The 50 best movies on Netflix New Zealand
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Loading... - Gregory Jones
- 31 May 2022
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Behold, Steve Newall has crafted the definitive list of the best films currently available to stream on Netflix NZ. We’ll update this post each month as films come and go from Netflix.
Annihilation
Alex Garland made a big splash with feature debut Ex Machina after writing in the sci-fi genre with Sunshine and Dredd. The former novelist tackles one hell of a tricky adaptation here in the form of the first installment in Jeff VanderMeer’s trippy Southern Reach trilogy, his writing bordering at times on the unfilmable. With a powerful cast of women led by Natalie Portman and an affecting, disorienting Geoff Barrow/Ben Salisbury score, Garland takes us on a psychedelic journey into body horror, transformation, depression and grief, with gorgeous visuals fleshing out Annihilation‘s tendencies towards Lovecraft and Ballard.
Atlantics
Set in Senegal’s capital Dakar, supernatural romantic drama Atlantics follows interweaving narratives—construction workers rail against not being paid to build a shining corporate tower above the impoverished city, and teenaged Ada prepares for her arranged marriage. Connecting the two is Ada’s romance with Souleiman, one of the aforementioned workers, who’s among a group of them to set sail in the middle of the night for Spain. Things get odd when illness begins to befall those close to these men, and Souleiman’s said to have made a reappearance. A deft blend of various elements, and a super promising first feature from Mati Diop (also the first black woman to direct a film in competition at Cannes).
The Big Short
While best-known as an outright comedy director thanks to Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Step Brothers, here Adam McKay turns in a brutally succinct takedown of the American greed causing the Global Financial Crisis. McKay distills hugely complex subject matter down to digestible, Oscar-winning form, using every trick in the book—a stacked cast, dramatic heft, the blackest of comedy, Margot Robbie in a bubble bath—to land this true story’s punches, bringing into full view a mix of satirical skills, anti-establishment attitude, and interest in serious issues previously only hinted at on Saturday Night Live (and his underrated cop comedy The Other Guys, of all places—also on Netflix).
Blade Runner 2049
Revisiting Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner universe shoulda been sacrilege—especially in our era of sub-standard sequels and prequels. And yet… 35 years on, Denis Villeneuve ushered us into a new pessimistic future, one that built on Scott’s themes and characters, and also found new, enthralling and moving things to say about humanity and sentience—all while screaming that coming decades would be grimmer than even the 1982 original had predicted.
Boy
Taika Waititi’s second feature saw the multi-hyphenate return to his childhood—geographically (the East Coast’s Waihau Bay), temporally (the 80s), and emotionally (the title). The humour of Aotearoa permeates this pic, as does Waititi’s own creative streak, but there’s no reason to tell you this because you have literally all seen this film and experienced its intimate and heartrending depiction of disillusionment with a beloved parent, one that’s unfit for the pedestal they’ve been put on. Read More…
