Don't Look Up
For fans of: Movie stars, righteous anger
Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, Don't Look Up
Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, Don't Look Up Niko Tavernise/Netflix
Director Adam McKay makes climate change funny with this furious satirical comedy. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play astronomers who realize that an extinction-level comet is on a collision course with Earth and go on a media tour to warn humanity. But their warning is met with hostility, hysteria, or indifference by government, media, and the public. Everyone is just talking about the people who disagree with them about the comet instead of doing anything about the comet. It's about as subtle as a comet smashing into the face of the Earth, but Adam McKay's recent movies are given momentum by their emotion-driven political agendas. The gratuitously star-studded cast includes Jonah Hill, Tyler Perry, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep. -Liam Mathews
The Hand of God
For fans of: Coming-of-age dramas, world-class directors in their prime
Filippo Scotti and Marlon Joubert, The Hand of God
Filippo Scotti and Marlon Joubert, The Hand of God Gianni Fiorito
Italian movie magician Paolo Sorrentino (The Young Pope) is in peak form with his highly personal coming-of-age drama The Hand of God, which will almost certainly be nominated in the International Feature Film category at next year's Oscars. Set in the 1980s in Naples, Italy, The Hand of God follows a teen through the ups and downs of life, and ties it together with soccer star Diego Maradona's infamous "hand of god" play. Though some critics note its messiness, no one can deny that it's absolutely gorgeous. -Tim Surette
The Power of the Dog
For fans of: Tension, Benedict Cumberbatch being a big ol' meanie
Kodi Smit-McPhee and Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
Kodi Smit-McPhee and Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog Kristy Griffin/Netflix
Jane Campion's first film since 2009 heads out on the range with one mean cowboy in Benedict Cumberbatch. The 1925-set Western quickly reaches a boil and holds it as a rancher (Jesse Plemons) gets a new wife (Kirsten Dunst) whom his brother (Cumberbatch) takes a strong disliking to. It's a masterclass of simmering tension and spellbinding acting, but if you're here for shoot 'em ups, this Western ain't it. -Tim Surette
Single All the Way
For fans of: Shirtless Santas, cute Christmas rom-coms
Philemon Chambers and Michael Urie, Single All the Way
Philemon Chambers and Michael Urie, Single All the Way Philippe Bosse/Netflix
Netflix's latest original Christmas film is a gay rom-com that's refreshingly out, focusing on the pain of being single during the holidays no matter who you fancy. Michael Urie stars as Peter, whose new beau was hiding the secret of being a married man, forcing Peter to bring his best friend, Nick (Philemon Chambers), home with him for Christmas to pretend they're a couple. But his family (including a wonderful Jennifer Coolidge and Kathy Najimy) plays matchmaker with a new hot trainer just as his feeling for Nick start to heat up. The rom-com tropes are there, but you won't mind with this fantastic cast. -Tim Surette
A Boy Called Christmas
For fans of: Fantasy, Christmas, adventure
Henry Lawfull, A Boy Called Christmas
Henry Lawfull, A Boy Called Christmas Netflix
The Santa Claus origin story you've been looking for is right here! The Netflix original Christmas fantasy film adapts the 2015 book and tells the story of young Nikolas, who travels to the North Pole in search of his father and comes across a town of elves and other Christmas goodies. It's a family-friendly affair, as evidenced by the adorable CGI mouse that accompanies young Nik. Maggie Smith, Kristen Wiig, and Henry Lawfull star. -Tim Surette
Procession
For fans of: Healing, the power of art
Procession
Procession Netflix
Robert Greene's gutting documentary comes to Netflix just two months after making its debut at Telluride, a quick turnaround that belies how much time went into this movie. Shot over three years, Procession focuses on six men who each suffered abuse by Catholic priests in the diocese of Kansas City, Missouri, when they were boys. Greene's project is unique: The men, working with both Greene and a therapist who uses theater in her work, create short films about their trauma. It's an unmissable story of how to reckon with evil. -Kelly Connolly
tick, tick... BOOM!
For fans of: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Broadway
Andrew Garfield, tick tick...Boom!
