Top 10 Movies to Watch on Netflix

Hannah Van Kuiken 

This list contains a lot of oldies but goodies, and a couple of new ones for your delight. There are also a couple of anime movies for those of you college students who enjoy it as much as I do (you know who you are). 

  1. “Kate and Leopold”- Kate and Leopold features the lovely Meg Ryan (“Sleepless in Seattle,” “Anastasia”) and the adored Hugh Jackman (“Wolverine,” “The Greatest Showman”). In this romantic comedy, Hugh Jackman plays the part of a duke from the 19th century, Leopold, who accidentally stumbles in time into the present and woos and charms the single-minded entrepreneur, Kate, with the mannerism of a, well, gentleman. This movie will make you ladies swoon and realize that chivalry is not dead; and guys can take some notes on how to get a girl and to treat your girlfriend extra special (hint hint). All in all, it is a heartwarming movie that will make you feel fluffy inside. 
  2. “Batman Begins”- For those of you who still enjoy the DC universe in a world that is pro-Marvel, you can regain some respect by at least watching the first movie of the Dark Knight Trilogy, “Batman Begins.” Directed by Christopher Nolan, it features the amazing Christian Bale, the mind-blowing Liam Neeson, and many other film legends. It starts with the traditional Batman origin story, with his parents’ death and wanting to protect his home from such violence, but with a few additional frightening twists and turns from the League of Shadows and the Scarecrow. Will the Christian Bale version of Batman be any better than the Ben Affleck version, or will you be sorely disappointed? Go look for yourself next time you’re on Netflix. 
  3. “Inception”- Another movie that is directed by Christopher Nolan features the dreamy Leonardo Decaprio. It has the same mind-bending abilities as “The Matrix” and intriguing details that will make you question the inner workings of your minds. It’s about men who go into the dreams of businessmen to get them to do what their clients want. Warning, this movie does have a bit of language in it, but it will make you drool from being awestruck. It will not make you go to sleep, pun intended. 
  4. “Chicken Little”- Most of you probably know about this old school Disney movie about a chicken who cries “the sky is falling,” but for those of you who don’t know it well, you will laugh at the hilarity of the goofy, high school chicken’s world of constant groans and puns in his moment of panic. For some of us, you will find those moments of clumsiness to be very relatable. 
  5. “The Little Mermaid” (Live Action)- This version of “The Little Mermaid” is not from Disney, but it does not lack any of the magical wonder of Disney. If anything, it is like a happy baby of “The Little Mermaid” and “The Princess and the Frog.” This little mermaid is under the control of an evil circus ring master and falls in love with a magically skeptical prince charming (a reporter) with an adorable, sickly niece. This adventure has some new curves that the original Little Mermaid that we know does not have but it is still a delightful film for you students that still have a little bit of fairy dust in your eye. 
  6. “Hairspray”- For my musical loving friends, you can’t help but get up and dance along to this radical 60’s teen’s moves. She dreams of appearing on the popular show for teens and dance with her hot crush Link (aka Zac Efron), but she also dreams of changing the world for the better for her friends Seaweed and Little Inez with the power of dance. There’s just one problem though: Amber, aka little Miss Snooty Beauty Queen. Will she be able to share a dance with all her friends despite the social standards of the time, and will she ever get her mother out of the house? Find out in this rock and rolling film about friendship, music, and BIG hair! 
  7. “Corpse Bride”- Another oldie but goodie for those who like to jump out of their seats, but don’t want to go to bed with nightmares of knife wielding psychos, this old Tim Burton movie will give you the friendly spooks. Victor Van Dort, who lives in a dreary Victorian town, is practicing getting ready to marry a penniless debutant Victoria, and nervously goes to practice his wedding vows in the forest when he accidentally proposes marriage to a young corpse bride. She then whisks him away to the land of the dead, where everyone is “dying to get to.” He tries to get back to Victoria, but the corpse bride is not willing to let go of the love of her life so easily. This musical, spooky movie will make your spine shiver and fulfill your need for creepiness. 
  8. “Nacho Libre”- Nacho Libre is an older, hysterical Jack Black film about a stumbling priest who dreams of becoming a luchador (which is a Mexican version of a boxer who tend to have flashy costumes) to help the kids at the orphanage that he works at. The problem with him being a luchador is that his superiors, and his crush, would not approve of fighting for money and vanity. But what if fighting for money is for good intentions to give the children a better time in life? The movie is chalk full of dumb wit, flops, bad fighting, and a whole lot of awkward and cringy moments that will make you laugh your socks off and want to share it with friends, over the computer of course. #socialdistance 
  9. “Flavors of Youth”- This anime movie carries the nostalgia that everyone feels when they eat their favorite food, feel their favorite dress, listen to their favorite song, and hang with their old friends from the childhood. This movie is about people and their favorite things from their childhood and how that feeling of nostalgia and hope followed them on their journey into their adulthood. For us college students, that feeling of nostalgia always comes around when we get home sick for our mom’s cooking, hear some song from the 90’s, or something that takes us back to our childhood. Well in this case, you’re getting all the home time that you want, but when things get back to normal and when we are all back on campus you can watch this and feel homesick as much as you want. 
  10. “Violet Evergarden Special”- This beautiful anime movie is a continuation of a show about a girl named Violet who has returned from fighting in a war and lacks the ability to express any emotions, so to learn how people feel and express themselves, and how to express those feelings, she gets a job as a letter writer. In this film, a difficult opera singer, who is constructing an opera of her own about how unhappy the people are about the war, asks Violet to write a love letter that “every woman can identify with and make men’s hearts pound” to express the loss and heartache that everyone has felt over the fighting. Can Violet manage to write such a letter or has she finally met her match? You are definitely going to need an entire box of tissues with you, because you will be ugly crying rivers when you watch. Okay, maybe watch it when we are not so low on tissues, but I highly recommend this captivating movie. 

These are my list of top 10 movies to watch on Netflix. Now go binge watch some more good movies while we all get through this craziness together. God bless you, stay home, and stay safe!