For as many streaming services as there is currently are, Netflix remains possibly the premiere platform to watch movies and television shows. The first mainstream streaming service there was, it’s a platform that continues to boast some of the finest and most noteworthy movies you’ll find anywhere.
With a streaming catalog mixed between Netflix original movies and endless amounts of well-known movies like Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, 21 Jump Street, and Steve Jobs, there’s no shortage of potential viewing options when it comes to Netflix’s impressive lineup of movies.
Here are some of the movies you can currently find streaming on Netflix that we’d recommend checking out.
Updated: December 8.
Family: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Fresh off the release of his horror anthology series (Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities), Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro returns with a drastically different kind of project than any he’s worked on before.
In 1930s Italy, a despondent woodcarver (David Bradley) receives a new lease on life when one of his puppets (Gregory Mann) comes to life. As the young puppet tries his best to obey his father’s wishes, he also learns the price of disobedience and recklessness, getting into a series of misadventures involving a mysterious carny (Christoph Waltz).
This isn’t the Pinocchio we all know from the Disney movie. Returning to the more mature undertones of the original fable and transplanting it to ‘30s fascist Italy, the movie is an effective dark fairy tale, a political satire, and a gentle study of family, responsibility, and friendship. Although, be warned — this movie might be a bit unsettling for extremely young audiences.
Comedy: 21 Jump Street
Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) are two low-level police officers presented with a unique assignment. Going undercover at a local high school, the two pretend to be average students, looking to contact a notorious drug dealer selling a potent, lethal product.
When the announcement came that a remake of the ‘80s teen cop show, 21 Jump Street, was being planned for a 2012 release, it’s fair to assume many of us rolled our eyes and said to ourselves, “No way this is going to be good.”
With the bar set so low, the superior quality of 21 Jump Street caught us all by surprise. A fresh, hilarious, almost self-mocking take on the buddy cop genre in general, it was loaded with brilliant comedic moments that had you laughing till your sides ached. Looking back, it’s easily one of the best comedy movies of the 2010s — if not the definitive best.
Biopic: Steve Jobs
No, not that horrendous Ashton Kutcher film. Written by possibly the best screenwriter working today (Aaron Sorkin — The West Wing, A Few Good Men, The Social Network), Steve Jobs tracks three crucial episodes in the influential tech mogul's life and career.
Set over the course of 14 years, Steve Jobs follows Jobs’ (Michael Fassbender) rise to power and the numerous failures in his personal and professional life from 1984 to 1998.
More an anthology film that is a strictly linear movie, the unique episodic format of Steve Jobs nevertheless allows for a deeper understanding of Jobs as a man and as the entrepreneur. Like everyone, he was a notoriously complex individual — eccentric, brilliant, selfish, conniving, manipulative, and deeply in denial about his own faults and shortcomings. Yet as we see, he was also perfectly aware of how to benefit from a bad scenario, shifting the spotlight to himself when the situation called for it, and deflecting whenever he knew he was in the wrong.
Crime: Emily the Criminal
With her deadpan delivery, disinterested facial expressions, and lethargic body language, Aubrey Plaza has become known for playing more sarcastic characters in indie comedies and sitcoms over the past decade. In one of her most recent films, Emily the Criminal, Plaza abandons her former comedic persona, diving into a role far more realistic, serious, and nuanced than any she’s played before.
With her criminal record preventing her from getting a regular career, Emily (Aubrey Plaza) enters into a credit card scheme. Initially, she accepts the job to pay off her mounting student loan debts, but decides to stay when she learns how potentially lucrative it might be.
A sharp critique of the current economic climate (where younger people are preyed upon by high-costing institutions like student loan companies), Emily the Criminal is a smart, well-paced, wonderfully-acted tour de force for Plaza. In a career filled with amazing films (Black Bear, Ingrid Goes West, The Little Hours), this is easily one of her best, spelling a new phase in the young actor’s career.
Sports: Coach Carter
Inspired by the fascinating true story of basketball coach Ken Carter, Coach Carter is also among the more gripping films Samuel L. Jackson has appeared in. It might not be the greatest sports movie ever made, but its basis in reality and Jackson’s acting make it an above-par drama film well worth seeing.
Taking a job at his old high school in California, an unconventional basketball coach (Jackson) sets out to improve his team’s skills on the court and their performances in the classroom.
