The weekend is here! If you're looking for something to watch, we can help. We've dug through Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Max and Disney+ to find some of the best titles on each service. STREAMING ON NETFLIX 'Do the Right Thing'
Spike Lee wrote, directed and co-starred in this drama of racial tensions on the rise during the hottest day of the summer. Lee sets his story on one block in Brooklyn, as a minor conflict in the neighborhood pizzeria escalates into a full-scale uprising, but it's no mere polemic; he populates that block with richly drawn characters, filling the frame with such vibrancy and humor that when the violence begins, it's like a kick in the gut. Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Giancarlo Esposito, John Turturro and Rosie Perez are among the four-star cast, while Danny Aiello, the pizzeria owner, was nominated for an Oscar. Our critic called it, simply, "one terrific movie." (For more Spike Lee, stream "Da 5 Bloods" or "She's Gotta Have It.") These are the 50 best movies on Netflix.STREAMING ON NETFLIX 'The Great British Baking Show'
Home bakers gather in a tent in the English countryside, where they make pastries and breads in front of demanding judges and supportive comedians. The cooking competition show has been done in dozens of different ways, but there's still something special about "The Great British Baking Show," a life-affirming series in which contestants of various ages and socio-ethnic backgrounds hug one another, cry together and enjoy a sense of camaraderie. This remains one of the best shows in the genre, even with the multiple changes in hosts and judges over the years. Writing for The Times, Tom Whyman called it "the key to understanding today's Britain." (For another classy cooking competition, watch "Top Chef.") Here are 30 great TV shows on Netflix.STREAMING ON HULU 'Y Tu Mamá También'
It sounds like the setup for an '80s sex comedy: Two horny teenage boys take an impromptu road trip and convince a seductive older woman to come along. But the director Alfonso Cuarón ("Gravity," "Children of Men") frames this story partly through the unexpected but effective lens of class and political struggle, constructing a delicate film with much to say about masculinity, poverty and mortality. And then, on top of that, it's sexy. Our critic called it "fast, funny, unafraid of sexuality and finally devastating." Here are Hulu's best movies and TV shows.STREAMING ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO 'Titanic'
Few expected James Cameron's dramatization (and fictionalization) of the 1912 sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic to become a nearly unmatched commercial success and Oscar winner; most of its prerelease publicity concerned its over-budget and over-schedule production. But in retrospect, we should have known — it was the kind of something-for-everyone entertainment that deftly combines historical drama, wide-screen adventure and heartfelt romance. And its stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, became one of the great onscreen pairings of the 1990s. Our critic called it "a huge, thrilling three-and-a-quarter-hour experience." Here are a bunch of great movies on Amazon.STREAMING ON MAX 'Taxi Driver'
Still shocking and endlessly imitated after half a century, Martin Scorsese's vision of urban alienation and psychosis burrows into the troubled conscience of Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), a New York cabbie whose sick fixations eventually lead to bloodshed. After his pursuit of an attractive campaign worker (Cybill Shepherd) falls flat, Travis decides to take action to "wipe the scum off the streets," focusing first on a political candidate and later on a pimp (Harvey Keitel) with an underage prostitute (Jodie Foster). Within this repugnant character, Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader find intense loneliness and suffering while noting larger ironies about American violence. Vincent Canby called it "one of the most compelling portraits of a lunatic personality." See more great movies streaming on Max.STREAMING ON DISNEY+ 'Bambi'
No one can forget the trauma of watching a hunter kill a young deer's mother. But after that notorious moment, "Bambi" is watercolor poetry, following the fawn as he learns and grows alongside his woodland friends and eventually becomes a father himself. Without spelling it out in a big production number, the film quietly teaches children about the "circle of life" in all its beauty, wonder and occasional loss. "The colors," our critic raved, "would surprise even the spectrum itself." The 50 best things to watch on Disney+ right now.
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