10 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now (February 2020)

10 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now (February 2020)

Trying to find the best movie to watch on Netflix can be a daunting challenge. We’ve all been there. You’ve decided you’re going to watch something. You have the entirety of Netflix at your disposal, including even a pared down list of films you’ve already bookmarked to watch at a future date. But then there’s the choosing. You’ve gotta find something that fits your mood, or something you and your friend/significant other/couch companion can agree on. You spend hours browsing, and by the time you stumble on something you think maybe is the one, it’s too late, you’re too tired, and indecision has won out.

Never fear, though, because we here at Collider have a guide to help you find the perfect Netflix movies. We’ve thumbed through the library and assembled a list of some of the best films currently available for streaming, from classics to hidden gems to new releases and beyond. This list of the best movies on Netflix is updated weekly with all-new choices, so be sure to return the next time you’re looking for something great to watch.

Inception

Director/Writer: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt

After making one of the most critically acclaimed superhero movies in history with The Dark Knight, filmmaker Christopher Nolan set out to test whether Hollywood could still bet big on original ideas with his expensive 2010 sci-fi actioner Inception. To the tune of $828.3 million at the box office and multiple Oscar nominations, audiences and critics alike responded enthusiastically, and thus a new classic was born. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a professional thief haunted by his past who takes on one last job. The catch? His heists take place inside people’s minds, as he’s tasked with either stealing or planting information in someone’s head. Inception is a visually stunning affair that also boasts one of the most exciting endings in recent memory. – Adam Chitwood

Steve Jobs

Director: Danny Boyle

Writer: Aaron Sorkin

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jeff Daniels

One of the most underrated films of the 2010s, Steve Jobs is not the movie you think it is. Aaron Sorkin has crafted the anti-biopic—the encapsulation of a man’s life without actually showing the highlights of his life. The film is structured in three acts that play out in real time, focusing on three major Apple events. The first is the launch of the Macintosh computer, the second is the launch of NeXT, and the third is the launch of the iMac. Each act is like a mini-play, but the backstage goings-on reveal so much about Steve Jobs the man through Michael Fassbender’s phenomenal performance. It’s a thrillingly inventive way to make a “biopic,” and sadly many missed this one when it hit theaters. Entertaining, funny, and ultimately insightful, Steve Jobs is an underrated gem. – Adam Chitwood

Marriage Story

Director/Writer: Noah Baumbach

Cast: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, and Ray Liotta

Fair warning: Marriage Story will wreck you. But it’s also not just one of the best films of 2019, it’s the best film Noah Baumbach has ever made. The story chronicles the process of divorce from separation to finalization, with Adam Driver playing the successful theater director husband and Scarlett Johansson playing the successful actress wife. Complicating matters is the fact that the couple shares a child, but the brilliance of Baumbach’s film is that it tells the story from both points of view, so no matter which side you fall on in the end, you have deep empathy for both individuals. Driver and Johansson give career-best performances as Baumbach writes full-bodied, complex individuals—you know, like actual human beings. And with regards to the subject matter, Baumbach vividly showcases how the voices of the two individuals—and the love they previously shared—get lost in the actual process of divorcing. Heartbreaking and deeply human, Marriage Story is not to be missed. – Adam Chitwood

The Long Kiss Goodnight

Director: Renny Harlin

Writer: Shane Black

Cast: Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, David Morse and Brian Cox

If it’s a straight-up 90s action-thriller you’re in the mood for, you can’t go wrong with The Long Kiss Goodnight. Scripted by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), the film opens with a woman named Samantha (Geena Davis) living a domesticated life despite having awoken with amnesia eight years previously. With no recollection of who she was before, but also three months pregnant, she forged a new life for herself in a quiet little town. But a car accident begins to awaken Samantha to her previous life as a deadly spy, and she sets out with a private detective (Samuel L. Jackson) to uncover her past. The movie is witty, thrilling, and wildly engaging, as Davis essentially gets to play two characters in one. – Adam Chitwood

