by Toussaint Egan, Pete Volk, Austen Goslin and the Polygon staff
What is the most productive movie I can watch on Netflix?We’ve all asked ourselves this question, only to spend the next 15 minutes navigating the streaming service’s oddly explicit genre menus and being defeated by the ever-changing trending menus. The catalog of movies continues to grow day after day, week after week, month after month. This makes the challenge of keeping up with the most productive things the service has to offer, not to mention finding something better to watch after a long day, a task that proves Herculean at best productive and at worst for someone who is rarely very connected to their impenetrable rhythms.
We are here for you. For those suffering from selection paralysis this February, we’ve narrowed it down to not only our favorite existing videos on the platform, but also the most productive videos Netflix has to offer.
If you’re looking for a specific genre, we’ve got the best action videos on Netflix, the best horror videos on Netflix, the best thriller videos on Netflix, and the best comedy videos on Netflix for you. And for our readers, we have a list of the most productive videos on Netflix UK.
We’ll update this list this week as Netflix pushes videos in and out of your library, so be sure to come back the next time you get stuck in front of the app’s home screen. Our most recent update added Update as our Editor’s Choice.
Director: Leigh Whannell Cast: Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson
Sci-fi dystopias are rarely as fun as Leigh Whannell’s fiendishly gory cyberpunk film. Set in the not-so-distant future, Upgrade centers on the story of Grey, an auto mechanic who is rendered a quadriplegic after suffering a near-fatal gunshot from a gang of men responsible for murdering his wife. Now, I know what you’re thinking, that doesn’t sound fun at all; it isn’t.
The laugh component begins when Gray is implanted with an experimental AI-assisted prosthetic that, in addition to restoring his ability to walk, also provides him with the strength to kick serious Yetts, but at the expense of giving the AI full, albeit momentarily, control of his body. Upgrade’s genuine brilliant quality is not only its production design, with futuristic interior architecture juxtaposed with dilapidated urban environments and deserted factories, but also its creative struggle cinematography and camera paintings employing a smartphone and an ARRI ALEXA Mini camera. In fact, it’s not a satisfying movie, far from it, but the action sequences in Upgrade alone are exciting and entertaining enough to make the full movie worth watching, which, I must say, is rarely a bad thing. —Toussaint Egan
How we select the best movies on Netflix
Polygon staff constantly keeps track of new Netflix titles and originals added to the streaming platform, adding to that list the most productive videos from productions and titles in the Netflix library. We prioritize quality, unique artistic vision, and variety—other genres, other eras, other moods, other cinematic nations—to make sure that each and every reader discovers features that interest them, as well as films they may never have noticed before. .
Director: Charlotte WellsCast: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall
Aftersun is rarely exactly the easiest movie to watch on Netflix, but it is one of the most rewarding. Through the watchful eye of Charlotte Wells (all the more common as it is her first feature film), Aftersun is presented as a confusing return to a single father-daughter vacation. Scattered between camcorder footage and emotional differences, Sophie (Frankie Corio) struggles to connect with her father, Calum (Paul Mescal), as they both fall into their own turmoil on the eve of his 31st birthday.
