3 great free movies you should stream this weekend (April 26-28)
What are you watching this weekend? All eyes will be on Zendaya as her new tennis film, Challengers, opens in theaters. The romantic thriller featuring a seductive love triangle will likely be the top film at the weekend box office. If you plan to stay home, Anyone but You, the hit rom-com starring Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, is now streaming on Netflix. Additionally, Monkey Man and Arthur the King are available for purchase on demand.
Not every film this weekend will cost money. You can check out the thousands of free movies with ads on FAST services including Tubi and Pluto TV. Check out our list of three films that you can watch for free this weekend. Our picks include a cult classic from the 1980s, an underrated sports drama from the early 2000s, and a revolutionary 1970s horror film.
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
John Carpenter is a genre legend, with multiple landmark films in horror, sci-fi, and horror. Halloween, Escape from New York, and The Thing are considered his masterpieces. However, don’t sleep on Big Trouble in Little China, Carpenter’s 1986 fantasy action comedy. Carpenter’s frequent collaborator, Kurt Russell, stars as Jack Burton, an outlaw truck driver who agrees to help his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) pick up his green-eyed fiancée, Miao Yin (Suzee Pai), from the airport.
Upon arrival, a Chinese street gang, the Lords of Death, kidnaps Miao Yin and brings her to an underworld beneath Chinatown on the orders of David Lo Pan (James Hong), a sorcerer who needs to marry a woman with green eyes to break an ancient curse. Big Trouble in Little China was a movie that Carpenter initially hated — he even vowed to leave the studio system in favor of a career as an independent filmmaker. However, Big Trouble in Little China has become a cult classic, and is frequently cited as one of Carpenter’s most underrated films.
Stream Big Trouble in Little China for free on Tubi.
Hardball (2001)
Though Keanu Reeves predominantly works in action and comedy these days, the versatile 59-year-old veteran actor has headlined dramas, especially in the 1990s and 2000s. One of Reeves’ most undervalued performances during that stretch came in Hardball, Brian Robbins’s sports dramedy about a Little League baseball team. Reeves stars as Conor O’Neill (Reeves), a down-on-his-luck gambler in debt to several bookies. Conor agrees to coach a little league baseball team in one of Chicago’s roughest neighborhoods to repay one of his debts.
Conor is initially reluctant to coach the team and puts in minimal effort. However, Conor eventually grows to love and respect his team, forming a fatherly bond with his players and a romantic relationship with their teacher, Elizabeth Wilkes (Diane Lane). Hardball has the familiar trope of a sports movie: underdogs who come together to fight for a championship. However, Hardball has a surprising amount of heart, with a climactic scene that might bring you to tears. You might even put your hands in the air and sing Big Poppa.
Stream Hardball for free on Pluto TV.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Where to even begin with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? It’s on the short list for the most influential horrors ever made. Quentin Tarantino believes Tobe Hooper’s groundbreaking film is a “perfect movie.” It’s hard to disagree, considering The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is legitimately terrifying and a master class. in suspense.
In the early 1970s, five friends, one of them being Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns), embark on a trip across rural Texas to visit the grave of Sally’s grandfather. After a strange encounter with a hitchhiker, the group stops at a clapboard house to barter for gas. It’s a deadly mistake, as the house belongs to a sadistic family of cannibals led by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen). With the murderous Leatherface on the loose, the teens must evade capture long enough to escape the property. Predictably, not everyone will make it.
Stream The Texas Chain Saw Massacre for free on Tubi.
