The 30 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now

This station is updated regularly arsenic movies permission and participate Netflix. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.

With hundreds of films from astir the satellite connected the streaming elephantine that changed the game, however does 1 adjacent cognize what to ticker erstwhile they occurrence up their Netflix? Start here! We’ve gone done the galore films disposable connected the level and pared down the enactment to 30 must-see titles, including acclaimed dramas, action films, comedies, horror flicks, and adjacent worldly for the whole family, with Netflix Originals peppered successful throughout, alongside its licensed films. No algorithm nonsense here: Our picks correspond the idiosyncratic favorites of seasoned movie critics, and they’re updated each week and period to see oregon region films that articulation oregon depart from the streaming service. This database represents the champion of Netflix’s movie offerings, and it starts with a caller rotating critic’s prime of the week.

Year: 2011
Runtime: 2h 13m
Director: Bennett Miller

One of the champion shot movies ever made was adapted from the 2003 publication by Michael Lewis, which recounts the absorption of the 2002 play of the Oakland Athletics, and however they changed the mode the crippled is tally by bringing analytics into the mix. Brad Pitt gives 1 of his champion performances arsenic wide manager Billy Beane, a antheral who knew helium would person to find a caller mode to measure endowment if the A’s were going to compete. This is simply a rich, smart, riveting movie that’s extra-interesting fixed what the Oakland franchise is going done successful 2024.

Critic Brian Tallerico watches and writes astir movies and TV each day. To curate this list, helium dives into Netflix’s catalogue to aboveground acclaimed, surprising, oregon different noteworthy titles — utilizing his sensation and a beingness of cinema survey arsenic his guide, alternatively of immoderate the algorithm happens to beryllium pushing. After triple-checking to marque definite they’re inactive available, helium watches each, organizes them by category, past writes his recommendation. We item much than conscionable Oscar winners oregon popcorn flicks: These films contiguous absorbing ideas, made an interaction connected cinema, and changed our culture. Read connected to find thing to watch.

Year: 1989
Runtime: 2h 24m
Director: Oliver Stone

In 1986, Oliver Stone tackled what it was similar to beryllium successful state successful his idiosyncratic Platoon, and lone 3 years aboriginal helium followed up with a communicative astir what it was similar to travel location from Vietnam successful the communicative of Ron Kovacs. Tom Cruise does arguably the champion enactment of his vocation successful this almighty deconstruction of patriotism and introspection of the quality outgo of war. It’s adjacent amended than you remember.

Year: 2019
Runtime: 2h 7m
Director: Todd Haynes

Dark Waters volition marque you angry. Mark Ruffalo stars successful this existent communicative from manager Todd Haynes, known for much formally ambitious worldly but capable to nail the old-fashioned outrage needed for this one. Based connected a New York Times article, the movie details an probe into the DuPont corporation’s poisoning of a tiny municipality with chemicals successful the drinking water. Ruffalo is great, and truthful are Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, and particularly the large Bill Camp.

Year: 1995
Runtime: 1h 41m
Director: Carl Franklin

Carl Franklin wrote and directed 1 of the astir underrated Denzel Washington performances of each clip successful this 1995 adaptation of the caller of the aforesaid sanction by Walter Mosley. Washington plays Easy Rawlins, a World War II vet successful 1948 who gets drawn into a enigma that classical noir filmmakers would person adored. Charming and riveting, the lone transgression present is that determination wasn’t a full franchise of films with Washington playing Easy.

Year: 1992
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director: James Foley

For a agelong time, it felt similar David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1984 masterpiece was unfilmable, but Foley, moving with the playwright arsenic screenwriter, figured it out, assembling 1 of the champion ensembles of the ‘90s to bash so. Alec Baldwin notoriously steals his 1 scene, but the full formed present is simply a stunner, particularly Al Pacino (who was Oscar-nominated), Alan Arkin, and Jack Lemmon.

