We’ve got you covered if you’re always scrolling through your Netflix queue and muttering, “I’ve seen that.” Our Netflix selection of the finest underrated movies focuses on hidden treasures and films that may not have been a box office blockbuster when they were first released, but are still worth seeing.
These include anything from obscure horror movies to big-budget blockbusters that failed to find an audience for one reason or another. But there’s one thing that all of these films have in common: they’re all fantastic. So scroll down to see our pick of Netflix’s top hidden treasures and underappreciated films.
Private Life
One of the best movies on our list. If you’ve fallen enamored with Kathryn Hahn as a result of WandaVision, you must see Private Life. This 2018 drama/comedy slipped under the radar following its Sundance Film Festival debut, but it showcases Hahn’s versatility as it follows the tale of a middle-aged couple trying to conceive a child by whatever means necessary.
The stress of trying to conceive puts a strain on their relationship, but the film doesn’t wallow in doom and gloom; instead, it seems very real as it finds the comedy in such a personal battle. The key couple, played by Hahn and Paul Giamatti, provide a pair of standout performances as the lead couple, which is based on writer/director Tamara Jenkins’ personal experience attempting to have a kid.
Kathryn Hahn, Paul Giamatti, Kayli Carter, Molly Shannon, John Carroll Lynch, and Denis O’Hare star as Kathryn Hahn, Paul Giamatti, Kayli Carter, Molly Shannon, John Carroll Lynch, and Denis O’Hare.
Free Fire
What if an entire film was set during a standoff in Mexico? Free Fire, a violent, R-rated good time directed by Ben Wheatley, is based on this notion. The film opens with an IRA meeting with an arms dealer in the 1970s, but difficulties arise, backs are stabbed, and guns are unloaded.
The picture has a dark comedy running through it that makes it considerably more enjoyable than you would imagine, and actors like Armie Hammer and Brie Larson are more than up to the task of letting their comic instincts show.
Give this one a go if you’re searching for an action film that’s a touch weird and unique. Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley, Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Jack Reynor, Sam Riley, and Noah Taylor are among the film’s cast members.
High Flying Bird
Steven Soderbergh is known for attempting new ideas and upsetting the status quo, and his Netflix feature High Flying Bird is no exception. This day-in-the-life tale, shot solely on an iPhone and scripted by Oscar-winning Moonlight co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney, takes place over the course of 48 hours and follows a sports agent (Andre Holland) as he seeks to break a basketball lockout that has left him cash-strapped.
In addition to being tremendously entertaining, the film touches on how athletes are treated and provides enough food for thought. This is a hidden treasure that is simply waiting for you to discover on Netflix. Andre Holland, Zazie Beets, Melvin Gregg, Sonja Sohn, Zachary Quinto, Kyle MacLachlan, and Bill Duke are among the cast members.
Florida Project
The poor tenants of a hotel on the borders of Orlando’s Disneyworld are movie stars in Sean Baker’s novel The Florida Project. We are entirely involved in their world (from the viewpoint of starry-eyed six-year-old Moonee, breakthrough sensation Brooklynn Prince) and their drama fills the screen without condescension or even sympathy.
The Florida Project is a crucial look at current American society and one of the finest films ever produced on children, yet it never seems like it’s “About” anything since it’s so fascinating, humorous, and joyful to watch. Through the character study, it can be said that the main actor delivered his best performance in this movie.
It is one of the Netflix originals. If you like this movie after watching check out other movies from Stephen King, Julian Dennison, and Joel Edgerton. Also, an honorable mention is one of the best film projects on Netflix, Cop Car.
Uncut Gems
To be honest, Adam Sandler was robbed of an Academy Award nomination for this. In Ben Safdie and Josh Safdie’s gripping criminal caper about a compulsive gambler who stakes everything on a once-in-a-lifetime wager, the oft-criticized megastar gives his greatest performance to date as towering presence Howard Ratner.
