They Cloned Tyrone, May December, and the 13 best Netflix movies (plus the 10 worst) of 2023

Worst: Reptile

Reptile was one of my most anticipated fall Netflix movies, so I was especially disappointed when I ended up not liking it. I do commend Grant Singer for making some bold choices in his feature-film directorial debut, but I think Reptile‘s focus on confusing and misleading the audience was a detriment to the overall story.

Reptile follows a hardened police detective named Tom Nichols (Benicio del Toro) who is tasked with investigating the grisly murder of a real estate agent. He soon discovers that this case is far more complicated than he was anticipating and it leads him on a whirlwind investigation that leaves him questioning not only his job, but the people in his life, including friends and colleagues. Alicia Silverstone, Michael Pitt, and Justin Timberlake also star.

The movie works best when its focused tightly on Del Toro’s character work. He’s exemplary in this movie and Reptile reminds me how much I’d love to see him do a gritty HBO show like True Detective or to work with someone like David Fincher, who Singer is clearly trying to emulate. Timberlake is also surprisingly adept in his role here as the murder victim’s sketchy boyfriend Will Grady, though he doesn’t quite reach the heights of his work in The Social Network.

Written by Maddy Lennon