Best Hulu Movies

Hulu is probably the most popular site online to watch free and legal movies. If you do a search for "best Hulu movies" you will get over 1.8 million results with most of the sites listing movies that Hulu hasn't had for years. You can go directly to Hulu, but with thousands of free movies it can be quite a task to decide what to watch. Hulu does have a system that will list movies as most popular and highest rated, but many of their best movies have no rating at all. The movies that I will post will be the ones that Hulu viewers, outside critics, and myself have given good reviews. The movie list will be updated at least twice a month.
Before watching any movies on Hulu be sure you have an updated flash player and delete all spyware from your computer to prevent buffering.  If buffering does occur pause it for 5 or 10 minutes and then start again. Using Hulu's dim the lights option will improve the contrast and give you a movie theater-like atmosphere.
If you watch any of the movies that I have posted please let me know what you thought of them in the comments section.
Hulu.com is recommended by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Watch It Now

1. The Others - Featured Movie -  This 2001 horror movie staring Nicole Kidman has received great reviews from most critics including the viewers on Hulu with myself included.
Nicole Kidman who plays Grace, and her two sickly children (allergic to sunlight) move into an large old mansion in New jersey to await the return of her husband from World War II. Turns out the house is  haunted and her husband was killed in the war. This movie has great acting, a pretty good storyline, and plenty of scary scenes. Rated PG.

Watch It Here

2. The First of May - Featured Movie - This 1999 family movie stars Mickey Rooney and Julie Harris. Storyline - A unwanted young boy who lives in a foster home and his elderly friend Carlotta (Confined to a nursing home) run away  to join a circus in hopes of becoming part of a family.
The critics, Hulu viewers, and myself  have given this well written movie great reviews. Most won't make it through this movie without having a tear in their eye.

3. The Good Witch - Featured Movie - This 2008 made for TV movie is one the whole family should enjoy. Hulu Viewers have given this one 4 out of 5 well deserved stars and most of the critics across the internet have given it 7 out of 10 stars.
Storyline - Cassie Nightingale, who is a very strange sort of person is the towns newest resident. She moves into the local haunted house where she opens a shop that sells objects of the occult.  Some of the town-folk are convinced that she must be a wicked witch because of her mystifying behavior.

Watch It Here

4. Alabama Moon - Featured Movie - This 2009 family/drama  has received 4 out of 5 stars from Hulu. Jimmy Bennett stars as Moon Blake a young boy who has been raised in the forests of Alabama by his father. Moons father dies in the wilderness and the land he has learned to survive on is sold. He is forced to move into a life in the modern world were he hopes to journey to Alaska and once again live off the land. He eventually ends up in reform school where he learns the true meaning of friendship.
Alabama Moon is rated PG and is one your whole family should enjoy.

5. Rabbit Proof Fence - This Australian Drama/Adventure tells the story of 3 young girls who were taken from their family and forced into a life of slavery. They eventually escape and plan to travel 1500 miles across the Australian outback following a fence in hopes of getting back home. The movie takes place in the 1930s when it was actually legal to remove aborigine children from their home.  Hulu viewers have given this great foreign film 4 out of 5 stars with myself and many of the online critics giving 8 out of 10 stars. Don't miss this one.

6. The Tale Of Zatoichi - This 1962 action movie stars Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman. Critics that have reviewed this movie proclaim that it is one of the best Japanese movies of 1962. Hulu gives it 4 out of 5 stars.Not rated.

7. Weird Science - In this 1985 comedy/sci-fi movie two teenage boys try to create the perfect woman on their computer. Their project actually works. Don't miss the part where Kelly LeBrock  who plays Lisa turns Chet into a turd. This movie is rated PG13.

8. Whats Cooking - This 2000 comedy/drama shows how four different ethnic groups face their family problems on Thanksgiving day in Los Angeles.
Hulu critics have given this movie 4 out of 5 stars. Rated PG

9. Sudie And Simpsom - This 1990 movie stars Louis Gossett Jr. as a poor man who becomes good friends with a 10 year old white girl in the 1940s . This was a time in history when racial tensions were at there highest.

10. The Secret Of Kells - This 2009 academy award nominated animation should probably be at the top of this list and probably will when I get time to finish watching it. A well written movie by Tomm Moore.that has received 8 out of 10 well deserved stars from the online critics. The movie takes place in medieval times where you follow Brendan on his journey through the dangerous enchanted forest as he helps to complete the magical book. This coming of age story is liked by both children and adults. It is not rated but is suitable for all.

11. Ballest - This award winning drama from 2008 is new to Hulu but has been gaining popularity every day.
This movie shows the struggles a single mother and her family must go through after having a tragic suicide take place in their family. Hulu has given it 4 out of 5 stars. This movie does not have a rating but its not recommended for children.