Catch Me If You Can

Director: Steven Spielberg

Writer: Jeff Nathanson

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, and Amy Adams

Catch Me If You Can is lowkey one of Steven Spielberg’s best films that also boasts one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performances and one of John Williams’ best scores—and all of that is saying something. Based on a true story, DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale Jr., who became a professional con man by the age of 19, earning millions of dollars while trotting around the globe. But at heart, Catch Me If You Can is the story of a father and a son, and is actually one of Spielberg’s most personal films he’s ever made—it was directly influenced by Spielberg learning new information about his father’s divorce. But this movie is also an absolute blast. – Adam Chitwood

Black Panther

Director: Ryan Coogler

Writers: Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole

Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis, and Martin Freeman

Marvel Studios has an excellent track record of crafting supremely entertaining movies, but Black Panther marks the MCU’s most mature, ambitious, and thematically complete film yet. Creed and Fruitvale Station filmmaker Ryan Coogler digs into themes of isolationism and what it mean to be black in America within the context of an extremely exciting, visually enthralling superhero action film. That in and of itself makes Black Panther noteworthy, but the film also boasts terrific performances from folks like Letitia Wright and Lupita Nyong’o, while Michael B. Jordan brings to life one of the MCU’s best and most emotionally complex villains to date. Black Panther is a stunning achievement for Marvel, and it’s one well worth revisiting just to soak in the attention to detail—both in terms of superheroics and complex themes—that Coogler threads throughout. – Adam Chitwood

Something's Gotta Give

Director/Writer: Nancy Meyers

Cast: Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand, and Amanda Peet

Nancy Meyers makes very nice movies, and Something’s Gotta Give certainly fits that bill. The 2003 romantic comedy stars Diane Keaton as a successful playwright who is forced to look after her daughter’s much-older boyfriend (Jack Nicholson) after a heart attack, and against all odds these two complete opposites begin to attract. The film has the wit and humor of Meyers’ other films, but also a strong emotional center as the story of a successful 50-something single woman. Keaton and Nicholson are both pretty terrific here, and as with all of Meyers’ films, the house at the center of it is to die for. This is a great pick for a feel-good movie. – Adam Chitwood

Rounders

Director: John Dahl

Writers: David Levien and Brian Koppelman

Cast: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Malkovich, John Turturro, Gretchen Mol, Famke Janssen, and Martin Landau

A 90s classic that didn’t quite get the love it deserved, Rounders is incredibly entertaining. Written by the guys who created and run the Showtime series Billions, the film stars Matt Damon as a gifted poker player who must team up with his friend to win high-stakes poker in order to quickly repay a massive debt to a dangerous mobster. Damon and Edward Norton are excellent together, and John Malkovich gives a deliciously over-the-top performance. This movie is tons of fun. – Adam Chitwood

Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

Director/Writer: Quentin Tarantino

Cast: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Vivca A. Fox, Michael Masen, Sonny Chiba, and Gordon Liu

Quentin Tarantino’s magnum opus Kill Bill is not just a love letter to kung fu movies, it’s a tribute to every single genre that ever influenced the iconic writer/director. While Volume 1 is certainly more focused on the individual fights and Volume 2 is a more melancholic revenge story, the two-part saga allows Tarantino to dabble in genres as disparate as Spaghetti Western, horror, slapstick comedy, family drama, and of course romance. And while the Kill Bill movies have turned out to be somewhat divisive in QT’s filmography as a whole, if you’re in the mood for a double dose of cinema from a filmmaker who loves movies with every fiber of his being, you really can’t go wrong with Kill Bill.

The Irishman

Director: Martin Scorsese

Writer: Steven Zaillian

Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci

Don’t be daunted by the 3.5-hour runtime on The Irishman. Martin Scorsese’s epic about the life of Teamster and hitman Frank Sheeran flies by as it morphs from entertaining mob story to a powerful mediation on life, age, and regret. Sheeran (Robert De Niro) tells us his life story of being friends with mobster Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) and Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) and how these friendships converged into deadly consequences with Frank stuck in the middle. The movie discards the glamour of films like Goodfellas and Casino and instead focuses on the slow decay of a man who has always seen himself as a good soldier when really all he has to offer is violence and selfishness. Far from “just another mob movie” from Scorsese, The Irishman is a powerful look at your twilight years and reflecting on the choices you’ve made in life. It’s among Scorsese’s best. – Matt Goldberg