Andrew Garfield, tick tick...Boom! Netflix
Lin-Manuel Miranda has a type: musicals about guys who are worried their time is running out. And why mess with success? Miranda makes his directorial debut with this film adaptation, already racking up good reviews, of Rent creator Jonathan Larson's semi-autobiographical musical. Andrew Garfield stars as the struggling playwright, who's anxious that he hasn't accomplished enough by his upcoming 30th birthday. (The story is made more poignant by Larson's real-life early death at the age of 35, the night before Rent's off-Broadway premiere.) Garfield is a hit in this, Vanessa Hudgens is in her element, and Bradley Whitford does a rock-solid Sondheim impersonation. -Kelly Connolly
Red Notice
For fans of: Stars wisecrackin', dumb action, dumber twists
Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, Dwayne Johnson, Red Notice
Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, Dwayne Johnson, Red Notice Netflix
I watched this entire movie in one sitting and I had a great time, but in no reality would I say this is a good movie. It's one of those, y'know? It's a film in which the stars are secured and then you write the script. Those stars happen to be Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds, some of the biggest celebrities on the planet, and the script sees them playing various combinations of FBI agents and art thieves, sometimes both! Add in a budget of about $200 million, and you've got yourself one of Netflix's most popular original movies ever. This is streaming candy; they can't all be Roma.
7 Prisoners
For fans of: Quiet suspense, antiwork and the exploitation of the labor force, Rodrigo Santoro
Rodrigo Santoro and Christian Malheiros, 7 Prisoners
Rodrigo Santoro and Christian Malheiros, 7 Prisoners Aline Arruda/Netflix
For a real eye-opening movie experience, watch the Brazilian film 7 Prisoners, a tense movie about the exploitation of desperate young men and women looking for work in South America. Rodrigo Santoro (Westworld) stars as the owner of a salvage yard who enslaves youngsters from rural Brazil who think they're getting jobs in the big city. But the movie's strength is how it shows how this happens from the perspective of one of the young men, who ends up working with the owner in order to ensure his survival at the cost of the others. Though heavy, director Alexandre Moratto manages to keep the tone raw and impactful rather than depressing.
Passing
For fans of: Where the line of racial equality blurs, gorgeous black and white photos come to life
Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson, Passing
Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson, Passing Netflix
Would you give up your culture if it meant you could have an easier life? That's the question posed in this stirring film set in 1920s New York City that stars Tessa Thompson as a Black woman who runs into a childhood friend (Ruth Negga) who has been passing for a white woman, bringing up questions of racial identity and whitewashing. Shot entirely in black and white and featuring wonderful performances from Thompson, Negga, and André Holland, Passing is already generating Oscar buzz.
Found
For fans of: Heartfelt stories, discovering your roots and culture
Lily, Chloe, and Sadie, Found
Lily, Chloe, and Sadie, Found Netflix
This documentary about three adopted Chinese high schoolers looking into their roots could also pass as a robot test, because if you aren't moved to tears at some point, then you're made out of tin. What makes it so effective is that it looks at adoption from every angle: the girls looking for answers and discovering their culture, their adoptive families looking to help them find their roots, the Chinese families who were forced to give up their babies under China's one child policy, and the intrepid investigator who helps adopted children find their birth parents in China. It's an emotional wallop. -Tim Surette
Love Hard
For fans of: Christmas rom-coms, surprising rom-com leads, Asian representation
Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang, Love Hard
Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang, Love Hard Bettina Strauss/Netflix
In this Netflix original holiday movie, Silicon Valley's Jimmy O. Yang plays a single guy unlucky in love who catfishes a hottie (The Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev) who ends up surprising him for Christmas. Horrified by what he's done, he agrees to help her get the guy (Never Have I Ever's Darren Barnet) she thought he was, in exchange for her pretending to be his girlfriend for his family, as is usually the case in movies like these. Yes, it's full of rom-com and Christmas movie tropes — including extended bits riffing on Love Actually — but it's also funny, and it sparkles because of Yang and Dobrev's surprising chemistry. Does he get the girl? Obviously. The better question is "Does the movie pull it off convincingly?" and it's a yes. Jimmy O. Yang is a bona fide dreamboat now. Who knew?
The Harder They Fall
For fans of: Quentin Tarantino films, Red Dead Redemption, lots of shootin
Regina King, Idris Elba, and LaKeith Stanfield, The Harder They Fall
Regina King, Idris Elba, and LaKeith Stanfield, The Harder They Fall Netflix
Netflix's latest blockbuster is an action Western with a lot more style than you're used to. Director Jeymes Samuel takes a tried-and-true cowboy premise — a gang gets together to exact revenge on the persons responsible for the deaths of loved ones — and infuses it with gorgeous violence, snappy dialogue, and a predominantly Black cast that includes Regina King, Idris Elba, LaKeith Stanfield, Jonathan Majors, Delroy Lindo, and Zazie Beetz. The result is a rollicking good time and one of the gosh dang coolest films of the year.
