It’s the weekend before Thanksgiving. In those quiet moments between wolfing down oily poultry and watching the Lions underwhelm on the field, you may be trapped with loquaciously challenged folks, or even family members you see but once a year. If that’s the case, it’s good to be prepared. So why not give yourself some dinner conversation fodder?

Nothing lifts a lull like inane chatter about inconsequential things, and entertainment talk makes for a welcome refuge. But maybe you’re looking for more meaningful, thought-provoking new material to indulge in. If so, we’ve got you covered.

Here are five of the best 2019 movies you can currently stream on Netflix, with selections spanning a diversity of genres—even a documentary.

Triple Frontier

Director: J.C. Chandor

Writer: J.C. Chandor, Mark Boal

Cast: Oscar Isaac, Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, Pedro Pascal, Adria Arjona

A handsomely made action thriller, J.C. Chandor’s Triple Frontier is the tale of five disgruntled former special forces operatives who re-team to steal a fortune from a drug lord in South America. Written by Mark Boal, known for his gritty and intense war dramas—Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker—and Chandor, the movie has a self-serious and brooding tone. These five, led by Oscar Isaac and Ben Affleck, are believable as able-bodied anti-heroes who might embark on such a high risk, high reward mission. With impressive set pieces, punishing violence, and a foreboding aura, it’s the story choices that keep you rapt. A big budget film for Netflix ($115 million), Chandor makes good use of the funds. The movie has an expansive scope that transports you to the precarious jungles and mountains the cast is forced to trek through. It’s a beautifully gloomy film that makes up in aesthetic what it lacks in emotional potency.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Director/Writer: Chiwetel Ejiofor

Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maxwell Simba, Lily Banda, Aïssa Maïga

The title alone tells you where this one is going. Sometimes knowing the ending doesn’t spoil the rest of the experience, which is the case here. And knowing its finale softens the blow that this film hits you with again and again as it drifts along from one devastating moment to the next. In his directorial debut, Chiwetel Ejiofor tells a story set and filmed in the impoverished African nation of Malawi. When protagonist William’s (Maxwell Simba) village is stricken with an historic drought, suffering follows. His farmer father, played by Ejiofor, resorts to baleful rage birthed from his failure to care for and protect his family. Watching him lose hope as his faith in God wavers, elicits an audience response like Ejiofor can do better than most actors. But it’s young William’s innovative mind that begins to make a long lasting, far reaching change. Among other things, the family-friendly film—though heavy at times—is a father-son story about pride and humility, trust and sacrifice. And it hits you in all the right places.

Dolemite is My Name

Director: Craig Brewer

Writers: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

Cast: Eddie Murphy, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Craig Robinson, Titus Burgess, Snoop Dogg, Wesley Snipes,

This one is just a treat in every sense. The story of Rudy Ray Moore, portrayed here by Eddie Murphy in his best performance in a very long time, is a strange blend of hysterical comedy and heartrending pathos. Rudy, a record store manager and failed emcee, is inspired by a local bum in 1970s Los Angeles to reinvent himself. Stealing and polishing this poor sap’s material, Rudy becomes Dolemite, a pimp who spits crass rhymes and owns the stage. Becoming a hit, he parlays this into a movie career, making (self-aware?) Blaxploitation flicks that have endured as cherished pieces of ‘70s cinema. Craig Brewer’s entire cast is superb, but the movie is Murphy’s through and through. It’s a reminder of the actor’s otherworldly comic chops that have been in short supply over the past two decades thanks to some curious choices he’s made. But he’s so perfectly cast here as a larger than life individual as funny as he is sympathetic.

In the Shadow of the Moon

Director: Jim Mickle

Writers: Gregory Weidman, Geoffrey Tock

Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Cleopatra Coleman, Bokeem Woodbine, Michael C. Hall

This is the kind of movie that could have worked better as a series. There’s so much to explore in a story spanning such a lengthy period of time, but the film condenses it into a narrative that feels underdeveloped. Still, it’s one that captures your attention and keeps you guessing. Jim Mickle’s sci-fi actioner about a cop (Boyd Holbrook) whose wife dies in childbirth the same night he kills a cryptically dangerous criminal (Cleopatra Coleman), turns to a tale of obsession. As the story jumps ahead in time, the killer our cop watched die shows up again. In fact, she shows up once every nine years and, each time, he hunts after her, knowing some unexplained phenomenon is behind this. Yes, it’s a movie about time travel whose science is a bit shoddy, but that’s often the case when employing this device. The film’s best quality is the mystery at the center of it and the investigation that transcends your run of the mill police thriller.

 

Tell Me Who I Am

Director: Ed Perkins

Cast: Alex Lewis, Marcus Lewis

Ed Perkins’ Tell Me Who I Am is a documentary that unfolds like a mystery. He tells the story of identical twins—Alex and Marcus—and the devastating accident that caused Alex to lose his memory at age 18. After waking from a coma, Alex has to re-learn everything about who he is, and who he was. Tasked with filling in the blanks is the only person he knows: his brother, Marcus. But after years of being fed stories and memories, Alex learns that Marcus may not have been as honest in the idyllic picture he painted. With elements of a thriller, the simple presentation of this tale reveals information to the viewer little by little. We hear the story of these two men from them, and them alone. And the more we learn, the more crushing the real story becomes. Seeing the hurt in the eyes of the now 54-year-old brothers as they individually speak directly into the camera—shot in close-up—is a contagious experience. It will move you to tears, but not without hope.