dvd Release Date: 12/21/2021 Overall Rating: 2.0 out of 4 stars Theatrical Release Date: 09/10/2021 Language: English Genre: Comedy/Drama MPAA Rating: R Director: John Pollono Actors: Jon Bernthal, Jordana Spiro, Shea Whigham, Ciara Bravo, Spencer House, Josh Helman Plot: Frank, Swaino and Packie are a trio of life-long working-class friends who enjoy cold beer, good company and, most importantly, a good life for Frank’s daughter, Crystal, who has a real shot of making a life for herself. One whisky-fueled night, Frank invites over a young man, Chad Walker, but things take a dark turn when Frank reveals his true intentions and things quickly spiral out of control.
It’s time to look back at 2021 and look at what movies dominated the Netflix top 10 charts throughout the year. Below, we’ll walk you through the movies that did the best on Netflix across the globe picking up the most points in the top 10s.
Data is sourced from FlixPatrol who collects top 10 data from around the world and then compiles the numbers to create top lists. If a movie is number 1 on a Netflix top 10 it’s assigned 10 points.
Now this data, while useful, isn’t perfect. For example, FlixPatrol is always adding new regions which adds lots of new points into the pool. Top 10s also don’t give us an overall idea of volume for any given day or month. For example, The Unforgiveable picked up more hours of streaming in its first 28 days but didn’t stay in the top 10s as long as Army of the Dead.
Plus, measuring top 10s globally often gives advantages to Netflix Original movies because they’re available globally and licensed movies may only go to a handful of regions and therefore, not register.
Netflix themselves have started releasing hourly data but alas, that doesn’t give us a full year’s worth so we couldn’t give an accurate picture of that below.
With that preamble out of the way, let’s dive into the most popular movies on Netflix globally in 2021.
Top 5 Netflix Movies in 2021 According to the Top 10s
Note: Data correct as of December 29th.
1. Red Notice
Number of points: 25,588
With the cast headlined by Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot, it should be no surprise that Red Notice pulled in the numbers for Netflix. Not only has it surpassed Bird Box in having the most hours viewed on Netflix (364 million in first 28 days vs 282 million) it also performed well in the Netflix top 10s with it still picking up points over 46 days after its initial release.
2. We Can Be Heroes
Number of points: 25,311
Releasing in late 2020, We Can Be Heroes was incredibly sticky in the top 10s particularly in the early stages of 2021. The kids movie has now featured in the movie top 10s for over 214 days in respective countries top 10s.
As we’ve seen with titles like CoComelon, a good kids title can be rewatched over and over again and that was very much the case for We Can Be Heroes.
3. Army of the Dead
Number of points: 18,888
One of two Zack Snyder movies released by Netflix in 2021 both existing in the new zombie universe which kicked off in July with the Blockbuster, Army of the Dead.
The movie now ranks tenth in Netflix’s most popular films within the first 28 days picking up 186.54 million hours viewed.
4. Wish Dragon
Number of points: 16,953
One of three Sony animation pickups Netflix made in 2021 was Wish Dragon, the delightful animated title directed by Chris Appelhans. The movie lingered in the top 10s for almost 100 days around the world hence managing to beat out The Mitchells vs. The Machines and Vivo.
5. Army of Thieves
Number of points: 15,081
The second Zack Snyder-produced movie of 2021 managed to get up to position 5 after its debut towards the end of October. What’s interesting is that Army of Thieves scored on average 290 points per day while in the top 10s compared to Army of the Dead’s 205 suggesting that there was a big audience towards the beginning of the movie’s life on the service.
