50 Best Movies On Netflix You Haven’t Yet Seen

50 Best Movies On Netflix You Haven’t Yet Seen

November 22, 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. Chronicle of a Disappearance (1996)

best

8.4

Country

Belgium, France, Germany

Director

Elia Suleiman

Actors

Ali Suliman, Elia Suleiman, Fawaz Eilemi, Fuad Suleiman

Moods

Discussion-sparking, Funny, Original

The debut feature by Palestine’s most well-known director, Chronicle of a Disappearance is an unusual movie about the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict in that it’s closer to absurdist comedy than anything else. The only physical violence we see here are men cat-fighting in the street or arm-wrestling each other in cafes, and Israeli presence is limited to a couple of bumbling police officers. Chronicle is full of slapstick cinema touches — right down to the Buster Keaton-esque eyes of director Elia Suleiman, who appears here as a silent wanderer — and yet we feel the bitter reality of the occupation framing every deadpan gag. 

Structured as a series of vignettes, Chronicle’s loose form is both a way to depict the stagnation and dry repetition in which Palestinians are stuck and a wry metaphor for all this listlessness. Suleiman speaks plainly in some chapters — such as the one following a woman who is repeatedly turned down from renting an apartment in Jerusalem because she’s Arab — and more obliquely in others, forcing you to recall the movie’s setting to understand his often-understated commentary. A singular film from an utterly unique director, Chronicle of a Disappearance is both a portrait of a country’s erosion and a quietly defiant act of resistance.

32. Election (1999)

best

8.3

Country

Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America

Director

Alexander Payne

Actors

B.J. Tobin, Chris Klein, Colleen Camp, Delaney Driscoll

Starring Matthew Broderick and a young Reese Witherspoon as, respectively, Jim McAllister, a high school teacher and Tracy Flick, a notorious ‘that girl’ in his class. When Tracy decides to run for class president, we see the floodgates open as all sorts of bizarre and insane behavior pours out of the two. Quickly, it becomes clear that Tracy will do nearly anything to win, and as circumstances spiral out of control, madness descends – along with hilarity!

33. The Florida Project (2017)

best

8.3

Country

United Kingdom, United States of America

Director

Sean Baker

Actors

Aiden Malik, Andrew Romano, Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince

Moods

Heart-warming, Touching

Every once in a while there are movies that expand the definition of quality film-making. This is one of those movies.

Here is an incredible, yet delicate film that follows three children from poor families who are stuck living in subpar motels. Their lives and friendships are portrayed with honesty and precise aesthetics. It’s a story that at first seems as plot-free as life itself.

It succeeds in capturing an innocence that is usually reserved to a child’s imagination: a precarious living condition full of adventures and fun. It’s hard to describe it beyond that; it’s the kind of film that must be seen to be fully understood.

And it ends on a very high note.

34. The Bleeding Edge

best

8.3

Country

Australia, United States of America

Director

Kirby Dick

Actors

Angie Firmalino, Kirby Dick

Moods

Depressing, Discussion-sparking, Sunday

The 400 billion (!) dollar industry of medical devices is director Kirby Dick’s latest fascination (Oscar winner Twist of Faith, Oscar nominated The Invisible War). This is one of those documentaries that will raise your awareness about a topic from 0 to I-should-do-something, as the number of victims and the negative impacts these devices are having are astounding. Of course, just like with any other careless American industries, greed, money, and lobbying are the culprits. This is an important watch that will probably come in very handy when you or a close one needs a medical device.

35. Tangerine (2015)

best

8.3

Country

United States of America

Director

Sean Baker

Actors

Alla Tumanian, Ana Foxxx, Arsen Grigoryan, Chelcie Lynn

Moods

Character-driven, Funny, Raw

What’s great about this highly inventive film is that it doesn’t look like it was shot through three iPhone 5s. Instead of using shaky cameras and static shots, Tangerine glides us through saturated, orange-toned scenes that evoke the Los Angeles sunset. Launching director Sean Baker into prominence, Tangerine is an innovative film that, at heart, is a nuanced comedy about the trans sex worker community. Newcomers Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor run the show, and their performances create a vivid, electric drive that powers the whole movie. But it’s the quieter moments, the moments after betrayal, the moments of recovery, that make this movie truly special.

