The 13 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now

Hit Man (2024)

This sexy caper is one of the year’s biggest surprise hits, loosely based on the true story of a mild-mannered psychology professor who’s recruited by the police to catch folks who want to hire a hit man. Glen Powell is hilarious, using his psych background to alter his appearance and persona to suit each would-be criminal — until he meets a sultry young woman (Adria Arjona) whom he manages to persuade to back down from her felonious intentions. Or does he? The final third delivers more twists than a pretzel factory. And director Richard Linklater brings his quirky sensibility to this savvy blend of film noir, buddy cop comedy and screwball romance.

Watch it: Hit Man

His Three Daughters (2024)

Three grown women gather at the New York City deathbed of their father (Jay O. Sanders, 71), where stoner middle child Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) has long served as on-site caregiver. But she’s the source of constant frustration for her two half-sisters, the uptight, rather irascibly judgmental working mom Katie (Carrie Coon) and hippie-ish Christina (Elizabeth Olsen). This remarkable film nails the awkward dynamics of family relationships – especially in the truly transcendent ending.

Watch it: His Three Daughters

Molly’s Game (2017)

Jessica Chastain is sensational in this underrated, fact-based thriller about a well-educated young woman and former Olympic-class skier who shifted into running a series of high-stakes poker games that drew the attention of the FBI. Aaron Sorkin, 63, who picked up an Oscar nod for his screenplay, also made his directing debut on the film, which features his signature rat-a-tat dialog and a starry supporting cast that includes Kevin Costner, 60, Idris Elba, 51, Jeremy Strong and Michael Cera.

Watch it: Molly’s Game

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

After nearly a half century, British comedy troupe’s first full film is not dead yet! The irreverent update of the King Arthur legend is overstuffed with elevated silliness, from killer rabbits to knights who say “Ni!” to swordsmen who won’t quit even after all their limbs have been chopped off.

Watch it: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

My Octopus Teacher (2020)

A man forges an unlikely bond with a wild octopus living in an underwater kelp forest off the coast of South Africa in this Oscar-winning documentary, which is unlike any nature film you’ve seen before. Sure, it’s beautiful to look at. And you learn plenty about cephalopods and their ability to survive even after attacks by pygmy sharks. But Craig Foster also draws lessons from his sea buddy that apply to his relationships on land, proof of just how much we humans can learn from the natural world.

Watch it: My Octopus Teacher

Red (2010)

Retirement has never been quite as fun, or as explosive, as it is for former CIA agents who are drawn back into game for mysterious reasons. It helps that stars Bruce Willis, 60, Morgan Freeman, 87, Helen Mirren, 79, and John Malkovich, 70, all seem to be having a blast firing high-caliber weapons and posing as action stars decades younger. And there’s just enough goofiness to the shoot-‘em-ups to keep the whole thing from plunging into tired pastiche.

Watch it: Red

The Sting (1973)

Four years after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman and Robert Redford reteamed as another pair of deliciously smooth criminals staging moviedom’s best con job ever. From the clever, clockwork plot with its many sudden reversals to composer Marvin Hamlisch’s score that memorably nodded to Scott Joplin, this film is an Oscar-winning treat.

Watch it: The Sting

Wicked Little Letters (2023)

Olivia Colman, 50, stars in this hilarious mystery-comedy loosely based on the true story of a curious crime wave in a seaside town in 1920s England. A prim old maid (Colman) living with her upright church-going parents reports receiving a series of anonymous, foul-mouthed poison-pen letters and accuses a young Irish single mom (Jessie Buckley) with a local rep for blunt speaking. The film is a hoot, unfolding like a Masterpiece production that just happens to turn on a lot of NSFW curse words.

Watch it: Wicked Little Letters

Erin Brockovich (2000)

Julia Roberts adapted her natural rom-com charm to more dramatic purposes in this fact-based Oscar-winning drama, playing a struggling single mom who takes a job in a law firm and turns up an explosive case about a small town’s biggest company contaminating the local water. Plus, Albert Finney is a hoot as her rumpled boss. 

Watch it: Erin Brockovich