The first weekend in May signals the start of summer movie season. Marvel started things off with Thunderbolts*, a team-up adventure featuring a ragtag group of antiheroes. Thunderbolts* got off to a respectable start with an opening weekend of $76 million domestic. Thunderbolts* should continue to rule the box office until Memorial Day weekend.
This weekend marks the arrival of several smaller movies, including Shadow Force, Friendship, and Fight or Flight. Stream a free movie on a FAST service like Tubi and Pluto TV if you prefer to stay home. Our recommendations for this weekend include a riveting survival thriller, a sports drama, and an action reboot.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Thirteen Lives (2022)
Ron Howard has a gift for adapting incredible true stories, i.e., Apollo 13. In 2022, Howard tackled the death-defying 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in Thirteen Lives. Twelve young boys and their assistant coach get stuck in the Tham Luang cave after severe flooding knocks them off course. With most of the cave underwater, diving is the only way to search and find the boys.
The Thai government seeks guidance from experienced cave divers Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) and John Volanthen (Colin Farrell). Finding the boys is one thing, but getting them out of the cave becomes the real challenge. If you’re low on hope and inspiration, Thirteen Lives will reaffirm your belief in the human spirit.
Stream Thirteen Lives on Pluto TV.
Air (2023)
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is arguably the greatest player ever to pick up a basketball. Before winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls and becoming a Hall of Famer, Jordan was the third pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. Air is not a movie about Jordan’s talent on the court. Instead, it dramatizes Nike’s courtship of the budding superstar to wear their signature sneakers.
In the 1980s, Nike was predominantly known for making running shoes. Nike’s basketball scout Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) wants to change that and convinces CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) to exhaust all resources to sign Jordan. The key to signing Jordan is winning over his mother, Deloris (Viola Davis). Air is essentially a series of conversations in rooms, but its overqualified cast and excellent screenplay shine in this new take on a sports movie.
Stream Air for free on Tubi.
Tomb Raider (2018)
Alicia Vikander grabbed the torch from Angelina Jolie to play Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. As a young woman, Lara has never been the same since the disappearance of her father, Richard (Dominic West). While attempting to settle her family’s estate, Lara receives a set of instructions from Richard to destroy his research into a mythical queen.
Believing her father remains alive, Lara travels to Hong Kong to find Richard’s last known destination. With the help of a ship captain (Daniel Wu), Lara travels into a deadly storm to reach a secret island and find Richard. Tomb Raider is a viable swashbuckling action movie with a committed Vikander, who should continue to star in action movies going forward.
Stream Tomb Raider for free on Tubi.