Dancer, Texas Pop. 81
I was channel flipping last year and came across this about 1/2 way through. It pulled me right in. I grew up in a not-that-small but still small rural area, and I very much identified with the young men’s angst and choices. The actors being complete unknowns (to me) added to the realism.
Currently available on Amazon to stream, but not free.
Sorry[quote=“Eyebrows_0f_Doom, post:18, topic:914943, full:true”]
“The Lovebirds” is hardly “under the radar” as well as it was heavily promoted prior to COVID.
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Sorry, I wasn’t aware of that. Over here in Europe it didn’it get much attention, precisely due to Covid, and I haven’t encountered any mention of it later here or elsewhere online (by which it mean people seem to ignore it in general discussions on movies). So that’s why it does seem fitting to this thread.
Or are those ironic quotes around ‘heavily’?
I mean, sure, why not. I’m not going to be a stickler for the “under-the-radar” part of my OP. As the pandemic wears on and new entertainment starts to run out, I just wanted to share stuff on the streaming channels that we may have overlooked. Hotel Artemis is a good one- I’ve seen that come up on my rec list but wasn’t sure if I wanted to watch it. Now I likely will.
“Palm Springs” is not under the radar, but I will recommend that. Wife and I watched yesterday. Basically a new, fresh take on the “Groundhog Day” trope with Andy Samberg and Christina Milioti (sp?). Fun movie. Streaming on Hulu.
Not really under the radar, but I just watched Palm Springs on Hulu. Really enjoyed it, nice take on a time loop movie. Question I have is: is the old lady at the wedding in on the time loop too?
I was seriously disappointed when this was canceled. I LOVED it.
We watched “An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn” last night. Under the radar? I don’t know, it was trending on Netflix. Offbeat? Oh yeah. The quirky characters reminded me of Napolean Dynamite, and the plot, what there was of it, had a very David Lynch feel. Plenty of non-sequitars and just plain weirdness.
Anyway if you’re in the mood for a very absurdist comedy, especially if you prefer absurdism over comedy, this might be for you! It’s got some good names from other comedies in it-- Aubrey Plaza, Craig Robinson, Jermaine Clement.
Odd Thomas I believe this movie is still available on Hulu. Surprisingly good for a movie I’d never heard of. It’s the story of a man who can see evil spirits. Whenever a spirit appears something bad soon happens. He does his best to stop these things from happening.
These aren’t Amazon Prime titles, they’re CBS Access (which you may be accessing through Prime - but you need a CBSA account to do so).
That was a pretty good movie. I’ve read the series of Odd Thomas books that Dean Koontz has written, and OT is one of his more interesting characters, and they are generally among his more entertaining books. It’s too bad Anton Yelchin died in that freak accident, or maybe he could have done some more Odd Thomas movies.
Watched “Guns Akimbo” last night. Amazon Prime, I think? Daniel Radcliffe is a sad-sack programmer who inadvertantly gets shanghaied into a death match game that is streamed online. Lots of ultraviolence and black humor. The violence is so extreme it’s almost cartoonsih, but still, it was making me a bit squeamish, and I’m pretty desensitized. Put it this way: if you loved Deadpool, you’ll like Guns Akimbo.
Counterpart (series) on Amazon
JK Simmons plays a low level employee to a secret organization in Berlin. His wife, a high ranking agent in said organization, is mysteriously hurt. He is dragged into Cold-Waresque espionage taking place against a parallel universe by his alternative self to ferret out what happened.
As a warning, parts of this show can hit way too close to home with pandemic themes.
Saw 45365 on Vimeo yesterday. A film documenting life in small town America: Sidney, in Shelby County Ohio over the course of six months or so. Nothing fancy, the camera captures people at the fair, the high school football game, the barbershop, a candidate running for local office and other folks in a matter of fact way. It might be boring as hell to some, but I found it oddly soothing, a bit of normalcy to escape the current news cycle.
I have Netflix and nothing else (I had CBS All Access for a bit, but after the fanboy mediocrity of Picard and Discovery, I dropped since there was nothing worth watching).
Two excellent shows that are overlooked are
I Am Not OK with This, about a teen who discovers she has superpowers as she tries to negotiate high school and her sexual life. A nice mix of drama, teen angst, humor, and horror.
Misfits on Hulu is easily the best superhero show around (fans of The Umbrella Academy will love it if only for the shock of recognition). The writer went on to create Crazyhead, sort of a UK version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Very offbeat (one demon has possessed the body of a single mother and complains about having to get a babysitter when she has to attend meetings planning the End of the World). Sophie Wokonda is extremely good as a demon slayer. Not up to Misfits (nothing can be), but very well done. Sadly, only one season.
Watched Vivarium last night. Amazon Prime. I gotta say, Prime has been coming up big with the weird, offbeat movies. Vivarium is about a young couple (Jesse Eisenberg and Imogene Poots) who are shown a house in a new housing development by a strange real estate agent. Then the agent disappears and they find they’re trapped in the mazelike development. Much weirdness ensues. I would classify it as a sci-fi / horror combo. It’s a very strange trip, but the actual plot is pretty straightforward-- if you’re paying attention (minor spoiler):
the very first scene foreshadows what will happen to the couple.
Based on a series of books by Dean Koontz.
Aniara is a Swedish science fiction film that is currently on Hulu. It’s about a large spaceship carrying settlers from Earth to Mars that gets knocked off course. It’s a very bleak film, but I thought it was really good.
Aniara is a Swedish science fiction film that is currently on Hulu. It’s about a large spaceship carrying settlers from Earth to Mars that gets knocked off course…
This sounds like a good counterpoint to Avenue 5, the first season of which we recently finished watching, which is a dark comedy about a large spaceship carrying vacationers on a round trip from Earth to Saturn that gets knocked off course 
I mentioned it in another thread, but I enjoyed the Belgian series Into the Night on Netflix about a passenger plane that has to fly West constantly because the sun is killing everyone.
I don’t know if it’s “under the radar” because I think Netflix is promoting it heavily is “Warrior Nun”. As a series about a secret society of tactical nuns that fight evil, it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
We watched this based on your recommendation, and quite enjoyed it. A little tough in places given it’s Anton Yelchin, but worth the watch.
Pluto TV is an interesting website. It has several channels with different topics. Movies, news, tv shows, comedies, etc. There’s even a 420 channel. It’s free.