The best Netflix original movies right now

The Union is both the name of this Netflix original movie and the secretive organization that Roxanne Hall (Halle Berry) belongs to. For over two decades, Roxanne has made a positive difference in the world as one of The Union’s undercover operatives. Now, The Union is in crisis, agents are dying, and Roxanne needs the help of someone she never thought she’d see again: Mike McKenna (Flight Risk‘s Mark Wahlberg), her old high school boyfriend.

Roxanne is so desperate for Mike’s assistance that she doesn’t really ask him — she just takes him against his will. But once Mike understands what’s at stake, he warms up to the idea of being an everyman spy. And the romance that Mike and Roxanne shared 25 years ago finds new life as they face incredible danger together.

Find Me Falling is a very old-school rom-com starring Harry Connick Jr. as John, an aging musician whose latest album has flopped. Hoping to get away from his life of fame and refocus, John buys a remote cliffside home in Cyprus only to discover that it’s a suicide hotspot.

John also encounters Sia (Agni Scott), the woman he once loved more than anything else before his family chased her away. Now, they may have a second chance to find love, if Sia can stop catching John in compromising situations that make it look like he’s cheating on her.

If you haven’t seen Trigger Warning before, then you may soon realize that you actually have. The film borrows elements from other action movies that came before it, including Road House, First Blood, and Walking Tall. Jessica Alba stars as Parker, a Special Forces commando who is far from recovered from her ordeals in battle. Nevertheless, Parker has come home to deal with the estate of her late father, Harry (Alejandro De Hoyos).

While looking after Harry’s bar, Parker suspects that her father may have been murdered. She also runs up against Sen. Ezekiel Swann (Anthony Michael Hall) and a gang that’s making life hell for the people in her hometown. So maybe it’s time for Parker to raise a little hell of her own.

Mother of the Bride puts Brook Shields in the central role as the title character, Lana. Years ago, Lana loved Will (Benjamin Bratt), a boy who broke her heart. Decades later, Lana’s daughter, Emma (Miranda Cosgrove), is set to marry RJ (Sean Teale), at a luxurious island resort.

If you’ve seen any rom-coms before, you’ve probably already guessed that RJ’s father is Will. And as much as Lana still has hard feelings about how things ended with Will, she can’t help rediscovering her feelings for the man he’s become. Whether Lana can bring herself to trust Will again is another matter, as she’s trying to hold on to her heart this time.

How far away do you have to go to run away from your problems? Not even outer space is far enough for Jakub Procházka (Adam Sandler) in Spaceman. As an astronaut, it’s Jakub’s job to explore the great unknown, even if his loneliness and heartbreak are eating him up inside. He’s also desperate to hear from his wife, Lenka Procházka (Carey Mulligan), whom he doesn’t realize wants to leave him.

Jakub’s story takes a turn when he meets Hanuš (Paul Dano), a telepathic alien spider who wants to learn more about humanity. Jakub’s memories are a window to another world for Hanuš, but neither the man nor the alien will like what Hanuš sees there.

There are plenty of movies about survivors overcoming the odds in a heartwarming way. Society of the Snow is not one of those films. Director J. A. Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) dramatizes the story of the 1972 Uruguayan plane crash that has become famous (and infamous) for the lengths that the people on board had to go to in order to pull through.

If you don’t already know the details about what happened, it’s better to remain in the dark about who makes it out alive, and what they had to do. Regardless, this is a thrilling film that could potentially snag Best Foreign Film if it lands an Oscar nomination.

Maestro may be Netflix’s best hope for Oscar gold this year. Bradley Cooper directed, wrote, and stars in the film as the famous composer Leonard Bernstein, with Carey Mulligan as Leonard’s wife, Felicia Montealegre. The movie spans Leonard’s decades-long relationship and eventual marriage to Felicia, for whom he left his relationship with David Oppenheim (Matt Bomer).

Despite having children with Felicia, including Jamie Bernstein (Maya Hawke), Leonard continuously seeks out affairs with other men, which pushes his bond with Felicia to its breaking point. To keep the love of his life, Leonard needs to prove himself to her one last time.

Despite a 23-year gap between films and a largely new voice cast, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget seamlessly picks up after the original animated classic. Rocky (Zachary Levi) and Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) now have a daughter, Molly (The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey), and the rest of the chickens are enjoying their freedom on a secluded island.

However, Ginger is correct to be suspicious about a nearby construction site, because their former owner, Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson), is looking for revenge. Meanwhile, Molly proves to be far too rebellious to remain in the sanctuary, which forces Ginger, Rocky, and their friends to undertake a risky trip to the outside world, where they will have to break into the new Funland Farms to save their child and secure their future.

There aren’t a lot of movies about long-distance swimmers, but Diana Nyad is one of a kind. Nyad is a biopic that casts Annette Bening as the title character who is facing an existential crisis in her 60s. Nyad’s best days as a swimmer are behind her, and she has to live with the regret that she was never able to finish her attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida.

That’s why Nyad goes to her friend, Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster), to help her make a daring new attempt to swim that treacherous stretch of water without a shark cage getting in her way. However, not even Nyad herself realizes just how grueling and challenging the swim will be once she’s in the ocean.