If you regularly look up films on Rotten Tomatoes to decide if they are worth investing your time into, you’ll know how hard it is to impress the critics.
You get your hopes up after reading a synopsis of the movie, only to find it has been panned on the notorious Tomatometer.
While it might seem impossible for anything to rack up a promising score, there are more than 100 films in the site’s ‘100% club’.
Many to have gained a perfect score are already household names, with the likes of The Terminator, 12 Angry Men and Toy Story included on the exclusive list.
But there’s also a whole host of hidden gems you’ve likely never seen that could keep your weekends busy for a couple of months at least.
If you’re not heading to the cinema this weekend to watch Sydney Sweeney’s Immaculate or the controversial Late Night With The Devil, here are 10 hidden gems perfect for a weekend watch…
Leave No Trace
A father and daughter live off-grid in a beautiful nature reserve, rarely coming into contact with the outside world.
But a mistake lands them in hot water with authorities and their search for a place to call their own becomes increasingly erratic.
What the critics say: ‘Leave No Trace is a wonder to behold, a hard watch made even harder by the fact that it really happened. It is a truly American story of love, survival and acceptance in our country’s often-forgotten frontier.’
Searching for Bobby Fischer
If you liked The Queen’s Gambit, you can continue your journey into the world of chess here.
A seven-year-old star is introduced to a famous coach but feels more drawn to the hustlers playing speed chess in the park – who employ very different practices.
What the critics say: ‘The mystery of Fischer’s talent and torment adds depth to Searching for Bobby Fischer, about a young New York chess prodigy who doesn’t want his genius to ruin his life.’
Summer 1993
Frida, a six-year-old girl, moves in with her aunt and uncle following the death of her mother.
She struggles to cope with her grief and her new life following the move from Barcelona to the Catalan countryside.
What the critics say: ‘An incredibly touching and dramatically moving coming-of-age tale that utilises phenomenal performances and downplayed direction to deliver maximum impact.’
Honeyland
To throw a documentary into the mix, this perfectly-rated account follows a woman utilizing ancient beekeeping traditions to cultivate honey in North Macedonia – but tensions arise when a neighbouring family try to get in on the action and disregards her experience.
What the critics say: ‘Honeyland is an extraordinary film: beautiful and terrifying, cautionary and celebratory, wise and innocent.’
Laura
Heading back to 1944 now.
A Manhattan detective investigates the murder of a woman but soon finds himself growing obsessed with the case – and falling in love with the victim.
What the critics say: ‘Masterpiece: with time, Preminger’s second film has become richer in texture and deeper, more ambiguous in meaning than most noirs of the 1940s.’
Taxi To The Dark Side
Another one for documentary fans, this time tackling a heavier topic.
The film explores the American military’s use of torture, studying the unsolved murder of an Afghani taxi driver and then onto wider cases including claims from Guantanamo Bay during the Bush administration.
What the critics say: ‘A shocking expose about the American military’s use of torture to get confessions – not always truthful ones – from prisoners suspected of terrorism. This is the kind of film that can make a difference.’
Still Walking
A mother and father welcome their children home for a family reunion, 12 years after their beloved eldest son died while saving a stranger’s life.
The forced cheer becomes uncomfortable due to the youngest son’s belief that his parents resent that he wasn’t the one to die.
What the critics say: ‘There’s a natural flow of small hatreds, resentments, joys, and insecurities, superbly caught by every member of the cast.’
Anatomy of a Murder
With so many brilliant courtroom films, it’s no small feat to be labelled the best.
A semi-retired lawyer takes on the case of an army lieutenant who is accused of murdering a man he believed had attacked his wife. An extensive trial rests on the victim’s mysterious business partner, who is hiding a dark secret.
What the critics say: ‘This is probably the greatest courtroom drama ever made and it features James Stewart’s finest screen performance.’
Slalom
A teenager is accepted into an elite ski club renowned for producing star athletes, but soon finds she has to endure more than the physical and emotional pressure of training under the control of her predatory instructor.
What the critics say: ‘(Filmmaker) Favier clearly spent a profound amount of time and energy giving this character study all the time and care it deserves, highlighting the ways abuse – at its most subtle and overt – can warp every aspect of your life.’
The Work
Taking place inside a single room of Folsom Prison, the documentary follows three men as they enter the walls to spend time with level-four convicts for a four-day therapy retreat.
As the days pass, each man takes a turn at delving deep into their troubled past.
What the critics say: ‘[These inmates] know the darkness that exists within them and that they can help quell it in each other while preventing it from consuming outsiders who’ve yet to act upon it.’
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