50 Best Movies On Netflix You Haven’t Yet Seen

50 Best Movies On Netflix You Haven’t Yet Seen

November 8, 2024

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It is very easy to become lost in Netflix land and believe you’ve already seen everything worth watching. Rest assured, there is very little chance you have. For the second time we have curated a list of the best movie suggestions on Netflix: the best highly-rated, little-known titles available to stream. This is a list we update almost every week to adjust for new arrivals and expired titles.

agoodmovietowatch is your gateway to on-demand streaming services, but instead of recommending the same movies to you you’ve been hearing about for the past 20 years, we focus on the good ones that were overlooked. This way we introduce you to movies you haven’t yet seen, that you can watch immediately and love. To do this, we only recommend movies that have received a high rating from viewers combined with a high score from critics. This means that these movies have been appreciated by both, so you can trust that they’re awesome. We also only suggest movies that didn’t make a huge splash at the box office or which didn’t get the attention they deserved, so there is little chance you have already seen them. Below we count down again our best movie suggestions available to stream on Netflix Instant America. For other countries, visit agoodmovietowatch.com/netflix and use the region selector in the top bar to switch to your geography.

31. Upgrade (2018)

8.7

Country

Australia, United States of America

Director

Leigh Whannell

Actors

Abby Craden, Arthur Angel, Benedict Hardie, Betty Gabriel

This film really satisfied my craving for an original thriller, despite the fact that I spent most of it thinking about how Logan Marshall-Green looks like a budget Tom Hardy.

He plays a guy whose wife is killed during a violent mugging that also leaves him paralyzed in the aftermath. When a billionaire approaches him with an Artificial Intelligence solution that would “upgrade” his body, he has a chance to take vengeance.

This is Robocop meets Ex Machina meets Blade Runner. It’s original, low-budget without feeling low-budget, and honestly just so thrilling. It gives the genre of sci-fi a much needed upgrade.

32. Waves (2019)

best

8.7

Country

Canada, United States of America, USA Canada

Director

Trey Edward Shults

Actors

Alexa Demie, Avis-Marie Barnes, Bill Wise, Carter Harcek

Moods

Gripping, Slice-of-Life, Suspenseful

A beautifully shot movie about a high-schooler who’s pushed by his father to always work and exercise the hardest. He aces his exams and always wins at wrestling, but nothing is ever good enough for the father and there is no margin for error. When things with both his body and his relationship start going wrong, his existence comes crashing down. This movie has two parts, and it takes a lot of narrative risks, but the beautiful camera work and believable characters land every single risk. It’s an incredible achievement and a movie that should have gotten much more attention than it did.

33. Living (2022)

best

8.7

Country

Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom

Director

Oliver Hermanus

Actors

Adrian Rawlins, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Barney Fishwick

Moods

Dramatic, Emotional, Heart-warming

Adapted from the Japanese film Ikiru, which in turn was adapted from the Russian story The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Living is a parable about, well, living. Specifically, it’s about the importance of wonder and the magic of the mundane. It’s also about legacy and the stories we leave in our wake, which live on long after we’re gone. This familiar premise could have very easily been turned into another trite and cheesy movie that warns you to make the most out of your life, but thanks to a lean script, assured camerawork, and powerfully restrained performances, Living is elevated into something more special than that. It’s a technically beautiful, well told, and profoundly moving film, with Bill Nighy giving a career-best turn as a repressed man aching for meaning in his twilight years. 

34. Margin Call (2011)

best

8.6

Country

United States of America

Director

J. C. Chandor

Actors

Aasif Mandvi, Al Sapienza, Ashley Williams, Demi Moore

Moods

A-list actors, Instructive, Thought-provoking

A thoughtful drama about the financial crisis, Margin Call is gripping. Seriously, even something as convoluted as the 2008 global economic meltdown is not only accessible and understandable, but it’s gripping. Margin Call transports you to the heart of Wall Street, both the financial institutions and the street, literally. It is exciting, well-acted and informative. Uh, also: Kevin Spacey.

35. Nightcrawler (2014)

best

8.6

Country

United States of America

Director

Dan Gilroy

Actors

Alex Ortiz, Ann Cusack, Bill Blair, Bill Paxton

Moods

A-list actors, Challenging, Character-driven

The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, an impromptu freelance videographer who begins covering the crime world in LA for a local TV station. Almost as dark as a mystery can get, it is disturbing, and plays out as a combination of “Drive” and “The Network”. The film is visually stunning as well as immensely suspenseful. It then becomes almost impossible to look away, even when you’re the most horrified by just how far Bloom is willing to go to reach success. Gyllenhaal’s performance is widely compared to that of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, which should give you an idea of its caliber.

