There’s always some hit and misses when it comes to Netflix Originals. Sometimes we get Oscar worthy material, other times it’s straight dumpster trash.

Obviously there’s also been a little bit of a slowdown in new releases, thanks to COVID. But, there have still been some rather solid releases made for Netflix’s streaming platform!

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As the title above hopefully makes obvious, this list is purely personal picks. I did not select these based off of awards, Rottentomatoes Score or anything like that. These are films that I enjoyed a lot in particular, and that were released within the last two years.

 

Extraction – Action 

We recently gave a little mini review on this film, saying that we loved the cinematography and action. Truthfully, Extraction is one of the better action films made since John Wick 2.

Starring Chris Hemsworth as a mercenary who specializes in finding and extracting high value people. When a mission goes awry, he must fight for his life and his mission’s life as they try to escape hostile land.

Triple Frontier – Action

What do you get when you combine great action directing with a star studded Oscar Winning cast? Well, you get Triple Frontier. 

When a group of former special forces operatives decided to steal from a drug lord, things go sideways. As they fight their way out of a hostile territory, they find themselves making increasingly hard decisions.

Starring heavy hitters like Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Oscar Isaacs certainly doesn’t hurt anything.

Hold the Dark – Thriller

When a local boy is thought to have been carried off and eaten by wild wolves, an investigator finds more. Much more than he bargained for that is.

Directed by Cinematographer Jeremy Saulnier, the movie is bleak, beautiful and haunting. If you enjoyed films like Blue Ruin or The Grey, you’ll love this film. That being said, it does have one of the most frustrating endings that I have ever experienced in a film. Everything prior to that ending is wonderful, but that ending just ruins it all.

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The Red Sea Diving Resort – True Story Drama

In 1979 a group of Mossad agents open a fake hotel resort in efforts to help smuggle Ethiopian refugees. As they battle threats from both inside and out, they try to pull off one of the lesser known fights in history.

Starring Chris Evans, Michael Kenneth Williams and Haley Bennet. Red Sea is one of Netflix’s most underrated and well made thrillers. With fantastic performances, great editing and stellar pacing. 

The King – Historical Action

Timothee Chalamet stars as Prince Hal, a wayward royal leader forced to become a warrior and king. He tries to find his way among the minefield of medieval politics and war, he finds his own strength.

Featuring some of the best action scenes put to medieval warfare since Kingdom of Heaven. Phenomenal acting from Timothee Chalamet, Robert Pattinson, Joel Edgerton and Ben Mendelson. All in all, The King is a fantastic look at a forgotten chapter in history.

The Two Popes – Drama

Catholicism is under fire when reports of pedophilia priests are being outed in the early 2000s. When Pope Benedict decides to retire from the papacy, he calls an old friend to talk.

Two Popes is essentially just a two hour film about two storied men sharing opinions and battles of wit. With stellar writing, sharp direction and incredible attention to verbal detail. On top of that, when your leads are Anthony Hopkins and Johnathan Pryce, you really can’t lose.

Marriage Story – Drama

Nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Male Lead and Best Female Lead. Marriage Story is a hard movie to watch because of how hyper real and intense it is from start to finish.

It isn’t a violent or gore filled movie, it’s about two parents unable to come to terms and learning to hate. We watch their descent and they are subjected to horrendous acts of verbal violence as they rip and tear at each other. 

Seriously, this movie left me sobbing at a few points. This movie is a masterpiece, pure and simple.

 

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