Netflix
Updated: September 25th
Along with its slate of Emmy-nominated TV series, Netflix is churning out some high-quality feature-length content as of late. The streaming platform has been building a deep well when it comes to film, filling it with everything from period dramas and millennial romcoms to quirky biopics, sci-fi love stories, and enthralling deep-dive documentaries. In other words, if you thought TV was the only thing the binge-heavy subscription service had to offer, think again.
We’ve sifted through a slew of titles to pick the cream of the crop when it comes to Netflix’s original lineup so make sure you have some space in your queue. These films deserve to be there.
Related: The Best Netflix Original Series Right Now, Ranked
Netflix
1. Mudbound (2017)
Run Time: 134 min, IMDb: 7.4/10
Netflix spent much of 2017 trying to establish itself as an alternative to movie theaters as a place to find quality new films. The results were mostly strong, and none stronger than Mudbound, Dee Rees’ story of two families — one white and one black — sharing the same Mississippi land in the years before and after World War II. Rees combines stunning images, compelling storytelling, and the work of a fine cast (that includes Jason Mitchell, Carey Mulligan, Garett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, and Mary J. Blige) to unspool a complex tale about the forces the connect black and white Americans and the slow-to-die injustices that keep them apart.
Netflix
2. Beasts of No Nation (2015)
134 min | IMDb: 7.8/10
It’s hard not to like a guy as talented and charismatic as Idris Elba but the actor plays a morally-corrupt psychopath to perfection in Beasts of No Nation. As the Commandant, Elba recruits young boys to his rebel army fighting the government of Ghana by forcing them to undergo a brutal initiation process. Agu, a young boy who saw his father and older brother murdered at the hands of the government, is captured and indoctrinated into the Commandant’s army, suffering through terrible torture, both physical and psychological, before he eventually escapes.
Netflix
3. Okja (2017)
Run Time: 120 min | IMDb: 7.4/10
Bong Joon-Ho’s send-up of corporate farming and environmental abuses isn’t subtle. Tilda Swinton goes all-out as the CEO of an evil corporation, only to be outdone by Jake Gyllenhaal’s broad turn as an unstable TV host. But its tale of an endearing, genetically modified “super pig” and the girl who loves him is effective and contains both some terrific action set pieces and the most affecting child/strange beast relationship this side of E.T.
Netflix
4. The Fundamentals Of Caring (2016)
Run Time: 97 min | IMDb: 7.3/10
Paul Rudd is at his most charming and charismatic here. He plays a newly trained caregiver to a distant teenager with muscular dystrophy named Trevor. After some ice breaking, the two set out on a trip to see some of the most boring roadside attractions middle America has to offer. If you’re feeling down, this one will pick you up.
Plus… it’s Paul Rudd. That dude is always a ray of sunshine.
Netflix
5. Amanda Knox (2016)
Run Time: 92 min, IMDb: 7/10
It seems as though we’re all now more aware than ever of how utterly screwed any of us can be in an instant if the system places us in its crosshairs for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and not behaving in a way perceived to be “normal” in the immediate aftermath. Recent true crime documentaries like The Staircase, Making a Murderer and Serial have certainly played a part in illuminating this frightening and unfortunate slice of reality. We can now add Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn’s Amanda Knox to that list. Prepare to be terrified and infuriated as the filmmaker’s detail how an overzealous Italian prosecutor and a global tabloid press thirsty for a sensational story joined forces to wreck a young woman’s life, largely for their own benefit.
As Daily Mail journalist Nick Pisa freely admits on camera — without any trace of remorse or shame — about his work covering the case, “A murder always gets people going… And we have here this beautiful, picturesque hilltop town in the middle of Italy. It was a particularly gruesome murder; throat slit, semi-naked, blood everywhere. I mean, what more do you want in a story?”
Netflix
6. Set It Up (2018)
Run Time: 105 min | IMDb: 6.6/10
Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell star in this office rom-com with a bit of a twist. Instead of the two young co-stars falling in love, it’s Deutch and Powell who try to set up their overbearing, workaholic bosses with each other so that they can get a break from their demanding jobs. Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs play the employers from hell, and Deutch and Powell put themselves through the ringer to make the pair fall in love, and to make us laugh. It’s superficial and cute so really, the perfect movie binge for a Friday night.
Netflix/AMC
7. The Incredible Jessica James (2017)
Run Time: 83 min | IMDb: 6.5/10
Anyone who caught Jessica Williams during her tenure on The Daily Show knows that she’s destined for greatness. Despite being so young, she had a confidence, a voice, and a commanding presence that you just can’t fake. The Incredible Jessica James is her first starring vehicle since her time as a correspondent, and it is a true testament to where she’s headed. In a clever look at the life of a struggling playwright who is getting over a breakup, The Incredible Jessica James allows Williams to unleash her fire in the most charming way possible, and she and Chris O’Dowd have an easy chemistry that makes you root for them to make it despite not having a thing in common. Having just come out last year, The Incredible Jessica James is still one of the best comedy movies Netflix has delivered.
Netflix
8. A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018)
Run Time: 101 min | IMDb: 6.8/10
Will Forte plays a brilliant-but-troubled comedic writer in this quirky, ultimately heartbreaking biopic. The movie tracks the rise and fall of Doug Kenney, a prolific funny-man whose love for satirical humor and pushing boundaries was only equal to his love of cocaine. Kenney gave us gems like National Lampoon, Animal House, and Caddyshack before his addiction to drugs ultimately destroyed his career and his life. Along with Forte, some big names play some even bigger legends in this one – Kenney was friends with people like Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi – and Forte gives a singular performance as the man tortured by how own genius.
Netflix
9. 6 Balloons (2018)
Run Time: 74 min | IMDb: 5.8/10
Addiction is tough but crafting a film that gets the disease right seems almost impossible. 6 Balloons comes closer than most though, with some stand-out performances from Abbi Jacobson (Broad City) and Dave Franco. The two play a brother and sister whose strained relationship reaches a breaking point when Jacobson is forced to abandon a carefully planned event to take Franco to rehab. Along the way, the two argue, exorcise heir demons, and make a drug run. Things don’t end pretty but that’s kind of the point.
Netflix
10. Gerald’s Game (2017)
Run Time: 103 min, IMDb: 6.7/10
Stephen King’s 1992 novel transpires mostly in one isolated lake house’s bedroom where its protagonist, Jessie, lies bound to a bed after her husband dies in the midst of a sex game. That makes it a tough story to film, which may explain why it took 25 years to get turned into a movie. But the wait was worth it: director Mike Flanagan delivers a resourceful, disturbing adaptation anchored by a great Carla Gugino performance (with some fine supporting work from Bruce Greenwood). Forced to find a way out of her situation, while confronting her own past, Gugino’s Jessie is made to go to extremes, which leads to, among other things, one of the squirmiest scenes in recent memory.
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