As Howard’s long-suffering wife, Idina Menzel gives a standout performance. Masterful Uncut Gems is a two-hour-plus anxiety attack that is so tense and high-stakes that it could cause you a mental breakdown. At its core, this is a story about addiction; Howard can’t and won’t quit until he’s destroyed everyone’s life and is stopped.
Sandler’s hat trick is making this catastrophe of a guy just barely likable enough for the narrative to register as a big tragedy. This is a short story that follows the life and career of the title character. See similar movies from Gary Oldman, Scarlett Johansson. If you are not a fan of this, see some Western or an Indian Film in the other categories.
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs is a fantastic film, and it’s not the one you’re expecting. Most people dismissed this as a basic biopic about the Apple genius, but in the hands of writer Aaron Sorkin, you get a beautifully structured father-daughter drama about one of history’s most significant people.
There are only three key moments in the tale since it is divided into three acts that play out in real time and concentrate on three big Apple events. The first takes place during the launch of the Macintosh computer, the second during the launch of NeXT and finds Jobs reflecting on his dismissal from Apple, and the third during the launch of the iMac when he is forced to confront his past and his daughter as he revolutionizes personal computing once more.
Michael Fassbender is fantastic in the starring role and, in my opinion, deserved an Oscar nomination. Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jeff Daniels star as Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jeff Daniels.
Creep 2
The original Creep is a skin-crawlingly nasty found video horror comedy about the hazards of masculinity, obsession, and narrative, which is also accessible on Netflix. It’s a worthwhile investment of your and your friend’s time. Nonetheless, its successor, a real horror classic for the twenty-first century, outperforms it easily.
Mark Duplass reprises his role as our identity-hopping serial murderer, intent on capturing his atrocities as a type of voyeuristic peek into the soul disguised as an effort at camaraderie (the murder shown in the cold open is… horrible). But this time, he’s teamed with Desiree Akhavan, a fiercely brilliant director/actor who portrays a fiercely talented filmmaker who is interested in capturing strange people with strange demands. It has an s feature debut from Joel Coen.
Unsettling sparks erupt and ricochet as Creep 2 latches into its two-handed framework. The film’s unsettling moments of tension, hilarity and even true connection are generated by Duplass and Akhavan’s sparring partners. Creep 2, like many of the finest works of 21st-century horror, has a lot to say about our contemporary flaws while frightening the living daylights out of you.
Mark Duplass, Desiree Akhavan, and Karan Soni star in the film. See also other similar projects from actors like Daniel Goldhaber, Ethan Coen, and Chris Hemsworth.
The Lost Daugther
Maggie Gyllenhaal makes her directorial debut with a top-notch psychological drama based on Elena Ferrante’s book. Olivia Colman is fantastic as a lady who gets captivated with another woman and her kid while on vacation, as she usually is.
The cast is completed by Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson, and Peter Sarsgaard. See also other similar projects from the Stellar Cast and the lead performance of Daniel Craig or Adam Driver.
Total Recall
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as an everyman (or as near to an everyman as Schwarzenegger can be) who realizes he’s a secret spy (or is he?).
Before it was even released, many individuals decided they didn’t like Len Wiseman’s 2012 version. With sleek production values and strong performances from Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, and particularly Kate Beckinsale, it’s noticeably better than the Robocop adaptation. An honorable mention here is the movie High School Senior.
Nocturnal Animals
Tom Ford’s debut movie, A Single Man, received widespread recognition, but his second picture, although being a stunning, suspenseful thriller in its own right, went mostly unnoticed. Nocturnal Animals is a suspenseful thriller that follows an art gallery owner (Amy Adams) as she reads her first husband’s latest book (Jake Gyllenhaal).
The events of the novel play out on the screen as she reads it, and you start to see the connections between this ostensibly fictitious plot and the gallery owner’s real life – and the reason her marriage fell apart in the first place. It’s both eerie and shocking, leading to an immensely ambitious conclusion that should elicit some passionate debate.
Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, and Michael Sheen are among the film’s cast members.
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