50+ of the Best Netflix Movies Available in New Zealand
We curate a list of critically acclaimed movies, available right now on Netflix
Updated 4 December 2020
Looking for the best movies on Netflix? Our trusted list compiles the best. To be included, movies must have achieved over 50% on Rotten Tomatoes and have at least six reviews. Most of the inclusions below rate highly and many have cult followings.
We update our list of the best Netflix movies regularly.
Are we missing your favourite? Email our research team now and let us know.
Looking for the best movies on Netflix? Our trusted list compiles the best. To be included, movies must have achieved over 50% on Rotten Tomatoes and have at least six reviews. Most of the inclusions below rate highly and many have cult followings.
We update our list of the best Netflix movies regularly.
Are we missing your favourite? Email our research team now and let us know.
Best Netflix Movies
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They shall not grow old (2018)Plot Summary: This moving documentary brings World War I to life for new generations through eyewitness accounts and vividly restored and colorized footage.
Director: Peter Jackson Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 99% |
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Green Book (2018)Plot Summary: Out of their elements, a refined pianist hires a street-smart driver to navigate a concert tour of the segregated Deep South.
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 77% |
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Revolutionary Road (2008)Plot Summary: April and Frank's marriage unravels when a plan to change their "perfect" lives becomes their last hope to escape lives engulfed in emptiness.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 67% |
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Amy (2015)Plot Summary: Rare home videos and interviews with Amy Winehouse's inner circle offer an intimate look at her journey from charismatic teen to troubled star.
Starring: Amy Winehouse Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 95% |
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Shererazade (2019)Plot Summary: Fresh out of juvenile detention in Marseille, 17-year-old Zach falls for a young prostitute and soon faces a dire dilemma while working as a pimp.
Director: Jean-Bernard Marlin Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 100% |
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Bridesmaids (2011)Plot Summary: When an underemployed baker becomes her best friend's maid-of-honor, she almost ruins the big day due to her competition with the other bridesmaids.
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 90% |
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The big lebowsky (1998)Plot Summary: Slacker Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski gets involved in a gargantuan mess of events when he's mistaken for another man named Lebowski.
Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 83% |
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Shirkers (2018)Plot Summary: In 1992, teenager Sandi Tan and her friends Sophie and Jasmine shot Singapore's first indie -- a road movie called "Shirkers" -- with their enigmatic American mentor, Georges Cardona. After shooting wrapped, Georges vanished with all the footage.
Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 100% |
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The forty-year-old version (2020)Plot Summary: Desperate for a breakthrough as she nears the big 4-0, struggling New York City playwright Radha finds inspiration by reinventing herself as a rapper.
Starring: Radha Blank, Peter Kim, Oswin Benjamin Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 98% |
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The Irishman (2019)Plot Summary: Hit man Frank Sheeran looks back at the secrets he kept as a loyal member of the Bufalino crime family in this acclaimed film from Martin Scorsese.
Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci Other Martin Scorsese films available : The Departed, Goodfellas, The Age Of Innocence, Casino Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 96% |
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Back to the future (1985)Plot Summary: After he accidentally drives a DeLorean time machine from 1985 to 1955, Marty McFly races the clock to ensure his future parents fall in love.
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson Also available: Back to the future II Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 96% |
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Springsteen on Broadway (2018)Plot Summary: Bruce Springsteen shares personal stories from his life and acoustic versions of some of his best-known songs in an intimate one-man show.
Starring: Bruce Springsteen Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 96% |
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About time (2013)Plot Summary: When Tim learns that the men in his family can travel in time and change their own lives, he decides to go back and win the woman of his dreams.
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 68% |
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The Iron Giant (1999)Plot Summary: Amid the backdrop of the Cold War, a 9-year-old boy befriends a colossal yet gentle robot that a paranoid government agent is intent on destroying.
Starring: Eli Marienthal, Vin Diesel, Jennifer Aniston Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 96% |
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The Truman Show (1998)Plot Summary: Truman Burbank is the star of "The Truman Show," a 24-hour-a-day TV phenomenon that broadcasts every aspect of his life without his knowledge.
Starring: Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 95% |
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Arrival (2016)Plot Summary: A linguist charged with finding a way to communicate with aliens that have landed on Earth uncovers a connection with meaning for mankind and herself.
Starring: Mark O'Brien, Frank Schorpion, Amy Adams Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 94% |
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Southpaw (2015)Plot Summary: When tragedy strikes, former boxing star Billy "The Great" Hope is forced to start over. But does he still have what it takes to be a champion?
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Rachel McAdams Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 59% |
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Snowpiercer (2013)Plot Summary: The Earth's remaining inhabitants are confined to a single train circling the globe as revolution brews among the class-divided cars.
Starring: Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Ed Harris Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 94% |
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Icarus (2017)Plot Summary: In his Oscar-winning film, an American cyclist plunges into a vast doping scandal involving a Russian scientist -- Putin's most-wanted whistleblower.
Starring: Bryan Fogel, Grigory Rodchenkov Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 94% |
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Marriage Story (2019)Plot Summary: An incisive and compassionate portrait of a marriage breaking up and a family staying together. From Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Noah Baumbach.
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda and Ray Liotta. Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 94% |
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Moneyball (2011)Plot Summary: Frustrated that his baseball team can't afford big-money players, Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane bets on a bold new strategy to change the game.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 94% |
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Train to busan (2016)Plot Summary: As a zombie outbreak sweeps the country, a dad and his daughter take a harrowing train journey in an attempt to reach the only city that's still safe.
Starring: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 94% |
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Saving Private Ryan (1998)Plot Summary: 1998- Eight U.S. Army Rangers penetrate German-held territory during World War II to find and bring home a soldier whose three brothers have been killed.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns Other films directed by Steven Spielberg available: Indiana Jones, War of the Worlds, The Color Purple, Hook Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 93% |
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Princess Mononoke (1997)Plot Summary: A prince infected with a lethal curse sets off to find a cure and lands in the middle of a battle between a mining town and the animals of the forest.
Starring: Yoji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yuko Tanaka Other Studio Ghilbi films avaialble: Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 93% |
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Sorry to bother you (2018)Plot Summary: After heeding a co-worker's advice, a telemarketer easily climbs up the corporate ladder -- until success lands him in corporate and moral chaos.
Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowlery Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 93% |
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Baby Driver (2017)Plot Summary: Smooth-faced getaway driver Baby is a music junkie in deep with a bad dude. He's got just one job left, but it's all about to go sideways.
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 92% |
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Logan Lucky (2017)Plot Summary: An ex-coal miner who's down on his luck hatches a plan to steal millions from a speedway during one of the biggest races of the year.
Starring: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Seth MacFarlane Creators: Reid Carolin Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 92% |
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Spider-Man Homecoming (2017)Plot Summary: 2017- Peter Parker returns to routine life as a high schooler until the Vulture's arrival gives him the chance to prove himself as a web-slinging superhero.
Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr. Other Marvel films available: Hulk, Ghost Rider, The Amazing Spider-Man 1, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 92% |
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The Nice Guys (2016)Plot Summary: When a porn star turns up dead in 1970s Los Angeles, a pair of odd-couple investigators uncovers a darkly comic case steeped in conspiracy.
Starring: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 92% |
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Fyre: The greatest party that never happened (2019)Plot Summary: The Fyre Festival was billed as a luxury music experience on a posh private island, but it failed spectacularly in the hands of a cocky entrepreneur.
Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 92% |
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Uncut gems (2019)Plot Summary: With his debts mounting and angry collectors closing in, a fast-talking New York City jeweler risks everything in hopes of staying afloat and alive.
Starring: Adam Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, Kevin Garnett Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 92% |
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Forrest gump (1994)Plot Summary: Forrest Gump, a friendly, simpleminded man, finds himself in the middle of nearly every major event of the 1960s and '70s.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 71% |
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Silver lining playbook (2012)Plot Summary: After a stint in a mental hospital, Pat moves in with his parents and tries to win back his wife, until he meets a woman who's as unstable as he is.
