100 Movies Like Interstellar (2014) On Netflix Australia (Page 5)

Staff & contributors

Chasing the feel of watching Interstellar ? Here are the movies we recommend you watch right after.

"Interstellar," directed by Christopher Nolan, is a mesmerizing cinematic experience that seamlessly weaves together awe-inspiring visuals, intricate science fiction, and heartfelt storytelling. Set against a backdrop of Earth's environmental collapse, the film follows Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and his team of scientists and astronauts as they embark on a perilous journey through a wormhole in search of a new habitable planet. Nolan's commitment to practical effects and meticulous attention to detail is evident in the film's stunning visuals, which bring the vastness and beauty of space to life. Hans Zimmer's hauntingly emotive score adds depth and intensity to the narrative, enhancing the overall cinematic experience. "Interstellar" challenges its audience with complex scientific concepts, yet it treats them with respect, avoiding oversimplification. This intellectual depth adds layers to the story, making it particularly rewarding for viewers who appreciate a more thought-provoking approach to science fiction. The performances, especially McConaughey's portrayal of Cooper, are outstanding, grounding the film's emotional core in the midst of its cosmic spectacle. While the film's deliberate pacing may test some viewers' patience, those who embrace its intellectual challenges will be rewarded with a profound and unforgettable journey through space and time. "Interstellar" stands as a visionary work of science fiction, exploring themes of love, sacrifice, and the human spirit's indomitable will to survive in the face of the unknown.

An uplifting and inspiring movie with Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer. Jones stars as Supreme Court Justice Associate Ruth Bader Ginsburg in this biopic centered around her hallmark case against sex-based discrimination. While it doesn't feel like it truly conveys the power of Ginsburg's story, her determination, or all the odds that were stacked against her, it serves as a mellowed-down preview of her remarkable story. Watch this if you're in need of a good dose of inspiration.

Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Amanda MacDonald, Angela Galuppo, Armie Hammer, Arthur Holden, Ben Carlson, Cailee Spaeny, Callum Shoniker, Chris Mulkey, Dawn Ford, Felicity Jones, Francis X. McCarthy, Gabrielle Graham, Gary Werntz, Holly Gauthier-Frankel, Jack Reynor, Jeff Lillico, Joe Cobden, Justin Theroux, Karl Graboshas, Kathy Bates, Michael Dickson, Ronald Guttman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sam Waterston, Stephen Root, Wendy Crewson

Director: Mimi Leder

Rating: PG-13

If you’re new to the story, I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me feels difficult to understand. The film adaptation portrays the novel through abruptly cut sequences, meticulously framed naturalistic frames, and monologue and dialogue that mean more than what’s being said, on top of Juan Pablo’s gradual descent into a criminal network. It’s as disorienting as being in Barcelona feels for Mexican couple Juan Pablo and Val. However, this film feels like a new approach in adapting novels – the multiple perspectives and epistolary portions adeptly portrayed through typed up screens and alternating perspectives (and direction) between the couple. It doesn’t feel like something that you’ve likely seen before.

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama

Actor: Aimar Vega, Alexis Ayala, Ángel Zermen, Anna Castillo, Ariana Van X, Bel Gris, Bruna Cusí, Carmen Beato, Clara Roquet, Darío Rocas, Dario Yazbek Bernal, Jelen García, Juan Carlos Remolina, Juan Daniel Garcia Treviño, Juan Minujín, Natalia Portnoy, Natalia Solián

Director: Luis Fernando Frías de la Parra

Rating: R

This atmospheric 82-minute French drama is set between 1995 and the present time, between a shy and lonely teenage version of the main character, Jonas, and an extroverted, chain-smoking one. The common thread between the two is a night gone wrong at a local gay bar.

I Am Jonas is a detailed portrait of a troubled, self-loathing character, and an exploration of the long-lasting impact of trauma experienced young.

