It’s officially Oscars week, with the 98th Academy Awards taking place at the Los Angeles Dolby Theatre this Sunday, March 15. One of the hottest contested Academy Awards of recent memory, several acclaimed titles from the past year will be hoping to take home some of the biggest prizes in film. Between Paul Thomas Anderson’s politically relevant masterpiece, One Battle After Another, Ryan Coogler’s beloved vampire flick Sinners, the quietly stunning Danish-Norwegian drama Sentimental Value, and more, this year’s line-up is stacked. So what should you watch to get you in the mood? Here’s a list of three movies you should stream this week on Netflix.
For more recommendations, check out our list of the best shows and movies on Netflix.
Disclaimer: These titles are available on US Netflix.
1
‘Train Dreams’ (2025)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% | IMDb: 7.5/10
There’s no better option ahead of Oscars weekend than a viewing of one of this year’s Best Picture contenders: Train Dreams. The movie stars Joel Edgerton as early 20th-century railroad worker Robert Grainier, who battles enormous tragedy and hardship as he struggles to find his place in a rapidly changing world.
Although it might be the least discussed among this year’s nominees, Train Dreams should arguably be in contention to win the prize. Visually jaw-dropping and boasting the very best of Edgerton, the film quietly breaks your heart before culminating in a soaring final scene that will leave you stunned and reminiscing. Also starring the likes of Felicity Jones and Kerry Condon, this neo-Western drama is not to be missed.
2
‘The Perfect Neighbor’ (2025)
Rotten Tomatoes: 99% | IMDb: 7.1/10
Netflix’s biggest shot at Oscars glory this year comes in the Best Documentary Feature category, as The Perfect Neighbor, produced and directed by Geeta Gandbhir, makes a likely bid to take home a Golden Statue. Told entirely through police bodycam footage, home videos, news reports, and CCTV, The Perfect Neighbor recounts a tragedy taking place in an unassuming Florida neighborhood.
Timely, powerful, and moving, The Perfect Neighbor pulls none of its punches as it takes its audience through a terrifying true crime case and lets the real horrors of the story speak for themselves. Any bells and whistles normally associated with Netflix documentaries are dropped for a cold, unflinching reality that will leave you struggling for words and desperate to fight.
3
‘I’m Still Here’ (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% | IMDb: 8.1/10
Another way to get in the Academy Awards mood is to catch one of the ceremony’s best from recent years. With that in mind, you can’t get much better than the political drama I’m Still Here. Directed by Walter Salles, I’m Still Here follows Fernanda Torres‘ Eunice as she tries to keep her family together whilst fighting for answers after her husband is abducted by the new military dictatorship.
Winner of the 2025 prize for Best International Feature, as well as awarding Torres a well-deserved Best Actress nomination, I’m Still Here is one of the most profound, affecting historical dramas of the decade. As poignant as it is educational, the film is a remarkable achievement in cinema that became the very first Best Picture nominee from Brazil, a feat followed this year by Kleber Mendonça Filho‘s The Secret Agent.
- Release Date
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November 20, 2024
- Runtime
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137 Minutes
- Writers
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Walter Salles, Marcelo Rubens Paiva, Murilo Hauser, Heitor Lorega
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Fernanda Torres
Eunice Paiva
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Selton Mello
Rubens Paiva