Hidden Gems

[TarHeelMark]

What you got OOTB? (I'm looking at you @heelz2345) for some hidden gem movie suggestions on Netflix, Prime, Hulu. I recently watched a couple I'd never heard of that popped up on Netfilx:

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - it's a 2018 Coen Brothers western comprised of six short stories, with some big name actors (Liam Neeson, James Franco). Not your typical Coen Bros. flick but overall I found it entertaining with some good stories and phenomenal cinematography.

Black Dynamite - I'd never heard of this 2009 spoof of 70's blaxplotation movies; think Shaft, SuperFly mashed up with Airplane, Naked Gun. I found it hilarious, as the movie intentionally inserted goof-ups akin to a low budget movies of that era (visible boom mics, poor framing, editing, etc). The actors play it straight, as if they weren't in on the joke, which makes it all the funnier. It loses a bit of steam in the 2nd half, but still had me laughing out loud many times.

 

[strummingram]

If you love Christopher Guest films- and I definitely do- then watch "Family Tree" season one. It features Chris O'Dowd as the main character. Many of the Guest regulars are featured.

 

[heelz2345]

What you got OOTB? (I'm looking at you @heelz2345) for some hidden gem movie suggestions on Netflix, Prime, Hulu. I recently watched a couple I'd never heard of that popped up on Netfilx:

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - it's a 2018 Coen Brothers western comprised of six short stories, with some big name actors (Liam Neeson, James Franco). Not your typical Coen Bros. flick but overall I found it entertaining with some good stories and phenomenal cinematography.

Black Dynamite - I'd never heard of this 2009 spoof of 70's blaxplotation movies; think Shaft, SuperFly mashed up with Airplane, Naked Gun. I found it hilarious, as the movie intentionally inserted goof-ups akin to a low budget movies of that era (visible boom mics, poor framing, editing, etc). The actors play it straight, as if they weren't in on the joke, which makes it all the funnier. It loses a bit of steam in the 2nd half, but still had me laughing out loud many times.

I haven’t had time to watch Buster Scruggs yet but I want to very soon. I will have some suggestions a little later tonight for some good ones to check out

 

[TarHeelMark]

If you love Christopher Guest films- and I definitely do- then watch "Family Tree" season one. It features Chris O'Dowd as the main character. Many of the Guest regulars are featured.

I’ll check that out. Thanks.

 

[heelz2345]

Hey, so I'm a little later poasting this than I said yesterday, but had to sort of go over all those and see what was on there worth recommending. I'm gonna sort of break these poasts up into one for Netflix, one for Hulu, one for Prime, and one for HBO, with tv and movie selections for each streaming service. So here is Netflix (going in alphabetical order. Some are ones I consider "hidden" gems, but still may be ones you are aware of.)

TV

• Arrested Development: I'll let the show's opening narration describe it. " Now the story of a wealth family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. It's Arrested Development." This show features an all-star cast and more running jokes than you can shake a stick at. Seasons 1-3 are the best, seasons 4-5 were made exclusively for Netflix much later, but still worth watching. One of my all-time favorite shows
• Black Mirror: A 21st century version of the Twilight Zone, this originally British anthology series tells a different story each episode, usually highlighting a near-future technological product that brings unforeseen consequences to the users.
• Fawlty Towers: John Cleese stars in this British comedy series as the owner and manager of a hotel in seaside England. This show is some of Cleese's finest comedic work, and at only 12 episodes total, it's very easy to binge watch.
• The Good Place: Currently in its 3rd season on NBC, this series stars Kristen Bell as Eleanor Shellstrop, a recently deceased person, who has ended up in the Good Place. She quickly realizes she is only there because of some accident and she has to figure out how to avoid being discovered. Also starring Ted Danson as Michael, the architect of her heavenly neighborhood, this show is among the funniest currently on television.
• Master of None: Aziz Ansari stars as Dev, a millennial living in NYC, in this show that focuses on his love-life and Dev's other assorted day-to-day trials. Equal parts funny and poignant.
• Monty Python's Flying Circus: If you like the Monty Python movies, you can now watch the sketch series that started it all.
• Parks and Recreation: Amy Poehler plays Leslie Knope, an optimistic local government employee in the town of Pawnee, Indiana. This show features an all-star cast, including Nick Offerman and Chris Pratt, and is one of my favorite comedies in the past decade of television.
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: The series opens with Kimmy Schmidt (played by Ellie Kemper) being released from an underground bunker where she was kept for the previous 15 years of her life. The rest of the series is basically a fish out of water comedy as she adjusts to how things have changed since she went in the bunker. Uproariously funny, this show fires jokes at rapid speed.

