Netflix has a great catalogue of blockbuster and Hollywood movies to watch, like personal favourites Good Will Hunting, Reservoir Dogs and Forest Gump, all of which you’ve probably seen before. I’ve gathered 40 award winning and critically acclaimed movies you might not have seen.
WYALAN Ranked, Rated and Recommended
WYALAN star rating explained:
- 5 stars – Highly enjoyed and would highly recommend as a must watch
- 4 stars – Enjoyed and would watch again in the future
- 3 stars – Glad I watched it once, but I’ll probably never watch it again
- 2 stars – Watched to the end, but I wouldn’t watch it again
- 1 star – DNF (did not finish)
Marriage Story (2019) – [Drama/Romance]
For fans of: Kramer vs. Kramer, Blue Valentine, Scenes from a Marriage
Noah Baumbach’s divorce drama earned six Oscar nominations and won Best Supporting Actress for Laura Dern. The script cuts deep, balancing heartbreak with moments of levity. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson bring raw vulnerability to every scene. WYALAN Rating – 4.5/5
Icarus (2017) – [Documentary/Sports/Crime]
For fans of: The Armstrong Lie, Citizenfour, The Dissident
Bryan Fogel’s Oscar-winning documentary begins with a doping experiment and spirals into a global exposé of Russian sports corruption. The tension builds like a thriller, with real-world stakes. Grigory Rodchenkov’s testimony is unforgettable. WYALAN Rating – 4.5/5
Snowpiercer (2013) – [Sci-Fi/Thriller]
For fans of: Brazil, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Hunger Games
Bong Joon-ho’s dystopian allegory turns a train into a class war battleground, with Tilda Swinton and Chris Evans leading the charge. Premiered at Deauville and praised for its genre fusion and social critique. The visuals are brutal, the satire razor-sharp. WYALAN Rating – 3/5
More best lists on Netflix:
New Releases On Netflix This Week ~ Comedy Series On Netflix ~ Sci-Fi On Netflix ~ Rom Coms On Netflix ~ Documentaries On Netflix 2025 ~ Feel-Good Movies On Netflix ~ Horror Movies On Netflix ~ Short Movies On Netflix ~ Sports Documentaries On Netflix ~ Documentaries On Netflix
His House (2020) – [Horror/Drama/Immigration]
For fans of: Get Out, Under the Shadow, The Babadook
BAFTA winner for Outstanding Debut, Remi Weekes’ film follows a refugee couple haunted by trauma and supernatural forces in their new UK home. The horror is psychological, political, and deeply personal. Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku deliver performances that linger.
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017) – [Crime/Comedy/Thriller]
For fans of: Blue Ruin, Fargo, The End of the F**ing World*
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Macon Blair’s debut follows a woman and her eccentric neighbor on a vigilante spiral. The tone veers from deadpan to violent without warning. Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood make an unforgettable odd couple.
Room (2015) – [Drama/Thriller]
For fans of: The Lovely Bones, The Nightingale, The Deep End of the Ocean
Brie Larson won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as a mother raising her son in captivity. Lenny Abrahamson’s adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s novel is both claustrophobic and emotionally expansive. Jacob Tremblay’s performance stunned critics and audiences alike.
The Boy and the Heron (2023) – [Fantasy/Animation/Drama]
For fans of: Spirited Away, The Wind Rises, Pan’s Labyrinth
Hayao Miyazaki’s return premiered at Toronto and won Best Animated Feature at the Japan Academy Prize. A surreal journey through grief and imagination unfolds in painterly detail. The heron is cryptic, the world dreamlike, and the legacy undeniable.
The Pod Generation (2023) – [Sci-Fi/Drama/Satire]
For fans of: Her, Ex Machina, Black Mirror
Sophie Barthes’ Sundance-premiered satire imagines a future where pregnancy is outsourced to artificial wombs. Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor explore intimacy, autonomy, and the cost of convenience. The tone is sleek, unsettling, and quietly absurd.
