The Best Movies on Netflix Right Now

Netflix’s first major foray into original film territory was an ambitious awards play, as the streaming service acquired writer/director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s passion projectBeasts of No Nation after the film had been completed. The drama chronicles the journey of a young boy in an unnamed West African country who becomes a child soldier, and while the subject matter should tell you that this isn’t necessarily a “cheery” watch, it’s a tremendous and incredibly powerful piece of filmmaking. YoungAbraham Attah is phenomenal as the young Agu, while Idris Elba delivers a terrifying performance as the charismatic leader Commandant. Fukunaga serves as his own cinematographer to hauntingly beautiful results, and the film culminates in a tough and thought-provoking conclusion. It’s one of the best films of 2015 that went criminally underseen, but it’s a terrific film that deserves to be experienced. – Adam Chitwood