Since expanding its business online, Netflix has grown bigger and bigger than any other website with movies, and today it offers thousands of movies and TV shows through its well known streaming platform. But that’s where the problem lies. How do you find a movie worth watching among thousands and thousands of titles listed? Especially since their interface isn’t a very user friendly one.
Well, we’ve done a pretty nice selection of the 15 best movies you can watch on Netflix right now, so take a look at the list below. From great old classics to some of the latest and greatest, we’ve come up with something for everyone. There’s a little bit of everything, so take a look and plan your lazy film watching weekend right now.
15. Moon (2009)
Moon is a thought provoking sci-fi film from director Duncan Jones. The story follows astronaut Sam Bell, which is on a solo mission manning a moon base, with GERTY – a robot – being his only companion. After three years on mission, he’s ready to get back home where his wife and a young child are waiting his return.
But two weeks before the end of his contract, after crashing his rover on an assignment, everything spirals downhill fast. The entire movie keeps you thrilled and the stunning ending will leave you breathless.
14. Schindler’s List (1993)
Here’s a classic: The legendary Steven Spielberg created one of the best ever historical chronicles with 1993’s Schindler’s List, telling the real story of Oskar Schindler (played by Liam Neeson).
Oskar was a German businessman and Nazi party member who helped save over 1,000 Jewish who worked in his factories. The movie is a splendid adaptation of the true story and even if it’s more than two decades old now, it’s still a must watch.
13. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Another legendary title, The Silence of the Lambs can now be found on Netflix as well. Let’s be honest, Dr. Hannibal Lecter is probably one of the most famous fictional character that has gained a firm spot in the contemporary pop culture. The 1991 film is Jonathan Demme’s masterful adaptation of the Thomas Harris bestseller, with Oscar winning Anthony Hopkins brilliantly setting the main character to life.
The movie has got its fair share of awards, for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, a feat not many movies have realized. Jodie Foster, in the role of the rookie FBI investigator Clarice Starling deserves a top spot as well for her portrayal.
12. The Matrix (1999)
Who could ever forget The Matrix? Back in 1999 when it appeared, with its jaw-dropping special effects, The Matrix set a new standard when it comes to sci-fi movies.
The dystopian future it depicted matched the turn of century paranoia at the time, making it hang in the memory of so many people for ever. It turned upside down what the classic action movie meant at the time with its visceral energy and enthusiasm it provoked, especially with those ‘gun-fu’ style action moments.
11. V for Vendetta (2005)
Another great dystopian vision of the future, set in a distant fascist Britain, coming from the Wachowski Brothers, the creators of The Matrix trilogy, is the iconic V for Vendetta. The movie has somehow been forgotten after all these years, but it’s a title which should be revisited every now and then.
The story follows the mysterious masked man V in his campaign to overthrow a government ruled by a fascist cabal. All information is controlled by the government, with law enforcement maintaining an iron grip on the daily life of its citizens.
When a state television employee, Evey (played by Natalie Portman) is saved from an assault by V, she follows him in his attempt to change their world, charmed by his knowledge and passion. But his extreme methods might not be what she wished for. The movie is a bold thriller worth watching again.
10. Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
In Alfonso Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También, the story follows two teenage boys, Julio (Gael García Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna) on a road trip after their girlfriends leave for summer vacation in Europe. The boys invite Luisa, a seductive older woman whom they’ve recently met, to come along on the trip.
After finding out about her husband’s infidelity, Luisa decides to accept the boys’ offer, leading to the three swapping stories and knowing each other more intimately while on the way to Heaven’s Mouth, an imagined beach. The film is a profound story of growing up in the middle of societal upheaval in Mexico, which says a lot about masculinity, poverty and mortality. It’s delicate, sexy and devastating at the same time.
9. The Hurt Locker (2009)
No war movie captured the psychological implications and internal conflicts a soldier has during deployment in conflict zones quite like 2009’s The Hurt Locker.