The Platform (2019) – [Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller]
For fans of: Cube, Parasite, Snowpiercer
This Spanish allegory won the People’s Choice Award for Midnight Madness at TIFF. A vertical prison feeds its inmates via a descending platform, exposing brutal truths about scarcity and greed. Gore and philosophy collide in a minimalist setting.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019) – [Drama/Biopic]
For fans of: The Pursuit of Happyness, Queen of Katwe, Slumdog Millionaire
Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut premiered at Sundance and tells the true story of a Malawian boy who builds a wind turbine to save his village. The film is earnest, visually rich, and deeply inspiring. Maxwell Simba anchors the story with quiet strength.
EMILIA PÉREZ (2024) – [Musical/Crime/Drama]
For fans of: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, La La Land, The Queen of Black Magic
Jacques Audiard’s Cannes sensation won the Jury Prize and Best Actress for Karla Sofía Gascón. A cartel boss transitions into a new life, told through operatic musical numbers and surreal visuals. Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez round out the cast with emotional heft.
American Factory (2019) – [Documentary/Labor/Globalization]
For fans of: The China Hustle, Inside Job, Roger & Me
Oscar winner for Best Documentary, this Obama-produced film chronicles the reopening of a GM plant by a Chinese company. Cultural clashes and labor tensions unfold with empathy and precision. The directors, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, capture a shifting American dream.
Reprise (2006) – [Drama/Coming-of-Age]
For fans of: The Dreamers, Oslo August 31st, The Squid and the Whale
Joachim Trier’s debut won Best Director at Karlovy Vary and follows two Norwegian writers navigating ambition, madness, and friendship. The editing is kinetic, the emotions raw. Literary angst has rarely felt so cinematic.
Victim/Suspect (2023) – [Documentary/Crime]
For fans of: The Hunting Ground, The Invisible War, Unbelievable
Rae de Leon’s investigation reveals a disturbing pattern: women reporting sexual assault are charged with false reporting. Premiered at Sundance and praised for its urgency and restraint. The impact is immediate, the injustice chilling.
The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020) – [Comedy/Drama]
For fans of: Frances Ha, Insecure, She’s Gotta Have It
Radha Blank’s Sundance-winning debut follows a playwright reinventing herself as a rapper. Shot in black-and-white, the film blends satire, vulnerability, and cultural critique. Every verse hits with purpose.
sex, lies, and videotape (1989) – [Drama/Indie]
For fans of: Blue Velvet, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Piano
Steven Soderbergh’s Palme d’Or-winning debut redefined American indie cinema. James Spader and Andie MacDowell explore intimacy and repression through voyeuristic confessions. Minimalism meets emotional complexity.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (2020) – [Documentary/Social Justice]
For fans of: 13th, The Times of Harvey Milk, Summer of Soul
This Sundance Audience Award winner traces the roots of the disability rights movement to a 1970s summer camp. Archival footage and activist interviews build a portrait of joy, rebellion, and systemic change. Produced by the Obamas, the film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary.
Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020) – [Documentary/Experimental]
For fans of: Stories We Tell, The Farewell, Eternal Sunshine
Kirsten Johnson stages her father’s death in surreal vignettes to confront mortality with humor and love. The film premiered at Sundance and won the Special Jury Award for Innovation in Nonfiction Storytelling. Whimsical and devastating, it defies categorization.
ROMA (2018) – [Drama/Autobiographical]
For fans of: The Tree of Life, Amour, The Great Beauty
Alfonso Cuarón’s black-and-white masterpiece won three Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film. A domestic worker’s quiet life unfolds against political unrest in 1970s Mexico City. Every frame is composed with painterly precision.
Dead Talents Society (2024) – [Documentary/Arts/Identity]
For fans of: The Creative Act, The Disappearance of Shere Hite, The Andy Warhol Diaries
A group of artists confront burnout, rejection, and reinvention in this introspective documentary. Premiered at SXSW and praised for its raw honesty and visual flair. The title is ironic, the emotion sincere.
