Top 20 Netflix Original Movies
#20: “The Fundamentals of Caring” (2016)
Top 10 Netflix Original Movies
Break out the tissues, folks. Paul Rudd stars as Ben, a newly certified caregiver, and his first client, Trevor, is a handful, to say the least. You see, Trevor has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which confines him to a wheelchair. But, while that situation may seem kinda grim, the banter between him and Ben is hilarious. The pair goes on a road trip, picking up hitchhikers along the way and checking things off Trevor’s to-do-list. Brought to you by Rob Burnett, executive producer of “Late Show with David Letterman,” “The Fundamentals of Caring” has the perfect blend of drama, comedy, and tragedy – with a dash of hope at the end for good measure.
#19: “Always Be My Maybe” (2019)
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If you’re looking to laugh, and don’t mind comedy that veers into raunchy territory, Ali Wong has got you covered. After two comedy specials for Netflix, Wong teamed up with Randall Park to co-write, co-produce and co-star in this hilarious rom-com. The film follows Sasha and Marcus, childhood best friends who, after years of estrangement, are reunited when Sasha returns to San Francisco. The film doesn’t throw out the rom-com playbook, but it definitely feels like a fresh spin on the formula and the chemistry between Wong and Park is fantastic. Even if you’re not a fan of rom-coms, this one should still be considered a must-watch for Keanu Reeves’ performance alone!
#18: “Barry” (2016)
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Regardless of your political leanings, you’d have trouble denying that President Barack Obama led an interesting life leading up to his presidency. The biopic “Barry” only shows us a snippet of that, by giving us a glimpse of college years – before he became the self-assured man who would be president. He questions his place in the world throughout the film and is a keen observer on how race can distinguish others, while also paying attention to the struggles people endure. While it doesn’t touch on his future presidency, “Barry” still offers a compelling look into the complex mind of Barack Obama.
#17: “i don’t feel at home in this world anymore.” (2017)
Don’t let its long title deter you; this comedy crime thriller is dark, wild and touching in all the right ways. The plot’s straightforward enough: a woman finds her home burglarized, and since the police are no help she decides to find the thieves herself. But where it goes from there is unexpected to say the least. With realistic – albeit oddball – characters at its core, its absurd chain of events keeps you shaking your head – and we mean that in a good way. With tons of thrills to be had and captivating chemistry between leads Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood, this Netflix release can accurately be described as “eccentric.”
#16: “High Flying Bird” (2019)
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Not to be confused with “Birdman” (another great film, though not a Netflix Original), “High Flying Bird” is a 2019 sports drama. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, and written by “Moonlight” screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney, the film follows sports agent Ray Burke, who executes a daring and time-sensitive plan to save his job (and company) during a lockout. It’s a compelling film that approaches the world and business of sports from a unique and insightful angle. And the performances, especially those of André Holland and Zazie Beetz, are all to be commended. But what makes this film so remarkable is that Soderbergh managed to capture all of the above while shooting on an iPhone. And that’s something you’ve got to see to believe.
#15: “Private Life” (2018)
This isn’t just one Netflix’s best films, but arguably among the best films of 2018. It gives us an up-close-and-personal look at one of the most private and difficult experiences a couple can go through - conceiving a child. Getting pregnant is easy for some, but middle-aged Richard and Rachel are struggling, with no amount of medical assistance seeming to be doing the trick. It puts them in debt and places understandable stress on their marriage. When their niece, Sadie, moves in and offers to be an egg donor, the situation only gets more complicated. Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn are both in top form, delivering extremely nuanced performances as the would-be parents. The film was released to near-universal acclaim and boasts 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
#14: “The Half of It” (2020)
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The tagline for this coming-of-age dramedy is “a different kind of love story”. Many films have made the claim, but few have lived up to it quite as well as filmmaker Alice Wu’s sophomore effort. The movie centers on Ellie Chu, a Chinese-American high school student living in the small fictional town of Squahamish in the Pacific Northwest. Ellie is a loner who earns extra money by writing papers for her peers. But when a jock approaches her to write love letters for him, Ellie finds herself drawn into a complicated love triangle, as they both like the same girl. The film displays intelligence rarely seen in teen dramas, and takes the audience on an incredibly sweet, if at times heartbreaking, journey of self-discovery.
