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[Captain_Frisk]

Looking for some hidden gems to put on the top of my netflix queue, because after being a netflix member for so long, my queue is now stuffed full of random stuff that I thought i might want to watch some day, but I'm not super interested in.

While I'm not a super film buff - I do enjoy watching movies.

Generally - I use rotten tomatoes as my filter for going to the theater - but that's not quite as good for trolling for DVDs - since searching RT for best movies results in a bunch of documentaries reviewed by art snobs.

General guidelines:

Will watch any fiction movie rated 95% or better on RT
Will watch most dramas / romantic comedies over 80%
Will watch most things in genres I enjoy (thrillers, action, comedies) @ 60% or higher
Will watch trash that I love @ 40% and above (james bond, super hero movies, terminator movies, movies starring jason statham, arnold, etc.)
Will watch horror @ 20% and above (because lets face it... saw is never going to get a 97% rating)
Will watch anything with time travel - (Timechangers for an example of how bad this can get)

Examples of hidden gems that I'm looking for:
Memento, Triangle, Primer, 11 minutes Ago, Timecrimes, Drive, Source Code, Moon, American Beauty, The Ice Storm, Infernal Affairs, A History of Violence

Hopefully this will find some some new stuff - and if its a duplicate of things I've seen - maybe recommendations for other folks

[timchen]

You are pretty strict huh? I can watch romantic comedies in the thirties and think it is actually not that bad.

[Captain_Frisk]

You are pretty strict huh? I can watch romantic comedies in the thirties and think it is actually not that bad.

Yep, I'd rather try to figure out role madness mafia for 2 hours than watch http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/break_up/ again.

[WanderingWinder]

Wait, not wanting to watch something that 2/3 of people dislike is strict? Maybe I just don't know RT well enough.
I can give you recent here, but I have no idea why I would think you haven't seen anything I would suggest, particularly as I am pretty meh on movies in general.

[Captain_Frisk]

The baby has really cut down on seeing "recent" movies - so if you think you saw something cool - let me hear it.

[Kuildeous]

Memento is actually in my if-I-had-a-gun-put-to-my-head-so-I'd-choose top 5 list, the other movies being Brazil, Reservoir Dogs, Shallow Grave, and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. Not exactly a homogenous bunch.

If you like Memento, then I have to suggest Inception. Same director even. Fight Club's another good one. The Usual Suspects and Donnie Darko also jack with you a little bit.

If you like horror, then you must watch Cabin in the Woods. It is not technically a horror movie, though there are some jumpy scenes. It handles horror movies in a beautiful fashion.

If you don't mind being grossed out by an overly amorous preteen Natalie Portman, the Professional is good. It's actually a heartwarming and sweet story amid a lot of bloodshed (and who doesn't like Gary Oldman?).

I'm a huge fan of Snatch. I think it's a cleverly written and filmed movie that perhaps has more style than substance, but both are pretty good. With all the unique and colorful characters, it's almost like Dick Tracy on steroids

If you like subtitles, I enjoyed these films from the same director: Amelie and the City of Lost Children. The former is whimsical and fantastical. The latter is bizarre and visually compelling. Some colorful characters here too. There is also Delicatessen, though I must confess I have not seen this one yet.

I say that Pan's Labyrinth is a good movie, but you need a shower afterwards. I saw it in the theatre and only recently could bring myself to watch it again. This goes in the category of "Movies that are so good I can't watch them more than once." The Road is also in that category, though I don't rank it as a particularly great movie. It was still enjoyable even though I felt like slashing my wrists afterward.

I know it's a slow movie, but I really enjoyed Unbreakable. It unfolds very slowly, but I found it satisfying. The Sixth Sense is good too, but it's been so talked about, I don’t know if it'd be as enjoyable for you as it was when I saw it in the theatre and knew nothing.

And yeah, I wrote up my list while glancing at IMDB's Top 250. Sue me. There are plenty of other good movies on there, but I wasn't sure enough to recommend you.

[Captain_Frisk]

--snip--

I wish I could give you +5 - for the 5 recommendations that I haven't seen. 


Shallow Grave
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
Amelie
City of Lost Children
Delicatessen

Instead - I'll give you +1 for Fight Club - my favorite movie of all time.  Gets better on repeat viewings.

[eHalcyon]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind!

[Captain_Frisk]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind!

I wish i could erase the memory of watching it so that I could see it again.

[Lekkit]

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain.

I think it's something like that.

[Geronimoo]

Just some movies I like a lot and have seen several times:

Being John Malkovich
Spirited Away
Fargo

And let me promote the only Belgian movie that's really good: C'est arrivé près de chez vous (very brutal and funny at times)

[yuma]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind!