Full Top 50 Movies in the Netflix Top 10s for 2021
Red Notice (25588 points)
We Can Be Heroes (25311 points)
Army of the Dead (18888 points)
Wish Dragon (16953 points)
Army of Thieves (15081 points)
The Mitchells vs. The Machines (14902 points)
Fatherhood (14660 points)
The Guilty (12930 points)
Yes Day (12809 points)
The Unforgivable (12635 points)
Love Hard (11782 points)
Outside the Wire (11661 points)
Love and Monsters (11582 points)
Kate (11224 points)
Vivo (11037 points)
Minions (10972 points)
He’s All That (10222 points)
Sweet Girl (10051 points)
Back to the Outback (9931 points)
Blood Red Sky (9757 points)
Major Grom: Plague Doctor (9642 points)
My Little Pony: A New Generation (9615 points)
The Forgotten Battle (9321 points)
The Kissing Booth 3 (9219 points)
To All the Boys: Always and Forever (9058 points)
Thunder Force (8842 points)
Fast Furious Presents: Hobbs Shaw (8637 points)
I Care a Lot (8610 points)
The Woman in the Window (8547 points)
365 Days (8488 points)
The Harder They Fall (8433 points)
Afterlife of the Party (8172 points)
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (8161 points)
The Last Mercenary (8132 points)
A Boy Called Christmas (8045 points)
Finding ‘Ohana (7939 points)
Night Teeth (7824 points)
Fifty Shades of Grey (7760 points)
Resort to Love (7711 points)
News of the World (7600 points)
Gemini Man (7472 points)
Things Heard Seen (7396 points)
Awake (7217 points)
Venom (6928 points)
Deadly Illusions (6900 points)
Below Zero (6828 points)
The White Tiger (6755 points)
SAS: Red Notice (6709 points)
Fear Street: 1994 (6653 points)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (6465 points)
Top 10 Most Watched Netflix Movies in the first 28 days
How many Netflix movies released in 2021 have made it into the top 10 hourly viewed list? Three.
Red Notice takes first place with The Unforgiveable and Army of the Dead also managing to take places 9 and 10 respectively.
1. Red Notice – 364,020,000 hours
2. Bird Box – 282,020,000 hours
3. Extraction – 231,340,000 hours
4. The Irishman – 214,570,000 hours
5. The Kissing Booth 2 – 209,250,000 hours
6. 6 Underground – 205,470,000 hours
7. Spenser Confidential – 197,320,000 hours
8. Enola Holmes – 189,900,000 hours
9. The Unforgivable – 186,900,000 hours
10. Army of the Dead – 186,540,000 hours
What were your favorite Netflix movies of 2021? Let us know in the comments.
Warning: SPOILERS for various 2021 releases are going to crop up during this discussion of the year in film. Pay close attention to the lineup and feel free to come back once you’ve caught up on specific titles.
2021 was the year we went back to the movies. For better or worse, and while still not at the numbers we experienced pre-pandemic, this was the time that theaters massively re-opened their doors, and history was to be made. Not all of those memories were on a balance sheet though, as there were movies that made themselves known as forces to be reckoned with merely in the realm of discussion.
As we’re wont to do here at CinemaBlend, it’s time to look at 2021’s big ticket releases and pick out the movies we’ll still be talking about in 10 years. It’s a varied bunch, and if you haven’t seen any of these movies, pay close attention to the titles we’re about to display; just so you can avoid spoilers.
(Image credit: Danjaq,LLC and MGM)
No Time To Die
Where better to start our list than with No Time To Die, a movie that was delayed several times and rewarded for maintaining its theatrical exclusivity. Testing the James Bond brand through an extended period of promotion, the movie itself packed a controversial finale when it finally debuted this past fall. The 25th Bond movie saw the man himself perish, and even those in the know from square one were taken aback.
Daniel Craig’s 007 was apparently always fated to die, and keeping it a secret for the past 15 years is something that has to be applauded. Co-writer/director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s film also deserves such applause, as it turned the Bond franchise into more of a dramatic exercise, while still giving us all the action and quips we could want. No matter where James Bond goes after this film, the twists and turns made here will be discussed for years to come.
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios/ Disney)
West Side Story
In the year of the musical, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake gave the world quite a few subjects to discuss. The overall point of whether or not the genre is dead or not, as well as whether or not the film needed to be remade, are both entry level discussions. Throw in an elephant in the room pertaining to Ansel Elgort and his own personal scandals, and you’ve got a recipe for discourse stew. Putting all of that to the side, there are greater points that will probably carry all talk into the next decade and beyond.