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 92% |
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La La Land (2016)Plot Summary: Career aspirations run up against bittersweet romance in modern-day Los Angeles, as two artists face a heartbreaking dilemma.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 91% |
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Crazy Rich Asians (2018)Plot Summary: When she joins her boyfriend on a trip to his native Singapore, Rachel Chu discovers his family's luxurious wealth and faces his disapproving mother.
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 91% |
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The trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)Plot Summary: What was supposed to be a peaceful protest turned into a violent clash with the police. What followed was one of the most notorious trials in history.
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 91% |
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A Star Is Born (2018)Plot Summary: When an aspiring singer develops a passionate relationship with a seasoned musician, her career begins to soar as his vices trigger a downward spiral.
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 90% |
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Philomena (2013)Plot Summary: An aging Irishwoman teams with a floundering journalist to find the son she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years ago.
Starring: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 90% |
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Inglorious Basterds (2009)Plot Summary: A Jewish cinema owner in occupied Paris is forced to host a Nazi premiere, where a group of American soldiers called the Basterds plans a face-off.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz Other films by Quentin Tarantino availalable on Netflix: The H8ful Eight, Django Unchained Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 89% |
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Always be my Maybe (2019)Plot Summary: Reunited after 15 years, famous chef Sasha and hometown musician Marcus feel the old sparks of attraction but struggle to adapt to each other's worlds.
Starring: Ali Wong, Randall Park, James Saito Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 89% |
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Blade Runner 2049 (2017)Plot Summary: The contents of a hidden grave draw the interest of an industrial titan and send Officer K, an LAPD blade runner, on a quest to find a missing legend.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas Also available: Blade Runner: The Final Cut Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 88% |
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Mystic River (2003)Plot Summary: Tragedy reunites childhood friends Sean, Dave and Jimmy when they're linked together in a murder investigation about Jimmy's teenage daughter.
Starring: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon Other Clint Eastwood films available: Flags of our fathers, Gran Torino, Unforgiven, Sully, The Mule, The 15:17 to Paris Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 88% |
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The Dark Knight Rises (2012)Plot Summary: Billionaire Bruce Wayne must once again don the cape of his alter ego, Batman, when Gotham is threatened by new foes such as Catwoman and Bane.
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman Other DC films available: Batman vs Superman, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, Watchmen Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 88% |
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First Man (2018)Plot Summary: Astronaut Neil Armstrong spends a decade training for the flight of a lifetime, as he prepares to be the first man to walk on the moon.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 87% |
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The shining (1980)Plot Summary: Jack Torrance descends into madness — terrorizing his wife and young son — after living at a deserted and eerie hotel during its off season.
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 84% |
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Elf (2003)Plot Summary: Buddy the Elf doesn't fit in with the other North Pole elves, so he travels to New York to find his real father and spread some Christmas cheer.
Starring: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 84% |
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Seven (1995)Plot Summary: A seasoned homicide detective and his new partner are on a desperate hunt for a killer whose gruesome crimes are based on the Seven Deadly Sins.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 82% |
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Prisoners (2013)Plot Summary: When his 6-year-old daughter is abducted and the investigation stalls, carpenter Keller Dover tracks down the culprit himself.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 81% |
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The theory of everything (2014)Plot Summary: As his esteem grows in the world of physics, Stephen Hawking's body is ravaged by ALS, forcing his increasing dependence on his devoted wife, Jane.
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 80% |
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Instant Family (2018)Plot Summary: Two house flippers are certain they can handle their latest project: adopting three longtime foster kids. But this group is anything but a family.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Octavia Spencer Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 80% |
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Crazy stupid love (2011)Plot Summary: When Cal learns that his wife wants a divorce, he reluctantly faces the prospect of single life with the counsel of a smooth young bachelor.
Starring: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 79% |
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The Revenant (2015)Plot Summary: In the 1820s, a fur trapper struggles for survival to exact retribution against a ruthless mercenary who left him to die along the Missouri River.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 78% |
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V for Vendetta (2005)Plot Summary: In a near-future dystopian society, a masked anarchist fomenting a revolution recruits a TV network employee, while a detective seeks his true identity.
Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea Rotten Tomatoes rating and review: 73% |
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