Movies

• Coco: One of the latest to come from Pixar, Coco follows a young boy, Miguel, as he accidentally crosses to the land of the dead on the Mexican holiday, Dia De Las Muertos. He must get back before he joins the dead permanently. This was one of Pixar's most visually stunning and emotional movies to date. I don't know I have ever heard sobbing in a movie theater at the level I heard it watching this movie.
• Ex Machina: This movie is a sci-fi thriller as a programmer meets a robot that he will administer a Turing test on to see how advanced her artificial intelligence is. However, things are not all exactly as they seem with the robot, the programmer, or the man who designed the robot.
• In Bruges: A dark comedy from the writer/director of Three Billboards, this movie follows two hit men who are laying low in Bruges following a hit gone wrong.
• The Iron Giant: One of the more underrated animated movies of the last 20 years, this movie follows a young boy named Hogarth who meets a giant robot from outer space and teaches the robot what it means to be human, all while trying to keep the robot a secret from his mom, her boyfriend, and the local government officials.
• Oh, Hello!: This is a recording of the Broadway show of the same name, starring Nick Kroll and John Mulaney. They play two elderly men from New York and it is an absurd ride from start to finish.

 

[tarheel0910]

Ex Machina: This movie is a sci-fi thriller as a programmer meets a robot that he will administer a Turing test on to see how advanced her artificial intelligence is. However, things are not all exactly as they seem with the robot, the programmer, or the man who designed the robot.

The ending of this movie was horrible.

 

[heelz2345]

Here are the Hulu ones to check out

TV

• Atlanta: Hulu only has the first season, but this show is one of the best things currently on tv. Created by and starring Donald Glover, this show combines realistic looks at the life of black people in Atlanta with absurdist, surreal comedy for one of the most unique shows on tv.
• Bob's Burgers: An animated sitcom about a family that runs a burger restaurant, this show has some drop dead hilarious moments, along with wild musical numbers, and some great guest stars.
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine: One of the most underrated shows currently on tv, this show is an ensemble comedy about a police precinct in Brooklyn. Andy Samberg is the lead, but the star is Andre Braugher with his deadpan wit.
• Community: An ensemble show about a study group at Greendale Community College, this show was one of the most unique and underrated on tv. Its ensemble was incredibly strong, but in any given week, this show was capable of doing action movie parodies, a musical episode, a claymation episode, a clip show of clips you had never seen before, or a million other things. If you haven't checked it out, go ahead and do so.

Movies

• The Birdcage: Robin Williams and Nathan Lane star as business and romantic partners, and their son is bringing his fiance and her parents (Gene Hackman plays the father, a conservative senator) home to meet them. Robin and Nathan have to figure out a way to play it straight in one of the most hilarious and often poignant movies of the 90's. Some of the cast's best work.
• The Hunt for the Wilderpeople: This movie comes from New Zealand, and is a comedy directed by Taika Watiti (his latest was Thor: Ragnarok). It is about a foster child named Ricky Baker who runs away from the farm where he is being raised. The father (played by Sam Neill-Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park) goes and finds him in the bush, but is injured, so they must survive for weeks on their own in the wild. While out there, the police think Ricky has been kidnapped by the father, so they are on the lookout for them. There is some great comedy and some wild sequences in this one; it's worth checking out.
• Kick-Ass: Based on the comic of the same name, this movie is a send-up of superheroes and their subsequent movies. Definitely more violent than your average superhero fare, but it has some good comedy and some kick-ass action.
• Tucker and Dale vs. Evil: A horror comedy, this movie follows Tucker and Dale, two average guys, as they buy a cabin in the woods that happens to be near a cabin where a group of college kids are staying. Through a series of mishaps, the college kids think Tucker and Dale are out to get them, and chaos ensues.

