It’s impossible to count the how many movies are on Netflix (and I’ve tried), but most estimates put it at around 7,000 at any given time. Some are obviously more worth watching than others. In this new weekly feature, I’ll put on my cinephile cap and recommend a few for the week, using a variety of metrics like popularity, IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes ratings, and personal preference.
A House Of Dynamite
You know what’s really scary? Global thermonuclear war. The top movie on Netflix right now is Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, which posits: what if we were under attack, but didn’t know who the enemy was? When an ICBM is picked up on America’s early warning system headed straight for Chicago, the president (Idris Elba!) and his cabinet must figure out what to do without starting WWIII.
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Director: Kathryn Bigelow
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Cast: Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Jared Harris
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Genre: Drama
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Rating: R
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IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
The Hurt Locker
2008’s The Hurt Locker marked the start of a second act for Kathryn Bigelow, who had been churning out popcorn thrillers in the 1990s. Working on a small budget, she crafted one of the most compelling and accurate stories of wartime trauma. When disarming a bomb during the Iraq War goes wrong for the EOD team, the surviving members struggle through their deployment and beyond.
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Director: Kathryn Bigelow
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Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Evangeline Lilly
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Genre: Drama
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Rating: R
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IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
Steel Rain
The first culprit in A House of Dynamite is, naturally, North Korea. The Hermit Kingdom is a popular boogeyman for American political thrillers, so for a different perspective, 2017 South Korean thriller Steel Rain is worth a watch. When a potential coup in the North is foiled, the Supreme Leader is injured and a loyal agent smuggles him across the border. Now he needs to be kept safe before things escalate even further.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
You’ve only got a week to stream the long-awaited sequel to Beetlejuice, and while it doesn’t measure up to the original, it’s easily the best Tim Burton movie in a long time, with fun practical and CGI effects, and good performances from Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux and others. There are enough gags in this to make it worth your time before it leaves Netflix on Nov. 6.
Recommended by Our Editors
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About Our Expert
K. Thor Jensen
Contributing Writer
Experience
K. Thor Jensen is a writer and cartoonist living in the Pacific Northwest. He has contributed to dozens of prestigious outlets, including PCMag, Tested, Clickhole, and Newsweek. His second graphic novel, Cloud Stories, was released in 2017.
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