Netflix: 39 Of The Absolute Best Movies To Watch
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Don't Look Up (2021)
Video, it becomes an exercise of sifting through the best of the bunch.
To cut time, you'll find highlights of new content below, as well as CNET's full list of best movie Originals on Netflix.
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What's new to stream for December 2021
2:28
What's new this week (Dec. 20 to 26)
Here's what's coming to watch for Christmas! (The major release is Don't Look Up, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.)
Tuesday
Jim Gaffigan: Comedy Monster (2021) -- Comedy special with Jim Gaffigan, who offers some thoughts on the hot mess that was 2021.
Grumpy Christmas (2021) -- Comedy about a family trip to the beach that takes a turn when Aunt Alicia start an over-the-top competition to control Christmas.
Friday
Don't Look Up (2021) -- American satirical science fiction comedy starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. Follows two low-level astronomers as they go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy Earth.Minnal Murali (2021) -- Indian Malayalam-language superhero film about a tailor who gains special powers after being struck by lightning.Vicky and Her Mystery / Mystère (2020) -- Adventure-comedy about a young girl who discovers a puppy in the mountains and decides to keep in secret -- her Mystery.
Sunday
Lulli (2021) -- Rom-com about an ambitious young medical student who, after getting electrocuted by an MRI machine, begins to hear the thoughts of others.
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The full list of best Netflix Original movies
At time of writing, these films all score at least 70 on Metacritic.
Drama
Passing (2021)
Netflix
Rebecca Hall makes her directorial debut in magnificent fashion with her adaptation of Nella Larsen's 1929 novel Passing. It tells the story of two light-skinned Black women, one of whom chooses to "pass" as white. Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga embody the duality at the heart of this delicate story, shot in black and white. Gracefully handled, Passing is a tender portrait revealing powerful psychological depths.
Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021)
Netflix
Andrew Garfield takes the spotlight for this biographical musical drama about Jonathan Larson, the late composer behind Rent and the Tick, Tick... Boom! musical. The movie, helmed by Lin Manuel Miranda in his directorial debut, follows Larson's career and the time pressure he feels to leave a lasting impression. With joy-inducing music, a meaningful narrative about the creative process and a passionate performance from Garfield as Larson, Tick, Tick... Boom! is a graceful and feel-good tribute.
The Dig (2021)
Netflix
This fine British drama excavates a whole lot of buried treasure with a distinguished cast in Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James and Johnny Flynn. It's based on the true events around the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo, yielding a priceless trove of Anglo-Saxon artefacts hidden in a burial ship. Romantic, intellectual and moving, The Dig is a full sweep of elegance.
Mank (2020)
Nikolai Loveikis/Netflix
A black-and-white David Fincher tale about the unsung screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz who helped Orson Welles write Citizen Kane. Step back into Old Hollywood, with beautiful cinematography and take in the behind-the-scenes of how studio systems functioned in a different time. Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried are among the exceptional cast of this biographical drama filled with the lightness and darkness of its hero's life.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
Netflix
An Aaron Sorkin drama based on a true story? The Trial of the Chicago 7 lives up to its pedigree, following the real-life trial of a group of anti-Vietnam War protestors charged with conspiracy to incite riots. With a stellar ensemble cast, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is both topical and full of compelling theatrical energy.
Marriage Story (2019)
Netflix
A movie about divorce might not sound like the best viewing experience, but Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story is a journey you'll want to take. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver give two of the best performances of their careers as Nicole and Charlie, a couple who embark on the emotionally and logistically complicated legal processes involved in prying a partnership apart. Painted with an emotional complexity that includes poignantly funny moments along with the painful ones, this is happy-sad at its best.
The Two Popes (2019)
Netflix
Set primarily in Vatican City, this biographical drama follows Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the aftermath of the Vatican leaks scandal. It's as fascinating as it sounds. The Two Popes carves up a slice of real-life drama with a first-class two-hander featuring Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins.
Roma (2018)
Carlos Somonte
Alfonso Cuaron's semi-autobiographical snapshot of the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City tells a small story with staggering prowess. Let Cuaron steer you through the ups and downs of a live-in housekeeper of a middle-class family. His lens captures intricately beautiful scenes in an album that quietly envelopes you with wonder and grace.
Happy as Lazzaro (2018)
Netflix
This Italian film has the from Bong Joon-ho, so let's listen to the Oscar-winning director of Parasite and add it to this list. Written and directed by Alice Rohrwacher, Happy as Lazzaro is set in the '70s on a tobacco farm, where good-hearted young peasant Lazzaro dutifully works. When a nobleman convinces him to help him fake his own kidnapping, a story of friendship, innocence and social commentary unfolds. A gorgeously shot, cinematic fairytale.
Sunday's Illness (2018)
Zeta Cinema
This elegant Spanish film will steep you in its rich imagery and phenomenally good performances from its two leads. Susi Sánchez and Bárbara Lennie star as Anabel and Chiara respectively, an estranged mother and daughter who reunite for reasons that aren't as clear as they first seem. The precision of the filmmaking here is worthy of soaking up for those who're partial to deliberately paced meditations on pain, love and loss. Masterful.
The Kindergarten Teacher (2018)
Netflix
Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a career best performance in The Kindergarten Teacher, a drama about, yep, a kindergarten teacher. Lisa is dissatisfied with her own life, which leads her to make some questionable decisions regarding one of her young students. When Jimmy exhibits child prodigy levels of poetry writing talent, Lisa may or may not take credit for it. The Kindergarten Teacher's slightly disturbing character study might leave you feeling conflicted, but there's no question about Gyllenhaal's mesmerizing performance.
Mudbound (2017)
Netflix
Mudbound gives you a historical look at class struggle through the lens of a Black veteran and a white veteran who both still have one foot stuck in World War II. Dealing with PTSD and racism in the Mississippi Delta, with a cast that includes Garrett Hedlund and Jason Mitchell, Mudbound's tempest will rivet you to the spot.
Western
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Netflix
More than a decade after her previous film, Bright Star, extraordinary filmmaker Jane Campion has unfolded the director's chair again to oversee The Power of the Dog (she wrote the script too). It centers on Phil Burbank, a rancher who uses the power of toxic masculinity to have his way, mocking his brother for falling in love. What happens when Phil starts to feel the same ridiculous sensitivities? The Power of the Dog is a mesmeric exercise in the subtle shifts of emotion and power in relationships, emotion that doesn't feel subtle at all within each character. Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst help bring Campion's masterful vision to life. Oscar buzz is in the air.
News of the World (2020)
Netflix
Tom Hanks in a Western directed by Jason Bourne's Paul Greengrass. Enjoy Hanks going full Mandalorian single dad mode as Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a Civil War veteran who discovers a young girl years after she was captured by Native Americans as a baby. In between helping to return her to her family, he does his usual job of traveling to towns and reading newspapers for a small fee. Don't expect high-octane action: This road movie is fueled more by character development and the beautiful views. Still, you'll want to settle in for a comforting ride with pure sympathetic Hanks at the steering wheel.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Netflix
The Coen Brothers kick up the western dust with an anthology film that gives you six vignettes all set on the American frontier. One of them is about the titular Buster Scruggs, a chipper singing cowboy who casually sets off a shoot-up in a cantina. But there's a dark twist that keeps you on your toes. Sewing the rest of its stories together with a constant black humor, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a Coen Brothers winner.
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