Steven Spielberg finally got to make his musical, and the results have landed rather well with fans in the immediate aftermath. However, the film is a financial flop, which only opens the door to argue whether or not Disney should have released the film in another release window. Is the musical dead or did this particular product find itself eaten up by an error in timing? Time will definitely tell, as this reinterpretation of West Side Story seems to have the bones of either a cult classic or a movie that could find its legs in the long run.
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
House Of Gucci
Can a biopic trying to tell a true story still be sexy, funny or just plain old soapy fun? Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci might be the movie to answer that question, and more, as it delivers an unconventional approach to “unconventional punishment.” As far as awards season buzz goes, Lady Gaga’s performance as Patrizia Reggiani seems to be the movie’s key to potentially golden glory; which we’ve already seen with some of the early awards races to have begun their run.
Then there’s the fallout that will eventually come from the continued responses of not only Reggiani herself, but also the heirs to the Gucci name, when it comes to the accuracy of the story portrayed on screen. Future biopics may have to adjust their approach even more when it comes to just how much input the real figures involved in said events have over the final product. At the very least, House of Gucci may find itself finally rid of the discourse surrounding Jared Leto’s accent/performance; though that’s probably easier said than done.
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
They said it couldn’t be done. They said it didn’t exist. They even said it’d be a waste of time, and that no one would watch it. Zack Snyder’s Justice League defied all of those expectations, and it did so with a mere streaming-only release. An over four-hour epic that gave the director his final say on what Justice League should have been, this massive film only exists because fans willed it to be at the right time.
Showing that with the right exclusive, your burgeoning streaming platform could benefit from a fanbase’s loyalty, we can now debate whether this is the way to go for “fan favorites” that didn’t get a fair shake. Of course, that’s in between efforts to finally “Restore The Snyderverse,” as the Snyder Cut can now be seen and owned by one and all. Thanks to this success story, that battle will rage on a little longer, with a fanbase’s resolve strengthened by the results.
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
Dune
Daunting tasks aren’t just for alternate cuts demanded by the fans. Author Frank Herbert’s Dune has always been one of those films legendarily deemed “unfilmable,” with many attempting and few succeeding. In light of the storied past of the property, director Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation blew the doors off of that assumption. He delivered proof that with the right approach, you can make a dense literary monolith more accessible, with just enough crazy to entice viewers to demand a Part Two.
Thanks to the results in both its theatrical and streaming run, it’s Muah’Dib time yet again for Timothée Chalamet and the cast, as Dune: Part Two is about to go into production in the months to come. Whether that second half lands or flops, we’ll always talk about how Dune: Part One left it all in the sand and came back a victor. And if anyone wants to revisit the simultaneous streaming model, this is one of those cases that’d bolster the argument for those in favor of HBO Max’s big 2021 experiment.
(Image credit: Sony)
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Legacy-quels are a hot commodity, and the backlash and acceptance of that concept is present in the last three entries to this list. Ghostbusters: Afterlife feels like a great place to start, as that film’s handling of legacy has only grown as a point of order since the film’s release. Above all other subjects, you can expect questions about whether or not reviving Harold Ramis’ Egon Spengler through CGI was the right move to rule the roost in the immediate future.
Of course, the discussion about whether or not the next generation of Ghostbuster or the OG cast benefited more from Jason Reitman’s turn at the franchise wheel will only rage on. Ghostbusters 4’s fast-tracked development will carry that torch for some time, especially since the ending of Afterlife does seem to favor the original cast’s prospects a bit more in the post-credits teases. Finally, expect Ghostbusters: Answer The Call’s place in that legacy to be defined a bit more definitively, thanks to the subject of the 2016 spin-off/reboot being excluded from the franchise box set giving Paul Feig a chance to put his entry back into consideration. (And rightfully so.)
(Image credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment/Marvel Studios)
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Whoo boy, does Spider-Man: No Way Home have a lot of potential discussion surrounding its very release. As Disney’s joint venture with Sony seems to have cut into not only one, but two of the studio’s Christmas releases from 20th Century Studios, the discourse around Nightmare Alley and The King’s Manseemingly not getting a fair shake is not going away. With some pushing for Tom Holland’s third solo MCU adventure to get a Best Picture nomination, you’d better gird your loins for some piping hot discussions to come. Controversy and hot takes aside, the thematic implications of Spider-Man: No Way Home more than carry weight in future roundtables on the movie’s shocking turn of events.
