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Update: Riotous sci-fi superhero movie Guardians of the Galaxy is back on Netflix. And if you want something a little more cerebral, don’t miss the chilling The Witch
After a long day’s work, you can beat curling up on the sofa in front of Netflix. The problem is choosing what to watch then there are thousands of shows and movies to rifle through.
Most of the time we spend 45 minutes browsing through movie covers, end up in an argument and settle for an episode of Friends we’ve already seen 45 times.
We have the solution. Below you’ll find the latest crop of top movies and TV shows just added to the service. It’s your one-minute solution to movie streaming fatigue.
Be sure to come back every week if you want to avoid relying on Netflix’s algorithms to show you what’s hot on the streaming service.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Want a fun superhero movie to watch? You can’t do better than the first Guardians of the Galaxy. It turned Chris Pratt from a funny TV character actor into an A-list movie star, and has greater of a sci-fi influence than other Marvel films.
There’s more than a hint of Star Wars-flavoured magic to this 2-hour blockbuster. It’s a great way to show off a high-end TV’s skills.
Guardians of the Galaxy is also very funny, and Pratt doesn’t hog all the best lines. Dave Bautista’s Drax is hilarious and Vin Diesel makes a surprise appearance as a talking tree. Who can only say “groot”. Trust us, it makes more sense in context.
The Witch: Some were disappointed when they went to see The Witch at the cinema in 2015. Trailers sold it as a straight-up horror film. But it’s a quieter, more meditative film that relies on the slow development of a creepy mood rather than cheap jump scares.
The son of a farming family in 1600s New England disappears. Folk tales of a witch who lives in the woods beyond their property lead the parents to think their daughter may be to blame.
Part slow horror, part an exploration of the behaviour around witch trials of centuries past, The Witch is a fantastic watch. Just don’t hit the play button, popcorn in hand, expecting B-movie thrills.
Annihilation: Netflix’s exclusive movies haven’t had the best run of late. The critics did not like Mute or Bright. But they absolutely love Annihilation. This sci-fi film has been called one of the best in a decade.
Natalie Portman is Lena, a scientist and ex-solider who investigates the Shimmer, an expanding wall of light that has appeared in the US’s deep south. It’s an intelligent and disturbing film we kinda wish we could have seen at the cinema.
Annihilation was directed by Alex Garland, writer/director of 2014’s Ex Machina. The man knows his sci-fi.
Deadpool: An antidote to the superhero movies that take themselves far too seriously, Deadpool is packed with humour and flat-out silliness. It leans heavily on Ryan Reynold’s great comic timing, and his ability to deliver a sassy line like few others.
Whether you find Deadpool deliciously irreverent or downright obnoxious depends on your sense of humour. But it digs right into the jokes within the first 30 seconds.
New TV shows on Netflix this week
Aquarius: Season two of Aquarius has come to Netflix. It’s also the last series of the show, after NBC axed it in 2016.
The main appeal: David Duchovny. He plays a police detective investigating cult leader Charles Manson. Yes, that Charles Manson.
The show didn’t receive rave reviews. However, there was a lift in quality in the second season. It’s worth a watch if you’re a Duchovny fan or are fascinated by the chilling Manson story.
Jessica Jones (Season 2): Netflix’s Marvel march continues with the return of ass-kicking private eye Jessica Jones – fittingly making her comeback coinciding with International Women’s Day.
Last seen in the divisive The Defenders spin-off show, here’s hoping Jessica Jones returns to that first series’ strengths, offering a more physiologically-driven narrative than the smackdown-focussed Daredevil, Luke Cage and god-awful Iron Fist.
Recently added movies on Netflix
The Jungle Book (2016): When anyone dares to touch a classic text, looks of horror start to appear on people’s faces. However, the 2016 version of The Jungle Book actually stacks up reasonably well next to Disney’s all-time-classic version.
Hand-drawn animation is traded for more realistic CGI, and there’s far less music than the Disney version. However, there’s real appeal here for adults and kids alike. The beautifully rendered computer imagery gives the story an epic sensibility missing from the 1967 version.
A Silent Voice (UK): Every story seems to get more charming when passed through the filter of Japanese animation. A Silent Voice is the tale of a young man called Shoya Ishida who tries to reconnect with a deaf girl he bullied in his school years.
Unlike the body-swapping Your Name there’s no grand high concept here, but there is real charm. And, as is often the case, the Japanese aesthetics help to avoid the cloying sentimentality that might arise if this story was made by the US studio system. Don’t miss this if you like grown-up animated movies.
Forgotten: One of Netflix’s early Original 2018 movies, Forgotten is a South Korean thriller. Lead character Jin-seok’s brother is kidnapped. He returns after 19 days with no memory of his abduction. He starts behaving oddly, leading Jin-seok to look into what happened.
This is a classic twisty-turny thriller we won’t spoil by giving any more away. You will need to watch it with subs as there’s no English dub. But we’d recommend that anyway.
Mute: This relatively high-profile Netflix exclusive has not had the best critical reception. Mute has been panned by almost all reviewers, but we think there are a few flashes of director Duncan Jones’s brilliance that break through.
Set in a near-future Berlin, it stars Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux. Skarsgård plays a mute bartender, searching a seedy futuristic underworld to discover what has happened to his missing girlfriend.
Downfall (UK): One of those “what do you mean you haven’t seen it?” films, Downfall is a critically acclaimed 2004 drama based on the last few days of Hitler’s life.
It’s no jolly ride, but Bruno Ganz’s portrayal of a broken and desperate HItler is spellbinding. It’s gripping stuff. And once you’re done you can be the one saying, “what do you mean you haven’t seen Downfall?”
Recently added TV shows on Netflix
Derren Brown: The Push: Derren is back with another dose of his mind-altering trickery, The Push. In the show, Brown tries to see if social pressure and a carefully manufactured scenario can cause someone to commit murder.
It plays out as a captivating 68-minute examination of the mind that, like most of Derren Brown’s output, will have you rapt, worried and wondering if you’d do the same.
Altered Carbon: Netflix’s latest big-ticket TV extravaganza, Altered Carbon is a big-budget production worthy of Hollywood. A sci-fi spectacular, this dystopian cyberpunk series is based on the lauded Richard K. Morgan novel of the same name.
Consciousness has become a commodity to be uploaded. Bodies are replaceable, industrially built “sleeves”. There are obvious shades of Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell to this murder mystery. But it’s rare to see the cyberpunk genre expanded to an ongoing series, so it’ll be interesting to see if the tropes of the genre hold out over an extended run.
Need more Netflix recommendations? Try these in-depth run downs of the best of the best Netflix content:
Is Netflix better than Amazon Prime Video? Watch our comparison video below.
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