The first two seasons of Dexter are available streaming. We just finished them and then borrowed season 3 from a friend. Dexter is about a serial killer (who only kills murderers) who works forensics in the Miami police department. Great show.
Unfortunately The Jerk just expired from Instant.
Reno 911 is hilarious and has a good number of major and minor stars playing bit parts too. I’ve been catching up on the later seasons that I never saw after I didn’t have cable any more.
Toy Story 3 is on Instant now, big score for Netflix considering it was just in theatres last fall.
Yeah—it was definitely a pleasant surprise. Sad to be an American when all the best indie horror is imported, with very few exceptions. (A recent disappointment for me in that department was Parasomnia, whose sole, brief bright point was Alison Brie dressed up like a member of Rasputina and playing the cello. Rawr.)
Speaking of … a few great Spanish films I missed:
The Orphanage (El Orfanato): Creepy haunted house movie, very professional. A bit reminiscent of The Others but a better film overall.
Shiver (Eskalofrío): I recall liking this, a pretty atmospheric flick concerning a kid with a sunlight allergy (that brings The Others to mind as well, although the films are nothing alike). But it seems to have been pretty forgettable overall.
The Devil’s Backbone (El Espinazo del Diablo): When del Toro’s on his game he’s one of the greats, and I’m willing to forgive him for Hellboy 2 (almost). This is one of my favorites. Cronos is also available for streaming but I haven’t seen it. Sadly, Pan’s Labyrinth is available no longer.
I’m a pretty big fan of Dexter, and you know what I realized recently? The main underlying theme of Dexter is kind of a retelling of Pinocchio. We’re all watching and hoping for Dexter to be able to make the transition from a wooden puppet to a real boy.
Anyway, we just watched Hot Tub Time Machine, and it was fun. Perfect speed for Watch Instantly - it’s a dumb movie without redeeming value, but hella fun if you grew up in the 80s.
If you’re into gritty crime thrillers produced overseas, I think you might enjoy this 3-part group, in this order:
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Girl_with_the_Dragon_Tattoo/70116686?trkid=2361637#height1589
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Girl_Who_Played_with_Fire/70132756?trkid=1457043#height1413
I watched them out of order (2-1-3) and understood things well enough, but it would have made better sense if I had seen them in order. I give each one ****.
These are the ones I have rated *****:
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Bill-Evans-Trio-The-Oslo-Concerts/70060267?trkid=438403#height1470
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Harvard-Beats-Yale-29-29/70109082?trkid=438403#height1683
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Lonesome-Dove-Leaving/70144851?trkid=438403 (4-part series, all *****)
The Bill Hicks comedy discs are all worth the time IF you’re a Hicks fan. See
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Bill_Hicks_Live_Satirist_Social_Critic_Stand-up_Comedian/70019928?trkid=1457044
It’s well worth watching. It’s not Devil’s Backbone (my favorite of his films) but its really good.
I liked it until I saw Vice Guide to Travel: North Korea (also on Watch Instantly), then I got a feeling of how full of crap that documentary was. Not that they lied outright, but definitely showed you what only they were allowed to see while going out of their way to tell you how freely they were allowed to film.
I’ve seen both a few times. I think both show a different side. What you get when you work with the government and what you get when you try to go a bit more on your own.
Vice Guide let’s you know what it is like, though.
Maaaan, I hate how much stuff expires. Thanks for the catch, control-z.
Toy Story 3 is incredible.
I have a new recommendation (and it’s not even expired!) Tell No One. It’s French and subtitled but it has excellent reviews; 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, appeared on many people’s top 10 lists in 2008. Michael Cain called it a top 10 movie in his autobiography.
After seeing Vice Guide, it’s clear to me what you were really shown in State of Mind and why, making it not a documentary about a North Korean family but a tailored PR piece. Did it honestly explore the hopes, dreams and fears of the family or are they really robots worried only about whether the Leader will show up?
And Vice Guide was never on its own, they took ballsy chances filming what silly unscripted moments there were.
Party Down.
This was mentioned way back on the first page of the thread, but I just watched the series and can not recommend it more highly. It was a Starz comedy that is just great, and unfortunately got canceled due to lack of viewership. I watched the whole series in about a week.
The Trotsky. A Canadian kid who believes he’s the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky. He goes to his dad’s factory and organizes a strike. He agitates for a student union in the school district. He is eventually exiled from the province, where he meets another young man named Vladmir Ulianov. Really very amusing.
I got another one – Doug Stanhope: No Refunds. Possibly both the most offensive and funniest comedy routine I’ve ever seen.
Big, big second to this. It’s a really fantastic movie. The sequel, Lost in Rio is also good, and features Nazi luchadores.
This has Jay Baruchel in it, right? I think it showed at the Jewish Film Festival this year, I was wondering if it was any good.
Also, I’m adding the Dough Stanhope. Offensively funny is great. Unless it’s David Cross.
I think I mentioned this before, but Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and The Tudors are both still on.
Last weekend we watched Throw Momma from the Train. We’re on a bit of a DeVito kick. Billy Crystal was pretty great in it too.
Netflix kept insisting that I would love Black Dynamite. I finally thought “fine” and it was well worth it. Reminded me a bit of Tarantino in that it was just so stylized but it had that spoofy humor without beating one over the head with the jokes.
Yes, that’s the one. It’s really light weight, and lot’s of silly fun. I think the script is excellent, and the performances as well.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, be warned it’s a musical, but if theres even a part of you that can tolerate that it’s great. People around here kept recommending it so I thought I’d give it a few minutes of my time, I was hooked.
Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but Kick Ass has just been made available for instant view. A fantastically bloody, uncompromising action movie based on a comic. It’s an interesting take on the superhero genre, and features possibly the best Nicholas Cage ass-kicking I’ve ever seen.