39 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now (April 2026): ‘Atonement’ and More

Lisa (Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor) has problems. She’s pregnant, ready to give birth at any minute and stuck in her car due to a rampaging storm that has flooded her coastal North Carolina town. Her luck goes from bad to worse when she realizes several sharks are roaming around the flooded streets, with Lisa and her unborn baby on the menu for their next meal. 

Thrash takes its Jaws-meets-The Perfect Storm high concept and runs with it, resulting in a B-movie that delivers all the cheap but effective thrills you’d expect. Dynevor screams and thrashes with the best of them, while the rest of the cast is just memorable enough to make you miss them when most of them become shark food. The special effects are surprisingly convincing — you will believe a shark can swim through suburban homes, ready to chomp down on its next poor victim.

In Haddonfield, Illinois, two damaged individuals try to put their traumatic pasts behind them. Social pariah Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) thinks a new romance with bright-eyed nurse Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak) will make him and others forget about the accidental death of a little boy he was babysitting one Halloween night. For Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), she’s still recovering from the murder of her daughter by the town’s resident boogeyman, Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney). But this Halloween night, Michael returns once again, and he’ll change Laurie and Corey’s lives forever.

The third and final chapter in the David Gordon Green Halloween reboot trilogy, Halloween Ends was met with widespread critical and fan derision when it was released in 2022. But a select few — this author included — believe it’s a secretly good film that defies sequel conventions and takes a few gambles with its dual narrative. Not all of it works, but when it does, the film conjures the same menace and dread the 1978 original weaved so well. It’s not for everyone, but give Halloween Ends a chance. 

It’s the summer before World War II explodes all over Europe, and all Cecilia (Keira Knightley) can do is think about Robbie (James McAvoy), the handsome housekeeper’s son who is about to go off to medical school. He likes her too and expresses his lust for her in a graphic letter that’s read by Cecilia’s nosy 13-year-old sister, Briony (Saoirse Ronan). What follows is a love story that turns into a tragedy for all involved, as an innocent misunderstanding changes Cecilia, Robbie and Briony forever.

It’s not a stretch to say Atonement is one of the best dramas of the 21st century. Nominated for seven Oscars, this tony adaptation of Ian McEwan‘s novel is a haunting meditation on memory and the power of storytelling to right past wrongs. The three leads are uniformly excellent, while the Oscar-winning score by Dario Marianelli vividly sets the stage and raises the emotional stakes. The ending is so powerful that it will cause you to reach for some Kleenex. For once, those tears are earned.

Jem Stoker (Sean Bean) hasn’t seen his older brother, Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis), in years. When his stepson Brian (Samuel Bottomley), Ray’s biological child, is dishonorably discharged from the Irish Army, Jem sets out to find Ray so he can help the boy. Once he discovers what Ray’s been up to, though, Jem realizes his hermit-like sibling needs his help more than Brian does. Time heals all wounds, but Ray’s might be too deep and painful to recover from.

Anemone marks the return of Day-Lewis to acting after a self-imposed eight-year sabbatical following 2017’s Phantom Thread, and it’s worth the wait. The three-time Oscar winner is terrific as usual as Ray, a complicated man who isn’t easy to understand. What’s surprising about Anemone is how equally captivating Bean is as Ray’s level-headed brother. The Game of Thrones alum is one of the more underrated actors working today, and he goes toe-to-toe with one of the best thespians who has ever lived.

You can’t keep a good Nazi-killing Finnish ex-commando down, even after World War II has ended. The Germans may have been defeated, but for Sisu: Road to Revenge’s ravaged hero, Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila), a new enemy has emerged — Russians. The KGB is after him for slaughtering several of their own during the war, and they’ve freed the man (Avatar‘s Stephen Lang) who killed Aatami’s entire family years ago, to bait and kill him. But Aatami’s nicknamed “the man who refuses to die” for a reason, and he’s going to show the Soviet Union why he’s almost impossible to stop — and kill.

