Netflix is set to say hello and goodbye to some movies this weekend with the start of a new month. That said, a number of great movies are sticking around on the service through August, including a chilling 2017 thriller from “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan. Some of the streamer’s other, best film offerings include a rightly acclaimed 2022 psychological drama starring Cate Blanchett and a 2024 blockbuster that, despite being a seemingly unnecessary prequel, may very well be the best movie that its franchise has produced to date.
Here are the best movies you can watch on Netflix this week.
“Tár” (2022)
One of the most intelligent and rewarding dramas of the decade, 2022’s “Tár” is a 158-minute psychological spiral executed with exacting precision by writer-director Todd Field. Centered around a titanic star performance from Cate Blanchett, the film follows a world-renowned orchestra conductor whose professional and personal lives begin to unravel when allegations of misconduct are made against her.
A character study that doubles as both a litmus test for viewers and a sneaky, contemporary riff on a ghost story, “Tár” is unlike any other film released in the past six years. It is an artistic achievement brimming with moments and images destined to linger in viewers’ minds long after it is over.
“Wind River” (2017)
In 2017, “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan followed up his success penning 2015’s “Sicario” and 2016’s “Hell or High Water” with “Wind River.” The underrated neo-Western crime thriller stars Jeremy Renner as a U.S. wildlife tracker who teams up with an out-of-towner FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) to try to solve the murder of a young Native American woman on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming.
Featuring a breathtaking, grief-stricken supporting performance from Sheridan favorite Gil Birmingham, “Wind River” is a sobering, reflective and brutal thriller from a writer-director who has built his career making movies and shows just like it. Despite that, “Wind River” remains one of Sheridan’s most striking and effective artistic efforts.
“A Quiet Place: Day One” (2024)
“A Quiet Place: Day One” is so much better than it has any right to be. “Pig” writer-director Michael Sarnoski’s “Quiet Place” prequel takes what could be a superficial franchise cash grab and turns it into a meditative, moving and frequently nerve-wracking blockbuster. Anchored by two complementary, deeply felt performances by stars Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn, the prequel follows a terminally ill woman (Nyong’o) as she ends up caught in New York City on the day that the “Quiet Place” franchise’s blind aliens invade Earth.
Punctuated by a handful of dazzling, terror-inducing set pieces, “A Quiet Place: Day One” gradually emerges as an affecting depiction of one woman learning to find meaning again — even in the most hopeless of situations.
Everything New on Pluto TV in August 2026