I decided to make a calendar for Netflix Watch Instant titles I’m looking forward to watching or recommend you check out. Hopefully this helps you kill time or stay home and save money.
If you don’t see a title added, feel free to make a suggestion.
Look out for new recommendations as new release dates are discovered.
All entries are based of instantwatcher.com
Netflix and Disney are now buddies. That’s great news for any reasonable person that has access to the streaming service and a heart that isn’t made of ice. And unlike the offensive standard definition streams made available by Starz previously, these titles are all listed as available in HD. Check out some of these classic titles that have just been unleashed for your streaming pleasure.
Alice In Wonderland
The Aristocats
Dumbo
The Fox and the Hound
The Great Mouse Detective
James and the Giant Peach
The Muppet Movie
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Pocahontas
Stay tuned for more titles coming out of the vault and check out this great FAQ posted at CNET regarding the new deal
12/6/2012 UPDATE: Of course another important aspect of the home theater experience is audio. I checked some streams last night (Dumbo, Alice In Wonderland, Pocahontas) and all were encoded in 5.1. I grew up watching some of these titles over and over and it was jaw dropping to see them in such high resolution. It’s like watching a painting in motion.
Just saw Zero Dark Thirty, its a thriller about the decade long search/hunt for Osama bin Laden. It’s Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal teaming up for another military style film, since their award winning The Hurt Locker.
The good; it’s intense, and feels like a documentary more than a film. Maybe docudrama is more of an accurate description. I enjoy the gritty quality that’s carried over from The Hurt Locker, this isn’t a war movie, it’s a thriller about the new age of terrorism and how wars are fought.
I really felt the frustration of Maya as she devotes her life to finding her target. That was a pleasant surprise to have Maya as the main character.
The script is broken up like a Tarantino movie, there are chapters marking each step of the movie, this part makes it feel like a documentary.
Zero Dark Thirty is a calliope of actors, they just pop out of the wood work. Have fun spotting them all.
At the climax of the movie we actually shift character focus, where Maya was our main character, we’re now with the SEALs as they conduct their “jobs”, and it works unlike Peter Jackson’s King Kong.
The bad; this movie is a thriller and not an action movie, I think people will come in to the theatres expecting The Hurt Locker or Saving Private Ryan. Be warned, this is more about the foot work that led to locating bin Laden.
Also… is this movie “too soon?” The film is super dark, and that’s probably how it was in real life, it feels that after 9/11 there were just attacks and bombings with no real “victory.” The heavy tone remains throughout, I don’t think the mass public is ready for that. With that consistency weighing on the audience, there’s no real arc, with peaks and valleys of emotions, which is why this feels more like a docudrama than a film.
Overall, very intense and heavy. It’s also a great commentary on how the changing in Presidency had an effect on how intel gathering was conducted. We went from torturing to more solid leads and detective work, I just find that amazing, and then I also think back to the night when it was on the news that bin Laden had been killed.
President Obama didn’t want the US torturing captives for information, which in the movie felt counter productive to making progress, but in the end it seemed to help them gain solid leads on where they should strike.
*SPOILER* (possibly) I also have to point out the end where we shift focus to the SEAL team, it really showed how they work, and that they’re a finely tuned machine with what they have to do. For those of you expecting a massive shoot out, you won’t get that here, it’s about tactics and precision, and the way the scenes are shot with low lighting situations coupled with night vision was amazing. I felt the closeness of the house as they cleared each room as well as the unknown of being in the dark. And in the end it really showed how any one of the operatives could’ve shot bin Laden, to them he was just another hostile in a complex.
I saw Wreck-It Ralph this weekend and apparently so did everyone else. It’s about Ralph, the villain in an old 8-Bit game called Fix-It Felix Jr, who is fed up of being the bad guy, so he game jumps and decides to find his own destiny.
Where to start… where to start… the humor is great, lots of stuff for the grownups who grew up with 8-bit games. When they’re in Game Central Station there are a lot of characters from other games, Wreck-It Ralph is the Who Framed Roger Rabbit of video games. I enjoyed seeing all the other characters throughout the movie, as well as the other arcade machines that pass time in the arcade.