Genre: Drama, Romance, TV Movie

Actor: Aure Atika, David Baïot, Félix Maritaud, Franck Libert, Ilian Bergala, Marie Denarnaud, Matthieu Lestrade, Nicolas Bauwens, Nicolas Sartous, Pierre Cartonnet, Tommy-Lee Baïk

Director: Christophe Charrier

Rating: 12

Everyone has those days where nothing goes right, but no one’s having as bad of a day as detective Yuji Kudo is in Hard Days. It isn’t just that nothing goes right– everything goes wrong, and he’s just a hair away from losing it all each time. This Japanese adaptation might take a slightly more serious tone than the South Korean original, but it does retain its ridiculous escalation of increasingly terrible things that could possibly happen, with Junichi Okada and Go Ayano letting loose in their detective characters’ morally dubious behavior. Hard Day is a decent watch, if a bit bloated, especially for those familiar with the story.

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Actor: Akira Emoto, Go Ayano, Hayato Isomura, Junichi Okada, Kurumi Shimizu, Maho Yamada, Mario Kuroba, Ryoko Hirosue, Ryusuke Komakine, Takashi Yamanaka, Taro Suruga, Tetta Sugimoto

Director: Michihito Fujii

Galaxy Quest may be a parody of the sci-fi franchise, but it’s also a huge fan of it. It forgoes cynical takes for smart odes to the genre, all while retaining an endearing sense of humor about it. It’s silly and self-aware, and it has a lot of fun letting us know that they’re in on the joke. You can watch for the interesting premise, but you'll stay for the laughs and the promise of a genuine thrill ride. Everyone is a blast to watch, but Sigourney Weaver and Sam Rockwell deserve special praise for being outright hilarious, elevating Galaxy Quest from B-movie to camp classic status. 

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Science Fiction

Actor: Alan Rickman, Corbin Bleu, Daryl Mitchell, Dian Bachar, Enrico Colantoni, Heidi Swedberg, Isaac C. Singleton Jr., J.P. Manoux, Jed Rees, Jennifer Manley, Jeremy Howard, Jerry Penacoli, Joel McKinnon Miller, Jonathan Feyer, Justin Long, Kaitlin Cullum, Kevin McDonald, Marcio Rosario, Matt Winston, Missi Pyle, Morgan Rusler, Patrick Breen, Rainn Wilson, Robin Sachs, Sam Lloyd, Sam Rockwell, Sigourney Weaver, Tim Allen, Todd Giebenhain, Tony Shalhoub

Director: Dean Parisot

Rating: PG

After the devastating Happy Old Year, we were excited to see the next of what Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit has to offer. Fast & Feel Love is a surprising one, purely because of how silly and unserious the entire film is. The satirical film follows a sport stacker whose passion to be the fastest blinds him to all the day-to-day tasks and life goals that have been pushed towards his girlfriend, and the film plays this basic conflict as dramatically as other action films would, with dynamic cinematography, an over-the-top soundtrack, and dramatic voice overs. The joke does get stretched a tad too long, but it humorously pokes fun at the infantile ways men in action films act, while still recognizing how this mindset is the way we cope in adulthood.

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Anusara Korsamphan, Keetapat Pongruea, Napak Traicharoendetch, Nat Kitcharit, Urassaya Sperbund, Wipawee Patnasiri

Director: Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit

Pollution disproportionately affects developing nations, and when governments continue to allow the lackluster waste management processes of large-scale industries, sometimes the only option is to leave. That’s what the six protagonists do in Blood Vessel, though escaping the situation isn’t as easy as it sounds. The first half starts out fairly slow, as we get to know the group, but it’s all to bring about emotional devastation as the film unfolds into violent ends. While certain plot elements don’t have a neat resolution, and certain technical aspects sometimes feel distracting, Blood Vessel works through the strength of its six lead performances.

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Actor: Alex Budin, Bimbo Manuel, David Ezekiel, Dibor Adaobi, Jidekene Achufusi, René Mena, Slyvester Ekanem

Director: Moses Inwang

Richard Wershe, Jr. was arrested for carrying eight kilos of cocaine in 1988, when he was just 17. He went on to become one of Michigan’s longest-serving non-violent juvenile drug offenders, dubbed by the press as White Boy Rick. His fate was sealed by Michigan law that had just been passed, which stated that anyone found with more than 650 grams of drugs had to be sentenced to mandatory life. 

