Credit: Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek
Published August 6, 2026 — Derek Malcolm has been covering tech and entertainment for over two decades. Before joining How-To Geek in 2025, he was a contributing editor and writer for the A/V and Home Theater section at Digital Trends.
Top Picks This Month
1. “The First Wave” (2021)
This Oscar-nominated documentary captures the first four months of the COVID-19 pandemic inside a New York City hospital system. Directed by Matthew Heineman, it’s an unflinching, intimate portrait of healthcare workers on the front lines. Essential viewing that feels like a time capsule of a moment that reshaped our world.
2. “Fire of Love” (2022)
A visually stunning documentary about volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who dedicated their lives to filming eruptions — and ultimately died in one. The archival footage is breathtaking, and the love story at its center is as compelling as the science. National Geographic’s restoration makes the 16mm footage look incredible in 4K.
3. “Good Night Oppy” (2022)
Follow the Mars rover Opportunity — designed for a 90-day mission that lasted nearly 15 years. This documentary balances the technical achievement with genuine emotional resonance. You’ll find yourself surprisingly invested in a robot’s journey across the Martian landscape.
4. “Navalny” (2022)
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. This real-time thriller follows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s poisoning, recovery, and investigation into who tried to kill him. It plays like a spy thriller but every frame is real.
5. “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” (2023)
Davis Guggenheim’s portrait of the beloved actor’s life with Parkinson’s disease. It’s funny, moving, and uses creative visual techniques to represent Fox’s experience. A masterclass in documentary storytelling that never feels exploitative.
Honorable Mentions
- “The Territory” (2022) — Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people defending their Amazon rainforest home
- “Retrograde” (2022) — The final months of America’s war in Afghanistan
- “Descendant” (2022) — The search for the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to reach the US
Streaming Hardware Recommendations
If you’re watching on an older device, consider upgrading. The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (around $50) adds Dolby Vision support and TV controls on the Alexa remote — a worthwhile step up from the Lite model. With 4K streaming, it’s more future-proof.
- OS: Fire OS
- Resolution: 4K
- Audio: Dolby Atmos, 7.1 surround, stereo, HDMI audio pass-through up to 5.1
- RAM/Storage: 8 GB
A Really Good Weekend
That’s a lot of quality packed into a weekend — pace yourself. And if none of these picks suit your taste, we have plenty more recommendations in the streaming section of How-To Geek.
Paramount+ Subscription: Starting at $8/month (with ads) or $60/year. Includes 3 simultaneous streams and live sports (NFL on CBS & UEFA Champions League).