The animation is top notch. Each game is a separate world and the characters that inhabit that world behave and look differently. An example is Ralph’s world, the inhabitants of the apartment of Niceland behave in short quick movements, almost with a staccato beat, which is very evocative of the 8-bit world in which their video game takes place in. Then we go on to Hero’s Duty where everything is in high def with lots of action going on in the background. Next we visit Sugar Rush where the world is made up of some form of candy. A standard movie takes time establishing one world in which the protagonist lives in, with its own set of rules in the case of sci-fi or fantasy, but with Wreck-It Ralph we’re treated to at least three other worlds, amazing that the filmmakers were able to accomplish that.
My main praise for this film has got to be the story. The story is what grabbed me immediately, from the beginning Ralph is a relate-able character and his journey is one that is simple yet complicated in its own way. The arc of the story is very very similar to Brave and The Iron Giant. The ending especially reminded me of The Iron Giant.
I don’t think I have anything to put here. Only that people will immediately dismiss this film as being a cartoon and not an animated film. “I don’t watch cartoons,” to those of you whom this applies to… I say, stretch your brain, and allow yourself to experience something new, it might shock and amaze you. And if it doesn’t, then you have no soul and you should have a doctor look in to that.
I cannot recommend this movie enough. There’s something for everyone, it’s a throw back to the 8-bit games that pioneered video game entertainment industry, as well as a commentary on the state of video gamer entertainment today, but above all it’s touching and moving in the right places. I predict a best animated feature nom.
Another bonus is the short Paperman that we got before the main feature, what a pleasant little treat.
It’s also great to see all the other video games, here are some to name a few; Bowser, Paperboy, Ryu, Ken, Blanka, Pac-Man, M. Bison, Zangeif, Chung-Li, Sonic, Q*Bert, Frogger, Princess Daisy…
The new trailer for Iron Man 3 was released last week. With it, and a photo released by Entertainment Weekly, it shows that one of the villains in the movie is “The Mandarin”. Watch the trailer below:
I loved the whole series of movies Marvel has been releasing. Even though some are a bit weak (Read: Thor), I still find them entertaining. I hope this one will not disappoint. Iron Man 2 was a bit weak and quick for the ending. This third movie seems like it will have the same general plot like Dark Knight Rises, where Tony Stark will have to fall hard and have to rebuild himself to be better in order to conquer the villain of the Mandarin as well as his internal self.
Hildebrandt Trading card of The Mandarin
Lo Pan and the Mandarin - Do you think they shop in the same store, or they just like accessories?
The first time I remember seeing the Mandarin character was in a Marvel trading card series that were painted by the Hilderbrandt brothers. It was a dynamic intense view of the villain. it accentuated where his powers came from – the ten rings on his fingers. And it reminded me of the Planeteers, how each ring has a different power. Still, the depiction of him reminded me of Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China – both Asian, both with similar hair stylists and wardrobe supervisors. Although Mandarin’s powers come from alien technology, it just seemed a bit mystical to me much like Lo Pan’s abilities.
I’m not sure what angle the movie will use to play out the Mandarin’s origin and how he can overpower Iron Man/Tony Stark. Guy Pearce is in the trailer, and it would seem like he will also play a bit of a villainous part, much like Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2.
We shall see when the movie premieres on May 3. And with the coming holiday movies, I”m sure there will be more trailers premiering and each one revealing just a bit more of the movie.
Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin in Iron Man 3
Saw Cloud Atlas this evening. It’s difficult to say that this movie is about… but I shall attempt it.
It’s about characters in different parts of their lives and how everything is connected no matter the distance between time and space.
The good; the cast, Tom Hank, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant… the movie is peppered with wonderful actors and everyone delivers a great performance.
What else… what else… the music, the Cloud Atlas Sextet is beautiful. It’s also filmed very well, the images look amazing.