Featuring interviews with drug lords, journalists, as well as Rick’s mother and attorney, this documentary — along with the follow-up Hollywood biopic, White Boy Rick, starring Matthew McConaughey— provides an insightful account into his tragic story. 

Genre: Documentary, Drama

Actor: Chris Hansen, Herm Groman, Johnny Curry, Richard Wershe Jr., Scott M. Burnstein, Seth Ferranti, Shawn Rech

Director: Christopher S. Rech, Shawn Rech

Rating: N/A

There is a great deal of disbelief to suspend with this film, arguably the weakest of Japanese animation director Makoto Shinkai’s oeuvre. It follows Hodaka, a broke high school student in Tokyo looking for a job. The story kicks off when he meets Hina, a cheerful girl who lives with her younger brother and has the power to control the weather.

Again, as with all of Shinkai’s work, it’s remarkably beautiful. Rainfall, skies, and cityscapes are eye candy here, probably more than in any piece of animation ever. But this has every high school romance trope elevated to an extreme level, like Shinkai’s best known film Your Name but on steroids—a teenage boy and cute girl fit together like pieces of a puzzle, a grand adventure starts, forces beyond their control threaten to separate them, and the standard anime couple seemingly never see each other again, until they dramatically meet years later.

For the sake of an against-all-odds romance, Weathering with You downplays its insane plot devices. It glosses over runaway kids wielding firearms, an underage girl almost going into sex work, and a climate disaster potentially displacing millions of people—all for a love story.

Genre: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Actor: Aoi Yuki, Ayane Sakura, Chieko Baisho, Hidekatsu Shibata, Kana Hanazawa, Kana Ichinose, Kanon Tani, Kotaro Daigo, Masako Nozawa, Mone Kamishiraishi, Nana Mori, Ryo Narita, Ryohei Kimura, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Sakura Kiryu, Sei Hiraizumi, Shinjirou Gouda, Shun Oguri, Sumi Shimamoto, Tsubasa Honda, Yuki Kaji, Yuki Ominami

Director: Makoto Shinkai

Rating: PG-13

A deeply affecting and meaningful documentary, directed by the woman who it revolves around. Jennifer Brea, a Harvard Ph.D student, begins suffering from unusual symptoms: prolonged and extreme fatigue, mental confusion, full-body pain, etc. When she goes to the doctor she is dismissed for being dehydrated and depressed. Later she finds an extended community suffering from her exact same symptoms, all of which fall under the umbrella of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, more widely known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She decides to tell their stories from her bed, and as such this movie is a collection of videos from her and her partner, added to the stories of others living with the disease. An important and inspiring movie that sheds a light on the lives of the millions affected by CFS around the world. Watch the trailer.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Jennifer Brea, Jessica l e Taylor, Jessica Taylor-Bearman, Omar Wasow, Patricia E. Gillespie, Samuel Bearman

Director: Jennifer Brea

Rating: N/A, Not Rated

Thithi is a 2015 Kannada film from India that begins with the death of 101-year old Century Gowda, and follows his family as they prepare for his funeral celebration 11 days later. The story-line focuses on 3 generations of his descendants, as his son, grandson and great-grandson are caught up in individual dramas related to the impending funeral as well as their own personal aspirations. His son Gaddappa, an elderly wanderer, absconds with a traveling family of shepherds, his grandson Thammanna hatches an elaborate plan to claim the family land for himself, and his great-grandson Abhi becomes enamored by a young shepherd girl whom he pursues doggedly. Filmed using non-professional actors recruited from villages in the southern Karnataka state of India, Thithi is a humorous and enjoyable portrait of life in a rural part of South Asia rarely seen by the world-at-large. As a realistic slice-of-life, the film gives the viewer an outsider’s glimpse into not just the lifestyle of many residents of rural India, but also their elaborate customs and rituals related to death according to Hindu tradition. Thithi is the type of film that moves at its own deliberate pace, but ultimately provides a winning experience in both its storytelling and its cultural significance.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Abhishek H.N., Channegowda, Pooja, Pooja S.M., Singri Gowda, Thamme Gowda, Thammegowda S.

