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Hi, all. Many of you all have Netflix, and more than a few of you complain that the new releases are crap and the service isn't worth keeping, since content providers have now decided that customers are willing to sign up for content exclusive sites like HBO GO. What's worse, when you do find a movie you like, the primitive website and wonky recommendation algorithm aren't much help in identifying movies you might actually like, making the substantial Netflix Streaming selection look paltry. However, in a couple of threads, I notice that lots of people are watching more obscure stuff than just the new releases, films like Before The Devil Knows You're Dead and The House of The Devil get re-noticed after lackluster runs in theatres, glorious obscurities like the Jackie Chan/Sammo Hung vehicle Wheels on Meals, or David Mamet's dark and unpleasant Edmond get dug up and even garbage like The Little Cars Trilogy and Birdemic gets on there. I'm interested to see if you fine folks of CineD have watched films somewhat off the beaten path. Here's a few movies that I recently watched and liked a lot to get y'all started. Four Lions  I actually saw this in theatres, but if you haven't, you really ought to. The most surprising thing about the film is that never uses its subject matter to shock, never crowbars in some ill-fitting moral, never uses easy explanations and, probably most surprisingly, isn't mean spirited towards its misguided lead characters. My favorite touch is that the most compassionate character in the film is Omar's priggishly devout brother, who locks his own wife in a cupboard. Rendering the incomprehensible as farce is an old trick, but director/writer Chris Morris couldn't be more suited for that task. It's loving funny as hell, and the ending is oddly poignant, despite being as funny as the rest of the film. Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade  The "L.A. Takedown" to Sling Blade's "Heat," I actually prefer the short film that preceded the quirky feature it became. The center of both films is Billy Bob's opening monologue and personally, I feel it works better stripped down, moody and unadorned. The character, Karl Childers, is somewhat out of place in the feature, which is bigger, badder and a little too Dwight Yoakam-y. The short is like a good episode of Twin Peaks, the film is more like an episode from Twin Peaks Season 2. Day Night Day Night  Julia Loktev's brilliant fable "about the bananas," chronicling 48 hours in the life of an unnamed 19 year old girl (known as "She" in the credits) before she goes to Times Square to blow herself up. At worst, it could be called a "film exercise," given a character completely stripped of context, backstory or identifiable motivation. Many shots of the severe looking "She" seem to go on for minutes, drawing an explicit comparison with another filmic martyr, Dreyer's Jeanne D'Arc. At best, this engenders a kind of total empathy that is very uncommon with film characters, creating one of the most tense third acts I've seen in the past few years. Again, another poetic, haunting ending. Trees Lounge  I loved this movie, and had somehow never heard of it. No matter how often I see Steve Buscemi in something, I never cease to be amazed at how ridiculously charming he is, despite looking like a loving gargoyle. He's got a good track record of bedding nubile indie starlets, between this and Ghost World. Lots of fun cameos, from a super game Samuel L. Jackson (who is always a treat when he's given a real role and not the character "Samuel L. Jackson") to Jarmusch regular Rockets Redglare. The Last Exorcism  "How'd you like a blowing job, Reverend?" It rules. Kickass found footage movie with likable characters who you actually want to make it out okay. People who dislike the ending are objectively wrong.
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Oct 8, 2011 23:02
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This seems like pretty cool thread idea! Crossing over with the Korean Movies thread: there are a good amount of awesome Korean movies up for streaming on Netflix. The Vengeance trilogy is foremost among them, but you can search for 'Korean' and get some seriously good stuff. I spent a good month watching many of them and that a lone justified Netflix for me.
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Oct 9, 2011 10:01
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How are u posted:This seems like pretty cool thread idea! Crossing over with the Korean Movies thread: there are a good amount of awesome Korean movies up for streaming on Netflix. The Vengeance trilogy is foremost among them, but you can search for 'Korean' and get some seriously good stuff. I spent a good month watching many of them and that a lone justified Netflix for me. Can you recommend any that don't involve people getting violently murdered?
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Oct 9, 2011 11:01
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I would recommend the flashy biopic about Korean national hero and Japan's first pro wrestler, Rikidozan, but then I remember how his life tragically ended. Whoops!
