Five movies on Netflix for those lazy afternoons
Do you ever have one of those mornings when you feel like not even an earthquake can make you stand on your feet? You end up begging your alarm clocks for five more minutes, only to miss it ten times more. Then the morning rolls into the afternoon, and all you can really say to yourself is “what was I thinking?” Well, sulk all you like, but the clock isn’t turning around, so you might as well make the most of a laidback afternoon with a cosy movie marathon on Netflix.
First things first, lazy afternoons are a blessing. So, keep those regrets off the fence. However, if you’re still unsure, we guarantee that the Netflix watchlist is designed for unwinding.
Just for the ambience, gather up a little energy, shut the blinds, order the lunch you completely forgot about, and get the remote.
Although the demon on your shoulder might try to persuade you to think it through, start streaming the five ultimate movies on Netflix for those lazy afternoons instead. And of course, forget about the world for a while.
Five movies to watch on Netflix on those lazy afternoons
The Thursday Murder Club (Chris Columbus, 2025)
Nothing beats the combo of lazy afternoons and cosy crime dramas. So, even if you’re yet to read the book, don’t forget to make The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix one of your stops whenever you feel too tired get out of bed. Directed by Chris Columbus, the crime comedy adaptation based on Richard Osman’s 2020 novel boasts a mighty star-studded cast, complete with Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Ermine.
The Thursday Murder Club is set at the Coopers Chase retirement village and follows four witty retirees – Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce – who solve cold cases for fun and form the Thursday Murder Club. But when a real murder takes place too close to the home, their fun hobby turns into a real investigation, forcing them to go on a rollercoaster ride of revelations, including past crimes, dodgy developers, and potential conspiracy.
Wicked Little Letters (Thea Sharrock, 2023)
To continue the marathon, we bring a black comedy mystery film this time around, the period drama film, Wicked Little Letters. Based on the Littlehampton libels of the 1920s, the Thea Sharrock-directed film recounts the bizarre poison-pen letter scandal, where conservative resident Edith Swan received crude and abusive letters, wrongly accusing her neighbour Rose Gooding of writing them, which led her to be put behind bars.
Wicked Little Letters follows the investigation, the trial, and the eventual unmasking of the real culprit by a determined police officer assisted by devoted community women. While the revelation will undoubtedly shock you, what the movie also exposes is the hypocrisy and frustration of womankind in post-war Britain.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Rian Johnson, 2025)
Netflix flooded viewers with content in December 2025, and the one that fits the bill of a lazy afternoon is Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. The gripping whodunit sees Daniel Craig reprising his role as the Southern sleuth, Benoit Blanc, to solve a case beyond belief – a locked-door mystery that takes him to a small parish in upstate New York.
The plot of Wake Up Dead Man kicks off when fiery and corrupt Monsignor Jefferson Wicks is found dead inside a tiny closet in his own church under mysterious circumstances, turning the newly transferred young boxer-turned-priest Father Jud into the prime suspect. Determined to bring justice and unmask the real killer, Blanc joins forces with Jud to uncover dark secrets about faith and hypocrisy.
Enola Holmes (Harry Bradbeer, 2020)
Since we’re out with the detectives of Netflix, how can we mention the equally genius sister of Sherlock, Enola Holmes? The 2020 mystery film has grown into a cult favourite among viewers, and with a third instalment on the way, there isn’t a better time for a trip down memory lane. The crime comedy movie adapts the first novel in The Enola Holmes Mysteries series by Nancy Springer and follows the titular character in London.
After her mother disappears on her 16th birthday, determined to track her down, Enola makes her way to London to kill two birds with one stone – first, to avoid finishing school and second, to find answers and uncover the secrets tied to her mother’s sudden disappearance. Enola Holmes follows her adventures as she outwits her brothers, solving a dangerous conspiracy threatening Victorian England.
God’s Crooked Lines (Oriol Paulo, 2022)
Based on Torcuato Luca de Tena’s 1979 novel, God’s Crooked Lines is a Spanish psychological thriller that can make staying in bed on those lazy afternoons productive. The mystery thriller centres on private investigator Alice Gould, who infiltrates a psychiatric hospital pretending to suffer from paranoia to investigate the suspicious death of an inmate, Damian, on behalf of his father, Dr Garcia del Olmo.
While Alice doesn’t sweat the process of infiltration, as she navigates the facility’s eccentric patients alongside its manipulative staff, she slowly loses the power to differentiate reality. God’s Crooked Lines captures Alice’s state of ambiguity, thrusting us with an unreliable narrator we almost begin to trust. The plot features extensive misdirection, flashbacks, and multiple interpretations of events, leaving us unprepared for the ending they reserved.