If you enjoyed the original Sisu, you’ll really like the sequel, which amps up the action and violence. There’s not much subtlety here, but who cares when you can see very bad guys get hacked and blown away in a variety of well-orchestrated deaths? Sisu: Road to Revenge is gruesome and shamelessly exploitative, but that’s what makes it so fun to watch.

Sandra (Project Hail Mary’s Sandra Hüller) is furious. Her lazy husband, Sam (Samuel Theis), is blasting his music while she’s talking with a friend, which leads to a very heated argument. Shortly thereafter, Sam is discovered lying motionless in front of the couple’s chalet. He’s dead, and the police believe he succumbed to his injuries after falling from the top story of the home. But was it an accident, or was he pushed? 

That’s the question asked by Anatomy of a Fall, a very intriguing crime story that’s less a murder mystery and more an exploration of a marriage gone terribly wrong. As Sandra, Hüller is outstanding as a woman who refuses to be liked — or even understood — by those around her. That’s a big problem, especially when she’s on trial for her husband’s death. The director, Justine Triet, argues that Sandra’s likability is irrelevant to whether or not she’s guilty or innocent. But she also shows how the real world doesn’t quite work that way, when the court of public opinion often holds more sway than a court of law.

In this seventh installment of Steven Spielberg‘s beloved sci-fi franchise, genetically modified dinosaurs still populate some regions of the Earth that are closed to the public for safety reasons. That’s why covert operative Zora (Scarlett Johansson) and scientist Henry (Jonathan Bailey) have to be extra careful when they trespass into one of the areas to collect genetic material from various dinos to cure cardiovascular disease. What can possibly go wrong? Spoiler: everything.

Rebirth isn’t all that original, but it’s far better than some of the other entries in the franchise, like Fallen Kingdom and Dominion. A big reason why is Johansson and Bailey, who have a nice best-buddy chemistry as two mismatched souls thrown together in an adventure filled with all sorts of dino terrors. The action sequences are loud but effective and the dinosaurs, particularly the Mosasarus, are convincingly brought to life with top-notch CGI. Big in scale and budget, Jurassic World Rebirth does what it sets out to do — provide enough entertainment to make you forget about Jurassic Park III.

World War II is over, but a new battle is waging in the courtrooms of Europe. The Nazis have been defeated, and 22 of their leaders are about to be tried for their war crimes. U.S. Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) has to evaluate if they’re mentally fit for criminal prosecution, which is how he grows close to Hitler’s former second-in-command, Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe). But as Göring’s trial is about to begin, Kelley will soon discover just how deceptive and evil men like Göring can be.

While not one of the best WWII movies ever, Nuremberg is still a decent drama about a historical event — the Nuremberg trials. The Aussie actor Crowe is surprisingly good as a real-life German boogeyman who did terrible things and yet still has enough compassion to care about his family. Malek, Michael Shannon and Leo Woodall are equally good key players in the Nuremberg trials, which showed the world just how destructive and evil the Nazis were during wartime.

One gloomy evening at King Arthur’s Round Table in medieval England, a mystical Green Knight appears and challenges young Gawain (Dev Patel) to a duel. Gawain wins by decapitating the still-living creature, but to claim the prize of the Knight’s fabled green axe, he’ll have to travel to the Knight’s home one year later and receive the same injury, which will surely kill him. 

And so begins The Green Knight, a visually sumptuous fantasy movie that adapts one of English literature’s most famous poems, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Director David Lowrey takes some dramatic license with the ancient text, but it’s all in service to a strange and absorbing tale of a young man’s journey in a surreal land populated with faceless giants and talking foxes. It’s an unforgettable adventure that’s more somber than heroic, with a commanding lead performance from Patel that makes you wish he led more films this ambitious.

Dragons are more popular than ever thanks to Game of Thrones, which probably explains why DreamWorks remade its beloved 2010 animated classic How to Train Your Dragon into a 2025 live-action film. Surprisingly, it’s pretty good, honoring the spirit of the original while adding a new layer of medieval fun.

