We’re going to go ahead and call it now: March will be chalked up as a “draw” for Netflix subscribers. We’re losing a lot: The first three Jaws films, Animal House, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, and Iron Man are all among the casualties. But we’re also gaining quite a bit. Burning Sands, Million Dollar Baby, and Marvel’s: Iron Fist are all coming to your streaming service of choice.
It’s a rough one, but we’ll take it.
For those of you who can’t quite decide what to watch, we went ahead and picked out the 10 best new things coming to Netflix this month. Enjoy!
Midnight in Paris
Available Now
Considered by many to be one of Woody Allen’s greatest films, Midnight in Paris stars Owen Wilson as Gil, a frenetic and passionate writer who, upon traveling to Paris with his wife-to-be, quite literally falls into Paris’ romantic literary past. Gil mysteriously finds himself traveling back in time to hang out and schmooze with some of history’s most renowned creatives—including Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein, Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali, and Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway—during one of the city’s most prolific and exciting time periods.
Memento
Available Now
Memento is one of those suspenseful films that’s racked with action and drama, and features an incredible fractured narrative that proves to be more of a mind-fuck than anything. The film stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a man suffering from permanent amnesia as a result of the severe beating doled out to him by the man who murdered his wife. Yeah. Since Shelby’s short-term memory is destroyed, he must resort to judicious note-taking and Polaroid photographs (as well as some leads from a couple friends) to help him solve the mystery. It’s insane, from start to finish, and an absolute must-watch if you haven’t already seen it.
This Is Spinal Tap
Available Now
Maybe you’ve heard people joke about Spinal Tap over the years without fully understanding the reference. Luckily, in March, you’ll finally have your chance to catch up on the hype. One of the greatest mockumentaries of all time, This Is Spinal Tap tells the story of Spinal Tap, a righteous British band hell-bent on taking the world by storm. This film is so perfectly executed that in 2002 it was selected by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry for its cultural, historical, and aesthetical significance. Yes, it’s that good.
Burning Sands
March 10
Man, who knew pledging a frat was such serious business? In this suspenseful Netflix Original, viewers are taken on a difficult and voyeuristic ride through the life of pledging for a particularly violent fraternity. We look on as Zurich, a conflicted pledge, struggles with respecting the code of silence and dedication to his fraternity, peers, and future brothers; and his moral need to call out the sometimes horrifying brutalities of traditional “rites of passage” and fraternal hazing.
Million Dollar Baby
March 13
Say what you will about Clint Eastwood, but the man can direct a damn movie. Despite its typically frowned upon PG-13 rating, Million Dollar Baby is an incredibly beautiful and equally tragic film that follows the story of Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a scrappy waitress from Missouri with a sweet Midwestern drawl who wants nothing more than to be a competitive boxer. Despite his apprehensions about women in boxing, Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) agrees to train her after finding out his friend and employee Eddie “Scrap-Iron” Dupris (Morgan Freeman) has been helping her. [Editor’s Note: Read this next part in your best Morgan Freeman Voice] Things go well, until they don’t. And when they go wrong, they go incredibly, incredibly wrong. But my God, is it a journey to witness. That’s just how life goes, sometimes.
Notes on Blindness
March 15
Perhaps one of the most moving and poetic films we’ve ever included on one of these “Coming to Netflix” lists, Notes on Blindness catalogues the thoughts of John Hull, a writer and theologian who, in the 1980s, completely lost his sight. At one point, Hull started documenting his experiences and thoughts about his life and why/how he ended up where he did on audiotapes. Not only is the film’s premise and execution beautiful, but its cinematography is just… Perfect. The story is compelling, intimate, and if you’re not appreciative of every single thing in your life before it’s over, we’ll eat our own hat.
Marvel’s Iron Fist
March 17
We could sit here for days and talk about how we’re tired of all these comic book treatments being made into TV series and films but… Wait, actually, no we can’t. We love the way Netflix is doing justice to the comic book world, and if their go at Iron Fist is going to turn out anything like the treatment they gave Luke Cage, we’re incredibly excited to see how it turns out. Beautiful cinematography, an enveloping plot line, and masterful fight scenes—what else could you possibly want?
Pandora
March 17
This is an interesting move for Netflix, as it marks the first (first that we could find, anyway) time Netflix is bringing a big South Korean title to the mainstream market. First released in Korea in December 2016, Netflix is billing it as a Netflix Original. Pandora is a drama that centers around a nuclear power plant disaster in a small Korean town. An earthquake strikes the plant, wreaks havoc on the local town, and puts the whole country in an absolute state of panic. To prevent a nuclear disaster, the film’s protagonist, Jae-Hyeok, and his co-workers return to the plant to [try to] save the day.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
March 26
What’s to say that hasn’t already been said about this perfect Wes Anderson classic? Starring the likes of Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, and Anjelica Huston, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou tells the story of Steve Zissou (Bill Murray), an aging-but-famous oceanographer, and his crew as they set sail to produce their latest documentary on the mysterious, elusive, and incredibly rare Jaguar Shark—the very same that killed Zissou’s partner. It is everything you’d expect from a Wes Anderson film—delightfully quirky, beautifully designed, with a hilariously brilliant cast and an even better soundtrack. If you’ve somehow missed out on this classic, do yourself a favor and give it a go.
The Discovery
March 31
What if human beings found definitive proof that there is, in fact, an afterlife? That’s the question that gets answered in this eerily morbid romantic drama starring the likes of Jason Segel, Robert Redford, Rooney Mara, Riley Keough, and Ron Canada. Spoiler: When we discover the afterlife, we all start killing ourselves at a horrific rate. The premise of the story is that Will Harbor (Segel), a neurologist, goes to beg his father, Dr. Thomas Harbor (Redford), to recant and discredit his research proving that there is an afterlife in order to curb the horrific suicide rates. Segel plays this serious full-brained role surprisingly well, and the film is definitely watch-worthy.
Also an Amazon Prime member? Check out what’s new on Prime Video this month.