The bad; everything else. What is this movie about?
*SPOILERS* At the end of the movie I was left with this “message”… history repeats itself and it takes death and sacrifice to change the flow of things. How are these notions new to us? A simple message was beaten down, drug out until all the blood drained from its supple carcass… and then that continued for about three hours. A short film could’ve conveyed the same message more effectively.
Why the run time of one hundred sixty four minutes? Several different stories inter cut and interwoven together to create a tapestry of prosthetic make up and wigs. The edits were oddly chosen, we get a scene in the nineteen seventies cut with one from eighteen ninety with little more than a verbal transition connecting the two. The actors don’t even play the same characters reincarnated… the editing caters to the self diagnosed ADD masses of today, for shame.
The Wachowskis are hit or miss, I love The Matrix, the first and only movie of the franchise, I enjoyed V for Vendetta, and I’m in the minority on this one, but I enjoyed Speed Racer as well. But Cloud Atlas manages to lose me on every front.
Also, there’s this; http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/matrix.asp
A rumor circling small circles that Sophia Stewart won a lawsuit for ideas she had for The Matrix, completely false, do yourself a favor and read the full story.
Overall skip Cloud Atlas. Just cause a movie has big name actors does not necessarily make for an excellent movie. Southland Tales had a huge cast list and was a mini reunion for SNL alumni… if the cast is your only reason for seeing a film, I shake my head at you, you’re the reason why marketing is what makes a movie, rather than the content.
My prediction is that it’ll get nominations for best adapted screenplay and best make up.
PS. don’t sit next to a stupid Asian girl who reacts at everything… we know that actors are playing multiple characters in this movie, but don’t point them out every time you recognize one of them through their make up, what is this? A Where’s Waldo game? When something tragic or scary happens, don’t make an audible. If that’s how you are through life, please don’t go to Disneyland, it’ll be sensory overload and your brain might explode… on second thought, stop what you’re doing now and go to Disneyland.
America’s favorite 24-hour diner, Denny’s, will be promoting “The Hobbit” with a limited special edition menu with middle-earth names for their delightful comfort food classics:
Hobbit Harvest Pies (Pumpkin/pecan pie) $2/slice
Lonely Mountain Treasure $2.49
Bilbo’s Berry Smoothy $2.99
Radagast’s Red Velvet Pancake Puppies $1.99
Lone-Lands Campire Cookie Milk Shake $3.69
To go a step further, imagine if Denny’s offered discounts for customers who dined in cosplay?
Also check out pictures from Grubgrade.com (@grubgrade):
The promotion starts November 6, 2012.
Watch The Hobbit in theaters December 14, 2012.
source: Business Insider
Saw Argo this weekend, directed by Ben Affleck, and inspired by true events about six American diplomats rescued from Tehran in nineteen seventy nine during the Iran Hostage Crisis.
The good; knowing the ending of this movie, cause it’s a true event, so anyone with novice computer skills can look up how the real story happened. Much like Valkyrie or Titanic (to a lesser extent), I found myself caring and at the edge of my seat during the climax of the film. Bravo, when the simple act of a plane taking off receives an applause from the audience. And that’s not a spoiler, for those of us who can read, and learn something from history.
The casting is great, I found myself caring for all the characters, not just the Americans, but everyone… the hostages, the bureaucrats, everyone.
There are lots of in-Hollywood jokes, was not expecting that many.
I keep thinking back to the writing and directing. The two melded together beautifully to create an atmosphere of danger and tension. And what’s more is that it was able to be sustained throughout the film.
The bad; Affleck’s hair, it’s a little distracting and it took some getting used to. I can’t find anything to place in this section. But I can think of what people will not like, so let’s go with that… yeah.
Not a lot of action, this film is methodical and slower paced. Argo is classified as a “thriller” movie… with that genre comes certain expectations and sign posts. So the average movie going public will probably be disappointed that most of Argo is a bunch of people talking, much like Tinker, Sailor, Soldier, Spy.
