As we are all experiencing the coronavirus quarantine, I’m sure many of your first instincts are to find something to watch on the many streaming services we have available.
Of course, a common issue is that we spend more time looking for something to watch rather than just watching something. I personally like to use this time to explore, find interesting movies that I may have overlooked. As such, I’ve made a list of 10 underrated titles, available on streaming services, not ranked from best to worst, just ten titles.
My only caveat is that these are films that weren’t already reviewed on Knockturnal. I wanted to try and showcase movies that haven’t had a huge spotlight on them yet. If you want some films that I would’ve put on this list, but have already been reviewed, here are a few, along with a link to the Knockturnal reviews:
Fast Colors (Netflix, Prime, and Hulu)
Annihilation (available on Hulu)
Sorry to Bother You (available on Hulu)
The Handmaiden (available on Prime)
Honorable mention:
Parasite
Before I get into the free/hidden streaming films, I wanted to draw some attention to Parasite, as it was my favorite film of last year, and it recently got its home release. In addition to my mini-review, you can also read Elijah Diamond’s NYFF review here. Parasite was recently made available on DVD, Blu Ray, 4K, and to rent on Amazon Prime. If there is any film worth spending money on right now, it’s this one. On top of it genuinely being an entertaining film, the spirit of the film’s themes regarding economic instability and income inequality feel chillingly real right now. I can’t help but think of the rainstorm scene in the film as I see people’s varied reactions to the quarantine. So if you want to watch an entertaining film that reflects current cultural anxieties that isn’t just Outbreak or Contagion on Netflix, Parasite is that film.
Pride
I’m going to start this list off with a title that I think most people would enjoy. Pride is a feel-good comedy about the creation of LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Minors) during the 1984 miners strike in the U.K. The film is beaming with likability and charm, as it gets you into the spirit of social justice. You feel the activists pride and zeal of fighting for what they believe in, joined hand-and-hand by people you love and trust. The film features an array of fantastic performances from multiple generations of astounding actors, from the veteran talent of Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, and Dominick West, to younger up-and-comers like Ben Schnetzer, Kyle Rees, and Faye Marsay. Pride showcases the joys and power of intersectional social justice, and hopefully, the discovery of this little film will inspire more calls to action.
Pride is available on Prime.
Brawl in Cell Block 99
In the last decade, S. Craig Zahler carved a unique identity for himself as a writer/director. From when he burst onto the scene with Bone Tomahawk, to his controversial Dragged Across Concrete, to writing the honestly the last good Puppet Master movie, Littlest Reich, Zahler developed a reputation for his gritty characters and his dedication to the show-don’t-tell filmmaking philosophy. In the end, he always delivers, and Brawl in Cell Block 99 is the highlight of his work. Zahler helps Vince Vaughn deliver the performance of his career, playing a terrifying drug runner who has to fight deeper and deeper through horrific prisons to be reunited with his kidnapped wife and unborn child. The sheer physicality of Vaughn’s performance makes him a force to be reckoned with. You feel every punch he delivers, and the prisons he is forced to go through are shot with such character and mood. You feel as if the prisons are living breathing, worlds. The film sacrifices flash for grit, and it never misses a beat, as you’re sucked into Vaughn’s cruel odyssey to reunite with his family.
Brawl in Cell Block 99 is available on Prime
The Congress
Ari Folman’s follow-up to the emotionally raw Waltz of Bashir, The Congress delves into the personal relationship actors have with their roles, and their audiences. Robin Wright plays a fictionalized version of herself in a world, where actors are getting their likeness scanned by studios. Studios can then put these actors in their projects without the actors’ consent. 20 years after Wright signed the agreement, her journey to renew the contract takes her into the all-animated Abrahama City, where she will speak at the studio’s “Futurological Congress.” The film splits between live-action and animation, reflecting her perception and anxieties as the animated sequences move forward. These animated scenes took me into contemplative places, as she rationalizes her internal conflict with potentially giving up her identity and passion. As admittedly easy it is to get lost in the trippy-animation, if you let yourself go and just follow Wright on her quest, she’ll take you into some interesting places.
The Congress is available on Prime.
Greener Grass
More of a series of vignettes than a traditional narrative feature, Greener Grass is a strange and surreal suburban comedy, wild in both the cinematography and dialogue. Greener Grass, directed, written, and starring Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe, continues in the wonderful tradition of suburban comedies, like The Burbs or Edward Scissorhands, as it deconstructs the denizens of the fictional suburb, Greener Grass. DeBoer and Leubbe perfectly capture the forced politeness and office politics that come with living in a suburb and reap comedy gold out of such madness. The characters are all strange caricatures, but given just enough depth to make them relatable. You’ve probably met someone like a character in this movie. The passive-aggressiveness mixed with insincere charm and regret is on hilarious display. This film leaves me wanting to see more of this suburb, and the strange people within.
Greener Grass is available on Hulu.
