Top Ten Must-Watch Films on Netflix
Marissa Tandon ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
So, you’ve watched all the big blockbusters and it’s the beginning of a brand new semester. It’s the perfect time for a new binge watch list. Here are ten films on Netflix that require a fair bit of digging to find, but are more than worth putting your paper off for a couple hours.
1. Warrior
Runtime: 140 mins.
Make sure you have tissues at the ready before queuing this one up. Warrior follows two estranged brothers, Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton) and Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) as they work their way through a MMA tournament. The lump sum that comes with victory would mean different things to each of the brothers–a way out of financial troubles for family-man Brendan, and a surprisingly touching motivation for Tommy–but the road to the final round comes with an emotional ride for the ages. These two brothers may not choose to meet in life anymore, but they may be forced to meet in the ring.
2. Bo Burnham: What
Runtime: 60 mins.
Bo Burnham’s first claim to fame was a series of viral YouTube videos he recorded while in high school. After turning into an Internet sensation, Burnham became the youngest comedian to record an hour-long special, Words, Words, Words, for HBO. What. shows incredible growth from his beginnings. The hour-long special tests the conventions of traditional stand-up comedy, bending the rules to offer both laughter and introspection. What will do more than make you laugh, it’ll make you think.
3. Blackfish
Runtime: 83 mins.
Blackfish, the most recent documentary about Sea World’s behind-the-scenes dealings, has been making a huge splash lately. The documentary chronicles Sea World’s history from their beginning, how they acquired their orcas, and explores the effects of the animals living in captivity, which may have led to trainer deaths. Through interviews with many former Sea World trainers and a whale researcher, Blackfish will make you rethink every fun trip you had to see Shamu.
4. The Cabin in the Woods
Runtime: 95 mins.
If you loved The Avengers, Firefly, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, next on your list should be Joss Whedon’s foray into horror, The Cabin in the Woods. You will probably laugh more than scream as you follow five friends, Dana (Kristen Connolly), Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Jules (Anna Hutchinson), Marty (Fran Kranz), and Holden (Jesse Williams) to a cabin that plays on C-rate horror flicks. Whedon crafts a humorous spin on the horror genre as each character finds themselves slipping into typical character tropes as everything goes wrong.
5. The Artist
Runtime: 100 mins.
In 2012, The Artist won five Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score) and the film deserved every single one of them. The Artist is a silent film shot entirely in black and white, paying a great homage to the silent-film era.
6. High Road
Runtime: 87 mins.
High Road follows Glenn “Fitz” Fitzgerald (James Pumphrey), a professional stoner/would-be drug dealer with a little less apathy, and teenager Jimmy (Dylan O’Brien) on a road trip from L.A. to Oakland. The film was mostly improvised, and the script was only 65 scene outlines that detailed basic settings and goals as well as characters involved. The result was an outrageous stoner comedy that holds true to Murphy’s Law at every turn. If you liked Pineapple Express, give High Road a try.
7. The Boondock Saints
Runtime: 108 mins.
The Boondock Saints follows the MacManus twins, Connor MacManus (Sean Patrick Flannery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) on their vigilante mission to rid Boston of crime. At the same time, they rise in infamy as criminals themselves, hunted down by FBI agent Paul Smecker (William Dafoe). If you liked The Town, try out The Boondock Saints.
8. Pulp Fiction
Runtime: 154 mins.
No must-watch list is complete without a Tarantino film, and Netflix offers one of his best: Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction sticks to Quentin Tarantino’s non-linear story structure, telling the intersecting tales of mobsters, a boxer, and petty thieves all out of chronological order. With an all-star cast including John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Christopher Walken, and Bruce Willis, it is no wonder Pulp Fiction is famed as a cult classic.
9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Runtime: 104 mins.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a classic that debuted in 1988. It was one of the first films to cross cartoon animation with live-action acting, and stars Bob Hoskins, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer, and Christopher Lloyd. Think Space Jam with a little less basketball and a little more detectives and crime.
10. The Breakfast Club
Runtime: 97 mins.
Director John Hughes was considered the voice of teenagers in the 80’s, but The Breakfast Club is a classic that will endure for generations to come. Whether you’re a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, or a criminal, you will quickly find yourself wrapped up in this fun, quirky tale of unlikely friendship.
Some classics there. Warrior is ace, Blackfish is brilliant but depressing and the likes of Pulp Fiction and The Breakfast Club are obviously just stone wall classics!