What with the winter evenings closing in and the weather taking a definite turn, you're going to find yourself turning in earlier and you'll need something to watch.
No doubt you find yourself skimming constantly through Netflix's endless genres, trying to figure out what to watch. It leads to arguments between you and your significant other about inabilities to make decisions and before you know it, you're out in the cold with that lamp you bought in Spain that you liked and they hated.
In any case, we've come up with nine movie choices you can watch right now on Netflix. We've purposefully made these a bit more obscure than usual because, let's face it, you've probably seen most of the obvious ones.
As always, these are available at time of writing - so be aware that some of these might be gone if you're checking six months from now.
9. STARMAN (1984)
John Carpenter may be more known for directing horror films like Hallowe'en or The Thing, but he's done the odd curveball here and there. One such being Starman, a beautifully romantic drama starring Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. An alien life-form lands on Earth - Arizona, specifically - to respond to the then-recently dispatched Voyager II craft. In order to make contact with Earth and understand them, the alien assumes the physical form of Karen Allen's recently deceased husband. Which, as you can imagine, is a little bit distressing for her. It's got a gorgeous soundtrack, wonderful humour and heart and it earned Jeff Bridges an Academy Award nomination.
8. TRACKS (2013)
Mia Wasikowska stars in this biopic of Robyn Davidson, a young explorer who traversed over 1,700 miles from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean with just a dog and four camels she's reared and learned to ride. Documenting her journey is a National Geographic photographer, played by Adam Driver, he of Girls' fame and a little film called Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It's a gripping story about leaving everything behind to become more than what you are and, more importantly, that camels in Australia are actually a thing.
Another Australian entry, this time in the horror genre. The Babadook was hailed, on its initial release, as one of the best horrors of the last ten years. It's pretty easy to see why. Not only is it genuinely unsettling in places, the story also has a lot of psychological weight to it. A young mother is struggling to raise her son alone following the death of her husband - who, it should be said, died when he was driving her to the hospital to give birth to said son. That context is important. The son is preoccupied with a monster from a child's book, so much so that he begins to build weapons to fight it and becomes increasingly erratic. Meanwhile, the mother becomes more and more downtrodden by the son's behaviour. It really is a fascinating watch and a lot of scares without resorting to cheap jump-scares or tricks.
6. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)
The Coen Brothers described No Country For Old Men as the closest they've ever come to directing a straight action film. That says a lot, in fairness. Set in rural Texas in the wake of a drug deal gone wrong, Josh Brolin finds himself in possession of a suitcase filled with money. Although you might think that's classic Coen Brothers, the film was based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy. The real star of the show, however, is Javier Bardem who plays the cold-blooded killer Anton Chigurh. Tasked with finding the money and the man who took it by any means necessary, the only thing standing in his way is the world-weary sheriff Tommy Lee Jones who gives one of his best performances as Ed Tom Bell. Highly recommended.
5. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978)
Considered by many to be one of the greatest remakes ever made AND one of the best horror sci-fi films ever made, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is pure '70s paranoia. A spore-like alien presence lands on Earth and begins to colonise the planet. The aliens, as it becomes more clear, are replacing people with lifeless, emotionless copies. It's got that low-down, gritty feel that you wouldn't expect from a sci-fi film, but it also has that creeping sense of dread and paranoia that's in a lot of films of that time period. There's also a great cast - Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright.
4. THE SUMMIT (2012)
This fantastic documentary about one of the worst mountaineering disasters in recent years. An ill-fated expedition to the summit of K2 begins to fall apart as climbers begin to perish under the treacherous conditions of the mountains. A total of 11 climbers died during the expedition. One of the climbers was planning a documentary on his attempt and filmed the events during the expedition, with talking-head interviews with the survivors piecing together the story. It's hard going, but beautifully shot and a compelling story to boot.
3. JO NESBO'S HEADHUNTERS
Starring Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and The Martian's Aksel Hennie and based on Jo Nesbo's bestseller, Headhunters follows a corporate headhunter who's addicted to wealth and the finer things in life. In order to keep himself and his beautiful wife in the lap of luxury, he's got a pretty interesting side business - stealing precious artworks from those he recruits. Directed by Academy Award-nominated Morten Tyldum, Headhunters is a glossy thriller that's on par with anything David Fincher's done.
2. FILTH (2013)
James MacAvoy, although most known for playing Professor X in X-Men and Joe Wright's haunting period drama Atonement, leaves everything behind for Filth. It is, without a shadow of doubt, one of the most hilariously gross-out comedies you're likely to see in quite some time. MacAvoy plays a disturbed Scottish police officer who is trying to solve the murder of a Japanese student in his district. His mind begins to warp and hallucinate as he imbibes every drink and drug he comes across. Frequently disgusting, always hilarious, Filth isn't for everyone but those who can stomach it will undoubtedly love it.
1. BLUE RUIN (2013)
Blue Ruin was, for us, one of the best films of 2013. And basically nobody saw it. Rectify that mistake now. A young homeless man, who's been living in his car on a beach, is brought into a police station and told some pretty grim news - the man who killed his parents is set to be released from prison. Setting out to avenge their death, he returns to his hometown and begins a war with the family behind their death - starting with the man just released from prison. It's comparable to Drive and any of the Coen Brothers' output, but there's enough here to make this a nail-biting, edge of your seat thriller than anything we've seen in quite some time.
