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The 20 best-reviewed movies currently on Netflix

Time to knock 'What to expect when you're expecting' from your homepage

The 20 best-reviewed movies currently on Netflix
03 October 2016

If you made the mistake of “accidentally” clicking on What To Expect When You’re Expecting then your Netflix homepage is probably something you swiftly minimise when someone else comes near your computer. But, don’t be fooled as there’s a whole truckload of high quality films to be enjoyed.

Hoping to give your watch list a refresh, we trawled through the thousands of options out there and found the most critically adored movies currently available on Netflix. Have an Oscar-winning week, yeah?

(Images: All Star, Rex Features)

You might like: Netflix documentary with 93% on Rotten Tomatoes

12 Angry Men

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%

Genre: Drama

Oscars: None

What the critics said: "It makes for a fine actors’ showcase." Mike D'Angelo, Entertainment Weekly

Watch it here


Anomalisa

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%

Genre: Drama

Oscars: One nomination

What the critics said: "It's weird and brilliant and heartbreaking and unlike anything you've ever seen." Brad Keefe, Columbus Alive

Watch it here


Young Frankenstein

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%

Genre: Spoof

Oscars: Two nominations

What the critics said: “The Brooks of 'Young Frankenstein' isn't really skewering the conventions of the horror movie - he's paying tribute to them, and using them as scaffolding for his particular brand of goofy, Borscht Belt burlesque." Jason Bailey, Flavorwire

Watch it here


Ex Machina

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%

Genre: Sci-fi

Oscars: One win, one nomination

What the critics said: “The Swedish actress Alicia Vikander ("The Fifth Estate") infuses Ava with the just the right mixture of iciness, vulnerability and mystery. It's a star-making performance." Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

Watch it here


Whiplash

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94%

Genre: Drama

Oscars: Three wins, two nominations.

What the critics said: “I suggest you take a defibrillator to Whiplash, since the chances of a heart attack or spontaneous combustion during viewing are high." Kate Muir, The Times

Watch it here


Fargo

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94%

Genre: Crime comedy drama

Oscars: Two wins, five other nominations

What the critics said: "A crime gem that is darkly funny even when it's chilling - and certain to become a classic." Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

Watch it here


You Can Count On Me

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 95%

Genre: Comedy drama

Oscars: Two nominations

What the critics said: "A fountain of narrative surprise. You never know where this thing is going. And it's such a pleasure to tag along with these characters." Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Watch it here


Chasing Ice

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%

Genre: Documentary

Oscars: One nomination

What the critics said: "If you're looking for eye-popping evidence that the world's glaciers are melting, don't miss the small-scale but spectacular documentary, Chasing Ice." Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Watch it here


Good Will Hunting

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 97%

Genre: Comedy drama

Oscars: Two wins, seven other nominations

What the critics said: "Intimate, heartfelt and wickedly funny, it's a movie whose impact lingers." Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

Watch it here


Life Itself

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 97%

Genre: Documentary 

Oscars: Shortlisted but not nominated 

What the critics said: "If you aren't moved by Life Itself, you ought to have your heart examined." Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

Watch it here


The Hunt For The Wilderpeople

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 97%

Genre: Comedy

Oscars: None

What the critics said: “One of the most sincere and funny portraits of family life to come along in a while." April Wolfe, L.A. Weekly

Watch it here


Das Boot

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%

Genre: Drama

Oscars: Six nominations

What the critics said: "The execution is second to none; taut, claustrophobic and overwhelming." Nick De Semlyen, Empire Magazine

Watch it here


Under The Shadow

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%

Genre: Horror

Oscars: None

What the critics said: "Under the Shadow is an eerie, often unsettling, Iranian feminist horror film set in Tehran in 1988, at the height of the Iran-Iraq War." Kevin Maher, The Times

Watch it here


Let The Right One In

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%

Genre: Horror

Oscars: None

What the critics said: "A true original: love story, horror film and social drama. At once brilliant in its parts, and more than the sum of them." Matt Bochenski, Little White Lies

Watch it here


It Happened One Night

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%

Genre: Romantic comedy

Oscars: The "big five", best picture, director, actor, actress, and writing

What the critics said: "One of those stories that without a particularly strong plot manages to come through in a big way, due to the acting, dialog, situations and direction." Variety 

Watch it here


Airplane!

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%

Genre: Spoof

Oscars: None

What the critics said: "At a time when throwaway gags seem like a luxury in any film, Airplane! has jokes—hilarious jokes—to spare." Janet Maslin, New York Times

Watch it here


Annie Hall

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%

Genre: Romantic comedy drama

Oscars: Four wins, one other nomination

What the critics said: "A touching and hilarious love story that is Allen's most three-dimensional film to date." Joseph McBride, Variety

Watch it here


Blackfish

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%

Genre: Documentary

Oscars: None 

What the critics said:  "An extraordinary, must-see examination of what humans do to killer whales so that these amazing creatures can become one more entertainment." Joe Neumaeir, New York Daily News

Watch it here


How to Train Your Dragon

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%

Genre: Family 

Oscars: Two nominations 

What the critics said: "An exhilarating epic that mixes comedic and touching moments with some of the best action sequences ever created with CGI animation." Tom Horgen, Minneapolis Star Tribune 

Watch it here


Rear Window

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 100%

Genre: Mystery thriller

Oscars: Four nominations 

What the critics said: "It's one of Alfred Hitchcock's inspired audience-participation films: watching it, you feel titillated, horrified, and, ultimately, purged." Michael Sragow, New Yorker

Watch it here