After Hours.
Photo: Warner Bros./Everett Collection
With hundreds of films from around the world on Netflix, how does one know what to watch when they fire up their app? Start here. We track the the comings and goings on their streaming platform and have assembled a shortlist of movies worth making time for in March. No A.I. or algorithms here — just the personal picks of a seasoned film critic, including both new releases and library favorites. This month’s best movies on Netflix include awards-season fare like Jay Kelly and Blue Moon, a Martin Scorsese comedy that plays out over a wild night in SoHo, and the ’90s action classic starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek.
Year: 1985
Runtime: 1h 37m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese directed this fantastic comedy about an ordinary guy who has the longest night of his life and it has become one of the filmmaker’s most beloved works. Released in 1985, it stars Griffin Dunne as a guy just trying to get home from SoHo on one crazy night. Scorsese won Best Director for this great comedy at Cannes. ➽ Stream on Netflix
Year: 2000
Runtime: 1h 30m
Director: Christopher Guest
Movies don’t get funnier than Christopher Guest’s brilliant mockumentary about people obsessed with their canine counterparts. Reuniting with most of his favorite colleagues and friends after the success of Waiting for Guffman, Guest and his ensemble dropped what is quite simply one of the best comedies ever made and the standout of his remarkable career. It will now always be a reminder of Catherine O’Hara’s incredible talent, lost too soon. ➽ Stream on Netflix
Year: 2025
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director: Richard Linklater
Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke gives one of the best performances of his career as Lorenz Hart, half of one of the most famous Broadway writing duos in history. When his former partner Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) writes the hit Oklahoma! with a new collaborator, Hart spirals on the night of its premiere. Smart, funny, and moving, it’s a wonderful addition to the Netflix library, and one of the best films of 2025. ➽ Stream on Netflix
Year: 2016
Runtime: 1h 48m
Director: Nacho Vigalondo
Anne Hathaway stars in one of the most original and creative dramedies you could watch on Netflix. What happens if you blend an addiction drama and a kaiju movie? You get this crazy story, in which Hathaway’s troubled soul learns that she is somehow controlling a monster on the other side of the world. It’s imperfect, but there’s nothing else quite like it. ➽ Stream on Netflix
Year: 1995
Runtime: 1h 44m
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Hot on the heels of El Mariachi, the DIY movie that made him a star, Robert Rodriguez basically remade that indie hit with a bigger budget into this 1995 action flick that stars Antonio Banderas in the title role. He’s a musician who sets out to get vengeance against the drug lord who killed his lover. It also features a breakthrough performance by Salma Hayek. ➽ Stream on Netflix
Year: 1989
Runtime: 1h 45m
Director: Phil Alden Robinson
If you build it, he will come. One of the best baseball movies ever made is really a story about fathers and sons. Phil Alden Robinson directed Kevin Costner to one of the most beloved performances of his career as an average Iowan who hears a voice that tells him to build a baseball field. Redemption, U.S. history, and, of course, a love of America’s pastime intertwines in this moving drama. ➽ Stream on Netflix
Year: 2021
Runtime: 2h 9m
Director: David Lowery
An adaptation of the 14th-century Arthurian poem, this is one of the most visually striking films of the decade so far. David Lowery directs Dev Patel as Gawain, who sets out on a journey to face the title character. More than just a mere tale of medieval heroism, this is a surreal, gorgeous piece of work that challenges preconceptions of fantasy dramas and feels vitally fresh. ➽ Stream on Netflix
Year: 2025
Runtime: 2h 13m
Director: Noah Baumbach
George Clooney stars as the title character, a world-famous actor who finds himself at an emotional crossroads after an encounter with an old friend, played perfectly by Billy Crudup. It sends him to Italy to receive a lifetime achievement award with his entourage, including a manager played by Adam Sandler. Personal and funny, it comments on workaholism, family, and Clooney’s real-life career, but it’s anchored by Sandler’s incredible supporting performance. ➽ Stream on Netflix
Year: 2014
Runtime: 1h 40m
Directors: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Our current era of movies that comment on their own existence — which perhaps reached its meta-apex with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie — owes a debt to this clever family film that took the concept of the toy brick and turned it into creative gold. Chris Pratt stars as an ordinary LEGO guy who finds himself on an extraordinary journey in a film that’s really about the power of the imagination, distilling the creative joy of playing with LEGOs into a captivating story. You may notice that Will Ferrell appears in both the LEGO Movie series and Barbie. ➽ Stream on Netflix
Year: 1990
Runtime: 1h 47m
Director: Rob Reiner
After the horrible murder of Rob Reiner and his wife, legions of fans revisited to the director’s films, and this is one of his best. Kathy Bates gave one of the most memorable horror performances of all time as Annie Wilkes, the #1 fan of a writer named Paul Sheldon (James Caan). When her favorite horror scribe gets into an accident near her home, Wilkes ends up kidnapping Sheldon, and the rest is movie history. Bates won a well-deserved Oscar for her work in a film that’s held up remarkably well. ➽ Stream on Netflix
Year: 2015
Runtime: 2h 1m
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve became one of the biggest directors in the world on the back of beloved sci-fi films like Blade Runner 2049 and Dune, but this was really his breakthrough, a 2015 thriller about an FBI agent (Emily Blunt) who gets drawn into the war between the U.S. government and the Mexican drug cartels. Benicio Del Toro gives one of the best performances of his career here. ➽ Stream on Netflix