While nothing can beat the big screen and surround sound experience that comes with going to the movies, there’s no denying that it’s a costly experience nowadays. That’s why it makes sense to maximize your Netflix subscription by watching as much as possible.
To help you achieve that, I’ve selected five fantastic movies that are all available to stream on Netflix right now.
5
Happy Gilmore
Release Year
1996
Runtime
1 hour 31 minutes
Adam Sandler has a specific type of comedy that doesn’t always land (I’m looking at you, Grown Ups), but Happy Gilmore is one of the successes. Sandler plays the eponymous character, an ice hockey player who takes his killer slapshot and anger issues to the golf course, aiming to win enough money to pay off his grandmother’s debts. Along the way he riles up the actual professional golfers and falls for the golf tour’s head of public relations, Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen).
Christopher McDonald is great as arrogant golfer Shooter McGavin, as is Carl Weathers as Happy’s coach. This is a very silly movie—there’s a scene with Happy fighting game show host Bob Barker, after all—but it also has heart. It’s the type of flick that is perfect to watch on a lazy afternoon. If you want more shenanigans, Netflix recently released Happy Gilmore 2, though your enjoyment may hinge on whether you have any nostalgia for the original.
4
Nonnas
Release Year
2025
Runtime
1 hour 54 minutes
Joe Scaravella is a real chef who founded Enoteca Maria, an Italian restaurant in New York that employs grandmothers as chefs. It was opened in honor of his late mother and designed to take diners back to their childhood. Nonnas tells Scaravella’s story. Vince Vaughn is the lead, giving a more subtle performance than in the comedies he found fame with. Alongside him are talented actors like Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, and Susan Sarandon, to name a few.
It’s a heartwarming story, but it never becomes schmaltzy; the chemistry between the cast is what really makes this sizzle, alongside a healthy serving of gentle humor. Sure, you’ve seen variations of this underdog story before, and it’s not going to blow your mind, but that’s not the point—it’s feel-good viewing that will make you not only appreciate food but also the love that goes into it. Watch it with your family and dish up an ample bowl of pasta afterward.
3
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Release Year
2018
Runtime
2 hours 13 minutes
With the likes of True Grit and Fargo, the Coen brothers know how to make a good film. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs may have been funded by Netflix, but it retains everything that you would want from a Coen production: dark humor, outstanding acting, and beautiful cinematography. What is different is the anthology format, which takes the structure of six stories set in the American Old West, with the titular singing cowboy starring in just one of these brilliant tales.
My favorite is hard to choose, but it’s probably Meal Ticket, which features Liam Neeson as an impresario and Harry Melling as a man with no arms or legs who recites classic works. It’s bleak but also powerful, and it stuck with me. Part of the joy comes in the unexpected of what each vignette is about and how they unfold, so I won’t say more, but just know you’re in for a treat.
2
Roma
Release Year
2018
Runtime
2 hours 14 minutes
Alfonso Cuarón is the director responsible for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (a fan favorite Potter), Children of Men, and Gravity, so claiming something from his oeuvre as the best is no easy feat. But I think Roma, his semi-autobiographical movie from 2018, is more than deserving. That’s not exactly a controversial statement, mind—it was the first original streaming film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Roma is set in Mexico City in the early 1970s, about a young woman called Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio, in her debut performance) who is working as a maid for a middle-class family and finds her life shaken. It’s presented in evocative black and white, which aids the crisp and striking shots. And while the film feels precisely crafted, it doesn’t lose any emotion because of it. Rather, Roma is profound and moving, and I find something new to appreciate every time I return to it.
1
Mad Max: Fury Road
Release Year
2015
Runtime
2 hours
The original Mad Max trilogy is decent, but it wasn’t until 2015’s Fury Road that I thought the franchise truly ascended into greatness. Tom Hardy takes over the role from Mel Gibson, lending the character incredible intensity and presence. He teams up with Charlize Theron’s equally worthy warrior, Imperator Furiosa, as the pair try to escape the ruthless grasp of Immortan Joe, an evil ruler who commands a group of soldiers called the War Boys.
Fury Road is non-stop madness in the best way possible, with high-octane action sequences that remain impressive a decade later. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, which you might think has been done to death, but the visuals are anything but generic—care has been applied to every level, from the costumes to the vehicles, and it all comes together to create something special.
Netflix is always adding new shows and movies, which means there is plenty to keep you busy. Not everything is golden, of course, which is why I’ll be back next week with five more movies that are deserving of your time.
