The Top 10 Most Popular Movies on Netflix Today, July 19

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If Dakota Johnson's Jane Austen adaptation Persuasion has persuaded you, you're not alone. Despite the fact that it is not very good, it continues to sit in the No. 1 spot on Netflix's list of the Top 10 Most Popular Movies. The rest of the top 5 is made up of the same movies that have been hanging around since last week: The Sea Beast, Sing 2, Chips, and 12 Strong. Joe Wright's Pan, a 2015 Peter Pan re-imagining, moves up to No. 7 today, while the super weird rom-com Barefoot falls to No. 10.

But which films in Netflix's Top 10 list of the most popular movies are worth watching? We break down the entire Netflix Top 10 Movies list and guide you through what to stream and what to skip. We do the same for Netflix's Top 10 TV shows. We also have recommendations for the best movies on Netflix and the best TV shows on Netflix to watch right now. 

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Based on Netflix's Top 10 Movies from Tuesday, July 19

1. Persuasion

For fans of: The Fleabag-ification of Jane Austen | Is it good?: Unfortunately not

Dakota Johnson stars as Anne Elliot in this adaptation of Jane Austen's final novel, in which she reconnects with the man to whom she was once betrothed years after calling off their engagement. You really want this to be better, but it mangles most of Austen's nuanced storytelling. (Yesterday's rank: 1)

2. The Sea Beast

For fans of: Sea creatures, accidental father figures | Is it good?: It is!

Most Netflix original kids movies are just re-dubs of second-tier CGI films from foreign studios, but The Sea Beast, from Moana and Big Hero 6 director Chris Williams, looks like a legitimate contender for best family film of the year. A young girl stows away on her idol's ship to help him hunt gigantic sea creatures, leading to seafaring adventure and action. It's getting great reviews, and features three TV Guide favorites as voice actors: The Boys' Karl Urban, Legion's Dan Stevens, and Chernobyl's Jared Harris. (Yesterday's rank: 2)

3. Sing 2

For fans of: Singing animals, famous voices, popular music | Is it good?: For kids, sure

If I know anything about the kids' movies of today, it's that they all seem to be built around covers of popular songs. That trend continues in Sing 2, an animated jukebox musical about a bunch of singing animals — voiced by incredibly famous people like Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, and Pharrell Williams — who have to convince a rock star (voiced by Bono) to join their musical extravaganza. (Yesterday's rank: 4)

4. CHIPS

For fans of: Buddy cops | Is it good?: Absolutely not

Dax Shepard directs, writes, and stars in this movie adaptation of the classic TV series, which follows two cops who join the California Highway Patrol and form, wait for it, an unlikely partnership to investigate a heist. (Yesterday's rank: 3)

5. 12 Strong

For fans of: The U.S. military | Is it good?: If you like U.S. military propaganda

Based on a true story and set in the aftermath of 9/11, a U.S. Special Forces unit learns to fight on horseback while on a mission in Afghanistan. (Yesterday's rank: 5)

6. Girl in the Picture

For fans of: The Netflix true crime machine | Is it good?: It's a wild story

This documentary opens up new questions about the case of a young mother who was killed in 1990 and the subsequent kidnapping of her toddler son by the man thought to be his father. (Yesterday's rank: 6)

7. Pan

For fans of: Hugh Jackman, refusing to grow up | Is it good?: Nope

This film dares to ask, "What if Peter Pan and Captain Hook were friends?" I don't know if anyone really cared about the answer to that, but here Pan is anyway, following Peter (Levi Miller) and Hook's (Garrett Hedlund) fight against Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman). The most notable detail of this movie is the backlash it got for the misguided decision to cast Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily. (Yesterday's rank: 10)

8. The Man From Toronto

For fans of: Throwback buddy comedy dynamics | Is it good?: It's pretty dumb

Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson form an unlikely friendship when Hart's bumbling character, Teddy, gets mistaken for Harrelson's notorious assassin, known only as the Man From Toronto. (Yesterday's rank: 7)

9. Mean Girls

For fans of: Modern classics, Regina George | Is it good?: It's so fetch

Despite years of being over-quoted online, this 2000s comedy about a girl (Lindsay Lohan) who infiltrates her high school's most popular clique, only to find herself becoming what she hates, still rules. (Yesterday's rank: 9)

10. Barefoot

For fans of: Bad rom-coms | Is it good?: No, but we love and support Scott Speedman

This 2014 romantic comedy stars Scott Speedman as a guy who convinces a patient (Evan Rachel Wood) at the psychiatric hospital he works at to pose as his girlfriend to show his family he's settling down. We don't have time to unpack all that's wrong with this premise. (Yesterday's rank: 9)

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