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Oct 9, 2011 16:55
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Mu Zeta posted:Can you recommend any that don't involve people getting violently murdered? The Good, The Bad, The Weird: Three of Koreas top actors are in it, so it's a good one to watch first. Check out the trailer on youtube, it's a really fun movie. Is there a way to check what netflix has without signing up/being in USA?
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Oct 9, 2011 19:05
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Gringo Heisenberg posted:The Good, The Bad, The Weird: Three of Koreas top actors are in it, so it's a good one to watch first. Check out the trailer on youtube, it's a really fun movie. Great movie...where many get violently murdered.
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Oct 9, 2011 19:11
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Junkie Disease posted:Great movie...where many get violently murdered. Oh come on now, it's a comedy. It's not like Oldboy where people are ripping other people's teeth out with hammers or anything.
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Oct 9, 2011 19:20
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:The short is like a good episode of Twin Peaks, the film is more like an episode from Twin Peaks Season 2. Speaking of Twin Peaks, the series is also available to stream. I'm four episodes away from finishing it, and I'll agree that Season 2 lacks a lot of what Season 1 had, but during the Laura Palmer plotline, it's some of the greatest hours of television ever produced and if there's anyone who hasn't seen it I highly recommend it. There's also a goldmine of silents available to stream. A lot of early Fritz Lang stuff like Destiny, Dr. Mabuse and I'm pretty sure Metropolis is still available as well. Not to mention classics like Faust, Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. TrixRabbi fucked around with this message at 20:16 on Oct 9, 2011 |
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Oct 9, 2011 20:02
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Gringo Heisenberg posted:Oh come on now, it's a comedy. It's not like Oldboy where people are ripping other people's teeth out with hammers or anything. Yeah, it's kinda sad that when someone asked you for a recommendation of a movie without people getting violently murdered the best you could come up with was a movie where people get slightly less violently murdered.
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Oct 9, 2011 20:57
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 Saw this portrait documentary recently and absolutely loved it. If you are willing to deal with / embrace some weirdness, you will likely find yourself incredibly engrossed by this
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Oct 9, 2011 22:08
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LtKenFrankenstein posted:Yeah, it's kinda sad that when someone asked you for a recommendation of a movie without people getting violently murdered the best you could come up with was a movie where people get slightly less violently murdered.  Ok fine, I'm pretty sure Castaway on the Moon is on netflix. It's about a guy who jumps off a bridge to kill himself, but ends up stranded on a deserted island. Oh yeah, the deserted island is in the middle of a city. Depending on what you think of boxing, Crying Fist is really good too and I think it's on netflix. It's a really good drama with awesome boxing fights that don't use nearly as many cuts as other boxing movies. Joint Security Area is about a friendship that forms between North and South Korean border guards, it's pretty good, but there is some violence at the end. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring is really nice to look at, wasn't my cup of tea but tons of people just love it. It's a slow burn though, so if that isn't your thing then skip it. The Quiet Family is about a dark comedy about a family who buy a hotel in the country. People who stay there keep ending up dead, and they keep having to cover it up. Memories of Murder is a MUST watch Korean movie. It's a true crime drama, but it's just too good to miss. If any of these aren't on netflix, sorry, I'm in Canada and the limit of my ability to check was googling "movie name on netflix".
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Oct 9, 2011 22:47
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If you're looking for some excellent cheese, I might recommend 1983's The Dungeonmaster  Bull from Night Court is some kind of evil wizard who lives inside a computer, and he sucks some nerd into it to fight through an anthology of seven borderline-plagiarized segments where he does poo poo like enter a Greek legend and fight a rock monster. Later he enters Road Warrior, and eventually he meets the rock band WASP, where one of them attacks with his trademark flaming codpiece. It's also great because it plagiarizes Tron in a way gratuitous enough that I'm pretty sure they changed it from something else so that it would include a computer, even though by 1983 everybody knew that Tron was a total bomb. Also interesting because one of the segments was written by Charles Band, who would go on to found Full Moon Pictures. It's only up there for another week, so knock yourselves out to watch it. I saw this one in 1999 while in college because the local mom-and-pop video store was switching over to dvd and liquidating their ancient VHS collection. I saw this one and fell in love. I was surprised as hell to see it on netflix.