Director: Raam Reddy

Rating: N/A, Not Rated

This movie will first confuse your perception of the narrative with a feud involving the two magicians (played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale), but you will soon be hooked by the twists and turns of the plot. The unveiling of the mystery will leave you in awe, however it is the storytelling and the process that Christopher Nolan puts together so beautifully that is the greatest thing about this movie.

Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller

Actor: Andy Serkis, Anthony De Marco, Brian Tahash, Chao Li Chi, Chi Chaoli, Chris Cleveland, Christian Bale, Christopher Neame, Daniel Davis, David Bowie, Edward Hibbert, Enn Reitel, Erin Cipolletti, Ezra Buzzington, Gary Sievers, Hugh Jackman, James Lancaster, James Otis, Jamie Harris, Jim Piddock, Jodi Bianca Wise, John B. Crye, Johnny Liska, Kevin Will, Mark Ryan, Michael Caine, Monty Stuart, Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall, Ricky Jay, Robert W. Arbogast, Rock Anthony, Roger Rees, Ron Perkins, Russ Fega, Samantha Mahurin, Scarlett Johansson, Tim Pilleri, William Morgan Sheppard

Director: Christopher Nolan

Rating: PG-13

As the value of ivory appreciated by the Chinese middle-class, the demand for it has skyrocketed. This brought elephants to a dire outlook: extinction in as early as the next 15 years. “Traders in ivory actually want extension in elephants, the less elephants there are the more the price rises” as one of the commentators in the film says. To bring awareness to this threat, filmmakers went undercover for 16 months and followed the ivory from where it was stolen to where it hits the shelves of Hong Kong. The result is a genuine thriller, far more gripping than you’d expect from a documentary. It portrays the brave and hopeful men and women trying to combat these atrocities, the battle they may be losing, and all the obstacles they face. An extremely important watch.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Andrea Crosta, Ian Stevenson, Kief Davidson, Prince William, Richard Ladkani

Director: Kief Davidson, Richard Ladkani

Rating: N/A, Not Rated

A beautiful coming-of-age story that is mixed with one of the best depictions of a mother character in movie history both make Lady Bird an absolutely exquisite film. Its slice-of-life story taps into the universal issues, dreams, and frustrations that almost every small-town kid has faced; and it manages to do all of this without feeling forced or cliché. This is because of the attention and care that were given to it but also because of how tightly it's based on the life of its writer / director Greta Gerwig. A wonderful movie.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Abhimanyu Katyal, Andy Buckley, Anita Kalathara, Bayne Gibby, Beanie Feldstein, Ben Konigsberg, Bob Stephenson, Carla Valentine, Chris Witaske, Christina Offley, Connor Mickiewicz, Daniel Zovatto, Danielle Macdonald, Georgia Leva, Ithamar Enriquez, Jake McDorman, Janet Song, John Karna, Jordan Rodrigues, Kathryn Newton, Kristen Cloke, Laura Marano, Laurie Metcalf, Lois Smith, London Thor, Lucas Hedges, Luisa Lee, Marielle Scott, Marietta DePrima, Matthew Maher, Monique Edwards, Myra Turley, Odeya Rush, Rebecca Light, Richard Jin Namkung, Roman Arabia, Saoirse Ronan, Shaelan O'Connor, Stephen Henderson, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Timothée Chalamet, Tracy Letts

Director: Greta Gerwig

Rating: 15, R

Incredible footage combined with a great soundtrack will keep you frozen in your seat until global warming melts you off (so to speak). Chasing Ice is about a National Geographic photographer who tries to capture a complete overview of what climate change is doing to our planet. Consequently this movie took years to make and countless technical issues had to be dealt with in order to record the time-lapse videos. The result is mesmerizing, and captures something that has never been caught on camera before. This movie is evidence of what our planet is going through that everyone can relate to. Be prepared to be charmed and saddened at the same time.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Adam LeWinter, Dennis Dimick, James Balog, Jeff Orlowski, Kitty Boone, Louie Psihoyos, Svavar Jónatansson, Sylvia Earle, Tad Pfeffer

Director: Jeff Orlowski

Rating: PG-13