The start of a new week on Netflix means there are several high-profile movies now streaming on the service. The one with the most buzz is War Machine, a new action movie starring Reacher’s Alan Ritchson. The sci-fi thriller is about a group of soldiers who face an otherworldly threat that crash-lands on Earth. With Ritchson at the helm, War Machine is a fast-moving action movie that packs a punch.
Speaking of thrillers, Netflix has several fascinating movies worth streaming this week. Our top selection is a psychological horror based on a novel by a famous author. The other two movies are a war thriller from an Oscar winner and a sequel to a 2023 breakout hit.
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M3GAN 2.0
M3GAN becomes the Terminator
In a post-COVID world, social media marketing is one of the most integral aspects of a movie’s promotional campaign. A viral trend can lead to a profitable box office return. Look at M3GAN’s success as a fantastic case in point. Playing up the campiness of the movie by showcasing the M3GAN dance during the movie’s promo tour was a stroke of genius. The dance increased awareness of the movie and ultimately helped M3GAN become a breakout hit in 2023, grossing over $181 million worldwide on a $12 million budget.
Commissioning M3GAN 2.0 was an easy decision. Two years after the events of M3GAN, a new AI humanoid, AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), has been created by the U.S. Army to use as a weapon. However, AMELIA, a stronger version of M3GAN, becomes self-aware and escapes. Left with no other choice, Gemma must recommission M3GAN to stop AMELIA. Two AI robots in a battle for humanity, what could go wrong?
M3GAN 2.0 went full Terminator 2—the villain of the first movie was repackaged as the hero in the sequel. As an action thriller, M3GAN 2.0 is an entertaining popcorn movie, with fun action sequences. Unfortunately, it lost some of the campiness of the first film, which contributed to the sequel’s poor box office return.
M3GAN 2.0
- Release Date
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June 27, 2025
- Runtime
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120 minutes
- Director
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Gerard Johnstone
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Zero Dark Thirty
One analyst will do whatever it takes to catch Osama bin Laden
In 2025, Kathryn Bigelow directed A House of Dynamite, her first feature film in eight years. The political thriller depicted a fictional nuclear attack on the United States from the different viewpoints of government and military officials. The thriller is considered the third and final movie in Bigelow’s unofficial war trilogy. The first movie of the group was The Hurt Locker, which won the Oscar for Best Picture. The second movie, which is also our pick for this article, was Zero Dark Thirty.
After the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the government’s sole mission was to find al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Zero Dark Thirty begins in 2003 when CIA intelligence analyst Maya (Jessica Chastain) is tasked with finding bin Laden. For the rest of the decade, Maya will spend every waking minute of her time searching for bin Laden’s whereabouts. Along the way, more terrorist attacks occur, and Maya loses several colleagues. It all culminates with a stealth mission on a compound that might serve as bin Laden’s residence.
Zero Dark Thirty’s biggest critiques are the creative liberties Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal take to depict this integral moment in American history. Some viewers might not be able to look past these historical inaccuracies. Controversies aside, Zero Dark Thirty is a riveting work of suspenseful filmmaking. It’s a thriller about process and how obsession greatly impacts our personal lives.
Zero Dark Thirty
- Release Date
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December 19, 2012
- Runtime
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157 Minutes
- Director
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Kathryn Bigelow
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Misery
Kathy Bates gives a magnificent performance in this Stephen King adaptation
In the wake of Rob Reiner’s tragic death in December, many pop culture fans, including myself, have been exploring his filmography. Reiner’s run from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s is legendary. Starting in 1986, Reiner directed Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, Misery, and A Few Good Men. A director could go through their entire career and not have one movie as memorable as those five. Meanwhile, Reiner directed all of those films in succession.
The movie I want to focus on is Misery, one of the best book-to-screen adaptations of Stephen King novels. After crashing his car during a winter storm, novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) finds himself in the care of Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a nurse who loves his books. After reading plans for Sheldon’s next novel, Annie informs Paul that she plans on holding him hostage in her cabin. Needing time to recover, Paul agrees to rewrite a novel more suitable for Annie. He must be careful not to reveal his plans for escape, or he risks another violent encounter with Annie.
Thanks to an Oscar-winning performance from Bates, Annie Wilkes is right up there with Pennywise as King’s best villains. Bates is legitimately terrifying as an obsessed fan and psychopath. Misery proves that you don’t need an abundance of set pieces to create suspense. All you need is an enticing script and a committed performer.
Misery
- Release Date
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November 30, 1990
- Runtime
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107 minutes
- Director
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Rob Reiner
If you’re looking for more thrilling horrors, the Saw franchise arrives next week. Elsewhere, head to Prime Video to watch Guy Ritchie’s newest series, Young Sherlock.
- Subscription with ads
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Yes, $8/month
- Simultaneous streams
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Two or four
