Whether you’re looking for an old favorite or something a bit more recent to watch, there’s usually a reliable handful of great movies to watch for free on the Roku Channel. This month is a particularly good one for action and thriller fans, with standouts ranging from the latest installment of the always impeccably choreographed action in the “John Wick” franchise to a must-watch pair of 1990s crowd-pleasers.
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
If you want a straight shot of exquisite action, featuring several of the most accomplished action stars in the world, naturally, you turn to the “John Wick” films. This month, Roku has “John Wick: Chapter 4,” the most recent installment in the franchise, which travels from Tokyo to Paris and introduces heavy-hitters like Donnie Yen and Scott Adkins alongside Keanu Revees’ gun-toting ultra assassin. There’s really no one in the game right now doing action spectacle quite like franchise helmer Chad Stahelski and his seemingly inexhaustible star.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2024)
“The Edge of Seventeen” writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig delivered another all-timer coming-of-age movie with her 2023 Judy Blume adaptation, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” A spectacularly cast young Abby Ryder Forston carries the film as eleven-year-old Margaret, who adjusts to life in the suburbs while feeling (all the feelings) her way through adolescence, and the young actress is bookended by powerhouses, with Rachel McAdams as her mom and Kathy Bates as her grandma. Craig has a true delicate touch and command of tone, and “Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret” is such a touching and tender film that it feels like a warm hug, even in its most poignant moments.
Sisu (2022)
If you’ve ever watched a “Jon Wick” movie and thought, man I wish I could set this guy loose on a bunch of Nazis, the perfect movie for you actually already exists and it’s free on Roku Channel this month. The 2022 Finnish action hit “Sisu” stars Jorma Tommila as a gold prospector, Aatami Korpi, who also happens to be an unkillable one-man army. When he runs into an SS platoon hellbent on taking his gold, he begins taking them all out one by one in increasingly creative, often funny ways. Gory grindhouse fun for anyone who could use the catharsis of watching a bunch of Nazis take one brutal L after the next.
Sony Dates ‘Sisu’ Sequel for This Fall
Men in Black (1997)
“Men in Black” is pretty much a perfect, tightly-constructed sci-fi adventure for the whole family. Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1997 hit was a critical success and crowd favorite alike, hitting the sweet spot between technical prowess, delightful world-building and a chart-topping late-90s banger courtesy of star Will Smith. Starring Smith as the newcomer and Tommy Lee Jones as the experienced agent who’s seen it all, “Men in Black” follows the unlikely duo into a secret government agency that regulates the immigration and invasion threats of extraterrestrials, from the cute and cuddly to the sticky and icky. Funny, smart, stunning special effects — “Men in Black” is a peak ’90s blockbuster with enduring charm.
The Fugitive (1993)
A throwback to the time when awards season frontrunners were bona fide crowd-pleasers, “The Fugitive” is a crackerjack thriller, following Harrison Ford’s Dr. Richard Kimble on the run after being framed for his wife’s murder while Tommy Lee Jones’s U.S. Marshal hunts him down. From Andrew Davis, the filmmaker who brought you “Under Siege” and “Holes” (yes, the Shia LeBeouf one), “The Fugitive” is perfectly orchestrated cat-and-mouse game between two hypercompetent good guys you can’t help but root for. A pitch-perfect ’90s thriller, “The Fugitive” was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and Jones took home the Best Supporting Actor win.
