Netflix has so much content that it’d take a lifetime to dig it up, and with over 7,000 movies for you to stream, it can be hard to decide on just one. Some are obviously more worthwhile than others, which is why I’ve put on my streaming cap to recommend choices for the week, using metrics like popularity, ratings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, and individual preference. It’s a big week for paleontology fans, as the new Dinosaurs docuseries is spurring interest in dino movies, including the just-added Jurassic World: Rebirth.
Jurassic World: Rebirth
The fourth installment in the Jurassic World franchise sees the remaining dinosaurs on Earth clustered around the equator, but research continues. A team from a pharmaceutical company journeys to an abandoned island to try to retrieve DNA from a lost species, only to find that the results of dark experiments have led to freakish creatures that might be the next stage in evolution. It doesn’t do anything groundbreaking, but it’s a lot of fun, with some bombastic set pieces.
The Bubble
Let’s take a left turn with 2022’s The Bubble, one of the first movies to wrestle with what the COVID-19 pandemic meant for the entertainment world. When the cast and crew of dinosaur action movie Cliff Beasts 6: Battle for Everest – Memories of a Requiem form a quarantine group to finish the movie, things quickly spiral out of control, and the lizards are the least of their worries.
Godzilla Minus One
It’s fair to say that there would be no Jurassic Park movies without the Godzilla franchise lighting the way for man-vs-monster action, even if the Big G is a little taller than any real-world dinosaur. 2023’s Godzilla Minus One brought the series to new heights with a clever quasi-reboot. Set in the post-World War II era, it follows a kamikaze pilot with survivor’s guilt who encounters the monster and becomes essential in protecting Japan from his rampage.
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Director: Takashi Yamazaki
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Cast: Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada
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Genre: Science Fiction
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Rating: PG-13
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IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
Colossal
For another look at the man (or woman) and monster dynamic, 2016’s Colossal was recently added to Netflix, and it’s worth a watch. Anne Hathaway stars as an alcoholic writer who moves back to her hometown and, through some bizarre circumstance, becomes entangled with a giant creature that materializes out of nowhere to wreck Seoul, South Korea, whenever she walks through a playground. It’s a quirky but amazing movie that’ll make you feel like a giant lizard yourself sometimes.
Recommended by Our Editors
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Director: Nacho Vigalondo
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Cast: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens
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Genre: Science Fiction
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Rating: R
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IMDb Rating: 6.2/10
Want to see everything that’s new on Netflix this month? We’ve got you covered.
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About Our Expert
K. Thor Jensen
Contributing Writer
Experience
K. Thor Jensen is a writer and cartoonist living in the Pacific Northwest. He has contributed to dozens of prestigious outlets, including PCMag, Tested, Clickhole, and Newsweek. His second graphic novel, Cloud Stories, was released in 2017.