Year: 2006
Runtime: 2h 8m
Director: Spike Lee

Yes, Spike Lee erstwhile made a large enactment movie. The manager of Do the Right Thing and Da 5 Bloods enactment his rotation connected the heist movie with this large 2006 Denzel Washington vehicle. The regular collaborator plays an NYPD hostage negotiator, called successful erstwhile a slope heist goes down connected Wall Street. Tight and effective, this is conscionable further grounds that Spike Lee tin nail immoderate benignant of movie helium chooses to make. This mightiness beryllium Lee’s astir underrated movie. It hums.

Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 59m
Director: David Fincher

Michael Fassbender gives his champion show successful years arsenic an icy hired assassin who struggles to clasp things unneurotic erstwhile a occupation goes horribly wrong. It’s a movie astir a self-proclaimed perfectionist who is perpetually defying his ain voiceover, a large movie that’s alternately hysterical and thrilling. One of the champion of 2023.

Year: 1984
Runtime: 2h 21m
Director: Roland Joffé

The communicative of the Khmer Rouge and the genocidal atrocities successful Cambodia successful the ‘70s is elaborate successful the Oscar-winning The Killing Fields, a movie that’s sometimes hard to ticker but worthy the effort, particularly arsenic unit astir the satellite has go specified a captious talking constituent successful 2024. Sam Waterston and Haing S. Ngor (who won an Oscar) prima arsenic journalists investigating the warfare crimes of the Khmer Rouge successful this bleak but important film.

Year: 1997
Runtime: 2h 17m
Director: Curtis Hanson

Curtis Hanson directed this adaptation of James Ellroy’s epic transgression caller of 1950s Los Angeles. Starring Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, and Kim Basinger, it’s a cleanable thriller and 1 of the champion movies of the ‘90s. So galore films since this 1 person tried to mimic the tough-talking thrills of it and fallen wholly flat. It’s harder than it looks to beryllium this cool.

Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 57m
Director: Todd Haynes

Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman prima successful the latest from Carol and Far from Heaven manager Todd Haynes, a stunning quality survey of an histrion who discovers that immoderate radical are intolerable to fig out. Portman plays a prima who tries to get nether the tegument of Moore’s character, a pistillate who raped a kid erstwhile she was a teacher, and aboriginal joined that young man. Charles Melton is phenomenal arsenic the now-grown victim, stuck successful perpetual adolescence.

Year: 2020
Runtime: 1h 47m
Director: Sean Durkin

A unfortunate of the pandemic, this was 1 of the champion films of 2020. Carrie Coon and Jude Law prima arsenic a joined mates with 2 kids who determination from New York City to London successful the 1980s and ticker arsenic the divides successful their national commencement to widen. A large quality survey amplified by Durkin’s crisp ocular language, this is simply a fantastic home drama, and the champion movie connected this database that you astir apt haven’t seen.

Year: 2021
Runtime: 2h 6m
Director: Jane Campion

The movie that yet won an Oscar for Jane Campion for directing is 1 of the astir acclaimed successful the past of the streaming giant. Campion helmed this adaptation of the caller of the aforesaid sanction by Thomas Savage, the communicative of a vicious landowner (Benedict Cumberbatch) who torments the caller woman (Kirsten Dunst) of his member (Jesse Plemons). A play that plays similar a thriller, this gorgeously rendered play portion unpacks themes of toxic masculinity and manipulation successful a mode that makes it intolerable to crook away. It’s not conscionable 1 of the champion Netflix Original films, it’s 1 of the best, period, of the 2020s truthful far.

Year: 2000
Runtime: 2h 27m
Director: Steven Soderbergh

Steven Soderbergh and Benicio del Toro won Oscars for an epic introspection of the amerciable cause commercialized astatine the crook of the century. One of the unthinkable craftsman’s champion films, Traffic tackles nary little than the full operation of drugs successful North America, intertwining stories of users, politicians, traffickers, and lawmen. Some of the movie feels a small dated, but the sheer unit of the filmmaking volition ever beryllium timeless.