 

[heelz2345]

The ending of this movie was horrible.

I wouldn't say horrible but it was definitely a frustrating ending. The dance scene is 10/10 though

 

[heelz2345]

Here is Amazon (I only picked movies here, most of the Prime original series, I haven't watched yet).

• The Big Sick: Based on a true story, we follow the love story of Kumail (played by Kumail Nanjiani who also wrote the story) and Emily (played by Zoe Kazan). It's the classic story of boy meets girl, they fall in love, they break up, girl falls in coma, boy meets her parents while she's in coma, boy wins over parents while she's in coma, she wakes up, they end up together.
• Logan Lucky: Redneck Ocean's Eleven. Starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig as a redneck demolitions expert named Joe Bang. If that doesn't sell you on this movie, I don't know what to tell you.
• What We Do in the Shadows: Another movie directed by Taika Watiti, this one is a mockumentary about a group of vampires living together. They are making this into a television series that I believe will be airing on FX.

 

[heelz2345]

I’m gonna have to post my HBO ones later after my rehearsal

 

[NoleSoup4U]

Here are the Hulu ones to check out

TV

• Atlanta: Hulu only has the first season, but this show is one of the best things currently on tv. Created by and starring Donald Glover, this show combines realistic looks at the life of black people in Atlanta with absurdist, surreal comedy for one of the most unique shows on tv.
• Bob's Burgers: An animated sitcom about a family that runs a burger restaurant, this show has some drop dead hilarious moments, along with wild musical numbers, and some great guest stars.
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine: One of the most underrated shows currently on tv, this show is an ensemble comedy about a police precinct in Brooklyn. Andy Samberg is the lead, but the star is Andre Braugher with his deadpan wit.
• Community: An ensemble show about a study group at Greendale Community College, this show was one of the most unique and underrated on tv. Its ensemble was incredibly strong, but in any given week, this show was capable of doing action movie parodies, a musical episode, a claymation episode, a clip show of clips you had never seen before, or a million other things. If you haven't checked it out, go ahead and do so.

Movies

• The Birdcage: Robin Williams and Nathan Lane star as business and romantic partners, and their son is bringing his fiance and her parents (Gene Hackman plays the father, a conservative senator) home to meet them. Robin and Nathan have to figure out a way to play it straight in one of the most hilarious and often poignant movies of the 90's. Some of the cast's best work.
• The Hunt for the Wilderpeople: This movie comes from New Zealand, and is a comedy directed by Taika Watiti (his latest was Thor: Ragnarok). It is about a foster child named Ricky Baker who runs away from the farm where he is being raised. The father (played by Sam Neill-Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park) goes and finds him in the bush, but is injured, so they must survive for weeks on their own in the wild. While out there, the police think Ricky has been kidnapped by the father, so they are on the lookout for them. There is some great comedy and some wild sequences in this one; it's worth checking out.
• Kick-Ass: Based on the comic of the same name, this movie is a send-up of superheroes and their subsequent movies. Definitely more violent than your average superhero fare, but it has some good comedy and some kick-ass action.
• Tucker and Dale vs. Evil: A horror comedy, this movie follows Tucker and Dale, two average guys, as they buy a cabin in the woods that happens to be near a cabin where a group of college kids are staying. Through a series of mishaps, the college kids think Tucker and Dale are out to get them, and chaos ensues.

The Venture Brothers is on Hulu too. If you want an f'd up show that's basically a spoof of Johnny Quest on Crystal Meth, give it a try.