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Oct 9, 2011 23:08
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drat, The Quiet Family isn't on streaming. It sounds really fun 
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Oct 9, 2011 23:21
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Motherfucking Troll Hunter, bitches. It's a Norwegian faux-documentary like District 9 about a guy who hunts trolls for the Norweigan government. It sounds completely ludicrous but it's the best movie I've seen this year. It's not some lame-o low budget B movie that's "so bad it's good". It was seriously enjoyable.
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Oct 9, 2011 23:22
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Kneecaps posted:Motherfucking Troll Hunter, bitches. It's a Norwegian faux-documentary like District 9 about a guy who hunts trolls for the Norweigan government. It sounds completely ludicrous but it's the best movie I've seen this year. It's not some lame-o low budget B movie that's "so bad it's good". It was seriously enjoyable. One thing that stands out (outside of the gorgeous scenery) is how awesome the sound effects are in this.
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Oct 10, 2011 03:16
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Gringo Heisenberg posted:
I've added Castaway to my instant queue but it's the only one available from that list. Luckily I've already seen most of the big name films like the Vengeance trilogy, Chaser, JSA, Memories of Murder, etc. I'm trying to find Korean movies where people don't get their head bashed in. My personal favorites are My Sassy Girl and Attack the Gas Station.
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Oct 10, 2011 05:02
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Jack Gladney posted:It's only up there for another week, so knock yourselves out to watch it. I saw this one in 1999 while in college because the local mom-and-pop video store was switching over to dvd and liquidating their ancient VHS collection. I saw this one and fell in love. I was surprised as hell to see it on netflix. I'm glad I'm not the only one whose seen this. Good goofy times.
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Oct 10, 2011 05:07
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I'm always mesmerized when people say there's nothing on Netflix. We completely cut cable last year and just watch Netflix. And after 1 year we haven't run out of things to watch, in fact I seriously don't know when I will ever find the time to watch everything in my queue. We're catching up on TV series we never had time to watch before, there's tons of interesting documentaries, and of course tons of movies! I'm not a normal Cine-D poster outside of the animation thread so maybe these are old hat, but they're some of the movies I've recently watched and adored, though I'd probably never have heard of them if it weren't for Netflix. Mary & Max This is a claymation centering around a little girl in Australia with messed up parents and a sad life. She ends up becoming penpals with an aspie in New York City. The story is about how they affect each other's lives deeply over the miles. Huge tearjerker. Skin This is based on a true story of a black child born to white parents in South Africa during Apartheid. Really emotional and educational about how messed up apartheid was. Snow Falling on Cedars The story dragged a little but the cinematography was very interesting and beautiful. It's a murder mystery with a side of romance steeped in the tension of Japanese people living in Northwest America during WWII. On the less serious side of things I noticed Super Troopers is on instant watch today. Most have probably seen it but it's a great comedy about Vermont state troopers trying to prove they aren't useless to avoid losing their jobs. I have many more but it's late and I'm forgetting. I also looked up some I wanted to suggest but they're no longer instant queue.
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Oct 10, 2011 05:49
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TigerMoJo posted:
Super Troopers is such a great movie, definitely the best from the Broken Lizard guys. I've been hearing about a prequel for years, I wish they'd just do it.
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Oct 10, 2011 07:48
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Jack Gladney posted:If you're looking for some excellent cheese, I might recommend 1983's I just watched this and it was glorious. It was actually kind of interesting and not really a "so bad it's good" movie. I also loved how the dude had a power glove way before Nintendo. Then I watched Phantoms and Affleck really was the bomb.