Removing Peter Parker’s identity from the concept of Spider-Man is enough of a mind-bender, but with the multiverse in full throttle, there’s a lot of potential for this particular Marvel brand to swing into action. How the future of Tom Holland’s Spidey will connect to the MCU is a hot topic. Even greater is the implication that, thanks to the complete legacy of Spider-Men being invoked in this story, we might see Tobey Maguire and/or Andrew Garfield get another crack at their own incarnations. So many webs to untangle, and so little time.
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
The Matrix Resurrections
We started the list talking about having the guts to break from tradition and deliver a movie that deserves to be talked about. Bookending that very point, no other movie has been as richly divisive as co-writer/director Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections. After months of theories and anticipation, the movie that found its way into the hands of its fans was part meta commentary, part love story and all new compared to what the original Matrix trilogy gave us.
Some think that’s a disappointment, while others believed it was a refreshing change of pace. Both viewpoints are valid, but the truth that stands high above all of the noise is that Ms. Wachowski stayed true to her own vision, and The Matrix Resurrections came from the heart. It may be used as a case for why simultaneous streaming debuts might not work, depending on where the numbers eventually land, and that’s an argument for another day. But the greater talking point will be where, and how, Neo and Trinity’s fourth adventure fits in the greater Matrix universe.
Heading into the new year is exciting on so many fronts, with the future of cinema full of wonderful potential. If you’re feeling a little reflective over the next couple days, or need some easy conversation starters for a New Year’s celebration you’ll be attending, feel free to toss any of these thought grenades into the party. Don’t forget, if you want to cool things down in-between each film’s discussion, you can always open the floor to talking about which 2022 movies everyone’s excited to see.
Spider-Man: No Way Home could join the billion-dollar club.
Marvel
The new movie Spider-Man: No Way Home may be finding a way home after all — to the billion-dollar club. The movie swung into theaters on Dec. 17, and even before that, it was breaking ticket-sale records and trailer-release records. It earned $253 million in its opening weekend, the highest opening weekend in the 19-year history of live-action Spider-Man movies.
As of Tuesday, the film had earned more than $751.3 million in worldwide ticket sales, CNBC reported. Only two Chinese films, Hi Mom and The Battle of Lake Changjin, have earned more this year.
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“Exceeding $1 billion [in 2021] is a foregone conclusion at this point, barring any drastic turn of pandemic events,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com, told CNBC. That’s especially impressive considering that the film is only available in theaters and many movie-goers are wary of crowds due to the quick-spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus.
CNBC notes that the eight-day period between Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 is one of the most lucrative periods for the movie industry.
Making it to the billion-dollar club is nothing new for a Marvel character, though Spider-Man is a Marvel-Sony film. Captain Marvel was the seventh Marvel film to do it back in pre-pandemic 2019. DC Comics did it for the first time in 2018 with Aquaman. In 2019, Joker became the first R-rated film to cross the billion-dollar barrier.
If Spider-Man: No Way Home crosses that line, it’ll likely be the only Hollywood film to do so in the pandemic-affected year of 2021.
Movies coming in 2022 from Marvel, Netflix, DC and more
Theatrical Release Date: 12/31/2021 Language: English Genre: Action/Adventure MPAA Rating: R Director: Navot Papushado Actors: Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Angela Bassett Plot: Master assassin Scarlet was forced to abandon her daughter, Sam, and go on the run. Adopted by the very agency her mother worked for, Sam is raised as an elite assassin herself. Years later, Sam finds herself at odds with the same agency and, going rogue, reunites with her mother – along with a few friends – and decides to bring down that agency that took so much away from them.