Regretting You’s Mason Thames stars as Hiccup, a rebellious Viking teen who is in desperate need of a friend. He finds one in Toothless, a baby dragon whom he nurses back to health. According to his culture’s traditions, he’s supposed to slay dragons, not help them, but Hiccup can’t help bonding with the beast. Will that sway his intimidating, dragon-hating father, Stoick (Gerard Butler)? And will Toothless help Hiccup win the heart of Astrid (Nico Parker), who is also training to fight dragons? Does it matter when an ancient enemy known only as the Red Death threatens to wipe them all out? 

There’s nothing scarier than a man in a mask, which is why The Black Phone is so effective. That horror film’s boogeyman, The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), wears a smiling devil’s mask throughout the movie, but he’s just as scary when he takes it off. The Grabber has just kidnapped his latest victim, Finney (Mason Thames), and imprisoned him in his basement. He doesn’t know that Finney is plotting his escape thanks to some supernatural help from The Grabber’s previous victims. But is it enough to stop him?

The Black Phone works because it’s a pretty straightforward horror movie that doesn’t rely on cheap gimmicks for scares. Hawke is efficiently creepy as the child-killing villain, while Thames makes for a plucky, pre-pubescent hero who has to grow up fast or else he won’t grow up at all. The movie was a big success in 2022 and has already spawned a hit sequel, 2025’s Black Phone 2. 

Do you really need an excuse to stream Mrs. Doubtfire? The hit ‘90s comedy has been airing on one cable channel or another for decades now, and it’s sure to be a Netflix staple in 2026. 

Robin Williams stars as Daniel Hillard, a perpetually out-of-work actor who has worn out his welcome with his successful interior designer wife, Miranda (Sally Field). She kicks him out and wants a divorce, which sends Daniel spiraling. He needs to be with his three kids, so he does what any father would do — he dresses up as an old English nanny using elaborate prosthetics, a convincing accent and a whole lot of pantyhose. Daniel’s a good actor so he pulls off the ruse, but how long can he keep deceiving the people he loves the most?

Mrs. Doubtfire is just one of those movies with infinite rewatch value. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen Williams dance to Aerosmith’s “Dude Looks Like a Lady” while in full drag or the climactic restaurant scene where Mrs. Doubtfire gets unexpectedly drunk, but I’m certain it’s more than I’ve seen most of my actual relatives. But that’s the beauty of Mrs. Doubtfire — Williams is so convincing and inviting as the title character, she feels like a part of your family.

Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo) is a con man on the run from the mob and has nowhere to hide. Desperate, he flees to Nevada and intentionally gets arrested so he can be thrown in jail, the one place his enemies can’t get to him. But Teddy has underestimated his pursuers, and to his horror, he discovers one of his cell block neighbors is Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler), a professional hit man who wants Teddy dead. Teddy must find a way to evade Bob while also breaking out of jail before the rest of the mob comes to snuff him out.

A twisted take on the B-movie action classic Assault on Precinct 13, Copshop executes its great pulpy premise almost flawlessly. Don’t look for John Wick-style stylish antics here — Copshop is a lean, mean action movie that exploits every inch of its grimy police station setting. Grillo and Butler are at home in a movie like this, letting the bullets and expletives fly as they grunt and sweat their way through the movie’s double-crossing narrative. There are no real heroes in this movie, only bad men and even badder people, and part of Copshop’s appeal is guessing who — if anyone — will make it out alive.

In 2038, artificial intelligence has developed enough to store human consciousness in a hard drive for up to 100 hours. That’s not good enough for George Almore (Theo James), who recently lost his wife, Jules (Stacy Martin), in a car accident. He secretly begins to develop a robot with stolen technology from the AI company Archive that will mimic his wife’s every memory and movement. But George’s experiments soon go horribly wrong, and Archive isn’t too thrilled that someone is playing God with their swiped tech.

Quietly released during the COVID-19 pandemic, Archive is a clever sci-fi movie worth rediscovering. Its themes about artificial intelligence and mortality are more relevant than ever, and it creates a surprisingly realistic future world where all of this could actually happen. Archive also has a clever twist ending that would make M. Night Shyamalan green with envy.