Aftersun’s good luck comes from the ingenious way he untangles them from each other as he sews them together. The story revolves around scenes and ideas, constructions and revolves around their vibrations with the click of a shutter. Through the lens of Aftersun, everything is a little more bittersweet and a little more charming. -Zosha Millman
Director: John HyamsCast: Jules Willcox, Marc Menchaca, Anthony Heald
A tense mystery from John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning), Alone is your old woman-on-the-run mystery. Jessica (Jules Willcox), a recent widow, is in the process of moving. As if that weren’t enough, it turns out that a scary guy (Marc Menchaca) is following her down the road. After blowing her tires, she crashes and wakes up in her basement. What follows is a well-crafted mystery with perfect performances, remarkable direction and just enough tension. to keep your center running for 98 minutes. —Pete Volk
Director: Romain GavrasCast: Dali Benssalah, Sami Slimane, Anthony Bajon
One of the most productive films of 2022, Athena is an intense action mystery about the uprising of a French suburb after repeated police harassment and violence. Told through the eyes of 3 brothers with very different perspectives on the confrontation and how it deserves to be resolved. , Athena is a tough story. But where it really shines is in its technical sense. Music video director Romain Gavras, who is shooting his first feature film, brings stunning tracking shots, finely choreographed blocking, and surely electric energy. I have qualms until the end, but I will never enjoy the impressive experience of watching Gavras cook in this film. Whatever you do next, I’ll be here. —PV
Director: Mati Diop Cast: Ibrahima Traoré, Mame Bineta Sane, Amadou Mbow
It’s hard to talk too much about Atlantic without giving away what makes the pleasure of watching it so special. It’s a charming, haunting love story with a beating heart, touching on romance as well as heartbreak, class, work, and lingering effects. of oppression. Beautifully shot by director Mati Diop and cinematographer Claire Mathon, it’s the first film directed by a black woman to be presented at the Cannes festival (it won the Grand Prix, squandering the Palme d’Or with Parasite), and it’s one of the most remarkable film debuts for a director in recent memory. —PV
Director: Michael Mann Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tang Wei, Viola Davis
A stylish, sexy mystery that makes computer hacking look incredibly cool, Michael Mann’s unfairly maligned Blackhat sets a benchmark in virtual cinema. Here’s Peak Mann: If you’re not a fan of the Heat director’s work, your mileage will likely vary. In the film, Chen Dawai (Wang Leehom), captain of the PLA’s cyber warfare unit, is tasked with losing power in a cyber attack that melts down a nuclear plant in Hong Kong. While assisting the FBI investigation, Chen insists on the help of his old friend Nicholas Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth, who has never been warmer or colder), an imprisoned genius hacker. When Hathaway and Chen’s sister (Tang Wei), a network engineer also involved in the case, fall in love with each other, it adds an extra twist to an already high-stakes situation. Viola Davis and Holt McCallany play FBI agents who are not very happy with having to depend on a nefarious criminal.
With state-of-the-art virtual cinematography and unforgettable sets, Blackhat explores our global conversion of dating with technology. Mann makes tangible the microscopic computer systems that govern the world: an excessive close-up of the internal wires that lead to a motherboard as a vast interconnected highway; a PC fan that resembles a jet engine. Events that in other films would be shown as an undeniable keystroke, are instead depicted as hypnotic processes taking place beneath the surface of the visual world. —PV
Director: Joel and Ethan Coen Cast: Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney
Burn After Reading is rarely necessarily considered a Coen brothers classic, among the ranks of The Big Lebowski or No Country for Old Men, but it probably is. The film features an all-star cast and transforms the wit, absurdity and nihilism of the Coens into the world of the CIA.
The film’s maze of dark intrigue begins with a disgraced CIA agent named Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) demoted and quitting his job. With plenty of time to spare, Osborne must write a memoir about his time in office. not exactly explosive, when it accidentally falls into the hands of two idiots who paint in a gym (Tilda Swinton and Brad Pitt), they mistake it for classified documents, which sets off all the alarms among the American law enforcement agencies (headed by J. K. Simmons and George Clooney) and launches a ridiculous goose hunt.
Burn After Reading is surely fun and incredibly unexpected. Their characters are true buffoons, which makes it even more entertaining that they are played by some of the most notable people in recent Hollywood history.
It turns out that American intelligence and the characteristic absurdity of the Coen brothers go hand in hand. Just try to overthink what this means for the real world. —AG
Director: Todd HaynesCast: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson
Todd Haynes’ most recent film, Netflix’s direct-to-video gem, May-December, one of the most productive releases of 2023 and the occasional film on this same list. But this month, one of Haynes’ other masterpieces returns to Netflix after being absent from the service for most of the year.
