The 7 Best New Movies Streaming on Netflix in May 2024

‘Unfrosted’ (Streaming now)

Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut takes his lifelong obsession with mass-produced breakfast foods to its logical conclusion. ‘Unfrosted’ offers a comedic reimagining of Kellogg’s real mission to develop the Pop-Tart before a competing breakfast food company could corner the market on toaster pastries. With a star-studded cast that includes Seinfeld, Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, and Hugh Grant, the film brings a dose of silliness that could serve as a chaser to the seriousness of comparable business biopics like ‘Blackberry.’ While early reviews have been mixed, ‘Unfrosted’ is bound to be must-see viewing for legions of ‘Seinfeld’ fans who are curious to see what Jerry has been up to for the past two years.

‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ (Streaming now)

Donald Glover’s deliberately unsexy Prime Video reimagining of ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ came and went without much fanfare, but that shouldn’t diminish the original film’s status as one of the greatest date movies of the 21st century.

Doug Liman’s 2005 film stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a married couple who each work as a paid assassin for a different villainous agency. But their bubble of domestic bliss is quickly punctured when they learn that they are each supposed to kill their spouse. The film wisely basks in the ridiculousness of its premise, allowing Pitt and Jolie to unleash their obvious romantic chemistry in an over-the-top action love story that never gets any less fun (or less sexy). 

‘Starship Troopers’ (Streaming now)

Widely misunderstood upon its initial release, Paul Verhoeven’s ‘Starship Troopers’ has fortunately been reappraised as a high point of the director’s ’90s output. Adapted from Robert Heinlein’s classic novel of the same name, the anti-fascism satire follows a futuristic planet-wide government that rallies the people of Earth to enlist in a brutal war against a species of alien spiders. The film is deliberately cheesy as a way of mocking war propaganda, but media-literate viewers should appreciate it as yet another example of Verhoeven’s uncanny ability to blend genre tropes and social commentary. 

‘The Edge of Seventeen’ (Streaming now)

Kelly Fremont Craig’s directorial debut suggested that she could be an heir apparent to the tradition of thoughtful teenage movies established by John Hughes — something she clearly solidified with her follow-up, ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ ‘The Edge of Seventeen’ remains one of the best high school movies in recent memory, starring Hailee Steinfeld as a teenage girl who is left with few grounding influences after the death of her father and relies on her favorite teacher (Woody Harrelson) to fill the mentorship void as she navigates the endless drama that comes with being 17.

‘Traffic’ (Streaming now)

Steven Soderbergh’s recent output has seen him establish himself as one of the most consistently creative and experimental filmmakers working in the 2020s. But the auteur was equally adept at crafting addictive thrillers that showcase his excessive cinephilia by honoring past tropes.

Soderbergh was at the height of his mainstream abilities when he released ‘Traffic,’ his sprawling ensemble film about the many sectors of the drug trade that won him his first Oscar for Best Director. Two decades after its initial release, the film remains a stunning tableau of Soderbergh’s ability and early 2000s starpower that’s always worth revisiting.

‘Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind’ (Streaming now)

Joel and Ethan Coen haven’t made a film together since 2018’s ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,’ but the two artists have kept very busy while taking their careers in different directions. Joel found critical acclaim for directing Denzel Washington in ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ as his first solo project. And Ethan followed him by jumping into music documentaries. ‘Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind’ sees the Coen brother exploring the legendary rock ‘n roller with a mix of archival footage and interviews that highlight his ongoing influence on the mediums of rock and country. It’s a quick watch at 72 minutes, but serves as an excellent primer on one of America’s greatest musicians. 

‘Sing Street’ (Streaming May 9)

By this point, every cinephile probably knows whether or not they’re a fan of John Carney. The Irish director who burst onto the scene with the revolutionary ‘Once’ has gone on to establish a consistent brand of feel-good filmmaking about the way that music can change lives and bring people together. But even if you’ve become disinterested in Carney’s more recent work, ‘Sing Street’ is always worth revisiting. Quite possibly the high point of Carney’s filmography (and undeniably his best work of the 2010s), this musical about Dublin high schoolers who form a rock band to bristle against their straight-laced school offers the perfect blend of human drama, youthful hijinx, and earworm songs that will stay in your head for weeks on end.