Best Legal Movie Sites

I recently did a google search to find the best legal movie sites online and came up with over 33 million results. Turned out that most of these so called legal movie sites were illegal online sites showing unauthorized movies. If you go to a website that is offering downloads or streams of movies that are still playing in theaters, and have not yet been released on dvd common sense should tell you that these are unauthorized movies. Although some of these illegal sites are based in the United States many originate in other countries such as Eastern Europe and China. The government of China has been uncooperative with the United States in shutting down these sites. I do not like the idea of supporting the economy of a communist country by viewing movies that they have robbed from America. Recent laws have made it easier for federal agents to seize these illegal domains and their bank accounts, but more are popping up everyday. Many believe that linking to unauthorized streaming movies is legal because their is no downloading but this is also illegal. Viruses can also be a big problem with viewing illegal content. If you are watching unauthorized content it will only be a matter of time until your computer eventually gets a severe virus.
I can not guarantee that the websites and movies listed on this blog can be viewed in countries other than the United States.

Do You Believe It's ethical to watch new DVD releases, or movies that are still in theaters online?  Please Let Me Know In Your Comments.

Here's My List Of The Best Legal Movie Sites

1. Hulu.com---First on my list of the best legal movie sites is HULU. A very large selection of legal to view, high quality, streaming movies that can be embedded on your web page if you desire. Hulu movies also have a dim lights option which adds to the movie quality if you're watching in the daytime light. They prefer if you sign up but it's only necessary if you watch R rated movies. You won't find to many newer movies on hulu but some of what they have are award winning movies. You will also have to put up with some brief commercials which pays for the right to view the movie. Hulu also has a large selection of television programs. Don't miss the feature movie of the week presented by Hulu.com.

2. Crackle.com--- Coming in at a very close second is  CRACKLE.com. This is a site that is very similar to hulu.com with hundreds of high quality streaming movies that contain some short commercials. Registration is not required but preferred. I recently watched the Cable Guy staring Jim Carey at crackle.

3.  YouTube Movies---Since my original post of March 19th, 2011, I had YouTube movies ranked at number 10.  I was a little hesitant about posting YouTube as a legal movie site because of the large amount of illegal, unauthorized movies that could be found on the site. Over the past year YouTube has worked wonders to get rid of the unauthorized movies and now has one of the best selections of free and legal movies online. YouTube has worked hard to block the illegal content that is uploaded to their site but with over a billion users it's quite a task. They seem to be gaining great headway. A few years ago I spent four or five days looking for newly released (in theater) illegal movies on YouTube and found over two hundred movies.  This is now a very rare occurrence. YouTube now has a very large selection of legal movies that they sponsor. You can find them by clicking on You Tube Movies, and then categories, and click on free movies.  Most of these movies are very good, but you will find a few that are a complete waste of time to watch. Read the viewers comments before watching any movie. Check out my YouTube channel for a partial list of YouTube's best movies. I recently watched A Wedding For Bella staring Scott Baio, a really good movie that should bring a tear to your eye. I would highly recommend it.

4. Legal Movies Online--- Winner of my honorable mention award  goes to LEGAL MOVIES ONLINE. This is a site that only links to the best of the best  movies that can be found at sites such as Hulu.com, Crackle.com, Fear.net, Internet movie database, MyLifetime movies, SY FY channel movies, YouTube movies, and many public domain movies . Legal movies online is a much smaller website than hulu and crackle, but is very easy to navigate and has been growing by five or more new movies each day. The folks that put this site up are very determined to post only legal content. I recently watched a very good drama called The Stars Look Down at Legal Movies Online. Check it out.

5. Uncle Earl's Classic TV Channel--- This is a little known website I was lucky enough to find while doing a Google search for legal movie sites. Uncle Earl's has a great selection of classic movies and television shows that have been placed in the public domain. Want to see what television was about in the 50's, then check it out. Be sure and watch the Howdy Doody Show while your there.

6. Internet Archive---I refer to the Internet archive as the gateway to public domain movies (movies with no copyright). It includes thousands of full length public domain movies with viewer reviews and production information. Movies found here can be downloaded or watched on site.

7. MyLifeTime.Com--- My LifeTime.Com has a very good selection of full movies (most are drama) and TV programs available for anyone view. Movies are free and no sign-up is required. Most movies are the best LifeTime has to offer and run online for about 30 days. You are also allowed to vote on which movies will be viewed for the following month.

8. Shocker Internet Drive-In---Remember the fun we had going to drive-in movies back in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Shocker Internet drive-in has come close to duplicating these good times with their online drive-in double feature horror flicks. Each week they provide a new double feature for your viewing pleasure. Public domain movies only.

9. Fear.net--- If you're in to horror movies fear.net is the place to be. New horror flicks added almost every day. Some good, some not so good. Read the reviews before watching . When you're there be sure and check out their amazing shows. At my last trip to fear.net I watched an original show called roadkill zombies. It was great. Roadkill animals come back to life to seek revenge on their killers.