Adapted from The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, Carol follows an adventure between two women at very different times in their lives. Therese (Rooney Mara) is an aspiring photographer working at a decomposer store, where she meets Carol (Cate Blanchett), a stunning older woman who is going through a messy divorce. The two fall deeply in love in this gorgeously drawn and gorgeously filmed period romance that earned six Academy Award nominations and freed Haynes from releasing a new film every two years since. Haynes is an essential component of the New Queer Cinema movement, and Carol is an essential piece of 21st century queer cinema. During this Pride Month, or any other, don’t miss it. —PV
Director: Johnnie To, Wai Ka-fai Cast: Louis Koo, Daniel Wu, Gao Yuanyuan
Johnnie To is one of our wonderful hot directors, as adept at hard-hitting triad crime dramas as he is at light-hearted romantic comedies. 2011’s Don’t Go Breaking My Heart falls into the latter category and is one of many milestones in the Hong Kong director’s legendary career. Fresh out of a long-term relationship, Chi-yan (Gao Yuanyuan) is an analyst at an investment bank and finds herself in the middle of a love triangle. Sean (Louis Koo), a CEO who works across the street from Chi-yan and disgusts him through the overhead corporate windows that separate them. On the other hand, there is Kevin (the ever-dreamer Daniel Wu), an alcoholic former architect who is helping Chi-yan move forward and through her encouraging him to start creating again. What follows is a sincere, fun and captivating romantic moment. —PV
Director: S. S. Rajamouli Cast: Sudeepa, Nani, Samantha
Eega is a charming romantic comedy from the director of RRR, about a fly and his human friend who conspire to ruin a man’s life and then murder him for revenge. If that doesn’t suit you, I don’t know what will.
Eega tells the story of a guy killed through a wealthy businessman. After being reincarnated as a fly, his project is to take revenge on the guy who killed him. Like a fly.
With innovative visual effects that drive virtual cinema, Rajamouli injects delicious power and lighter tone into the “dark revenge thriller” genre, with thrilling scenes (what’s at stake is “our hero gets caught by a bullet”). tennis used in a cricket match). ” and “our hero reasons a traffic jam humming in the ears of a school traffic warden”) and of visual jokes fostered through comic and quirky comedies. Everything is balanced through a captivating romance that makes you perceive the emotional risks of the film from the first hour, resulting in an experience like no other. Rajamouli is simply special. —PV
Director: John Patton Ford Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Gina Gershon
One of the smartest videos about the gig economy and our modern money struggles, Emily the Criminal criminally underestimated (ayyy) when it premiered in 2022. The film follows a woman in debt (Aubrey Plaza) who becomes involved in a credit card deal. Student loan settlement scam. This takes her into the orbit of the charismatic leader Youcef (the attractive and reliable Theo Rossi), and also deeper and deeper into the world of crime, as she searches for a way out of her situation.
It’s the most productive role in Plaza’s career, which is as dry and funny as ever, but Emily the Criminal’s script allows her to use her dramatic talents in a way we’ve rarely noticed outdoors in White Lotus and Ingrid Goes. West (and even those that tend to be comedies with dramatic elements). Relentlessly paced, constantly tense, and focused on its excellent title feature, Emily the Criminal is one of the most productive American films of the decade, and its strength will only grow as the issues it highlights continue to unfold. ‘be exacerbated. Matrix—PV
Director: Bassam Tariq
Director Bassam Tariq was recently replaced in Marvel’s upcoming Blade movie, and that’s as clever an explanation as any for catching up on his masterful 2019 short film. Best known for the hip-hop drama Mogul Mowgli, starring Riz Ahmed, Tariq’s latest film is a gripping documentary that’s well worth the 21 minutes.