#13: “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (2018)
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When did Netflix become a serious threat to the theater distribution model? We can’t specify an exact point in time, but landing themselves a Coen Brothers film certainly feels indicative of Netflix breaking through. This 2018 Western anthology brings together an ensemble cast including Tim Blake Nelson, Liam Neesom, James Franco and Zoe Kazan. Anthology films are always a risky endeavor; the more stories you tell, the higher the risk of one of them feeling subpar. But all six of these narratives feel relatively equal, and thanks to the Coen Brothers’ distinctive style of filmmaking, and trademark gallows humor, they all come together as a thematically-cohesive film.
#12: “Tallulah” (2016)
With a spectacular Ellen Page performance as the titular Tallulah, or Lu for short, this dark comedy follows a young woman who kidnaps a baby after seeing how neglectful its mother is. What comes next is a rollercoaster of emotions; Tallulah begins to care for someone other than herself, and although the hole she digs for herself gets deeper and deeper, she never loses sight of the fact that she thinks she did the right thing. Even though it’s a relatively serious situation, and the film as a way of making us question some of our own life choices, “Tallulah” still features plenty of light-hearted moments that make this Netflix release a worthwhile watch.
#11: “Hush” (2016)
It’s hard to come up with something original these days, especially when it comes to the horror/thriller genre, but “Hush” did it. How? By featuring a protagonist who’s completely deaf and mute. That protagonist is Maddie, and she’s being hunted at her remote home by a psycho killer. Doesn’t sound like it should last more than a few minutes – especially since it’s mostly silent – but “Hush” is engaging and grittily realistic, thankfully avoiding the horror tropes we’re all sick of by now, but throwing in enough blood and guts to keep fans satisfied. Maddie uses her creativity as a writer to try and survive this cat-and-mouse fight, and it makes for one tense viewing experience.
#10: “Annihilation” (2018)
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Following the success of screenwriter Alex Garland’s directorial debut, “Ex Machina”, fans anxiously awaited his sophomore effort. Thankfully, “Annihilation” did not disappoint. An adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s novel by the same name, “Annihilation” is a surreal, and downright stunning, sci-fi film with horror elements. It centers on a team of scientists who are tasked with venturing into a quarantined area of land dubbed “The Shimmer”. Once inside, they quickly lose track of time, as the anomalies begin to affect them both psychologically and physically. Released theatrically in Canada and the United States, “Annihilation” was distributed by Netflix internationally, and was met with widespread critical acclaim. Visually-striking, thematically bold, deeply odd, and reluctant to offer up clear answers, this is cerebral sci-fi at its best.
#9: “Da 5 Bloods” (2020)
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You can always tell when you’re watching a Spike Lee Joint; he makes films his own way. “Da 5 Bloods” follows a group of Vietnam vets who travel back overseas to recover the body of their fallen friend - and some buried treasure. Flashbacks split the film’s runtime between past and present, but rather than use different actors to play younger versions of the characters, Spike Lee has his aging cast perform just as they are. This, and other experimental elements, can make “Da 5 Bloods” a challenge. But critics praised Lee’s direction and the performances (especially Delroy Lindo’s), as well as the film’s insights on the themes of race and war. “Da 5 Bloods” is a unique war movie that feels surprisingly timely.
#8: “Marriage Story” (2019)
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Netflix and filmmaker Noah Baumbach make for great bedfellows - even when exploring the dissolution of a marriage. Netflix previously distributed Baumbach’s 2017 film, “The Meyerowitz Stories”, which features some of Adam Sandler’s finest acting, and very nearly made our list. In the end, however, we had to give this spot to “Marriage Story”. This critically-acclaimed family drama moves beyond the superficial depiction of divorce so common in television and film, in order to tackle the subject with compassion. There’s no good partner/bad partner dichotomy, just two people who care for each other trying to navigate an impossible division. It’s a heartfelt, devastating, sweet, honest and utterly captivating look at an all-too common shared experience.
#7: “Dolemite Is My Name” (2019)
Eddie Murphy is one of the most successful and celebrated comedians ever, but over the last couple of decades, he just hasn’t felt like the most relevant of actors. Watch “Dolemite is My Name”, however, and you’ll be feeling just as anxious as the rest of us for Murphy to get back to making even more movies. In this biographical comedy-drama, Murphy plays Rudy Ray Moore, an influential filmmaker and comedian best known for his character “Dolemite”. This 2019 Netflix original has been heralded as Murphy’s best film and performance in many years, and earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Loud, enthralling and wildly entertaining, but not without heart, “Dolemite” does Rudy Ray Moore proud.
