Netflix Instant: The 50 Greatest Movies to Stream Instantly - 2016

Netflix is the ultimate online movie/TV streaming service, given their easy access through internet enabled electronic appliances, and reliability for providing quality movies which are updated regularly adding new titles.

However, wading through all of the rubbish which gets mixed in with all of the good movies can be quite the nightmare, so here is a list of the 50 best movies streaming on Netflix instant at the moment.

Some of critique successes, some are those winter/summer blockbusters that were the memorable simple pieces of entertainment from that time ago at the movie theatres, but these are all great pieces of entertainment, well worth taking advantage of viewing whilst they are streaming on Netflix.

Blockbuster movies have/and will always been the movies of the highest level of entertainment, given there obscene budgets, large audience appeal, expensive CGI, promising directors, sequel/and franchise potential, and an all-round laugh to enjoy watching with friends and family.

No matter what the mood, blockbusters are always on the tables for the next prime time viewing in the evening when their is free time to be used.

Netflix have a whole array of blockbuster movies ready for viewing, some of which have been on the service for quite some time (hint, hint: perhaps Netflix, it may be a good idea to update and change a few of these) and some which are relatively new to the service.

Netflix is not a bad place to go to catch up on a few of those perhaps missed blockbusters at the movie theatres.

No.1 - The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

No.2 - Avengers Assemble (2012)

No.3 - Thor: The Dark World (2013)

No.4 - The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

No.5 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

No.6 - Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

No.7 - World War Z (2013)

No.8 - Mission: Impossible (1996)

No.9 - Die Hard (1988)

No.10 - Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Due to the rather small number of movies included on this list for the best movies that Netflix has to offer, only a couple of movies have been added to the action and adventure genre, but in fairness a lot of these genre of movies for this top-list have been added to the blockbusters.

As it will probably come as little surprise to know that most blockbuster releases are a part of the action genre, or more specifically the sub-genre for action being that of the superhero movies, a lot of which were included in the blockbuster segment for this hub.

Although, not to panic, as this list is only a taster for the movies that are included on the Netflix instant service, so there are numerous other action and adventure movies which are worth watching on the service which have not made the cut for this list.

No.11 - Predator (1987)

No.12 - Watchmen (2009)

There should always be some time put aside for a bit of family time, and what better way to spend this time than to gather around and watch a good old family movie on Netflix.

Luckily, Netflix has this covered, with a whole line-up of great family-friendly entertainment that will suit everyones tastes where movies come into the mix.

The great part about family movies is that they tend to have a little bit of everything, from action and adventure, to comedy and drama, so really there should not be anyone of any age who feels let down or disappointed with this genre of movies.

Animation is another genre of movies that can be sub-categorised within the spectrum of family genre entertainment, given that the animation movies, especially the ones being released today, tend to make them entertaining for all ages rather than just that of young children.

Here is a list of a few of the best family entertainment movies available on Netflix, including live-action and animation movies, just to give a variation of what the best is that Netflix has to provide for this most desirable genre of movies.

No.13 - Maleficent (2014)

No.14 - Hotel Transylvania (2012)

No.15 - How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

No.16 - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

No.17 - Hoodwinked! (2005)

No.18 - Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

No.19 - Kung Fu Panda (2008)

No.20 - Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)

No.21 - Rise of the Guardians (2012)

No.22 - Home Alone (1990)

In lots of ways we as audiences are all critics, constantly battling with our own expectations for movies, as we make attempts to accept the movies that we view for what they are, as today movies are on the up and up where quality and overall entertainment is concerned, meaning that at times movies do not quite live up to these rather high expectations.

There is no wonder that movie studios are having a field day trying to scramble together scripts for movies that will live up to the wider audiences now overly complicated expectations for what makes for a worthy cinema-going experience.

Probably the reason why movie studios tend to stick to sequels, prequels, spin-offs and remakes, as they try to keep things on a level where their own piece of mind stands, so they can have a bit of comfort in knowing that at the very least they will break-even making their investments back.

But, we all know that the most critically acclaimed movies of all time tend to be from those lesser successful movies at the box office, something which tends to shock the more critique minded viewers among audiences.

But, the hard truth is that it tends to be the independently produced movies that tend to have Oscar potential down to the stressful simplicities that in place for a small budget production, putting plenty of pressure on actors to do a grand job, directors to place the perfect camera angles, and for the whole cast to pull their weight like the real pros of Hollywood.

Not to say that bigger budget productions can not be critical successes, and that independent productions cannot make a killing at the box office, sometimes even making back more than 10-20 times their investment in profits.

