These 4 gorgeous Netflix movies are perfect for testing your new TV

Published Aug 6, 2026, 10:15 AM EDT After graduating from Marist University with a degree in communications and journalism, Dan Girolamo has over 10 years of experience writing about entertainment and sports. Dan's work can be seen in various publications, including Digital Trends, SportsCasting, and Tom's Guide. Throughout his career, Dan has interviewed several high-profile filmmakers and creatives, including Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis, Caitriona Balfe, Frank Grillo, Miranda Cosgrove, Jai Courtney, Chris Columbus and James Cameron. Dan joins How-To Geek as a Senior Editor. When he's not writing about entertainment, Dan is either watching a movie or praying for the New York Knicks to win a championship. As a cinephile who loves to spend time at movie theaters, I have to admit that the in-home viewing experience has dramatically improved. I'm so impressed when I see how people transform their spaces into legitimate screening rooms with reclining seats, pristine surround sound, and professional lighting. However, the TV itself remains the most essential part of a successful watch party. You have your new TV. Now it's time to test it out to see if it enhances or diminishes the visual experience. I suggest heading to Netflix and streaming one of these four movies to see what your TV's capable of. These movies are known for their strong effects and powerful visuals, so they should reveal how well your TV performs. Nope Jordan Peele delivers his Spielbergian blockbuster Jordan Peele leveled up in Nope. His previous two movies, Get Out and Us, were smaller, psychological horrors that focused more on the human condition. With Nope, Peele went full Spielberg and made his sci-fi blockbuster that channeled the spirit of Jurassic Park, Jaws, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Quiz 8 Questions · Test Your KnowledgeName that Netflix sci-fi movieTrivia challenge From clones to comets — how well do you know Netflix's biggest sci-fi films? Sci-FiNetflixMoviesCharactersPlot Twists Begin In The Adam Project, who does time-traveling pilot Adam Reed team up with to save the future? AHis future wife LauraBHis younger selfCHis deceased motherDA rogue AI named Atlas Correct! Adult Adam, played by Ryan Reynolds, teams up with his 12-year-old self in this 2022 time-travel adventure. The dynamic between the two versions of Adam is the emotional core of the film. Not quite. The answer is his younger self. Ryan Reynolds plays the adult Adam who travels back in time and ends up partnering with his 12-year-old self, played by Walker Scobell, to fix a fractured timeline. Continue In Don't Look Up, what is the central threat that astronomers Kate Dibiasky and Randall Mindy discover? AA rogue black hole approaching EarthBAn alien signal from deep spaceCA planet-killing comet on a collision course with EarthDA deadly solar flare set to wipe out all electronics Correct! Kate and Randall discover a massive comet that will destroy Earth in roughly six months. The 2021 film uses this premise as a sharp satire of media sensationalism and political inaction. Not quite. The threat is a planet-killing comet. Adam McKay's 2021 satire follows two astronomers who struggle to get anyone to take seriously the very literal end of the world heading straight for Earth. Continue Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, currently in production for Netflix, stars which actor in the role of the creature? AOscar IsaacBAndrew GarfieldCJacob ElordiDTimothée Chalamet Correct! Jacob Elordi, known for Saltburn and Priscilla, is set to play Frankenstein's creature in del Toro's long-awaited adaptation. Oscar Isaac is also attached to the project, playing Victor Frankenstein. Not quite. Jacob Elordi is cast as the creature. The film also stars Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein, making it one of the most anticipated Netflix productions from visionary director Guillermo del Toro. Continue In They Cloned Tyrone, in what fictional community does most of the story take place? AComptonBThe GlenCHarlemDEast Point Correct! The 2023 film is set in The Glen, a fictional low-income neighborhood where Fontaine, Slick Charles, and Yo-Yo uncover a sinister government conspiracy operating right beneath their streets. Not quite. The setting is The Glen, a fictional community inspired by real American inner-city neighborhoods. The location is integral to the film's themes about systemic racism and government exploitation of Black communities. Continue In Spiderhead, what do the drugs administered by Jeff Abnesti primarily affect in the prisoners who volunteer for testing? APhysical strength and enduranceBMemory formation and recallCEmotions and behaviorDPain tolerance and hunger Correct! The experimental drugs in Spiderhead manipulate the prisoners' emotions and behavior — from inducing intense love to uncontrollable laughter to fear. The 2022 film is based on George Saunders' short story Escape from Spiderhead. Not quite. The drugs control emotions and behavior. Spiderhead explores what happens when human feelings can be chemically switched on and off, raising dark ethical questions about free will and consent in a near-future prison facility. Continue The Cloverfield Paradox serves as a prequel of sorts to the Cloverfield franchise. What does the Shepherd space station attempt to do that triggers the film's chaos? ADestroy an incoming asteroidBSolve Earth's energy crisis using a particle acceleratorCEstablish first contact with an alien civilizationDTest a warp drive for interstellar travel Correct! The crew of the Shepherd fires a particle accelerator to solve Earth's catastrophic energy shortage, accidentally ripping a hole in spacetime and unleashing interdimensional horrors. The 2018 film was famously dropped on Netflix right after the Super Bowl. Not quite. They're trying to solve Earth's energy crisis with a particle accelerator. When the experiment goes wrong, it tears open dimensions and sets the events of the entire Cloverfield universe in motion — at a very steep cost. Continue Rebel Moon was directed by Zack Snyder and drew heavy comparisons to which classic sci-fi film franchise? AThe