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![Best movies on Netflix to watch A collage of various characters from the films Red, Godzilla Minus One, Molly's Game and Wicked Little Letters](https://aarp.widen.net/content/2vtmhqkb23/png/1140-august-24-best-movies-netflix.png?crop=true&anchor=0,0&color=ffffffff&u=1javjt&w=1140&h=655)
As recently as a year ago, you’d have to hunt high and low on Netflix for any movie that first flickered on a big screen in the last millennium. These days, though, the streaming service offers a surprisingly deep catalog of older films, including excellent ’70s classics like Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Plus, the studio has produced some compelling fare of its own, including nature docs like My Octopus Teacher and award winners such as the World War I drama All Quiet on the Western Front. Here are 13 titles worth adding to your watch queue.
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
Erich Maria Remarque’s unflinching novel about World War I has inspired two Oscar winners — a 1930 black-and-white gem and this gripping 2022 remake that used every modern filmmaking technique to bring you right into the trenches with a group of young German soldiers whose idealism is quickly shattered by the stark reality of the conflict. Edward Berger’s German-language epic nabbed an eye-popping nine Oscar nominations and took home four awards (for best international film, cinematography, score and production design).
Watch it: All Quiet on the Western Front
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The Babadook (2014)
You might want to keep the lights on after watching this brilliantly creepy Australian horror film, about a widowed single mom and her emotionally troubled young son who’s been acting out in school and finds no comfort when he stumbles upon a macabre black-and-white picture book about a top-hatted ghoul. This is the rare horror film that crawls deep under your skin without buckets of blood or cheap jump scares.
Watch it: The Babadook
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Constance Wu shines as the ultimate fish out of water in this juicy romantic drama. She plays a young economics professor named Rachel who accompanies her longtime boyfriend (Henry Golding) to a wedding in his hometown of Singapore — only to discover that his family is insanely rich and his mom (Michelle Yeoh) doesn’t exactly approve of her. The course of true love never does run smooth, but the obstacles here are as entertaining as they are numerous. Plus, comedian-actress Awkwafina is a hoot as Rachel’s best friend and confidante.
Watch it: Crazy Rich Asians
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
The latest iteration of the Godzilla franchise is a throwback — and not just because the film focuses on a former kamikaze pilot struggling with survivor’s guilt in Japan in the years just after World War II. The film recalls not only the original Godzilla movies of the ’50s but also low-budget monster movies like Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, focusing on the human drama and tightly budgeted effects that ratchet up the tension rather than going for visual overkill. It’s no wonder that the film nabbed this year’s Oscar for visual effects despite a $15 million budget that’s a fraction of Marvel movies’.
Watch it: Godzilla Minus One
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