There’s no denying it — Netflix is a very hit or miss place. Sometimes you’ll click on a movie or TV show, watch it for 10 minutes and realize why you’ve never heard of it before and why it ended up on Netflix — it’s terrible. On the other hand, sometimes you’ll find titles that are truly phenomenal and you’ll think to yourself, “Why haven’t I heard of this before?”
These underrated titles are always my favorite and can come from virtually every category: TV shows, documentaries, independent movies, you name it. As a self-proclaimed Netflix enthusiast, I’ve taken it upon myself to track down these true gems and share them with all of you.
Movie: “Chef”
I’m not sure why this movie isn’t raved about over dinner, but it deserves to be. The story is about a chef (obviously) who has always dreamed of starting his own business. However, like most, he doesn’t have the financial means to do this and is instead working at an already established place. He isn’t very happy here and when a critic ultimately destroys his reputation, he decided it’s time to open up his own business — a food truck. He and his best friend, accompanied by the chef’s 7-year-old son, drive around Southeast America, using their love of food and their knowledge of the industry to share amazing looking, region-specific food. This is one of those feel-good movies that will make you want to get out of bed and go chase your crazy dreams. (And who doesn’t need a dose of that here and there?) Watch this film when you need a nice pick-me-up.
Documentary: “Living on One Dollar”
I’ll be the first to admit that Netflix has a tendency to have some pretty weird documentaries, but this is not one of them. Filmed in the classic YouTube vlogger style, this documentary follows a group of young men as they decide to relocate to Guatemala and live on $1 a day for two months, similar to how the locals survive. What makes this title particularly interesting is the fact that all the men come from the same socioeconomic class as myself and probably most of QU. But “Living on one Dollar” gave me whole new level of appreciation for things, specifically for school and education. A story that really hit home for me was the one about 12-year-old Chino, who, instead of having dreams to be a doctor or astronaut like most his age, dreams of being a farmer and helping his parents make more money. If you’re looking to find some motivation to get through the rest of this semester, I highly suggest watching this while you’re procrastinating.
TV Show: “Life, Unexpected”
This is one of those shows that everyone’s reluctant to start since it was cancelled after its two short seasons but I can assure you, two seasons, is enough to make you fall in love with it. “Life, Unexpected” is about a 15-year-old girl, Lux, who has been bouncing around from foster home to foster home. In the process of trying to get emancipated, she ends up finding her birth-parents. A judge orders that her parents have to take care of her. However, they don’t know the first thing about being parents. The humor, wit and drama in this show is amazing and it’s one of the few that I’ve seen that have the power to make me feel every emotion in a span of 40 minutes. I’d recommend this to everyone — you’ll understand why I love it after just the first episode. This show stars Britt Robertson, Shiri Appleby, and Kristoffer Polaha.