Ghosts of Sugar Land tells the story of a young organization of friends in suburban Texas and what happens when one of them becomes radicalized through ISIS. A compelling portrait of an America we don’t see on screen, Tariq offers no simple answers but depends on the shock and depression of friends left behind and the risks of isolation and loneliness in a country that finds itself on the edge of the abyss. of collapse. Winner of several festival awards, as well as the 2019 Sundance Short Film Jury Prize, Ghosts of Sugar Land is not to be missed. —PV
Director: Takashi Yamazaki Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Hidetaka Yoshioka
This month, one of the most productive videos of 2023, despite everything that’s available to stream to Western audiences. Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One takes the franchise back to its roots: the disillusionment of post-war Japan. Monsters was once again a metaphor for atomic weapons, but where Minus One leaves its mark is in the human characters who once returned suffering towards annihilation.
Ryunosuke Kamiki plays Kōichi Shikishima, a former kamikaze pilot buried under a mountain of survivor’s guilt, with Minami Hamabe as Noriko, the woman he can’t bring himself to marry. The cast is rounded out by other basic elements of the adventure, such as the trio of unwavering and comical colleagues, adding the older scientist who has the right plan to defeat the monster (Hidetaka Yoshioka). The key to Godzilla Minus One isn’t that the ingredients are unusual, but in Yamazaki’s presentation and execution of this anti-war, pro-hope, anti-military, shadow-casting American blockbuster.
Minus One achieves the rare feat of making the human drama of a Godzilla movie as compelling as the monster action, and the monster action is very good. Godzilla Minus One was the most productive time many Polygon employees had in a movie theater in 2023, and now we can finally watch it at home. —Susana Polo
Director: Richard Linklater Starring: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio
Richard Linklater returns with this Netflix original, which is one of his funniest and most publicized films since School of Rock, and one of his most slippery. Adapted by Linklater and star Glen Powell from a magazine article about a Texas professor who worked for the police as a fake hitman as part of a quasi-entrapment scheme, Hit Man takes this fact and turns it into a furry dog story that’s romantic, hilarious, broad, philosophical, and quietly dark. The film is as elusive as its conversion. deals with the subject matter and will leave you with plenty to think about, but not before you’ve laughed, applauded, and marveled at the stunning climax of a romantic comedy that puts Powell and co-star Adria Arjona at the top of the genre. —Oli Gallois
Director: Joel Coen Cast: Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Newman
Like Burn After Reading, the Coen brothers’ quirky tragicomedy starring Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh is an underrated access to the brothers’ work that deserves more than a reevaluation. Lovingly animated through films such as Preston Sturges’ Christmas in July and Howard Hawks’ His Girl Friday, The Hudsucker Proxy is, at its core, a story about the triumph and trial of a man who opposes a conspiracy of complicit corporate villains.
The film follows Norville Barnes (Robbins), a business graduate who moves to New York and gets a job in the mailroom of a huge conglomerate. When the company’s president suddenly commits suicide in the middle of a board meeting, board member Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman) devises a plan to carry out the appointment of a fool as president “through a proxy” to diminish the value. shares of the company. Norville is selected as the board’s lackey, but when his business decisions inadvertently bring tons of cash to the company, Mussburger is forced to devise an even more nefarious plan to capture power.
While admittedly a very strange film, The Hudsucker Proxy is still a very good example of Coen’s penchant for biting jokes and biting philosophical observation about the virtues and corruptibility of righteous people in a different way. If for no other reason, the film is worth seeing for its quirky orchestral score and charming sets animated by turn-of-the-century Art Deco skyscrapers and Frank Lloyd Wright’s biological architecture.
