Top 10 best worst films on Now TV

Wednesday 20 September 2017 by Charlotte Whyatt  Features

The House Bunny

For the times when you're done with lengthy, complex films and just need something fun and fluffy there's The House Bunny, a bright and very funny romantic comedy that's actually a lot more enjoyable than it first appears.

As usual for a film like this, the plot is fairly thin but mainly what makes The House Bunny so watchable is the endlessly likeable Anna Faris whose natural ditzy charm and excellent comedic timing help to keep it alive and land even the script's weakest jokes.

The supporting cast are also all great, particularly a then unknown Emma Stone as the leader of the geeky sorority Faris's ex-playboy bunny decides to help out, able to play off each other and Faris incredibly well.

Girl, Interrupted

Angelina Jolie might've won an academy-award for her amazing portrayal of dangerously charming sociopath Lisa, but every other aspect of James Mangold's drama about writer Susana Kaysen's (Winona Ryder) 18-month stay in a psychiatric ward was met with distinctly average reviews.

Many critics took issue with the fact that Girl, Interrupted presents more of an episodic narrative rather than an overarching plot that arrives at a satisfying conclusion, but it's this that allows the film to focus more on its cast of vibrant characters and their complex relationships with each other.

Jolie is well-matched by Ryder in the lead role who's able to make the spoilt Susana engaging and sympathetic. The supporting cast are also strong, particularly the late Brittany Murphy as troubled bulimic Daisy and Elisabeth Moss as childlike schizophrenic Polly.

Final Destination 3

The third entry in Jeffery Riddick's long-running horror franchise marks the point at which he and returning director James Wong finally got it right, managing to infuse the enjoyably over-the-top almost B-movie like events with a genuinely dark and sinister undertone.

Thankfully, they've decided to ditch the confusing lore from previous instalments and concentrate on what everyone's here for, the brilliantly gory and increasingly bizarre death scenes. 3 easily contain some of the franchise's cringe-inducing and creative best, particularly the now infamous sequence in the tanning salon.

Something else that helps immensely with making the film watchable is 10 Cloverfield Lane star Mary Elizabeth Winstead who lends a surprisingly amount of depth and likeability to a lead role that could've been very one note.

Bad Neighbours 2

Not only is it just as hilarious as its raunchy 2014 original, but Bad Neighbours 2 manages to avoid feeling like a lazy re-tread by using its gender-swap concept (it's now a sorority terrorizing Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne's slacker couple rather than a bro-centric frat) to make a few surprisingly smart criticisms of the American college system's sexist rules.

The critiques are handled well enough so that they don't feel too heavy handed and naturally slot in amongst the colourful mix of gross-out gags and witty pop culture references. Refreshingly for a comedy like this, there's also no jokes made at the expense of Dave Franco's gay character Pete.

The reliably funny Rogen and Byrne are on top form again as is Zac Efron, reprising his role as loveable loser Teddy from the first film, who continues to prove that he's actually a very capable comedic actor.

Batman vs Superman

Zac Snyder's ultra-dark and gritty take on DC's two biggest heroes opened to mostly awful reviews last year, but there's still quite a lot of fun to be had amongst the overly complicated plot and occasionally clunky dialogue.

For all of the complaints voiced by critics regarding the amount of CGI action, all of the fight scenes have been excellently choregraphed and are hugely exciting as a result. While Cavill is pretty good as the Man of Steel, Ben Affleck makes for a hugely compelling Batman with his more mature and troubled take on the character.

Another definite highlight of Batman vs Superman is Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman who, despite not being on-screen for very long, is hugely charming and effortlessly cool.

Cruel Intentions

Roger Kumble's adaptation of a classic French novel might not have received as much critical-acclaim as the Academy-Award winning 1998 version, but it's definitely something of a guilty pleasure that's packed with plenty of enjoyably dark soapy drama.

Now set in late 1990's New York among your usual group of impossibly rich and attractive prep schoolers, we follow Kathyrn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) as she plots Game Of Thrones style with her step-brother Sebastian (Ryan Phillipe) to destroy the impossibly sweet Annette (Reese Witherspoon) for stealing her boyfriend.

