Top, from left: Tony Todd in “Candyman” (1992), Bruce Willis in “Die Hard.” Bottom: “Paddington.” Screenshots: YouTube.
CHICAGO - Fall is on the horizon, and with a new season comes a new crop of free movies and TV shows from Tubi. They join a library of 35,000+ titles, including films like "La Bamba" and "El Chicano" (just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month), blockbuster hits just in time for Labor Day weekend including "Die Hard" and "Die Hard 2," and the recently-premiered Tubi Summer Original "Tales of a Fifth Grade Robin Hood," starring Jon Lovitz. Read on for some highlights, or scroll on past for the complete list.
Unless otherwise noted, all titles below are available as of September 1.
Watch "Die Hard" for free this holiday — Labor Day, that is
Die Hard (1988): Is it a Christmas movie? That’s debatable (but yes, it is). Yet even if you dial up "Die Hard" every holiday season, you never need an excuse to watch this Bruce Willis classic. A titan of the genre, "Die Hard" is the little black dress of action movies: It works for every occasion. Come for Bruce Willis and the catchphrases, stay for an all-time-great villain performance from Alan Rickman.
Rated R. 132 minutes. 3. Dir: John McTiernan. Featuring: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, James Shigeta, Paul Gleason.
See the original "Candyman"
Candyman (1992): August saw the arrival of Nia DaCosta’s "Candyman," a "spiritual sequel" to the 1992 original from director Bernard Rose. Seeing this film isn’t a prerequisite for enjoying its descendant, but the ties between DaCosta’s film and Rose’s are robust. "Candyman" is currently number-one at the box office (racking up $22.3 million in North America in its first weekend in theaters), but it will cost exactly zero dollars to see its predecessor, and your experience with both films will be greatly enriched.
Rated R. 99 minutes. Dir: Bernard Rose. Featuring: Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley, Tony Todd, Kasi Lemmons, Vanessa Williams, Ted Raimi.
Related: Review: ‘Candyman’ continuation invokes the sweetest revenge, justice
Get "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" back on your TV
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998): Angela Bassett was already a big star in 1998, thanks to roles in "Waiting to Exhale" and her Oscar-nominated turn as Tina Turner in "What’s Love Got to Do with It," among others. "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" only continued that hot streak. "Stella," adapted (like "Exhale") by Terry McMillan and Ronald Bass from McMillan’s novel of the same name, also introduced the moviegoing public to Taye Diggs, who co-stars as the young guy who prompts the reclamation of Stella’s groove.
Rated R. 124 minutes. Dir: Kevin Rodney Sullivan. Featuring: Angela Bassett, Whoopi Goldberg, Regina King, Glyn Turman, James Pickens Jr., Barry Shabaka Henley.
Perfect your hard stare with "Paddington" (Sept. 14)
Paddington (2014): The sequel to "Paddington" made news in spring 2021 when it was sort-of-not-actually declared a better movie than "Citizen Kane," but don’t sell its predecessor short, either. "Paddington" boasts a wonderful cast, including Sally Hawkins as the endlessly empathetic Mrs. Brown as one among a treasure trove of British and Scottish character actors, including Hugh Bonneville ("Downton Abbey"), Jim Broadbent ("Hot Fuzz"), Imelda Staunton ("Vera Drake"), Julie Walters ("Mamma Mia!") and Peter Capaldi ("Doctor Who"). But this is a movie with three secret weapons: Ben Whishaw, who gives Paddington his voice, Nicole Kidman, camping it up as the film’s stylish villain, and director Paul King, who approaches Paddington’s story with equal parts inventiveness and sweetness.
Rated PG. 95 minutes. Dir: Paul King. Featuring: Ben Whishaw, Nicole Kidman, Sally Walters, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Tim Downie, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton.
Here come the "Tales of a Fifth Grade Robin Hood"
TALES OF A FIFTH GRADE ROBIN HOOD: Jon Lovitz with L-R: Jayden Scala, Chase Brown and Iliana Perez in TALES OF A FIFTH GRADE ROBIN HOOD, TUBIís Summer Original movie begins streaming Friday, August 27. ©2021 FOX MEDIA LLC. CR: Frank Micelotta/FOX for …
Tales of a Fifth Grade Robin Hood (2021): Jon Lovitz does a little mustache-twirling (metaphorically speaking) in this back-to-school comedy, which centers on a kid (Chase Brown) in an under-funded city high school and his battle against his no-good embezzling Vice Principal (Lovitz). "Tales" is one of the first Tubi Originals.
