As we leave 2025 behind and enter the new year, there is one thing we know for sure: Netflix has plenty of great movies to watch. That said, there is ample trash too, and you shouldn’t waste your time watching a turkey.
That’s why I’ve rounded up these four films that are genuinely worth watching and are sure to set your 2026 off with a bang.
4
The Terminator
Arnold Schwarzenegger has played many iconic roles over his career, but perhaps none better than the titular assassin in The Terminator franchise. Directed by James Cameron (and written by him and Gale Anne Hurd), it’s tricky to overstate the impact of the 1984 sci-fi classic. Even now, over forty years later, it stands up as a thrilling, action-packed ride that grips you from the beginning and doesn’t let go.
If you don’t know, the story of the film is that the cyborg Terminator is sent from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), who will one day give birth to the man who leads the fight against the machines. This classic time travel movie is surprisingly violent, so I don’t recommend putting it on for family movie night, but it makes for a fantastic watch when the kids have gone to bed.
The Terminator
Release Date
October 26, 1984
Runtime
108 minutes
Director
James Cameron
3
Forrest Gump
Last week I recommended Cast Away, a film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks. This week it’s Forrest Gump, another collaboration between the pair that was released in 1994. In it, Hanks plays the titular character, a man with a low IQ who lives a remarkable life. Despite all the excitement he experiences, Forrest never forgets about his childhood sweetheart, Jenny (Robin Wright), whose life goes in a different direction.
This movie is a journey in every sense of the word. It’s powerful and heartwarming, with an engaging pace and brilliant acting from everyone involved. The soundtrack, composed by Alan Silvestri, is excellent, and the visual effects still hold up. It’s no surprise that Forrest Gump won six Oscars, alongside many other award nominations, and is arguably better than the book on which it was based.
Forrest Gump
Release Date
July 6, 1994
Runtime
142 minutes
Director
Robert Zemeckis
2
Ballad of a Small Player
New to Netflix in the last few months is Ballad of a Small Player. It stars Colin Farrell as a boozy con man who has fled the UK for financial crime and is now living in Macau under the moniker “Lord Doyle”. Based on the novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne, the film sees Doyle get further into debt and tracked by an investigator, Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton).
The film’s visuals and music are fantastic, and Farrell puts in a great central performance that sells all the aspects of the character (and far more interesting than his other film from this year, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, in which he co-stars with Margot Robbie). Director Edward Berger is on a strong streak, with Conclave and All Quiet on the Western Front before this, so I’m excited to see what he does next.
1
The Hangover
The Hangover spawned a trilogy, but they never topped the 2009 original. Directed by Tod Phillips, the film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis as groomsmen who wake up in a Las Vegas hotel room with no memory of what happened the night before. The room is trashed and the groom is missing, so they set out to find him, which leads them on a wild adventure.
The Hangover is full of quotable dialogue and memorable moments, with a script that is far better than you might expect from a movie with this premise—the jokes begin immediately and never stop, meaning another laugh is always around the corner. It’s helped by the fact that the lead trio has undeniable chemistry, and the movie is surprisingly heartfelt. Even if you don’t think this would be something you’d enjoy, give it a chance.
The Hangover
Release Date
June 5, 2009
Runtime
100 minutes
Director
Todd Phillips
Get the most from your Netflix subscription by watching these movies, then come back to How-To Geek next week for a fresh batch of rock-solid recommendations.
Subscription with ads
Yes, $8/month
Simultaneous streams
Two or four
Stream all of these great movies, along with plenty more original and licensed programming, with a Netflix subscription.
