Netflix is awesome. Streaming movies is great and they’ve got tons of classics and a decent amount of more recent blockbusters. However, Netflix isn’t actually known for being super up to date with the movies on it. While it gets some great stuff eventually you’ll be hard pressed to find too many films recently released.
That’s why we’ve created this list of movies you should watch from 2013 on Netflix. Now we’re not saying these are the best films on there or even the best ten of 2013 on there, but more the movies that you should see because you can without paying extra money or leaving your couch. Maybe they’re just fun or maybe they’re so bad that you should watch them just to see how bad they are. So pop on Netflix and enjoy 2013!
Drinking Buddies is a legitimately great comedy that you probably haven’t seen since it was in and out of theaters faster than it should have been. It’s got a stellar cast including Anna Kendricks, Olivia Wilde and Jake M. Johnson. Seriously, this is one of the actually good 2013 films on Netflix and should get all the plays possible.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
Somehow this movie wasn’t entirely awful and was strangely popular with audiences. While the film isn’t smart or incredibly interesting it’s got solid action and is good enough to enjoy while shutting your brain off. It’s actually perfect Netflix fodder as it’s a quick, easy, thoughtless action romp that you can flip on and watch while making ginger bread houses.
Blackfish
One of the great things about Netflix is that you’ll watch documentaries now. When they’re right in front of your face and easy to play you turn them on and realize documentaries are actually interesting. Blackfish is relentlessly interesting as it tells the tale of the “killer whale” Tilikum, the infamous whale who, unlike his wild partners, has killed human beings. It’s an amazing deconstruction of our human perception and actual fact all based around the horrors of these majestic creature’s treatment in captivity.
The Act of Killing might be one of the best ideas for a documentary ever and the fact that it exists is a stunning triumph. Asking mass murderers to reenact their killings as if they were movies, the film delves into why we kill and how people excuse their actions. Meanwhile the fact that the film is asking killers to make films confronts our own ideas of representation in film and how valid the stories we’re told are. If you need conversation topics this film is crammed full of them. (ed: looks like it was taken off recently. Hopefully it comes back.)
Arnold returned to action in a big way in 2013. None of the movies really reached the greatness of his former glory but the one that got the closest was The Last Stand. A mash of a classic western and modern uber-action the film plays out idiotically, but as idiotically as its supposed to. Plus, it’s a modern western with Arnold in it. You’re probably not going to get too many of those.
I didn’t really get Upstream Color, but Hubert Vigilla did. Three times over. So watch it. Scratch your head and then come here for enlightenment. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.
Prince Avalanche is the rare comedy that works emotionally too. The tale of two guys who go off to work in the woods opens up into a story about life, loss and friendship. Set in an area of Texas ravaged by forest fires it is both humorous and heartfelt in ways that most humorous and heartfelt movies only want to be. There’s a texture to Prince Avalanche missing from the modern “meaningful” comedy and that texture is a bit of truth.
Movie 43
Do not just sit down and watch Movie 43. Prepare for it. Get some friends maybe. Have a few drinks. Smoke some weed. This isn’t a movie you can watch alone just to see how bad it is. It’s too bad to do that and you’ll die of awfulness. However, with a few friends and plenty of planning you’ll be ready to take on this movie without shooting yourself. You should watch this, but please be ready.
Lovelace is a flawed movie, but it has two factors that make it worth watching. One is that Amanada Seyfried is naked in it as she portrays legendary porn actress and then feminist Linda Lovelace. The other is that James Franco has an amazingly miscast cameo as Hugh Hefner, and we all know that fantastically bad James Franco cameos make sitting through a mediocre movie well worth it.
Sharknado
Everyone else has seen it so you probably should too, right? It actually isn’t that enjoyable once the gag wears out, but a good lesson that a punchline should sometimes just remain a punchline.