36. The Disaster Artist (2017)

best

8.6

Country

United States of America

Director

James Franco

Actors

Adam Scott, Adwin Brown, Alison Brie, Amechi Okocha

Moods

A-list actors, Easy, Funny

A hilarious and smart comedy that is almost impossible to hate. It doesn’t matter if you liked The Room or not; or if you’ve even heard of it, you will find The Disaster Artist extremely enjoyable. Same applies for James Franco, it’s irrelevant if you think he’s the hottest man walking or a complete waste of screen-time – this movie is better approached without any preconceived ideas. It follows the true events surrounding Tommy Wiseau’s making of The Room, a movie so bad it actually became a worldwide hit. Tommy’s character, played by Franco, is 100% mystery. He pops out of nowhere and does and says things that contain little to no logic. Capitalizing on this, the movie is both absolutely hilarious and intriguing from beginning to end.

37. Leave No Trace (2018)

best

8.6

Country

Canada, United States of America

Director

Debra Granik, Female director

Actors

Alyssa McKay, Art Hickman, Ayanna Berkshire, Ben Foster

Moods

Character-driven, Touching, Well-acted

Leave No Trace is the amazing new movie from the director of Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik. It’s the story of a father and his daughter who live completely off the grid in a national park in Portland, and their quiet quest to not be separated and remain off the grid. It’s not the sensational, tear-jerker story that you’d expect something with this premise to be. Rather, and like Winter’s Bone, it chooses a humane and realistic approach to the subject matter. The decision to live outside society is almost irrelevant to this movie. More so, its inevitability for certain people with certain mindsets is what is interesting. A stunningly quiet movie, really well-acted too.

38. Vera Drake (2004)

best

8.6

Country

France, UK, United Kingdom

Director

Mike Leigh

Actors

Adrian Scarborough, Alan Williams, Alex Kelly, Allan Corduner

Moods

Depressing, Tear-jerker, Thought-provoking

Mike Leigh’s forthright and compassionate depiction of working-class life extends to his period pieces as well. Imelda Staunton is remarkable as Vera Drake, a housekeeper in 1950’s London who quietly performs abortions on the side.

Leigh’s vigilant portrayal of class highlights the stark divide between abortion access for the poor and what is offered to the rich. The storytelling is simple and straightforward, he doesn’t over-sentimentalize or grandstand, but merely depicts conditions as they were. Meanwhile, Staunton’s Vera oozes so much fullness, warmth, and empathy, that the heartbreak that follows is mercilessly palpable. 

39. Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

best

8.5

Country

United Kingdom, United States of America

Director

Marc Forster

Actors

Andrew Rothenberg, Bob Papenbrook, Bradley Mott, Bruce Jarchow

Will Ferrell plays a well organized IRS agent named Harold Crick who seems to have figured out everything in his life to the dot. Little does he know his life is being run by someone else, a nervous and morbid novelist, famous for ending her works with the death of the main character. As the nature of his life and eventual doom, he decides to lay back and enjoy the ride, breaking all his ingrained and boring habits. While this film is recommended for everyone, Will Ferrel fans, especially, need to watch this to see Will’s acting variety.

40. Stand By Me (1986)

best

8.5

Country

United States of America

Director

Rob Reiner

Actors

Bradley Gregg, Bruce Kirby, Casey Siemaszko, Chance Quinn

Moods

Character-driven, Discussion-sparking, Dramatic

Stand By Me follows four young friends as they journey around their small town searching for a rumored dead body. On the surface, it moves like an adventure story. The boys narrowly avoid guard dogs and leeches, speeding trains and tough teen gangs. But along the way, they also learn much about each other, in particular about the stark reality of their home lives and the growing depths of their inner struggles, so that beneath all the small-time thrill is a beating coming-of-age story. 

Based on a novella by horror master Stephen King, Stand By Me is terrifying in its ability to evoke the unique thorniness of passing through the gates of adulthood, but also warm and comforting in its reminder of the universality of this feeling.

Comments

S
shrek

Cargo is a great hidden gem on netflix

A
Anonymous

Burning is another gem in this list, highly highly recommended.

A
Anonymous

Safety not guaranteed is a hidden gem – highly recommended.

A
Anonymous

nice family movies on net flix

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