The Top 10 Netflix Original Movies
Have you seen all ten?
It’s boom time for streaming behemoth Netflix. With movie theaters closed across the country, most of the only notable new movies coming out right now are Netflix Originals. The company has said all of their content slated for 2020 has already been filmed and should be released on time, unlike just about every movie that was supposed to be released in theaters this spring and summer.
Because of the increased focus on Netflix right now, it’s a good time to rank our top 10 Netflix Original Movies. Since they started making their own movies in 2015, Netflix has dropped almost 350 original films (!) on the service in less than five years. Due to that insane rate of release, we are only counting feature films here (no documentaries, we’ll save that for another time). Feel free to shout at us about what we missed by replying to this email or hitting us up on social media.
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Roma
Drew: The majority of Netflix’s Original Movies can seem inconsequential and fleeting, just something to pass the time. Roma is different -- and so different it almost feels out of place on Netflix. After director Alfonso Cuaron made a stellar Harry Potter movie and one of the best space movies ever (Gravity) he decided his next project would be a black-and-white semi-autobiographical look at his childhood in Mexico City. Thank the movie gods that Netflix gave him the money to do it. Cuaron’s baby -- he produced, directed, wrote, and edited it -- floored critics and awards bodies. While it may have fallen short of Best Picture, it laid the groundwork for a foreign-language movie to win the next year (Parasite). Roma’s simple story of a Mexican housekeeper isn’t seen on screen all that often, which gives it a rare power. Despite all of the cliched and uninspired movies that Netflix puts out, the beautiful and transcendent Roma is evidence alone that they are capable of making great movies that last.
The Irishman
Billy: Fine, label us as “those film bros.” Of course we would have The Irishman this high. Netflix did something smart in 2019 and that was deciding to give amazing filmmakers absolutely massive budgets and full control. Martin Scorsese getting the biggest budget, the most control, and The Irishman is all the better for it. Hollywood is just not built this way anymore. In the past, epics were much more common and welcomed, but a streaming service supporting a 3+ hour gangster epic is preposterous. There are too many distractions at home. Somehow it seems that Marty was able to create a movie that did not land for everyone, but it received a massive amount of people’s attention. And the Do You Like Apples’ crew could not have liked it any more. These types of landmark films are going to be a part of the fold for Netflix every year and that trend is something that we are excited for.
Marriage Story
Drew: One of the positive things about Netflix is that they greenlight movies that the other Hollywood studios just don’t make that much anymore. Marriage Story is a wonderful example. This is a divorce drama led by two movie stars, one from Star Wars and the other from Marvel. Hollywood might have made this kind of movie in the 60s or 70s, but not so much anymore. Netflix gave writer-director Noah Baumbach the space to create this amusing, melancholy, and heartbreaking film based on his own experiences going through a divorce. Marriage Story is not necessarily one you want to rewatch right after it ends, but that’s only because the emotions of the story sink so deep. It’s a hard film to shake.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Billy: Is this a Coen brothers’ classic? Probably not, but it is a wonderfully crafted sequence of vignettes that turned the Netflix TV formula into a movie. Six stories that all have a nihilistic quality to them and a commentary on the dangers of the Old West. We open up with one of our finest living actors, Tim Blake Nelson, playing the titular character Buster Scruggs. He is an arrogant gun-slinging and fourth wall-breaking cowboy who sings his way into a town where he thinks he is the biggest bad gunslinger around. This opening is the perfect way to get into a movie with different vibes throughout. It is jovial and sarcastic while also setting a stage for what the rest of the movie is trying to say.
Gerald’s Game
Billy: I had to fight for this one. Gerald’s Game is a Stephen King adaptation that has no business being as good as it is. A wife and her husband are going through a dry patch and to spice things up they rent a cabin in the woods for an evening of intense passion. Naturally, in that situation, you bring out the handcuffs. The underappreciated Carla Gugino is handcuffed to the bed when her husband has a heart attack and dies. Leaving her stuck in the middle of nowhere with no way out. What comes next is brilliant acting where reality slowly turns into hallucinogenic scenes of horror, creating a wonderful horror thriller that needs to be recognized.
