James R | On 01, Mar 2014

It’s the first of the month and you know what that means: a glorious wave of new Netflix UK titles to scroll through.

As always, we have a list of the new releases on Netflix UK – including, as we announced last month, Rake Season 1 and 2 and Grimm Season 1 and 2 – but which ones should be going straight onto your watch list?

We highlight the best new things available to stream today:

1. 10 Things I Hate About You

“I love you, baby, and if it’s quite alright, I need you, baby…”

If your heart isn’t won over by Heath Ledger singing Can’t Take My Eyes Off You to Julia Stiles complete with marching band, then you may well be dead inside. Gil Junger’s knowing update of The Taming off the Shrew has enough laughs to keep you entertained, while the high school setting is rife with the kind of gender inequality that Shakespeare’s play originally examined. Removed by Netflix a long time ago after, one of the modern teen movie greats is back (props to Ellie Murren). And it’s still awesome.

2. The Great Muppet Caper

“Look, Dad, there’s a bear!” “No, that’s a frog. Bears wear hats.”

Diamonds, heists and journalists combine in this Muppetational sequel that features comes by everyone from Peter Ustinov to John Cleese. Funny, fuzzy and full of madcap inspiration.

3. Love Is All You Need

We don’t know Phillip. We don’t know Ida. We know that he’s a lonely Englishman who sells vegetables and looks an awful lot like an old Pierce Brosnan. We know that she’s a former cancer patient with no hair. Still, we have no reason to give a flying horse fart about their love lives. But halfway through Susanne Bier’s surprisingly realistic drama, a funny thing happens: you start to care. Painful, sweet and honest, this is beautiful stuff. (Our full review – and where else you can watch it online – is here.)

4. Young Adult

Jason Reitman’s enjoyably spiky drama stars Charlize Theron as an unlikeable woman who refuses to grow up. Going back to her tiny hometown to snag her former high school lover, her arrested development ruins everything in a funny, subversive car crash that refuses to find a happy ending.

5. Pokémon: Indigo League

Adults of a certain age will remember going into school with a Game Boy in hand and a copy of Pokémon Red or Blue in the back. Now, the original TV series – Pokémon: Indigo League – has arrived on Netflix UK, along with Black and White (the 14th season of the show) and two movies, Pokémon the Movie: Black – Victini and Reshiram and Pokémon the Movie: Wihte – Victini and Zekrom. Indigo League follows Ash Ketchum as he learns to train his wild lightning Pokémon, Pikachu, becoming friends while fighting their way to the Indigo Plateau. +100 nostalgia points.

6. Sister Act

Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer pretending to be a devout nun to hide from Harvey Keitel? Sister Act’s premise may be a font of easy jokes, but they don’t miss a beat – helped by a killer soundtrack of Motown classics. Even better? You can now watch it with Sister Act 2, also on Netflix UK.

7. Event Horizon

Paul W.S. Anderson has always been considered the rubbish counterpart to Paul Thomas Anderson, but the director proved he can do more than Resident Evil with this 1997 sci-fi, which uses horror, visual effects and Sam Neill’s face to surprisingly spooky effect. It may not be a genre classic, but it’ll creep you out for days – and that’s all it’s designed to do.

8. Winnie the Pooh

This 2011 animation could charm the honey from a bee with its stunning hand-drawn animation, super-cute theme tune by Zooey Deschanel and adorably low-key plot of Winnie and co. trying to find Eeyore a new tale. Delightful.

9. Monty Python: Almost the Truth

Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Meaning of Life have been added to Netflix UK in recent months. Now, they add to the set with this 2009 documentary series, which looks at the legacy and behind the scenes goings-on of one of comedy’s greatest – and most controversial – troupes.

10. Good Ol’ Freda

If The Pythons were The Beatles of comedy, Netflix UK compliments its other non-fiction addition with Good Ol’ Freda, a look back at Freda Kelly, a Liverpudlian teenager asked to work for the legendary band back in their early days.

For our full (unofficial) list of the 30 odd titles added to Netflix UK on Saturday 1st March, click here.

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