Closing Dynasty (2024) – [Documentary/Family/Legacy]
For fans of: Chef’s Table, American Movie, The Last Dance
A beloved Chinese restaurant prepares to shut its doors after decades of service, sparking reflection across generations. The film blends food, memory, and migration with quiet grace. A Tribeca favorite, it resonated deeply with audiences and critics alike.
Pieces of a Woman (2020) – [Drama/Grief/Family]
For fans of: A Woman Under the Influence, Birth, The Lost Daughter
Vanessa Kirby won Best Actress at Venice for her role as a woman navigating loss after a traumatic home birth. The opening sequence—a single-take labor scene—is harrowing and masterful. Shia LaBeouf and Ellen Burstyn round out a volatile cast.
The Pez Outlaw (2022) – [Documentary/Crime/Collector Culture]
For fans of: McMillions, Sour Grapes, American Vandal
A Michigan man exploits a loophole in Pez distribution, smuggling rare dispensers from Europe and clashing with corporate gatekeepers. SXSW audiences embraced its eccentric tone and underdog spirit. The story is stranger than fiction, and twice as fun.
Ghosts of Sugar Land (2019) – [Documentary/Identity/Radicalization]
For fans of: The Feeling of Being Watched, Homeland, The Mole Agent
Friends of a young Muslim man reflect on his mysterious disappearance and suspected ties to extremism. Sundance-premiered and Netflix-distributed, the film uses animation and interviews to explore alienation and surveillance. The tone is haunting, the questions unresolved.
The Trader (Sovdagari) (2018) – [Documentary/Economics/Short]
For fans of: Fire at Sea, Honeyland, The Last Truck
In rural Georgia, a traveling trader barters goods for potatoes, revealing a microcosm of poverty and resilience. Winner of Best Short Documentary at Sundance, the film is quiet, observational, and deeply human. No narration, just life unfolding.
Zion (2018) – [Documentary/Short/Disability]
For fans of: Crip Camp, The Weight of Gold, Rising Phoenix
Zion Clark, born without legs, trains as a wrestler while navigating foster care and stigma. This Netflix short earned praise for its emotional clarity and visual strength. The story is compact, but the impact is lasting.
Roxanne Roxanne (2017) – [Biopic/Music/Drama]
For fans of: Notorious, Beats Rhymes & Life, Hustle & Flow
Chanté Adams won Sundance’s Breakthrough Performance Award for her portrayal of teenage rap prodigy Roxanne Shanté. The film captures the grit of 1980s Queens and the rise of a hip-hop legend. Mahershala Ali and Nia Long add depth to the ensemble.
Shirkers (2018) – [Documentary/Film/Identity]
For fans of: Stories We Tell, Cameraperson, The Souvenir
Sandi Tan revisits a lost film she made in Singapore as a teen, stolen by a mysterious mentor. Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary Directing Award recognized its inventive structure and emotional resonance. Memory, creativity, and betrayal collide.
Knock Down The House (2019) – [Documentary/Politics/Activism]
For fans of: The War Room, 13th, The Great Hack
Four women—including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—run grassroots campaigns against political incumbents in this Sundance Audience Award winner. The energy is electric, the stakes personal. A portrait of courage and disruption.
Daughters (2024) – [Documentary/Family/Incarceration]
For fans of: Time, For Sama, The Prison in Twelve Landscapes
Fathers in prison prepare for a father-daughter dance, revealing bonds strained by distance and circumstance. Premiered at Sundance and won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award. The emotion is raw, the love palpable.
Strong Island (2017) – [Documentary/Crime/Identity]
For fans of: The Thin Blue Line, I Am Not Your Negro, 13th
Yance Ford investigates the murder of his brother and the racial bias that shaped the case’s outcome. Nominated for an Academy Award and winner at Sundance, the film is personal, political, and formally daring. Grief becomes testimony.