The epic streaming juggernaut Netflix is no stranger to producing and acquiring fascinating flicks, with many making their way to the platform in May. The service is constantly refining its impressive library of colorful content, and its upcoming selection of movies are sure to impress and entertain loyal viewers. Both new originals and older films are heading to Netflix, covering a wide array of genres including the uproarious comedy Jackass 4.5 and the British war drama Operation Mincemeat, as well as adored past staples like Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds.
Regardless of the mood you’re in, the streaming site is sure to have exciting flicks that will satisfy your cinematic cravings. Netflix is teaming up with Rebel Wilson for the hilarious original comedy Senior Year, in which the actress wakes up after being in a coma for 20 years and decides to return to high school to earn her diploma. Young adult author Sarah Dessen’s successful novel Along for the Ride has also been adapted by the platform, with the project being helmed by To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before director Sofia Alvarez. These are the best movies to watch on Netflix in May 2022.
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9 Jackass 4.5
Paramount Pictures
According to Jackass member “Danger Ehren” McGhehey, the wild band of merry misfits filmed so much footage for the 2022 box office hit Jackass Forever that they decided to release a follow-up flick full of outrageous behind-the-scenes content, cast and crew interviews, outtakes, and unused stunts that couldn’t fit in the original farce. The reality comedy stars many of the original Jackass gang including Johnny Knoxville, McGheney, Steve-O, and Chris Pontius, as well as introducing a new generation of daredevils to fans of the popular franchise. Jackass 4.5 is sure to provide some more funny and painful Jackass stunts to fans new and old.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
The fourth installment of the hilariously absurd series has been considered by many to be the best yet, with critics praising the cast’s willingness to embrace the crazy for the sake of a good laugh. Variety commended the bold stuntmen for doing what they do best, writing, “The team have not slacked off in their mission to create what are basically the world’s most stupidly elaborate frat-house hazing stunts, and to stage them with a juvenile masochistic fervor that lies somewhere between psychotic and religious.”
8 Operation Mincemeat
Netflix
John Madden’s 2022 British war drama Operation Mincemeat features an outstanding cast led by Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen and Kelly McDonald, and tells the fascinating story of two intelligence officers who come up with an improbable disinformation strategy involving a corpse and false papers to outwit German troops during World War II. The engaging picture depicts the events surrounding the aforementioned plan dubbed Operation Mincemeat, a deception effort that successfully kept the plans for the Allied invasion of Sicily a secret.
Firth portrays Ewen Montagu, a naval intelligence officer who became a leading force in the high-stakes operation, devising the scheme with Squadron Leader Charles Cholmondely (Macfayden). Operation Mincemeat is based on the Ben Macintyre book, with director John Madden telling Total Film, “The arc of the story is one in which they create a fiction which they then become lost and enveloped by. And that delivers them to a place of terrible uncertainty, because it’s a made-up story, and they have no idea whether anybody will believe it.”
7 Rambo
Lionsgate
The fourth installment of the iconic Sylvester Stallone action franchise, Rambo, was a great update and features some of the most memorable moments of his career. Rambo follows Vietnam War veteran John Rambo as he leads a gang of mercenaries into Burma to rescue a group of Christian missionaries, who have been kidnapped by the ruthless local infantry unit. The 2008 film was also directed by Stallone, who revisited the character after a 20-year cinematic absence; the actor revealed that part of the reason the production took so long was due to a lack of a compelling story that motivated him to make his return.
Stallone wanted to make Rambo more disillusioned and worn-down, having long since abandoned his life as a fierce and lethal soldier and instead opting for a solitary life in Thailand. The star told IGN, “I wanted Rambo to be this heavier, bulkier guy. That’s why his first line in the movie is pretty negative. He’s given up. He has nothing. The other Rambos I felt had a bit too much energy. They were a little too spry.” The exciting action flick went on to be a hit with moviegoers, grossing over $100 million at the box office and leading to the 2019 follow-up Rambo: Last Blood.
6 Along for the Ride
Based on the Sarah Dessen novel of the same name, the upcoming Netflix drama Along for the Ride takes place in the picturesque seaside town of Colby, where townie Auden is spending her final summer before setting off for college, roaming the streets at night while everyone else is asleep. She crosses paths with the mysterious and alluring Eli, a fellow insomniac who challenges Auden to explore her childhood dreams during their thrilling nightly adventures. The cast for the charming flick includes famous faces like Kate Bosworth and Dermot Mulroney, with Emma Parasow, Andie MacDowell, and Belmont Cameli appearing as Auden and Eli.
