100 Best Movies on Netflix Canada Right Now

100 Best Movies on Netflix Canada Right Now

April 25, 2025

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agoodmovietowatch is a database of highly-rated movies. Because of this, we know that while Netflix US may have a larger catalog of titles, Netflix Canada actually has a larger catalog of good titles. Our latest count shows that we have 149 good movies for Netflix Canada, and only 120 for Netflix US (to find all the movies we suggest for Canada go back to the homepage and use the region selector in the top bar to choose your country). When you end up on a list like this, you must be accustomed with the confusion and frustration that come with browsing Netflix aimlessly. From our research, this is caused by two things. First, something called the paradox of choice, where the larger the options you have to choose from the harder it is to choose. Second, recommendation algorithms. A while ago Netflix removed their ratings and replaced them with match percentages. What this means is that if you watched a cop movie, you will have a 100% match record with other cop movies, good or bad. Our solution to both issues is a simple website that has a very limited selection of only good titles. We know they’re good because they’re loved by both critics and viewers at the same time. Below is a list of the best ones currently on Netflix Canada as rated by our users. When you’re done with this list, we highly recommend checking out the 40 Best TV Shows on Netflix Canada You Haven’t Yet Binged.

91. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

7.9

Genres

Drama, Music

Director

George C. Wolfe

Actors

Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo, Daniel Johnson, Dusan Brown

Moods

A-list actors, Character-driven, Discussion-sparking

This adaptation of a tragedy by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson might retain the mostly minimal setting of its source material — two rooms in a Chicago recording studio — but the searing performances at its heart more than warrant the translation to the big screen. A ferocious Viola Davis plays the titular ‘Mother of the Blues’, a fiery artist whose diva-ness is powerfully revealed to be a matching of the same transactional energy with which she’s treated by her white managers. 

On a steamy day in the roaring 1920s, one of Ma’s recording sessions morphs into a tinderbox of debate on art, race, and these exploitative power dynamics that exist at their intersection. As her band awaits her characteristically late arrival, its members tease, and then bicker, and finally erupt at one another. The youngest musician, Levee (Chadwick Boseman), is the most hot-headed — in his older band-mates’ eyes, he’s an arrogant young upstart with delusions of grandeur, but Levee’s ambitions are powered by real pain, as revealed in a blistering monologue. The film is unabashedly stagy in many respects, a quality that can work both ways — but, ultimately, the crackling current that runs through Davis and Boseman’s acting gives the movie all the blazing, goosebump-inducing immediacy of a live performance.

92. A Secret Love (2020)

7.9

Genres

Documentary

Director

Chris Bolan

Actors

Chris Bolan, Diana Bolan, Jack Xagas, John Byrd

Moods

Emotional, Heart-warming, Inspiring

Even when it necessarily tackles the difficulties that are part and parcel of same-sex love in the 20th century, there’s something pleasant about the way A Secret Love is told. The documentary puts Terry and Pat’s love above all else, so even though we hear about how they had to tear the bottom pages of their letters to avoid getting caught, or how they had to split from close family members after coming out, things never feel too heavy or dire because at the end of the day, they’re still together, their decades-old companionship a beautiful example of how love wins. And aside from giving us an intimate look at this rare win for elderly closeted couples, A Secret Love serves as an insightful portrait of elderly life. Terry and Pat, with their perseverance and unyielding support, make aging look beautiful rather than scary. 

93. Nope (2022)

7.9

Genres

Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction

Director

Jordan Peele

Actors

Alex Hyde-White, Andrew Patrick Ralston, Barbie Ferreira, Brandon Perea

Moods

A-list actors, Gripping, Mind-blowing

It’s inspiring to see that, even after Jordan Peele made the jump to blockbuster budgets, he hasn’t lost the ability to evoke the sheer visceral panic of seeing something that isn’t supposed to be there. Nope is that increasingly uncommon kind of film whose dense air of mystery isn’t frustrating—and in fact uses to great effect the very human instinct to understand the unknowable, even if we know it’ll hurt us. Its characters might not be the most three-dimensional and the development of its themes seems to depend on a lot of extrapolation and educated guessing, but the way Nope transforms from alien invasion, to monster movie, to western adventure, to cosmic horror still makes the film much greater than the sum of its parts.

94. Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning (2021)

7.9

Genres

Action, Adventure, Drama

Director

Keishi Otomo

Actors

Eiki Narita, Eita Okuno, Emi Takei, Hoshi Ishida

Moods

Character-driven, Depressing, Dramatic

You don’t need to be familiar with the rest of the Rurouni Kenshin live-action movie series—or the original manga and anime, for that matter—to appreciate The Beginning as a powerful period drama in its own right. This is a story that courses its historical context about a tumultuous time in Japan’s past through a stoic, fearsome protagonist who can’t seem to escape the violence that’s become his only function. And even more impressively, as a prequel, the film keeps a heavy sense of dread about it, even if you’re sure about which characters are meant to survive in order to appear in the previous films. It’s the mark of any great tragedy that even the things that are destined can still feel so painful.

