Nat’s Lists: 10 Great Films Currently on Netflix

Lockdown sucks, let’s be honest. You can’t see your friends, you can’t go to the pub, and you can’t go on more than one jog a day (I say like that’s something I’d do normally). On the plus side, it does give you a chance to catch up on all the films you said you’d watch and then never did, or find a hidden gem. So, with that in mind, I’ve picked 10 great films on Netflix, all of which I’d highly recommend watching. I’ve picked Netflix because it’s the streaming service most people seem to have, but if people like this then I’ll probably try it for Prime as well. I’ve tried to include a mix of must-sees and more niche films, ones that you can smugly recommend to your friends. I’ve also tried to include a range of genres, because not everyone likes the same stuff as me and that’s okay. So without further ado, let’s begin.

The Drinking Game | The Road to El Dorado

My go to drinking game is back on Netflix, and it is time to party! Alone in your house of course. But who could blame you for wanting a drink during this most trying of times? Based off a short story by Rudyard Kipling, The Road to El Dorado tells the story of two bros in Spain in the 1500s, who stumble onto the Lost City of El Dorado, where the natives quickly take them for gods. It’s a slightly problematic setup, but made up for by the sheer amount of queer-coding, cute animals and bright colours. Plus it’s fun enough to enjoy but dumb enough that you don’t have to pay attention, which is the perfect formula for a good movie drinking game.

As for the rules, you can find my own set, honed after many years of alcoholism, below:

Nat’s Drinking Games: The Road to El Dorado

The Action Film | The Raid

There is a difference between an adventure film and an action film. Adventure films are fun, family-friendly capers, often with elements of comedy or romance thrown in. Action films are (or at least should be) balls to the wall carnage in every scene. If you don’t end up staring slack-jawed at something simultaneously awesome and slightly disgusting, then it’s barely an action film. And The Raid is one of the best action films of all time. Coming out of Indonesia, it tells the story of a police squad trying to take a high rise building run by a brutal drug boss. Thinks go tits up almost immediately, and our hero, Rama (played the truly terrifying Iko Uwais) has to fight his way up, floor by floor. The director, Gareth Evans, was inspired by the martial art of Pencak Silat, and filled the film with unbelievable fighters and stuntman. It’s fight scenes are utterly brutal but incredibly inventive, and if there was an Oscar for most number of machetes in a film (and there 100% should be) The Raid would win it. If you’re a fan of action, you absolutely have to see The Raid.

The Animated Film | Rango

For those who are looking for a lighter, more kid-friendly movie, then I cannot recommend this bizarre oddity of a film enough. It may not be the most famous animated film on the list, but it’s worth a watch for it’s quirky humour, Western references and gorgeous visuals. Unlike so many animated films, you can really feel just how much heart went into making this; no detail is left undefined, no joke made thoughtlessly. And to be honest, you’d have to be invested in a project to make something as out-there as this. It’s a trippy, referential blast of a film with some killer action scenes. It’s the kind of film that shouldn’t appeal to anybody, but everyone I know whose watched it has loved it.

The Ghibli Film | Porco Rosso

Of course, you can’t talk about animated films without discussing Studio Ghibli, the Japanese titan that has defined so many people’s childhoods. I’m gonna skip over the more famous ones here, partially because everyone already knows them and partially because I haven’t seen them (it’s a glaring blindspot in my film knowledge). But of the ones I have seen, it’s Porco Rosso I enjoy the most. It tells the story of an Italian fighter ace who has been turned into a pig by a curse. It’s a typically insane premise, but it allows the film to touch on aspects of action, romance, fantasy and, most importantly, sky pirates. Yup. That’s right. SKY PIRATES. Of course the whole thing comes down to a dogfight-turned-fistfight in the beautiful waters of the Mediterranean. Yet despite all that, there’s a surprisingly melancholic tone to Porco Rosso, one that makes it well worth revisiting.

And again, I can’t stress this enough, sky pirates.

