The 3 Must-Watch Movies Hitting Netflix in May 2026

Netflix has a fat May lineup, and yes, I see that monthly bill too. If you want the good stuff without scrolling until your thumb cramps, here are three movies worth pressing play on: a sweetly oddball original with Sally Field, a love letter of a doc about Martin Short, and a 90s crime blast that still rips.

Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026 )

Sally Field anchors one of Netflix's splashier originals this month, playing Tova, a widowed cleaner at the Sowell Bay Aquarium in Puget Sound who keeps her life tidy and quiet by design. That goes out the window when she strikes up a connection with Marcellus, the aquarium's highly opinionated orange octopus, and crosses paths with Cameron (Lewis Pullman), a drifting loner who is somehow even more isolated than she is.

Based on Shelby Van Pelt's bestselling novel, the movie leans into gentle, offbeat connections between people the world tends to overlook. The secret sauce is Field, a two-time Oscar winner whose track record in dramas like Norma Rae and Steel Magnolias makes Tova feel lived-in instead of saccharine. If the premise sounds a little quirky, it is, and that's the charm.

Streaming May 8.

Marty, Life Is Short (2026)

Martin Short finally gets a proper victory lap, and the person guiding it might surprise you: Lawrence Kasdan, the filmmaker behind The Big Chill, Grand Canyon, and Silverado. The documentary runs a tight 100 minutes and traces Short's career from SCTV to SNL to Three Amigos, stitching in new interviews with collaborators like Steve Martin alongside archival clips that remind you how elastic his comedy has always been.

Thanks to Only Murders in the Building, a whole new crowd rediscovered Short. The doc mirrors his vibe: quick, silly, and unexpectedly moving. It feels like the rare tribute that actually understands its subject instead of embalming him.

Streaming May 24.

True Romance ( 1993)

If you have been waiting for Quentin Tarantino's next thing since Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, this is a great excuse to revisit one of his earlier scripts. Tony Scott directed, Tarantino wrote, and the result is pure early 90s kinetic mayhem. Newly-in-love duo Clarence (Christian Slater) and Alabama (Patricia Arquette) accidentally make off with a mob-owned stash and bolt for California, but trouble keeps catching up. It's packed with the sharp, profane dialogue you expect, cut with that fast, music-video energy the decade was drowning in.

The Hans Zimmer score, with that chiming theme, never stopped echoing through pop culture, and the movie somehow manages to be both referential and its own beast. Also, keep an eye out for Brad Pitt as a deeply committed stoner who helps the wrong people without ever leaving his couch.

Now streaming on Netflix.

• Remarkably Bright Creatures - May 8
• Marty, Life Is Short - May 24
• True Romance - streaming now