Hidden Gems
Great films almost nobody has seen, from the shelf that justifies the whole exercise.
Every other list here argues with somebody. This one does not.
These are films almost nobody has rated. They’re small releases, quiet festival runs and titles that never got a marketing budget, sitting on a few thousand votes while something forgettable from the same weekend has half a million.
We keep this shelf because it is the whole reason to keep a shelf at all. If we are any use to you, it is here.
Must Watch
Four Good Days (2021)
Mila Kunis gives the best performance of her career here, and we mean that. A mother, a daughter, and one impossible question: can you trust somebody one more time? Glenn Close matches her every step of the way, carrying years of tired, complicated love. No twists and no easy comfort. If you take one thing off this shelf, take this one!
Must Watch
The Fire Inside (2024)
The almost unbelievable story of Claressa Shields, played with real force by Ryan Destiny. From the age of eleven she runs miles a day to train at a gym where the coach only reluctantly takes her on. Beautiful and genuinely inspiring, and hardly anybody watched it.
Must Watch
Maria (2024)
We are still catching our breath on this one. The intricate beauty, the heart-stopping majesty, and a life handed over completely to music. Maria Callas deserved a film this careful, and she finally got one.
Must Watch
Every Day (2018)
A genuinely new idea for a romance, and it earns the premise instead of just using it. A is a spirit who wakes up in a different body every morning, and the film gets more angles on love out of that than most romances combined.
Great
The Boys in the Boat (2023)
Inspiring, emotional and beautifully told. Grit, teamwork and triumph, perfectly cast and perfectly paced. It came and went without much noise and it really should not have!
Great
Someone Great (2019)
Not for everybody, and we would rather say so up front. It ends hopeful, but the hope comes from letting go of somebody instead of getting them back. If that is where you happen to be standing, it is exactly the film you need.
Great
A Good Person (2023)
Grief and healing, with careful work from Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman on both sides of it. It sits with the awkward parts of human connection rather than tidying them up, and it manages heartbreaking and relatable in the same breath.
Great
Back to Black (2024)
Marisa Abela does not impersonate Amy Winehouse, she becomes her. The highs, the lows and the raw talent all land. It is one of three music biopics on this shelf, which tells you something about how quietly all three came and went.
Great
Noelle (2019)
Just a genuinely good holiday movie. No cheesy jokes coasting on the season, just real warmth behind the smile. The North Pole feels cozy instead of drowning in CGI, and Anna Kendrick makes the whole thing sing. If you want something sweet that does not feel fake, this is an easy yes!
Great
Players (2024)
A fun, clever rom-com. The laughs do not let up, the group dynamic is great, and the slow-burn romance actually pays off. If you like witty comedies with heart, this one has been waiting for you.
Great
Incoming (2024)
Full disclosure: this is one hundred percent dude humour. That does not mean it is only for guys, it means the comedy is not deep. Hilarious one-liners and ridiculousness stacked on ridiculousness, and we could not stop laughing while putting the write-up together!
The full shelf is at hidden gems, and it grows as we watch. The other two lists argue with the crowd in opposite directions: Better Than You Heard, and Everyone Loved It. We Didn’t.
The whole shelf, newest releases first: all 15 on Hidden Gems.