All of the game cast are clearly having a great time, particularly Gellar as the brilliantly bitchy queen-bee, which goes a long way toward keeping the film's weaker moments entertaining.

Anaconda

All kind of B-movie brilliance is present in director Luis Llosa's amazingly cheesy old-school creature feature which stars Jon Voight, rapper Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez.

It's obviously nowhere near as sophisticated as a film like Jaws with its stock character types and ropey CGI, but Anaconda is incredibly entertainingly with a few genuinely suspenseful thrills and the unintentionally hilarious quality of its schlocky script.

Jennifer Lopez is more than passable as documentary maker Terri but it's Ice Cube and John Voight who really shine with two gloriously hammy performances.

The Wedding Singer

Adam Sandler's name alone is usually enough to turn you off a film after his wave of painfully unfunny and self-indulgent projects like Grown Ups, but this sweet and sunny romantic comedy is worth a watch if you find yourself perusing the genre.

It's obviously not going to win any awards for complexity or depth, but it's so earnestly positive, unlike the quite cruel and gross-out humour that punctuates a lot of Sandler's other films, and everybody is so genuinely likeable that you'll find yourself enjoying it anyway.

The relationship between stars Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore forms the crux of the film and luckily, it's incredibly engaging with a sparkling chemistry and plenty of aww moments.

Wild at Heart

David Lynch can be a difficult director to like due to his incredibly dark, surreal and often downright bizarre body of work but there's a lot to love in this twisted, ultra-violent road movie from 1990 starring Nicolas Cage and Lynch favourite Laura Dern.

As with the critically-acclaimed but equally as crazy Blue Velvet, Lynch has managed to capture that feeling of quaint Americana and completely subvert into something terrifyingly strange, grimy and bleakly comic that's peppered with colourful Tarantino like pop-culture references.

Cage as usual is totally committed to the role displaying his trademark over-the-top craziness as is Dern who manages to imbue the bold and brassy Lula with a quiet vulnerability.

 In the Heart of the Sea

An adaptation of Nathaniel Philbrick's non-fiction book, The Heart Of The Sea details the disastrous final voyage of American whaling ship The Essex which inspired Herman Melville's classic novel Moby Dick in director Ron Howard's usual epic style.

Although Howard could've done with making the film darker and a lot more intense, it functions perfectly well as what it ended up being, a hugely thrilling and exciting adventure film which is vividly bought to life by stunning CGI.

Chris Hemsworth makes for a likeable if slightly bland leading man while Cillian Murphy and Tom Holland provide excellent support as the Essex's calm and collected second mate and shy cabin boy respectively.

What is Now TV?

Now TV is a streaming service that allows you to watch a huge range of both live TV and on-demand content. There's four different passes for you to choose from, either the Entertainment, Sky Cinema, Kids or Sky Sports, each of which will allow you to watch a specific type of content.

How much is Now TV?

The Entertainment Pass is £6.99 a month and will allow you to enjoy over 250 different box sets and 11 live TV channels including Sky Atlantic, while the Kids Pass is just £2.99 a month and provides you with access to great kid channels like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.

The Sky Cinema package is £9.99 a month and provides you with access to over 1,000 brilliant films on-demand.

The Sky Sports pass works a little differently, having three different payment options to choose from. You can either go for the Day pass at £6.99 which will allow you to enjoy the best Sky Sports action for 24 hours, the Week Pass at £10.99 or the Month Pass for payment of £33.99.

How do I watch Now TV?

Now TV is available through a Now TV set top box or the NOW TV app which can be downloaded for free onto games consoles, tablets, smartphones (both iOS and Android) and standard desktop computers or laptops.

There's two NOW TV boxes to choose from, the NOW TV box or the NOW TV Smart Box. The NOW TV box starts from £14.99 and obviously depending on which pass you purchase will offer you access to all kinds of entertainment, the ability to watch catch-up services like BBC iPlayer and to download different apps.

The NOW TV Smart Box allows you to do all of this and more by granting you access to over 60 Freeview and 15 HD channels as well as the ability to pause and rewind live TV.