If you're trawling through Netflix and find yourself unable to commit to any particular movie, don't worry - we're taking all the stress and strain out of by plonking seven very decent choices in front of you.

All of our choices, FYI, have been added in the past month and we've tried to cast as wide a net in terms of genre - and all of these come highly recommended.

We kick things off with...

 

7. The House Bunny

Anybody who saw Scary Movie in the early '00s or any episode of Mom will tell you that Anna Faris is a riot and The House Bunny is the film that ensured Scary Movie wasn't just a fluke. Faris plays a Playboy Bunny who's ousted from the mansion and winds up acting as a house mother to a dysfunctional group of girls in a local university, all while trying to figure out life outside of the luxurious one she previously lived. It's by no means a taxing, intellectual comedy - but the laughs are broad and plentiful, and you'll also see future Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone in one of her earliest roles.

 

6. Midnight Special

Office favourites Michael Shannon, Adam Driver and Joel Edgerton star in this roadtrip movie-cum-sci-fi drama about a desperate father who's trying to move his son across country and evade both the authorities and the secretive cult which he previously belonged to. That's difficult enough as it is, but throw in the fact that his son has special powers which manifest in pretty unusual ways and is unable to control them, and things get much worse. Directed by Jeff Nichols - who directed last year's excellent drama Loving - Midnight Special draws on the likes of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and Starman, and has some fantastic acting from a stellar cast.

 

5. Guardians Of The Galaxy

OOKA-CHAKA-OOKA-OOKA-OOKA-CHAKA-OOKA-OOKA-OOKA-CHAKA! It's easy now to look at comic-book movies that have large comedic veins running through them, but before Guardians Of The Galaxy landed on our screens, it was all about making them gritty and serious. James Gunn's deft handling of the inherent humour in a talking raccoon and a giant animated tree meant that Guardians Of The Galaxy became a hit on its theatrical run and provided a blueprint for allow comic-book movies to not take themselves seriously. Plus, it still holds up on a rewatch and that soundtrack is just (kiss fingers).

 

4. Carrie

Not the 2002 version or the one with Chloe Moretz. No, the original 1976 version that kicked off Stephen King novels being a way to scare audiences into the cinema. Directed by Brian DePalma, the film was one of the most faithful adaptations of a Stephen King novel and was a huge commercial and critical hit on its arrival. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie both received Oscar nominations for their performances - which was unheard of at the time for a horror movie like this - and also launched the career of John Travolta in what his first major role. While it may be a little dated in parts, you can see the influence it's had on countless films since then.



3. I Saw The Light

Tom Hiddleston stars in this mellow but affecting biopic drama about the late, great country singer Hank Williams and his short-lived career. Hiddleston sang all of the tracks in the soundtrack and worked with various country music singers, including Rodney Crowell, to get the voice and attitude down. Elisabeth Olsen stars as Williams' first wife, Audrey Sheppard, and provides the emotional core of the film. One for music fans.

 

2. Christine

It's a movie about a homicidal car that's possessed by a demon. Not enough to interest you? You don't ask for much, do you? Christine is another Stephen King adaptation, this one directed by John Carpenter, and takes itself way less seriously than Carrie. A great synth soundtrack and some utterly daft moments made Christine into a cult classic, and its sense of humour and utter ridiculousness just plays out beautifully in every scene with the car. It's loud, stupid, completely brainless fun.

 

1. Gattaca

Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law star in this ridiculously stylish sci-fi thriller that's set in a world where genetics and eugenics mean everything in your life is decided the moment you're born - meaning those with the right genes succeed - 'valids' and those who haven't - 'in-valids' don't . Hawke plays a young social climber who, through meticulous methods involving him assuming the identity of a paralysed valid, finds himself part of a spaceflight mission to Jupiter. Although it might seem like a brainy sci-fi, the incredible production design, visuals and performances by the cast make it into an affecting drama that looks just as good as it plays.