Hypnotic
For fans of: Corny thrillers, straight-to-DVD bins, getting verrrrry sleepy
Kate Siegel, Hypnotic
Kate Siegel, Hypnotic Netflix
Sometimes you just want to watch a movie and shout, "GIRL don't do it, he's bad news!" at your TV while a damsel in distress does something dumb in a cheesy thriller. Hypnotic is just for that moment. Kate Siegel (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass) stars as a woman who gets caught in a web of deception when she starts seeing a hypnotherapist (Jason O'Mara) for treatment. Falling under his spell, she begins losing time while under the influence of a guy who is very clearly bad news. This isn't a good movie, but it's a fun one. -Tim Surette
The Trip
For fans of: Couples therapy, violence, Noomi Rapace
Aksel Hennie and Noomi Rapace, The Trip
Aksel Hennie and Noomi Rapace, The Trip Netflix
This Norwegian dark comedy follows a couple (Aksel Hennie and Noomi Rapace) who go to a remote cabin in an attempt to repair their dissolving relationship. Little do they know that they each plan to murder each other as their solution to their problems. Even littler do they know that others are out there in the wilderness to give them even more troubles. Spectacularly violent with humor as black as the night, The Trip is a trip. -Tim Surette
Fever Dream
For fans of: Artsy films, beautiful confusion, slightly supernatural film
Dolores Fonzi and María Valverde, Fever Dream
Dolores Fonzi and María Valverde, Fever Dream Diego Araya/NETFLIX
This Chilean film based on a novel by Argentine author Samantha Schwelbin dabbles in the supernatural while telling the story of a mother who realizes her friend's young son may not be all she thinks he is. There's some great philosophy inside -- especially about how a parent protects their child from danger -- but you're more likely to come away from this wonderfully shot film peppered with a sense of imminent doom with only a hazy understanding of the open-to-interpretation storytelling as nothing is spoon-fed to the viewer. But dig a little deeper and you'll find a chilling story of what a parent is willing do for their child. -Tim
The Guilty
For fans of: One-man plays, Jake Gyllenhaal, thrilling phone conversations
Jake Gyllenhaal, The Guilty
Jake Gyllenhaal, The Guilty Joe Bayler/Netflix
Jake Gyllenhaal plays a cop sent to desk duty at a 9-1-1 call center and becomes embroiled in a case when a woman being held against her will calls to ask for help. An adaptation of a 2018 Danish film, The Guilty is the rare intense thriller without any of the action as it's mostly set in the call center with Jake on the phone and only voices coming from the other end. But director Antoine Fuqua and Gyllenhaal keep things mesmerizing. -Tim Surette
No One Gets Out Alive
For fans of: The class division, the immigrant experience, spooks
Cristina Rodlo, No One Gets Out Alive
Cristina Rodlo, No One Gets Out Alive Teddy Cavendish/Netflix
A Latin American immigrant seeking work and housing in America shacks up in a boarding house where things aren't not haunted, if you get my drift. It's a great horror gem that taps into the immigrant experience and the difficulties the poor have with basic needs. -Tim Surette
The Father Who Moves Mountains
For fans of: Cinematography, the battle between sanity and madness, fast snow & slow burns
The Father Who Moves Mountains
The Father Who Moves Mountains Netflix
This Romanian film follows a powerful man of means desperate to find his son after he goes missing on a mountain trek. It's not an action film, but rather a contemplative exploration of how far a man will go to save his son and at what cost to others. You'll understand why he does what he does, but you might not like him for it.
Nightbooks
For fans of: Kids horror between Goosebumps and Fear Street, Krysten Ritter. hairless cats | Is it good?: It's pretty cool for kids and tweens who can handle scares
Krysten Ritter, Nightbooks
Krysten Ritter, Nightbooks Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix
This adaptation of the 2018 children's fantasy-horror book by J.A. White is the perfect movie for the young horror fan in your life who is too old for things like Goosebumps but not quite ready for the teen-slasher gore of the Fear Street movies. It follows a young boy who is captured by a witch (a delectable Krysten Ritter) and bargains for his life by agreeing to tell her a new scary story that he writes each night. While there's no real blood and gore, there are definitely some creepy things -- Sam Raimi is a producer -- that will give some young ones nightmares for weeks, so make sure your kiddo is mentally prepared before they sit down to watch this. -Tim Surette
Worth
For fans of: Incredibly difficult questions about life, sentimental biopics, Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci, Worth
Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci, Worth Monika Lek/Netflix
Michael Keaton plays lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, who was assigned the task of formulating how money was distributed through the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, which the government granted to families whose loved ones were killed in the 9/11 attacks. It essentially asks how much a life is worth and whether they're all equal. Strong acting and directing overcome some pretty melodramatic moments.