36. The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (2024)

best

8.3

Country

Norway

Director

Benjamin Ree

Actors

Elena Pitsiaeli, Kelsey Ellison, Mats Steen, Paul Wild

Moods

Challenging, Discussion-sparking, Emotional

In the first twenty minutes, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin seemed to be quite unremarkable, with the usual way a biographical documentary would go, that is, loved ones waxing poetic about how great the dead person was in life. But the documentary takes this to introduce Ibelin the same way his parents discovered the online life Mats Steen lived. It’s a unique documentary, mixing in the usual home videos with the animated gameplay of the archived life Steen lived in Ibelin, but it’s grounded by, and somewhat co-created through the words Steen himself typed about his life as a disabled man, and the game history he shared with the community he formed online. The Remarkable Life of Ibelin ends up being quite a remarkable depiction of living online, that feels much more honest, human, and creative than the condescending or cautious narratives we’ve previously heard about the online world.

37. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

best

8.2

Country

United States of America

Director

Stephen Chbosky

Actors

Adam Hagenbuch, Brian Balzerini, Chelsea Zhang, Dihlon McManne

Moods

Challenging, Easy, Emotional

This coming-of-age story based on the bestseller by the same name starts fun but veers towards darker territory. It’s about a high-schooler who makes two older friends, played perfectly by Ezra Miller and Emma Watson. But as he gets closer to one of them, his anxieties and past trauma come to the surface. The impressive depth to which the makers of The Perks of Being a Wallflower were able to take it is what elevates it to greatness. It’s the perfect mix between easy and challenging. If there is ever such a thing, it’s this movie.

38. St. Vincent (2014)

best

8.2

Country

United States of America

Director

Theodore Melfi

Actors

Alexandra Fong, Amber Clayton, Ann Dowd, Bill Murray

Moods

Easy, Feel-Good, Grown-up Comedy

In this comedy/drama, Bill Murray plays an aged, dispirited war veteran named Vincent who openly disdains most people and gives little attention to anything beyond alcohol and horse racing. Living a life of solitude in Brooklyn, everything takes a turn when a young single mother (Melissa McCarthy) and her son Oliver move in next door. Vincent eventually takes on the responsibility of watching over Oliver when Maggie is at work. Murray is perfectly unpleasant in his darkly comedic role, as his relationship with Oliver evolves despite his own misgivings, providing young Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) with the fatherly/grandfatherly presence he desperately needs. Though somewhat formulaic, St. Vincent rises above expectations by way of great dialogue, favourable performances from all of the leads, and an unbelievably touching finale that will melt your heart. Much better than you probably expect—definitely check this one out.

39. 99 Homes (2015)

best

8.2

Country

United States of America

Director

Ramin Bahrani

Actors

Albert C. Bates, Andrew Garfield, Ann Mahoney, Carl Palmer

Moods

Depressing, Slice-of-Life

Andrew Garfield is a single father living with his own single mother in their family home. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, they find themselves evicted from their home by a businessman – Michael Shannon in a role as intriguing as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, if not more. Desperate for work, Garfield’s character starts working for the same businessman, ultimately evicting other people. A star-packed, gritty and sobering tale on capitalism and our the lengths to which we’re ready to go to save face – while at the same time risking our most important relationships.

40. Sorry to Bother You (2018)

best

8.2

Country

United States of America

Director

Boots Riley

Actors

Annie Chen, Armie Hammer, Damion Gallegos, Danny Glover

Moods

Discussion-sparking, Funny, Smart

In the year of the Netflix TV Show Maniac, another absurdist title stole critics’ hearts. Sorry to Bother You is a movie set in an alternate reality, where capitalism and greed are accentuated. Lakeith Stanfield (Atlanta) is a guy called Cassius who struggles to pay his bills. However, when at a tele-marketing job an old-timer tells him to use a “white voice”, he starts moving up the ranks of his bizarre society. A really smart movie that will be mostly enjoyed by those who watch it for its entertaining value, and not so much for its commentary. It is like a Black Mirror episode stretched into a movie.

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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