From a World War II film about a dressed-up corpse to a creepy horror comedy about a satanic child,
Netflix has a whole slew of hidden gems that are just waiting to be discovered… by you!
30 Minutes or Less is a lively action comedy anchored by some of the strongest comic voices of
the new millennium. In the film, Jesse Eisenberg plays Nick Davis, a nerdy pizza delivery boy.
"Tick tock."
However, one of Nick's deliveries goes haywire when two wannabe criminals take him hostage,
attach a bomb to his chest, and force him to rob a bank. Well aware of his
limitations and the dark absurdity of the situation, Nick brings along Chet,
an old friend whose relationship with him has grown strained. If Nick and Chet want
to survive their predicament, they'll have to solve their issues and figure out how to be
pals again. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian had this to say about 30 Minutes or Less:
"It's entirely ridiculous,
but it gallops cheerfully along. Everything is carried off with flair and ingenuity."
The best science-fiction tales aren't just about unsure futures and alien worlds — they
also use new and unfamiliar environments to point out universal truths about the human
condition. The script for Advantageous is that kind of story. The film is set
in a technologically-advanced New York City of tomorrow, where the divide between the
rich and the poor is more pronounced than ever. As a result of this class struggle,
mothers will do absolutely anything to make sure their children get an upper hand in life.
For Gwen, a wealthy cosmetic procedure salesperson who gets fired right as her daughter enters an
expensive school, that means agreeing to be a test subject for a painful procedure. The procedure
involves having her consciousness transferred entirely into a new body. Complications arise,
calling into question whether or not this new Gwen is even Gwen at all. In its review of
Advantageous, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction called the film "quiet and affecting."
A young woman named Alice secretly performs explicit acts as Lola_Lola,
camgirl extraordinaire. Though she's willing to do whatever it takes to rise through the
ranks of popularity on her seedy hosting site, Alice is able to keep an emotional
distance from her work — that is until a dark contingent encourages her to perform
a shocking act of violence. In his review of the film, Ty Burr of The Boston Globe wrote:
"Cam plays with both psychological horror genre tropes and darker existential themes,
and its clear-eyed view of the drab realities
of a camgirl's life is both refreshing and ultra-creepy."
You might be wondering what Dolemite is My Name is doing on a list of "underrated" movies. After all,
the film was a favorite among critics and was nominated for a few awards. But it
was also snubbed by the Academy Awards, not receiving a single Oscar nomination. So the
film is on this list precisely because of the snubs it received. It's a shame
the movie didn't get more recognition because Dolemite is My Name is terrific.
Dolemite is My Name tells the story of Rudy Ray Moore, comedian and Blaxploitation actor
known for his Dolemite movies. The movie covers Moore's life from the period right
before he became a star all the way to the Los Angeles premiere of his first film. Eddie Murphy,
in a comeback of sorts, does an outstanding job as Moore.
"Dolemite is my name! And rappin' and tappin' is my game."
Not only is Murphy great as Moore but his co-stars are amazing, too. Wesley Snipes is wonderful
playing the director of "Dolemite," while Da'Vine Joy Randolph is tremendous as Lady Reed, Moore's
long-time friend and confidant. The costumes, by Oscar-winning designer Ruth E. Carter,
are also a stand out in this well-made comedy. A coming-of-age story about people just trying to
find their place in the world, Dumplin' boasts a cast led by comedy legend Jennifer Aniston
and charismatic star-on-the-rise Danielle Macdonald. The latter plays Willowdean
Dickson. She prefers to be called Will, but her mother insists on referring to her as Dumplin'.
A supremely confident and witty teenager, Dumplin' stands up for herself against bullies
who criticize her for her weight. Standing up to her mother, however, is a lot harder.
So what better way to establish herself than competing in her mother's beloved Miss Teen
Bluebonnet Pageant? What initially begins as a protest against pageants and her mother,
soon becomes a celebration of all types of beauty, thus prompting other overlooked
misfits to join Dumplin'. In her review of the film, Elizabeth Weitzman of TheWrap wrote:
"This is a generous movie, and an unrepentant fantasy at that, so it's
hard not to meet it with open heartedness." The Netflix series The Last Kingdom is a
historical drama about King Alfred the Great of what would become England. The show blends actual
events from the 9th century with fiction to tell the story of how kingdoms were brought together
to form a united England. At the start, the land has been captured by the invading Vikings,
with only King Alfred and his Kingdom of Wessex standing in the way to total domination.
"Come and fight! Why are you afraid?"
The Last Kingdom tells the story of Uhtred of Bebbanburg,
a noble Saxon who gets kidnapped as a slave and then raised by the Danes.
Uhtred is conflicted — to whom does he pledge his allegiance? So he's ultimately
forced to choose between the people that raised him and the land of his birth.
