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The weather may be getting better in most of the country, but that doesn’t mean you want to stop watching movies! And Netflix has a strong slate of new offerings today, accompanied by a few of the more popular horror films of the last few years sprinkling through the rest of the month. Horror never rests. Pick your favorites and click through to read our original reviews, when available.
May 1st
“Ali”
Will Smith gave arguably the most impressive performance of his career in this unusual biopic by director Michael Mann. Muhammad Ali was such a magnetic, charismatic public figure that it made a traditional biopic approach impossible, but Mann and Smith did their best to get under the skin of one of the most important figures of the 20th century. Jamie Foxx is pretty great in this one too.
Ridley Scott directed Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in this telling of the true story of the rise and fall of Frank Lucas, one of the most interesting figures in the drug trade in the 1970s. This flick has all of the trademark craft of Scott’s career, but it’s also notable for an insane ensemble that also includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin, Armand Assante, John Hawkes, Ruby Dee, Idris Elba, Common, and so many more.
How could we have known how prescient this Coen brothers comedy about the increasing idiocy at the highest levels of government would be? This is one of the Coens’ most underrated flicks, with unforgettable performances from Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, and John Malkovich, who drops an f-bomb with more force than anyone in film history.
Francis Lawrence’s directorial debut turns 20 this year. Celebrate by revisiting the saga of John Constantine, an exorcist who has the ability to not only see what’s hiding under the surface of society but to travel back and forth from Hell. It’s a flick that did reasonably well in 2005 but critics mostly dismissed it, leading to a recent reappreciation as a cult classic, and possibly even a sequel.
For some reason, it feels almost impossible that this movie is 14 years old, but that’s where we are. It’s a rom-com that follows interconnected stories around L.A., featuring one of the most purely enjoyable turns from Ryan Gosling, appearing with his future “La La Land” star Emma Stone, and also starring Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei, and Kevin Bacon.
There’s no reason this movie should work as well as it does. First, it’s traveling the hallowed ground of arguably the best zombie flick of all time, George A. Romero’s 1978 masterpiece. Second, it’s by Zack Snyder, who would later prove to be, well, inconsistent. And yet he caught lightning in a bottle here, making the best film of his career and a modern saga of the undead that still works two decades later.
“Hanna”
Four years after “Atonement,” Joe Wright reunited with star Saoirse Ronan to make a very different kind of drama, thereby truly putting Ronan on the map as one of the leading performers of her generation. The multi-talented star plays the title character, a girl raised by her ex-CIA father (Eric Bana) in the woods who has to fight for her survival when dad’s colleagues hunt them down. It’s stylish, smart, and stands up 13 years later.
The rare product-based film that thrives on creativity more than marketing, this beloved blockbuster introduced the world to Emmet Brickowski, a Lego minifigure who discovers that everything isn’t quite so awesome. It’s a great family comedy that understands the power of imagination and how Lego can fuel that.
Steven Soderbergh bottled cool in this trilogy of films from the 2000s about the suavest criminals in the country, all of which are now on Netflix. Consider this entry a placeholder for all three movies, which are all, to varying degrees, worth your time. Have an Ocean’s marathon!
One of the best films of 2023 stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro in a story of lost love that finds greater depth than the average romantic dramedy. Lee is spectacular as a woman who reunites with a childhood friend she left behind over two decades ago in South Korea. This is one of the best films of the 2020s, and a must-watch on Netflix if you have yet to see it.
For some reason, this movie keeps recycling its legacy on social media as each generation struggles with whether to read it as straight sci-fi action or satire of fascism and the forces that propel it. You can have both! However you read it, this is a wildly entertaining movie, the kind that truly doesn’t get made anymore.
Steven Spielberg wasted no time mattering to the film scene of his era, following his excellent TV film “Duel” with this theatrical debut starring Goldie Hawn and William Atherton. It’s a fantastic watch now, especially knowing how Spielberg would change the form. You can see him laying the foundation over a half-century ago.
“Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”
The Oscar winner for Best Animated Film was on Netflix when the streamer dropped their latest adventure but popped off for a bit. It’s back now. Watch it again. It rules.
May 2nd
“Train to Busan” & “Train to Busan: Peninsula”
One of the biggest box office hits in Korean history, “Train to Busan” is a banger of a zombie flick, a non-stop adrenaline ride that the horror industry of that country has already tried (and largely failed) to replicate. The sequel isn’t quite as good but still makes for a fun double feature.
May 8th
This one is almost guaranteed to hit #1 on the Netflix charts by the time the day it launches has ended. Recent flicks do well and horror does even better. And it’s fun, a clever hybrid of rom-com and slasher tropes to unpack new aspects of both genres.
May 14th
“Smile”
Parker Finn’s directorial debut is one of the best horror films of the 2020s, topped two years later by its even-smarter sequel. Sosie Bacon is spectacular as a therapist who becomes haunted by what is basically a trauma parasite. And the only way to rid herself of it is to pass it on to someone else.
May 17th
“Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping”
Andy Samberg stars in the best Lonely Island comedy to date, and one of the funniest movies of its era. What can I say? Few movies make me laugh harder than the saga of Conner4Real.
May 24th
One of the best animated films of last year has finally landed on Netflix, where it will almost certainly be gigantic. Chris Sanders adapted the Peter Brown novel of the same name in a manner that recalls everything from Monet to Miyazaki. It’s gorgeous and the rare Netflix animated film that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
May 26th
“Pig”
When Nicolas Cage’s career is fully assessed, this performance needs to be considered near its top. The Oscar-winning actor gives one of his subtlest performances as an off-the-grid chef whose pig is stolen, leading him back to a life that he left behind.
The Rest
5/1: “American Graffiti,” “Eat Pray Love,” “The Equalizer 2,” “The Jerk,” “Flushed Away,” “Home,” “Mid90s,” “The Mule,” “Ocean’s Thirteen,” “Ocean’s Twelve,” “Paul,” “Sisters,” “Trainwreck,” “Trolls,” “The Twilight Saga,” “The Walk”
5/16: “Instant Family”
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