The Rom-com | Clueless

Okay, so most people know about this one already. But I only watched this a few weeks ago, and holy damn is it good! Based (loosely) off Jane Austen’s Emma, Clueless is an affectionate satire of 90s valley girl culture. Its sense of morality may be slightly skewed at times (particularly the romance between Cher and her stepbrother) but the jokes are so genuinely funny you won’t care. You can also play a great game of ‘spot that celebrity,’ as famous faces from Marvel, the Princess Bride and Scrubs show up through out the film.

The Sci-fi Film | Looper

Another genre-blend from the chronic movie masher Rian Johnson, Looper mixes film noir with time travel for an enjoyably sleazy sci-fi story. Loopers are assassins, paid to kill victims sent back in time by a nameless crime syndicate led by the Rainmaker. But when Joe comes face to face with his future self, he hesitates, leading to a brutal game of cat and mouse in which the younger Joe tries to track himself. Set in a brilliantly thought out world and gifted with a great premise, Looper is a film for those who want smart sci-fi stories without sacrificing any of the spectacle. I’m also convinced it was the last film Bruce Willis (playing Joe’s older self) actually invested any effort into, so really it’s worth watching for that alone.

The Crime Film | Layer Cake

The film that got Daniel Craig the role of Bond. Craig plays XXX (no, he’s not a pornstar or Vin Diesel) an anonymous small-time drug dealer asked to find his boss’ daughter. Most Brit crime films settle for lazy stereotypes and jingoistic sentiments, but this is aided by the kinetic direction of Matthew Vaughn and one of the classiest casts in film history. Not only does it have Craig, but it also has Michael Gambon, Tom Hardy, Ben Whishaw, Colm Meaney and Sienna Miller. Combine that with a glibly smart script, and you’re left with a film that’s thrilling, funny and above all, bloody cool.

The Western | The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Another absolute classic, I could go on for hours about all the things that make this Spaghetti Western great. In my opinion Sergio Leone is one of the greatest directors of all time. Ennio Morricone is at least as good if not better than big names like John Williams and Hans Zimmer. And the iconic Clint Eastwood is matched in coolness by his co-stars Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach. At almost 3 hours it’s a long film, but that just gives it more time to explore a Wild West torn apart by the Civil War. As for the final standoff, it’s gone down in cinematic history for good reason. It may be remembered for being ridonculously cool, but it also has plenty of subtext about the costs of war. I really can’t say enough about how good this film is.

The Historical Drama | Death of Stalin

As a history nerd and fan of blacker-than-black-comedy, Death of Stalin feels like it was made for me. Written and directed by comedic firebrand Armando Ianucci, Death of Stalin follows the aftermath of the eponymous event. As Politburo members move to seize power for themselves, their manipulations are only outdone by the sheer absurdity of their actions and the system which they helped create. You’ll be amused and appalled, frequently at the same time. On top of that, it’s a rare chance to see some great character actors take centre stage, as Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale and Jason Isaacs make you howl with laughter. If every historical drama was this darkly witty, I’d enjoy them a lot more.

The Horror Film | Jaws

Look, if you haven’t seen this one yet then there’s a problem. The godfather of man vs giant-creature films, Jaws is an absolute classic for a reason. The first half may seem cliched to modern audiences, since countless films since have imitated it or parodied it, but its the second half where things really get going. Setting out to see on a boat that’s famously not quite big enough, the three protagonists bond whilst going up against nature itself. The actual mechanical sharks were notoriously crap, but Spielberg’s smartly stops us from ever seeing too much of them. It’s a masterclass of monster movie-making, and changed cinema forever. So get on your butts and watch it.

Nat’s Lists: 5 Must-See Westerns

There aren’t many Westerns made any more nowadays. Maybe it was because they were churned out like Ford Mondeos way back in the 1950s, or the fact that many of them had…outdated views on race and gender. Yet at its best, the Western combines beautiful, harsh landscapes with some of the most indelible characters ever seen on the silver screen. In a vain attempt to get people to like them again, I’ve come up with a list of 5 Westerns you absolutely should see before you die. Whilst I could have just put 5 Sergio Leone films on and gone away with a clean conscience, I’ve done my best to keep the list varied; not every Western has to be a total grimfest, after all. So, without further ado, let’s begin.