 

[TarHeelMark]

Hey, so I'm a little later poasting this than I said yesterday, but had to sort of go over all those and see what was on there worth recommending. I'm gonna sort of break these poasts up into one for Netflix, one for Hulu, one for Prime, and one for HBO, with tv and movie selections for each streaming service. So here is Netflix (going in alphabetical order. Some are ones I consider "hidden" gems, but still may be ones you are aware of.)

TV

• Arrested Development: I'll let the show's opening narration describe it. " Now the story of a wealth family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. It's Arrested Development." This show features an all-star cast and more running jokes than you can shake a stick at. Seasons 1-3 are the best, seasons 4-5 were made exclusively for Netflix much later, but still worth watching. One of my all-time favorite shows
• Black Mirror: A 21st century version of the Twilight Zone, this originally British anthology series tells a different story each episode, usually highlighting a near-future technological product that brings unforeseen consequences to the users.
• Fawlty Towers: John Cleese stars in this British comedy series as the owner and manager of a hotel in seaside England. This show is some of Cleese's finest comedic work, and at only 12 episodes total, it's very easy to binge watch.
• The Good Place: Currently in its 3rd season on NBC, this series stars Kristen Bell as Eleanor Shellstrop, a recently deceased person, who has ended up in the Good Place. She quickly realizes she is only there because of some accident and she has to figure out how to avoid being discovered. Also starring Ted Danson as Michael, the architect of her heavenly neighborhood, this show is among the funniest currently on television.
• Master of None: Aziz Ansari stars as Dev, a millennial living in NYC, in this show that focuses on his love-life and Dev's other assorted day-to-day trials. Equal parts funny and poignant.
• Monty Python's Flying Circus: If you like the Monty Python movies, you can now watch the sketch series that started it all.
• Parks and Recreation: Amy Poehler plays Leslie Knope, an optimistic local government employee in the town of Pawnee, Indiana. This show features an all-star cast, including Nick Offerman and Chris Pratt, and is one of my favorite comedies in the past decade of television.
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: The series opens with Kimmy Schmidt (played by Ellie Kemper) being released from an underground bunker where she was kept for the previous 15 years of her life. The rest of the series is basically a fish out of water comedy as she adjusts to how things have changed since she went in the bunker. Uproariously funny, this show fires jokes at rapid speed.

Movies

• Coco: One of the latest to come from Pixar, Coco follows a young boy, Miguel, as he accidentally crosses to the land of the dead on the Mexican holiday, Dia De Las Muertos. He must get back before he joins the dead permanently. This was one of Pixar's most visually stunning and emotional movies to date. I don't know I have ever heard sobbing in a movie theater at the level I heard it watching this movie.
• Ex Machina: This movie is a sci-fi thriller as a programmer meets a robot that he will administer a Turing test on to see how advanced her artificial intelligence is. However, things are not all exactly as they seem with the robot, the programmer, or the man who designed the robot.
• In Bruges: A dark comedy from the writer/director of Three Billboards, this movie follows two hit men who are laying low in Bruges following a hit gone wrong.
• The Iron Giant: One of the more underrated animated movies of the last 20 years, this movie follows a young boy named Hogarth who meets a giant robot from outer space and teaches the robot what it means to be human, all while trying to keep the robot a secret from his mom, her boyfriend, and the local government officials.
• Oh, Hello!: This is a recording of the Broadway show of the same name, starring Nick Kroll and John Mulaney. They play two elderly men from New York and it is an absurd ride from start to finish.

Nice list heelz! I've seen all the tv shows except Black Mirror. It's in my queue - just haven't gotten to it yet. Regarding the movies, I will agree that "In Bruges" is a very good flick that most haven't heard of. And, the Iron Giant is fantastic. It was my daughters favorite movie, and I love it too. I'll have to check out the other ones.

