Looking for something worth watching right now? With thousands of TV shows and good movies on Netflix to choose from, finding the perfect film on the best streaming service can be a real pain. Good thing we’ve gone and done some extensive research for you and found the best Netflix movies to stream right now.
If you’re looking for films to watch on other platforms, we’ve also found the best Amazon Prime movies, the best Hulu movies, and the best Disney+ movies for July 2021.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
In arguably the best James Cameron movie and the best Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, the machines of Skynet are at it again. One of the many great sequels in film history, Terminator 2: Judgement Day is an encore that takes this sci-fi story above and beyond. Spoiler alert: After the first terminator failed to destroy the Connor family line in The Terminator, another is reprogrammed and sent back in the sequel to protect a young John Connor from a new and terrifying threat: a liquid metal T-1000 (Robert Patrick), which is a more efficient killing machine in every way possible.
Director: James Cameron
Main cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
Runtime: 137 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.5
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
In one of Clint Eastwood’s best directed and acted films, Million Dollar Baby is a sports drama with unimaginable depth and shattering tragedy. An aging and bitter boxing coach named Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) is pestered by a young woman named Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) to teach her to fight. Reluctant at first to train her — partly because she’s a woman but also for deeper, darker reasons — he eventually gives her a chance and trains her to fight because it’s all she wants to do.
Directors: Clint Eastwood
Main cast: Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman
Runtime: 132 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Zombieland (2009)
Bloody, boisterous, and brazen, Zombieland is a zombie movie made for absolute carnage and all-out fun. As a young man (Jesse Eisenberg), who grew up antisocial and with no real connections, finds himself in a zombie apocalypse, and we learn of his obsessive list of rules as he tries to experience new things like love and family amid the ruckus.
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Main Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson
Runtime: 88 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Ip Man (2008)
When Japanese forces invade China during WWII, a wealthy and respected Wing Chun Kung Fu master called Ip Man (Donnie Yen) is forced to leave his home and survive on the Japanese-occupied streets of Foshan. This is a biographical tale of Wing Chun grand master Ip Man (Bruce Lee’s mentor), this film focuses on the events that may have taken place during that time. Due to its historical ode and its epic fighting scenes, this has topped our list of the best kung fu movies ever.
Director: Wilson Yip
Main Cast: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan
Runtime: 106 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Mank (2020)
With more Oscar nominations in 2021 than any other film, Mank held 10 nominations and is a film feat of historic proportions. Herman J. “Mank” Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) is given a deadline to finish the screenplay for Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, and must also deal with old Hollywood politics, corruption, and debilitating alcoholism. Filmed in a style reminiscent of the classic Welles films — for which it won best cinematography and production design — this film goes above and beyond its goals, and is one of David Fincher’s best films to date.
Director: David Fincher
Main Cast: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins
Runtime: 131 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.0
Extraction (2020)
Lots of violence and big explosions, Extraction is a whole lot of fun and one of the best-choreographed stunt works of last year. When black-market mercenary Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is hired to save an imprisoned warlord’s son, the stakes rise exponentially as more and more local gunrunners and traffickers learn of the situation. Fulfilling the vision of veteran stunt coordinator/first-time director Sam Hargrave is quite an accomplishment, which makes it a contender for one of the best Chris Hemsworth movies — if you don’t include the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Director: Sam Hargrave
Main Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Bryon Lerum, Ryder Lerum
Runtime: 116 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
Based on a play by August Wilson comes a fictionalized story of the very real “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey, as she and her band show us the faces of music, oppression, and soul. A difficult and heart-wrenching plot is just one of the many things that make this film a must-see for everyone, showing the audience that Ma Rainey cannot be controlled by the domineering studio figureheads, even in a time of extreme racial tension. Nominated for the incredible acting in leading role performances by the late and great Chadwick Boseman (his last role), and the powerfully emotional Viola Davis, this treasure won best costume design and best makeup and hairstyling in this year’s Academy Awards.
Director: George C. Wolfe
Main Cast: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman
Runtime: 94 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.0
The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021)
If you’re looking for a new family comedy on Netflix, The Mitchells vs. The Machines checks all the right boxes. The plot follows a quirky and dysfunctional family with some generational communication struggles. When the father (Danny McBride) decides to take a road trip to reconnect with his daughter (Abbi Jacobson), they find themselves stuck in a car together as the only humans who can stop the sudden robot apocalypse.
Directors: Michael Rianda, Jeff Rowe
Main Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph
Runtime: 113 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.8
6 Underground (2019)
No need to add this to your list of best Ryan Reynolds movies, or any “best-of” list for that matter, but it’s a great visual spectacle if you’re familiar with Michael Bay’s line of work. Six individuals with exceptional skills are handpicked to delete their past and devote their lives to foiling the intent of supervillains, free from the restrictions of typical well-doers that could well start a world war with this behavior.