Triple Frontier
Drew: It’s hard for me to explain what sets Triple Frontier apart from all the other average Netflix action flicks. Is it because it has an exciting cast of five talented actors? Is it because it’s a heist movie that turns into a survival movie? Is it because the soundtrack has Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, and CCR? Yes, yes, and yes. Triple Frontier is the kind of macho action movie that knows it’s a macho action movie and is fine with that fact. The action is thrilling, the performances (Oscar Isaac and Ben Affleck, in particular) are compelling, and there’s even a twist or two to keep you on your toes. I might just go watch it again right now.
Set It Up
Billy: As a precursor to you watching Set It Up please go ahead and watch the wonderful Everybody Wants Some!. Two of the main characters are played by the Set It Up stars Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch. That movie is where I fell in love with both of these actors, so Set It Up could have been terrible and I would have enjoyed it. Luckily this is a fantastic rom-com (yes, CineBoiz, this is a rom-com) that hits every trope in the book, but updates the characters’ personalities to create a refreshing feel. Glen Powell is the king of charisma and one of his first shots as a lead continues to show he needs to be a leading man. Zoey Deutch is in the same category. She is magnetic and vibrant like very few actresses can claim. Set It Up has a fine story with memorable performances that will hopefully create a love for this movie and these actors.
Dolemite Is My Name
Billy: Dolemite Is My Name is a look at the man who helped start a genre of movie that has a dark cloud over it by exploiting racial stereotypes, while at the same time offering lead roles to black actors and actresses. One of the only places that was a reality. Blaxploitation movies are definitely a genre that I was not aware of before Dolemite Is My Name. Occasionally I would hear Quentin Tarantino mention it in interviews, but the cult following and popularity around these movies was a mystery to me. Our lead character Rudy is played by Eddie Murphy and his lifelong goal of being a famous comedian has not been able to take off until he creates the character Dolemite. This persona takes off and his fame gives Rudy the idea to make a movie. The one thing is that he has no idea how to make one. That creates all the tension the audience needs and the hijinks that ensue is entertaining and challenging the entire way through. Plus, seeing Eddie Murphy in a lead role again is always exciting.
Okja
Drew: Bong Joon-ho has been called the modern-day Steven Spielberg. The comparison is often apt, but Bong’s movies tend to be weirder and more subversive than Spielberg. In 2017, two years before he conquered the world with Parasite, Bong took Netflix’s money and delivered a strange yet delightful film about a Korean girl and her genetically modified superpig. Featuring wacky performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Tilda Swinton, Okja is an entertaining romp that also sends a straight message. It’s not a perfect movie, as it veers dangerously close to preachy obviousness. However, it’s another example of Netflix believing in the right filmmaker. In keeping with the Spielberg comp, Okja is Bong’s E.T., just with a weirder, darker sensibility.
The Meyerowitz Stories
Drew: The second Noah Baumbach film on this list, The Meyerowitz Stories is the kind of family dramedy that finds its humor and sadness in the specifics. Each of these characters is so precisely written and acutely performed that they end up feeling just like real people, despite the fact that they are played by incredibly famous actors. Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, and Emma Thompson all sink deep into their characters’ flaws and foibles, to great comical effect. Meanwhile, Adam Sandler delivers a shockingly heartfelt performance as the unemployed father and son that can’t seem to get his life together.
Drew’s list:
Roma
The Irishman
Marriage Story
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Triple Frontier
Okja
The Meyerowitz Stories
High Flying Bird
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Billy’s list:
Roma
The Irishman
Gerald's Game
Marriage Story
Set It Up
Dolemite Is my Name
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Win It All
I Lost My Body
Cam
Links to get you through quarantine
So you couldn’t afford that Hamilton ticket. That’s okay! It was announced this week that the original production of the massive Broadway hit will be available to stream July 3rd on Disney+.
Did you watch Mad Max: Fury Road and wonder how in the world they made that? Five years after its release, the New York Times gives the oral history of the post-apocalyptic action stunner.
The Ringer goes deep on movie monsters like Jason, Godzilla, and Alien in this video essay.
GQ released a celebrity profile of Robert Pattinson in quarantine, with photos he took of himself. It’s a fascinating read on the actor that is set to star in Tenet and The Batman over the coming months.