Given that premise, you might fairly assume Coach Carter would be a preachy film advocating the value of self-worth, imparting the message that we should all care to actively think about our futures. However, Jackson embeds enough realism into his role as Carter to help the movie become too self-aggrandizing, making it relatable, enjoyable, and engaging throughout.
Romance: Lady Chatterley's Lover
One of the newest films to arrive to Netflix, Lady Chatterley’s Lover is one of the many adaptations of DH Lawrence’s steamy final novel. However, with its modern aesthetic and impressive performances, the movie propels itself into becoming perhaps the best take on Lawrence’s book.
Unfulfilled in her marriage to her wealthy husband (Matthew Duckett), Lady Chatterley (Emma Corrin) starts a casual romance with her estate’s gamekeeper (Jack O'Connell), the two eventually forming a deeper, more meaningful attachment to one another.
Recapturing the sensual nature of its source material, Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a heartfelt, emotional, and raw film that DH Lawrence no doubt would’ve been proud of. The content of the story is definitely not as shocking as it was in 1928, but this Netflix adaptation is still one of the more original and bold presentations of a “dated” 20th century romance novel.
Horror: Scream 4
Most people tend to think Scream 4 is the worst Scream. While admittedly it doesn’t rise to the heights of the original Scream or even the well-loved sequels, Scream 2 or the newer Scream, that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad movie. In fact, when you compare it to the utter trash of the later Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies or the endless sequels to Friday the 13th, it’s an outright masterpiece.
On the 15th anniversary of the original Woodsboro murders, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to her hometown and reunites with her family and friends (David Arquette and Courteney Cox). Not long after her arrival, however, a new killer takes up the mantle of Ghostface, targeting the next generation of Woodsboro’s teenagers.
An underrated gem of the Scream franchise, Scream 4 has some issues with pacing, but overall, it’s still an incredibly satisfying sequel that tends to go unjustly overlooked by most fans of the slasher series. At the very least, I’d say it’s a thousand times better than Scream 3, far and away the disappointing of the Scream movies to date.
Drama: Frances Ha
As the possibility that her lifelong dreams for the future are becoming increasingly unlikely, 27-year-old dancer Frances (Greta Gerwig) still manages to find joy in every area of her life, living every moment to the absolute fullest.
Is there anything Greta Gerwig can’t do? After graduating from consistently entertaining indie films, she’s gone on to write and direct some of the most accoladed films in recent memory, such as her 2017 debut Lady Bird and her 2019 adaptation of Little Women.
As remarkable as Gerwig has become in her filmmaking career, it’s still worth revisiting some of the earlier films that helped establish her in the industry — such as Frances Ha. An intimate, meandering film made in the same mold as classic Woody Allen films, it’s a role tailor-made for Gerwig’s strengths as an actor (indeed, it’s a character only she could’ve pulled off this well).
Mystery: What Did Jack Do?
Two words perhaps sum up What Did Jack Do? best: David Lynch. Like Wes Anderson or Quentin Tarantino, you know instantly you’re watching a Lynch movie from the opening moments alone, with his most recent short film, What Did Jack Do?, no different.
At a cordoned-off train station, a detective (Lynch) interrogates an anthropomorphic capuchin monkey who might be responsible for a murder.
Like Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, or Mulholland Drive, What Did Jack Do? isn’t meant for everyone, perhaps best suited for viewers who are used to Lynch’s signature brand of weird subject matter. As with every Lynch project, you might end up either loving it or hating it — but you can’t argue the man’s got some imagination.
Underrated: Kicking and Screaming
Indie director Noah Baumbach’s first movie, Kicking and Screaming bears some amateurish elements, but it still shows an impressive young talent beginning to find his voice. (Much like Baumbach’s good friend and frequent collaborator Wes Anderson with his first film, Bottle Rocket.)
Shortly after graduating college, a group of listless young men try to figure out what to do with their lives, finding nothing but tedious pastimes, shallow friendships, and dead-end jobs waiting for them around every corner.
A little too pretentious in terms of its characters (is the script pretentious or are its characters?) and a little too uneventful in terms of its plot, Kicking and Screaming might only be of interest to hardcore indie film buffs. However, like Frances Ha, it might be worth watching for those excitedly awaiting Baumbach’s newest film, White Noise, set to release later this month.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
source https://wealthofgeeks.com/movies-on-netflix-now/
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