53 Best No-brainer Movies On Netflix Canada (Page 4)

Staff & contributors

Sometimes, you just need a good movie that poses neither an emotional rollercoaster, nor an intellectual challenge. Here are the best no-brainer movies and shows to stream now for a carefree and uplifting watch, from the funny to the offbeat.

Whether you enjoy it or not, edgy, offensive comedy has become a legitimate style of its own—which means there's a way to get it right. Matt Rife has confidence and a decent range of tricks to keep his routines dynamic, but far too much of this set is spent simply pointing out different things and people who piss him off, for reasons that he doesn't articulate very well. Insults can be funny if they're cleverly written enough but Rife only ever sounds like he's trying to prove himself to his haters, not through his own creativity but by bragging that he has a Netflix special now. Even for comedians who like to punch down, you have to have some humility; anything less is just a drunken rant.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Matt Rife

Director: Erik Griffin

Rating: R

For almost the entirety of its runtime, Old Dads feels like it has something it's desperately trying to prove. But while the millennial generation and a newfound popular interest in political correctness are ripe for satire, this film chooses the lowest hanging fruit possible to make jokes about—inventing one senseless situation after another in order to laugh at people's "sensitivity" with little energy or wit. The main cast has tried and tested talent, but the material they're working with feels more artificial and whiny than truly perceptive of today's generational clashes. The movie tries to manufacture some sort of dramatic realization by the end, but it hardly changes the protagonists anyway. A film need not be PC to be good, of course, but it should at least stand for something instead of simply standing against so much.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Abbie Cobb, Angela Gulner, Bill Burr, Bobby Cannavale, Bokeem Woodbine, Bruce Dern, C. Thomas Howell, Cameron Kelly, Carl Tart, Chelsea Marie Davis, Cody Renee Cameron, Dash McCloud, Erin Wu, Jackie Tohn, Josh Brener, Justene Alpert, Justin Miles, Katie Aselton, Katrina Bowden, Leland Heflin, Miles Robbins, Natasha Leggero, Paul Walter Hauser, Rachael Harris, Reign Edwards, Rick Glassman, Rory Scovel, Steph Tolev, Tom Allen

Director: Bill Burr

Rating: R

The fourth Kandasamys installment may only appeal to viewers who've been there from the beginning, but no matter your history with the South African Indian series, The Baby really offers far too little. With unconvincing third-act drama and extremely loose connection tissue between scenes, it becomes very difficult to see what the point of all this is, unless you are truly charmed by the bickering of this dysfunctional family. Unfortunately there isn't any wit to the clashing of personalities here; these are characters who aren't even trying to get on the same page, so set in their stubborn ways that it becomes infuriating to watch them butt heads for no good reason.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Jailoshini Naidoo, Koobeshan Naidoo, Madhushan Singh, Maeshni Naicker, Mariam Bassa, Mishqah Parthiephal

Director: Jayan Moodley

Rating: PG-13

With uninteresting characters and an aggressively bland story right from the start, Choose Love fails to establish any stakes worth caring about, no matter what choices we make throughout. Any sense of novelty from playing this choose-your-own-romcom vanishes once you notice how certain decision points lead to the exact same idea, or are blatantly disregarded by the character you "control" anyway. Choice is a complete illusion here, and the fact that we're only asked to participate when it comes to some of the most inane dilemmas only highlights how the film's protagonist isn't acting like a rational, adult human being with any self-respect or regard for others. Sure, people are inherently flawed and it can be fun to see how disastrous this situation can get through our own manipulation, but by the end there's still no believable spark to be found. It feels like a cop-out no matter what.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Avan Jogia, Benjamin Hoetjes, Blair Strang, Jack Bright, Jacque Drew, Jesse Griffin, Jordi Webber, Laura Marano, Lucy Wigmore, Megan Smart, Nell Fisher, Scott Michael Foster

Director: Stuart McDonald

Though it tries to root itself in the relatable situation of comparing oneself to others amid the often forced positivity of the Christmas season, Best. Christmas. Ever!'s disparate parts are so carelessly thrown together that it's hard to take any of it seriously. Potential conflicts in the marriages of its two central couples are tonally incompatible with the film's corny humor and a Miracle on 34th Street-esque subplot about the adults' children trying to prove that Santa is real. This is a totally mixed stew of Christmas movie tropes without rhyme or reason, which would have had a chance to at least be campy if its actors weren't phoning it in either.

Genre: Comedy, Family

Actor: Abby Villasmil, Allan Groves, Brandy Norwood, Camille Cadarette, Chase Ramsey, Heather Graham, Janet Lo, Jason Biggs, Madison Skye Validum, Matt Cedeño, Paul Kiernan, Wyatt Hunt

Director: Mary Lambert

Rating: PG

This was an uncomfortable, unnecessary mess of a movie—it’d be a lot faster to just go to Literotica or something. It’s got rough romance dialogue; everyone’s faces are always pressed so close together; and worst of all is even the fight scenes are awkward. Outside of storylines, music from Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish were made to be associated with this movie which mucks up their good name for people that haven't discovered them in neutral conditions. Caterina Ferioli’s performance as the film’s muse Nica, along with Nica’s warm girl-friendships, carries the entire thing to a semblance of watchability. But I'm not trying to give you hope, I'm saying just open your Incognito tab if you're here "for the plot."

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Alessandro Bedetti, Anna Cianca, Caterina Ferioli, Eco Andriolo Ranzi, Eugenio Krauss, Juju Di Domenico, Laura Baldi, Nicky Passarella, Orlando Cinque, Roberta Rovelli, Sabrina Paravicini, Simone Baldasseroni, Sveva Romano Candelletta

Director: Alessandro Genovesi

Rating: R

If it's been said about one American stand-up comedian, it's been said about a dozen of them: just because a joke is edgy doesn't mean it's brave, nor does it mean it's actually a well-written joke. Throughout this hour-long special, Mike Epps rambles from one topic to another with little sense of direction, usually resorting to making fun of a vulnerable group, or making dull "observations" about relationships and everyday life when he hits a wall. There's no real perspective to what he says here, not even an attempt to criticize more progressive points of view. It's hard to see what's so funny about somebody stating the obvious loudly and arrogantly.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Mike Epps

Director: Royale Watkins

Rating: R

Making a heist so unoriginal and uneventful is a feat, and Gold Brick manages to do both without missing a beat. None of the characters are particularly interesting or distinct enough to remember their names. The idea of stealing from a big corporation (usually a solid setup) has no bite because the motivations feel hollow and unrealized. Most of the "ingenious" slight of hands and master plans don't impress or stick, and later plot points' payoffs stay as lackluster as their setups. Crisp, saturated cinematography is pleasant on the eyes but not enough to stop them from glazing over.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Agathe Rousselle, Antoine Gouy, Bruno Lochet, Grégoire Colin, Igor Gotesman, Irina Muluile, Ludovik, Nicolas de Lavergne, Nina Meurisse, Raphaël Quenard, Slimane Dazi, Stéphan Wojtowicz, Youssef Hajdi

Director: Jérémie Rozan