The series has everything you'd want in a historical drama covering this time
period — brutal fighting, great characters, an intriguing story, loads of death, and gorgeous
cinematography. So if you're in the market for a show full of English accents and good old
fashioned swordplay, The Last Kingdom is for you. An unassuming movie but one speckled with action,
tension, and agonizing personal drama, Leave No Trace is about the unbreakable bond between a
parent and child. Will is an Iraq War veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Will's PTSD is so severe that he's become deeply uncomfortable interacting with people. So he
raises his teenage daughter Tom in vast forested parks outside of Portland. After authorities find
them and set them up with a home on a Christmas tree farm, Tom enjoys the stability. She also
likes being around other kids. But when Will makes them leave again, Tom is forced to choose between
her family and her own path. In his review of the film, David Stratton of The Australian wrote:
"Leave No Trace is a small film but a quietly memorable one."
Little Evil is a horror-comedy about an eager-to-please guy who marries a woman who
has a son from a previous marriage. He's desperate to connect with the inscrutable little guy so that
the three of them can all come together as a happy, blended family. That's a difficult task,
as the kid is actually the spawn of Satan. Needless to say, he's not afraid to unleash pure
evil and terror on his well-meaning new stepdad. Amanda Sink of The Hollywood Outsider wrote:
"'Little Evil' is '[The] Omen' by way of 'Shaun of the Dead.'"
Maniac is hard to categorize. It's a darkly comic, often surreal,
and lightly dystopian miniseries set in a future world where gadgetry and
pharmaceuticals have rapidly progressed. In the series, Annie, who's desperate and guilt-ridden,
and Owen, who's the troubled black sheep of a rich family, lockdown for a heavily
controlled psychological drug trial. The trial is operated by the eccentric Dr. James K. Mantleray,
who is literally and explicitly in love with machinery. He also lives in the shadow of
his mother, Dr. Greta Mantleray, a popular pop psychologist and best-selling author.
The series also explores the minds of Owen and Annie,
who live out their deepest fears and insecurities in disparate ways,
such as an exotic animal heist and a Lord of the Rings-esque fantasy. Not
only dazzling and challenging, Maniac manages to be "vibrant, ridiculous, and, to varying degrees,
moving," according to Willa Paskin of Slate. Operation Mincemeat tells a fascinating and
gripping but little-known World War II story, one so filled with audacious and
foolhardy participants that it's hard to believe it's real. Set in 1943,
the Allied forces plan to stop Hitler's conquest of Europe with a multi-pronged attack on Sicily,
a troubling option because it would ensure mass casualties on both sides. And so, two
elite British intelligence officers come up with a bizarre scheme, known as "Operation Mincemeat."
"Our other deception plans are strategies designed to confuse the enemy,
throw him off balance. Mincemeat, on the other hand, is an outright lie."
With plenty of help from higher-ups and the rank-and-file, they dress up an abandoned corpse
in a Royal Marines uniform and plant evidence of a false Allied invasion on it. From there,
the intelligence officers wait for the Axis forces to discover the dressed-up corpse and
act accordingly on the misinformation. In his rave of the film, Jake Wilson of The Age wrote:
"'Operation Mincemeat' is a genuine surprise package — it prompts nostalgia,
if not for the war, then for an almost equally distant era of skillfully crafted entertainment."
After expelling Belgian colonialists in 1960, the Congo declared independence. So in 1961,
the United Nations arrived to help support the newly formed government. U.N. peacekeeping troops
soon got caught up in a civil war between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
the natural resource-heavy secessionist state of Katanga. The Siege of Jadotville
tells of a little-known moment in this seven-day conflict, in which 3,000 mercenaries working for
mining companies in Katanga attacked the 150 Irish troops serving under the U.N.
Led by commandant Pat Quinlan, the defense held its ground, pushing
back the thousands of attackers while waiting for reinforcements to arrive. The film is a harrowing,
high-stakes drama, loaded with military action and almost unbelievable acts of courage and tactical
brilliance. If you're a fan of war movies, The Siege of Jadotville is not to be missed.
The fear of turning into one's parents as they settle into adulthood is an extremely
common worry — it's also the basis for the psychological-supernatural horror film Umma.
Amanda and her teenage daughter Chrissy enjoy an idyllic existence on their farm,
hanging out and tending to bees. However, everything changes when the remains of Amanda's
mother arrive from Korea. Umma wasn't a good mom — she was cruel and abusive — and it was the reason
for a long estrangement. But what remains of her bodily form literally haunts Amanda,
as she quickly evolves into her mother at her most monstrous and horrific. While critics found
the film to be uneven, Umma is still worth a watch. The film is original and quirky
while its unpredictable plot and character choices subvert many horror movie cliches.