Old and New Gems You Should Watch on Netflix Singapore

At this point, we can’t even fault anyone for wanting to stay at home and “do nothing” all day. These pandemic times are hard for everybody. Aside from the health crisis, working and studying from home can take its toll, and the effects of burnout, languishing, and cabin fever can be rough on the mind and body. So, while we’re all about growth, improvement, and productivity, we’re also fans of taking a “me day” and just binge watching an entire series or movies, regardless if our hair needs washing or the sheets need changing.

Here are six old and new gems you can watch on Netflix Singapore on your “me day” or any day!

‘Roma’

Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma" is a gorgeous visual love letter to his childhood and the woman who raised him, his nanny Libo. This semi-autobiographical drama film, which won three Oscars in 2018, centers on Cleo, one of two housekeepers of a middle-class family, and her journey set against the political turmoil in 1970s Mexico and the domestic turmoil of the household she serves.

‘Your Name’

You don't have to "get" anime to love Makoto Shinkai's "Your Name," an animated masterpiece about two teenagers living not just in separate cities in Japan, but in different timelines, and the profound connection they share. "Your Name" is a perfect example of a time travel film done right and its soundtrack by Radwimps is an extra punch to the heart. The last thirty minutes will make you ugly cry, so if you want to feel something, then this one’s for you.

‘The Chair’

Sandra Oh is impeccable as Ji-Yoon, the chair of a failing English department at a major university. If you're a woman of color in academia, regardless if you're a wide-eyed graduate student or a full-time lecturer or professor, then you'll be able to relate hard to the spot-on (and hilarious) trials and tribulations of Ji-Yoon on “The Chair.” Oh's impeccable performance, as well as the series' cast is something not to be missed even among those merely peering from outside the academe.

‘School of Rock’

Jack Black is a joy to watch in "School of Rock," as well as the real-life-talented kids he takes under his wing and initiates into the majestic world of rock and roll. This movie may be 18 years old this September 2021, but it’s a timeless, feel-good flick that all music lovers can appreciate. You’re not hardcore unless you live hardcore!

‘Flu’

Movies seem to be obsessed with imagining disasters, crises, and the end of the world despite, as novelist Lauren Oyler put it, the apocalypse's "perpetually delayed arrival" in real life. In "Flu," a South Korean city becomes ground zero following the outbreak of a deadly strain of H5N1, an airborne virus. The death toll rises, people are quarantined, and chaos ensues. Sounds familiar...

‘Cooking with Paris’

We're not exactly sure why we're fixated on "Cooking with Paris" or why anyone, for that matter, gets a kick out of watching reality shows involving the lives of celebrities and influencers. Obviously, we can't relate to them. Is it the sick humor we get from seeing the lives of the world's rich and famous crash and burn by way of, say, losing diamond earrings while swimming on the beach? Or the fact that, despite having millions of dollars in the bank, an heiress like Paris Hilton struggles just like the rest of us in whipping up a good meal?

Whatever the reason is, these reality shows can get pretty entertaining. It must be nice to be rich, famous, and hot. Some people can really have it all, no?