5 Best New Movies to Stream on Netflix in November: Snowpiercer, Nebraska, and An Elisabeth Moss Rom-Com

November is actually a fine time to make the effort to go to the damn movie theater. This month will see the release of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, Stephen Hawking bio-pic The Theory of Everything, John Du Pont/Dave Schultz drama Foxcatcher, Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, and the second-to-last installment of The Hunger Games. Be that as it may, we still have some pretty good stuff identified for you on Netflix for those lazy nights when you want to stay in.

Virunga (2014)
A concerned group of park rangers in the Congo work furiously to protect the Virunga National Park mountain gorillas from poachers, warring factions, and a government given to corruption. Equally heartwarming and harrowing, Orlando von Einsiedel’s doc follows a group of devoted rangers, including a former child soldier now dedicating his life to the Park’s cause. They are forced to confront everything from desperate poachers, to fully-armed rebels, to heartless corporate entities who seek to plunder the Congo’s abundant natural resources. Expect tears, both of relief and utter frustration. Coming to Netflix streaming November 7th.

Nebraska (2013)
An elderly man believes he’s won a huge sum of money from a phony publisher’s sweepstakes, and forces his reluctant son to accompany him to collect his winnings several states away. One of last year’s critical darlings, Alexander Payne’s black-and-white homage to his Midwest homeland proved to be a showcase for both the great Bruce Dern and June Squib as the old man’s long-suffering wife. Both were nominated for Academy Awards, but the film is more than just Oscar-fodder. There’s a clear non-sentimentality that is very often absent in films about the elderly, but without becoming overly mopey. The ending, therefore, sticks true to its avoidance of sentimentality, but is still tremendously satisfying. November 8th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xyxFsg_rrY

Ida (2014)
A young nun-in-training in early ’60s Poland must seek out her one surviving family member in town before taking her final vows. With it’s evocation of the horror of the War and its grey, hardscrabble landscapes, Pawel Pawlikowski’s drama could have been every bit as dreary and depressing as the storyline suggests. Instead, his camera seeks out shimmering examples of life amidst the din. The would-be nun’s aunt is a complex wildling, unafraid of enjoying the world’s offerings even as she harbors some significant darkness in her own soul. The two women make an unlikely — but ultimately engrossing — pair, and the film, though hardly a feel-good piece, offers a kind of peaceful realism. November 22nd.

Snowpiercer (2013)
In a post-apocalyptic world, a speeding bullet train hurtling down a transcontinental track contains humanity’s lone survivors, and its social hierarchy is being challenged. South Korean director Joon-ho Bong is known for his multi-faceted genre-busters. In previous films he combined sci-fi, action, comedy, drama, and horror like a mad chef. Here, adapting a popular graphic novel, he’s right in his element. A group of rebels led by Chris Evans and Jamie Bell make their way from car to car, through the different levels of society, in an attempt to reach the engine car. Bong gets to explore many different scenarios, each pulling the film in a new and unexpected direction.

The One I Love (2014)
A married couple struggling to stay together takes a therapist’s advice to spend a getaway at a country retreat, where something very unexpected happens. The tired rom-com formula is absolutely ripe for the bending, and Charlie McDowell’s twisty film takes this idea and has a good deal of fun with it. Stars Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss know how to roll with the quirkiness of the film’s conceits and the result is a refreshing, if somewhat peculiar, take on an extremely well-worn genre. November 29th.