Everyone loves an ugly-duckling-turned-swan story, so you’ll probably enjoy The Mirror Has Two Faces. Barbra Streisand stars as Rose Morgan, a mousy Columbia University professor who loves love — but has never actually been in love. When her beauty queen sister responds to a personal ad from another professor, Gregory Larkin (Jeff Bridges), looking for companionship without the icky sex part, she thinks this is her best chance at a long-lasting relationship. But sharing a life with someone isn’t the same as being in love, and Rose eventually wants more from Gregory. The big question is, does he feel the same way?

Also directed by Streisand, The Mirror Has Two Faces is a super-sized rom-com with super-sized emotions — there’s even a love scene set to a Puccini opera, for crying out loud. But Streisand — and the movie itself — overwhelms you with its romanticism — it’s as awkward and irresistible as Rose herself. Screen legend Lauren Bacall appears as Rose’s patrician mother, and she makes her brief moments count as a former beauty queen who can’t quite accept that her time in the spotlight is over. 

Scarlett Johansson may have lost her title as the highest-grossing actor of all time to Zoe Saldaña, but she can take comfort in the fact that her debut as a feature film director, Eleanor the Great, received critical acclaim upon its fall release.

The comedy drama chronicles the unlikely friendship between 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein (June Squibb) and college student Nina Davis (Erin Kellyman). When a lonely Eleanor mistakenly joins a Holocaust survivor’s group, she enjoys the company so much that she fabricates a story about escaping a concentration camp to stay.

Things get complicated when Nina hears about Eleanor’s tale and convinces her to publish it, which eventually exposes Eleanor’s lies and repels Nina. With not much time left, can Eleanor make amends with her new friend before it’s too late?

Eleanor the Great starts streaming on January 24.

The entire James Bond library has just been added to Netflix for a limited time, and almost all the movies are worth a watch if you’re new to — or just a fan of — the franchise. (Octopussy is the exception — please stay away from Octopussy!). One of the best modern Bond flicks is The World is Not Enough, which is just as melodramatic and engrossing as the title suggests.

In this outing, 007 (Pierce Brosnan) is hot on the trail of international terrorist Renard (Robert Carlyle), who has a bullet in his brain that somehow makes him impervious to pain. To capture the bad guy and save the day, Bond must team up with a beautiful oil heiress, Elektra (Sophie Marceau), who was once Renard’s captive, and a midriff-baring physicist, Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards), to find and stop him from launching nuclear warheads from a stolen submarine.

Any Bond movie that dared to cast future Real Housewives of Beverly Hills standout Richards as a brainy scientist is a-OK in my book, but The World is Not Enough has enough impressive set pieces and gun battles to make John Wick green with envy. David Arnold’s Chemical Brothers-inspired techno score makes things lively, and Marceau’s damaged Bond girl ranks as one of the series’ best. The Brosnan Bond era peaked here; after TWINE, he’d star in the unintentionally funny Die Another Day before hanging up his tuxedo for good. 

Poppy (Emily Bader) is a travel writer facing a big problem — she might be in love with her best friend, Alex (Tom Blyth). They haven’t spoken in years since an awkward romantic encounter, but Poppy misses her friend and arranges a reunion. Can Poppy remain just friends with Alex? Or are they destined for something more? 

People We Meet on Vacation is just what you need to chase the January blues away. Light and romantic, it takes place in beautiful locations where the sun always shines. Like the bestselling novel by Emily Henry it’s based on, it’s a step above other rom-coms. The cast, which includes veteran Saturday Night Live funny lady Molly Shannon, is top-notch, with Bader and Blyth convincingly playing friends on the cusp of becoming lovers.

Some gigs are too good to turn down, but for the punk rock band the Ain’t Rights, they have no choice but to play at a seedy bar just outside of Portland, Oregon. Almost out of cash, they do their best to satisfy the drunken crowd, but when they witness a brutal murder, their only concern is to get the hell out of there — fast.

But the neo-Nazis who run the bar want to cover up the crime, and they’ll do anything to stop the band from telling anyone about what they did. Can the Ain’t Rights make everything right and leave with their lives intact?

