Whoever programs Netflix‘s lineup of movies has some very good taste. Some of the best films of the 20th and 21st centuries on this streamer.
Netflix’s movie library is always in flux, and the critically acclaimed or Oscar-winning films in one month won’t necessarily be there the next.
This June, Watch With Us has narrowed down these selections to the four best Netflix movies to watch right now, as ranked by Rotten Tomatoes.
Our choices include two unforgettable sci-fi stories, a baseball fantasy and a Best Picture winner.
4. ‘Under the Skin’ (2013)
You will never learn the name of the character that Scarlett Johansson plays in Under the Skin, in part because it’s unclear if she even has one. The female alien portrayed by Johansson has been tasked by some otherworldly power with luring men to their safe house and stripping them of their skin so the aliens can move freely among humans.
The film doesn’t go out of its way to explain the plot, but it allows viewers to witness the identity crisis suffered by Johannson’s character. She’s too human to be among the aliens, and far too alien to be considered a human. She simply doesn’t belong anywhere, and she’s running out of time to figure out who she is. This is a dark and compelling story that goes in some daring directions.
Under the Skin is now streaming on Netflix.
3. ‘Field of Dreams’ (1989)
Before Kevin Costner collected Westerns like trading cards, he headlined a pair of baseball dramas that helped solidify him as a movie star. Bull Durham came out first, but Field of Dreams is the one that’s endured for decades. Costner plays Ray Kinsella, a farmer who is guided by a voice to create a baseball field in the middle of his cornfield.
The baseball field soon attracts the spirits of players like Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta), who desperately needed to find redemption after the Black Sox scandal. Others, like Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham (Burt Lancaster), reclaim their lost youth when they step into the diamond. But as Ray faces an uncertain future, he has to wonder why he was chosen to build the field in the first place.
Field of Dreams is streaming on Netflix.
2. ‘Ex Machina’ (2014)
Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) gets to witness the technical breakthrough of a lifetime in Ex Machina, although he may soon wish that he hadn’t. Prior to winning an internal contest at his employer, Blue Book, Caleb was just a lowly programmer. Now, Blue Book CEO Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), has spared no expense to fly Caleb out to his remote compound to examine Ava (Alicia Vikander), the first-ever fully realized AI creation.
Nathan wants Caleb to examine Ava to determine if she’s truly self-aware, but he’s understandably wary about his own creation. And with good reason, because Ava is far too smart to exist without desires of her own. That leaves Caleb stuck between the two of them, and he’ll have to choose which one to side with.
Ex Machina is streaming on Netflix.
1. ‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)
Steven Spielberg made some of the greatest movies of all time, but Schindler’s List is the one that finally earned him his long-overdue Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. Liam Neeson stars as Oskar Schindler, a war profiteer who is initially indifferent to the plight of the Jewish people under the Nazi regime in Europe before and during World War II.
However, Schindler’s inner light is awakened when he witnesses the brutality of Amon Göth (Ralph Fiennes) and other Nazi figures. Alongside his right-hand man, Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), Schindler devotes his ill-gotten fortune to saving as many Jewish lives as possible. It’s an uphill battle in the middle of the Holocaust, because not everyone can be saved.
Schindler’s List is now streaming on Netflix.
