Doing Nothing Tonight? Same, So Here Are the Best Movies to Stream on Netflix
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Look, we’ve all been there: You’re scrolling through your Netflix options, trying to find something new to watch. Immediately, you get overwhelmed by all the choices, can’t make a decision, and end up putting on the "Dinner Party" episode of The Office for the bazillionth time.
As you probably already know if you’re a person on zee internet, we are in the Peak Streaming era. This is why it's so hard to sift through ’em all, choose something high quality, and still have time to actually watch the thing. You’ve got cheesy rom-coms, spooky thrillers, shows for couples, and true-crime shows, and don’t even get me started with the number of biopics, historical period pieces, and documentaries. Your choices are endless, but also feel nonexistent…know what I mean?
Deep breaths. We’re here to help. Instead of letting the algorithm decide what you should pick the next time you’re desperate for a great movie, consider this list of the 50 best movies to watch on Netflix right now. Settling on a film only to realize once you’re 30 minutes in that you should have believed the sh*tty Rotten Tomatoes rating will soon be a thing of the past—trust.
1. The Irishman (2019)
If you’ve got three-and-a-half hours to spare, this is seriously worth a watch. It’s got Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, AND Al Pacino, and tells the scary true story of how notorious Pennsylvania hitman Frank Sheeran eventually took out his friend and boss Jimmy Hoffa. (Okay, fine, we don’t know who killed Hoffa for sure, but I’m pretty convinced by this theory.)
2. The Two Popes (2019)
Sure, Two Popes covers the *très* dramatic era in the Catholic church when Pope Benedict takes over, then resigns, and is then succeeded by Pope Francis. But at its core, this movie is hella cute. Watching these two men form a special bond and learn from each other will have your heart melting.
3. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
This teen romance movie is honestly perfect for all ages. It’s so cheesy and lovely and enjoyable! High school junior Lara Jean Covey writes letters to all the boys she’s ever loved, thinking the notes would stay hidden away in her closet, never to be seen by anyone. But obviously, because this belongs to the YA genre, the notes mysteriously get sent out. Cuteness ensues.
4. Wine Country (2019)
This movie is straight-up silly, and the cast is a who’s who of comedians: Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer, Tina Fey, and Maya Erskine, to name a few. It’s about a group of women who head to wine country for a girls’ weekend, and disaster ensues. Sound familiar?
5. Frances Ha (2013)
This movie is not only a great coming-of-age film, but it also features some great performances by people you like now but way before they were Big Famous. Adam Driver, anyone? It’s about Frances, a girl in New York City who’s just trying to figure out how to adult. To say it’s relatable is an understatement.
6. The King (2019)
Missing Game of Thrones? This is the movie for you! It’s basically like a long episode of the show without the dragons, featuring Timothée Chalamet as the titular king. Plus, you’ll learn a little bit of history while you’re at it. Win-win!
7. Marriage Story (2019)
Marriage Story is the thing you watch when you’re in need of a good cry. It might make you want to break up with your significant other because you’re afraid to ever marry anyone, but that’s cinema, baby!
8. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
If you like true crime in any capacity, you will probably enjoy—and also be disturbed by—Zac Efron playing Ted Bundy. He’s so convincing, it’s actually crazy, and it’ll make you wonder whether you would have fallen for Bundy’s deadly ploys.
9. Someone Great (2019)
This is the movie that introduced much of the country to the music of Lizzo, and for that, we owe it so much. This is a love story that takes place after a breakup, which is a refreshing twist on the typical rom-com formula.
10. Always Be My Maybe (2019)
Ali Wong and Randall Park play childhood best friends who reconnect as adults and—shocker—figure out they kinda have feelings for each other. Things are obviously made complicated, but the Keanu Reaves cameo is what makes this movie truly great.
11. Glass Onion (2022)
Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel brings detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) and his insane accent to a luxe island to solve a murder mystery—except the victim (Ed Norton) hasn’t been killed yet. That’s the first of many twists in this Clue-esque movie with an incredible cast featuring Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, and Janelle Monáe.
12. The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021)
Fans of love letter-centric movies like Dear John and The Lakehouse (basically a romance genre unto itself) will be into this. In 1960s Europe, unhappily-married Jennifer (Shailene Woodley) cheats on her husband (Joe Alwyn) with reporter Anthony (Callum Turner); in the present day, a journalist (Felicity Jones) finds Jennifer and Anthony’s correspondence and recruits her coworker Rory (Nathan Rizwan) to reunite them.
