It’s the week before Christmas, and all is not quiet in the house. Lots of creatures are stirring, and your bank account is begging you to stop spending. Bah, humbug! It’s worth spending a few coins on the ones you love.
If you’re craving a respite from all the shopping and holiday prepping, then Netflix has you covered. The streamer has plenty of movies to watch, and the following three are worth your time and attention.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
It’s been over 20 years since the zombie revival began with 28 Days Later and the film version of Resident Evil, and I don’t blame you if you’re all zombied out. But the crowded subgenre (28 Years Later is coming!) is still capable of a surprise here and there, and that’s the case with The Dead Don’t Die, Jim Jarmusch’s droll undead comedy starring an eclectic lineup of actors that includes Adam Driver, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Tom Waits, Austin Butler, Selena Gomez, and Iggy Pop. How can you go wrong with a cast like that?
In rural Centerville, USA, two cops, Cliff (Murray) and Ronnie (Driver) witness the undead rising from the grave and attacking the town’s residents. Chaos soon ensues as everyone, from the police to the town’s hermit to an alien with a sword (?), fends off the zombie attack to mixed results. The Dead Don’t Die isn’t your typical zombie movie, so be prepared for characters breaking the fourth wall, non-sequiturs left and right, and an ending that, if you think about it, is the only logical one possible.
The Dead Don’t Die is streaming on Netflix.
Non-Stop (2014)
This past week, Netflix released one of their most successful original pictures of 2024. Carry-On, an airport thriller starring Taron Egerton as an innocent TSA agent and Jason Bateman as the villain who blackmails him to do his bidding, was the work of director Jaume Collet-Serra. Remember that name as he’s quietly one of the best action directors working today.
One of his best movies is Non-Stop, a 2014 Liam Neeson action flick that offers, well, non-stop thrills. It’s set on a plane (JCS sure does like his planes) and casts Neeson as U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks. On a flight from New York City to London, Bill is tasked with an impossible scenario: He needs to transfer $150 million into an offshore bank account. If he doesn’t, every 20 minutes, someone will die on the plane.
And that’s just the first 30 minutes! Non-Stop has more twists and turns than a country fair pretzel, but every moment is pure fun. Neeson is at the top of his action game here, and his collaborations with Collet-Serra are some of the best the genre has to offer.
Non-Stop is streaming on Netflix.
Carol (2015)
I’m cheating a bit here as Carol isn’t underrated at all; it’s perfectly rated, as evidenced by its many critics’ awards and Oscar nominations. But it’s Christmastime, and Carol is the perfect movie to watch during the holiday season. It opens near Christmas Eve in 1952, and people are rushing to get some last-minute presents. That’s what brings upper-class housewife Carol in contact with Therese, who is working at a department store one day and aids Carol in finding a gift for her child. Looks are exchanged, smiles are given, and a compliment is offered: “I like the hat.”
And so begins a complex love affair between the two women, one that just wasn’t publicly accepted back then. But what makes Carol so fascinating to watch is while it acknowledges the problems that arise from such a relationship, it’s not downbeat at all. The director, Todd Haynes (May December), frames their relationship as a dream that never forgets the burden of reality, and, with the aid of Carter Burwell’s lush, piano-centric score, he weaves a romantic spell that’s beguiling.
Carol is streaming on Netflix.
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