Overall Argo is great, it’s the first film on my radar to scream best picture. I waited a week to see it and it’s still getting applause in the theatres, not sure if at a carnal level that it speaks to our patriotism, but it does evoke a certain emotion given the current state of things abroad.
Argo is well thought out, and historically it’s an amazing story that deserves to be told. My prediction, best picture and best adapted screenplay nominations.
*[excerpt from the trailer, and of course the movie]*
John Chambers: [after telling him his plan to get the hostages out] Let me get this straight, you want to come to Hollywood, make a fake movie, and do nothing?
Tony Mendez: That’s right.
John Chambers: [Smiles] You’ll fit right in!
Frankenweenie is the latest from Tim Burton. From his previous short film, this feature length version is about a boy who loses his dog and longs to bring him back, a modern take of Frankenstein.
The good; it’s black and white, I mean, who else does black and white these days? Love the feel that it adds and you don’t even notice.
The film starts off right away introducing us to Victor, our main character, we waste no time connecting with him, bravo in the way they were able to pull that off. Granted, it’s sorta biased to people like me, film school graduates and what not.
At first I thought, “why make this a full length feature film, when the short film was fine?” But they made wonderful additions to fill the runtime of a feature. We get more characters and complications in the plot, building to a wonderful ending.
There’s a nice touch with the science teacher and his view on science. As Victor’s mentor he’s a shapeshifting one, you don’t know if it’s a good guy or a bad guy, he’s designed to scream bad guy but his message to Victor, as well as the audience, is surprisingly meaningful… wrapped in humor at times.
The bad; not much here, you either love Tim Burton’s character design style or you don’t. Personally, I didn’t mind it, but I can see it turning others off.
This isn’t necessarily a kid’s movie, I’d say it’s for mature kids, kids that can comprehend what’s going on, and see the deeper message behind the scary images. There are some frightening scenes, which help punctuate the message of responsibility and love.
Overall, worth watching. The setting is timeless, not exactly a period piece, but just a timeless suburban small town that may or may not have existed in history, except in the way that we remember it. It was also great to see the cast of the original short film thanked at the end. John August and Tim Burton have teamed up again for another success.
Saw Looper this weekend, it’s about a near future where criminals have time travel abilities. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a Looper and he kills people that the “mob” wants dead, they’re sent to the past where Joe shoots them and disposes of the body. One instance Joe hesitates and chaos ensues.
The good; time travel, it’s got time travel. The premise is very interesting, considering the film takes place in the near future of 2044, time travel being invented relatively soon. There’s also a lot of touches with the production design for this world of 2044, which aren’t addressed directly but are just present. Some examples are the solar power technology, it’s just everywhere, the vehicles are solar converted, and there are panels everywhere, on house and things, a lovely element to make the world believable.
*Possible SPOILERS* Loopers get paid in silver bars, they find these bars on the backs of the people they kill from the future, when they’re “paid out” the bars are gold, this usually means that they’ve killed their future self to keep the mob clean. Joe encounters Old Joe (Bruce Willis) during one of his assignments. This is basically where the time travel stops, because now it’s Joe versus Joe.
What’s great about this part of the movie is that two actors are playing the same person, but they’re not the same character. Young Joe and Old Joe are two different people with different motivations. Typically when one version of oneself meets oneself they are allies, but here the relationship between the two remains adversarial, bravo for that.
*END SPOILERS*
The ending was very satisfying… and it fades to white.
The bad; it’s got time travel, I know I mention this in the above, but there is very little time travel, it’s used more as a device to get things started, like a red herring. Once we get into the movie that’s all we get of time travel. So I was torn on how to feel about it at this point.
On the one hand, I wanted more time travel, that stuff just fascinates me, and then on the other hand, I liked where it was going with the two Joes.
*SPOILERS* We reach the middle of the movie where a plot point is revealed, and it doesn’t feel organic, this kid named Cid possesses powerful telekinetic abilities that are raw and emotion induced. Young Joe finds himself protecting Cid and Emily Blunt from anyone that might be looking for him as well as them. It felt like we left the whole time travel hook completely and are now in a last stand sort of movie where Young Joe has to protect the homestead.