Wind River
For fans of: Yellowstone, Marvel stars in other things, snowy shootouts
Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner, Wind River
Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner, Wind River
Taylor Sheridan, who created the Paramount hit drama Yellowstone, sticks to the wilderness for this 2018 movie starring Jeremy Renner as a sharpshooting game official and Elizabeth Olsen as an FBI agent trying to solve a rape and murder on a Native American reservation in Wyoming during the winter. It's a character-driven whodunnit in America's untamed land.
The Old Ways
For fans of: Witchcraft, Latin American demonology, creepy crawlies
The Old Ways
The Old Ways Netflix
A young journalist goes deep into the jungles of Veracruz, Mexico, for a story on indigenous people who practice ancient witchcraft, only to be kidnapped by them when they believe she is possessed by a demon. It's full of terrifying imagery, as is expected, but it's the claustrophobia of being imprisoned that really drives the horror. On top of that, there are themes of cultural identity that take it to a smarter level than your typical horror film, and visually, it's aces. -Tim Surette
The Edge of Seventeen
For fans of: Remembering how much high school sucked
Hailee Steinfeld, Edge of Seventeen
Hailee Steinfeld, Edge of Seventeen STX Entertainment
One of the best teen comedies of the last decade, The Edge of Seventeen has everything you want in a coming-of-age movie. After finding out her best friend is hooking up with her popular older brother, awkward outsider Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) is thrown into crisis mode. Meanwhile, Nadine is navigating a strained relationship with her mother (Kyra Sedgwick) and a crush on an older boy by herself, with her only friend being her teacher, Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson), who barely tolerates her existential ramblings. It's a funny, sweet movie that will remind you of the classics you already love, like Clueless and Mean Girls, while standing totally on its own.
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf
For fans of: The Witcher, animated gore
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf Netflix
This anime Witcher prequel film follows Geralt's mentor, Vesemir (voiced here by Theo James). The film, set several years before the events of the series, explores Vesemir's origin story, showing him as a young lad who is only concerned with monster slaying and getting paid for monster slaying.
The Fear Street trilogy
For fans of: Gruesome horror, not wanting to wait for the sequel
Fear Street Part Two: 1978
Fear Street Part Two: 1978 Netflix
R.L. Stine, the guy who wrote the Goosebumps books, set his sights on a slightly older crowd with his Fear Street novel series, which are now the foundation for one of Netflix's biggest film experiments yet. The three teen-slasher horror films, which all tell the origin story of a cursed town, were each released over three consecutive Fridays in July 2021. Each film is set in a different year (1994, 1978, and 1666), culminating in a flashback to witch trials in the 1600s, and feature carryover cast members and plenty of gory deaths. Let's just say you'll be extra careful around a bread slicer. -Tim Surette
Blood Red Sky
For fans of: Monstrous surprises, small-space horror
Peri Baumeister and Carl Koch, Blood Red Sky
Peri Baumeister and Carl Koch, Blood Red Sky Netflix
This German-English language action-forward horror film is set on a Transatlantic flight between Berlin and New York City that is besieged by hijackers. But they don't know that one of the passengers on board possesses supernatural powers, and will do anything to protect her young son, which sometimes means eating the bad guys. It's a taut thriller with a paranormal twist that's one of Netflix's better original horror films. -Tim Surette
Bo Burnham: Inside
For fans of: Existentialism, music
Bo Burnham: Inside
Bo Burnham: Inside Netflix
Indie auteur and certified bad movie boyfriend Bo Burnham surprised his fans when he announced he had orchestrated a return to his comedic roots during the pandemic. With Inside, which Burnham wrote, directed, and edited without a crew or an audience while stuck at home, he lets out his feelings through music, delivering a setlist of very catchy, very meme-worthy songs that have titles like "White Woman's Instagram" and "FaceTime with My Mom (Tonight)." The special gets in touch with the collective mood 2020 inspired in all of us -- the anguish, the despair, the horniness. Burnham's comedy has always touched on the existential, but he goes deeper than ever here.
Pray Away
For fans of: Realizing that the horrors of the past are still effecting the present
Pray Away
Pray Away Netflix
Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum executive produce this documentary about Exodus International, an Evangelical group formed in the '70s that claims it could turn gay people straight through prayer and conversion therapy. What's most interesting about this film is that it features interviews with ex-leaders who are now speaking out against the movement they were part of for so many years.