With awards season upon us, Netflix is finishing the year strong by publicly unveiling the selections they’ve trotted around the festival circuit for the past few months. Such high-prestige Oscar contenders as Jane Campion’s triumphant comeback oater and another staggering vision of lust for life from Paolo Sorrentino (already Italy’s submission for the foreign-language Academy Award) class up the joint in the first half of December, soon to be joined by Maggie Gyllenhaal’s well-feted directorial debut and an in-your-face climate change satire from Adam McKay. And that still leaves room for the Spanish locked-room thriller about the pair of petrified strangers sewn together at the torso. Whatever might tickle your fancy, you’ll find it in this month’s lineup of original film releases — read on for a breakdown of the best.
Essential Streaming
The Power of the Dog
Who does Jane Campion think she is, taking twelve years off from feature directing to do TV and then waltzing back into the world of film with a stone-cold masterpiece like she never went anywhere? She’s at the height of her considerable powers in this queer Western, bringing a newfound visual majesty (thanks in part to godly cinematography from Ari Wegner) to her career-long interrogation of eroticism and how it’s distorted by sensitive male egos. Benedict Cumberbatch is Phil, an embittered, closeted cowpoke mourning his deceased lover; Kodi Smit-McPhee is the youngster he channels his self-loathing onto before taking under his wing; Kirsten Dunst is the boy’s mother, allaying her concern with booze; and Jesse Plemons is caught in the middle as her husband and Phil’s brother. They all give career-best showings under Campion’s expert tutelage, conveying the raging infernos of repressed desire that the setting won’t allow them to speak aloud.
The Hand of God
Italy’s maximalist extraordinaire Paolo Sorrentino goes back to his roots with this künstlerroman coming-of-age picture recounting one pivotal summer in Naples. His stand-in is the angular teen Fabietto (Filippo Scotti, a talent bound to rise quickly after his fine showing here), whose family’s sun-drenched villa is upended by three massive developments: superstar footballer Diego Maradona getting traded to Napoli, a filmmaker in the mold of Fellini coming to shoot his new movie in town, and the arrival of Fabietto’s gorgeous, unwell aunt Patrizia (Luisa Ranieri). His head swimming with lust and cinephilia, the kid stumbles from one revelatory experience to the next, most involving his big, boisterous family. Along the way, he gains a sense of direction and dips a toe into the waters of adult sexuality in a memorable scene that’s extremely — what’s the word? — European. Crackling with passion and self-effacing humor, it’s Sorrentino’s strongest work in nearly a decade.
Also Showing
Single All the Way
You’d have to be a real grinch to deny that there’s some morsel of charm to a film with the good sense to cast Jennifer Coolidge as a kooky aunt. But in this reverse Happiest Season — rather than a same-sex couple pretending to be galpals to appease conservative parents, it’s two gay friends (Michael Urie and Philemon Chambers) making like they’re coupled up to satisfy open-minded parents — the gifts are few and far between. Every stale rom-com convention (oh, look, a soulful old man with a shop that needs painting!) gets trotted out with nothing fresh but the demographic, and while there’s an argument to be made that queer romantics deserve the same middling Yuletide courtships heterosexuals have had for years, there’s also an argument to be made that everyone deserves more. Urie and Chambres may be an innately winning couple, but the dialogue stuck in their mouths like hardened Christmas fruitcake can’t keep pace with their natural chemistry.
The Whole Truth
Once at the forefront of the Thai New Wave, director Wisit Sasanatieng still excels even when plugged into Netflix and assigned a Wan-influenced haunted-house horror. A pair of high schoolers — brother Putt (Nattapat Nimjirawat) and sister Pim (Sutatta Udomsilp) — go to stay with their grandparents while Mom’s recuperating from a car crash in the ICU, and as is the case with most young people’s visits to the elderly, the kids find everything different in a weird way. Except this isn’t a matter of odd smells and uncomfortable chairs; a small peep hole in the living room wall offers Putt a glimpse at what looks like a decomposing parallel universe. The eventual clarification of what lies behind this divide and the significance it has to the family’s morbid history more than justifies its hefty run time. Even if it didn’t, Sasanatieng also mines all the psychological symbolism he can from this charged narrative device, landing somewhere in the id-baiting neighborhood of “Being John Malkovich in Hell,” minus the meta.