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Oct 10, 2011 11:20
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There may be a dearth of Hollywood blockbusters on Netflix, but there are plenty of great things to see including stand-up comedy, foreign films, documentaries, and TV shows. The Return  It's hard for me to describe this movie without just describing what Russia is like in my mind. The story is about the reunion of two sons with a father they have not seen in years. The film is saying a lot more than what the plot is laying out on screen, and if I were more knowledgeable about film I would claim that is movie is an allegory for Russia's relationship with its communist Soviet Union past. Doug Stanhope: No Refunds  Doug jokes in his own shows that not everybody is going to want or be able to stick with his entire set, but that's what makes his stand-up so great. This particular special is what made me a fan of his, and thankfully he is a very prolific comic who has lots of material available both in audio and video format. I would recommend him to people who are fans of both Bill Hicks and Louis CK. C.R.A.Z.Y.  This is a story of a boy in Montreal who comes to grip with his sexuality throughout his childhood and teenage years. The family dynamics and acting in this movie are great and, I think, show a powerful yet accurate representation of what it's like to grow up being so different. This Is England  While I think this film would probably connect with someone more if they were familiar with skinhead culture in England, this is still a very powerful statement about youth vulnerability to messages of hate and violence. The unpolished portrayal of the people in this film is both refreshing and disturbing at the same time. The Life of Birds  This is another in a long line of Attenborough nature documentaries and probably my favorite. There is almost a story to this series, a subtle but consistent weaving tale of evolution, survival and awesome natural ability. Sadly this series is only in SD, but the camera work is still amazing and rivals anything seen in Planet Earth or the Life series.
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Oct 10, 2011 21:36
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I had no idea This Is England was on Streaming. The TV series, This Is England '86 is also amazing, but is not on Streaming.
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Oct 10, 2011 21:38
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A Tale of Two Sisters Great horror/psychological thriller. Became one of my top 10 favorite movies when I watched it last month. Do note this movie is fairly complex and might take a second viewing to fully understand it all. This movie does not hand its plot to its viewers on a silver platter- there's a bit of thought involved. 
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Oct 11, 2011 01:55
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If no one has ever seen the tv show "Coupling" I found it really good. Every episode used to be up for Streaming on Netflix (I hope it still is). It is a British Comedy meant for adults. Best thing I like was it had a lot of laughs and had extreme levels of wit. Do not compare it to the Americanized Version they made a few years ago. It wasn't nearly as good.
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Oct 11, 2011 01:55
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DubWiz posted:A Tale of Two Sisters
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Oct 11, 2011 14:51
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TigerMoJo posted:I'm always mesmerized when people say there's nothing on Netflix. Depends on how many movies you've seen before Netflix. Growing up, I went to Blockbuster every day almost, literally, and even now, watch a film or a serial television show every day, and oftentimes both. I've seen everything "good" on Netflix already, for the most part, and mediocre and so-bad-it's-funny, too, to the point where I'm rewatching stuff like Star Trek DS9 in the background due to the lack of anything else to watch that's worth my time at all. Threads like this are useful for the oft chance that there's something foreign or documentary that I may have missed. But otherwise, I'm pretty much out of choices.
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Oct 11, 2011 14:58
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I'll limit this post to just five so that I don't get carried away - there is so much good stuff on there it is ridiculous. Seven Chances (1925)  My favorite Buster Keaton film, about a man who stands to inherit a fortune if he gets married by 7PM. Starts out slow, but it gets absolutely ridiculous as things spiral out of control for the poor sap. As usual, Keaton directs, acts, and performs his own stunts. Harold and Maude (1971)  In this dark comedy, Harold is a young man whose idea of a good time is pretending to commit suicide to freak out his mom. I won't say anything more about the plot, but you should definitely check this one out, it may surprise you. Dead Man (1995)  An anti-western from the mind of Jim Jarmusch, chronicling the adventures of an accountant who finds himself stranded in a ridiculously brutish western landscape. This one's hard to describe - I'll just say it's slow-paced and atmospheric, with a lot of bizarre characters. The Secret of Kells (2009)  Brendan, a young boy, must balance the influences in his life, including the strict Christian teachings of his Abbot caretaker, the creative and artistic leanings of Brother Aidan who works on the Book of Kells, and also the alluring mystery of the Celtic legends inherent to Ireland's countryside. All of this is transpiring under the threat of a looming Viking invasion. fenix down fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Feb 8, 2012 |
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Oct 11, 2011 15:43
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 The Great Happiness Space This is a documentary about Japanese host boys. The host boys pretty much just look pretty and try to get women to buy expensive booze. Its a fascinating doc that goes 'next level' once some things are revealed. Highly recommended.  The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia Do you like human misery? Cry and laugh along with West Virginia's most famous hillbillies. There is some absolutely MESSED UP stuff in this documentary.
