The five best movies to watch on Netflix on a Sunday
No matter how meticulously we plan out our Sundays, some days the only plan that comes to fruition is a laidback watch party on Netflix.
Although there’s no harm in unwinding in the comfort of your couch before Monday comes knocking on the door like the devil who won’t back down, the only hiccup is that the search for a last-minute watchlist for your last-minute Sunday defence line can last well over a minute or two.
For those impromptu days that make you feel like ditching your long-awaited plans were worth it, you don’t just need a watchlist; you need it fast with no compromise on the quality.
So, if you have already done the deed, here are the five best movies to watch on Netflix on a Sunday.
The five best movies to stream on Netflix on a Sunday
Wingwomen (Mélanie Laurent, 2023)
Directed by Mélanie Laurent, who also stars in the movie alongside Manon Bresch and Adèle Exarchopoulos, Wingwomen is a French action comedy, adapted from Jérôme Multo, Florent Ruppert, and Bastien Vivès’s graphic novel, La Grande Odalisque. The Netflix movie tells the story of two expert thieves, Carole and Alex, who pull off heists on the order of a mysterious figure called The Godmother, until the former learns she’s pregnant and decides to quit the life of crime.
However, when the duo informs The Godmother of their intentions, they are, in turn, threatened and blackmailed, forcing them into agreeing on one final heist. Wingwomen follows the pair as they unwillingly prepare for their last heist, believing it to be their ticket out of the criminal underworld. They rope in Sam to act as their driver, and the trio head out for the mission, completely unaware that there’s an afterparty awaiting them from The Godmother.
Army of Thieves (Matthias Schweighöfer, 2021)
Serving as the prequel to the post-apocalyptic heist movie, Army of the Dead, Army of Thieves is the second and final instalment in the Army of the Dead franchise. Based on a story by Zack Snyder, the heist comedy takes place six years before the events in Las Vegas, with the zombie outbreak as a backdrop to the heist. The movie tells the story of Sebastian, a fanatic admirer of lock designer Hans Wagner, who’s recruited by mysterious thief Gwendoline.
Hired to capitalise on his skills as a bank teller and safecracker, Sebastian gets tasked with breaking into three impossible Wagner-inspired safes across Europe. While it doesn’t help that INTERPOL is hot on their trail, Army of Thieves goes above and beyond to highlight the relationship between Sebastian and Gwendoline as they navigate the heists, ultimately leading to the final safe, which is featured in Army of the Dead.
Skincare (Austin Peters, 2024)
Directed by Austin Peters in his feature directorial debut, Skincare revolves around the story of two Los Angeles aestheticians, both rivals, and one of whom suspects the other of stalking and harassing her when the other opens a boutique opposite hers. The thriller follows famous aesthetician Hope Goldman, whose business reputation is thrown under the bus over hacked emails and fake, explicit online ads designed to look like she was the sender, causing clients to abandon her.
Although she suspects Angel Vergara of stealing her TV spots and moving into the shop opposite her, Skincare reveals how someone way closer to home was actually fanning the flames of the fire. While it’s easy to succumb to paranoia at such crosspoints, it eventually makes sense considering the movie starts with eyes of suspicion and ends with a murder investigation.
Fall (Scott Mann, 2022)
Fall is a chilling survival psychological thriller which will instil the fear of heights even if you didn’t have vertigo to begin with. The movie, currently streaming on Netflix US, follows two best friends, Becky and Hunter, who return to climb a rickety, creaky 2,000-foot abandoned radio tower, after leaving climbing for over a year, following the accidental death of the former’s husband while scaling a towering cliff face.
While the climb is supposed to signify Becky’s conquest against her fears, it soon turns into a living nightmare. It turns out that going up was never really the hardest part; instead, it’s going back down. And with their fate hanging by a thread with dwindling supplies and no way to get help, there’s not much to convince Becky and Hunter otherwise.
The Guilty (Antoine Fuqua, 2021)
Lastly, to end the Sunday marathon on a high note, we have one of the Netflix classics, The Guilty. Serving as a remake of the 2018 Danish movie of the same name, the crime thriller stars Jake Gyllenhaal as LAPD officer Joe Baylor, who works the night shift at a call centre while awaiting a court hearing for a serious on-duty incident, which left him demoted to 911 dispatch duty.
On duty, he receives a call from a woman named Emily alleging she has been abducted by her ex-husband, Henry, forcing Joe to act outside his jurisdiction and authority to track her down. Although the initial clues do suggest Henry is a violent kidnapper, The Guilty is all about the twists and turns, which are bound to leave you scratching your head as the credits roll.