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Collateral.
Photo: Dreamworks
This post is updated regularly as movies leave and enter Netflix. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.
With hundreds of films from around the world on the streaming giant that changed the game, how does one even know where to start when they’re looking for something to watch? Start here! We have gone through the massive catalog of films available on Netflix and pared down the selection to an essential 30 titles, including action films, comedies, horror flicks, and even stuff for the whole family, with Netflix Originals peppered in throughout, alongside its licensed films. These are films that came from outside the Netflix pipeline to subscribers, and it will be regularly updated as flicks come and go from the Netflix catalog, starting with our pick of the week.
Year: 2004
Runtime: 2h
Director: Michael Mann
Tom Cruise gives one of his most fascinating performances as Vincent, the passenger to Jamie Foxx’s L.A. cab driver on a very fateful night. It turns out that Vincent is a hitman, and he needs Foxx’s character to drive him on a killing spree in this tense, gorgeously-shot thriller from the masterful craftsman Michael Mann.
Year: 2017
Runtime: 2h 6m
Director: Luca Guadagnino
One of the best films of the 2010s, this drama stars Timothée Chalamet as a boy who discovers his own sexuality when he’s wooed by an older man, played by Armie Hammer. Delicate and moving, this is a remarkable drama because of how true it feels, anchored by great performances throughout, not just from the two leads but the amazing Michael Stuhlbarg too.
Year: 2018
Runtime: 1h 59m
Director: Barry Jenkins
Following up on a Best Picture win can be tough for any filmmaker but Barry Jenkins delivered with this lyrical and moving adaptation of the 1974 novel of the same name by James Baldwin. It stars KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Brian Tyree Henry, Colman Domingo, and the Oscar-winning Regina King in the story of a young couple struck down when he’s wrongly charged with a crime. It’s a masterful drama from one of the best American filmmakers.
Year: 2021
Runtime: 2h 6m
Director: Jane Campion
The film that finally won an Oscar for Jane Campion for directing is one of the most acclaimed in the history of the streaming giant. Campion helmed this adaptation of the novel of the same name by Thomas Savage, the story of a vicious landowner (Benedict Cumberbatch) who torments the new wife (Kirsten Dunst) of his brother (Jesse Plemons). A drama that plays like a thriller, this gorgeously rendered period piece unpacks themes of toxic masculinity and manipulation in a way that makes it impossible to turn away. It’s not just one of the best Netflix Original films, it’s one of the best, period, of the 2020s so far.
Year: 2005
Runtime: 2h 8m
Director: Joe Wright
One of the best Jane Austen adaptations ever remains this 2005 version of one of her most beloved novels, the film that put Keira Knightley on the map. Directed by Joe Wright, this version is relatively faithful to the source, but it’s filmed with such passion and grace that it’s easy to get lost in it again and again.
Year: 2005
Runtime: 1h 21m
Director: Noah Baumbach
Noah Baumbach’s personal 2005 drama dissects the impact of divorce on an average family and offers the suggestion that the flaws of parents will only be amplified in their children. Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, and Jesse Eisenberg all give excellent performances in a film that feels both specifically revealing and universal in its themes.
Year: 1997
Runtime: 3h 14m
Director: James Cameron
More than just a blockbuster, this Best Picture winner was a legitimate cultural phenomenon, staying at the top of the box office charts for months. And the headline-grabbing story of the Titan in Summer 2023 certainly gives this flick new relevance. There was a point when it felt like not only had everyone seen the story of Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet), but most people had seen it twice. And they’re probably all going to watch it again now.
Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 46m
Director: Christopher Nolan
The Dark Knight director returned to his homeland to tell one of its most formative war stories in the evacuation of British soldiers from northern France in 1940. Telling a story of land, sea, and air evacuations simultaneously, Dunkirk is a technical marvel, a film that only a filmmaker as ambitious and crazy as Nolan could even consider, much less pull off. Don’t watch this one on your phone. And turn it up loud.
Year: 2011
Runtime: 1h 50m
Director: Joe Wright
Saoirse Ronan stars as the title character, who has been raised WAY off the grid by an ex-CIA father played by Eric Bana. He has taught her all the skills she needs to know to survive not only in the wilderness but should anyone try to come and find them. When Cate Blanchett does exactly that, Joe Wright’s film explodes in unforgettable action. It’s a great movie that inspired the Prime Video series of the same name.
