Top 10 Most Overlooked Netflix Movies of 2021 (So Far)
#10: “I Care a Lot” (2020)
Top 10 Best Movies of 2021 (So Far)
Perhaps the most popular movie on this list, “I Care a Lot” received a joint release on Netflix and Prime Video in February 2021. It is perhaps best known for the performance of Rosamund Pike, who won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. It doesn’t make for easy viewing, as Pike plays an incredibly selfish and conniving woman named Marla Grayson. Marla scams the legal system into giving her guardianship over elders and then she pockets the proceeds from their estates after they pass away. The movie is a tantalizing mixture of black comedy and drama, and despite being a viciously unlikable character, the award-winning Pike is magnificent in the role.
#9: “Space Sweepers” (2021)
Top 10 Space Movies That Are Scientifically Accurate
Also released in February 2021 was “Space Sweepers,” South Korea’s first big space blockbuster. The movie takes place in the not-too-distant future of 2092, when Earth has become uninhabitable. The air is polluted, and space is filled with floating debris. The Space Sweepers clean up this debris and sell it to the UTS Corporation, which owns an orbiting space station in which the elite live safely. The film’s budget was quite small, only around $20 million. But the visuals are convincing and imaginative nevertheless, and the movie is led by an engaging cast portraying a slew of likable characters. Add on some great social commentary, and “Space Sweepers” is a winner.
#8: “Pieces of a Woman” (2020)
10 Pieces of Mario Lore Explained in The Super Mario Bros Movie
Kornél Mundruczó’s “Pieces of a Woman” makes for an incredibly difficult, yet incredibly rewarding, watch. Vanessa Kirby stars as Martha Weiss, a grieving mother who lost her baby in a traumatic childbirth. This loss destroys Martha and fractures her personal relationships, and her mother Elizabeth launches a lawsuit against the midwife she deems responsible for the baby’s death. It’s a tough movie that focuses on themes of grief and the different ways in which people experience it. Kirby is excellent in the lead role, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She is joined by a great cast, including Ellen Burstyn as Elizabeth and Shia LaBeouf as Martha’s husband, Sean.
#7: “Stowaway” (2021)
This science fiction film was co-written and directed by Joe Penna, a YouTuber known as MysteryGuitarMan who transitioned to making movies, and thrilled critics with his feature directorial debut, “Arctic.” “Stowaway” concerns, well, a stowaway on a manned mission to Mars. Unfortunately, the stowaway accidentally destroys a device that eliminates carbon dioxide from the controlled air, and the astronauts learn that they will die long before reaching the red planet. This results in a fascinating moral dilemma, as the astronauts debate killing the stowaway to conserve oxygen. The morality play nature of the film proves endlessly compelling, and it’s led by a stellar cast composed of Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette, and Daniel Dae Kim. 2021 has been a great year for sci fi.
#6: “Concrete Cowboy” (2020)
This Philadelphia-set story concerns Cole, a rebellious teenager who is sent to live with his estranged father. While there, he becomes embroiled with a unique subculture of black urban cowboys. The story is loosely based on the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, a century-old non-profit whose members teach the youth of North Philadelphia how to ride and care for horses. The idea for the movie came after writer-director Ricky Staub witnessed the bizarre sight of a cowboy riding a horse through the urban streets of Philly. Idris Elba is excellent as always, and McLaughlin - who earned fame as Lucas on “Stranger Things” - proves himself a capable lead actor. It’s a touching and timeless story about the bond between father and son.
#5: “News of the World” (2020)
Tom Holland LEAKS News of Spider-Man: Homecoming TRILOGY – The CineFiles Ep. 25
Speaking of cowboys, “News of the World” is a great modern Western, starring the always-remarkable Tom Hanks. Based on Paulette Jiles’s novel of the same name, “News of the World” tells the story of a Civil War veteran named Kyle Kidd, who retrieves a young girl from the Kiowa people, who had taken her in as one of their own. The law dictates that Johanna belongs with her biological aunt and uncle, and Kyle is tasked with delivering her. It’s a slow-paced Western built largely on character, and Hanks is his typically appealing self — equal parts commanding and comfortingly paternal. The movie earned four Oscar nominations, with composer James Newton Howard earning his seventh nomination for Best Original Score.
#4: “The Dig” (2021)
Top 30 Scariest Horror Movies On Netflix
Carey Mulligan has enjoyed a fantastic string of movies in recent years. She earned an Oscar nomination for 2020’s “Promising Young Woman” before starring as Edith Pretty in the excellent Netflix historical drama, “The Dig.” Pretty is a British landowner who discovers various burial mounds on her property. She hires an amateur archaeologist to dig around, and he discovers the site that is now known as Sutton Hoo. This includes a buried ship containing many Anglo-Saxon artifacts, and is widely regarded as one of the most important archaeological discoveries in modern British history. Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes prove outstanding leads with magnetic chemistry, and the beautiful period details are fascinating.
#3: “The White Tiger” (2021)
Top 10 Worst Netflix Romance Movies
This powerful drama is a passion project of writer-director Ramin Bahrani, who adapted Aravind Adiga’s novel. Adiga’s Man Booker Prize-winning “The White Tiger” is a humorous, unsettling and dramatic glimpse into India’s poverty, underclass, and caste system. It follows an intelligent but poor villager named Balram Halwai, who uses his smarts and intense drive to do whatever it takes to escape poverty and become a successful entrepreneur. Adarsh Gourav is impressive in the lead role, and Bahrani’s adapted screenplay received an Oscar nomination at the 93rd Academy Awards. The movie is thoroughly engrossing, featuring creative editing and captivating cinematography.
#2: “Love and Monsters” (2020)
Top 5 Things to Know About Love and Monsters
If nothing else, “Love and Monsters” will make Dylan O’Brien a comedic star. He plays Joel Dawson, one of the few surviving humans left on Earth. Seven years prior to the events of the movie, an asteroid was destroyed over the planet. However, the destruction inadvertently released chemical fallout, which in turn mutated all cold-blooded animals into massive, human-killing monsters. “Love and Monsters” is an unbelievably fun movie, featuring great visual effects, tons of humor, great action, charming characters, and a hilarious star turn from O’Brien. It’s the type of original movie that people have been clamoring for.
#1: “Finding 'Ohana” (2021)
Top 10 Finding Nemo Easter Eggs You MISSED
Jude Weng is an esteemed television director, having overseen episodes of many major network shows. She made her feature film debut with “Finding ‘Ohana,” and it is a spectacular debut indeed. The film evokes the great vibes of kids’ adventure films of the ‘80s like “The Goonies.” It tells the story of two New York siblings who embark on a Hawaiian adventure to find a long-hidden treasure… and find much more. “Finding ‘Ohana” is exciting, wondrous, and sentimental, taking full advantage of its Hawaiian setting and culture. It’s a fun movie, and definitely proves Jude Weng is a director to watch.