It is a funny, sad, whimsical and touching drama that revolves around the invention of the hoop. Where else are you going to see something like this other than in a Coen Brothers photo? -YOU
Director: David Robert Mitchell Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi
David Robert Mitchell’s supernatural horror film centers on a young teenage girl, Jay (Maika Monroe), who, after a sexual encounter, discovers herself stalked by a murderous entity that no one can yet see. To avoid death, Jay and his friends will have to stay one step ahead of the creature as they search for a way to defeat it, or else pass the curse on to another unfortunate and unassuming victim. With an excellent soundtrack provided by Hyper Light Drifter composer Richard Vreeland (aka Disasterpeace), It Follows is a memorable, exclusive, and entertaining teen horror drama that inverts the script into the historically puritanical framework of the genre’s sexuality with fantastic results. -YOU
Director: Karthik Subbaraj Cast: Raghava Lawrence, S. J. Suryah, Nimisha Sajayan
Movies about the power of cinema™ can be smug, cloying, and, worst of all, boring. Jigarthanda DoubleX is none of those things. An extensive history of gangsters, movie stars, politicians, and others caught in the middle, this is one of my favorite movies of 2023, and indeed a special movie.
It’s the 1970s, and a coward who believes his fate is that of a cop is accused of a quadruple murder. He is freed from crime through a corrupt movie star/politician on the condition that he kills one of the lieutenants of this film’s rival. star/politician. Naturally, our coward poses as a film director, because his target (an infamous gangster who loves Clint Eastwood) has made his project India’s first dark-skinned movie star. biopic of the gangster, of course), fall in love with the magic of cinema and its transformative force on a personal and social level.
Jigarthanda DoubleX runs its barely 3 hours at full throttle, with very good direction, complex characters fully embodied through great actors, exciting action sequences and an unexpected emotional intensity for a film with an equally crazy premise. Don’t miss it. —PV
Director: Jonathan DemmeDistribution: Justin Timberlake
In 1984, director Jonathan Demme directed one of the most productive concert films of all time with the Talking Heads on the triumphant and raucous Stop Making Sense. A little more than three decades later, Demme’s latest feature film, another joyful concert film.
Justin Timberlake’s The Tennessee Kids represents the definitive exhibition of a long excursion through Timberlake and his perfect backing band at the gigantic MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. In typical Demme style, the staging and framing of the bouncy pop numbers are electric. , but also takes the time to show how many paintings are needed to set up and take down such a wonderful production.
The collaboration between Demme and Timberlake was born out of mutual respect: Timberlake, like any other tasteful user, is a big fan of Stop Making Sense, and Demme reached out after watching The Social Network. The film is engaged to Prince, who died some time before the film’s release. —PV
Director: David Fincher Cast: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Sala Baker
The Assassin is too smart to have express box compatibility. David Fincher’s latest film, backed by a Netflix-exclusive release like Mank, feels distinctly post-genre. Of course, technically this is a mystery about a killer who botches a hit and has to face the consequences, which also come with a price on his head. But it’s much more than a comedy about a bad day in the box or a tragedy about a guy who loves the Smiths too much. Fincher’s genuine flexibility in The Killer is to present all those likely competing genres and styles in a cohesive tone where no moment is out of step with another, whether McDonald’s jokes or heart-wrenching fights.
Aside from Fincher’s technical skills, the other thing that makes The Killer’s prowess imaginable is Michael Fassbender’s formidable functionality as the killer in the middle of the film. Fassbender goes from meandering monologues about the demands of precision in all facets of life to lamenting his most recent ones in an instant without wasting his courage. And it’s hilarious every time.
This constant transfer between serious mystery and parody helps keep each and every moment of the film fresh and makes it one of the most productive films Netflix has to offer. —Austen Goslin
Director: Guillaume PierretCast: Alban Lenoir, Stéfi Celma, Nicolas Duvauchelle
Both Lost Bullet movies are natural adrenaline rushes, filled with vehicular mayhem and explosive action. The first film is undeniable, with an undeniable premise executed to perfection, while the sequel ramps things up with even more impressive stunts, directed by automotive stunt coordinator David Julienne, who also worked on the Athena and is the grandson of the wonderful Rémy Julienne. —PV
Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton
The Oscars are coming out this weekend (or, at least, that’s how it is as I write this), so I think it would be fitting to introduce one of the biggest Oscar snobs of the year. Yes, May December nominated for its (excellent) screenplay, but it’s also one of the most successful films of 2023 and features three of the year’s most notable performances, none of which made a spot on a stacked list of nominations.
