8 New Movies You Can Watch on Netflix This Weekend

From a pandemic-themed Hollywood satire to a Best Picture winner.

In the wake of what was probably the most shocking Oscar ceremony of all time, what else is there to do but watch more movies? You really never know what's going to happen in Hollywood, and the closest most of us will get to knowing all of its secrets is taking in as many films as we can. Luckily, a huge batch of new movies just landed on Netflix, and we're going to take you through the most noteworthy ones. So read on for what you should check out this weekend, from a new movie-making satire to a recent Best Picture winner.

RELATED: Netflix Is Getting Rid of This, Effective Immediately.

1
The Bubble

Iris Apatow, Pedro Pascal, and Leslie Mann in The Bubble
Laura Radford/Netflix

As you've watched films that were shot sometime in the last two years, you've probably found yourself wondering, "What's it like to make a movie during a global pandemic?" Here with the most absurd answer to that question is The Bubble, a new comedy from Knocked Up and This Is 40 director, Judd Apatow. The cast includes Karen GillanDavid DuchovnyPedro Pascal, and Apatow's wife and daughter, Leslie Mann and Iris Apatow, as actors locked down on a closed set to film the fictional sequel, Cliff Beasts 6.

2
Sherlock Holmes

Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes
Warner Bros. Pictures

Known previously for his British crime movies, director Guy Ritchie gave us his take on literature's most famous detective in 2009's Sherlock HolmesRobert Downey Jr. is Holmes, and Jude Law is his Watson in this gritty but extremely fun romp. Netflix also has the sequel, 2011's Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and there's reportedly a a third film in the works right now.

3
Saving Private Ryan

Tom Hanks and cast in Saving Private Ryan
DreamWorks Pictures

Steven Spielberg's 1998 war epic is a classic for a reason, and if you've somehow not seen it yet, Netflix is giving you the opportunity to rectify that fact. In the devastatingly realistic movie, Tom Hanks leads a squad of World War II soldiers through the battlefields of France as they search for the only living brother (Matt Damon) of an otherwise killed-in-action family. Saving Private Ryan was nominated for 11 Oscars that year and won five, including another Best Director trophy for Spielberg, who'd previously won for Schindler's List.

4
The Ring

Naomi Watts in The Ring
DreamWorks Pictures

Naomi Watts stars in The Ring as a reporter Rachel Keller, who gets her hands on a VHS tape (remember those?) that curses every viewer to die seven days after they see it. Based on a 1998 Japanese horror flick, this 2002 remake takes Rachel on a strange journey to uncover the secrets behind the stark, disturbing imagery on the tape and how they all lead back to one little girl. But can she solve the mystery in time to save her son?

5
Her

Joaquin Phoenix in Her
Warner Bros. Pictures

Adaptation director Spike Jonze won the Best Screenplay Oscar for the futuristic rom-com Her, about a lonely man (Joaquin Phoenix) who finds himself falling for an artificially intelligent operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). The Atlantic is one of the many publications that chose Her as the best film of 2013, saying, "By turns sad, funny, optimistic, and flat-out weird, it is a work of sincere and forceful humanism."

6
Blade

Wesley Snipes in Blade
New Line Cinemas

As Marvel preps a reboot of the character with Mahershala Ali in the role, you can use Netflix to go back to 1998, when comic book movies were fewer and farther between and it was Wesley Snipes playing the titular human-vampire hybrid. The service actually has the whole vampire-hunting trilogy, including 2002's Blade II and 2004's Blade: Trinity, all of which deserve credit for paving the way for the rich Marvel Cinematic Universe that we have today.

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7
Argo

Ben Affleck in Argo
Warner Bros. Pictures

Ben Affleck directed and stars in 2012's Argo, a historical drama that recounts how the CIA faked a sci-fi movie shoot to extricate U.S. diplomats during the Iran Hostage Crisis. It was widely believed that Affleck was snubbed when he didn't score a Best Director nomination, especially since the film went on to win Best Picture. Alan ArkinBryan Cranston, and John Goodman co-star.

8
Trust No One: The Hunt For The Crypto King

Trust No One: The Hunt for the Cryptoking
Netflix

In 2018, a cryptocurrency billionaire named Gerry Cotten died at 30—taking the passwords to the crypto exchange he had co-founded with him. Stunned and angered by the loss of their money—$250 million in total—a group of investors launched their own investigation into the situation. Was Cotten's wife involved? Did he fake his own death and abscond with their wealth? Was the whole thing a scam from the start? The new Netflix documentary, Trust No One: The Hunt For The Crypto King, unpacks the saga.

RELATED: 7 New Shows You Can Watch on Netflix This Weekend.

Sage Young
Sage Young is the Deputy Entertainment Editor at Best Life, expanding and honing our coverage in this vertical by managing a team of industry-obsessed writers. Read more
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