 

[TarHeelMark]

Here are the Hulu ones to check out

TV

• Atlanta: Hulu only has the first season, but this show is one of the best things currently on tv. Created by and starring Donald Glover, this show combines realistic looks at the life of black people in Atlanta with absurdist, surreal comedy for one of the most unique shows on tv.
• Bob's Burgers: An animated sitcom about a family that runs a burger restaurant, this show has some drop dead hilarious moments, along with wild musical numbers, and some great guest stars.
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine: One of the most underrated shows currently on tv, this show is an ensemble comedy about a police precinct in Brooklyn. Andy Samberg is the lead, but the star is Andre Braugher with his deadpan wit.
• Community: An ensemble show about a study group at Greendale Community College, this show was one of the most unique and underrated on tv. Its ensemble was incredibly strong, but in any given week, this show was capable of doing action movie parodies, a musical episode, a claymation episode, a clip show of clips you had never seen before, or a million other things. If you haven't checked it out, go ahead and do so.

Movies

• The Birdcage: Robin Williams and Nathan Lane star as business and romantic partners, and their son is bringing his fiance and her parents (Gene Hackman plays the father, a conservative senator) home to meet them. Robin and Nathan have to figure out a way to play it straight in one of the most hilarious and often poignant movies of the 90's. Some of the cast's best work.
• The Hunt for the Wilderpeople: This movie comes from New Zealand, and is a comedy directed by Taika Watiti (his latest was Thor: Ragnarok). It is about a foster child named Ricky Baker who runs away from the farm where he is being raised. The father (played by Sam Neill-Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park) goes and finds him in the bush, but is injured, so they must survive for weeks on their own in the wild. While out there, the police think Ricky has been kidnapped by the father, so they are on the lookout for them. There is some great comedy and some wild sequences in this one; it's worth checking out.
• Kick-Ass: Based on the comic of the same name, this movie is a send-up of superheroes and their subsequent movies. Definitely more violent than your average superhero fare, but it has some good comedy and some kick-ass action.
• Tucker and Dale vs. Evil: A horror comedy, this movie follows Tucker and Dale, two average guys, as they buy a cabin in the woods that happens to be near a cabin where a group of college kids are staying. Through a series of mishaps, the college kids think Tucker and Dale are out to get them, and chaos ensues.

haha... I'm beginning to think I watch too much TV, as I've see all the tv shows and a couple of the moves (Kick-Ass, Birdcage). Based on your comments, I'm going to add these others to my watch list. Thanks.

 

[TarHeelMark]

Here is Amazon (I only picked movies here, most of the Prime original series, I haven't watched yet).

• The Big Sick: Based on a true story, we follow the love story of Kumail (played by Kumail Nanjiani who also wrote the story) and Emily (played by Zoe Kazan). It's the classic story of boy meets girl, they fall in love, they break up, girl falls in coma, boy meets her parents while she's in coma, boy wins over parents while she's in coma, she wakes up, they end up together.
• Logan Lucky: Redneck Ocean's Eleven. Starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig as a redneck demolitions expert named Joe Bang. If that doesn't sell you on this movie, I don't know what to tell you.
• What We Do in the Shadows: Another movie directed by Taika Watiti, this one is a mockumentary about a group of vampires living together. They are making this into a television series that I believe will be airing on FX.

I liked Big Sick and What We Do in the Shadows, but was underwhelmed with Logan Lucky; I guess I was expecting too much from it, though it did have a slight surprise at the end that I wasn't expecting.

 

[TarHeelMark]

The Venture Brothers is on Hulu too. If you want an f'd up show that's basically a spoof of Johnny Quest on Crystal Meth, give it a try.

If you like nonsensical shows, check out SeaLab 2021 on Hulu. It was a spoof of a 70's cartoon called SeaLab 2020, but the characters have all gone slightly mad. It was created by Adam Reed (who also created Archer), however the animation is the same as the original show. They also have another Adam Reed show on Hulu called Frisky Dingo that's pretty crazy too.

 

[NoleSoup4U]

If you like nonsensical shows, check out SeaLab 2021 on Hulu. It was a spoof of a 70's cartoon called SeaLab 2020, but the characters have all gone slightly mad. It was created by Adam Reed (who also created Archer), however the animation is the same as the original show. They also have another Adam Reed show on Hulu called Frisky Dingo that's pretty crazy too.