The latest film from new queer film icon Todd Haynes (Carol, Safe) sees the legendary director reunite with their mutual collaborator Julianne Moore for one of their most intriguing projects to date. May-December follows an actress, Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), who travels to Georgia to prepare for a role based on Gracie (Julianne Moore), a woman who has come into the national spotlight after sleeping with (and marrying) 13-year-old Joe years at the beginning of their relationship.
It’s an awkward scenario, and Haynes takes advantage of that discomfort, whether it’s through the patience of his camera or the excellence of his lead actors. As Gracie and Elizabeth try to figure out the other, their identities fluctuate and mingle (Haynes has talked a lot about (Ingmar Bergman’s Persona influence on this film), Joe is caught in the middle. Melton’s functionality is unsettling, a child in the frame of a man still conceited in his teens, closer to his children than to his spouse. It’s the kind of adult drama we don’t get enough of, and I’m glad Haynes is still around to make those kinds of movies. —PV
Director: Gina Prince-BythewoodCast: Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts
Netflix has a bad habit of burying its original movies a while after their release and releasing so many that it’s often hard not to forget the movies that came out just a few years ago. With that in mind, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed or heard of The Old Guard, Netflix’s hilarious 2020 action-fantasy film, and there’s an even greater chance of giving it another watch.
The film stars Charlize Theron as the leader of a secret underground team of immortal mercenaries who make clever use of their eternal life by kicking a lot of ass. But when their identities are in danger of being revealed, their fight takes on a much newer character. public dimension. One of the most powerful elements of The Old Guard as an action movie is the recognition that its story is as stupid as it gets, a ridiculous excuse for wonderful action, and a wonderful explanation for why it gives audiences a lot of help. -Hand-fought scenes and wonderful combat scenes. Shootings. It’s light, airy, and incredibly fun to present this weekend, whether you’ve noticed it before or not. Plus, according to Theron herself, the sequel is still on the way, even if it’s somewhat behind schedule on Netflix. Austen Goslin
Director: Tomotaka Shibayama Actors: Kenshô Ono, Miyu Tomita, Shintarô Asanuma
The latest animated film from the director of the captivating 2020 film A Whisker Away (also on Netflix) begins in a position that will be very familiar to long-time viewers: a shy, uptight boy has his world turned upside down through a Loud noise and cheerfully not easy. Girl, and adventures followed. But My Oni Girl writer-director Tomotaka Shibayama and co-writer Yûko Kakihara (Trapezium, Apothecary Diaries, Urusei Yatsura, 2020s) quickly turn the same old script on its head, turning it into a sweet and satisfying surprise. .
The film has a rather confusing narrative logic that may inspire audiences to guess or argue: What is an oni in this film, anyway? When a woman with purple-pink hair and a sensitive single horn enters the life of Hiiragi Yatsuse, a quiet boy. whose classmates deserve his polite eagerness to please, find themselves together on an episodic cross-country road trip to search for his mother.
Along the way, Hiiragi discovers that his tendency to suppress and hide his feelings also makes him an oni; In this world, Oni simply appear to be other people with horns, and there are no symptoms of others repressing their feelings. The oni girl, Tsumugi, is in fact not repressed and is a role-playing style for Hiiragi in many ways.
