The best new movies on Netflix in January 2015

If you’re like us, the last thing you want to do after New Year’s Eve is venture out into the real world. And truthfully, that feeling never lifts all month. Fortunately, Netflix is here to help—as is Hollywood, which spends January dumping its worst movies in the hopes you’ll never notice them. User’s note: We include Batman & Robin below only out of comprehensiveness (not our widely known fetish for rubber nipples). Our top five new movies on Netflix:

Election (1999) Ignore Reese Witherspoon’s desperate bid for a second Oscar in Wild (how do you hike unpersuasively) and check out this one instead—still her finest bit of princess-perfect nastiness. It’s the movie that confirmed Alexander Payne as a first-class director.

Mean Girls (2004) Ah, Lindsay—come back, all is forgiven. Actually, if you do come back, please do so in this movie’s form: effervescent, approachable, with acting chops that suggest greater things to come. Lohan plays a teen who angers her high school’s resident clique.

The French Connection (1971) Gene Hackman won an Oscar for his role as a tough New York City cop who’s up against an international heroin cartel. Features the greatest car chase ever. The film may be too grungy for all tastes, but it’s still a great time capsule of ’70s sleaze.

To Be Takei (2014) Well into a second career of gay-rights activism and cooing the catchphrase “Oh, my,” George Takei has become the most likable member of the original Star Trek crew. This documentary shows Takei projecting his confidence in increasingly meaningful directions.

The Quiet Man (1952) Recognizing John Wayne’s greatness will always be hard for those who simply can’t wrap their heads around his big-lug persona and palpable conservatism. To them, we offer this sensitive Ireland-set drama, in which Wayne plays a washed-up boxer, as Exhibit A.

And here’s the full list of what’s coming to Netflix streaming in January, by date:

Available January 1
101 Dalmatians (1996)
Bad Boys II
Batman & Robin
Bruce Almighty
Cast Away
Dallas: Season 3
Get Low
Election
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
Fort Bliss
Friends: Complete Series
Jeepers Creepers 2
Mean Girls
Shall We Dance?
To Be Takei
The French Connection
The Quiet Man
The War of the Worlds (1953)
Wayne’s World 2

Available January 3
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
White Collar: Season 5

Available January 7
Brick Mansions

Available January 8
Frank
Psych: Season 8

Available January 9
Z Nation: Season 1

Available January 13
Being Human: Season 4

Available January 15
Wolfblood: Season 3

Available January 16
The Adventures of Puss in Boots: Season 1
The Fall: Season 2
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Available January 23
Iliza Shlesinger: Freezing Hot

Available January 28
Chef
Beauty & the Beast: Season 2