The best part about being a Netflix subscriber is being exposed to all kinds of films.
This September, the streamer is adding a wide variety of movies from different genres, decades and countries, and Watch With Us is recommending three great titles that aren’t as popular as they should be.
The approaching fall season is a great time to watch a good rom-com, and About Time with Rachel McAdams tells one of the best — and unusual — love stories in the genre.
We also recommend getting your laugh on with Keanu, which is inspired by the John Wick actor Keanu Reeves, and the little-seen British drama True Things.
‘About Time’ (2013)
Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) discovers the men of his family have a unique gift –they can travel back in time, but only to moments they’ve personally experienced. His father, James (Love Actually‘s Bill Nighy), warns him not to use his gift for fame and fortune, so Tim decides to use it on another, more important thing — love. When he meets American Mary (Rachel McAdams), he thinks she’s the one and is determined to win her heart, even if he has to travel back to the perfect moment she will fall for him. But love is tricky to control, and Tim soon finds out that even mastery over time can’t guarantee true happiness.
About Time has an admittedly absurd premise, but it tells a relatively down-to-earth love story between a man and a woman and a father and son. Tim and Mary’s courtship is odd but sweet, and McAdams is so charming as the object of Tim’s affection, you understand why he risks causing a time paradox to be with her forever. Equally affecting is Nighy as Tim’s father, who wants his son to have all the love and support he had when he was younger. The film’s climax will make you cry some ugly tears, but it will make you smile, too. Isn’t that what we want from a good rom-com?
About Time is streaming on Netflix.
‘Keanu’ (2016)
Some people love their pets more than anything, and that’s true for Rell (Jordan Peele) and his cat, Keanu. When his pet pussy is catnapped, he enlists his cousin Clarence (Keegan-Michael Key) to get him back. That should be simple, but Keanu’s been taken by a ruthless drug cartel and the only way to get him back is for both men to adopt tough-guy personas called The Allentown Boys. This leads to all sorts of trouble for the duo, but for Rell, it’s worth it to save Keanu and return him to his proper home.
Keanu is a deliberately silly action-comedy that plays like an extended Key & Peele sketch, only a little naughtier and more violent. The longer the film goes, the more absurd it gets, so don’t be surprised when a dream sequence appears with Keanu talking with the voice of his namesake, Keanu Reeves. The film’s supporting cast, which includes SNL vet Will Forte and Tiffany Haddish, is fully in sync with its anything-goes vibe, while Key and Peele display the comedic rapport that made their cable TV show such a long-running hit.
Keanu is streaming on Netflix.
‘True Things’ (2011)
Kate (Ruth Wilson) lives a humdrum life in a small English town where not much happens. Realizing she’s sleepwalking through life, she seizes on a chance encounter with a mysterious man she nicknames “Blond” (Tom Burke). Blond is a walking red flag, but he’s unpredictable and easy on the eyes, which is why Kate ignores all reason and begins an affair with him. But Kate’s decision backfires spectacularly, and her life begins to quickly goes out of control. Can she recover in time to get her life in order? Or will her interaction with Blond ruin any chance of her achieving happiness?
True Things is a below-the-radar film so unknown that even I had never heard of it until Netflix added it this month. I’m glad I did, because it’s a terrific low-stakes drama about a woman whose boredom makes her do some pretty stupid things. Wilson makes you understand Kate’s irrationality — her character is smart, but can’t help but risk everything for the chance to escape her drab life. The film refuses to fully explain its heroine’s actions for one simple reason — she doesn’t know why either. That can feel frustrating to watch, but that’s the film’s point. Sometimes, people behave irrationally, and True Things does an excellent job of creating a portrait of a woman who refuses to live the kind of life that’s been laid out for her.
True Things is streaming on Netflix.
