Janelle Monáe's Top Inspiring Films x Can't Miss TV Shows (Feat. 'Matrix' & 'Lost')

Netflix Synopsis: An inventor (Vincent Price) dies before developing hands for his creation, a boy named Edward (Johnny Depp) who instead has scissors at the end of each arm. Edward lives a monastic existence until an Avon lady (Dianne Wiest) adopts him and takes him to live in the pastel paradise of suburbia. Director Tim Burton's unconventional fairy tale is bursting with offbeat charm and laughs -- as well as visually striking imagery.

Netflix Synopsis: Thanks to an untimely demise via drowning, a young couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) end up as poltergeists in their New England farmhouse, where they fail to meet the challenge of scaring away the insufferable new owners, who want to make drastic changes. In desperation, the undead newlyweds turn to an expert frightmeister (Michael Keaton), but he's got a diabolical agenda of his own. This dark comedy classic snagged an Oscar for Best Makeup.

Netflix Synopsis: Seven years after the Watts section of Los Angeles ignited in a violent burst of racial tension in August 1965, director Mel Stuart took the pulse of the city by revisiting the issues that led to the devastation. His main stop: The Watts Summer Festival held in 1972 at the L.A. Coliseum, where comedian Richard Pryor joined an illustrious list of entertainers such as Isaac Hayes, the Dramatics and Luther Ingram, who gathered to remember the riots.

Netflix Synopsis: Nominated for two Academy Awards in 1974, this movie brings to life F. Scott Fitzgerald's wrenching novel. Mia Farrow stars as Daisy Buchanan, the object of mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby's (Robert Redford) affections. Beyond Gatsby's grasp, Daisy is married to unfaithful Tom (Bruce Dern), making for a love triangle that ends, as they always seem to do, with broken hearts. The drama unfolds before narrator Nick Carraway's (Sam Waterston) eyes.

Netflix Synopsis: Philippe Petit captured the world's attention in 1974 when he successfully walked across a high wire between New York's Twin Towers. This Oscar winner for Best Documentary explores the preparations that went into the stunt as well as the event and its aftermath. Obsessed with the towers even before they were fully constructed, Petit sneaked into the buildings several times to determine the equipment he needed to accomplish his daring feat.

Netflix Synopsis: In his semi-autobiographical film debut, Prince plays a hip Minneapolis club musician known as The Kid who struggles with a tumultuous home life and his own smoldering anger. He takes refuge in his music and in a budding relationship with a beautiful young singer, Apollonia (Apollonia). Winner of both an Academy Award and a Grammy for Best Original Musical Score, Purple Rain also stars Clarence Williams III and Morris Day.

Netflix Synopsis: When even schoolchildren begin to abuse a system on the verge of social collapse, the Japanese government introduces a strict new punishment whereby randomly chosen students are taken to a deserted island and forced to fight each other to the death. Renowned Japanese auteur and actor Takeshi "Beat" Kitano stars in this explosive, violent drama from director Kinji Fukasaku, based on Koushun Takami's novel.

(1982) R

Netflix Synopsis: In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is called out of retirement to snuff a quartet of "replicants" -- androids consigned to slave labor on remote planets. They've escaped to Earth seeking their creator and a way to extend their short life spans. Director Ridley Scott's reedited version comes with a different ending and the omission of Ford's narration, giving the film a different tone.

Netflix Synopsis: In this complex story that aspires to mythology, a computer hacker (Keanu Reeves) searches for the truth behind the mysterious force known as the Matrix. He finds his answer with a group of strangers led by the charismatic Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). What they encounter in confronting that truth makes for a lightning-paced, eye-popping thrill ride of a movie that cleverly combines sociopolitical commentary with cutting-edge special effects.