updaval aniello zakarya
Darci Carlton
For instance, film fans can find a whole host of Oscar nominees and winners on the platform, including this year's nominees such as Past Lives, and those from the past including Titanic, The Martian, 1917 and many more.
Other recent acquisitions to have been added to the Netflix library include last year's critically-acclaimed Godzilla movie, Godzilla Minus One, Stephen Merchant's Fighting with My Family, Jordan Peele's Nope and quirky British comedy Brian and Charles.
The blame game soon erupts, and the situation continues to escalate until a corker of a final reveal. The zeitgeist-chasing dialogue could easily have become irksome, but the charismatic cast is so convincing as a group of bickering friends that their verbal sparring and back-stabbing begins to seem not only believable but inevitable.
Maria Bakalova (whose hysterical turn in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm earned her an Oscar nomination) acquits herself well in one of the more reserved roles, but the bulk of the laughs come from elsewhere, with Shiva Baby and Bottoms star Rachel Sennott particularly impressive.
Simultaneously one of the highest-grossing films of all time and one of the most awarded, Titanic really was a behemoth when it was released, and its popularity has barely dwindled. James Cameron's film is about as big as historical blockbusters get, with terrific effects and truly tense sequences. However, it really soars because of its heart, which it has in absolute spades.
Following two fictional characters, Jack and Rose, as they board the ill-fated voyaged, the film plays out as a love story for the ages, brought to the screen perfectly by magnetic performances from both Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
It may not have the most original story arc or be the most nuanced in examining class structures, but it doesn't matter - when the emotion hits this hard and the visuals are this breathtaking, all you can do is sit back and let Cameron take you on a journey.
A film which is wholly representative of an era of American comedy, Superbad still manages to stand out from the crowd as a terrifically well-structured, warm-hearted film with some sequences which have gone down in history and become utterly iconic.
The sci-fi movie based on the novel of the same name features an all-star cast, led by Matt Damon as Mark Watney, an astronaut stationed on a base on Mars who is presumed dead by the rest of his crew, who depart on their ship and leave him behind. Once they become aware of his survival, they attempt to rescue him, but he must learn to survive by himself on the red planet until that time.
The film's success lies in not only its expansive scope but also in its attention to detail, its devotion to science and its emotional resonance. Damon is fantastic in the central role, while Scott proves once again why he is known as such a master of the craft.
Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and writer-director Martin McDonagh's most recent team-up in 2022's The Banshees of Inisherin received a huge number of critical plaudits and awards, but one of the only reasons it was so highly anticipated in the first place was because of the strength of their first collaboration, In Bruges.
It's a laugh-out-loud funny film which also has some serious heart and emotional heft behind it, as well as some perfectly staged action sequences and stunning visuals. McDonagh is known for his dialogue, and its rarely stronger than it is here, with some iconic lines which have gone down in cinema history.
A biographical movie about professional wrestler Paige, produced by Dwayne Johnson and WWE Studios? This could have gone so wrong. However, in actuality it turned out to be one of 2019's best, a heartwarming and constantly funny tale of aspiration, family and not only following your dreams, but also knowing when they just aren't going to become a reality for you.
The film follows Saraya Knight, also known by her wrestling name Paige, who was brought up in a family of wrestlers and, along with her brother, dreams of making it big in WWE. When she gets into the training programme but her brother fails, it causes a rift in the family.
So, what made the film go so right? Stephen Merchant. Getting the writer, actor and comedian in to write and direct the film was a stroke of genius, as he found the heart and distinct British specificity in this globe-trotting tale. The casting is also spot on, with the always excellent Florence Pugh leading the way, along with Vince Vaughn, Slow Horses star Jack Lowden, Game of Thrones' Lena Heady and the inimitable Nick Frost.
Jordan Peele had set very high standards with his first two features Get Out and Us, and his third effort Nope only further cemented his reputation as the real deal. The film tells the story of siblings OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Em (Keke Palmer), who run a business training horses for work in Hollywood films at their ranch in southern California and whose world is rocked by several UFO sightings.