Mixtape
There’s something kind of perverse about combining ’90s punk nostalgia with a cutesy, kid-friendly comedy that emphasizes the vital importance of friendship and family, but writer Stacey Menear mostly makes it work by nailing the particulars of music fandom. We’re in alternative culture hub Spokane, WA, in the lead-up to Y2K, and plucky tween Beverly (Gemma Brooke Allen) has just discovered the mixtape her teen mom made for her dad before they both perished in a car crash all those years ago. The cassette goes kablooey, but she’s still got the playlist, sending her on a mission to track down these tracks in a pre-Spotify world. Menear’s script can talk the talk and walk the walk, name-dropping Girls at Our Best, The Quick, and the Blue Hearts with an awareness of what those acts signify. Moreover, she understands and respects the labor once required of crate-diggers, clearly enamored of the unique record-store atmosphere replicated credibly here. It’s enough to tamp down the sticky sentiment of the story at hand, told as it is in chirpy one-liners.
The Unforgivable
For her first role in the three years since Bird Box, Sandra Bullock returns to Netflix for a bleak character study of a sinner trying to make good. As ex-con Ruth, fresh out of prison for killing the cop that tried to evict her and her younger sister Katie (Aisling Franciosi, underused) when they were just little orphans a couple decades ago, she wants to start over and make inroads with the sibling who doesn’t even remember Ruth exists. But there’s also a romantic subplot with a strapping coworker (Jon Bernthal) at her construction gig, and a subplot about earning the respect of Katie’s adoptive parents (Richard Thomas and Lina Emond), and a subplot about the dead officer’s vengeful sons (Tom Guiry and Will Pullen), and a subplot with the new inhabitants of Ruth’s girlhood home (Viola Davis and Vincent D’Onofrio). It’s altogether far too much clutter for a portrait that would be more effective with some room to breathe, letting Bullock really dig her incisors into the role instead of being hustled from one contrivance to the next.
Two
From Spanish sicko Mar Targarona comes this fine addition to the canon of People Stuck To Things cinema, joining the sadistic likes of Saw and Netflix’s own Gerald’s Game. Except Sara (Marina Gatell) and David (Pablo Derqui) aren’t chained to a pipe or a bed, but each other! They wake up to find that their torsos have been sewn together by some unseen psychopath, a real pickle they must use their wits and limited mobility to escape. In this film’s shrewd sixty-seven minutes, Targarona takes this premise as far as it can go and then excuses himself at just the right time, before we can think too hard about the spectacularly idiotic explanation for Sara and David’s fleshy predicament. It doesn’t commit to the bit with the stomach-turning brio of Human Centipede, but it’s more vividly realized and tactfully unloaded than most of Netflix’s horror cheapies.
With the holidays approaching, you’re no doubt looking for some good movies to watch. Amazon Prime Video has a bevy of new additions to its streaming library this month, which can help narrow down the choices of exactly what to watch on the intimidating streaming platform. We’ve gone one further and curated a list of the best new movies on Amazon Prime Video in December 2021, singling out some swell movies that have either been newly added to Prime Video’s streaming library or are brand new releases hitting Amazon this month. They run the gamut from thrillers to romcoms to an underrated horror-comedy, so there’s a little something for everyone to enjoy – which is key when you’re watching with the whole family.
Check out our list of the best new movies on Prime Video in December below.
“Edward Scissorhands”
Director Tim Burton was on a roll when he turned his attention to a fairy tale called “Edward Scissorhands.” The 1993 film came on the heels of the success of Burton’s “Beetlejuice” and “Batman” films, and while “Edward Scissorhands” has an undercurrent of darkness just like all of Burton’s work, it was a far sweeter and more emotional film than he had made before. Johnny Depp stars as an unfinished humanoid of a benevolent inventor who died before he could complete his vision. Edward is subsequently discovered years later living in the inventor’s decrepit mansion, and is whisked to the suburban town below by a door-to-door Avon saleswoman (Dianne Wiest). Once in town, he fights being “othered” and strikes up a relationship with the woman’s daughter, played by Winona Ryder. There’s a Christmas tingle to the whole proceedings, and the film boasts one of Danny Elfman’s best musical scores.