13. The Harder They Fall (2021)
This Netflix original Western follows the conflict between real-life Black American outlaws Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) and Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), backed by mostly-fictionalized gangs. If you think you’re not into gunslinging and train heists, watching Regina King be a total badass WILL change your mind.
14. My Octopus Teacher (2020)
This Oscar-winning documentary follows the friendship between a filmmaker and an octopus, as they bond during his daily free dives in a South African kelp forest (EXTREMELY jealous of eight-armed octopus hugs). But feel free to simply vibe out on the stunning underwater creature footage.
15. A Secret Love (2020)
If this Ryan Murphy-produced documentary about a lesbian couple who spent 65 years in the closet doesn’t make you cry at least twice, you’re a stronger person than I. Their sweet love story also serves as a primer on America’s history of anti-gay oppression, at a time when LGBTQ+ rights are slowly being rolled back.
16. Extinction (2018)
This alien invasion movie flew under the radar in 2018, before Netflix originals were A Thing like they are now. Michael Peña plays Peter, a father who’s freaking out his wife (Lizzy Caplan) and coworkers with his troubling visions until…actually? It’s best to walk into this one knowing as little as possible.
17. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
Viola Davis nails the title role of 1920s blues singer Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, and the larger-than-life musical moments throughout make you feel like you’re in the audience. But Chadwick Boseman truly steals the show as Levee, an ambitious trumpet player jostling to lead her band. The fact that it’s the Black Panther star’s final performance makes it even more affecting.
18. Lady Chatterley’s Lover (2022)
D.H. Lawrence’s classic is famous for its ~spicy~ sex scenes, and Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell maintain the heat level in this Netflix adaptation (Corrin’s outfits are incredible—when they wear them, that is; there’s a LOT of nudity!). After an aristocrat is paralyzed, he urges his new wife to low-key find a sperm donor. What the Lady actually finds is lots of hot action with their gamekeeper Oliver…on every square inch of the English countryside.
19. Enola Holmes 1&2 (2000 / 2022)
Millie Bobby Brown is perfection as Enola Holmes, the mystery-solving, rope-swinging teen sister of Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill). The first film finds Enola searching for her missing mom (Helena Bonham Carter), while she teams up with Sherlock to fight corrupt factory owners and the evil Moriarty in the sequel. May there be as many Enola Holmes movies as there are The Fast and the Furious movies.
20. Set It Up (2018)
If you don’t harbor a massive Glen Powell crush already, this practically perfect rom-com will probably change that. Powell and Zooey Deutsch have amazing chemistry as two assistants who are overworked by their bosses (Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu). The solution? Get their lives back by manipulating said bosses into falling for each other.
21. tick, tick…BOOM! (2021)
Andrew Garfield casually learned to sing for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s adaptation of the musical about playwright Jonathan Larson’s life as an up-and-coming artist (Larson died right before his iconic Rent premiered onstage). Garfield’s performance is electric in this theater nerd’s dream, supported by musicals queen Vanessa Hudgens.
22. Bird Box (2018)
Sandra Bullock is the blindfolded hero of this apocalyptic horror gem about a mysterious force that causes people to die by suicide the second they lay eyes upon it. Scaredy cats: Be warned! Scary movie fans: DO stare straight at this chilling showcase for Sandy B’s range.
23. Pamela, a Love Story (2023)
You may think you know cultural icon Pamela Anderson’s story, most recently retold in Hulu’s Pam & Tommy. But she’s rightfully sick of being shamed in the media for decades, due in large part to a stolen private sex tape that became a public joke. This doc is arguably our first true introduction to Pamela the vulnerable human — and she’s fascinating.
24. The Adam Project (2022)
Ryan Reynolds and Walker Scobell are equally hilarious as the adult and child versions of time traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed, who crash lands in 2022 to save his future wife (Zoe Saldana) from danger. A sharper-edged-than-usual Jennifer Garner plays the Adams’ exhausted single mom, and her scenes with Scobell add a moving family drama aspect to this fast-paced sci-fi adventure.