My Oni Girl owes an apparent debt to Studio Ghibli, not only for the extended scream of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (on which Shibayama worked as a virtual ink and paint artist), but also for the character dynamics and some of the creepiest supernatural images. Hiiragi supports, rescues and becomes increasingly attached to her new and positive friend; Or they’re the target of creatures they don’t understand, and figuring out what’s going on and what they want to do turns what starts as a small domestic movie into a big, winning adventure. —Tacha Robinson
Director: Lee Jeong-beomCast: Won Bin, Kim Sae-ron, Kim Hee-won
Nowhere Man is the epitome of a simple, nasty action thriller, propelled on the strength of its gripping combat sequences and moving performances. Selective Korean actor Won Bin stars in his new acting role as Cha Tae-sik, a quiet loner who runs a small pawn shop in a run-down apartment complex. Taciturn to a fault, Tae-sik probably has no friends or social connections to speak of, unless So-mi (Kim Sae-ron), the only daughter of an opium-addicted nightclub dancer, who does everything imaginable to be close to him. Training
After her mother tries to borrow a giant packet of opium from a ruthless drug dealer, So-mi’s life is in danger and Tae-sik will have to call upon a fatal ability from his mysterious afterlife to save her. Won Bin shines as the protagonist of an action movie, sending enemies and chasing protagonists with a calm and effortless demeanor. But the real star is Sae-ron, whose portrayal of a young woman who craves a sense of camaraderie and stability in a world teeming with hostility and uncertainty is guaranteed to tear your center apart until it breaks. The Nowhere Man is one of my favorite Korean action movies of all time, and one that I propose in a totally focused way to anyone for an action mystery that has as much emotional stamina as lightning. —Toussaint Egan
Director: Timo Tjahjanto Cast: Joe Taslim, Iko Uwais, Julie Estelle
The night is coming, just fucking whips, okay?Why waste time on subtleties and preambles; The movie is actually not like that!Indonesian action thrillers have experienced a renaissance since Gareth Evans’ 2011 film, The Raid, broke down the door and destroyed everything else in sight. Timo Tjahjanto’s 2018 film follows in Evans’ footsteps, starring The Raid star Joe Taslim as Ito, a gang thug who betrays his Triad crime family by sparing a child’s life and attempting to flee the country.
Raid star Iko Uwais appears here as Arian, Ito’s friend and fellow executioner during his formative years, who is tasked with locating Ito and retrieving the girl. The action is fast-paced and frenetic here, with kinetic choreography and dazzling hand-held cinematography that makes every and every bump, drop, and hit count. If you want your adrenaline pumping, throw this one away. —TE
Director: Paul Thomas AndersonCast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lesley Manville, Vicky Krieps
Paul Thomas Anderson’s former 2017 drama Phantom Thread follows the story of Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis), an irascible couturier in 1950s London whose conscientiously cultivated lifestyle is turned upside down through his ongoing love affair with his muse Alma. (Vicky Krieps), a strong-willed woman with her own ambitions and desires. Her latest film role to date, Day-Lewis is, unsurprisingly, masterful in her portrayal of Woodcock as an artist whose whimsical whims and tedious inflexibility prove unbearable for Anyone But Soul, who discovers a way to. . . let’s say unconventional to point out the dynamics of force in their relationship. Add to this exquisite music through Jonny Greenwood and amazing costumes through Mark Bridges, and you get what is undoubtedly one of Anderson’s most productive works. movies to date. —TE
Director: S. S. RajamouliCast: N. T. Rama Rao Jr. , Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn
Polygon’s Favorite Movie of 2022, RRR is an epic, all-ages bromance packed with stunning action sequences, unforgettable musical numbers, and two guys who are just guys. If you can, you deserve to watch it in the original Telugu language edition on Zee5. If you can’t do that, the Hindi dub on Netflix is worth it. —PV
Director: Jo Sung-hee Cast: Song Joong-ki, Kim Tae-ri, Jin Seon-kyu
Space Sweepers: Set in the year 2092, Jo Sung-hee’s Space Sweepers follows the team of independent garbage creditors in the area who notice a child robot named Dorothy containing a nuclear device. Hoping to get a ransom for Dorothy in exchange for enough cash to escape. Their life of poverty, their plan temporarily becomes a race to stay ahead of the military might of a corrupt corporation. Although far from the ultimate premise of original science fiction, Space Sweepers is still a visually stunning film with wonderful action and a sympathetic cast. of dysfunctional characters with wonderful chemistry. —TE
Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac
2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a real before and after in the history of American animation. Not only did the film bring Miles Morales to a new generation of audiences, but it also shocked the entire industry with its pioneering technique for CGI animation that relies heavily on the texture and storytelling techniques of comic books. In short, it is a genuine cultural phenomenon. How can you go beyond that exactly?
