The pandemic had us at home for the better part of 2020 and 2021 was no different. While box office movies were put on hold, we still needed to find some escape in movies and thanks to Netflix, we did!
Here are some of the movies we enjoyed streaming on Netflix in the year 2021:
Passing
Passing is based on the 1929 novel with the same name written by American Novelist, Nella Larsen. It’s a black-and-white drama about the reunion of two childhood friends in 1920s Harlem, New York City.
Clare Kendy (Ruth Negga) and Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) become increasingly fascinated with each other’s lives by virtue of them being light-skinned black women, but one “passing” as white.
The movie shows the powerful psychological toll it takes to live as a light-skinned black woman married to black man with black children, and another married to a white man who hates black people.
Tick, Tick… Boom!
A biographical musical drama about the late Jonathan Larson (Andrew Garfield), the playwright and composer behind Rent and the Tick, Tick…Boom! musical. It follows Larson’s career and the pressure he feels to leave a lasting impression in his lifetime.
Even if you aren’t familiar with the real-life story of the late playwright, you’ll enjoy the meaningful narrative about the creative process while watching this feel-good tribute.
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
This family animation centers around The Mitchells, a dysfunctional family that has to fight a robot apocalypse amidst their family road-trip. When creative outsider Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson) is accepted into the film school of her dreams and is eager to leave home and find “her people,” her nature-loving dad, Rick (Danny McBride) insists on having the whole family drive her to school and bond during one last totally-not-awkward-or-forced road trip.
Just when the trip can’t get any worse, the family finds itself in the middle of a robot uprising. Everything from smart phones to roombas are employed to capture every human on the planet. Now it’s up to the Mitchells, including upbeat mom Linda (Maya Rudolph), quirky little brother Aaron (Michael Rianda), their squishy pug, Monchi, and two friendly, but simple-minded robots to save humanity.
The Guilty
Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a demoted police officer working as a 911 call operator in the city of Los Angeles. We follow the thrilling call he receives from a terrified woman named Emily (Riley Keough) who’s in trouble but can’t exactly say why, so Joe leads her through a series of yes and no questions.
He figures out she’s in a very bad situation, and he soon gets incredibly invested in her nightmare, even more so after he speaks to Emily’s six-year-old daughter, who is home alone and terrified. He vows to save Emily and her daughter without really having any clear understanding of what’s going on. He acts on his interpretations and makes some drastic mistakes.
Army of The Dead
Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead is a zombie-heist movie that takes place after a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas. A group of mercenaries led by Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) take the ultimate gamble and venture into the quarantine zone in hopes of pulling off an impossible heist.
The star-studded film is full of action, double-crosses, immigrant issues and a quick zombie love story sprinkled in!
The year is not over yet, keep an eye out for new Netflix releases!