Well, enough of the jibber jabber about the critique that lyes within us all as we sit to watch another movie, and here are the critique favourites that are currently streaming on Netflix instant.

No.23 - Django Unchained (2012)

No.24 - The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)

No.25 - Flight (2012)

No.26 - The King's Speech (2010)

No.27 - The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

No.28 - No Country for Old Men (2007)

No.29 - Fargo (1996)

No.30 - The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

No.31 - The Firm (1993)

No.32 - The Fighter (2010)

Thriller genre movies stand somewhere alongside the horror genre of movies in the sense that they are both movies that tend to watched in the late evening, and also in the sense that they are both genres of movies that tends to struggle at the box office.

However, thrillers are some of the greatest movies for viewing given that the sub genre, psychological thrillers is one of the most intriguing of sub genres in the entirety of the movie spectrum, something that makes thrillers something of an eye-catcher for the more darker of intrigued minds.

But, then there are the mystery thrillers, another most intriguing sub genre for the thriller genre, as mystery thrillers tend to be all about the clues that are thrown at us from the opening credits right up until the ending and defining scenes which close the movie, either with a taste of delight and excitement to finally understand what it was all about, or a rather distaste for the bitter conclusion.

Again, enough of the jibber jabber, as here are the top thriller movies that Netflix instant has to offer.

No.33 - Limitless (2011)

No.34 - The Hunter (2011)

No.35 - Street Kings (2008)

No.36 - Gone Baby Gone (2007)

No.37 - Mr. Brooks (2007)

No.38 - Daybreakers (2009)

No.39 - Dark Skies (2013)

No.40 - Red Eye (2005)

No.41 - The Crazies (2010)

At times when we sit down to watch a movie there is that simple need to want to laugh, and what better to fill this most unique desire than to watch a comedy movie.

Comedy tends to come from a variety of angles, either with the cheesy cliched jokes and silly humour-full scenes, or they come from a more serious angle, still retaining a sense of humour which is simply less in the audiences face and a little more subtle with its approach.

The sub genres for comedy are brilliant and diverse to suit pretty much any audience member, from comedy-horror, action-comedy, spy-comedy, spoof-comedy, and so many others.

Whether its all about the old comedies from before the 2000s, or more about the modern comedies of today Netflix instant has a lot of these time eras of movies on offer for instant viewing.

There is nobody on planet earth who will not have a taste for the comedy genre in movies. And, some of the best comedies that Netflix has to offer has been added to this list.

No.42 - Scream (1996)

No.43 - Zoolander (2001)

No.44 - The Other Guys (2010)

No.45 - Men in Black 3 (2012)

No.46 - The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

No.47 - Guess Who (2005)

Drama is that serious, down to earth genre that takes on serious stories that are more relatable for audiences as they focus on the real world, rather than the made-up fantasies that tend to be the storyline for other genres of movies in a typical circumstance.

This is perhaps one of the main reasons why this has remained a genre that has become a must for Oscar award appeal, and another reason why all of the big actor/actress names in Hollywood tend to appear in this genre at least once every now and then as they make attempts to get an Oscar award beneath their belt.

Dramas are not particularly the most successful of genres at the box office, as they lack the large budgets in most circumstances, but they are a form of entertainment that is that down to earth movie that will have the ability to truly empathise, feel and love a movie for its purity and ability to movie the audiences, rather than the ability to simply wow with animation, CGI and expensive special effects.

Dramas are the purist of entertainment in terms of the emotion that tends to drive the entertainment in these movies, and there will almost always be a time when there is that need to see another drama movie.

Based on the true events, emotion driven, down to earth, and almost always a time where there is a simple need for all of these ingredients for the next movie sit-down.

And, here are some of the best drama movies that Netflix instant has to offer.

No.48 - Defiance (2008)

No.49 - Munich (2005)

No.50 - Moneyball (2011)

Netflix instant has slowly but surely become the worlds most used and largest user based movies streaming service, thanks to its affordability, great movie/and TV series library which is regularly updated, and the exceptional quality of service that they provide compared to their competitors.

But, there is a singular downside to the Netflix service, which is the unbelievable amount of movies and TV series that have to be endlessly scrolled through to find a descent/to great movie that is worth viewing that fits the mood. Hence, the reason for this lists creation.

There are many great movies on the Netflix instant service that have not made their way onto this list so do not feel like this list is the start all and end all where the great movies stand on Netflix, but these on this list are by far some of the best that currently stream on the Netflix instant service.

All genres of movies have been included in this list, and as Netflix removes titles from the service this list will be subsequently updated replacing those movie titles that are no longer streaming on the service with new great movie titles to go in their stead.

Happy Netflix viewing!

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