Figuring out what to watch on Netflix can take about as long as actually watching whatever
movie you decide on.
Life doesn't need to be that hard, so we've collected a list of the best movies you can
watch on Netflix right now, no aimless browsing required.
From incredible underrated gems to timeless favorites that you haven't thought about in
years, we've rounded up the best movies on Netflix right now.
Kubo and the Two Strings
From the studio behind Coraline and ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings marks yet another
visually stunning achievement in stop-motion animation.
The story follows Kubo, a young street performer in feudal Japan who uses his two-string guitar
to make origami come to life.
Little does he know that he's the focal point of a supernatural war raging unseen all around
him.
Kubo and the Two Strings is an epic adventure that's billed as a kids' movie but probably
holds even more magic for the adults in the room.
(laughs)
"The mighty beetle is victorious!"
(screams in fear)
The Imitation Game
Helmed by Passengers director Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game is an Oscar-winning look
into the tumultuous life of Alan Turing, the mathematician largely responsible for breaking
the Enigma code during World War II.
Benedict Cumberbatch delivers an incredible performance as Turing, turning a potentially
dry historical period piece into an emotional journey charged with high-tension drama.
He's backed up by an equally convincing Keira Knightley, who offsets Cumberbatch's cold,
off-putting genius with genuine warmth.
Both were nominated for Oscars that year, and for good reason.
The Imitation Game is definitely a movie everyone should see at least once.
"Miss Clarke, did you really solve this puzzle yourself?"
"What makes you think I couldn't solve this by myself?"
The Babadook
The Babadook focuses on an exhausted single mother finding it harder and harder to love
her weird kid, who's just a bit mentally unstable.
It's a horrifying premise even before the monster arrives.
The movie itself is pure horror, far removed from the typical grab bag of jump scares and
loud, jarring audio cues you find in most horror movies.
But it's also touching, heartwarming, and impossibly human in its emotions.
Put simply, The Babadook is so far removed from cliché that it'll probably start a few
new clichés of its own.
"If it's in a word or in a look, you can't get rid of the babadook."
Oldboy
Gritty, moving, gut-wrenching, and beautiful, 2003's Oldboy succeeded on two levels: one,
it breathed new life into the hard-boiled revenge genre.
Two, it brought Korean films into the international spotlight.
Oldboy tells the story of Oh Dae-Su, a middle-aged drunk who is kidnapped and locked in a room
for 15 years.
When he's inexplicably released one day, Oh Dae-Su embarks on an emotional, blood-soaked
journey of revenge against the man who imprisoned him.
What follows is a violent, touching story of regrets and revenge with one of the most
impressive action scenes ever put to film.
Beasts Of No Nation
Netflix's first original feature film, Beasts of No Nation stars Idris Elba as a ruthless
commander and newcomer Abraham Attah as a boy soldier named Agu.
Beasts of No Nation is powerful, shockingly real, and heartbreaking in its portrayal of
the unspeakable horrors of war.
It's not an easy film to watch, the pace is relentless, the imagery is visceral, but it's
also undeniably a movie worth your time.
The Fundamentals of Caring
Heartwarming, poignant, and injected with more lewd jokes and profanity than a Farrelly
Brothers comedy, The Fundamentals of Caring is still an incredibly human and real experience.
The movie follows Paul Rudd as a newly certified caregiver working with his first patient,
a wisecracking teenage shut-in.
After a rocky start, they set out on a road trip to see a series of roadside attractions,
and along the way they both learn valuable lessons about family and friendship without
ever getting really sappy.
"The bad news is that she's refusing to sing 'Fireworks.'
Apparently, she's done that with the last four make-a-wish kids."
Captain America: Civil War
Undeniably the biggest installment in the MCU since The Avengers, 2016's Captain America:
Civil War is proof that Marvel finally figured out how to nail a sequel.
It's a tour de force of high-stakes action mixed with character-driven drama and all
the right dashes of humor.
Even beyond that, the movie reckons with the troubling idea that there are consequences
to all the mayhem and destruction we love to watch on screen.
"Give me a break!
I'm doing what has to be done.
To stave off something worse."
The Wailing
Equal parts drama, psychological horror, and supernatural thriller, The Wailing never stops
to take a breath once it gets rolling.
In a quiet South Korean village, a mysterious disease leads to an outbreak of violent behavior
among the residents.
