Flicks to Stream: District 9, U.S. Marshals, Full Metal Jacket

What would happen if aliens landed on earth over Africa? Have you ever sat down, done your best "Thinker", and really wondered? Just so you don't have to go through all the trouble of coming up with an answer, not to mention the headaches, you can find out on Netflix Watch Instantly. Yep, District 9 is available to stream!

Not your cup of tea? Not really into surprisingly quality movies that contend for Oscars? How about mid '90s action flicks that give you no choice but to, "Stay over 50!" Or maybe you would like to see Robert Downey Jr. being amazing charismatic and cool, outside of a Marvel movie?

If you still feel a bit left out, there is only one answer that will satisfy every movie lover out there — Tom Hanks. Well, actually it's Tom Hanks and Madonna, but there didn't ever act together… wait a second… oh snap! Yes, they did. If you still can't find anything to watch, there's an all time classic war movie. Want a hint? FMJ ring any bells?

Here are this week's picks:

Popcorn Movie of the Week

The most surprising movie of 2009 was District 9. As commercials began to advertise this sci-fi thriller, only the name of Peter Jackson rang any bells. Since Jackson was out of the directing game for a while, he was pulling a Quentin Tarantino and "presenting" movies to us. Well, it's a damn good thing he did, because District 9 was deservedly nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and it could have created a genuinely fine actor in Sharlto Copley. Effectively creating a movie that allowed special effects to tell a story, rather than wow the audience (read: getting in the way of storytelling), District 9 created an amazingly touching experience. Spanning the breadth of documentary to epic, a serious accomplishment, District 9 rejuvinated the sci-fi drama, giving us that faint feeling in our stomach that hasn't been around since Steven Spielberg's sci-fi prime. As far as I know, its the first Best Picture nominee from 2009 available to stream on Netflix, so gobble it up.

Whoa. Keanu Reeves. Going fast, dude. Really fast. Keanu likes to spread out his hits. It's better that way. You don't want to be too predictable. I mean, who wants to be Leonardo DiCaprio and have a string of 4 or 5 quality movies that perform well at the box office. That's way too boring. For Keanu, it's all about being the underdog. You jut never know if he will show up to punish your ears and eyes, causing uncontrollable vomiting to spread like a pandemic amongst movie goers, or if he will be controlled, calm, and collected — and part of a good movie. Speed is one of the prime examples of the mid-'90s cheesepuff action glory that I consider part of my childhood. Despite its special place in my heart, Speed is also an entertaining action flick containing one of Keanu's finer action performances.

The One That Got Away

U.S. Marshalls should have taught everyone out there a few valuable lessons. 1. Tommy Lee Jones was as big of the reason The Fugitive worked as Harrison Ford was. 2. Wesley Snipes is a good actor, capable of a lot more than what he has done over the course of his career. If you haven't seen his performance in Brooklyn's Finest, you should check it out. Amongst a bevy or quality actors, Snipes blew them all out of the water. 3. Robert Downey Jr. can do anything. Robert Downey Jr. could do Hamlet blindfolded on a toilet in a public bathroom, and he would still ooze charisma. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be able to look away from that. Would you?

Many times I recommend a movie based on a recent viewing. I don't go and watch each movie over again, because frankly, there isn't a point to. With some movies though, enough time has passed that it requires a viewing, just to make sure it that time hasn't done too much damage to it's quality. Plus, in the case of Mr. Holldand's Opus, I was probably 12 years old when I first saw this movie. As we all know, there is a lot that was fantastic at 12, but unwatchable at 21. So, rather than recommend on blind faith, I took up the movie again. Thankfully, Mr. Holland's Opus holds up as a deovted and faithful tearjerker with enough laughs and good lines to keep anyone interested. And yes, that is Terrence Howard, Forrest Whitaker, and William H. Macy… no need to check.

For the Movie Buff

A League of Their Own has been on Netflix Watch Instantly for a few months now, but I haven't really felt like the time was right to recommend it. I think it mostly has to do with just how memorable the movie is. Now that enough time has passed for me, and probably you too, it's safe to say this one could be great on a Sunday afternoon when TBS or TNT are playing Enough for the 900th time. One time, Enough was on at the same time! Yea, so I could watch the end of the movie of TBS, and flip back to the beginning on TNT. Only one word can describe that scenario: socialism. (Lack of choice… what else?)

There's a reason you don't see a lot of classics here on Flicks to Stream. That reason: it's just too obvious. The beauty of streaming a movie online is the freedom to watch a complete unknown. and since it's free and easy, it's like jumping with a safety net. Sometimes you just can't pass it up though. In fact, Full Metal Jacket was one of the more recent classics I took it upon myself to see, watching only about a year ago for the first time. After the first few expereiences I had with Kubrick, I wasn't sure if the world correctly saw Kubrick as a master. Was it just an over-indulgent hack that struck a chord with jaded film buffs everywhere?

Sweet Streams. See You Next Week!

All movies this week are available on Netflix.

Past Weeks of Flicks to Steam

Week 12 – Heat, Hollywood Homicide, Pan's Labyrinth

Week 11 – Hot Shots!, The Machinist, Being John Malkovich.

Week 10 – Wall-E, Doubt, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Week 9 – A Nightmare on Elm Street, Beavis and Butthead Do America, Demolition Man

Week 8 – Dead Snow, Cliffhanger, Ong-Bak

Week 7 – Pineapple Express, Reign of Fire, The Saint

Week 6 – Julie and Julia, The Proposal, The Rookie, The Usual Suspects.

Week 5 – The Ugly Truth, Out Cold, Food, Inc.

Week 4 – Step Brothers, Management, Boondock Saints