#6:“Okja” (2017)
After making history with his multiple Academy Awards wins, filmmaker Bong Joon-ho is certainly on everyone’s radar. While you anxiously await his next masterpiece however, why not go back and check out some of his earlier work? Before “Parasite”, Joon-ho made a film called “Okja”, which isn’t half as anxiety-inducing as “Parasite” but comes very close in terms of quality. The 2017 action-adventure film tells the story of a young girl and a genetically-engineered super-pig, Okja, whom she attempts to protect from a multinational conglomerate. It’s the ultimate David and Goliath story, a film that pits the power of friendship against capitalist greed. The plot may sound absurd, but with Bong Joon-ho at the helm, it’s absolutely brilliant and inspiring.
#5: “Beasts of No Nation” (2015)
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Chronicling the life of a child conscripted into a rebel army in an unnamed African country, “Beasts of No Nation” documents the trauma he witnesses and inevitably inflicts. And writer/director Cary Fukunaga has given us something genuinely amazing. Visually stimulating with immersive camerawork and tight editing, the film brings you right into this Third World locale, making it difficult to both look at and look away from the horrors that occur. Between the SAG Award-winning Idris Elba’s performance as a dangerous warlord and the powerful message about the true cost of warfare, Netflix picked a winner when they chose to nab the worldwide distribution rights.
#4: “Uncut Gems” (2019)
2019 was obviously a great year for Netflix and comedy icons with uneven filmographies. Sadly, like Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler got no love from the Academy for his role in “Uncut Gems”, despite it undeniably being one of the best performances of the year. This Netflix co-production follows a New York City jeweler, Howard Ratner, as he essentially makes one bad decision after another - both personally and professionally. Howard is addicted to gambling, and as he juggles various debts while taking increasingly risky bets, the entire plot becomes an exercise in secondhand anxiety for the audience. It might not be an easy viewing experience, but “Uncut Gems” establishes the Safdie Brothers as being among the most exciting and original filmmakers currently working.
#3: “Mudbound” (2017)
This historical drama earned four nominations at the Academy Awards, but deserved so much more. Set in Mississippi before, during and after WWII, “Mudbound” centers on two families trying to make a life for themselves in the face of various hardships. The film offers a fascinating look at racism and class in the southern United States, while also addressing PTSD, which affects a son from each of the two families when the war comes to an end. It may be a period piece, but the themes are tackled in such a way that they feel relevant today. Rarely has an ensemble cast delivered such universally solid performances, and the beautiful cinematography further elevates this touching story. Boasting 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s among Netflix’s finest films.
#2: “The Irishman” (2019)
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Of course a Coen Brothers movie is impressive, but with the release of a Martin Scorsese film in 2019, Netflix became competition for even the biggest studios. “The Irishman” was a passion project for the director, who first started thinking about it back in the 1980s. Sure enough, it was worth the wait. Bringing together Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, this good old-fashioned gangster movie is up there with Scorsese’s best films. It’s compelling, surprisingly funny, the characters all feel incredibly fleshed-out and yes, it’s incredibly well-shot. At 3 nearly three and half hours it’s also a real time commitment; this is a crime epic in every sense of the word. It garnered pretty much universal acclaim and numerous award nominations. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “The Other Side of the Wind” (2018) The Lost Final Film by Orson Welles “Imperial Dreams” (2014) John Boyega’s Ex-Con Struggles Against Systemic Racism “The Little Prince” (2015) Beautifully-Animated Adaptation of the Beloved French Novella “Spectral” (2016) Woefully Underappreciated Original Sci-Fi Action Film
#1: “Roma” (2018)
There are few current directors who deliver more consistently excellent films than Alfonso Cuarón. So it was naturally a big win for Netflix when they managed to nab the worldwide distribution rights for his 2018 film, especially when it did so well come awards season. Leaving behind the magic, dystopian futurism, and misadventures in outer space of Cuarón’s previous films, “Roma” is a small scale, semi-autobiographical story. It takes place in the Mexican neighborhood of Colonial Roma and follows a maid working for a middle class family. A moving and extremely intimate film about strong women living in a time of turmoil, “Roma” is, simply put, a masterpiece, both of storytelling and cinematography. Cuarón went back to his roots for this project, and it shows.