If you like tense thrillers with shocking acts of violence, then Green Room is for you. Once it gets going, the film never lets up, increasing the tension with almost every subsequent scene. The cast is great, but Star Trek vet Patrick Stewart stands out as the nasty neo-Nazi leader who isn’t shy about unleashing killer dogs on his enemies to shut them up for good.

Are you ready to solve a murder or two? Netflix has you covered with the latest Knives Out mystery, Wake Up Dead Man. When controversial priest Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) is killed during church service, all signs point to fellow preacher Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’ Connor) as the culprit. 

Jud insists he’s innocent, but no one believes him — except for master detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). As Blanc interviews suspects like assistant Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), novelist Lee Ross (Andrew Scott) and doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), he’ll have to determine who did it and why. 

Wake Up Dead Man is an intriguing suspense story that gives you everything you want in a movie like this one: an all-star cast, a puzzling mystery that’s wrapped up nicely and some of the year’s best cinematography. As always, Craig is quietly funny as the perpetually intrigued detective, who never came across a case he couldn’t crack.

Sarah (Lily James) is a whistleblower who possesses incriminating evidence that could bring down a major food company. She wants cash for her silence and engages a fixer, Ash (Riz Ahmed), as a middleman to negotiate a deal. But Sarah’s scheme backfires as she finds out the company doesn’t want her alive. On the run and out of options, her only ally is Ash, but can she trust someone she barely knows?

If you like paranoid thrillers, you’ll probably love Relay. Director David Mackenzie sets up the action well, letting you know what’s just at stake — a woman’s life and potentially the downfall of an entire industry. As Ash, Ahmed once again displays the talent and charm that earned him a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Sound of Metal in 2021.

What was the greatest year for movies? In the fascinating 2025 documentary Breakdown: 1975, director Morgan Neville argues that 1975 was the year cinema peaked. It’s hard to argue with him, as classics like Jaws, Nashville, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and more were released. But how did those movies get made? And how do they reflect the particular time and place — disillusioned, post-Watergate America — that gave birth to them?

That’s what Breakdown: 1975 asks and answers through the use of archival footage from the movies it discusses and contemporary interviews with the creatives who lived through that era, like The Exorcist’s Ellen Burstyn. Narrated by Jodie Foster, Breakdown: 1975 is essential for any movie fan or history buff who is curious to see what it was like to live in the middle of the 1970s.

Jay Kelly (George Clooney) is a Hollywood star in the twilight of his career. After an old friend dies and his youngest daughter goes to Europe for the summer, Jay decides to ditch his latest film and track down his daughter so he can spend time with her. That’s no small task, but with his manager, Ron (Adam Sandler), by his side, Jay is determined to spend time with his family and become the man he always wanted to be before his career got in the way.

Directed by Noah Baumbach, Jay Kelly is essentially a road comedy starring two of the biggest actors working today. As a duo, Clooney and Sandler have a weird but effective chemistry — they’re opposites who attract each other, and they attract you, too. It’s hard to feel sympathy for the rich and famous, but if anyone can do it, it’s Clooney, and he shows why he’s still a star worth watching — and caring about — after all these years.

Nosferatu director Robert Eggers takes on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet but ditches all the poetic crap and gets right to the good stuff — vaguely incestuous subplots, copious amounts of blood and gore and a climactic fight with two nude dudes in the smoldering crater of a volcano. Hell, yeah!

Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) is a Viking prince eager to avenge his father’s murder. He soon discovers that the murderer is his uncle, Fjölnir (Claes Bang), who has swiftly married his now-widowed mother, Gudrún (Nicole Kidman). Left for dead after a brutal battle, Amleth vows revenge, but will his bloodthirst cost him his body and soul?

The Northman tells a fantastic story as realistically as it can, with natural lighting, lots of authentic Viking dialect and battle sequences that aren’t as exaggerated as you might expect given the material. The result is a brooding yet wildly entertaining movie that’s both realistic and dream-like — a macho, testosterone-fueled fairy tale that satisfies both UFC fans and history-loving bookworms.

Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) has lived a hard life. Orphaned at a young age, he grows up to be a day laborer laying railroad tracks across the Pacific Northwest. Things change when he meets Gladys (Felicity Jones), who offers him an escape from his dreary life. Their quiet courtship leads to marriage, but their union will soon be tested by circumstances beyond their control. 

Train Dreams is a poetic drama that looks at life in America during the turn of the 20th century. Told primarily through its breathtaking visuals, the film’s simple plot spans decades and uses Robert’s life to capture a fleeting moment in history when industrialization forever changed the country’s natural landscape. Nominated for 4 Oscars including Best Picture, Train Dreams is unlike any movie streaming on Netflix right now and deserves to be watched on the biggest TV screen possible.

It’s 1959, and 29-year-old Jean-Luc Godard (Guillaume Marbeck) isn’t happy. Sure, he’s a successful French film critic, but he doesn’t want to simply watch movies anymore — he wants to make them. That’s all you need to know when you start watching Nouvelle Vague, Richard Linklater’s zippy origin story of how now-legendary director Godard made his first film, the crime caper Breathless, and changed cinema forever.

Godard can’t make a movie by himself, so he enlists several people to help him. There’s Jean-Paul Belmondo, a young actor still looking for a role that will make him a star, and American actress Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch), whose career is in the dumps thanks to two recent Hollywood bombs. Along with assorted exasperated producers and daredevil cinematographers, Godard has what it takes to make a masterpiece — if only he can drag himself away from the cafe long enough to do so.

Shot in luminous black and white, Nouvelle Vague is a light comedy about the insanity of making films. That’s why Godard’s laissez-faire approach to filmmaking is so perplexing to his peers — they wonder if he’s taking it seriously. But the beauty of Linklater’s movie is that it shows just how much the film medium meant to Godard and vice versa. He needed to make Breathless so he could establish himself as a world-famous director. Cinema needed Breathless so it could evolve as an art form and inspire future artists for decades to come.

Do you know what happens when you give director Guillermo del Toro a lot of money to go off and make a monster film? You get a great monster movie, and it might even be Oscar bait this year. Del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein may have Oscar Isaac in the lead, but Jacob Elordi‘s performance is the one you’ll remember.
   
Baron Victor Frankenstein (Isaac) pushed science to its limits when he took cadavers and reanimated them as his creature (Elordi). If Frankenstein is disappointed by the misshapen being that resulted from his experiments, just wait until the creature makes his life a living Hell.

When a journalist takes on an assignment aboard a luxury cruiser, things take a dark turn when she witnesses a passenger being pushed overboard and plunging into the ocean. But when Lo (Keira Knightley) brings the horrific crime to the attention of the crew, there is no evidence of the woman’s existence on the ship. Determined to get to the bottom of the cover-up, Lo puts her life in danger to reveal the truth.

This delightfully pulp mystery-thriller is based on the popular book of the same name by Ruth Ware, and watching it is just like digging into a good crime novel. With narrative intrigue, high emotional stakes and plenty of twists and turns, The Woman in Cabin 10 is the perfect cozy fall watch. Plus, it features a fantastic performance from Knightley, who is fantastic as a woman knee-deep in a mystery she doesn’t want to be in.

In Steve, a new movie based on the novel Shy by Max Porter, Cillian Murphy stars as the titular character, a stressed-out teacher at an English school for delinquent teenagers. Steve cares about his students, but they don’t seem to want his help. The exception is Shy (Jay Lycurgo), who recognizes Steven’s good intentions. But is that enough to change Shy? And can Steve battle his own personal demons while trying to manage the day-to-day demands of his seemingly impossible job?

Steve is sometimes tough to watch, but it’s always absorbing and never boring. That’s largely due to the kinetic direction and pitch-perfect performances by the cast. Most impressive is Murphy, who embodies his exhausted teacher with as much intelligence and passion as his haunted scientist in Oppenheimer.

