The 38 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now
'Avengers: Infinity War' (2018)
Enjoy these Marvel movies, including "Avengers: Infinity War" on Netflix while you can! They're just some of the great movies that are on Netflix right now.
'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981)
Just as Steven Spielberg changed summer blockbusters forever with "Jaws," he (and George Lucas) brilliantly reinvented the action film with Indiana Jones. Hats off, especially to Indy himself, Harrison Ford. It's one brilliant action scene after another.
'Schindler's List' (1993)
Steven Spielberg's emotional WWII drama, about the man who saved the lives of more than 1,000 Jews, earned Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. It also scored a Best Actor nom for Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, and Ralph Fiennes earned a Best Supporting Actor nod for his complicated (and evil) portrayal of SS officer Amon Göeth.
'The Third Man' (1949)
In this essential film noir set in post-war Vienna, an American writer (Joseph Cotten) arrives to find his best friend (Orson Welles) has just been mysteriously killed. Crooked angles, zither music, a spectacular chase through the Vienna underground and one of the most famous endings in cinema.
'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)
Decades later, we're still having nightmares about the most captivating villain in movie history. This isn't just your average horror movie or forensic thriller. It's an artfully twisted tale of identity, complex human relationships, and psychological warfare.
'Jaws' (1975)
40 years later, the first modern blockbuster still has convinced it is NEVER safe to go back into the water.
8. 'Black Panther' (2018)
To date, Black Panther is the most successful MCU movie at the doemstic box office, and it's not hard to see why. This film became a cultural phenomenon by introducing moviegoers everywhere to the fantastical land of Wakanda. It also boasts one of the best villains and strongest supporting casts of any MCU movie, to the point where the titular hero sometimes gets outshone in his own film.
'Thor: Ragnarok' (2017)
Director Taika Waititi made the third Thor film one of the funniest, most off-the-wall Marvel movies ever. And we never fully appreciated the comedic skills of Chris Hemsworth before this. (Sorry, we were distracted by the abs!) And adding Jeff Goldbum? Genius.
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018)
Every Avenger (well, except Captain Marvel), takes on Thanos in the first part of this devastating showdown. Bring on "Endgame" already!
'Pulp Fiction' (1994)
"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you." What serious Tarantino fan doesn't have this at least half memorized?
'Quiz Show' (1994)
A TV game show being rigged? Get out! This underrated, Oscar-nominated drama from director Robert Redford is based on the real-life game show scandal from the 1950s that led to a Congressional probe. Ralph Fiennes and John Turturro star.
'The Constant Gardener' (2005)
Rachel Weisz won an Oscar for her role as a woman who investigates a criminal cover-up. Ralph Fiennes is also Oscar-worthy in this first-rate drama.
'Good Will Hunting' (1997)
This heart-tugging film is proof that giant bear hugs are the answer to everything.
'Coco' (2017)
Have Kleenex handy as you watch this Oscar-winning film about a music-loving boy who journeys to the Land of the Dead with his trusty dog. (Don't worry, the dog is fine. Still ALL the tears.)
'The Sixth Sense' (1999)
Many films have featured the Big Twist with its main character, but few have done it so well -- and with such clever misdirection as in M. Night Shyamalan's Oscar-nominated film. Endlessly re-watchable, even when you know the truth.
'Zodiac' (2007)
One of David Fincher's most tense films follows the notorious Zodiac killer and one guy (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who became obsessed with the case.
'The Breadwinner' (2017)
A young Afghan girl dresses as a boy to provide for her family after her father is arrested by the Taliban in this Oscar-nominated animated film. Excellent, but dark.
'Her' (2013)
In the near-future, a man (Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with his computer's operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). Spike Jonze somehow makes this crazy sci-fi premise work wonderfully.
'Ex Machina' (2015)
Garland wrote some great sci-fi films, like 2012's underrated “Dredd” and the zombie revival movie “28 Days Later” but it was his 2015 directorial debut that really established Garland as a major voice in science fiction -- and won him his first Oscar for writing. The strong cast certainly helped, particularly Alicia Vikander as a humanoid robot determined to assert her independence.
'The 13th' (2016)
Ava DuVernay's eye-opening look at the prison industrial complex is scary-compelling. It centers on a loophole in the 13th Amendment that allows for the equivalent of modern-day slavery for millions of African-Americans, who are disproportionately jailed.
'In Bruges' (2008)
In this dark comedy from “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri,” director Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell is a suicidal hitman who's forced to lie low in the most boring town on earth, Bruges.
