March is here, and to usher in the new month we've put together some recommendations for the best Netflix releases this weekend. While there's only one major new Netflix Original, true-life drama The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Netflix is always adding older movies and there are two great ones that just arrived.
February was a busy month for Netflix, with the release of hit comic book adaptation The Umbrella Academy, time-looping mystery Russian Doll, and Steven Soderbergh's sports drama High Flying Bird. Still to come this month is Ricky Gervais' dramedy series After Life, the highly-anticipated second season of sci-fi series The OA, and British TV comedy-drama Turn Up Charlie, in which Idris Elba plays a struggling DJ who gets hired as a "manny" for his best friend's daughter.
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In the meantime, here are a few of the best new movies that you can watch on Netflix this weekend - both old and new.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
The big Netflix Original release this month is The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, the feature directorial debut from Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange), who also plays a leading role. The film is based on the true story of William Kamkwamba (Maxwell Simba), a Malawian teenager who used knowledge he gained from a library book to build a wind turbine that provided electricity for his village, and a water pump system to provide drinking water and irrigation for the fields. Ejiofor plays William's father, Trywell Kamkwamba, who is desperately trying to support his family and his son's future. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind has already received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, so it should be well worth checking out this weekend.
Related: Netflix's The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind True Story & What Was Changed
Saving Mr. Banks
Following the recent release of Mary Poppins Returns, why not take a look at the story behind the making of Mary Poppins? Directed by John Lee Hancock, Saving Mr. Banks stars Emma Thompson as Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney. After making a promise to his daughters to bring their favorite fictional nanny to the big screen, Walt finds out that doing so may be more difficult than he anticipated, since Travers is extremely protective of her creation and fears that Mary Poppins will be turned into a typical whimsical Disney character. As Walt Disney tries to persuade P.L. Travers to release her rigid grip on the character, he finds out that Mary Poppins is actually based on a real person from Travers' childhood.
Layer Cake
Daniel Craig is currently gearing up to play James Bond one last time in the Cary Fukunaga-directed Bond 25, but before he started taking his martinis shaken, not stirred, he starred in 2004 crime caper Layer Cake. The directorial debut of Matthew Vaughn, who went on to direct X-Men: First Class, Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kick-Ass, Layer Cake sees Craig playing a cocaine dealer whose retirement plans get violently derailed when his final big deal goes sideways. With its mix of humor and British gangster grit, Layer Cake is a must-see for fans of Craig and/or crime movies - and it's now available to watch on Netflix. The streaming platform is also developing a TV series based on Layer Cake called Viva La Madness, which is set to star Jason Statham in Craig's role - though it's been a while since we've heard any updates.