25. Do Revenge (2022)
Do Revenge flawlessly meshes ’90s teen comedies with Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. When a leaked video to her boyfriend brings down high school queen Drea (Camila Mendes), she makes a pact with Eleanor (Maya Hawke), who was wronged by another girl at summer camp: They'll help each other exact the perfect revenge.
26. Julie & Julia (2009)
This heavenly Nora Ephron movie shifts between the 1950s and the early 2000s, alternately following Julia Child (Meryl Streep) during her ascent as a French cooking icon, and a woman named Julie Powell (Amy Adams) who becomes blog-famous by making all 524 recipes in a Julia Child cookbook. While the real Julie Powell died unexpectedly in 2022, the film remains a happy celebration of both women’s lives.
27. The Wonder (2022)
In this eerie psychological drama, Florence Pugh plays a British nurse sent to 19th century Ireland to keep “watch” over an 11-year-old girl who supposedly stopped eating months ago. Whether the girl is a true miracle gives way to darker questions, and you won’t be able to take your eyes off Pugh’s face as she navigates the oppressive (and isolated) environment she’s found herself in.
28. The Good Nurse (2022)
Eddie Redmayne is terrifying in the role of real-life serial killer nurse Charles Cullen. Jessica Chastain portrays Amy Loughren, the actual nursing colleague who helped the authorities stop her former friend’s murder spree (you might say she’s one…good nurse). Even if you know how Cullen’s story ends, the tension and suspense will have on the edge of your seat.
29. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
If you’ve never heard of Eurovision, the international song competition that has a cult following for its extreme campiness, this movie’s an excellent intro. Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams play adorable Icelandic songwriters with secret crushes on each other, while Dan Stevens is their rhinestone-clad Russian pop star nemesis. You’ll definitely be listening to (at least) one of the film’s catchy songs on Spotify afterward.
30. The Tinder Swindler (2022)
Romance scams are all too real—and The Tinder Swindler is the true story of a conman who tricked vulnerable women into giving him money that they’d never see again. Like, so much money. The doc does a solid job of explaining why they fell for the self-proclaimed “diamond heir”’s ruse.
31. Hush (2016)
Before The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and other spooky Netflix series from Mike Flanagan, there was the deliciously scary Hush — which also stars his wife and frequent collaborator Kate Siegel (plus other actors who appear in Flanagan’s shows). In it, the deaf author of hit horror book Midnight Mass (!) is stalked by a killer in the isolated cabin she’s rented to write in. You’ve been warned: Don’t watch this alone.
32. The Power of the Dog (2021)
In this two-hour meditation on the concept “hurt people hurt people,” a cowboy (Cumberbatch) seemingly lives to torment his gentle-hearted brother (Plemons), the widow he falls in love with (Dunst), and her son. Benedict Cumberbatch, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and real-life dream couple Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons all scored Oscar nominations for their amazing performances.
33. Slumberland (2022)
Any fan of Alice in Wonderland and Roald Dahl will love escaping into this cozy, colorful fantasy movie about a lonely girl (Marlow Barkley) who’s led through adventures in a dream world by Flip (Jason Momoa), a horned creature with big Cat-in-the-Hat energy.
34. The Lost Daughter (2021)
This Maggie Gyllenhaal-directed adaptation of an Elena Ferrante novel follows solo traveler Leda (Olivia Colman), who meets a young mom named Nina (Dakota Johnson) and her family while on holiday in Greece. Leda’s assailed by memories her own days as a mother, which she didn’t totally love—and then, one of Nina’s daughters goes missing.
35. Five Feet Apart (2019)
Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse play two teenagers with cystic fibrosis who fall in love during a long hospital stay. But due to infection risk, they’ve gotta stay…you guessed it. This sweet tearjerker contains the best non-sex love scene ever.
36. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Like most, if not all, of James Baldwin’s stories, If Beale Street Could Talk is a spot-on portrait of infuriating racial injustice. It’s also a gorgeous love story with an equally-stunning soundtrack, and the romance between Clementine (KiKi Layne) and the falsely-accused Alonzo (Stephan James) balances the darkness with lots of light.
37. 365 DNI (365 Days) (2020)
Look, 365 Days is not a “good” movie—it’s basically softcore that’ll have you shrieking “WHAT is happening?!” every 5 minutes. Undeniably hot sex scenes aside, the plot involving a Sicilian mob boss (Michele Morrone) who kidnaps a Polish woman (Anna-Maria Sieklucka) to *make* her fall in love with him is a problematic mess with laughably bad dialogue. But I promise that it is the most fun thing you can possibly watch on movie night with the besties, aside from its two equally-insane sequels.