This leads them to an encounter with Jupe (Steven Yeun), a former child actor who once experienced a traumatic incident on the set of the sitcom he starred in and now runs a theme park that makes money from that incident. Jupe is similarly keen to profit from this strange presence in the sky, and although OJ and Em are wary of his methods, they too are desperate to document evidence of the phenomenon.
If the increasingly silly tone of Hollywood's monster franchise isn't your cup of tea, then consider trying out this distinct and unrelated Japanese version, which earned acclaim upon release last year. Far from the Saturday morning cartoon-style fisticuffs of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, this feature is an altogether more sombre affair.
Taking place after the end of the Second World War, when Japan was still in a state of shock and grief from the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the country is dealt another devastating blow when Godzilla emerges just off the coast. The story unfolds primarily from the perspective of deserter pilot Kōichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who is grappling with PTSD and a desperate desire for redemption.
Not an easy, popcorn-munching watch by any means, but if you like your sci-fi with a philosophical and emotional edge, Godzilla Minus One is for you. The film also looks utterly dazzling, which is why it took home the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 2024 ceremony.
Armando Iannucci may be best known for his work with Alan Partridge and for crafting excellent British political satire The Thick of It, but his take of this period in Russian political and social history is also well worth your time. A pitch black comedy, the film follows the jockeying and positioning for power which took place following the death of Stalin in Soviet Russia, and stars the likes of Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambor and Jason Isaacs.
Its sharp turns between the serious subject matter and its razor sharp comedy may not be for everyone, but for the most part they are superbly executed, never forgetting the horrors which are going on beneath but also not letting them overwhelm the comedy. The decision for the stars to use their varying, natural accents is smart, and also gives the film a unique flavour and flair.
This quirky comedy from first-time feature filmmaker Jim Archer is a brilliantly eccentric slice of British humour. It follows a down-on-his-luck inventor, Brian Gittins (David Earl), who crafts all sorts of offbeat contraptions which rarely produce successful results. But after recovering a discarded mannequin's head and using it as the basis for his latest robotic invention, something miraculous and deeply strange happens: after a violent thunderstorm, Brian awakens to find that the robot has gained sentience and named itself Charles Petrescu.
A young Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, currently starring in the streaming revival, are the stars of the show, playing teen rivals Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence respectively. Meanwhile, Pat Morita earned an Academy Award nomination as the former's mentor, Mr Miyagi, a war veteran who teaches him karate to ward off bullies and compete in a high-profile tournament.
The hype is steadily building for Ridley Scott's upcoming Gladiator sequel ahead of its release in November, and so now is the perfect time to reacquaint yourself with the Oscar-winning historical epic almost a quarter of a century on from its original release.
Russell Crowe stars as Maximus, a once favoured Roman general who is humiliated and thrown out when power is seized by the corrupt and odious Commodus (played with relish by Joaquin Phoenix), who also orders that his family are murdered. Starting again from rock bottom as a gladiator, Maximus embarks on a long and violent road to revenge and redemption.
Damon and Law are joined by a stellar supporting cast including terrific performances from Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Phillip Seymour Hoffmann, while the beauty of the Italian landscape is shot superbly to create an enticing atmosphere that viewers can't help but get caught up in. Consistently suspenseful and enthralling, it's also a film that manages to have an emotional centre despite the sociopathic tendencies of its main character.
Lady Bird finds star Saoirse Ronan on typically excellent form as Christine McPherson, a somewhat eccentric teenager who insists on going by the moniker Lady Bird and is desperate to escape what she views as her mundane upbringing in Sacramento in search of greater thrills.
The film deftly explores first love and teenage relationships with wit and empathy, but it's the sometimes volatile dynamic between the title character and her mother (Laurie Metcalf) which stands out as its strongest throughline.
Any Dune fans wanting more thought-provoking science fiction from Denis Villeneuve need look no further than Arrival. This 2016 film sees a mysterious extraterrestrial species land on Earth, with linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) tasked with finding a way of communicating with them.
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