Year: 1995
Runtime: 2h 50m
Director: Michael Mann
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino star in one of the best movies of the ‘90s, a stunning cat-and-mouse game between a career criminal and a workaholic cop. The book release of Heat 2 in 2022 brought a lot of people back to this movie, one that has held up remarkably well over the nearly three decades since it was released. It’s a masterpiece.
Year: 2014
Runtime: 2h 30m
Director: Gareth Evans
Gareth Edwards wrote, edited, and directed the insane follow-up to his breakthrough hit that takes everything he did with The Raid and turns it up to 11! Like incredible action choreography? Unbroken takes? Stunts that defy the laws of physics? The Raid 2 is quite simply one of the best action movies of the last decade, a thrill ride from beginning to end.
Year: 1989
Runtime: 1h 54m
Director: Rowdy Herrington
As production on a remake of this cult classic (with Jake Gyllenhaal!) gets underway, why not go back and check out the original again? Patrick Swayze plays the bouncer at a totally average Missouri bar who ends up getting sucked into a violent world when he crosses paths with the wrong bad guy. Sam Elliott and Kelly Lynch star in a movie that feels like a perfect distillation of the many charms of Mr. Swayze.
Year: 1976
Runtime: 1h 59m
Director: John Avildsen
The one that started it all is on Netflix, waiting for you to do a catch-up before seeing Creed III in a few months. Go back almost five decades now to see the start of the Rocky Balboa saga in a film that truly took the world by storm, becoming the highest grossing film of 1976 on its way to winning Best Picture and making Sylvester Stallone a household name.
Year: 2022
Runtime: 3h 5m
Director: S.S. Rajamouli
One of the biggest films in the world in 2022, this crazy action flick really took off in the United States when it dropped on Netflix. It’s hard to put into words just how much movie you get with RRR. It’s kind of all the movies — musical, romance, comedy, action, drama. Whatever you’re looking for, it’s in here. You’ll want to watch it twice.
Year: 2009
Runtime: 2h 7m
Director: J.J. Abrams
J.J. Abrams took the reins of one of the most influential franchises of all time and went back to the beginning, telling the origin story of how James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) joined the crew of the Starship Enterprise. Some of Abrams’s messing around with franchise histories has been controversial, but this is still an incredibly solid summer blockbuster, entertaining from beginning to end. Note: The divisive sequel Star Trek Into Darkness is also on Netflix.
Year: 1997
Runtime: 2h 9m
Director: Paul Verhoeven
The bugs! No one else but the director of Robocop could have made this unforgettable sci-fi/action epic about giant bugs from outer space. On the surface, it’s a wildly entertaining action movie about young soldiers trying to stop an unimaginable force. Dig deeper and you’ll find richly rewarding satirical levels about the military complex and even fascism. However you enjoy it, just enjoy it while you can.
Year: 1991
Runtime: 2h 17m
Director: James Cameron
Any list of the best sequels ever made that doesn’t include this is flatly wrong. James Cameron took the ideas of his 1984 sci-fi breakthrough and expanded on them in this action masterpiece that reverses roles and made movie history. Linda Hamilton returns as Sarah Connor, the woman who knows that her son is the key to the future. She’s great but the movie belongs to Ah-nuld and, even more, Cameron, who flexes his action directing muscle here in unforgettable ways.
Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 14m
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Living legend Viola Davis stars in this retelling of the all-female warriors of the kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century. She plays General Nansica, who trains young women to follow in her footsteps, and leads a rock star ensemble of future stars that includes Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, and Sheila Atim. You’ll know all their names soon enough.
Year: 2011
Runtime: 2h 4m
Director: Paul Feig
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been over a decade since Bridesmaids shattered all expectations, making a fortune and turning Melissa McCarthy into a household name (especially after she landed an Oscar nomination). Smart and heartfelt, it’s the story of a woman (Kristen Wiig) who struggles in her role as Maid of Honor to a friend played by Rose Byrne. It’s still very, very funny.
Year: 1986
Runtime: 1h 43m
Director: John Hughes
One of the most popular comedies of its era turned its title character into a household name. The pitch is so beautifully simple: the most popular kid in high school takes the day off and gets into trouble in Chicago while driving his sister and principal insane. Great physical sequences mix with a very hip ‘80s sensibility to create a classic comedy that could be a hit if it came out today.
Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 19m
Director: Rian Johnson
The writer/director of Knives Out returned in late 2022 with a sequel to that smash hit, exclusively on Netflix. Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc, the casual crime solver who finds himself on a billionaire’s island in Rian Johnson’s latest comedy/mystery. Once again, Johnson assembles a murderer’s row of talent, including Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, Ed Norton, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., and more. It’s smart, funny, and thoroughly entertaining.
Year: 1975
Runtime: 1h 29m
Director: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
During a hiatus between the third and fourth seasons of Monty Python’s Family Circus, the gang of mega-talented comedians decided to make movie history. Inspired by the King Arthur legend, Holy Grail is a timeless comedy, the rare kind of film that will still be making people laugh hundreds of years from now. And while the Monty Python boys were already famous, this film took them to another level, cementing their place in movie history.
Year: 2018
Runtime: 1h 55m
Director: Alex Garland
Paramount notoriously had no idea what to do with Alex Garland’s film and barely promoted it in American theaters, dropping it on Netflix in the rest of the world, which is where it now returns five years later. And it’s amazing. One of the best films of 2018 stars Natalie Portman as a woman who enters an alien occurrence to find out what happened to her husband there. Although that barely scratches the surface of this complex, already-beloved film.
Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 43m
Director: Mike Flanagan
Before he helmed The Haunting of Hill House, Mike Flanagan co-wrote and directed one of the best Netflix Original horror films in this adaptation of Stephen King’s 1992 novel of the same name. Carla Gugino is phenomenal as a woman who gets handcuffed to her bed by her toxic husband…and then he has a heart attack. As she tries to figure out how she will survive, she accesses the trauma of her past.
Year: 2002
Runtime: 1h 55m
Director: Gore Verbinski
There was a time there around two decades ago when Hollywood was obsessed with remaking Asian horror films with English-speaking casts. Most of them sucked. This one definitely did not. Naomi Watts stars in Gore Verbinski’s riveting version of the incredible Ringu from 1998 about a cursed videotape that kills viewers seven days after viewing it.
Year: 1991
Runtime: 2h 21m
Director: Steven Spielberg
Peter Pan & Wendy hasn’t made much of an impact over on Disney+, so why not go back to the Peter Pan tale that so many loved as children? Steven Spielberg’s Robin Williams-starring variation on the J.M. Barrie classic is often derided as one of the master’s lesser films, but it also has a loyal fan base, largely made up of people who were just the right age when it came out. Now they’re old enough to show it to their kids. Pass on the wonder.
Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 56m
Director: Guillermo del Toro
The Oscar-winning director took his visionary skills to stop-motion animation with this instant classic, a retelling of the beloved fairy tale about the wooden boy who longed to be real. With spectacular voice work, this version reimagines Pinocchio during the period before World War II, allowing del Toro to explore his themes of innocence and violence again. It’s a deeply personal, beautiful film.
Year: 1984
Runtime: 2h 7m
Director: John G. Avildsen
After the massive success of Cobra Kai on Netflix, the streamer finally now also offers fans the original trilogy of films about the kid who learns karate from Mr. Miyagi. The 1984 original is still, by far, the best, starring Ralph Macchio and the great Pat Morita. Less successful are the 1986 and 1989 sequels, but no one would blame fans for wanting to watch the whole trilogy. Note: The Jackie Chan remake is also on Netflix.
Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 42m
Director: Joel Crawford
No one would have predicted that the presumed-dead Shrek franchise had another spin-off sequel of this caliber yet to be released, but December 2022 saw the critical and commercial success of arguably the best film in the entire series. Using a style more reminiscent of Into the Spider-verse than typical DreamWorks, The Last Wish is a gorgeous and surprisingly moving story of the title character dealing with something he never expected to face: mortality. It’s funny, clever, and memorable. (On Netflix July 13th.)
Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 46m
Director: Henry Selick
The director of A Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline finally returned this year with this clever and twisted tale co-written by Oscar winner Jordan Peele. The comedian also co-stars as one of the title characters, the literal demons for a girl who blames herself for the death of her parents. Selick is a master of stop-motion animation and this project allows him to stretch his visual prowess in new, gross ways. It’s a new Halloween classic (that can be watched any time, of course!)
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