95. The Boy and the Heron (2023)

7.9

Genres

Adventure, Animation, Drama

Director

Hayao Miyazaki

Actors

Aimyon, Jun Fubuki, Jun Kunimura, Kaoru Kobayashi

Moods

Dramatic, Original, Thought-provoking

The Boy and the Heron isn’t Hayao Miyazaki’s best film, nor is it his most accessible, seeing as the director himself has admitted to getting lost in the world he’s built here. But it is his most personal film to date (apparently he’s out of retirement!) and consequently, it’s one of the most complex Ghibli films to exist. It eschews structure for pure, raw emotion so instead of dialogue and plots, you get wonderfully abstract fantasy worlds and protagonists with near-imperceptible depths. You don’t have to get the story to understand the heaviness, grief, joy, and hope that Mahito, and in turn Miyazaki, feel. You only have to see the delicate turns in the characters’ expressions and their wildly imaginative adventures.

96. The Two Popes (2019)

7.9

Genres

Drama, History

Director

Fernando Meirelles

Actors

Achille Brugnini, Alessandro Piavani, Anthony Hopkins, Cecilia Dazzi

Moods

A-list actors, Thought-provoking, True-story-based

You wouldn’t expect two old men discussing God and politics to be deeply intriguing, but I suppose it’s different when you have Hopkins and Pryce leading the whole thing. Nothing overly dramatic happens between the two (those parts are saved for the flashbacks, which are just as compelling), but they manage to make every discussion, every point, and even every word feel heavy with the weight of their guilt and hope. These two are proof that good acting can be carried by the tiniest lilt in tone and shift in gesture. You don’t have to be a Catholic or be interested in God at all to appreciate the great performance and touching vulnerability at the heart of The Two Popes.

97. Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa (2024)

7.8

Genres

Documentary

Director

Female director, Lucy Walker

Actors

Lhakpa Sonam Sherpa, Shiny Dijmarescu, Sunny Dijmarescu

Moods

Heart-warming, Inspiring, Uplifting

Mountain Queen isn’t just a movie about a professional mountain climber, although Lhakpa Sherpa is certainly impressive as she trudges through the deathly terrain of Everest (and at 50 years old at that!). It’s also the heartbreaking story of a broken family in repair. Sherpa reveals shocking details about her abusive husband, fellow climber Gheorghe Dijmărescu, and we see how it’s affected her two daughters, one of which is so hurt, she can’t bring herself to speak to her mother. The main thread of the movie is her 10th attempt to scale the tallest peak in the world, but Director Lucy Walker smartly intercuts this with tales of Sherpa’s own life—a laborious obstacle on its own—rightfully framing Sherpa as the strong woman that she is.

98. Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024)

7.8

Genres

Animation, Fantasy, Horror

Director

Kenji Nakamura

Actors

Aoi Yuki, Haruka Tomatsu, Hiroshi Kamiya, Jun Fukuyama

Moods

Action-packed, Discussion-sparking, Intense

While based on the Mononoke series, which is in turn, a spin-off of Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, it might seem that Mononoke The Movie: The Phantom in the Rain would require some background reading for people new to the story. Thankfully, there’s no need to do homework for this beautifully designed masterpiece, as the Medicine Seller takes on a new case with every installment. 2024’s Phantom in the Rain (also known as Paper Umbrella) unfolds its world with ease, with doors opening and closing to a select few for a high-pressure, hierarchical imperial household. Immediately, the visuals are stunning, with traditional ukiyo ink and paper mixed with modern kaleidoscopic fill and movement, but even without the gorgeous art, the first Mononoke movie works with its eerie horror, intense sound design, and a compelling mystery driven by court intrigue and vengeful spirits.

99. When Marnie Was There (2014)

7.8

Genres

Animation, Drama, Family

Director

Hiromasa Yonebayashi, James Simone

Actors

Hana Sugisaki, Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Hiroyuki Morisaki, Hitomi Kuroki

Moods

Emotional, Sweet, Tear-jerker

Studio Ghibli is best known for their fantastical worldbuilding, but on occasion, they veer into the mundane domestic day-to-day life that might not be as extravagant, but is no less emotionally resonant. At first glance, it seemed like When Marnie Was There would be that kind of small town drama. A young kid moves to the countryside, exploring the new place, seemed to be just another familiar Ghibli protagonist, albeit this time in the wetlands of Hokkaido. But, as Anna befriends another in an abandoned mansion, and keeps being found unconscious by the grass, writer-director Hiromasa Yonebayashi crafts a sense of mystery around her friend that eventually resolves Anna’s loneliness in an unexpected fantastical way. When Marnie Was There might not be one of Ghibli’s most known films, but it nonetheless holds its signature magic of cathartic cartoon animation.

100. Butterfly in the Sky (2024)

7.8

Genres

Documentary

Director

Bradford Thomason, Brett Whitcomb

Actors

Angela Bassett, Cecily Truett, Dean Parisot, Ed Wiseman

Moods

Discussion-sparking, Inspiring, Thought-provoking

For the longest time, television seemed to be the antithesis to reading– part of that belief still lingers to this day. However, just before the turn of the millennium, there was a show that didn’t find itself opposite to it, instead, it wanted to be its ally. That show was Reading Rainbow. Butterfly in the Sky tells its story. It’s quite nostalgic, as the show’s former cast and crew recall what it was like, and the way the film structured its sequences captures not just the show itself, but the cultural weight it represented, as it encouraged reading not just as a skill you need to learn, but as a way to interact with the wider world around us, which is worth protecting. Butterfly in the Sky believes in stories, and believes in the story that it wants to tell about Reading Rainbow.

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