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse turns out to be an answer to this question on several fronts; visually, tonically and technically. Miles faces a non-public and ethical situation in the form of Spot, a dimension-jumping supervillain whose revenge against Spider-Man threatens to endanger the entire multiverse. If that wasn’t enough, Miles inadvertently bumps into Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), the leader of a Spider-People organization of exchange universes, who believes Miles himself is the source of the problem.
From its stunning war sequences to its magnificent multiversal views and surely shocking soundtrack, Across the Spider-Verse takes on the challenge of following one of the most acclaimed American animated films in years and straight out of the park. It is a genuine spectacle to see. With the film on its way, the question returns: how precisely are they going to achieve this to the maximum?-YOU
Director: Patrick Imbert Cast: Lazare Herson-Macarel, Eric Herson-Macarel, Damien Boisseau
This 2021 French-language animated drama centers on Makoto Fukamachi, a tenacious journalist who stumbles upon the biggest story of the century: evidence that George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, not Sir Edmund Hillary, were the first mountaineers to reach the summit of the mountain . Everest in 1924. However, his only clue to breaking up with Hitale, an elusive mountaineer known as Habu Joji, has been absent for several years. While studying the main points of Joji’s life in the years before his disappearance, Makoto inadvertently finds himself drawn. to the same sense of achievement and meaning that has driven countless climbers to scale Everest.
Based on Jiro Taniguchi’s 2000 manga series, Summit of the Gods is a gorgeously animated drama about the elusive quest for personal and professional validation and the dangers of arrogance and selfishness. The sets are spectacular, the character animation is impressive, and the film’s final moments are as thought-provoking as they are deeply uplifting. Prepare for a film that exemplifies “adult animation” as a juvenile display of hyperviolence and superficial titillation, but as a story about what it means to move through the world as an adult and find your place and purpose there. -YOU
Director: Zhang YimouCast: Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Willem Dafoe
One of the most unfairly maligned films of the 2010s, The Great Wall is an epic monster defense film from wuxia master Zhang Yimou, featuring laughing creature design, wonderful combat sequences (complete with fantastical, colorful uniforms) and a wonderful sense of scale.
Matt Damon plays a European mercenary imprisoned at the Great Wall. When monsters attack him, they free him for battle. The star-studded film also stars Willem Dafoe, Pedro Pascal, Jing Tian and Andy Lau, but The Great Wall’s genuine appeal lies in the monster attacks.
Zhang is one of the world’s most productive action managers, with masterpieces like House of Flying Daggers and Shadow under his belt, and he has a good laugh at the setting of The Great Wall. Monsters are terrifying and unique in their form. moss-green design, and the setting of The Great Wall allows for some of the most productive siege sequences since the Lord of the Rings films. —PV
Directed by: Mélanie LaurentCast: Mélanie Laurent, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Manon Bresch
There’s a spot for videos like Alien, where a script written for a male lead character remains unchanged when a woman is cast in the role. But there’s also a place for films like Wingwomen, an action comedy that flourishes in its specificity around its characters and their experiences as women in our world.
In Wingwomen, Carole (director and star Mélanie Laurent of Inglourious Basterds) has a very close and protective relationship with the young Alex (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a discovered family situation. Or they’re trapped on the internet of crime lord Godmother (Isabelle Adjani) and looking for a way out. When they meet a new member of their team, the talented racer Sam (Manon Bresch), they see one last chance to break away from their lives of crime and live together in peace.
Fun, exciting and endearing, you probably won’t laugh more in the cinema than watching Wingwomen. I wish 20 more years to Laurent, who directs and stars in lighthearted genre films, especially if they also star Exarchopoulos, who, between these one and Passages, gave two of the most memorable performances of 2023. —PV
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