Hulu is full of great TV shows and movies, making it a contender for best streaming service every month. And this month is no different, with a large number of new Hulu TV shows and movies being added throughout October.

Most of the new movies are already up on the streaming service; aside from the Hulu Originals, only a few movies will be added after October 1 this month, one of which, "Jiro Dreams of Sushi," released on October 31, was a strong candidate for this list. And after scrutinizing the list, I was able to narrow it down to a clear top seven, even though it was not the only seven films I liked and watched.

So, are you ready to start watching? Here are my seven favorite movies that appeared on Hulu this month.

"Dazed and Confused" is one of the quintessential, if not the quintessential, coming-of-age high school movie. Personally, it is either this film or "Superbad," the latter definitely not existing without the former. Like "Superbad," this Richard Linklater-directed film focuses on essentially just one day of school, specifically the last day of school at Lee High School in Austin, Texas, in 1976. Again, the film is a road map that all subsequent high school coming-of-age films will follow. So, while littered with the usual patterns of nerds versus jocks, freshman hazing, and out-of-control parties, "Dazed and Confused" was, essentially, a high school coming-of-age film. Dazed and Confused was essentially the first film to do that, and that is why the film remains important to this day. And it was a breakout role for then-unknown actor Matthew McConaughey, who played David Woodson. In fact, McConaughey has said that the first words he uttered in the film were "Alright, alright, alright."

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Emma Stone had appeared in several films before starring in Easy A, but it was this film that propelled her into a rising star. Just watching the trailer, it's easy to see why. She is funny, witty, and dominates the screen.

But trust me, you'll want to see the whole movie, not just the trailer; while not as good as Dazed and Confused, Easy A is a great high school movie. Stone plays Olive Pendergast, a 17-year-old high school girl who embraces her reputation as the easy girl at school and even dons the literal scarlet letter after the famous novel. Fans of "Mean Girls" will immediately identify with "Easy A" as well.

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Ever since I saw "Little Miss Sunshine," I still think about this movie. It is such a great film. In particular, Steve Carell's performance as Frank Ginsberg, "the nation's foremost Proust scholar," is so great that it makes me sad that Carell will never be able to replicate it again in his career (to date).

But he is not the only one worth noting. The plot of Little Miss Sunshine, the story of a family trying to get their young daughter (Abigail Breslin) to enter the beauty pageant Little Miss Sunshine, is intriguing, if sometimes absurd. Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, Paul Dano, and the aforementioned Carell and Breslin make up the dysfunctional Hoover family, and every moment spent with them is worth watching.

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Full disclosure, I have actually never seen Nightmare Alley in color; when it was released in 2021, it was shown in black and white, which seemed appropriate for a Guillermo del Toro psycho-thriller, so I went with the old color palette (or lack thereof) was chosen. So it was a bit of a shock to see the trailer in full color.

Shocking is, of course, the best word to describe what I felt watching "Nightmare Alley". While not del Toro's best work, the film has quite a few twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Also, for a film set in 1939, the use of the amazing turn-of-the-century and pre-war architecture of Buffalo, NY is a brilliant choice. In "Nightmare Alley," Bradley Cooper plays carny-turned-psychic Stanton "Stan" Carlisle and Cate Blanchett plays Dr. Lilith Ritter, but my personal favorite part of the film is the carny who mentors Stan early in the film, Pete David Strathern. Don't miss this Best Picture nominated film while it's still available for streaming.

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I may get flak from horror fans for saying this, but "Shaun of the Dead" may be the best zombie movie ever made. Whether it is or not, it is certainly the funniest. Starring Simon Pegg as the sleazy Sean, he and his friend Ed (Nick Frost) must survive a zombie-infested London when the apocalypse unexpectedly strikes. All the while saving and killing friends and family. Morbid. Yes, but also hilarious.

Directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Pegg, the film launched the careers of the two, who had previously had success with the TV series "Spaced" before "Shaun of the Dead". The duo would be repeated twice more with "Hot Fuzz" and "The World's End," but "Shaun of the Dead" remains their peak to this day. See it this Halloween season when you need a break from horror films.

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J.J. Abrams' subsequent "Star" films, whether "Trek" or "Wars," may be controversial, but 2009's "Star Trek" was almost universally loved, earning a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 91% audience score! It has been. Both a prequel and a sequel, the film, a reboot of Star Trek, was a huge hit when it debuted. It featured starships, Romulans, Vulcans, and all manner of fan service, as well as a fairly original storyline. This last part is pretty impressive considering that when Abrams took over the Star Wars franchise, he basically just copied and pasted the original Star Wars and changed the names of the characters.

The film was Chris Pine's (James T. Kirk) rise to stardom and propelled cast members Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldana (Nyota Uhura), and Karl Urban (Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy) to stardom. Even Simon Pegg (Montgomery "Scotty" Scott), though already known from the aforementioned "Shaun of the Dead," rose to prominence from this film. Star Trek also marked the film debut of Chris Hemsworth as Kirk's father.

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Now, first of all, there is zero chance that "Tropic Thunder" would be made today. While I admit that Robert Downey Jr. is in blackface, in fact, the point of the character is to show how insane and wrong blackface is.

And this is not the only aggressive Hollywood approach that "Tropic Thunder" takes aim at over its 107 minutes. In fact, this "action movie" is pure satire from beginning to end, and you won't be able to stop laughing at its absurdity. In addition to stars Ben Stiller (as Tug Speedman) and Jack Black (as Jeff Portnoy), Downey Jr. (as Kirk Lazarus, Lincoln Osiris), and Matthew McConaughey, Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, and the rest of the cast all have comedic talent. But the star of the entire film is undoubtedly Tom Cruise, who plays studio executive Les Grossman.

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