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My girlfriend and I ended up watching the entire first season of Party Down yesterday. Thanks for the recommendation.
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Feb 21, 2012 17:37
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http://netflix.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=441quote:"The Artist," the most honored film of the year with 17 awards for Best Picture and ten Academy AwardŽ nominations, including Best Picture, will make its pay TV debut exclusively on Netflix rather than on traditional premium cable. Sweet!
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Feb 21, 2012 17:56
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RightClickSaveAs posted:The Troll 2 Rifftrax is really good, that's how I watched it. If Thankskilling is still on there, check it out. Its so amazingly bad. Gravy flavored condoms.
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Feb 21, 2012 18:27
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SKEET SKEET posted:Agreed. Started watching this with my girlfriend the other day when we were both down sick. We finished the entire first season in one long sitting. I would highly recommend it to just about everyone. Yep, it's fantastic. Finished it last night. Bummed, though, that there appears to be no way to catch up with the just-completed second season: my cable provider doesn't have a PBS OnDemand option.
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Feb 21, 2012 18:38
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Irish Taxi Driver posted:If Thankskilling is still on there, check it out. Its so amazingly bad. I even made a cocktail and drinking game for it.
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Feb 21, 2012 19:15
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I've been reading this thread and after much consideration, I'm considering finishing out my queue and then switching back to streaming only. I go rid of it when Netflix jack up the prices and it was going to cost me close to $20 a month for Blu-Ray and streaming. My plan was to go back to both once I got a full time job. However, before I really decide to do this or not I have a question. When I got rid of streaming back in August or whenever the raised it, I still wasn't impressed by the content that was on it, there were a lot of good older movies, a lot of good direct to video movies, TV shows, and also a lot of bad stuff. My main question is has the quality of the streaming improved at all or is it still like it was last last time? I might get rid of the blu-ray all together and do the streaming and one disc, which would be a little over $17 a month instead of the close $20 a month. Has streaming gotten better or is it still decent?
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Feb 21, 2012 19:16
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screenwritersblues posted:I've been reading this thread and after much consideration, I'm considering finishing out my queue and then switching back to streaming only. I go rid of it when Netflix jack up the prices and it was going to cost me close to $20 a month for Blu-Ray and streaming. My plan was to go back to both once I got a full time job.
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Feb 21, 2012 19:21
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Yeah, if you're looking for specific titles, you're going to be disappointed with streaming, but it's pretty much perfect for "It's Thursday night, nothing's going on, I'm gonna put on a random movie/TV show". Pretty much everyone I know who had it complained that they could never find anything they wanted to watch, though. If you're the kind of person who'll order randomly off the menu, it's perfect.
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Feb 21, 2012 19:24
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Crappy Jack posted:Yeah, if you're looking for specific titles, you're going to be disappointed with streaming, but it's pretty much perfect for "It's Thursday night, nothing's going on, I'm gonna put on a random movie/TV show". Pretty much everyone I know who had it complained that they could never find anything they wanted to watch, though. If you're the kind of person who'll order randomly off the menu, it's perfect. This is how I do it and I've seen some pretty great stuff. Take an hour or two to go through and rate as many movies as you can and then just trust Netflix's recommendations. You can usually tell within th efirst 20 minutes if you're going to dig the film or not.
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Feb 21, 2012 19:34
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I'm watching Last Train Home because it's going to expire tomorrow. Pretty interesting, check it out before it goes away!
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Feb 21, 2012 19:39
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Carnasaur has appeared on instant, and it's quite the film. Roger Corman produced it, I assume, to beat Jurassic Park into theaters and ride the wave of dinosaur popularity that Michael Crichton created. What really stands out about the film is how terrible the effects are in contrast with those of Jurassic Park, just a year later. The dinosaurs in Carnosaur are floppy rubber, often out of scale with the scenes they're stuck in, and operated really crudely, even by the puppeteering standards of the day. Also, the final shot of the film is a a burning picture of Alfred E. Neuman, which makes for a nice closing commentary on how you, as the audience, have spent the last 90 minutes of your life. That said, it does remind me of staying up late with high school friends, watching making GBS threads monster movies on Showtime, so there's that.
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Feb 21, 2012 20:17
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For those who enjoyed Downton Abbey, you should also give some consideration to North and South. It's less lavish than Downton, but still a solid period drama, in this case one that deals rather fulsomely with the local, regional, personal and class conflicts occaisioned by the industrial revolution in England (a rather surprising element, to me at least, for this type of film).