MatrixBStar TrekCStar WarsDDune Correct! Rebel Moon was widely compared to Star Wars, and for good reason — Snyder originally pitched the concept as a Star Wars story before developing it independently with Netflix. It features a ragtag group of warriors defending a peaceful colony from a tyrannical empire. Not quite. The comparisons were overwhelmingly to Star Wars. Zack Snyder actually conceived Rebel Moon as a potential Star Wars project years before it became a standalone Netflix film, which explains the many familiar beats and archetypes. Continue In Atlas, Jennifer Lopez plays a data analyst named Atlas Shepherd who is hunting a rogue AI. What is the name of that villainous AI? AHarlanBCASCACSilasDNexus Correct! The rogue AI antagonist in Atlas is named Harlan, a terrorist android who escapes Earth and plans to wipe out humanity. The 2024 Netflix film follows Atlas as she reluctantly partners with a mech suit AI to take him down. Not quite. The villain is Harlan. In the 2024 Netflix film, Harlan is a rogue AI who was once created to help humanity but turned against it, forcing Atlas Shepherd on a dangerous mission across the galaxy to stop his genocidal plan. See My Score Challenge CompleteYour Score / 8 Thanks for playing! Try Again Siblings OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Em (Keke Palmer) Haywood notice that something strange is happening on their farm. One night, they discover what appears to be a UFO that has been stealing their horses. In need of money, the Haywoods decide to use surveillance cameras to record the UFO and sell the footage. Meanwhile, amusement park owner Ricky "Jupe" Park (Steven Yeun) also discovers the UFO and tries to churn a profit from the otherworldly phenomenon. Hoyte van Hoytema, the Oscar winner who has worked on some of Christopher Nolan's best movies, is the cinematographer on Nope. Therefore, it's no surprise that Peele's visuals are breathtaking, especially the scenes at night. It's a good monster movie, but an even better summer blockbuster. Nope Release Date July 22, 2022 Chris Hemsworth, action hero There are times when Chris Hemsworth puts down Thor's hammer and acts outside the MCU. With his size and charisma, I believe Hemsworth could be one of our best action heroes. He just needs to pick the right projects. Extraction 2 utilizes the best that Hemsworth has to offer. After the events of Extraction, Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) barely survives his injuries and retreats to a cabin to live in isolation. Unfortunately, his seclusion ends after being recruited to help rescue his ex-wife's sister (Tinatin Dalakishvili) and her two children. The family is forced to live inside a prison with a dangerous criminal, who happens to be the husband of the ex-wife's sister. The selling point of the Extraction franchise is the one-shot action scenes. In Extraction, there is a tense 12-minute one-shot scene featuring Tyler engaging in a firefight, hand-to-hand combat, and rooftop chase. Director Sam Hargrave knew he had to go bigger in Extraction 2, so the sequel's one-shot scene increases to 21 minutes. It involves a prison break and an explosive chase sequence. If this action-packed scene doesn't play well on your TV, then you're going to have to play around with your settings. ​​​​​​​ Roma Intimate look at a family in crisis ​​​​​​​ Unlike the first two movies on this list, Roma is not an action thriller. You won't find UFOs stealing horses or mercenaries breaking families out of prisons. Instead, Roma is a deeply moving portrait of an upper-middle-class Mexican family who must stay strong in the midst of a crisis. Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Roma revolves around two women: Cleo Gutiérrez (Yalitza Aparicio), a live-in maid, and Sofía (Marina de Tavira), her employer and mother to four children. Each woman faces a difficult challenge that will shape their future: Cleo is pregnant with a child her boyfriend doesn't want, and Sofía believes her husband, Antonio, is having an affair. With their men abandoning them in their time of need, Cleo and Sofía seek comfort and support in one another as they take care of the children. Cuarón, who also serves as the cinematographer, smartly shot the film in black-and-white. As a semi-autobiographical work, the black-and-white imagery feels like a memory—not everything might be accurate, but you remember what's important. The sequence at the beach, which happens to be on the poster, stuck with me well after the movie ended.​​​​​​​ Roma Release Date November 21, 2018 Godzilla Minus One A monster movie with an even bigger heart I remember hearing about Godzilla Minus One in late 2023 as it prepared for its theatrical release. I couldn't believe the overwhelmingly positive reviews coming in. How could a movie that cost $10 million be in contention for an Oscar? Hand up—I was wrong. Once I saw Godzilla Minus One, I totally understood the hype and realized it deserved to win Best Visual Effects at the Oscars. Near the end of World War II, Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) abandons his duty as a kamikaze pilot after freezing when Godzilla attacked a Japanese base. A few years later, a disgraced Kōichi begins supporting Noriko Ōishi (Minami Hamabe) and a rescued baby. Meanwhile, Godzilla has only gotten stronger after being mutated by nuclear testing. The monstrous creature now heads to Japan, leaving it up to Kōichi and a group of brave volunteers to save their nation. The visual effects are stellar, especially at that budget. However, I was more impressed with Takashi Yamazaki's script and direction. He snuck a movie about guilt, trauma, and grief into a creature feature. Godzilla Minus One is a human drama first and an epic thriller second—a winning combination for a Godzilla film.​​​​​​​ Get lost in Netflix's new selection of movies and shows It's been a great start to the month for Netflix, and it's only going to get stronger with the arrival of new movies like The Last House, which premieres on August 7. As for television, returning shows like My Life with the Walter Boys and Outer Banks should lead to fun conversations with your friends. Subscription with ads Yes, $8/month Simultaneous streams Two or four