When his daughter starts showing symptoms, a bumbling police officer digs deeper into
the plague and stumbles into a battle between good and evil that threatens to tear the village
to pieces.
Beautifully shot, terrifying at times, and scientific proof that Korean exorcisms are
way cooler than ours, The Wailing should be on every horror fan's watch list.
Gangs of New York
Martin Scorsese is a master at capturing the world of gangsters in any time period.
Few films showcase that gift better than Gangs of New York, which sees the clash of street
gangs in 19th-century New York City reach gritty new heights.
Gangs of New York is one of the director's many examples of near-perfect storytelling,
with beautiful cinematography, a sweeping narrative, and pitch-perfect performances
from every actor involved.
This is not only one of the best movies on Netflix, but one of the best movies, period.
"Well then, we got business."
"That we do."
It Follows
"No clichés, no disappointments" must have been the mantra of writer/director David Robert
Mitchell when he set out to put It Follows on the big screen.
The movie follows a simple premise, but sticks with it the whole way and, makes an effort
to only let the premium chills make it past the cutting-room floor.
The story follows a young woman who finds that she's been saddled with a curse after
sleeping with her new boyfriend.
Something is coming for her, something slow but persistent.
The only way to pass the curse on is to sleep with someone else.
It Follows comes in strong with a strong timeless aesthetic and keeps you guessing until the
end.
The Hateful Eight
In the aftermath of the Civil War, eight people get snowed in at a roadside pit-stop, and
as the title asserts, none of them are particularly savory characters.
There's a lot of talking, a lot of bloodshed, and a lot of Tarantino-ness all around.
The Hateful Eight might not be Tarantino's best film, but it's definitely one of his
most interesting, with a haunting setup that resembles a horror movie more than the Western
setting it takes place in.
"You come back with anything but a guitar, my pistol plays a tune.
'Domergue's Death March.'
You got it?"
The Fellowship of the Ring
Even after 17 years, The Fellowship of the Ring feels like a blockbuster that could have
been made yesterday.
The sweeping intro to Peter Jackson's epic trilogy was overshadowed by its sequels, so
it's easy to forget how incredible the first one was.
The Mines of Moria, the Balrog, Gandalf escaping from Isengard on an eagle...
The movie is packed to the brim with perfect scenes.
Heck, the intro monologue alone is usually enough to convince anyone to watch the film.
"It began with the forging of the great rings.
Three were given to the elves.
Immortal, fairest, and wisest of all beings."
The Godfather
Time and time again, The Godfather has been rated as one of the best movies of all time.
The story needs little introduction, Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, is retiring
as the head of the infamous Corleone crime family; and his mantle of mafia Don gets passed
down to his reluctant son, Michael, played by Al Pacino.
These characters may exist in a violent world most of us have never experienced, but they
feel as real as your next door neighbors.
A lot of people toss around the word "masterpiece" when they're talking about movies, but The
Godfather is one of the few films that truly deserves the honor.
Wind River
When a girl is found murdered on a Native American reserve in Wyoming, the discovery
launches a harrowing investigation led by Cory Lambert, an expert tracker with his own
dark past.
It's tempting to say that Jeremy Renner's performance as Lambert is the highlight of
Wind River, but the movie is so deftly woven together that there's no one standout.
From the gorgeous, icy landscape shots to the heart-pounding pace, Wind River is just
an all-around incredible movie.
Changeling
Angelina Jolie stars as Christine Collins, a woman whose son goes missing for five months
before the police find him and bring him home.
Happy ending, right?
Not quite.
Convinced that the boy returned to her isn't her son, Collins fights back against the LAPD,
who in turn respond by labeling her insane.
Jolie's performance in Changeling is near flawless as a mother on the brink of losing
her sanity, and director Clint Eastwood is in top form from beginning to end.
More than anything, Changeling completely immerses you in the world of 1920s America,
albeit a more paranoid, thrilling version of 1920s America than you're likely to find
in the history books.
City of God
Visually striking and punishingly brutal, City of God follows several children in the
slums of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as they grow up surrounded by gang violence.
As soon as they're old enough to hold a gun, they leave their childhood behind and cross
the divide into executions, robberies, and drugs.
Director Fernando Meirelles went on to helm the Oscar-winning The Constant Gardener just
a few years after City of God, but this is the film that made him a household name in
Brazil.
The movie just oozes style, and it's absolutely worth a watch.
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