With so many movies out there (and more being released by the day), it can be hard to know which one you can turn to in your time of streaming need. Luckily you have us to sift through their extensive library and find the very best of the best. You’re welcome, by the way.
Here are the best movies on Netflix right now.
Genre: Adventure | Comedy | Drama
Starring: Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith
Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee
Release dates: June 14, 2017
Weeks on chart: 2 (Netflix)
Four best friends, the “Flossy Posse”, have grown distant over the years. When lifestyle guru Ryan Pierce (Regina Hall), who is dubbed “the next Oprah”, is offered an opportunity to be the keynote speaker at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, she decides to bring along her friends to turn her work vacation into a girls’ trip.
Joining Ryan is Sasha (Queen Latifah), an ex-journalist from Time Magazine who now owns a floundering gossip site and is struggling financially; Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith), a nurse and uptight mom who has not had a boyfriend since her divorce years earlier and Dina (Tiffany Haddish), a happy-go-lucky, impulsive party animal who was fired after assaulting a co-worker shortly before the trip.
While on the trip, Sasha is sent a tip that shows a picture of a black man’s head kissing an Instagram model, presumed to be Ryan’s husband, Stewart. The friends are reluctant to tell Ryan, but when Dina spills the news, Ryan shocks them by telling them she is already aware of the situation and that they are in the couple’s counselling. Nevertheless, when Dina sees Stewart at their hotel, she threatens him with a broken bottle, resulting in her getting ejected and banned from the hotel. In solidarity, all the girls leave with her, but the only hotel they are able to get is a sleazy one-star motel frequented by customers of prostitutes.
Genre: Comedy | Drama | Romance
Starring: Justin Hartley, Barrett Doss, Essence Atkins
Directed by: Charles Shyer
Release dates: November 24, 2022
Weeks on chart: 2 (Netflix)
When popular author Jake Turner (Justin Hartley) comes back home at Christmas to settle his estranged mother’s estate, he discovers a diary that may hold information related to his past and that of Rachel (Barrett Doss) – an interesting young woman on a journey of her own.
Rachel shows up at the same time in search of information about her birth mother, Noel, who used to be Jake’s nanny. Noel was 17 at the time of Rachel’s birth and had to give up her child, as she could not afford to take care of her. Jake and Rachel embark on a journey together to challenge their pasts and discover a future that’s totally unforeseen
Genre: Drama
Starring: Mumbi Maina, Catherine Kamau, Alfred Munyua
Directed by: Reuben Odanga
Release dates: November 6, 2021
Weeks on chart: 3 (Netflix)
When Aisha (Mumbi) is unable to conceive after a traumatic childhood experience, her best friend Shiko (Kate) offers to be her surrogate to help save her marriage, leading to a series of events that threaten their close bond and those around them.
Genre: Drama
Starring: Manal Issa, Nathalie Issa, Matthias Schweighöfer
Directed by: Sally El Hosaini
Release dates: September 8, 2022
Weeks on chart: 2 (Netflix)
The film follows 2 sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini who fled their home country of Syria in 2015 when their house was destroyed during the civil war. They journeyed to Lebanon and then onto Turkey where they arranged to be smuggled into Greece on a dinghy.
However, the refugees were in the middle of the Aegean Sea when the engine of the overcrowded dinghy cut out and the pair, plus two others who could swim, were responsible for saving the lives of those on board. Just a year after their harrowing experience Yusra competed in two swimming events at the Rio Olympics as part of the Refugee Olympic team.
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller
Starring: Alessandro Gassmann, Ginevra Francesconi, Remo Girone
Directed by: Cosimo Gomez
Release dates: November 30, 2022
Weeks on chart: 1 (Netflix)
After old enemies kill his family, a former mafia enforcer and his feisty daughter flee to Milan, where they hide out while plotting their revenge. To enjoy this, fully suspend disbelief and be a fan of the John Wick series. Without spoiling the plot, let’s just say that the script is highly inconsistent in terms of basic plot points.
For example, are you high-tech (face recognition) or low-tech (phone tracing)? Are you heavily guarded, or not a guard in sight? What’s good though are the action scenes and acting, given the weak material and dialogue. Ended up being invested to the end, thanks in part to the short runtime.
Overall, a decent entry into the mindless revenge category, with a more plausible motivation than “you killed my dog”.