Then there’s the “sex scene” that didn’t really add anything to the movie, and it cut before it got graphic, so why have it at all?
Overall, I enjoyed watching Looper. Got me thinking and talking about it after the movie, but not in a bad way. Time travel movies are always tricky, this one does a nice job hooking you in and then takes a turn, for better or for worse? I can’t say, that’s up to you and how much your mind is willing to stretch and work up a sweat.
Better late than never!
00:00 – The ultimate mashup of Dr. Who, Rainbow Dash, Team Fortress explains why My Little Pony is such a hit. He says it’s a slice of life but can’t seem to describe it.
02:01 – Sonic the Hedgehog loves how much fun and active he is. He’s a gamer and also a grad student. He tells us why he felt a connection with the X-Men
03:52 – two friends cosplay characters from Dynasty Warriors. One’s known for being intelligent and the other is known for being quiet
06:39 – Lucca (Chrono Trigger) doesn’t like making eye contact. She’s behind on comics because her computer is dead. She confesses she got tackled a few times.
08:22 – Catwoman discusses her thoughts on Anne Hatheway portraying her in the latest Batman movie. Harley Quinn is very passionate about her version even though there are many other ones out there.
11:51 – I get severely tongue tied while talking to this Poison Ivy. Try not to laugh
13:39 – Kitty Pryde (X-Men) tells us how she got into comic books because of her dad and talks about being next to Stan Lee
15:41 – Super hero Ariel and Aurora are both big gamers and showing us an interesting take on Disney characters
17:58 – Flame Princess (Adventure Time) is known for her hot temper and shares her secret for a rigid hair look
20:16 – Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) picked this one of the four because he’s smart. Temari (Naruto) is from a sand village and is bad ass. She explains how her fan works and at what point you should be worried for your life. Leonardo is working on some other costumes
23:41 – Stan Lee talks about his latest projects and does some Q&A with the true believers
We didn’t capture as much footage of last weekend as we had hoped. Sorry guys. There’s no costume contest video 🙁
Check out some interviews with cosplay fans below.
00:00 – Steampunk fans tell us why they love the culture. It’s very accepting but remember to bring some katanas for self-defense
02:03 – Marvel Girl and a gender bender Catwoman. He loves her because she has good taste. Marvel Girl wanted to take a picture with Stan Lee. She wants another X-Men movie done right and Catwoman agrees. Her favorite moment is watching other fans loose their cool while meeting Stan Lee
04:20 – Henchman of the Mighty Monarch (Venture Brothers) are a little older than most of the kids out at Comikaze but they just as much spirit and enthusiasm. They would love to see a movie made or a Dr. Strange.
07:10 – Tifa Lockheart is a standard cosplay character at conventions and this one picked Tifa Lockheart because of peer pressure. She games a lot and hopes to one day work for Disney.
10:02 – This New California Republic Soldier (Fallout) is somewhat obscure but still gets recognized by gamers. He wanted to cosplay a character that was less known and he really pulled it off. He’s studying history but doesn’t know what he’ll do with the degree. His flag doubles up as a signature canvas.
13:10 – The R2D2 couple caught the attention of many people and cameras. All you could hear is “Awwwww”
14:28 – Walter White (Breaking Bad) is a fan of the show and shares with us the secrets to making the meth used in the show (raspberry rock candy)
16:09 – I ran into a lot of memory card issues while recording this interview. What a shame. Suki (Avatar: The Last Airbender) wanted to show her face entirely. She made the costume herself and worked on her costume for months. She liked the costumes of the movie but doesn’t offer any praise for the movie.
18:25 – Steampunk Storm (X-Men) is part of a group of cosplay friends who really turned heads with their rendition of a steampunk X-Men. It’s hard to tell, but she’s a bit older than she looks (came to this country in the 60’s).