Top 10 Netflix Picks

Now I'll be honest...I absolutely LOVE laying in bed watching movies. It's relaxing. But when you get in the habit of turning on a movie you've seen a thousand times to help you fall asleep, it becomes routine. And boring. And you wonder why you even pay for a subscription to Netflix every month. Even though Netflix picks can get a little...dry...after a while, there are some great finds (a lot of classics, but some new stuff, too) that I consider to be my go-to's. So, here are some of my absolute favorites...in no particular order. 

1. Call The Midwife-This is a BBC show that I absolutely love. It's about a group of midwives who live with Nuns. They deliver babies in the slums of England in the 1950's. It'll make you laugh, make you cry, and make you thankful for hospitals and modern medicine. 

2. Arrested Development-I have never laughed so hard at a television show before I saw this one! Michael Bluth, the main character, is trying to keep his crazed family together after their father is put in jail for stealing money through his company. His brother (a not-so-talented magician), sister (an activist for everything and a total shopaholic), brother-in-law (a former doctor, now struggling actor) and his son (a quirky, cautious teenager who's in love with his cousin) don't make it any easier. Add in a conniving mother and another brother who's attached to her hip and you've got entertainment to the highest degree. I will say this show is a little hard to get into, but once you do, it's totally worth it. 

3. The Sapphires-This is a movie that I found by complete happenstance. I loved it. I loved it so much that I proceeded to watch it over and over again for about a week straight. Four Aborigine girls who live in Australia during the 60's face the odds in order to become singers/entertainers for the troops overseas. This movie documents the real-life struggle these girls faced as well as their experiences after being catapulted into fame. The music is AWESOME, so go listen to the soundtrack on Spotify. Also, it's based on a true story!    

4. Fawlty Towers-If you haven't seen this yet, you haven't lived. John Cleese, everyone. WE SHOULD ALL KNOW WHO JOHN CLEESE IS. If you don't, educate yourself. This show is about a hotel manager/owner, his wife, the hotel staff and the crazy range of guests they encounter. In every episode, something undoubtedly goes wrong, which snaps Basil's fuse and hilarious laughter ensues. Yes, I know, another BBC show. But, I'm a britcom addict through and through. 

5. White Christmas-I am aware that the title suggests that this is a Christmas film...however, I watch it all year round. It's by far one of my favorite movies, mainly because of all the great music and dance numbers. Two men go into the entertainment business together after being in the Army. Those two talented men meet up with two equally talented sisters and together, they bring Christmas cheer to a vacant hotel in a sleepy town owned by their former Army superior. It is chock full of addicting music you'll be singing for weeks to come. 

6. Ferris Bueller's Day Off-So this is a classic that most everyone has seen. It's something you need to watch in your teens and twenties, because it reminds you of how fun it is to be young and carefree. Ferris is nearing his limit for school sick days, but fakes an illness and stays home. He recruits his best friend Cameron, an overly cautious sack of nerves, to come on a wild and crazy adventure with him and his girlfriend. They visit a museum full of priceless art, a televised major league baseball game and even dance on a float in the middle of a huge parade. All the while, his school principal is out to get him. It's a race against time for Ferris to make it home before his parents find out what he's really been up to all day. 

7. The IT Crowd-Oh, look. ANOTHER BBC SHOW! Surprised? Yeah, I didn't think so. This show is hilarious. It's about two IT guys who work down in the bowels of a swanky office building, tinkering away on computers about 5% of the time. The other 95% of their time is spent goofing off, and taking customer service calls about technology not working correctly to which they always reply "did you try turning it off and on again?" 

8. End Of Watch-Now I don't know about you, but I love cop movies (both funny, and serious). I grew up on them, and still appreciate them to this day. This movie is a wonderful mix of action, humor, and heart wrenching moments. I've never seen another movie so accurately depict the day to day life of a law enforcement officer...and the immense dangers they face. Two partners do their daily routes in the neighborhood they work in. A small story of boy meets girl works it's way into the mix, and before you know it, everything in the lives of these two men is fantastic. But, tragedy strikes when they get involved in a shootout with no backup. The scenes in this movie are raw, real, and unedited. While there's a lot of language, you'll be glad you watched it! 

9. The Artist-I had never seen a silent film until this one. What makes this interesting is that it wasn't made when silent movies were mainstream. It was made a few short years ago and became just as well-loved as movies where the actors speak. This film is about the romance between an actor who is slowly spiraling out of control and a young up and coming actress who gets into the entertainment business right as "talkies" (or, the movies we have now) were becoming popular. 

10. Move Over, Darling-This movie is adorably addictive and I can say I've probably seen it upwards of twenty times or so. It's about a woman who has been lost at sea (and presumed dead) for years. Her  husband has met someone new who he plans to marry. On the day he goes to the courthouse to get married, he has his late wife officially declared dead. But little does he know she's been rescued and has come back to find him. She finally tracks down her husband and attempts to convince him (in a myriad of silly ways) to leave the woman he's just married and to be with her. He becomes caught in the middle of two demanding women and ends up stuck in countless sticky situations. 

I'll have to do an honorable mentions post, because there are so many great movies that I didn't even mention here! 

If you'd like to sign up for your own Netflix account, you can do that here.

photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Call_the_Midwife_episodes, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0515236/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sapphires_(film), http://innothingwetrust.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/top-ten-british-comedy-4-fawlty-towers/, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047673/, http://www.amazon.com/Ferris-Buellers-Day-Matthew-Broderick/dp/B00001MXXH, http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/richard-ayoade/288115, http://www.movieposterdb.com/poster/0bbab221, http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=78162, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057329/