Love... but always get confused with The Inevitable Lightness of Being--which I also throughly enjoy. I don't think I have seen Space Odyssey 2001 or A Clockwork of Orange (graphic and violent warning though) on here and Moonrise Kingdom should still be in theatres,


(sorry if any of these don't fit your RT demands, I don't use that at all, but probably should

[Captain_Frisk]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind!

Love... but always get confused with The Inevitable Lightness of Being--which I also throughly enjoy. I don't think I have seen Space Odyssey 2001 or A Clockwork of Orange (graphic and violent warning though) on here and Moonrise Kingdom should still be in theatres,


(sorry if any of these don't fit your RT demands, I don't use that at all, but probably should

Everything by kubrick should be watched.  I'll checkout Unbearable Lightness

[Ozle]

Machete!

Also...

Inception is not a PATCH on Momento! And I cant believe you have not already seen Fight Club.

However, " movies starring jason statham" means you pretty much are set for life the way he keeps churning them out nowadays! (Crank being possibly my favourite)

[michaeljb]

Even though Kuildeous already mentioned it, and Frisk has already seen it, I just have to mention Memento again for anyone else who might be reading this. Definitely in my top 3 (other two are The Godfather Part II and The Empire Strikes Back). It's Christopher Nolan's best movie, but all of his are pretty great--you should check out Following if you haven't seen it.

The only one of his I don't own is Insomnia. It's a good thriller (93% on RT) that doesn't really have any huge flaws, but on the other hand there was nothing about it that really stood out to me to make it great.

There Will Be Blood is a great character study, and Daniel Day-Lewis is just phenomenal as the oil tycoon going mad.

Se7en is another one of my favorite movies, great crime thriller, from the director of Fight Club for any who might not know.

The Deer Hunter is a great war epic, Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken are brilliant.

Hmm none of these that I'm mentioning are really hidden gems--they're all pretty critically acclaimed and (I think) pretty well known.

I'll second the recommendation for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. It's a weird one, but fun.

If you're interested in TV shows, check out BBC's Sherlock. There are two seasons of three episodes each out, and each episode is an hour and a half, so it's more like a series of movies than a standard TV show.

[eHalcyon]

I recently watched The Illusionist and quite liked it.

I remember Red was a fun film.

[Eevee]

I second Sherlock. I dont watch a lot of movies, so nothing there.

[Lekkit]

BBC's Sherlock is so good it actually got me to buy a full collection of the Sherlock Holmes books to read.

[Eevee]

BBC's Sherlock is so good it actually got me to buy a full collection of the Sherlock Holmes books to read.

Me too! The same happened with Game of Thrones.

[theory]

I second Sherlock. I dont watch a lot of movies, so nothing there.

I was fortunate enough to be in London when Season 2 aired; frustratingly, Season 2 hasn't come on Netflix so I can't watch it again.

In terms of episode rankings, I would go 4 > 6 > 1 > 5 > 3 > 2

[Davio]

Three semi-random suggestions: Pi, Cypher and One Point O.
All are mysterious sci-fi flicks.

I haven't seen Primer, but I suspect it fits in with these movies.

[Captain_Frisk]

Three semi-random suggestions: Pi, Cypher and One Point O.
All are mysterious sci-fi flicks.

I haven't seen Primer, but I suspect it fits in with these movies.

I've seen pi, but not the other 2.

Hidden gem recommendation:

The booth at the end.  It's on Hulu, and season 2 starts on Monday.  Watch it!

[dor]

Prestige is a must if you liked Memento and/or Inception

[michaeljb]

I second Sherlock. I dont watch a lot of movies, so nothing there.

I was fortunate enough to be in London when Season 2 aired; frustratingly, Season 2 hasn't come on Netflix so I can't watch it again.

In terms of episode rankings, I would go 4 > 6 > 1 > 5 > 3 > 2

You can watch it again! Just have to buy it on DVD or Blu-ray--I preordered as soon as I could, one of the few times I've paid to own something I hadn't seen yet.

I mostly agree with your episode rankings, except I think I'd move 3 up two spots. Definitely one. 4 was just crazy awesome. I was pretty disappointed that Irene Adler didn't show up again, hopefully she does in Season 3.

[Captain_Frisk]

Even though Kuildeous already mentioned it, and Frisk has already seen it, I just have to mention Memento again for anyone else who might be reading this. --SNIP-- It's Christopher Nolan's best movie, but all of his are pretty great--you should check out Following if you haven't seen it.

This is truth.  Following is probably the worst, but considering the budget its still worth watching.  If I had to rank:

Memento

Dark Night

Inception / Batman Begins

Dark Night Rises / Insomnia / Prestige

Following

Sherlock added to queue - added bonus: Instant!