Playwright and screenwriter Sofia Alvarez directed the coming-of-age film, who also helped bring the magic of literature to life with the 2018 critically-acclaimed romantic dramedy To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. In addition to Along for the Ride, Netflix also optioned another beloved Dessen novel to be made into a feature film, The Truth About Forever, which will likely continue Alvarez and Dessen’s penchant for feminist role models.
5 Senior Year
The hilarious and always charming Rebel Wilson stars in Alex Hardcastle’s directorial debut Senior Year, which is initially set in 2002 and centers on high-school cheerleader Stephanie Conway, who suffers a head injury and falls into a comma before her senior prom; she wakes up 20 years later to discover she is now a 37-year-old woman, and sets out to re-enroll in high school and earn her diploma (and maybe the prom queen crown). When announcing her appearance in the upcoming flick, Wilson described Senior Year as “the wildly funny love child of Bring it On and Never Been Kissed. It will literally bring ‘cheer’ into your homes!” The actress is joined in the comedy by Justin Hartley, Chris Parnell, and Alicia Silverstone, with Senior Year being the latter’s first teen flick comedy since the ’90s cult classic Clueless.
4 The Gentlemen
STXfilms
Guy Ritchie’s smart 2019 action comedy The Gentlemen has an all-star cast of some of Hollywood’s finest performers including Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrell, and Hugh Grant, and tells the story of an American marijuana kingpin in England in search of a buyer for his business, a decision that triggers a series of blackmail and schemes from shady characters who want to steal his lucrative domain. When discussing the crime caper and its dynamite cast, Ritchie declared, “This is a return to my roots. Everyone wanted to do it, so I knew everyone was into it. I didn’t have to explain things to them. They got the joke.”
The Gentlemen debuted to positive reviews from critics and proved to be a success with moviegoers, with Grant’s portrayal being singled out as one of his best; Wall Street Journal raved, “In a word, Mr. Grant is sensational. In two words, he’s absolutely hilarious; it’s some of his best work he’s done on screen… But then terrific performances are what Mr. Ritchie’s better films are about.” Netflix is currently adapting a series based off the exciting picture.
3 Borrego
Saban Films
Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale is swapping the terrors of high school for those of the unforgiving desert as she headlines the upcoming survival thriller Borrego, in which she portrays a young botanist who relocates a small desert town to study an invasive plant species. She finds herself fighting for her life when she’s kidnapped by an inexperienced drug mule after witnessing his plane crash, and must battle to make it out of the desert alive.
The actress opened up about filming the picture in Spain and how demanding yet rewarding the shoot ended up being, telling Entertainment Tonight, “We knew it would be blood, sweat and tears, nights, running. I pulled a muscle the first day in my leg…It was cold, it was hot, it was emotional; just challenging in all the right ways. That just made it so rewarding. We had a blast.” For the thriller, Hale is reunited with her former Pretty Little Liars co-star Nicholas Gonzalez, in addition to Jorge A. Jimenez and Leynar Gomez.
2 Marmaduke
Pete Davidson and J.K. Simmons joined comedic forces to voice the computer-animated flick Marmaduke, which is based on the famed Brad Anderson comic strip revolving around the Winslow family and their beloved Great Dane, Marmaduke. Saturday Night Live alum funnyman Davidson will be headlining the film as the titular character, with Simmons appearing as his rival Zeus, and centers on a legendary dog trainer who believes he can help make Marmaduke the first Great Dane in history to win the Westminster Champion’s trophy.
Marmaduke is the second adaptation of the comic strip, with the 2010 installment having starred Owen Wilson as the eponymous pooch along with Judy Greer and William H. Macy. The upcoming animated feature film was due for a release in 2020 but was pushed back because of the pandemic, and is now set to make its big-screen debut as a Netflix original.
1 War of the Worlds
The respected and revered Steven Spielberg directed the 2005 blockbuster sci-fi spectacular War of the Worlds, based on the classic H.G. Wells novel that follows American dockworker Ray Ferrier, who is forced to look after his children whom he is estranged from when extraterrestrials invade Earth; it’s up to the struggling father to protect his son and daughter from the terrifying aliens and reunite them with their mother.
Starring A-list action star Tom Cruise, the epic picture was Spielberg’s third project involving alien visitation (along with Close Encounter of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), who wanted to make an edgy and scary film about aliens; he told Empire, “For the first time in my life I’m making an alien picture where there is no love and no attempt at communication.” War of the Worlds went on to earn over $600 million at the box office and garnered three Academy Award nominations, with critics praising Spielberg’s direction, visual effects, action sequences and screenplay.