Rated TV-PG. Dir: Dylan Vox. Featuring: Jon Lovitz, Chase Brown, Stephen Kramer Glickman, Iliana Isabella Perez, Jayden Scala.
Related: Tubi announces Jon Lovitz comedy ‘Tales of a Fifth Grade Robin Hood’
New to Tubi, September 2021
Here’s the complete list of what’s new to Tubi this month. Watch for more coverage on these films, including our pick for free movie of the week, all month long.
Action
Bruce Willis in "Die Hard." Screenshot: YouTube (Fair Use)
Abduction (2011)
Broken Arrow (1996)
Cop Out (2010)
Daredevil (2003)
Die Hard (1988)
Die Hard 2 (1990)
First Kill (2017)
Man on Fire (2004)
The Brave One (2007)
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Troy (2004)
The Marine (2006)
Black Cinema
Angela Bassett in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back." Screenshot: YouTube (Fair Use)
Addicted (2014)
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011)
Frankie & Alice (2010)
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
King’s Ransom (2005)
South Central (1992)
Soul Plane (2004)
Traffik (2018)
Comedy
Hugh Grant in "Four Weddings in a Funeral." Screenshot: YouTube (Fair Use)
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996)
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)
Four Weddings in a Funeral (1994)
John Tucker Must Die (2006)
Mortedcai (2015)
Unfinished Business (2015)
Drama
Robert Downey Jr. in "Zodiac." Screenshot: YouTube (Fair Use)
Cast Away (2000)
Cloud Atlas (2012)
El Chicano (2018)
La Bamba (1987)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Pale Rider (1985)
Step Up (2006)
Southpaw (2015)
The Kitchen (2019)
The Family That Preys (2008)
Wargames (1983)
Zodiac (2007)
Horror
Tony Todd in "Candyman." Screenshot: YouTube (Fair Use)
Candyman (1992)
Diavlo (2020) - starting 9/5
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
House of Wax (2005)
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Mara (2018) - starting 9/5
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
Orphan (2009)
Rest Stop (2006)
Valentine (2001)
Kids & Family
"Paddington." Screenshot: YouTube (Fair Use)
Are We There Yet? (2005)
Anpanman Movies (2021)
Daddy Day Care (2003)
Little Giants (1994)
Kangaroo Jack (2003)
Norm of the North 2: Keys to the Kingdom (2018)
Paddington (2014) - starting 9/16
Shrek Forever After (2010)
Tales of a Fifth Grade Robin Hood (2021)
Sci-Fi & Thriller
Bryce Dallas Howard in "The Village." Screenshot: YouTube (Fair Use)
Burn it All (2021) - starting 9/12
Bleeding Steel (2017)
Freedomland (2006)
Knowing (2009)
Most Wanted (1997)
Signs (1999)
The Number 23 (2007)
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The Village (2004)
Zoom (2006)
TV Series
Jorge Garcia in "Alcatraz." Screenshot: YouTube (Fair Use)
Alcatraz (2012)
Almost Human (2013)
Dallas (2021)
La Femme Nikita (1997)
About Tubi: Tubi is available on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub, and on OTT devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Hisense TVs, Comcast X1, Cox Contour, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S. Consumers can also watch Tubi content on the web at http://www.tubi.tv/.
With total view time surpassing 200 million hours of content streamed each month since April, Tubi has over 30,000 movies and television shows from over 250 content partners, including every major studio. The service gives fans of films and television programs an easy way to discover new content that is available completely free.
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About the writer: Allison Shoemaker is a Chicago-based pop-culture critic and journalist. She is the author of "How TV Can Make You Smarter," and a member of the Television Critics Association and the Chicago Film Critics Association. She is also a producer and co-host for the Podlander Presents network of podcasts. Find her on Twitter and Instagram at @allisonshoe. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved Top Critic on Rotten Tomatoes.