10. imdb.com--- The Internet movie data base is a free and legal movie site that has links to thousands of full length movies. The imdb is best known for having  movie reviews of pretty much every movie ever made. Before watching any movie online be sure and check out the IMDB users rating.  A large selection of TV programs are also available. The cons of this site are that the movies that are posted are not listed by genre and many are only five or ten minute movie shorts. Its definitely worth the time to check it out.

11. U-verse online is the newest addition to my list. It has plenty of free movies listed by genre or alphabetically.You can also upgrade to the pay version for newer movies. To get to their list of free movies mouse-over the word movies in the menu. The movies that are followed by an asterisk * can be viewed now and are free. This website is also recommended by the MPAA.

Watch A Lifetime Movie

If you enjoy watching a good drama movie every now and then, and like watching them online, you're in luck. The Lifetime movie network has an excellent website that offers 10 to 12 of their original movies available for your viewing pleasure each month. You can check out their free movies at mylifetime.com. Be sure and read the movie reviews that they have posted before you watch.


SYFY Online
Good news syfy channel fans, the syfy channel is showing some of their original movies online for free. The bad news is they usually only show one or two new movies each month. You can watch their monthly movies by going to their website HERE . More good news is if your're into syfy channel shows such as Sanctuary, Scare Tactics, Capricorn, Eureka, and many more, they have plenty. Check them out at SYFY Channel Rewind.


SCARIEST FREE MOVIES ONLINE
With Halloween just around the corner you're probably trying to decide what to watch on Halloween night. The internet offers plenty of scary movies you can watch whether or not its Halloween. Fear.net is probably the most popular site to visit if scary flicks are your thing.  I just finished watching  R.S.V.P.at fear.net which was an awesome movie. If you do get a chance to visit Fear.net don,t leave without watching Zombie Roadkill.  Zombie Roadkill is a very unique and scary web series. It starts out with a group of  teenage kids partying, and out for a joyride, but when they hit an innocent squirrel trying to cross the road trouble starts. The dead squirrel eventually comes back to life and hunts them down. The squirrel needs to replace one of his eyes that popped out when he was run over by the car, which it does courtesy of one of the teenage girls.
Youtube also has some of the scariest movies online with my favorite being the famous classic House on Haunted Hill, which is offered free as a full length movie and is legal to watch. One of the scariest movie shorts youtube has to offer is a well written short titled "There Are Monsters"  and was an official movie short at the London film festival.You might not sleep well tonight if you watch it.
If you're into zombie movies then the one to watch is the grand-daddy of them all "Night Of The Living Dead".  The best B movie ever made. The internet archive offers it free for your viewing pleasure.

Using Illegal Movie Sites

If you find a site that claims to have legal movies remember these tips.

1. If it is offering newly released movies it is most likely and illegal site.

2. If the quality of the movies is poor it is most likely an illegal site.

3. If you are asked to take a survey it is most likely and illegal site.

4. If you are allowed to see most of the movie and then asked for your credit card# to see the rest of it, it is most likely an illegal site.

5. If the website has no contact information you are probably at an illegal site.

6. If a website is advertising yearly fees with no contact information you are probably on an illegal site.

7. If you see the words unlimited downloads you are probably on an illegal site.

If you feel you have been ripped off by one of these illegal movie sites visit the Motion Picture Association Of America's website and fill out a report.

If You Know Of Any Free And Legal Movie Sites Please Let Me Know In The Comments.

Is it Illegal To Watch Streaming Movies

As a long time viewer of online movies and owner of a popular movie site, a question I get asked a lot Is, "Is watching streaming movies online illegal"?  I guess It sort of depends on who you talk to. A spokes-woman for the Motion Picture Association Of America told the LA times in an interview that It is illegal. A well known copyright attorney was quoted as saying, "It's sort of in a gray or murky area of the law".

In my opinion criminal charges could probably be pressed, but I don't know of any cases where this has happened. One way to look at It is, if you were to sneak into your local movie theater without out paying, and you got caught, you would most definitely be prosecuted for watching a movie without paying for it. After spending many hours on the MPAA website and many movie forums,message boards etc. the answer to this question is still unclear. I do know for sure that it is illegal to post links to unauthorized copyrighted material (movies, books, and music) on your website and possibly facebook, twitter, and myspace. Federal agents have even shut down some of these unscrupulous websites and have seized their bank accounts, a couple of them being tvshack.net and thepiratecity.org. I am still researching this subject and will post any findings. If you know of anyone that has been arrested or prosecuted for watching streaming movies please let me know in the comments

The movie at the bottom of this blog page is presented by youtube.com

Great Expectations / Pip The Orphan Boy