Year: 1998
Runtime: 1h 48m
Director: John McNaughton

A classical of the B-movie sleazy thriller era, this is really a profoundly underrated movie, a flick that works from old-fashioned noir and adjacent Greek calamity to archer the communicative of 2 teenagers (Neve Campbell, Denise Richard) who get caught up successful a strategy with a slimy teacher played perfectly by Matt Dillon. It’s remembered astir for its enactment factor, but this is simply a clever flick, a movie that plays with people and privilege successful fascinating ways.

Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 19m
Directors: The Daniels

After a little stint connected Amazon Prime, this is the archetypal Netflix driblet for the 2023 Best Picture winner, a movie that defies categorization arsenic it tells a communicative of alternate realities and butt plugs. A movie that debuted astatine SXSW, this daring portion of enactment built an assemblage done 2022 until it won aggregate Oscars, including Best Picture and Director. It’s similar thing else. Anywhere.

Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 53m
Director: Edgar Wright

It’s a small harder to ticker this movie present fixed the allegations against immoderate of its cast members, but it’s inactive a remarkably well-made portion of enactment filmmaking, the kinetically unforgettable communicative of a getaway operator who knows each the champion tunes. Ansel Elgort, Jamie Foxx, and Lily James whitethorn beryllium the stars of this movie, but it’s Wright’s showmanship that truly steals the spotlight.

Year: 2003
Runtime: 1h 50m
Director: Quentin Tarantino

We volition inactive person to hold for the long-promised afloat chopped of the 2 Kill Bill films into 1 epic movie (and the long-rumored 3rd measurement of this tale), but that shouldn’t halt you from revisiting 2 of Quentin Tarantino’s champion films — some volumes are connected Netflix now. In a catalog that includes a batch of large performances (and a fewer Oscar winners), 1 of QT’s champion is Uma Thurman arsenic The Bride, a legendary enactment quality seeking vengeance connected the antheral who betrayed her.

Year: 1999
Runtime: 2h 16m
Director: The Wachowskis

Neo and the pack returned to HBO Max successful precocious 2021 with The Matrix Resurrections, and the effect was predictably divisive. You cognize what’s not divisive? The information that the archetypal movie inactive perfectly rules. The communicative of an mean feline who learns that thing is what it seems has influenced truthful overmuch popular civilization successful the over-two decades since this movie was released. You tin spot Neo everywhere. (And you tin ticker the full archetypal trilogy connected Netflix now.)

Year: 2003
Runtime: 2h
Director: Park Chan-wook

It’s hard to explicate to radical however this movie moved done the film-loving satellite earlier Film Twitter was a thing. Recently restored for its 20th anniversary, Oldboy has present been dropped connected Netflix again, and it’s mislaid nary of its searing power. It’s the communicative of a antheral who is kidnapped, and its genius is that it’s not a whodunit arsenic overmuch arsenic a whydunit, forcing viewers and protagonists to wonderment astir a genuinely grisly motive until the last unforgettable act.

Year: 2023
Runtime: 2h 20m
Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson

What a acquisition to Netflix subscribers for this to already beryllium connected the service, specified weeks aft playing successful theaters and landing connected Blu-ray. This is however you bash a big-budget blockbuster sequel, processing the themes of the archetypal movie and mounting up the involvement for what present appears volition beryllium 1 of the champion trilogies successful superhero history. Packed with truthful overmuch item and creativity, it’s a movie Netflix subscribers volition privation to ticker implicit and implicit again. Do truthful portion you inactive can.

Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 14m
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Living fable Viola Davis stars successful this retelling of the all-female warriors of the kingdom of Dahomey successful the 19th century. She plays General Nansica, who trains young women to travel successful her footsteps, and leads a stone prima ensemble of aboriginal stars that includes Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, and Sheila Atim. You’ll cognize each their names soon enough.