The Sisters Brothers
A passion project for producer and lead John C Reilly, The Sisters Brothers crafts enjoyable interweaving tales that are fun to watch without losing the rough edge of most enjoyable modern westerns. Showcasing excellent performances from Reilly, along with Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Riz Ahmed, The Sisters Brothers gives everyone time to craft unique and engaging characters for us to follow on this tale of assassins and treasure hunters. These characters give the film’s traditional story depth, heart, and some rye humor here-and-there. The Sisters Brothers is a meaningful and entertaining story about the cost of adventure and how people respond to violence.
The Sisters Brothers is available on Hulu.
Killer Joe
Black comedy and its most pitch black, Killer Joe probably has the most entertainingly devious characters that you’ll enjoy watching. Set in a run-down trailer park, Emile Hirsch plays Chris, an unlucky schmuck who hires a hitman, “Killer” Joe Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, to kill his mother so that he can collect on her life insurance. However, as he can’t afford to pay Joe for his service, Joe requests Chris’ sister Dottie, played by Juno Temple, as a retainer. What follows are some of the most hilariously strange and disturbing scenes you will ever find from some of the dumbest characters you’ve ever met. As an ensemble, the film features a cavalcade of remarkably unlikable characters, including an enjoyably dumb Thomas Haden Church, and frustrated but still funny Gina Gershon. But McConaughey is a sheer force of nature in this film, as he emits a terrifying aura wherever he walks. McConaughey excellently steers the story in unexpected and uncomfortable directions, keeping you guessing on what could happen next. This twisted southern gothic tale is not for the faint of heart.
Killer Joe is available on Hulu.
Look Who’s Back
In the realm of culturally relevant high-concept comedies, few are as daring as Look Who’s Back, a German film about Hitler waking up in modern-day Germany and slowly rising to power. Upon reading that description, it’s hard to imagine the set up being a comedy. In a way, that’s what makes the film work so well. Thanks to Oliver Masucci’s excellent performance as Hitler, the delivery of the jokes and the reactions from the real people he interacts with are equally as uncomfortably humorous as they are chilling. The way he builds power by tapping into already existing cultural anxieties is disturbingly real, especially given the current rise of white supremacy around the world, especially in the U.S.. It catches you off guard while you’re laughing, as it’s easy to write off Hitler’s words and crazy antics until you see how fast he’s growing.
Look Who’s Back is available on Netflix.
Man of Tai Chi
Before Keanu Reeves came back into our good graces with the fantastic John Wick movies, he made his directorial debut Man of Tai Chi. Working alongside his martial arts teacher Tiger Chen, who stars in the film, Man of Tai Chi seems on the surface like a typical underground fight club style movie. What makes this film distinct is Keanu Reeve’s direction and respect for the philosophy behind tai chi. The way he uses Tiger Chen’s performance and fighting style to reflect his character development and internal conflict make the action more engrossing. The fight scenes themselves are thrilling, bursting with kinetic energy, all the while shot and edited discriminately so you can see them in their full beauty. He uses these elements to explore the distinction between a fighter and a martial artist, highlighting the importance of balancing meditation and reflection alongside fighting prowess. All of these elements elevate the film to an intelligent and fun martial arts film.
Man of Tai Chi is available on Netflix.
Cop Car
Before Jon Watts became known for Spider-Man: Homecoming and Far From Home, he made a little thriller called Cop Car. It’s always fun when a movie sneaks-up on you, and Cop Car does that with equal levels of tension and laughs. What starts as seemingly a coming-of-age story featuring two kids discovering an abandoned police car builds to a nail-biting thriller with a wild and twisted Kevin Bacon, playing a corrupt police officer. The film makes the most out of its short runtime and simple premise, never overstaying its welcome and maintaining a light pace to its climactic finish. James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford are incredibly likable as the two kids, naturally funny and never annoying. Kevin Bacon, however, is the real star of this film, alternating from hilariously in-over-his-head, and legitimatly threatening. Cop Car is a brisk thriller that won’t disappoint those looking for something inventive and tense.
Cop Car is available on Netflix.
He Never Died
In a time where most horror-comedies lean more towards the comedy rather than horror, He Never Died is successfully able to balance both. Following the life of Jack, played by Henry Rollins, an immortal stuck on earth, Rollins’ deadpan humor and awkwardness make him hilarious and honestly relatable to watch. You feel his age and experience, as you can see how spending eons distant from people have made him lonely and isolated. These moments only make the horror far more intense and brutal as he tries as hard as he can to suppress his cannibalistic urges. Rollins can shift from charmingly awkward to horrifyingly intense on a dime, and the fight scenes are amplified through gloriously violent fights. The practical gore effects hit hard, making each fight scene feel like a slugfest. At the same time, Rollins’ charm carries us through these intense scenes so that we care and root for him as he grows as a person. He Never Dies works as a comedy, a character piece, and a horror movie, anyone who watches this movie will find something to enjoy.
He Never Died is available on Netflix.