Netflix has plenty of movies to watch. Maybe too many. Sometimes finding the right film at the right time can seem like an impossible task. Let us help you. Below is a list of some of our favorites currently on the streaming service—from dramas to comedies to thrillers.
If you decide you’re in more of a TV mood, head over to our collection of the best TV series on Netflix. Want more? Check out our lists of the best sci-fi movies, best movies on Amazon Prime, and the best flicks on Disney+.
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Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
The third installment in writer-director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out series finds master detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) investigating “a perfectly impossible crime.” This time, it’s the death of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), whose firebrand preaching has alienated much of his small parish in upstate New York. All fingers point to junior priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor), a “young, dumb, and full of Christ” former boxer with a dark past. Of course, with Johnson’s skilled pen, nothing is clear cut, especially when Wicks’ own flock—a murderer’s row of acting royalty, including Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Glenn Close, and Thomas Haden Church—all seem to have their own motives. Although it takes a somewhat darker, more ponderous tone than its predecessors, Wake Up Dead Man still packs in a wry sense of humor and makes for a fantastic third outing for what might end up being Craig’s definitive onscreen role. (Shake that, James Bond.)
Klaus
First dropping on Netflix back in 2019, this BAFTA and Annie Award-winning animated masterpiece remains Netflix's finest festive outing. When spoiled Jesper Johansson is charged by his father, the powerful Postmaster General, with setting up a new post office in the isolated town of Smeerensburg, it seems impossible. With the community divided into two warring clans, the only thing residents send each other are frosty glares. Yet after crossing paths with surly woodsman Klaus, who has spent a lifetime carving toys, Jesper stumbles on a way to potentially bring the town together—and start a tradition in the process. While Christmas films teasing the origin of Santa are usually saccharine dives into schmaltzy sentimentality, Klaus offers a slightly darker take, from the murky, decrepit setting that evokes the unsettling vibes of A Series of Unfortunate Events to its version of the jolly gift-giver as an imposing, intimidating figure. Delivering plenty of heart along with its more mature tone, this almost otherworldly tale is a modern Christmas miracle.
Troll 2
Probably no one save for director Roar Uthaug (2018's Tomb Raider) had "Norwegian kaiju" down as an emerging genre, but this follow-up to 2022's original Troll makes a case for its improbable existence. Years after dealing with one rampaging titan unearthed from Norway's depths, paleontologist Nora Tidemann (Ine Marie Wilmann) is living in seclusion researching the creatures—until the government needs her advice on the hibernating "Megatroll" it has locked away. Soon, Nora—reunited with allies Andreas Isaksen (Kim Falck) and Major Kris Holm (Mads Sjøgård Pettersen)—is caught in another desperate race to prevent a trollpocalypse. This time though, there's an edge of Indiana Jones at work, with a madcap ancient conspiracy to decode alongside the troll-smashing action. Troll 2 is a bit more tongue-in-cheek than its predecessor, and ventures into so-bad-it's-good territory in places, but it knows exactly what it is and what it's offering: giant rock monsters beating the boulders off of each other. Don't overthink it and you'll have a smashing time.
Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things—The First Shadow
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