7 great movies to watch on Netflix this weekend

ip man donnie yen
A trailer for the latest "Ip Man" debuted this week. While you're waiting, catch up on the entire trilogy.
Mandarin Films

  • Each week, INSIDER rounds up a list of seven great movies to watch on Netflix over the weekend.
  • This week's picks include Netflix original "Mirage" and the "Ip Man" franchise.

There's so much content constantly coming and going from Netflix that it can become difficult to find a movie to watch.


This week, tune into new Netflix original "Mirage" which feels like a mix between "Doctor Who" and "Frequency." You can also currently catch up with the entire "Ip Man" trilogy before the fourth movie is released this summer. Need something easy and breezy to watch? The first "Fast and the Furious" movie is on the streaming service, too.

Keep reading to see seven movies you can watch this weekend (along with their Rotten Tomatoes scores when available).


"Mirage" is essentially a Spanish "Frequency."

Netflix description: ""A space-time continuum glitch allows Vera to save a boy's life 25 years earlier, but results in the loss of her daughter, whom she fights to get back."

The Spanish film is described as a cross between an episode of "Doctor Who" and the "Butterfly" effect. You'll need to watch it with subtitles. Those are apt descriptions. I'd also say it's similar to 2000's "Frequency," with Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel.

I'm an unabashed "Fast and the Furious" fan. Each year when one of these new movies comes out, I try and rewatch them all.
Universal via YouTube

Netflix description: "An undercover cop infiltrates a Los Angeles street-racing crew suspected of big-rig hijackings and unexpectedly falls for the gang leader's sister."

Critic score: 53%

Audience score: 74%

Fast cars, Vin Diesel, and family. The original "Fast and the Furious" is second on our ranking of every movie in the "Fast" family. Although the film has some undeniably cheesy moments, it still holds up well.

If you're still watching this franchise 18 years later, the film laid the foundation for future plot lines in movies to come. You'll definitely want to watch it again ahead of next year's "Fast 9" since the franchise always likes tossing in some callbacks to the original for dedicated fans. It may be worth a watch ahead of the "Hobbes & Shaw" spin-off this August.

Read more: All of the "Fast and Furious" movies ranked from worst to best

"Ip Man" is set in the 1930s and is focused on his life during the Sino-Japanese War.
Mandarin Films

Netflix description: "An occupying Japanese general challenges Chinese men to duels to prove the superiority of the Japanese, but Ip Man refuses to fight — at first."

Critic score: 85%

Audience score: 93%

The "Ip Man" trilogy is based on the life of the Chinese martial artist who taught Bruce Lee. Ip Man goes from living a wealthy, respected life to having his home taken away from him by the Japanese Army.

Forced into a life of poverty working at a coal mine, Master Ip finally decides to train a group of men in self-defense when he finds out people are being beaten and killed by the Japanese. If you only know Donnie Yen because of his scene-stealing role in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," you've been missing out. His modesty as a Master of Wing Chu and the choreography of the fight scenes make this a worthwhile watch.

The highlight of the film is a match an hour in when Yen fights off 10 men on his own as the colors on screen are muted. You can catch up with the entire trilogy before the fourth installment in the franchise comes out later this year. The first trailer for "Ip Man 4" was released this week and you can watch it here.

Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson star in "Saving Mr. Banks."

Netflix Description: "When Walt Disney sets his sights on obtaining the rights to the children's classic "Mary Poppins," the book's author proves a tough nut to crack."

Critic score: 79%

Audience score: 84%

If you've already seen the "Mary Poppins Returns," which is out on Blu-ray this week, check out "Saving Mr. Banks." The semi-biographical movie shows the difficult journey Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) went to get author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) to agree to let him make a movie based on her beloved Mary Poppins' stories.

You'll probably want to look up the historical accuracy of the movie afterward. Parts of the film fictionalize Disney's relationship with Travers, including the movie's end.

Watch this for Hailee Steinfeld's performance.
STX Entertainment

Netflix description: "When Nadine's best (and only) friend starts dating her detested older brother, the teenage cynic's life becomes even more unbearable."

Critic score: 94%

Audience score: 83%

If you loved Hailee Steinfeld in "Bumblebee," you can catch her in this must-see coming-of-age story that fits right in right alongside "The Breakfast Club." Steinfeld won best young actress at the Women Film Critics Circle for her performance. Woody Harrelson and Kyra Sedgwick also star in this one.

Do we need another "West Side Story" when this one with Natalie Wood was already perfection?
United Artists

Netflix description: "This classic musical set among the tenements of New York City finds a pair of star-crossed lovers caught in a turf war between rival street gangs."

Critic score: 94%

Audience score: 84%

Before Steven Spielberg's live-action remake of the beloved musical comes to theaters, relive the original battle of the Sharks and the Jets with Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer. Corey Stoll and Brian d'Arcy James were cast in Spielberg's adaptation this week.

Your may not have even realized this was a Disney movie.

Netflix description: "In this animated Disney adventure, a South American emperor experiences a reversal of fortune when his power-hungry adviser turns him into a llama."

Critic score: 85%

Audience score: 83%

2000's "The Emperor's New Groove" may be one of the most underrated Disney movies of the past two decades. It came out in that period between some Disney misfires "Fantasia 2000," "Dinosaur," and "Treasure Planet."

The film may not have been a huge box-office success and was in development hell for years, but it eventually found a following when it came out on home video. It also has a lot of funny one-liners and is one of Disney's funnier animated movies due to the combined talents of David Spade, John Goodman, and Patrick Warburton.

I have no idea how much longer you'll be able to watch Disney films like this one on Netflix when Disney launches its streaming service by the year's end, so it would be smart to watch it soon.

Read the original article on INSIDER.

Follow INSIDER on Facebook.

Copyright 2019. Follow INSIDER on Twitter.
More: Features Netflix Movies Ip Man