The Netflix Stream: Week of March 27th, 2011

With the end of every month comes a content shakeup at Netflix, and this month is as big as any. We lose some good titles, but we’re gaining a lot in return, including just about every Bond movie ever made. Instant Watcher lists several very big television shows like ‘Firefly’ leaving the stream, but without confirmation from Netflix in the form of a “Streaming Until:” tag, I’m hesitant to say that those are actually leaving. Since so many are unconfirmed, I’m listing only those with Netflix pages that state that streaming is coming or going.

Leaving the Stream
  1. ‘Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex but Were Afraid to Ask’ (4/1):Everything You Always Wanted to Know..‘ isn’t one of Woody Allen’s serious films – not by a long shot. It’s more slapstick and zany, almost like a ‘Kentucky Fried Movie’, but with more scenes of Gene Wilder falling in love with a sheep. It’s a lot of fun and worth checking out. Just don’t expect ‘Annie Hall’.
  2. ‘The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter’ (4/1): Call me a heathen if you want. I’ve always considered the second film in this series to be better than the first. Like in the first movie, Bastian ends up in Fantasia because of troubles in his real life. He overcomes adversity, saves the day, and ends up as a hero. Some folks hate this movie, but I love it. If you liked the first, give ‘NeverEnding Story II‘ a try.
Entering the Stream
  1. ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’ (4/1): It’s not a brand new flick, but it’s about as close to new as you’re going to get streaming. ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’ is an excellent comedy starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry and the normally underused Craig Robinson. It’s raunchy and crazy and has a strangely cool rendition of a song by the Black Eyed Peas. It’s a little wackier than ‘The Hangover’ and I think it’s a better movie overall. (Read Blu-ray review.)
  2. James Bond (4/1): A good selection of Bond movies come to streaming on the first of April. These include ‘For Your Eyes Only’, ‘Licence to Kill’, ‘Thunderball’, ‘Moonraker’, and ‘You Only Live Twice’. The highlight for me is ‘Diamonds are Forever‘. It doesn’t hold up at all when compared to the Daniel Craig movies, but Charles Gray makes a fantastic bad guy, and I can’t not enjoy Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint.

9 comments

  1. Evan Withrow

    Yay for hot tub time machine. Saw it in theaters and didn’t think it was worth a purchase but wanted to see it again. Thanks for the heads up.

  2. matt

    I read a couple months ago that the entire Star Trek TV catalog would begin streaming this month…but have not seen a followup from the multiple sites that broke the news nor have I seen a date. I was just assuming April 1. Know anything about that?

  3. Alex

    So, which other Bond movies are coming to streaming, Dick? You’ve got some Connerys and Moores in your list and the headline graphic is Brosnan. Is there a full list of which ones will be available?

  4. Actually the press release about CBS stated ‘Early April’ but I too am waiting to see exactly what they are going to put on in regards to Trek. Supposedly we’ll see every Trek series on netflix but I’ll believe that when I see it. I’m just hoping they have the first few seasons of DS:9 so that I can eventually finish watching that series.

    But for now there are some great shows that have been added, such as flashpoint and Numb3rs. Alot of new stuff got added, along with alot more than what you guys have listed here leaving the stream, it’s not just those two items.

    • Dick’s intent with these Netflix Stream posts isn’t to catalog every single item entering or leaving the stream. He’s just highlighting a few items that stand out to him as notable.

      With that said, how did he miss Twin Peaks?! 🙂

  5. Oh, some other items that you absolutely should have listed Dick were “Twin Peaks” (IN HD!!!!!!) thats right twin peaks on netflix is in absolutely glorious HD and it looks better than a TV show from 1990 has a right too.

    And also they have The first few seasons of the Twilight Zone in HD as well. I’m not sure if these are the same files they used for the current BD release but they look damned good for streaming that is.

    Theres also all 7 seasons of the original “Mission Impossible” in HD as well. This is what TV on demand is supposed to be about. These expire in 2013 so don’t drag your feet. 🙂

  6. Josh,

    Understood, and I agree lets not just make a website that lists all of the new items as a few already exist. But I just thought those three stood out especially since they are really stand out shows from their respective eras and that they look absolutely amazing in HD (if your connection can keep up the bitrate). Twin Peaks looks like it’s a brand new show without a scratch on it as far as I can see. Bravo to whoever kept the film in such pristine shape.

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