Cantor Ben Gottlieb (Jason Schwartzman) has seen better days. His wife, Ruth, died a year ago, and he’s suffering a crisis of faith that’s rendered him unable to sing. To get his musical groove back, he sees his old music teacher, Carla (Carol Kane), who wants him to help her study for her long-delayed bat mitzvah. As Ben becomes closer to Carla, both realize their growing feelings for one another could isolate them from their respective families. 

Between the Temples (a reference to both their shared Jewish faith and their brain matter) is a comedy rooted in sadness, but it’s not a downer. As the movie’s unconventional couple, Schwartman and Kane have a chemistry you can’t bottle, and the film’s full of lively moments that make you giddy. It’s a throwback comedy that recalls such classics as Moonstruck and Crossing Delancey, but its generous spirit will make you want to watch it again and again. 

Directing and screenwriting team Danny Boyle and Alex Garland return to their hit zombie film franchise that started over twenty years ago. This third installment in the series stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes and Jodie Comer and features the debut feature film performance from young actor Alfie Williams.

In the world that created the Rage Virus, a peaceful island village sequesters itself from the plague-ridden British Isles. But when a young villager named Spike (Williams) touches the mainland for the first time, he has a suspicion that his hometown has done themselves a disservice in isolation. A fourth film filmed immediately back-to-back with 28 Years Later, titled 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, is set to release in January 2026.

The less you know about Brick, the better, but here’s the set-up: Tim (Matthias Schweighöfer) is having a bad day. His longtime girlfriend, Olivia (Ruby O. Fee), is breaking up with him, and there’s nothing he can do to stop her. But as she packs her bags and opens the front door to exit, something strange happens — she can’t leave. The entire building has been surrounded by a mysterious black brick wall that blocks anyone from exiting. How did it get there? And does it pose a threat, or is it shielding them from whatever is going on outside?

Brick is an original Netflix movie that has a great sci-fi premise. Tim, Olivia and the rest of the building’s residents not only must figure out how to get past the brick wall but also why it’s there in the first place. The wall is seemingly indestructible, so how can they escape? That’s the central question that drives Brick, and why it’s a movie you can’t stop watching.

Woo-sung (Squid Game’s Kang Ha-neul) just bought his first apartment in South Korea and is looking forward to the joys of decorating and making the place his own. But strange noises in the night keep him up, and soon, his new neighbors accuse him of being the source of all the noise — and trouble. Is Woo-sung losing his mind? Or is something more sinister at play in the apartment complex he just moved into?

Wall to Wall is a short (it runs only 84 minutes) but excellent thriller that fully exploits its claustrophobic premise to great effect. You’re never quite sure what’s up with Woo-sung or who he can trust. That’s why every narrative twist is truly a surprise — just when you think you know what’s happening, the movie pulls another rabbit out of its hat. Wall to Wall is so convincing, you may opt to never purchase a home or apartment in your lifetime.

This new animated movie went instantly viral on Netflix — and with good reason. 2025’s biggest animated hits, about a girl group who use the power of their mystical voices to fight demons, is fun, vibrant and heartwarming. Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong) and Zoe (Ji-young Yoo)’s capacity for kicking demon butt is matched only by their appetite for delicious snacks.

They’re instantly lovable protagonists whose music will get stuck in your head instantly. (Anyone else still singing “How It’s Done”?) The cast also features cameos from tons of talented Korean American actors like Ken Jeong and Daniel Dae Kim. A recent Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature, KPop Demon Hunters is one of Netflix’s most popular movies ever and a guaranteed good time.

1917 is one of the greatest — and most ambitious — war movies ever made. The film follows two British soldiers, Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), as they try to survive the horrors of World War I. They are tasked with delivering a message to another military unit to stop a scheduled counterattack against German troops that would endanger the lives of over a thousand men, including Tom’s older brother. Since speed is of the essence, they have to venture into no man’s land and face almost certain death to achieve their mission.

