Netflix Gems

[Slare]

One of my favourite things to do on Netflix is just to pick something I really wouldn't think about watching otherwise and finding a hidden gem. Maybe an indie film, an old classic or a documentary of sorts that I wouldn't have come across normally.

So I thought with the good number of us that have Netflix, it would be a decent idea to share these little nuggets of goodness that we've come across - whether acidentally or you just think it's something not many other people would watch.

This could even form some sort of film club where a group of us watch something completely obscure on Netflix and chat about it.

Anyway, i'll throw in a couple just for starters...

Network - Not a 'hidden' one by any means, and I would think most proper film lovers would've seen this, but its always worth a watch and I'd certainly reccomend it super-highly if you've not done so.

The Complete History of my Sexual Failures - British guy who's a bit of a twat gets dumped and then contacts all of his exes to find out what's wrong with him.

Carry on.

[Kdestiny]

I am one of those who likes watching bad scary movies. Ones that are so bad they are good (for the wrong reason obviously)

A big one for me is Zombies of Mass Destruction. It's obviously not meant to be absolutely hysterical, but it is. I highly recommend it for anyone who likes those kinds of films. VHS is another one that is pretty ridiculous.

most of the ones I know that may be gems haven't been seen yet. My instant queue is ridiculously huge.

[Jacknife]

V/H/S was awesome. Loved it.

I started watching Osambie, about terrorists as zombies.

[Hlebsfall]

Watch Primer. Its only about an hour and 15 minutes long. It involves time travel, and I have no idea what the fuck is going on. Hopefully someone can watch it and explain to me like a 2 year old.

[Alf]

Cabin In The Woods... just chucked it on an bloody loved it.

[Kdestiny]

Safety no Guarenteed was a surprise for me, was expecting it to be interesting but it was real good!

[Jacknife]

Cabin In The Woods... just chucked it on an bloody loved it.

For a movie that was hyped to be unlike anything you've ever seen before, it was a hell of a let down.

[TimeSplitter]

House of Cards- Already a thread about this phenomenal show.
Friends with Kids- Really funny take on parenthood.
Safety Not Guaranteed- Funny little indie movie
Drive- Ryan Gosling powerhouse. Enough said
Warrior- Better than our average mma fighting movie
Lars and the Real Girl- Another Gosling powerhouse.
The Giant Mechanical Man- Pam from The Office as a down and out thirtysomehting. Chris Messina is also great.
Like Crazy- Really good long distance relationship movie.
Eight Men Out- One of the best baseball movies ever. Story of the Chicago Black Sox.
Coriolanus- Ray Fiennes and Gerard Butler in a Shakespeare re-imagining. Fiennes directoral debut.
Hunger- Michael Fassbender. There is a scene that is one take that lasts over 15 minutes, it is beautiful.
Following- Christopher Nolan's debut.

I'll add more later.

[Kimura Kid]

I only have 1 recommendation:

Blood and Bone:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFh3ftJCv4o

[Jimmy Zero]

Man, I've seen a bunch of cool shit on Netflix that I probably wouldn't have seen, otherwise.

The Giant Mechanical Man is really good. Safety Not Guaranteed is also great. Jeff Who Lives at Home I enjoyed a lot. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (I think that's what it's called) is hilarious.

[Hero!]

I tend to watch a lot of documentaries on Netflix, most of them are pretty damn good. The ones i've seen recently:

Seoul train - About North Korean Refugees trying to escape through China
Kimjongilia - Former North Korean prisoners describe their escapes
Somewhere Between - Follows 4 different families with daughters adopted from China
Kumare - A filmmaker pretends to be a guru and manages to gather a pretty interesting following
Bully - About bullying. Pretty damn heartbreaking
Erasing Hate - Former skinhead's journey to having his racist facial & hand tattoos removed

And one I watched a while back, but if it's still on there, it's most definitely worth a watch:
Dear Zachary - After his childhood friend is murdered, this filmmaker sets out to make a film for his friend's newborn son to show him the man his father was. This one is fucking tragic and will leave you in tears if you're a softie.

[JP]

Jericho

Had never heard about it until I stumbled across it on Netflix and I bloody love it.

Only 2 seasons though. :(

[The Rick]

Jericho

Had never heard about it until I stumbled across it on Netflix and I bloody love it.