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Feb 21, 2012 20:50
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a foolish pianist posted:Carnasaur has appeared on instant, and it's quite the film. Roger Corman produced it, I assume, to beat Jurassic Park into theaters and ride the wave of dinosaur popularity that Michael Crichton created. Is this the one with a woman giving birth to a dinosaur at one point?
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Feb 21, 2012 20:59
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Drewsky posted:Is this the one with a woman giving birth to a dinosaur at one point? More than one point, actually. It's a hell of a film.
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Feb 21, 2012 21:05
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weekly font posted:This is how I do it and I've seen some pretty great stuff. Take an hour or two to go through and rate as many movies as you can and then just trust Netflix's recommendations. You can usually tell within th efirst 20 minutes if you're going to dig the film or not. It's pretty beneficial to indie filmmakers in this way. The lack of major releases forces people to explore and try things they normally wouldn't, which can't be a bad thing. And there's so many great TV shows on there anyway that it's hard to complain. Although I still mourn the loss of the Criterion goldmine (It's Netflix or Huluplus, not both  ).Also, The Bicycle Thief is still available to stream. Everybody watch it, and then feel miserable, but love it anyway!
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Feb 21, 2012 23:09
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Crappy Jack posted:I also love how Downton features the exact same acceptance arc for every person I know who has watched it; starts off wondering why they're watching this soap opera bullshit, shocked gasp at the end of the first episode, and then at some point they find themselves legitimately shocked at the fact that the daughter is wearing pants because THINK OF THE SCANDAL. Downton kind of reminds me of West Wing in that the main characters are all super nice and want to do the right thing almost all of the time.
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Feb 21, 2012 23:24
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a foolish pianist posted:More than one point, actually. It's a hell of a film. I'm going to have to watch it again. I was a huge fan of Jurassic Park as a kid and I remember my parents renting this for me and my brother because they thought it would be similar, had dinosaurs etc. It wasn't at all similar.
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Feb 21, 2012 23:34
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Just watched The Weather Man and drat, I was impressed. Funny, bleak, made you think, and I really cared about Nicholas Cage's character, Dave Spritz. I gave it 5 stars, just because I want to see more films with the balls that The Weather Man did. I was just wondering, to anyone who's seen, what messages did you take away from it? IMDB/Wiki, can't remember which, seemed to think that Caine's 'chucking things' line was in reference to shedding the rubbish in our lives, but I took it as everyone needing something to take their misery out on. That thing, often, being Dave Spritz. It certainly seemed like it was a commentary on empty consumerist lifestyles, but I thought that it seemed more about people finding and coping with their lot in life and who they are, and perhaps even accepting it, even if it does mean that a lot of things didn't go to plan. It certainly seemed more to speak to the middle classes than the working classes though; I imagine a person living on the bread line would feel a bit cheated at how miserable Dave was despite having a great deal of money. Am I reading too much into it? I don't know, I'm not usually one for analysing films in much depth, this one just left me with the feeling there was even more too it. Oh, and I also found it very, very funny in places too, and Cage's narration was good.
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Feb 22, 2012 00:31
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maxnmona posted:My girlfriend and I ended up watching the entire first season of Party Down yesterday. Thanks for the recommendation. I've seen it mentioned to skip the 2nd season. I don't know who said it but I'm loving it. The fist episode of the 2nd season had me on the floor.
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Feb 22, 2012 00:57
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Jakabite posted:Just watched The Weather Man and drat, I was impressed. Funny, bleak, made you think, and I really cared about Nicholas Cage's character, Dave Spritz. I gave it 5 stars, just because I want to see more films with the balls that The Weather Man did. I absolutely loved it as well. One of the details I enjoyed picking up on was how his job as a weatherman is basically a reflection on chaos; it's unpredictable, Dave feels like he can't get a grasp on it, that anybody could do his job. As he says "It's just wind". Meanwhile his growing fascination with archery is because it stands on the opposite scale; rather than being about guesswork and uncertainty, he loves archery because it's about focus and precision, and uses that focus and precision to appreciate the chaos. It sounds awful pretentious when I type it out, but I liked how it approached those themes without ever making it feel too obvious; much like how the thawing of winter works as a reflection of the end of Dave's winter of the soul, as it were.
