Netflix is the best thing to happen for home entertainment since HBO. The video store was great but the convenience of Netflix trumps it hands down. Having DVD’s mailed out to people’s houses was a great idea that put them ahead of the game and is even putting some video chains out of business, even Blockbuster is struggling to keep up.

Easily the greatest thing that Netflix has done is their Instant Streaming feature. While their selection isn’t as vast as their collection of DVD’s and Blu-rays there’s plenty of great movies to choose from. It’s also an ideal place to look for movies you probably wouldn’t have even bothered with or even couldn’t even find at the rental chains.

I’m on Netflix at least 3 days of the week and I always try to look for movies that I haven’t seen or even heard of along with some films I don’t own and haven’t seen in a while. Here are a few films that I’ve been watching this month that hopefully are films most of you either haven’t heard of or haven’t gotten around to seeing yet.

Exit Through The Gift Shop

Directed by Banksy, an infamous English Street Artist, this documentary has been subject to debate on whether or not it really is what it says it is. Starting off with Thierry Guetta filming everything that moves who by chance gets sucked into the underground world of street art as the unofficial videographer / documentarian for the rising sensation. When Banksy asks him to actually put together the documentary he doesn’t like it. He takes over the role of director and tells Thierry to go do art himself and things take an unexpected turn. A great look into the behind the scenes of street art and taking a look into the art world as a whole. It’s incredibly interesting and pretty funny. Anyone who is vaguely interested in the art world—or just want a great documentary/movie—should check this one out.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Being February romantic movies are still popular even after Valentine’s Day. Michael Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind brings very unique things to the whole Romance genre. First, you got a serious role out of Jim Carrey. The actor made popular from being a very eccentric—even annoying for some people—pulls a very convincing dramatic role with ease. Then you got Gondry’s unmistakable visual style to go along with a sort of sci-fi script about the highs and lows of a relationship. Definitely a very unconventional romantic comedy but one of the most meaningful and deep explorations of love ever put onto film. Anyone who’s tired of the same ol’ worn out “love movies” should give this film at least one viewing. Probably two.

Sunshine Cleaning

Amy Adams stars in this dark comedy about family, love, friendship, responsibility and doing what makes you happy. It never delves too deep in anyone one subject and never tries too hard. It has just the right mix of everything and is poignant enough in all aspects. It’s a bittersweet movie that really draws you in with incredible characters and well-developed relationship between the whole cast. It sometimes strays away in various directions but never too far to really get far off point. Recommended for people who don’t mind movies that are all about the characters and not so much the overall story.

Brick

With a lot of love going on for Joseph Gordon-Levitt I always like to direct his newfound fans to his older work. Of course everyone knows about 10 Things I Hate About You, but Heath Ledger was looked at more and got a lot of people to re-watch that one already. I direct people farther back to what I consider not only one of his best movie but his best performance as well. Taking place in a high school, JGL plays a loner student who is trying to find out what happened to his best friend who calls him right before she disappears. It’s a true film-noir entry that’s dark and intense. It truly shows the range of JGL and should have made him the star he is now. If you love gritty crime films without the whole cop element, check Brick out.

Seven Samurai

This movie is definitely going to be for you film buffs out there. At an exhausting 3 hours and 26 minutes long it’s not a film for the casual filmgoers. Japanese director Akira Kurosawa is one of the greatest filmmakers to ever live and Seven Samurai is considered his greatest masterpiece. This 1954 black and white film tells about a village that hires seven samurai to protect their home from raiding bandits. May sound familiar, it was remade several times including the western classic The Magnificent Seven and the Roger Corman cult classic Battle Beyond the Stars. For a film made in the 50’s it holds up incredibly well. The action is exciting mainly due to the incredible bond you develop with the characters over the course of the film. You love these characters and when danger comes you care and feel for when they fall—not everyone lives. It’s one of my favorite films of all time and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for anyone who loves film.