Only 2 seasons though. :(

They continued it for a bit in comic book form if you're interested.

[JP]

They continued it for a bit in comic book form if you're interested.

:hyper:

GOD YES!

I'll get hunting now, thanks bab. :)

[Mik]

For a movie that was hyped to be unlike anything you've ever seen before, it was a hell of a let down.

Disagree with each part of that. I've seen many films hyped so much more than that. If anything this was a bit of a cult hit. Furthermore...I thought it was great.



And one I watched a while back, but if it's still on there, it's most definitely worth a watch:
Dear Zachary - After his childhood friend is murdered, this filmmaker sets out to make a film for his friend's newborn son to show him the man his father was. This one is fucking tragic and will leave you in tears if you're a softie.

That one did the rounds on here a while back when Alf discovered it about to expire on the BBC iPlayer service. I now show it to students on the documentaries unit I teach each year so that they can experience the absolute devastation that I was tricked into.

[The Rick]

Thanks for the Saftey Not Guaranteed shout. I really enjoyed it, and and probably wouldn't have checked it out otherwise.

[Slare]

Jericho

Had never heard about it until I stumbled across it on Netflix and I bloody love it.

Only 2 seasons though. :(

This was one of the first things I watched on Netflix. I enjoyed it but jesus christ was it paint by numbers American drama corny. It was like watching the Gilmore Girls in post-apocalypse. Thankfully I love the Gilmore Girls.


I tend to watch a lot of documentaries on Netflix, most of them are pretty damn good. The ones i've seen recently:
And one I watched a while back, but if it's still on there, it's most definitely worth a watch:
Dear Zachary - After his childhood friend is murdered, this filmmaker sets out to make a film for his friend's newborn son to show him the man his father was. This one is fucking tragic and will leave you in tears if you're a softie.

Fucking hell this is brutal. As Mik says it's been discussed on here before but it's utterly heartbreaking.


Thanks for the Saftey Not Guaranteed shout. I really enjoyed it, and and probably wouldn't have checked it out otherwise.


THE BEAUTY OF THE THREAD RIGHT THERE

[DaSaintFan]

I'll throw two on NetFlix that I loved.

Shuffle - I'll just requote part of what I put on IMDB for this one:
=================
When I first loaded up this movie via Netflix, the description had me thinking I was getting another time-traveling thriller mystery. Boy, am I glad I was wrong.

If you go into this wanting wild science fiction time traveling... you need to find a different title. If you want a GREAT story, with a fantastic beginning, middle, AND end, this movie is a must see, and the B&W and color scenes mixed in, made it nearly perfect.

Were there a couple of plot holes? Absolutely, but to me this was a frickin' brilliantly done movie.
==============

Exam - It had one really cheesy plot twist that bugged me, but I could overlook it in the overall scheme of this movie. But I have to admit, I have kind of a guilty pleasure for TV shows and movies that have Colin Salmon in them... he doesn't make a tv show/movie "must see", but his presence greatly enhances the chances that I'll take a gamble on it, even if he just has a bit part. This is one of those psychological thrillers that I'd recommend.


And I'll admit, there's been a couple of "Faith and Spirituality" based ones that while religious in nature, are simple action/thriller movies, while not the best production in the world are good time killers - like Six: the Mark
Unleashed. If you go into this with the intent of looking for everything you think is wrong with religion, you're going to basically not have your opinion changed. If you look at it as a mild-B-level-action (not a lot) movie, you might gvie it a passing grade. (think 1984, just without the grandeur).

[Pete Cash]

Safety not guaranteed is a good film with fantastic dialogue but it has a really really unsatisfying ending and it suffers from the normal plot holes of time travel movies

in world A her mother died and she went back in time to save her mother creating world B where her mother lived but then she wouldn't have gone back in time in the first place to save her mother because in world B she had no motivation to go back. therefore she would never achieve her goal. Futurama dedicated an episode to this paradox.

I mean no joke about the ending. It could not have been any more unsatisfying. Literally nothing gets resolved.

[Jimmy Zero]

Yeah, I agree about the ending. It was very unsatisfying. I still really enjoyed the movie overall, in spite of that.

