Planning your January Netflix marathon? Curious about which movies are essential viewing on Netflix this month? We’ve compiled a list of our favourite movies on Netflix right now.

Bradley Cooper co-writes, directs and stars in this biopic of composer Leonard Bernstein. I was in high school when our music teacher exposed the class to Rhapsody in Blue. Although a Beatles and Stones fan, I was blow away by the intensity of this mix of jazz and classical styles. This is an exploration of the complex love story of Leonard and actress Felicia Montealegre, a story that spans over 30 years-from the time they met in 1946 at a party and continuing through two engagements, a 25-year marriage, and three children. To say Bernstein was a complicated man is an understatement. I wouldn’t have put up with him for 25 years! Bradley is excellent as Bernstein.

I’m not sure what the heck was going on here and I didn’t wait until the end to find out. I’m not sure what went wrong as there is an excellent ensemble cast attached and I suppose it is a good story if you’re into end of the world, disaster stuff, which I’m not. But you may have a different opinion and I respect that. It is based on the 2020 novel by Rumaan Alam. The story tells of a couple’s aspirational vacation with their teenage children, which is interrupted by the arrival of a man and his daughter who own the holiday home and who have fled an unprecedented blackout in the city. When the internet, television and radio stop working, as does the landline, they have no way of finding out what is happening. Kevin Bacon’s in it too, but I didn’t even wait to see how Kevin fitted in, which is very unusual, as I had lost interest after about 30 minutes. I wasn’t prepared to give over 2 hours of my time.

The critics and Netflix audience liked this David Fincher directed crime action story. I must say Michael Fassbender does a brilliant turn here as The Killer. He virtually carries the whole film with a mostly solo performance. But I’ll admit my attention did stray a few times. The story follows an assassin who, after a near-miss, battles his employers and himself on an international manhunt, which is personal, even if he insists it’s not. It is a bit slow, a bit depressing and the soundtrack is The Smiths, which says it all really. But some bits of it are good. Tilda Swinton is great in her short appearance. But, again, The Smiths… moan.

This is a strange one. I don’t think I really got the gist of it, but it was enjoyable viewing. It is an anthology of stories written and directed by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, who both have excellent writing credits to their name. The genre says Horror, but I didn’t think it was that scary. Andy Nyman also stars as sceptical professor Phillip Goodman who, after receiving a file with details of three unexplained cases of apparitions, embarks on a journey to investigate as the events are connected to his life. It is entertaining viewing, but not really that scary if that’s what you’re looking for.

There seems to be a plethora of food series and films on streaming services and as my son is a chef, I get to view most of them when he comes for dinner. I watched this without him as I came across it by accident. I liked this one from Thailand very much, and I’ve always been partial to a noodle dish. The story follows Aoy, a woman in her twenties, who runs her family’s local stir-fried noodles restaurant in the old quarter of Bangkok. She receives an invitation to leave the family business and join team ‘Hunger’, Thailand’s number one luxury Chef’s table team led by the famously ingenious, and infamously nasty, Chef Paul. I’ll leave it at that as the tale becomes quite bizarre as the wealthy outdo themselves for Chef Paul’s attention and, as in the case of most restaurant kitchens, no one likes a new chef who begins to show potential. Knives are out, as they say. I like this one, this is entertaining viewing.

This true crime documentary is also about food, but you wouldn’t want to eat it if the protagonist, Jolly Joseph, was serving it to you. This is the real-life case of Jolly Joseph, a lady suspected of planning the cyanide poisoning of six family members over more than ten years, including a two-year-old child. As Joseph kept repeating “it just happened.” I’m amazed she kept getting away with this statement as her defence. It was eventually proven that Joseph was responsible, but it took a while. This is an interesting investigative documentary.

This is a gripping true crime documentary. It tells of a young mother’s mysterious death and her son’s subsequent kidnapping, which opens up a decades-long mystery about the woman’s true identity and the murderous federal fugitive at the centre of it all. What unfolds is astounding and I’ll leave it at that so as not to give away any results of the investigation which took place.

Although I’m not that familiar with Hart and Rock, other than seeing them in a movie or two, I decided to watch this documentary which follows these two comedy icons behind the scenes throughout a tour that will follow the couple as they tell firsthand accounts of their early lives, their struggles, their triumphs, and their brotherhood. This gave far more insight into their friendship than I anticipated. An enjoyable and entertaining documentary.

Jon Batiste is an artist I was not overly familiar with until I watched this excellent documentary. In 2022, musician Batiste finds himself the most celebrated artist of the year with 11 Grammy nominations including Album of the Year. In the midst of that triumph Jon embarks on his most ambitious challenge to date, composing an original symphony. This trajectory was upended when Batiste’s life partner best-selling author Suleika Jaouad learns that her long-dormant cancer has returned. This is a poignant look at life and love and overcoming the hurdles thrown up when you least expect them. A beautiful story.