The war drama, which won the Oscar for Best Picture, follows Staff Sgt. William James and his team of specialists in bomb diffusion in Iraq, showing the intense and terrifying work they do and the psychological problems and tensions that emerge during such a mission. The film is a visceral depiction of the profound implications and complexities of war.
8. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Probably one of the most controversial and disturbing films ever created, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange is a masterful adaptation of the cult novel by Anthony Burgess.
The striking cinematography combined with the extreme violence of the narrative, black humor and futuristic production design leave one’s mind and senses in deep awe.
7. The Little Prince (2016)
The Little Prince is a superb and modern adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic children’s book. The movie packs the book’s original story into a little girl’s friendship with an old aviator, who tells her the stories about encountering a magical little boy.
While it sounds like the film drifts away from the book, it ends up to be quite an original and modern adaptation for the newer generations. In the end, the movie comes out as a very imaginative and unconventional approach to the book.
6. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
The 1967 classic Bonnie and Clyde is Warren Beatty’s subversive, challenging and youth-oriented movie making attempt which spawned a new movement at the time. While initially receiving mixed criticism, the passing of time has turned this film into a true gem, mixing sexuality, danger, restlessness and melancholy in a superb story.
5. No Country For Old Men (2007)
Another great classic available now on Netflix, No Country for Old Men is a moody, dark, funny and gripping adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel. The story follows a ruthless killer, a morally flexible rancher and a small town sheriff after they cross paths when a drug deal goes haywire.
The film first creates the standard expectations of the usual Hollywood shootouts and standoffs and eventually turns them upside down, making for an unexpected turn of events.
4. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp Fiction has remained in the minds of many as one of the best thrillers ever created. Writer and director Quentin Tarantino hit the right spot with this combination of three crime stories told out of order and superb narrative.
The three stories – the hit man out to dinner with his boss’s wife, a contract killing gone wrong and the boxer who decides not to throw the big fight – were devoured by the public when the film got out back in 1994. Pulp Fiction is a smart, original and deep satire worth watching more than once.
3. The Third Man (1950)
The Third Man, created a long time ago, 1950 more precisely, is a wonderful adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel. The story involves a struggling novelist traveling to Vienna to investigate the death of his old friend Harry Lime. He soon discovers that he hasn’t been told everything.
The adaptation is one of the finest noir films of all time, with unforgettable cinematography and stylish decor.
2. The Dark Knight (2008)
Now available on Netflix, The Dark Knight is a sequel that surpasses the original movie, a thing so rare in cinematography these days. The return to Gotham city comes with some of the best set pieces of the entire series.
The nihilistic evil – the frightening Joker – is played extremely well by Heath Ledger, winning an Oscar for his role. It’s a dark and deep film that outperforms any other Hollywood movie of its kind.
1. Seven (1995)
David Fincher’s Seven is a gruesome crime drama that tells the story of two detectives – veteran William Somerset (played by Morgan Freeman) and his young partner David Mills (Brad Pitt) – following the trail of a Machiavellian killer. It’s a disturbing and unconventional thriller that beats the cheap thrills of the more modern movies of its kind.
The case the two detectives are working on is an unsettling one. A serial killer who goes on to commit crimes inspired by the seven deadly sins. The two partners on his trail try their best to decipher the motivations behind risking their lives and even worse, their souls to put an end to the series of crimes. Unlike other movies of this genre, the crimes themselves are left off for the audience to imagine them, giving just enough information about.
Contents
- 15. Moon (2009)
- 14. Schindler’s List (1993)
- 13. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- 12. The Matrix (1999)
- 11. V for Vendetta (2005)
- 10. Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
- 9. The Hurt Locker (2009)
- 8. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
- 7. The Little Prince (2016)
- 6. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
- 5. No Country For Old Men (2007)
- 4. Pulp Fiction (1994)
- 3. The Third Man (1950)
- 2. The Dark Knight (2008)
- 1. Seven (1995)