Year: 2007
Runtime: 2h 9m
Director: Judd Apatow

The movie’s sex authorities look shakier than erstwhile it came out, but Judd Apatow’s biggest deed inactive works due to the fact that of the quality of its screenplay and committedness of its cast, particularly Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl. The communicative of a antheral forced to turn up erstwhile his one-night basal gets large errs a spot excessively overmuch connected the broadside of the antheral view, but 1 can’t contradict the axenic laughs-per-minute ratio. It’s amusive to opposition this with the much caller Long Shot to spot however overmuch Rogen has changed (and however overmuch helium truly hasn’t).

Year: 1975
Runtime: 1h 29m
Director: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones

During a hiatus betwixt the 3rd and 4th seasons of Monty Python’s Family Circus, the pack of mega-talented comedians decided to marque movie history. Inspired by the King Arthur legend, Holy Grail is simply a timeless comedy, the uncommon benignant of movie that volition inactive beryllium making radical laughter hundreds of years from now. And portion the Monty Python boys were already famous, this movie took them to different level, cementing their spot successful movie history.

Year: 2008
Runtime: 1h 52m
Director: David Gordon Green

Seth Rogen gives 1 of his champion performances arsenic Dale Denton, an mean feline who conscionable wants to get high. He visits his trader (played perfectly by James Franco) connected the incorrect nighttime arsenic the brace transverse paths with hitmen and a constabulary serviceman connected the incorrect broadside of the law. This is an incredibly comic movie, and you don’t request to beryllium precocious to emotion it.

Year: 2014
Runtime: 1h 33m
Director: Jennifer Kent

One of the champion fearfulness films of the 2010s has not been wide disposable for streaming subscribers truthful instrumentality the accidental to ticker it again portion it’s connected Netflix. Jennifer Kent’s directorial debut centers connected a parent (Essie Davis) who struggles to rise her occupation kid unsocial aft the decease of her husband. Oh, and there’s besides a existent monster successful the boy’s room.

Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 43m
Director: Mike Flanagan

Before helium helmed The Haunting of Hill House, Mike Flanagan co-wrote and directed 1 of the champion Netflix Original fearfulness films successful this adaptation of Stephen King’s 1992 caller of the aforesaid name. Carla Gugino is phenomenal arsenic a pistillate who gets handcuffed to her furniture by her toxic husband…and past helium has a bosom attack. As she tries to fig retired however she volition survive, she accesses the trauma of her past.

Year: 2016
Runtime: 1h 57m
Director: M. Night Shyamalan

James McAvoy gives the champion show of his vocation successful what’s wide considered M. Night Shyamalan’s comeback film. He plays a kidnapper who happens to person galore personalities, and the astir unsafe 1 of each is connected its way. The publication benignant of falls apart, but this is an awesome show level for McAvoy, who gives it his all, and past some.

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 56m
Director: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson

The Oscar-winning manager took his visionary skills to stop-motion animation with this instant classic, a retelling of the beloved fairy communicative astir the woody lad who longed to beryllium real. With spectacular dependable work, this mentation reimagines Pinocchio during the play earlier World War II, allowing del Toro to research his themes of innocence and unit again. It’s a profoundly personal, beauteous film.

Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 42m
Director: Joel Crawford

No 1 would person predicted that the presumed-dead Shrek franchise had different spin-off sequel of this caliber yet to beryllium released, but December 2022 saw the captious and commercialized occurrence of arguably the champion movie successful the full series. Using a benignant much reminiscent of Into the Spider-verse than typical DreamWorks, The Last Wish is simply a gorgeous and amazingly moving communicative of the rubric quality dealing with thing helium ne'er expected to face: mortality. It’s funny, clever, and memorable.

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 46m
Director: Henry Selick

The manager of A Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline yet returned this twelvemonth with this clever and twisted communicative co-written by Oscar victor Jordan Peele. The comedian besides co-stars arsenic 1 of the rubric characters, the literal demons for a miss who blames herself for the decease of her parents. Selick is simply a maestro of stop-motion animation and this task allows him to agelong his ocular prowess successful new, gross ways. It’s a caller Halloween classical (that tin beryllium watched immoderate time, of course!)

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