“Sleepless in Seattle”
Once upon a time, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were the King and Queen of romantic comedies. Their second film together, 1993’s “Sleepless in Seattle,” still stands as one of the most romantic and moving romcoms ever made. Ryan plays a Baltimore Sun reporter engaged to a man she doesn’t really love who hears on the radio one night a widower (Tom Hanks) recounting the story of losing his wife and raising his young son. What ensues is her fascination with this man, and attempt to track him down. Nora Ephron co-wrote and directed the film, and that heartwarming finale still gets us choked up all these years later.
“The Hunt for Red October”
Before John Krasinski was Jack Ryan (and Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck), there was Alec Baldwin. 1990’s “The Hunt for Red October” is the first Jack Ryan adaptation, and remains one of the best. Baldwin fills the role of the CIA analyst who deduces that a rogue Soviet naval captain (played by Sean Connery) wishes to defect to the United States while aboard an advanced submarine. Ryan races against the clock to convince his superiors he’s right, while the Naval captain’s motives remain murky aboard the Soviet sub. Connery and Baldwin are terrific in the film, which is a nail-biting thriller directed by “Die Hard” filmmaker John McTiernan.
“Jennifer’s Body”
If you’re someone who loves finding hidden gems, “Jennifer’s Body” is waiting to be rediscovered. Written by Oscar-winning “Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama (“The Invitation”), the film was marketed as a sexy horror film starring Megan Fox, but in fact is a subversive horror-comedy about the objectification of women. Fox plays a high school student who is ritualistically sacrificed by a struggling rock band in order for them to gain fame. Fox’s character, Jennifer, is then possessed by a demon and begins luring horny teenage boys and then devouring them. Amanda Seyfried plays Jennifer’s best friend who tries to save her before it’s too late. This one is sharp and funny, and has become a cult favorite since its 2009 release.
“The Royal Tenenbaums”
For a shot of whimsy and dry humor, you can’t go wrong with filmmaker Wes Anderson’s acclaimed 2001 comedy/drama “The Royal Tenenbaums.” Featuring a robust ensemble cast, the story concerns a dysfunctional family whose three children were prodigies as kids, but are now struggling as adults. Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson and Gwyneth Paltrow play the children, Gene Hackman is their grumpy and semi-estranged father, and Anjelica Huston plays their loving mother. Bill Murray, Danny Glover and Owen Wilson round out the cast of what feels like an adaptation of a book that doesn’t actually exist.
“Theory of Everything”
For all those Oscar drama lovers out there, 2014’s Stephen Hawking biopic “Theory of Everything” is now streaming on Prime Video. Eddie Redmayne won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Hawking, as the film traces the theoretical physicist’s life from his college days up through present day, with his relationship with his eventual wife (and ex-wife) Jane Hawking (played by Felicity Jones) serving as the backbone. The film deals heavily with Hawking’s ALS diagnosis, and his struggle to overcome his physical limitations while still trying to push the field of physics forward. Charlie Cox, Emily Watson and Simon McBurney co-star.
“Being the Ricardos”
Available: Dec. 21
And if you want something brand new to watch, writer/director Aaron Sorkin’s Lucille Ball film “Being the Ricardos” will be streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting on Dec. 21. The film takes place over the course of one week of production on “I Love Lucy,” and finds Lucille Ball (played by Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (played by Javier Bardem) dealing with a trio of controversies – a tabloid story about Desi’s infidelity, Lucy’s pregnancy, and a report claiming that Lucy is a communist. The film features the pitter-patter expected of Sorkin’s work, and offers unique insight into the life of Lucille Ball that few in the public understood.
Starved for new movies? Mediocre or otherwise? Netflix has you covered.
It has you covered every single week this year, all the way through fall. The streamer released a list of upcoming movies in its 2021 slate earlier this year, with the promise it would release one new movie a week. That list was incomplete: Now the streamer has released the rest of its slate.
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Look out for action comedy Red Notice, starring Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and The Rock; biographical film Worth, starring Michael Keaton; action thriller Kate, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead; and dramedy The Starling, starring Melissa McCarthy.
Here’s Netflix’s release slate for the rest of the year.