Even though the movie was about a guy claiming to be able to time travel, the ending was still kind of out of left field for me. I honestly did not expect him to actually build a functioning time machine. The more I thought about it, the more it just seemed like they ended it that way precisely because probably no one watching would have expected him to actually be telling the truth about time travel. It almost felt like a cop out.

[Miotch]

Cabin In The Woods... just chucked it on an bloody loved it.

This. Finally got around to watching it last night and I loved the shit out of it.

Also, while not a 'Netflix Gem' so much, Old Boy is up there and definitely worth the watch if you haven't seen it.

[Jimmy Zero]

Isn't an American version of Old Boy being made? I feel like I heard that there was going to be an American version. I hope not, because that's going to suck.

[Slare]

Absolutely astonished I've never watched Eternal Sunshine. giving it a go now.

[MerLuv]

A good old fashion orgy.

Jason Sudekis from SNL. Funny.

[Beer-Belly]

Isn't an American version of Old Boy being made? I feel like I heard that there was going to be an American version. I hope not, because that's going to suck.

I think it actually comes out this year. Spike Lee, of all people, directed it.

[Jimmy Zero]

LOL Spike fucking Lee?

That's going to suck even worse than I thought.

[Fro]

LOL Spike fucking Lee?

That's going to suck even worse than I thought.

What's wrong with Spike Lee? I think he proved he can do more than just black films with 25th Hour and Inside Man. I'm not saying everything he does is gold but he's usually pretty good.

[Jacknife]

Disagree with each part of that. I've seen many films hyped so much more than that. If anything this was a bit of a cult hit. Furthermore...I thought it was great.

Yep, seems to be people either loved it or despised it, no in between.

[Jimmy Zero]

What's wrong with Spike Lee? I think he proved he can do more than just black films with 25th Hour and Inside Man. I'm not saying everything he does is gold but he's usually pretty good.

He's a racist dipshit. I can't stand him. The crap he pulled during the Trayvon Martin investigation was fucked up.

As far as his movies go, he's not a bad director, but I also don't consider him a particularly good director, either. 25th hour is, imo, his best movie by a country mile. Do The Right Thing is also fantastic, but it's been ages since I've seen it. His other movies are wildly inconsistent, and nothing he's done suggests to me that he'd be able to do a good American adaptation of Old Boy.

[Kdestiny]

Absolutely astonished I've never watched Eternal Sunshine. giving it a go now.

:yes: I love it

[Miotch]

I will most likely boycott the Spike Lee version of Old Boy on principle.

[Mik]

Aye, there's nothing I've ever seen to make me think he'd do a good Oldboy remake.

[Slare]

:yes: I love it

I thought I would love it. It's right up my alley as far as films go, but I was kind of underwhelmed. Maybe because I had built it up in my mind as this classic that I hadn't seen yet, but I wasn't thinking about it much after it finished. It was good, just didn't blow me away, which makes me sad.

[Sancty]

Sunshine is brilliant. It's a slow burn, that's all.

[Alf]

In the name of the father... Incredible movie.

[The Rick]

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

A samurai asks to commit suicide in the feudal estate of lord Kageyu. This will bring dishonor to to the house, and Kageyu begs him to reconsider. There are ulterior motives behind Hanshiro's request for suicide.

[Kdestiny]

Sunshine is brilliant. It's a slow burn, that's all.

I enjoyed it a lot more after letting it sink in and watching again

[Jacknife]

It's not on Netflix, but is on Amazon Prime... The Remains Of The Day. One of my all time favorite films. Hopkins, Thompson, Reeve, Fox, Grant.

Absolutely brilliant.

[MikeHunt]

German film "The Wave" is a quality bit of cinema for me buried on netflix.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wave_(2008_film)

[Slare]

I'll give that one a go tonight Mike.

I watched one called 'Surrogates' last night with Bruce Willis. Pretty similar to iRobot. Kinda trash but decent enough fun and kept me interested for 90 minutes.

[MikeHunt]

if i could watch anything but arrested development i would.

[Bert]

Even two and a half men?

[stylepoints]

If you are into horror movies, you must watch Grave Encounters. Typical cam movie except it's FUCKING MORTIFYING! I'm a grown-ass man and pretty much seen it all. Not much really scares me these days. This damn movie gave me night terrors for about 4 weeks straight.