REVIEW: The best and worst of what Netflix has to offer this week

With so many shows and movies available on demand these days, it's hard to figure out which ones are worth our time, which ones will make us put our phones away and which ones we will switch off after 10 minutes.

Luckily, I have watched them for you and below is a quick run-down of plot, cast etc. to give you an idea of whether or not they're up your alley

Eric

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the enraged, narcissistic, alcohol guzzling puppeteer for famous kid's show 'Good Day Sunshine', whose nine-year-old son goes missing in 1980s New York.

Cumberbatch really embodies the selfishness of his character, Vincent, who is struggling to accept the shifting tides of his beloved children's show that needs to diversify and move with the times, according to the corporate bigwigs.

He is in a loveless, toxic marriage to long suffering wife Cassie (played by the brilliant Gabby Hoffman) and a cold and unsupportive father to son Edgar, who wanting to follow in his father's footsteps, creates his own character, a big blue monster named Eric.

When Edgar goes missing on his way to school, a city wide search begins headed by Detective Ledroit, a determined cop hoping to make up for his mishandling of another missing child case 11 months prior.

Cue a slew of red herrings, obvious dialogue between characters and of course, Vincent's descent into alcohol and substance abuse to numb the reality of what's happening around him which leads him to start hallucinating his son's monster, Eric, come to life. A constant reminder for Vincent of the ways in which he has failed his son.

The premise is inviting and cinematically it really feels like New York in the 80s, set against the backdrop of the Aids epidemic when political turmoil twinned with gang crime and a homelessness crises was rife, but it all feels a bit superfluous and flat by the last episode.

Too many characters and too many convoluted stories with shady politicians, waste management companies and crooked cops take up too much space to tell the story that is ultimately about love and realising what you have before it's too late.

Cumberbatch is probably the best thing about Eric, but is ultimately a character with a very minute redemption arc, someone who is in essence a nasty person who inflicts pain and expectations on those around him because that's what he grew up with, another back story that could have been developed more.

At just six episodes, Eric is definitely worth the watch, but doesn't really break the mould in great storytelling. 6/10

Hit Man

Based on a true story and directed by Richard Linklater, Hit Man promised to be one of the best comedies of the year, and it semi-delivers.

Starring Glen Powell as the mild-mannered high school teacher Gary Johnson who moonlights for the police in his spare time as a fake hitman.

Essentially, he gets hired by a client who wants to put a hit on someone, he meets them in an array of different costumes and identities while wearing a wire and basically traps them into saying the incriminating words before the police swoop in to make an arrest.

Things are going great until Gary, under the identity of the cool and confident Ron, falls in love with one of his clients, the sexy and mysterious Madison, played by Adria Arjona, who wants to get her husband killed. Gary talks her out of it and the two begin a secret affair, which ultimately goes awry.

Think Mr and Ms Smith meets Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, a fun comedy caper with a few twists and turns and a heartfelt love story.

At 1 hour and 55 minutes, it runs a little long, and certain scenes could certainly be cut, but overall it's a fun movie that doesn't require too much attention, but will definitely have you rooting for the main character. 7/10

What Jennifer Did

What Jennifer Did is a documentary chronicling the events of a murder investigation that took place in Toronto Canada, in 2010.

The doc uses footage of police interviews with Jennifer Pan, the daughter of two Vietnamese immigrants who were brutally attacked in an unprovoked home invasion. Her mother Bich Pan was shot and killed during the invasion while her father Huei Hann Pan was left in a coma.

At just over 90 mins long, the doc centres around Jennifer and her involvement with the home invasion, her relationship with her parents and her drug-dealing ex-boyfriend Daniel.

The best thing about this doc is that it doesn't span 10 episodes, which Netflix are quite fond of doing as of late, but the story and ultimate reveal was obvious from about 30 minutes in.

It felt frustrating to watch as the Toronto police questioned their suspects for hours on end, bringing in human lie detectors to try and unravel what really happened on that night, which if you've watched any true crime shows in the last 10 years, you would be able to extract all of that information for yourself.

Still, a very weird story of how obsession and passion can lead to horrendous crimes, but all in all, isn't that captivating. 4/10