38. Bullet Train (2022)
Fans of action movies (and of hot men like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bad Bunny, and Brad Pitt) shouldn’t miss this one, which takes place almost entirely on a high-speed train. Pitt plays Ladybug, an assassin who’s trying to retire — but he first has to complete a simple mission and fight off other assassins if he wants to survive the day. And that’s just ONE of the interrelated plots in this caper.
39. His House (2020)
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His House is technically a horror movie, and while its protagonists are haunted, it’s truly about two Sudanese refugees (Wunmi Mosaku and Sope Dirisu) grappling with culture shock and trauma. To start a new life in England, the couple must reckon with the ghosts they left behind, and the terrible thing they did to escape. Cast Wunmi Mosaku in everything, she's so good!
40. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
It’s been quoted and referenced so many times that it might feel like you’ve seen the Heath Ledger-Jake Gyllenhaal cowboy romance. But if you've never watched this beautiful, heartbreaking movie, tonight’s the perfect time to fix that.
41. Emily the Criminal (2022)
2022 was Aubrey Plaza’s year: She killed it in White Lotus, and in this story of a cash-strapped woman who spirals into a life of crime. When Emily can’t pay off her student loans because of a felony on her record, she partners up with shady Youcef (Theo Rossi) and discovers she’s a pretty talented scammer. Things escalate quickly.
42. Lion (2016)
Saroo (Dev Patel) got lost alone on an Indian train as a young child, and was adopted by a loving Australian woman (Nicole Kidman, in an amazing performance). Unable to shake distant memories as an adult, he embarks on a journey to find his birth family in India. It’s an incredible—and true!—story beautifully told.
43. All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
This 2022 remake of a 1930 film earned tons of Academy Award nominations. A young German WWI soldier is super excited to enlist, and soon learns that war is indeed hell — and we experience that hell firsthand in epically-brutal battle scenes.
44. Stepmom (1998)
If you need a good cry, Stepmom is here to clean your eyes all the way out. Isabel (Julia Roberts) is struggling to win over the two kids her boyfriend (Ed Harris) shares with his ex-wife Jackie (Susan Sarandon). Jackie’s extremely salty toward Isabel, too. But when Jackie gets dark medical news, the blended family learns to love each other the best they can. Hi, I’m already weeping!
45. Matilda (2022)
It doesn’t matter if you loved the original film and/or the Roald Dahl book about Matilda, the 5-year-old girl with a special power who shows her friends, family, and teacher how to be extraordinary. Any fan of musicals will be *obsessed* with Netflix’s version of the Broadway hit starring Alisha Weir, Lashana Lynch, and a small army of next-level-talented child actors.
46. The Woman King (2022)
Viola Davis is majestic in this history-based tale of the Agojie, the army of warrior women defending a West African territory (in this story, they fight slave traders and a rival kingdom). The— again, all-women —battle scenes are nothing short of amazing.
47. The Aviator (2004)
When people call Leonardo DiCaprio one of the greats, his performance as troubled billionaire film producer Howard Hughes in Martin Scorcese’s The Aviator is one reason why. Cate Blanchett’s Katharine Hepburn is reason enough to watch, though.
48. Minority Report (2002)
John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is part of a 2054 “pre-crime unit” that arrests people who, according to a trio of psychics held in captivity by police, will become murderers. When the psychics “see” Anderton kill someone he’s never met, things get complicated. Is it ethical to arrest someone before they’ve committed a crime, if you supposedly know they’re going to? Questions the movie poses feel just as relevant today.
49. Leave No Trace (2018)
When a girl and her army vet dad are discovered living off the grid in the Oregon wilderness, they’re forced to re-enter the “real” world. Actors Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie sell the hell out of the relationship at the center of this surprisingly powerful story, and the forest scenes are beautiful.
50. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
A sheepish dude in an indie rock band (a baby Michael Cera) falls for the coolest girl in town (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Because they live in a surreal video game version of Toronto, he must battle her many exes for the chance to date her, comic book-style. Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Kieran Culkin, and Anna Kendrick all show up — Brie Larson as the villainous lead singer of a rival band is a highlight.
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