Yup, I've seen Sealab and Archer. Frisky Dingo is hard to find, so I'll probably check that out next, along with the current season of South Park.

 

[heelz2345]

Here are ones currently streaming on HBO

TV

• Barry: This is a new comedy and won Emmys for Bill Hader and Henry Winkler. Hader stars as a hitman who is fed up with his life and while out on a hit stumbles upon an acting class, so he begins pursuing acting. This is a dark comedy, and Hader is terrific. Excited to see where season 2 goes.
• Bored to Death: Jason Schwartzman stars as a writer who moonlights as a private eye. Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis costar. This is definitely an oddball comedy, and only lasted three seasons but Danson is terrific.
• Deadwood: Likely one you've heard of, but not necessarily watched, Deadwood is an ensemble drama about the mining town of Deadwood in the 1800's. Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant lead a terrific cast.
• Eastbound and Down: Danny McBride stars as Kenny Powers, a washed up foul mouthed baseball player living in rural NC (at least in the first season). One of the most wild shows in recent memory.
• Flight of the Conchords: A musical comedy, FOTC follows the comedy band of the same name. This show was very funny and the songs are incredibly catchy.
• Silicon Valley: From Mike Judge (creator of Office Space, King of the Hill, Beavis and Butthead), this show follows a group of software developers as they keep taking two steps forward and one step back. The final episode of season 1 has one of the greatest jokes in tv history.
• Vice Principals: Danny McBride and Walton Goggins star as two vice principals who develop a rivalry and friendship as they compete to become principal of a high school. Like Eastbound and Down, it's pretty foul mouthed and crazy.
• The Wire: Like Deadwood, you've probably heard of this one but may not have seen it. The Wire is about the drug trade in Baltimore, with each season folding in new aspects of the interconnectedness of police, local government, school, local media, and other things it takes to run a city. The Wire is one of the best, most complex shows ever made.

Movies

• 61*: An HBO original movie, this movie follows the story of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle's home run race to beat Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a season.
• Blade Runner 2049: This movie was a sequel to Blade Runner, as was probably obvious by the title, but not the box office success most people thought it would be. However, this movie is a great followup to the original, with great visuals and performances.
• The Devil Wears Prada: I'm making a guess that this may not be the most watched movie on this board, likely because it seems like a "chick flick", but it's one you should check out if you haven't. Meryl Streep gives one of the best performances of her career, and Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci are all terrific as well.
• Fargo: Probably a semi-popular one on here, Fargo is one of the Coen Brothers best outings. I know several of you have watched the tv show (which is also terrific), but the movie that started it all is just as amazing.
• The Full Monty: A unique comedy, a group of out of work factory workers in a poor English town become strippers to make ends meet.
• It: If you aren't a fan of horror, you may have missed this one from last year, but I recommend giving it a shot. This movie (and its upcoming sequel) covers one of Stephen King's most dense and terrifying novels, but it is the chemistry of the kids in this movie that really makes it work.
• The Lego Batman Movie: This movie features a cavalcade of jokes and references sure to please any fan of the Caped Crusader, while also featuring one of the best Batman-Joker stories out there.
• Paddington 2: Ok, this comes with a slight caveat, and that is you should find the first Paddington movie (which is as good as this one). It was on Netflix, but doesn't seem to be any longer. However, Paddington 2 is likely my favorite movie I've seen this year. It follows the adventures of Paddington Brown, a bear living with the Brown family in London. This movie is a pure delight, and there is no other way to put it. It currently is the highest reviewed movie in Rotten Tomatoes history. I recommend trying to rent the first (or buy it, you can find it for $5 and it's 10000% worth it), and then watching this one, but even if you can't, watch this one.
• The Shape of Water: The current holder of the Best Picture Oscar, this is a beautiful movie about love and what it means to be human. Essentially Beauty and the Beast, but with the Beast being the Swamp Thing. This was a great movie that is worth watching as soon as you can.