Director: Michael Bay
Main Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Mélanie Laurent, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Runtime: 128 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.1
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Available in the original 168-minute slow burn, or the extended version cut into episodes, The Hateful Eight is definitely one of Quentin Tarantino’s best films. An unlikely group of Old West strangers ends up stranded in a cabin during a harsh snowstorm, but nothing is as it seems in this situation. Full of expected violence and witty banter, this film leans heavily toward the latter, leaving some audiences impatient with its suspense.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Main Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Runtime: 168 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (2017)
This incredibly powerful and reality-bending Netflix documentary chronicles the filming and acting processes behind the film Man on the Moon, where Jim Carrey delves deeply into his own psyche years after his spiritual and mental separation from the “character” of Jim Carrey and into the characters Andy Kaufman and Tony Clifton. Throughout this film, we see hours and hours of behind-the-scenes footage on set, where Carrey (Kaufman) loses his perception of self and even experiences visceral, tear-jerking moments with the real people who were close to Kaufman. This film is one of the best Jim Carrey movies to learn about him as an actor, a character, and a vessel, all of which become ambiguously melded together in a somewhat melancholic showing of sheer talent and wavering identity.
Directors: Chris Smith
Main Cast: Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Milos Forman
Runtime: 94 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Superbad (2007)
A crude and endlessly classic comedy on Netflix, Superbad is probably the most popular work of comedy produced by writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg in their prime. Two sexually obsessed high school students Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) and their strange friend Fogel (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), are not the coolest in school, but when they get a chance to supply a party with alcohol, every inconvenience imaginable will stand in their way. Written at a very young age (and refined at a later date) about their own personal high school experience, this is a fine story describing how and where Rogen and Goldberg undoubtedly developed their sense of humor as the not-so-cool kids.
Directors: Greg Mottola
Main Cast: Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Runtime: 113 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Uncut Gems (2019)
A Safdie brothers treasure, Uncut Gems is an emotional and gritty thriller starring the unlikely Adam Sandler, who shines in a new genre of torrential anxiety. With a legendary score designed to keep the audience’s rapt attention, we follow a crafty, talkative jeweler through the streets of New York as he attempts to win big, or else lose it all.
Director: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
Main Cast: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Idina Menzel
Runtime: 135 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.4
The Irishman (2019)
This meandering story follows Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a former labor union official and hitman as he recalls his past. With an emphasis on the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), this biographical crime drama definitely is worth a watch.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Main Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci
Runtime: 210 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.9
Marriage Story (2019)
This Netflix Original movie is a beautiful look into just how complicated marriage and family can be, dissecting a husband and wife in the middle of a divorce. But Marriage Story isn’t all doom and gloom, it’s an emotional story that shows that divorce doesn’t have to mean the family can’t stay together.
Director: Noah Baumbach
Main Cast: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson
Runtime: 137 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Always Be My Maybe (2019)
If you’re looking for a good romantic comedy on Netflix, Always Be My Maybe is a great place to start. The story follows Sasha (Ali Wong) and Marcus (Randall Park), two people who everyone assumed would end up together. Reconnecting after 15 years apart, they begin to think maybe they are meant to be.
Director: Nahnatchka Khan
Main Cast: Ali Wong, Randall Park, James Saito
Runtime: 101 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.8
The Social Dilemma (2020)
What are the effects of social networks on the human psyche? This Netflix documentary is a terrifying look inside how and why tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Google operate in the way they do. You get to hear from tech experts in different fields discussing the negative impact and polarizing nature of these attention-grabbing algorithms they created.
Director: Jeff Orlowski
Main cast: Tristan Harris, Jeff Seibert, Bailey Richardson
Runtime: 94 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.9
Dolemite is My Name (2019)
This comedy follows the true-life story of Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy), a washed-up musician who transforms himself into a cult star. Dolemite is My Name is unlike any Eddie Murphy you may have seen but his top-notch performance will still have you laughing in this dramedy.
Director: Craig Brewer
Main Cast: Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, Keegan-Michael Key
Runtime: 90 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
This classic 1970s British comedy from Monty Python, considered to be one of the best comedies of all time, follows King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his Knights of the Round Table as they embark on a low-budget and absolutely absurd search for the holy grail. Comedy ensues as this medieval group of soldiers encounters a plethora of silly obstacles in their quest for greatness.
Directors: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
Main cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle
Runtime: 92 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.2
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
This action-comedy is unlike any other. Faced with the prospect of new love, Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) must face his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes in battle in an effort to win her heart. If you like witty comedies with a dash of action, then dive into the world of Scott Pilgrim.
Director: Edgar Wright
Main Cast: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin
Runtime:112 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.5
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