Looking for something to watch? Here are some hidden gems to stream

Here are 12 movies available to stream on 4 services in May of 2022. I've picked 3 movies from each and hopefully, you'll find something new and exciting ... Let's start with Amazon Prime

First up is this 1959 classic The Bat starring Vincent Price. I love Price and will always take a break to watch his stuff. This is before his big run of horror classics and it is more of a mystery/suspense story.

Blurb - A crazed killer known as "The Bat" is on the loose in a mansion full of people.

I love watching Sherlock Holmes movies and shows and may do a post full of hidden gems and stand-out performances. Growing up, we had The Movie Channel (it was cheaper than HBO) and they ran 2 Holmes movies for what felt like 24-7. Both starred Ian Richardson as the detective and for the longest time were my go-to Sherlock Holmes films. I'm picking The Sign of Four for this list.

Blurb - Hired by a young lady, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate the strange recent deaths of her missing father's friends from the army, as well as the whereabouts of the Great Mogul, the second-largest diamond in the world.

This is the intro of the film - couldn't find a trailer ...

Last on Prime is The Watch. Ben Stiller & Vince Vaughn team up once again to give us some laughs. Stiller plays the stiff no-nonsense neighbor and Vince is pretty much the same as he always is in these movies. Add in a slimmed-down Jonah Hill & Richard Ayoade and you get a very funny and believable chemistry between the 4 neighbors.

Blurb - Four men who form a neighborhood watch group as a way to get out of their day-to-day family routines find themselves defending the Earth from an alien invasion.

Now let's head over to Netflix

I love Broken Lizard - the comedy minds behind Super Troopers, Club Dead, & Tacoma F.D.. In 2006, they gave us one of my favorite comedies, Beerfest. They put together a stellar cast around the 5 guys of the group. I think one of the things that make the movie work is how many of the cast play it like a traditional thriller. Many of the jokes work simply because of that.

Funny side note - after they put the movie together, the big shots of WB decided the movie needed nudity and gave the group a specific number. To make them happy and get their movie completed, they have a funny and quick way to make their boob quota.

Blurb - Two brothers travel to Germany for Oktoberfest, only to stumble upon a secret, centuries-old competition described as a "Fight Club" with beer games.

Sam Rockwell can rub me the wrong way, but he's charming in Mr. Right. Anna Kendrick plays the same kind of character that America fell in love with within Pitch Perfect. The movie is a good mix of action, comedy, and the right kind of over-the-top violence to keep your attention.

Blurb - A girl falls for the "perfect" guy, who happens to have a very fatal flaw: he's a hitman on the run from the crime cartels who employ him.

The last one on Netflix is St. Vincent. Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, and Naomi Watts all shine in this comedy-drama which introduces audiences to Jaeden Martell(Bill from It). Like many of Murray's later movies, there's a warm and gooey center to his character that is hidden behind a thick shell of cynicism and sarcasm.

Blurb - A young boy whose parents have just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door.

Heading over to HULU

Shane Black writes and directs this action mystery with his usual style of big action and snappy dialogue that reminds you of the movies of the 70s & 80s. Russel Crowe & Ryan Gosling are The Nice Guys and quickly show us there are 2 sides to the nice guy coin.

Blurb - In 1970s Los Angeles, a mismatched pair of private eyes investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star.

The guy who gave Batman nipples in the 90s directs Nicholas Cage in the super dark thriller 8MM. I've never thought of it as a horror movie, but I've recently seen many people do. This is the perfect movie to balance with the comedies suggested.

Blurb - A private investigator is hired to discover if a "snuff film" is authentic or not.

Recently in the Horror Movies of 2009 list, I highlighted Christopher Smith's Triangle. He came back in 2010 and gave us Black Death. I'm always on the hunt for good sword & sorcery-type movies and this one gives you all the mud and muck you can stand.

Blurb - Set during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, a young monk is given the task of learning the truth about reports of people being brought back to life in a small village.

Finally, let's see what tubi has to offer

Check out Rum Diary to see a time when Johnny Depp & Amber Heard liked one another. A Depp pet project for years, he finally was able to get the Hunter S. Thompson book adapted and on the big screen in 2011. I love Depp and especially like to watch him disappear into roles that are not at all fantastical but actual everyday people.

Blurb - American journalist Paul Kemp takes on a freelance job in Puerto Rico for a local newspaper during the 1960s and struggles to find a balance between island culture and the expatriates who live there.

I love Wesley Snipes, and one of my favorite movies he's in is Murder at 1600. It leans more towards mystery than action, but it still has him kicking some butt. The cast is great and there's nice chemistry between him and Diane Lane - which is nice because there are a ton of stories of how much of an ass he can be.

Blurb - A young woman is murdered in the White House. Homicide detective Regis (Wesley Snipes) investigates while Secret Service works against him. He's assigned agent Chance (Diane Lane). She eventually cooperates after a man's framed.

Apocalypto is a thing of beauty. The cinematography, the jungle setting, and the realistic costumes all lend to an eye-candy type of movie. You're going to have to read as Gibson filmed it in the original language of the Mayans and surrounding cultures.

Blurb - As the Mayan kingdom faces its decline, a young man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression.

There you go. 12 movies I enjoy watching and hope you will too ...