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Feb 22, 2012 01:00
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Crappy Jack posted:I absolutely loved it as well. One of the details I enjoyed picking up on was how his job as a weatherman is basically a reflection on chaos; it's unpredictable, Dave feels like he can't get a grasp on it, that anybody could do his job. As he says "It's just wind". Meanwhile his growing fascination with archery is because it stands on the opposite scale; rather than being about guesswork and uncertainty, he loves archery because it's about focus and precision, and uses that focus and precision to appreciate the chaos. The biggest thing I took from that film was the subliminal camel toe. Then again, I haven't watched it since it came out.
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Feb 22, 2012 01:39
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It took all my strength to avoid mentioning it, so thank you for taking care of that for me.
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Feb 22, 2012 01:56
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TrixRabbi posted:Also, The Bicycle Thief is still available to stream. Everybody watch it, and then feel miserable, but love it anyway! Horribly depressing, but yes, an amazing film that everyone should watch.
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Feb 22, 2012 03:35
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Gaunab posted:I know everyone has probably seen it but I finally got around to watching X-Files and while the first season was a bit hard to get through, it really picks up during the second season. I love how the comedy themed episodes are sort of a precursor to the one's in shows like Supernatural. I'm watching the one with Luke Wilson right now and I'm loving it. I just found out that Netflix keeps track of everything you've seen on Instant, so I combed back through some of the stuff I watched a year or two ago when I first got Netflix. These are a couple that are still available, sorry if any have been covered already, I Ctrl+F'ed through the last several pages and didn't see them mentioned. Just Another Love Story - Don't let the amnesia plot scare you away, this is a really good Danish crime/noir/love story. Antibodies -Ignore the awful cover art on the site. This is a German movie that has a lot more in common with Silence of the Lambs than... whatever it is the cover is trying to sell. World's Greatest Dad - This is a really overlooked dark comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait, it has some of the most horribly funny scenes I've seen in a recent comedy. Robin Williams is refreshingly non-Robin Williams-esque, and brings just the right amount of seriousness to sell his role.
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Feb 22, 2012 04:27
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Just a heads-up reminder that the deal with Starz expires next week. You have just over a week to watch any of the Starz Play stuff. There's also the usual batch of films expiring on March 1st. I wish I could edit my queue from the game systems since this information shows up on them earlier.
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Feb 22, 2012 04:29
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RightClickSaveAs posted:World's Greatest Dad - This is a really overlooked dark comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait, it has some of the most horribly funny scenes I've seen in a recent comedy. Robin Williams is refreshingly non-Robin Williams-esque, and brings just the right amount of seriousness to sell his role. I love World's Greatest Dad. It's such a terrific dark comedy.
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Feb 22, 2012 06:37
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Discount Viscount posted:Just a heads-up reminder that the deal with Starz expires next week. You have just over a week to watch any of the Starz Play stuff. There's also the usual batch of films expiring on March 1st. I wish I could edit my queue from the game systems since this information shows up on them earlier. If you haven't, everyone should watch the first season of Spartacus. The first two episodes, admittedly, are amazingly bad. You'll be going "Wow, sure am glad I listened to that loser Leper Residue about what to watch." The third episode is average, and ok. Then it starts getting really good in the fourth episode. From there, it's just better and better. I would say I rank the show up there with Deadwood and Carnivale, but for different reasons. Lots of violence, nudity (men and women) and spectacular dialogue. There's a certain subtle level of cheesiness that runs through the show (which it's aware of), and it positively saves it and excels it to the next level. The first blu ray I bought I love it so much. And Andy Whitfield is just so dreamy. There was a man who loved his craft.
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Feb 22, 2012 07:52
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Zero Karizma posted:I love World's Greatest Dad. It's such a terrific dark comedy. It was really good. For people interested, don't read the synopsis. It gives everything away.
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Feb 22, 2012 08:05
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I love, LOVE World's Greatest Dads' box art. So hilariously misleading.
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Feb 22, 2012 08:36
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Hewlett posted:The biggest thing I took from that film was the subliminal camel toe. Then again, I haven't watched it since it came out. Oh god that had me in fits of laughter. I agree with you there Jack, how it was never made obvious, and it never went 'THIS IS SYMBOLISM' like a lot of films would. The whole film felt pretty much realistic, there was nothing really far fetched in there. