The Dark Knight is now available to stream on Netflix
This past week has been one of the best weeks for movies on Netflix for a long time. With the addition of some truly fantastic classics and oscar-winning movies, Netflix subscribers will be spoilt for choice on a binge this weekend.
Here are the best new movies on Netflix this week:
Batman Begins (2005)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Superhero
Runtime: 152 Minutes | Parental Rating: PG-13
Cast: Christian Bale, Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman
Nolan’s Batman Begins kickstarted what would become one of the best superhero trilogies of all time. Christian Bale taking on the role of the Bat has since become iconic, not to mention a cast that features the incredible talents of Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman who have made iconic versions of their characters in their own right. While Batman Begins wasn’t as financially successful as what you would have expected, it laid the foundation for all future superhero films to come.
After the death of his mother and father, Billionaire Bruce Wayne seeks revenge on the criminals of Gotham City. After years away from the city, and picking up incredible skills from the league of shadows, Bruce returns to Gotham. To free Gotham City from its corruption and crime, Bruce Wayne becomes the Batman, striking fear into the hearts and minds of all Gotham’s dirty criminal underbelly.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Superhero
Runtime: 140 Minutes| Parental Rating: PG-13
Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Twelve years and dozens of Superhero films later, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is still the greatest superhero film of all time. The tragic loss of Heath Ledger only amplifies his own performance as the Joker, which earned him a post-humous academy award for Best Supporting Actor. Truly an iconic film, the legacy of The Dark Knight will live on forever.
Bruce Wayne’s time prowling the streets of Gotham as Batman has left the criminal underworld in disarray. Desperate to regain control of Gotham, they hire the anarchist Joker. Unpredictable, maniacal but incredibly cunning, the Joker takes the Batman and Gotham City to the brink of destruction.
Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982)
Director: Ridley Scott
Genre: Sci-Fi, Noir
Runtime: 117 Minutes | Parental Rating: R
Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh
One of Ridley Scott’s most beloved films, and hailed as one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time, Blade Runner is now available to stream on Netflix. Out of all the various different cuts, the one available to Netflix is the one that is edited by the director himself. It took 25 years for Warner to release The Final Cut and thankfully it’s here to stay, on Netflix that is.
In the year 2019 Rick Deckard, an ex-police officer, is tasked with hunting down a group of renegade replicants after their escape from the off-world colonies. The deeper Deckard goes into his investigation, the more he questions his own identity as his reality unravels around him.
Dirty Harry (1971)
Director: Don Siegal
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Runtime: 102 Minutes | Parental Rating: R
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni, John Vernon, Andrew Robinson
Of all the roles Clint Eastwood has had in his long and illustrious career, Dirty Harry is easily one of the most famous. Dirty Harry has been wildly influential in Hollywood and even crossed over into the music genre when the band Gorillaz used Clint Eastwood’s name and the title of Dirty Harry for two separate songs.
The serial killer calling himself “the Scorpio Killer” is on the loose on the streets of San Francisco. It’s up to police inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan to track the murderer down and bring him to justice.
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Director: Bruce Beresford
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Runtime: 99 Minutes | Parental Rating: PG
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone, Esther Rolle
Driving Miss Daisy was a phenomenal success both critically and commercially in 1989. Actress, Jessica Tandy earned an Oscar for her starring role as Ms. Daisy, and Morgan Freeman earned himself a nomination for his part as Hoke, losing to Daniel Day-Lewis’ incredible performance in My Left Foot.
After crashing her car, 72-year-old Daisy Werthan is persuaded by her son to use the car and hired chauffeur he has provided. Hoke, her new chauffeur, is Black and has faced extreme prejudice in the American South where they live, but times are changing as radical social reforms begin to make its way south. Over the course of many years, Werthan and Hoke’s relationship teach each other about life and death, racial discrimination and the value of friendship.
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Director: Robert Aldrich
Genre: War
Runtime: 150 Minutes | Parental Rating: TV-14
Cast: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes
Featuring an all-star cast of actors, The Dirty Dozen is remembered as one of the best war films of the 60s. The film was also a success at the academy too, earning itself the award for Best Sound Effects and was nominated for three more.
In the lead up to D-Day, OSS officer Major John Reisman leads a team of the US Army’s worst prisoners into occupied-Europe to assassinate dozens of high ranking German officials. But first “the Dirty Dozen” must undergo hard intensive training to prove they are up to the task and execute one of the most critical missions for the Allies.
The Notebook (2004)
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Genre: Drama, Romance
Runtime: 123 Minutes | Parental Rating: PG-13
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Gena Rowlands, James Garner, Ed Grady
What is now considered as a classic date movie, The Notebook is one of the most beloved romantic films from the noughties. The Nicholas Sparks story has left many a teenager in tears but fans find themselves coming back time after time to watch the romantic story unfold.
He’s poor, she’s rich but that doesn’t stop Noah and Allie falling madly in love with each other. Despite her love for Noah, Allie’s “respectable” Southern family deter her from the young man, but fate has its way with love, and the young lover finds themselves drawn to each other over the years.
The Pianist (2002)
Director: Roman Polanski
Genre: Biography, Drama, War
Runtime: 150 Minutes | Parental Rating: R
Cast: Adrien Brody, Emilia Fox, Michael Zebrowski, Ed Stoppard, Maureen Lipman
The very best and worst of cinema are the haunting stories ripped from the very pages of history itself, The Pianist exemplifies that idea perfectly. Adrian Brody’s incredible and haunting performance as Polish Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman earned him the accolade of becoming the youngest actor to ever win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Acting aside, the story of the Pianist, a true tale and reflection of the hardships both Szpilman and members of the Jewish Warsaw community had to endure during the Nazi occupation is a must-watch, and not necessarily for entertainment, but a grim reminder of the horrors and atrocities carried out in WW2.
Before the German’s invasion of Poland, Władysław Szpilman worked at the Warsaw radio station playing the piano. When the German’s occupy his country, Szpilman goes on a harrowing journey of survival in the city of Warsaw as he bears witness to the persecution of his people and the destruction of his city.
Which new movie will you be watching on Netflix this week? Let us know in the comments below!
