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Some called Tubi “the people’s streamer,” because it offers an impressive catalogue of films for free — that is, if you don’t mind sitting through a few ads during your watch. If you can, Tubi truly offers a bounty of visual pleasures, and this November, Watch With Us wants to highlight five of the best films that you can find on the platform. Our picks include an indie masterpiece (Down by Law), a crazy Nicolas Cage classic (Face/Off), a Priscilla Presley biopic (Priscilla) and more. Read on to see the rest of our list. ‘Priscilla’ (2023) This gentle yet unflinching biodrama depicts the fraught love story between young Priscilla Beaulieu and rock ‘n’ roll icon Elvis Presley, who meet in Germany while Elvis (Jacob Elordi) is completing active duty and Priscilla’s father is stationed in the military. Despite Priscilla’s parents’ concerns about their age difference (Priscilla was 14 and Elvis ten years her senior), they eventually give their blessing to the complicated coupling. The two pursue a relationship and eventually marry, but Priscilla’s newfound fame does not equate to freedom. Director Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla reveals the King that the world didn’t see, and the one that we also didn’t see in Baz Luhrmann’s far more bombastic take on the rock icon from 2022. Priscilla focuses on how Elvis’s lifestyle affected the eponymous woman at his side, who he was in private and the isolation of fame and femininity experienced by Priscilla — themes explored before in Coppola’s prior films. ‘Down by Law’ (1986) In New Orleans, three disparate men converge in a jail cell: Jack (John Lurie), a dispassionate pimp, Zack (Tom Waits), a listless disc jockey and Roberto (Roberto Benigni), a goofy Italian tourist arrested for a gambling dispute turned violent. Zack and Jack have both been set up for crimes they haven’t committed, and it’s Robert who finds a way for the three of them to escape from jail. The men, constantly at odds with one another, set out to evade capture and leave the state. Famed indie director Jim Jarmusch crafts another uniquely American film about uniquely American anxieties. Funny and poetic, Down by Law is a grounded and hypnotic portrait of ennui, the idea of the American Dream and of longing for a better life but being too lazy to get there. Waits, Lurie and Benigni have incredible chemistry as three men forced to be in proximity of each other: Benigni as the impossibly cheerful Roberto, with Lurie and Waits only united by their sheer hatred of him. ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ (2015) In the dead of winter, the stories of three troubled young women converge in this creepy supernatural horror movie from Longlegs director Oz Perkins. We follow Rose (Lucy Boynton), Kat (Kiernan Shipka) and Joan (Emma Roberts) — Kat and Rose are left behind at their prestigious prep school during winter break, and Kat begins exhibiting strange behavior. Meanwhile, the mysterious Joan hitchhikes towards the school with an unassuming couple. The creeping dread, suffocating atmosphere and triptych narrative structure elevate The Blackcoat’s Daughter from behind a standard possession story — similar to how Longlegs elevates it as well. Full of chilling details, a carefully laid out narrative and fantastic performances from the three leading ladies, The Blackcoat’s Daughter is a genuinely spooky delight. ‘Possessor’ (2020) Corporate assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) takes out targets with the use of brain implant technology, a delicate process that allows her to inhabit the bodies of others in order to complete her executions. Her newest assignment has her going into the body of Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott), to kill off CEO John Parse (Sean Bean). However, Tasya struggles with increasing symptoms of her work and she begins to find herself disappearing into her new host. Brandon Cronenberg displays an inherited grasp of body horror akin to his father, the great David Cronenberg, in this surrealist, stylistic sci-fi slow-burn. Drenched in ample amounts of blood and viscera, Possessor also boasts an engrossing (if scant) narrative and compelling themes related to gender and identity, plus great lead performances from Abbott and Riseborough. ‘Face/Off’ (1997) In this totally absurd action thriller, FBI Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) wages a vendetta against terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) for killing his son six years ago. After ambushing Troy, Troy falls into a coma and Archer agrees to experimental surgery to take Troy’s face to obtain life-threatening information about a bomb. But when Troy wakes up, his gang forces the doctor to put Archer’s face onto his. Aside from the fact that Cage and Travolta totally chew the scenery playing each other’s characters, Face/Off is incredibly stylized and over-the-top in the best ways. From famed Hong Kong action director John Woo, Face/Off blends absurdity with elegant scenes of violence and mayhem. It’s a high-octane thrill ride that doesn’t let up and features two A-list stars giving it their all. Want personalized streaming recommendations? Tell us your favorite services below, and we’ll send you our newsletter. (Select all that apply.) ‘The Worst Person in the World’ (2021) Never mind that it’s Norwegian — this film is so deeply relatable that you’ll see yourself in it even if you’ve never been further north than Michigan. It’s a romantic dramedy that follows a young student named Julie (Renate Reinsve) as she tries to figure out her life. She goes from studying medicine to photography to writing, but that’s not nearly as challenging as sticking with a decision about her love life. Torn between comic book artist Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie) and barista Eivind (Herbert Nordrum), Julie makes mistakes at every turn, unable to resist choices that make her feel like the worst person in the world. Director Joachim Trier blends fantasy sequences with heartbreaking realism in this funny and clever movie.
