It’s quite franky difficult to narrow down the Netflix Instant selection to six. Each week tough decisions have to be made in order to truly select the best movies out there.
Not all of these titles are the newest available, but they are timely and need to be seen this week, as opposed to next. Plus, we’ve got two huge stars right off the bat this week, Vin Diesel and Mel Gibson. And what happens when those guys get in a room together? Well… don’t answer that. Keep your snide comments to yourself (or leave them in the comments).
Real quick before the list gets going, here’s one final shout out to the Will Ferrell cameo in The Goods. It’s not to be missed. You can check out his Five Best Cameos if you wish too.
Also, so far we’ve only covered Netflix Instant, and sometimes Hulu here at Flicks to Stream, but there is some great material availabe at Crackle.com. Our first pick from Crackle is this week, and it’s a damn good one too.
Popcorn Movie of the Week
XXX
Remember back a few years. ”In the year 2000″ as Conan would say. There was a little action star named Vin Diesel who dominated the box office, and the hearts of American’s everywhere. Don’t believe it? Does it blow your mind that the world existed before iPhones and iPads? Here’s the proof: XXX. Bonafide action goodness. Mr. Diesel had a slew of great movies around this time, including Pitch Black (which put him on the map of most movie-goers),The Fast and the Furious (available to stream on Netflix), and Boiler Room. If you haven’t seen Boiler Room by the way, it’s worth the watch. XXX is worth the watch too, in spade. Oh yea, and Samuel L. Jackson is in XXX, which even I forgot about, like a fool.
Ransom
It may be the week of looking back on Flicks to Stream, because here is another actor that used to be a mega-star. Well, he still is a mega-star, but in more infamous, rather than famous ways. Mel Gibson, much like Vin Diesel, could seemingly do no wrong at points in his career, and Ransom is proof to that. It’s a very straight-forward thriller, but it does it’s job — it thrills. Rene Russo has a nice role as Gibson’s wife, and their son has been kidnapped and held for (you guessed it) ransom. Gary Sinise is excellent in his role as well. If you haven’t seen Ransom, or you’ve only seen it on TNT, then check it out. You might also want to check out Payback, another no-nonsense Gibson actioner.
The One That Got Away
World Trade Center
Last Saturday was the nine year anniversary of September 11th. With each passing year, the day seems to slowly move past with less and less reflection, remembrance, and coverage on media outlets. This is the cycle of things, and part of the healing process — the return to normalcy. Reflection is also an integral part of the recovery, but there wasn’t a lot of great art (mainstream movies and music) that actually give us that chance. There is United 93, which is an excellent film, but went largely un-watched because it came out too soon after 9/11 happened. So, as we are nearly a decade later in this journey of life after the twin towers, I recommend you watch World Trade Center, because it is a well executed and respectful look at the lives we lost that day.
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Hot Shots doesn’t need a lot of subtext. The poster pretty much says it all. It’s a wacky, slap-stick romp through all the highlights of 80s action movies. If you were born in the 90s, you probably won’t enjoy it. For everyone else out there over the age of 20, Hot Shots! Part Deux will give you swift kick in the ass to break up the monotony of another teen comedy hitting the theaters. Although, they have been pretty good lately, but Hollylwood just doesn’t make ‘em like they used to. Remember Wrongfully Accused or the Naked Gun series? Hell, even Scary Movie 3 and 4 were welcome comedic forays from “how sick can we be” comedy. Hot Shots! Part Deux will bring you back. Back to the days when MTV played music videos, and Arnold didn’t have the power of executive mandates that affected an entire state of free people.
For the Movie Buff
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Classics are always around on Netflix Instant. Sitting and staring you in the face, these old movie beg you to watch them again. It’s a strange juxtaposition to view something filmed on flim, completely analog, and now it is streaming digitally over a (probably) WiFi broadband connection. Who would have ever thought — obviously not Hollywood because they always showed flying cars, not Google and iPhones. Here’s a classic that needs little introduction, so here’s a little one. Jack Nicholson gives a haunting performance as a mann institutionalized in an insane asylum. He doesn’t think he’s crazy at all, but just in here to avoid other penalties… the staff doesn’t think that’s the case though. It’s a must-watch cinematic piece of history.
The Professional
Our first movie from Crackle.com! The reason I had to jump off ship from Netflix and Hulu is two-fold. 1) It’s always good to introduce people to a new way to get great content. 2) This movie is an all-time favorite of mine and isn’t available on Netflix . If you don’t want to check it out on Crackle, you’ll be happy to know that Hulu has it as well. Natalie Portman plays a girl who is much more hardened to life than she should be. After her family is murdered, she moves in with Leon, a shut-tin assassin. As they say, after that, there is some kicking ass, taking names, and a showdown with Gary Oldman (in the performance of his career). If you do nothing else this week, watch The Professional.
*Available on Crackle.com, and Hulu.
Sweet Streams. See You Next Week!
All movies this week are available on Netflix unless otherwise noted.
Past Weeks of Flicks to Steam
Week 26 – The Goods, Defiance, Sphere, The Haunting in Connecticut
Week 25 – Star Trek, Iron Man, The Cove, Super Size Me, She’s The One
Week 24 – Did You Hear About the Morgans?, How to Lose Your Lover, Kicking and Screaming
Week 23 – Fired Up!, White Squall, The International, The Answer Man, Wonder Boys
Week 22 – The Men Who Stare At Goats, The Hunted, One Last Thing…, Teeth
Week 21 – Dude, Where’s My Car?, Sex and Breakfast, Never Back Down, Multiplicity
Week 20 – X-Men, Airheads, Revenge of the Nerds, Good Will Hunting, Visioneers
Article written by Lee C. Jaster on GotchaMovies.com. Reposted with permission.
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