Rip — When Affleck And Damon Team Up Again
Anytime Ben Affleck and Matt Damon collaborate, it is a pop-cultural event, and Netflix's The Rip is no exception.
This Joe Carnahan action thriller is one of the best streaming movies of 2026 and proof that Netflix has been the go-to platform for action this year. Inspired by the true story of Miami-Dade County Police Captain Chris Casiano, it is a highly entertaining crime flick largely carried by the out-of-this-world chemistry Affleck and Damon still share.
It is full of clichés and not particularly well-paced, but if you want a satisfying crime action flick before the heavy-hitters of awards season arrive, it scratches the itch just fine.
6. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You — Rose Byrne's Career-Best
Pressing on a vivid bruise, Mary Bronstein's semi-autobiographical motherhood tale will be an uncomfortable watch for many parents, and that is the point.
Rose Byrne turns in a career-best performance as a psychotherapist and mum struggling to stay afloat as her daughter suffers through a debilitating feeding disorder.
Motherhood is stripped right back to its most primal essence: a daily fight to provide for your child and yourself, all while trying to stay sane and dealing with snooty colleagues and absent partners. It is raw, unfiltered, and unforgettable.
Which One First?
Want to levitate off your couch? Start with The Furious. Want to laugh while the world ends? Project Hail Mary. Want to believe in love again? Voicemails From Isabelle.