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Oct 11, 2011 15:44
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foodfight posted:
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Oct 11, 2011 16:21
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What do you guys use to follow what's up/up-coming/going away on Watch Instantly? I used to use streaming soon but if you go there they have literally nothing there.
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Oct 11, 2011 16:25
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zoux posted:What do you guys use to follow what's up/up-coming/going away on Watch Instantly? I used to use streaming soon but if you go there they have literally nothing there. Really handy site you can use for just about everything intant-related.
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Oct 11, 2011 16:36
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Feedflix is pretty good, too.
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Oct 11, 2011 16:42
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fenix down posted:http://instantwatcher.com/ Right, except when you go to "upcoming" it doesn't have a release until the middle of November. Feedflix shows stuff coming out next week.
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Oct 11, 2011 17:03
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Wow, feedfliks is indeed pretty amazing. It gives much more of an advance warning on what stuff is expiring soon. They are really tearing down the MST3K selection next month.
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Oct 11, 2011 18:11
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TigerMoJo posted:I'm always mesmerized when people say there's nothing on Netflix. That's because 80% of the people who use Netflix are college going kids who only watch things like Hot Tub Time Machine, etc. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but they don't want to watch thought-provoking, slow movies. They'd rather watch the mainstream crap.
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Oct 12, 2011 00:46
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gently caress you, Netflix. They were showing that Dinner For Five was available for streaming on my front page and when I click on it I see this. 
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Oct 12, 2011 00:56
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You think that's bad, there's five seasons of Angel up and one (1) episode is disc only. I have no idea why, it isn't even a key episode. I've been watching a lot of the more mainstream TV shows I never bothered with when they were airing. Not every show is finished, but lately I've gone through Buffy, Angel, Breaking Bad, Weeds, Dead Like Me, Ghost Whisperer, Mad Men, Dexter, and Bones among others. Some really great documentaries on there as well, a whole line of NatGeo specials, and a lot of great standup comedy including everything George Carlin ever did. The non-English section is getting better as well. Most of the Korean ones I like have been mentioned. My current favorite is a little French RomCom (sort of) called Priceless. It's about a young lady looking for a rich husband and the poor hotel clerk who falls for her. She takes him on quite the ride.
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Oct 12, 2011 07:37
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I may be wrong, but sometimes you can watch those "disc only" episodes online. If I remember right, there was a two part episode of 30 rock called Episode 100 that was disc only, but when I watched the episode before it and clicked "next episode" when it ended, it started playing the two-parter.
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Oct 12, 2011 08:39
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The Joker Is Wild starring Sinatra is a very good biopic of singer turned comedian Joey Lewis and his journey into alcoholism after he runs afoul of the mob.
greatn fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Oct 12, 2011 |
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Oct 12, 2011 15:29
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 05:37 |
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 Cloak and Dagger is the story of a kid whose mother has died and whose father doesn't spend enough time with him. The boy spends his time pretending to team up with Jack Flack, who is an fictional international spy ala James Bond, who is played by Dabney Coleman (who doubles as the kids father) and playing video games. The boy accidentally uncovers a terrorist plot encoded in a video game with the help of his friend but, not surprisingly, nobody believes him. This movie thrilled and scared the poo poo out of me as a kid and I still enjoy it even if I can see how some of the plot twists are a little transparent if you're not 8 years old. Edit: oops, while video games would make a cool father, I meant to point out that Dabney Clark plays both Jack Flack and the father. I'd love to go around saying "Jack Flack never dies" but I don't think anyone would get it. tadashi fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Oct 14, 2011 |
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Oct 12, 2011 18:52
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