12 Good Movies on Netflix Right Now
Out of the 3,500 available you've never, ever heard of.
Regular readers of the Watch List know my opinion of Netflix’s movie offerings: A mountain of uncurated junk within which are about 150 films that are watchable and maybe half that many that are actually good. But since it’s the one service everyone has (although I increasingly wonder why), I consider it my occasional duty to point you to the gems among the dross. Here are a dozen titles currently playing the service that you may or may not have heard of but that you’ll most likely enjoy.
A Monster Calls (2016) – Fantasy drama in the mode of Guillermo del Toro (who mentored director J.A. Bayona’s early career), about a traumatized young boy befriended by a monstrous tree with the voice of Liam Neeson. Rich and strange, it’s a find for for older kids and adventurous adults.
Beyond the Lights (2014) – From “The Woman King” director Gina Prince-Bythewood, a smart, swoony romantic drama about a pop star (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) falling for a young cop (Nate Parker). If the scene where the heroine takes her extensions off doesn’t slay you, you’re probably dead.
Friends With Money (2006) – Prep for Nicole Holofcener’s delightful upcoming “You Hurt My Feelings” (in theaters May 26) with one of the director’s finest early social comedies, about the tensions between best friends played by Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack, and Frances McDormand at her most winningly caustic.
Hail, Caesar! (2016) – Deliriously silly Coen brothers farce is a riot for anyone who knows their classic Hollywood history and apparently death on wheels for anyone who doesn’t. You know who you are. George Clooney’s subplot is the weakest bit here, but Channing Tatum’s musical number is gloriously insane. Would that it t’were so simple.
High Flying Bird (2019) – Excellent corrective to the current “Air,” about a Black sports agent (a phenomenal André Holland) playing three-dimensional chess with NBA executives to better protect his clients. Directed by Steven Soderbergh from a dense, provocative script by Tarell Alvin McRaney (“Moonlight”).
Is That Black Enough For You?!? (2022) – Elvis Mitchell, one-time film critic for The New York Times, resurfaces with this witty, passionate documentary about the Black film revolution of the 1970s – what it achieved and what it didn’t.
Lagaan (2001) – You saw last year’s Indian action epic “RRR,” and now you want more. This addictive saga of love, colonialism, and cricket, set during the British Raj, should do the trick. Almost four hours long, with musical numbers that pop off the screen, this is as Bollywood as it gets.
Loving (2016) – Straightforward, moving drama about Richard and Mildred Loving, who in 1967 took their case against Virginia’s law banning interracial marriage to the Supreme Court, where they changed history. Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga are extremely affecting in the leads.
Private Life (2018) – A lovely little life-comedy starring Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn as a couple desperate to get pregnant and Kayli Carter as the niece who wants to (but probably shouldn’t) help them. It’s about how our worst ideas often come from our best intentions.
Rush (2013) – One of Ron Howard’s best efforts and, oddly, one of his least-known, this fast, entertaining sports drama focuses on the rivalry between Formula One racers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl).
Side Effects (2013) – Another sneaky devil from Steven Soderbergh: a murder mystery with a pharma angle and a slippery cast in Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The Wonder (2022) – It came out fairly recently but remains under many people’s radars, and that’s a shame, since this period drama about a nurse investigating a “miracle” patient in 1860s England is possibly the best thing Florence Pugh did last year.
Thoughts? Don’t hesitate to weigh in.
If you enjoyed this edition of Ty Burr’s Watch List, please feel free to pass it along to friends.
If you’re not a paying subscriber and would like to sign up for additional postings and to join the discussions — or just help underwrite this enterprise, for which the management would be very grateful — here’s how.