'Y Tu Mama Tambien' (2001)
A woman goes on a road trip with two 17-year-olds (Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna) in this sexy Mexican film from Alfonso Cuaron.
'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs' (2018)
The Coen Bros. latest is a six-part anthology set in the Old West. Some of the tales are funny, some morbid, and all strung together by the filmmakers' signature dark humor.
'Carol' (2015)
Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara both received Oscar nominations in this sumptuous Todd Haynes romance.
'City of God' (2002)
This stunning Brazilian crime drama was nominated for four Oscars. And critics regularly name it as one of the best movies of the 21st century. Which is all to say that, if you have yet to see this underrated film, fix that.
'No Country For Old Men'
Javier Bardem won an Oscar for playing a relentless, Terminator-like killing machine in the Coen Brothers' neo-western, which also won "Best Picture," Best Director(s), and Best Adapted Screenplay.
'The Departed' (2006)
Martin Scorsese finally won Best Director for this crackerjack Boston saga in which cop Leonardo DiCaprio goes undercover with crime boss Jack Nicholson.
'Roma' (2018)
Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron delivers his most personal film yet with this story of Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a maid in 1970s Mexico City.
'The Wild Bunch' (1969)
Sam Peckinpah's ultra-violent western remains one of the greatest, most influential action films of all time. It's the last ride for outlaws including William Holden, Warren Oates and Ernest Borgnine. A (completely unnecessary) remake is planned, but be sure you watch this groundbreaking classic first.
'Howards End' (1992)
One of the very best of the Merchant-Ivory period films casts a scathing look at the British class system, circa early 20th century. Emma Thompson won a Best Actress Oscar; the rest of the cast (Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, and Helena Bonham Carter) isn't too shabby, either.
'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' (2017)
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) trains Rey (Daisy Ridley) in the ways of the Jedi so she can face off with petulant baddie Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Seriously, can we get that guy some intergalactic therapy?
'Wind River' (2017)
"Sicario" writer Taylor Sheridan makes his feature directorial debut with this underrated, slow-burn thriller. FBI Agent Elizabeth Olson joins tracker (and fellow Avenger) Jeremy Renner on the hunt for a killer of young woman on an isolated, snow-covered Native American reservation. Seriously, this movie is scary-good, from the performances to the tension in the bonkers third-act shootout. You may also shed a tear or three in the film's final moments.
'Train to Busan' (2016)
A zombie outbreak on a speeding train plays out just as horrifically as you'd hope in this tense and inventive box-office hit from South Korea.
'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' (2018)
One of our favorite rom-coms of 2018 has Lana Condor as a teen whose crushes are made public. All the high school angst, then all the happiness.
'De Palma' (2015)
If you're a De Palma fan, you won't want to miss this film, which delves into the creation as some of his best films, including "Scarface," "Carrie," and "The Untouchables."
'Frances Ha' (2012)
Greta Gerwig (Oscar nominee!) stars as an aspiring (but not very good) New York dancer whose life is a messy work in progress. This insightful comedy comes from writer-director Noah Baumbach.
'Hush' (2016)
A deaf writer (Kate Siegel), who lives alone, is stalked by a masked psycho. This nail-biter is a bare bones, slow-burn scare fest from Mike Flanagan, who also gave us "The Haunting of Hill House."
'The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)' (2017)
A filmmaker behind some of the greatest movies of the last few years ("De Palma," "Fances Ha,") Noah Baumbach somewhat returns to his roots with this story of a family of nebbish New York intellectuals. Although sexual harassment claims may derail his awards potential, Dustin Hoffman is tremendous as a curmudgeonly sculptor, with Ben Stiller and Elizabeth Marvel as his grown children. But it's Adam Sandler, in his best performance in years, as another of Hoffman's kids -- who is going through a divorce, seeing his child off to college, and limping badly -- who is the real revelation. "The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)" might not be everybody's cup of tea, but it's an undeniably impressive achievement.
'Private Life' (2018)
Tamara Jenkins’ heartbreakingly funny story about a couple trying to have a child and the young woman who agrees to donate her eggs to them possibly suffered from lack of recognition because of its late-fall debut on Netflix, but Jenkins is an incredible storyteller with a gift for humor and intimacy in the face of devastating personal trauma. Her original screenplay is worthy of a nomination by itself, but Kathryn Hahn has been doing great work for years and this somehow surpasses almost all of it as Lead Actress.
