It’s the depths of summer. It’s still stultifyingly, dangerously hot. Going outside is a fool’s game unless you have 500 SPF sunblock and a personal AC unit. Be sensible: Stay inside and enjoy some of the best movies currently streaming instead.
August’s offerings include the return of Avatar: The Last Airbender on Paramount+, with a brand new adventure returning to the cast of the fan-favorite animated series as adults and struggling with newfound responsibilities. The same theme carries over to Heartstopper Forever on Netflix, where teen romance is dashed against the rocks of looming adulthood.
Elsewhere, there’s a double helping of liminal space creepiness from Japan, with the exceptional live action horror Exit 8 on Shudder, and the action epic Demon Slayer The Movie: Infinity Castle—one of the most successful animated movies in Japanese history—on Crunchyroll. And, if you’d rather not have to think in this heat, enjoy an action-packed pairing of Mortal Kombat 2 and Masters of the Universe, two films that aren’t so much “so bad they’re good”, as they are “turn brain off now for fun time.”
Here are WIRED’s picks of the best movies to watch right now.
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender
Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Only the Avatar is master of all four elements—but Aang, the latest inheritor of the mantle, vanished when he was most needed. Frozen in suspended animation for decades, Aang was awakened by waterbender Katara and her warrior brother Sokka. Joined by earthbender Toph, and firebending enemy-turned-ally Zuko, Team Avatar went on to save the world. Now, as adults, they face an even more daunting task: rebuilding it. Yet with Aang the last living airbender, the world remains out of balance—until he discovers Tagah, an ancient airbender suspended as he once was. No longer alone, the group set out to find an ancient artifact belonging to a forgotten Avatar, in the hope it can restore airbending to the world. But why was Tagah frozen centuries ago, and can he be trusted now?
A direct sequel to the brilliant and beloved 2005 Nickelodeon animated series, this feature length adventure is a more mature outing, growing up with its original audience, and delivering some of the most breathtaking animation you’ll see all year. Sadly robbed of a wide theatrical release—and victim of a notorious leak of the full film—Avatar Aang still shines on the small screen.
Heartstopper Forever
One of the most successful comic book adaptations in years, Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper reaches its long-awaited conclusion with a final movie. Fans have followed the love story of Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) through high school, battling early doubts, coming-out confusion, and mental health struggles along the way. Yet as Nick embarks for university, the pair are forced to ask whether their relationship can survive—especially when friends Elle (Yasmin Finney) and Tao (William Gao) are choosing to break up after graduation. A beautiful ode to young love and queer joy, Heartstopper Forever fizzes with emotion. Grab tissues.
Mortal Kombat II
It’s not big (only $129 million at the box office) and it’s not clever (superpowered martial artists stave off an interdimensional invasion via the fine diplomatic art of punching) but Mortal Kombat II is a hell of a lot of fun. Picking up from the stinger of 2021’s cinematic reboot of the long-running fighting game series, the focus switches to washed-up action movie star Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), who must prove he has what it takes to stand as one of Earthrealm’s defenders. Diving into some of the weirder fantasy elements of the source material, director Simon McQuoid delivers some incredible action set pieces, with fight scenes that deliver all the brutality fans expect, and a surprisingly sharp comedic edge throughout.
Masters of the Universe
When his home of Eternia was invaded, Prince Adam (Nicholas Galatzine) was sent to Earth for his own protection. Now, he’s a weirdo stuck in a dead-end corporate job who won’t stop talking about the fantasy world he came from—until his old friend Teela (Camila Mendes) tracks him down to take him home and fight off the forces of Skeletor.