The Classic Western: Rio Bravo

Before Clint Eastwood came along and squinted his ways into the hearts of many, there was one man who dominated the Western; John Wayne. Whilst many of his films were a bit crap, that doesn’t mean his that we should simply discard his entire back-catalogue. Indeed, this particular gem, directed by film legend Howard Hawks, deserves recognition for being…well, just damn entertaining. Hawks infuses his trademark pace and wit into every scene, with a charismatic cast featuring Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson and Walter Brennan giving every scene an easy charm. Nominally, the film is about John T. Chance (Wayne), a local sheriff attempting to hold off a wealthy rancher’s gang. Yet in reality, it’s what Quentin Tarantino has termed a hangout movie; the real joy is in spending time with these characters, getting to know them and coming to love them. There’s even a musical interlude between Martin and Ricky Nelson. If you’re looking for a classic Western overflowing with charm, then look no further.

The Buddy Western-Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

One of the most recognisable bromances in cinematic history, Paul Newman and Robert Redford teamed up for this Western, loosely based on real events. Butch and Sundance make for one of the great screen parings of all time; they’re funny, cool, and unrelentingly human. If real bandits were this likeable, no one would ever want to catch them. But this isn’t just a buddy film; more than that, it’s an elegy to the Wild West. As the net closes around our heroic outlaws, we sense how their entire world is getting smaller; the growth of cities, of railroads and indeed the law heralds the end of the era. It’s gone down as one of the best films of the 1960s, and with good reason.

Spaghetti Western-The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

If you only see one Sergio Leone film (you should frankly watch more) it should be this one. The final, and best film in the Man with No Name trilogy, The Good the Bad and the Ugly is remembered today for Clint Eastwood’s squinting, smirking cowboy Blondie (aka the Good). But the supporting players are equally as good, with both Lee van Cleef (the Bad) and Eli Wallach (the Ugly) turning in unforgettable performances as Blondie’s competitors, all searching for a cache of Confederate gold during the American Civil War. Leone isn’t so much telling a story here as showing you an entire world; there are numerous plot detours that help flesh out the crazy, tragic habitat in which these characters live, in one of the most turbulent periods in American history. And the Ennio Morricone score has rightly gone down as one of the greatest of all time.

The Comedy Western-Blazing Saddles

Westerns are not known for being funny. They’re typically thought of as grim, quiet, brooding pieces of cinema. However, that hasn’t stopped the genre from being the subject of a number of parodies, from the The Three Amigos to Support Your Local Sheriff. The best of the bunch has to be Mel Brooks’ 1974 satire, which sees Harvey Korman’s dastardly Hedley Lamarr attempt to terrify a backwards town into surrendering their land by appointing a black man as sheriff. As you might have realised from that synopsis, Brooks doesn’t make any effort to avoid taboo subjects, instead leaping headfirst into them with unrestrained glee, making you giggle guiltily at things you know just shouldn’t be funny. Yet whilst his fourth wall breaking silliness is entertaining for anyone, Blazing Saddles really rewards Western fans, with the late Gene Wilder playing a parody of Dean Martin’s Dude from the aforementioned Rio Bravo. If comedy is your thing, then this is a must see.

The Revisionist Western-Unforgiven

Unforgiven is often considered the film that killed the Western, ironic considering it’s one of the best films in the genre. Directed by Clint Eastwood, the former Man with No Name set about destroying the mythology that surrounds the Wild West, resulting in this harsh, uncompromising yet simultaneously beautiful epic. Eastwood stars as William Munny, a legendary retired gunman roped back in for one last runaround. It’s a cliched premise, but Eastwood uses it to subvert every trope in the book. Munny isn’t a valiant knight, but a man addicted to violence and heartache. Gene Hackman’s sheriff is a brutal tyrant of a man who might just have a point. Richard Harris, a gentleman gunfighter, is quickly humiliated and degraded. It’s impossible to look away, even as Unforgiven tears down the very mythology it’s based upon. It was the end of an era, and potentially Eastwood’s best film. On top of that, the end features one of the most simple yet beautiful film compositions of all time, the inconspicuously named Claudia’s Theme Version Eight.