What sets 1917 apart from other films is the sheer skill and innovation involved in its production. The film is constructed so it seems like it’s one continuous shot with no obvious edits, which immerses you into the action and brings an extra layer of intensity to every bullet flying by and bomb exploding in the distance. The score by Thomas Newman is one for the ages, and the ending will wring a tear from the most hardened viewer. It’s a momentous achievement in filmmaking, and you feel it in your bones.  

In the mood for an intense action movie with death-defying stunts and a cynical lead hero? Then Havoc is for you. Tom Hardy stars as Walker, a jaded detective who is in a lot of trouble. A drug deal has just gone bad, and he’s on the run from a gun-happy crime syndicate that wants him dead and some dirty cops who don’t want their criminal side hustles exposed. 

To make matters worse, he has to protect a crooked politician’s son who was involved in the drug deal and knows more than he’s letting on. Can Walker save the boy and not be killed in the process?

The plot isn’t anything new, but Havoc is worth watching just for the stunts alone. The movie was directed by Gareth Evans, who made the modern action classics The Raid and Gangs of London, so there are a lot of gunshots, explosions and face-smashing fights. Hell, there’s even a chase scene where someone throws a washing machine onto a pursuing cop car. 

In other words, Havoc rocks, and it makes you want to see Hardy and Evans collaborate again on another crazy action movie like this one.

Before he was Marty Supreme and Bob Dylan, Timothèe Chalamet was a king — King Henry V, to be exact. Buried in a great year that included such releases as 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Little Women (which also starred Chalamet), The King deserves more respect and attention than it’s received. A historical epic that feels raw and visceral, it features not only a great lead performance by Timmy but also a scene-stealing turn by Robert Pattinson as a foppish French royal and a stirring score by Nicholas Britell.

It’s the early 15th century, and England is at war with France. King Henry IV (Ben Mendelsohn) is already thinking about who will succeed him, and he ultimately chooses Henry V, or Hal, to take the throne after he dies. Yet his ascension to power creates friction among his family, and even Hal’s closest friends aren’t as trustworthy as they appear. Hal must find a way to win over those who doubt his ability to rule while also winning an impossible war with an enemy hellbent on taking over England.

2024 had its fair share of great animated movies like Flow, Memoir of a Snail and Inside Out 2, but some inevitably got lost in the shuffle. Orion and the Dark was one of those movies, and it’s a future classic ripe for rediscovery. Based on Emma Yarlett’s children’s book of the same name, the movie chronicles 11-year-old Orion (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) as he deals with his fear of the dark. One night, he’s visited by Dark itself (Paul Walter Hauser), who takes the young boy on a magical journey where he meets other nighttime entities like Sweet Dreams (Angela Bassett) and Insomnia (Nat Faxon). But will Orion truly accept Dark, and all the fears associated with it, before Light comes and disintegrates the entity forever?

That’s only part of the movie, but to spoil any more would ruin the experience of discovering all of its strange twists and turns. The movie was written by Charlie Kaufman, and his bizarro sensibility is evident in the movie’s even stranger second and third acts. But it’s the animation, produced by the French studio Mikros Animation, that truly impresses and makes Orion and the Dark a keeper for all generations.

Saturday Night Live turned 50 in 2025, and the dramatic lead-up to the half-centennial celebration included the release of a feature film depicting the legendary show’s first episode. On October 11, 1975, neophyte producer Lorne Micheals (Cooper Hoffman) struggles to keep his Not Ready for Primetime Players, among them Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Dan Ackroyd (Dylan O’Brien), and Andy Kaufman (Nicholas Braun), focused and ready for the launch of his new show while also dealing with disapproving execs and a sullen writer (Rachel Sennott) who also happens to be his girlfriend. Can he hold everyone together, rein in all the egos and keep the naysayers away long enough to get his show off the ground?

Well, you know the answer. Director Jason Reitman opts to set his movie in real-time, more or less, which lends a frenzied, authentic feel to the whole thing. The movie’s rich ensemble shines, particularly Sennott as Rosie Shuster, and it accurately captures the rush of improv and putting on a show. While it’s not particularly deep, Saturday Night leaves you with a greater appreciation for a broadcast institution we all take for granted.