Instead of forcing yourself down to the local multiplex to gnaw the bones of Hollywood’s anemic slate of February cast-offs, why not stick to Netflix, where you can enjoy solid Swedish disaster movie The Abyss, a new Mike Epps stand-up special, and thousands of other movies that are actually good? Below are the best new (and newish) movies you can watch on Netflix this week.
The Abyss
Swedish disaster movie The Abyss doesn’t have the budget, stars, or special effects of triple-A Hollywood spectacles, but it makes the most of its resources by presenting a smaller scale, more intimate disaster with style. Loosely based on a real earthquake in the mining town of Kiruna, The Abyss chronicles what happens to a community when huge cracks appear in the ground and everything starts shaking.
Mike Epps: Ready to Sell Out
Stand-up comic Mike Epps has been performing for over 30 years, so there’s no nervousness about whether his jokes are going to land, no weak moments or awkward pauses. Epps is a pro, and there’s something reassuring and mesmerizing about watching someone who knows their craft this well, even when he’s explaining that all his money is gone and why his relationships don’t work.
Maboroshi (2023)
In this lushly animated Japanese feature, 14-year-old Masamune and his friends are trapped in a stilted world after a disaster freezes time in their small, rural town. Stuck in a life where nothing can change, Masamune and his classmate Mutsumi discover a feral child who shouldn’t exist, threatening everyone’s existence. Cynical older people might scoff at Maboroshi’s overblown depictions of young love, but kids will get it.
Nyad (2023)
Annette Bening and Jodie Foster star in this sports biopic/thriller that tells the true story of marathon swimmer Diana Nyad’s attempts to swim from Cuba to Florida. At 60 years old, Nyad sets out to conquer 100 miles of open ocean crossed with strong currents and crammed with man-o-war jellyfish, hungry sharks, and other deadly marine challenges. I’m usually immune to being “inspired” by movies, but after watching the Oscar-nominated Nyad, I put in a lap and half at the Y. Cuba, here I come!
Last week’s picks
Players
Valentine’s Day is over, but if you’re looking for a movie to watch with your valentine, consider this Netflix-original rom-com. In Players, Gina Rodriguez plays Mack, a sports writer whose hobby is hooking up with men through enacting elaborate “plays” with the help of her friends. The main rule of their little game: no long-term relationships can result from a play. When Mack falls for Nick, a charming war correspondent, the game becomes serious.
Einstein and the Bomb
After being forced to flee Nazi Germany, Albert Einstein urged the U.S. government to develop nuclear weapons despite being a committed pacifist. Einstein and the Bomb uses archival footage, reenactments, and Einstein’s own words to examine his internal conflict over laying the framework for the atomic bomb.
Home for Rent (2023)
If you’re in the mood for something completely different, stream this straight-out-of-Thailand horror movie in which a husband and wife become the new tenants of a rental property, only for the landlords to reveal themselves as members of a spooky cult. Before long, the husband has fallen under their spell, and they set their deadly sights on the couple’s daughter.
Kill Me If you Dare
Kill me If you Dare is the perfect anti-Valentine’s movie. Dig the set-up for this Polish black comedy: a financially struggling couple obtains a winning lottery ticket, but neither wants to share the winnings. Instead, they enact elaborate schemes to murder each other for the money.
