20 (or so) movies you need to see on the big screen

Baz Luhrmann didn’t invent the maximalist style of filmmaking, but he sure perfected it. There’s no better example of his skill for cramming his frames with decorative bric-a-brac than his dazzling jukebox musical Moulin Rouge! The final entry in Lurmann’s Red Curtain Trilogy (following Romeo + Juliet and Strictly Ballroom) stars Nicole Kidman as a courtesan who falls in love with an idealistic starving artist played by Ewan McGregor. The rich, ornate sets, the beguiling musical numbers (including a sumptuous Bollywood-inspired set piece), and the celebratory score filled with familiar pop tunes, are all part of the show. It’s a show you want to watch more than once, in an environment where you can get thoroughly caught up in the splendor of the busy, fanciful world Luhrmann creates.

The gap between the experience of watching a film at home and in a theater is especially glaring when it comes to Avatar and Avatar: The Way Of Water. Unlike most of the entries on this list, story and character are of secondary importance to the main attraction of this franchise—the lush, pristine images created through state-of-the art VFX. The eye-popping alien habitats of Pandora, whether we’re in the fluorescent jungle in the original film or the tropical seas of the sequel, made both films massive hits while they were in theaters. Home screens, no matter how big, don’t do these films justice. Perhaps that’s why they tend to fade out of popular culture once those theatrical runs end. Until the next one comes along (possibly towards the end of 2025), to remind the audience what it’s like to watch Avatar in theaters all over again.

Before seeing Gravity you may have never wondered what it would be like to float through space, but by the time you walk out of the theater, you’ll have a pretty good idea. And if you have wondered, it’s likely to put you off that dream for good. Alfonso Cuarón’s cosmic thriller starring Sandra Bullock is not for the weak of heart; it could have been subtitled “100 Ways To Die In Space.” As Bullock’s Dr. Ryan Stone overcomes one calamity after another, we’re right there with her, experiencing the highs and lows of her fight to survive an extraordinary ordeal. The spectacular views we get of our faraway blue planet, the moon, and the starry expanse of the universe constantly remind us of the, ahem, gravity of her situation. The effect is truly absorbing, and it’s only intensified in the theater.

If George Miller wants to just keep making films in the Mad Max universe for the rest of his career, we’d be fine with that. The iconic post-apocalyptic series features some of the best car chases and action sequences ever filmed and, until Furiosa comes out this summer at least, Mad Max: Fury Road is the crown jewel of the franchise. Miller tends to work on a massive cinematic canvas, making his films ideally suited to larger-than-life formats. He also tends to assemble a skilled crew who specializes in bringing those outsized visions to life. Out of the 10 Academy Award nominations the film received (including Best Picture and Best Director), it took home Oscars for its costumes, editing, makeup and hairstyling, production design, editing, and sound. Seeing it on a big screen gives you a real appreciation for those many technical achievements, not to mention the captivating performances of Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, Nicholas Hoult, and the rest of the outstanding cast.

We were very tempted to put Arrival on this list, due to its status within the film community as an evolutionary step forward in cinematography and visual storytelling. So take it as a bonus suggestion; we’d definitely recommend seeing Arrival in theaters. But, ultimately, we decided to go with another Denis Villeneuve film (actually three others, but two of them will have to wait): Blade Runner 2049. It’s a gorgeous film no matter where you see it, but it doesn’t have quite the same impact on a smaller screen. In collaboration with legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, Villeneuve created an eclectic, dystopian future of neon skyscrapers, barren industrial wastelands, imposing brutalist architecture, and hazy landscapes lit mainly by practical sources. When scaled down it can look soupy and flat, but there’s so much more to see through that fog.

We couldn’t pick one Spider-Verse film over the other, so we’re including them both here. A double feature, perhaps? It wouldn’t be a bad way to spend four hours or so in air-conditioned darkness. The Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse pushed the boundaries of what an animated superhero film could be, with innovative perspectives and a mix of styles that paid tribute to a wide range of comic source material. It felt fresh and kinetic, reminding us of all the fun things Spider-Man (or any superhero, for that matter) could be and do. It was pretty much perfect as it was. Or so we thought. Then Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse came out and changed our perceptions all over again. It took the idea of tribute to a whole new level, offering even more Spider-themed heroes created through even more techniques—from watercolor paintings to punk-rock collages to rough sketches. These films never lets you forget that you’re watching a work of art on a towering canvas.

Hey look, it’s our old friend Denis Villeneuve, making another appearance on this list with two of the most ambitious films of the last few years. Because, like the Spider-Verse films, we couldn’t pick one over the other we’re putting them together as one glorious entry. If you’ve recently gone back and watched Dune at home, either before or after seeing Dune: Part Two at the theater, it’s a pretty good demonstration of the phenomenon we’re talking about here. The difference in viewing conditions can drastically alter your perceptions of these films. Although we don’t yet know how Part Two will play on streaming, we can extrapolate based on its predecessor. There’s simply no comparison.

Yeah, we went there. If you’re already mad about the doubling up of previous picks, you’re really not going to like this sweeping generalization. In fairness, though, there isn’t a Christopher Nolan film from the last two decades that isn’t more effective on the big screen. So, instead of picking just one (and being accused of recency bias if that one happened to be this year’s Oscar winner Oppenheimer), we decided to go with the lot of them. In chronological order, that includes Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet, and yes, Oppenheimer. Every director we’ve previously mentioned on this list would probably prefer (or would have preferred) to have their films seen in a theater, but Nolan is the only one who got into a very public fight with a major studio (Warner Bros.) for its strategy of releasing films, potentially including Tenet, directly on its streaming platform (we were in the midst of a pandemic at the time, to be fair). Whatever you think of Nolan’s insistence on the supremacy of theatrical distribution, he’s not wrong that it’s the absolute best way to indulge in his epic, effects-driven event films.