The Netflix Stream: Week of August 21st, 2011

My usual sources claim that we’re not getting anything new in the Netflix stream this week. As a result, I’ll be doing the same thing that I do with videogame releases on those weeks where absolutely nothing new comes out. There are plenty of great films available on Netflix that you may not have seen. It’s time to check those out!

Leaving the Stream
  1. ‘The Paper Chase’ (8/31): I’ll be honest, I don’t really know too much about ‘The Paper Chase‘. It’s a well-regarded romantic comedy with a decent amount of talent behind it. I also know that if I watch it, I’ll get the constant referral to “The Paper Chase Guy” in the ‘MST3K’ episode ‘Warrior of the Lost World‘. So that’s something.
  2. ‘Batman: The Movie’ (8/31): Despite what our reader poll says, I will always hold ‘Batman: The Movie’ as a pillar of excellence. If the makers were trying to do a real Batman movie and ended up making this instead, of course it would be terrible. But Tim Burton didn’t direct this; it was intentionally campy. ‘Batman: The Movie‘ is a blast, and needs to be watched. If you’ve got some drinks and some friends, so much the better.
  3. ‘Zardoz’ (8/31): Check out the gear that Sean Connery is wearing in this movie, and then try not to watch it out of morbid curiosity. Don’t try too hard, though – you’re setting yourself up for failure. Despite the terrible costumes, ‘Zardoz‘ is a pretty decent flick. Nothing to write home about, but if you’re looking for some sci-fi, it’s a good way to go.
Just Kinda Floating in the Stream
  1. ‘World’s Greatest Dad’: Okay, yes, it’s a Robin Williams movie. But it’s one of those good ones – the opposite of ‘RV’. ‘World’s Greatest Dad‘ is a brilliant black comedy that’s also incredibly sweet and touching and everything that a movie should be. It also features an amazing song called “Love is Simple” by the Akron Family. Even if you don’t watch the movie, check out this track.
  2. ‘This is England’: This flick was recommended to me by a man showing off a mega-super-ultra fancy computer rig at CES a few years back, and I’m really glad I took the dude up on his advice. ‘This is England‘ is a coming of age movie about a boy growing up in a tumultuous England and falling in with a group of skinheads. Of course, this was before skinhead was synonymous with racist prick, so they start out as a pretty cool group of guys. Then it gets bad. Really bad.
  3. ‘Not Quite Hollywood’: I feel like I’ve mentioned this before, but if you’re a fan of bad movies, exploitation movies and horror movies, then you need to see ‘Not Quite Hollywood’. It’s a documentary on Australian cinema that takes you through the incredibly strange films to come out of the country. Not surprisingly, Quentin Tarantino knows and loves all of them.

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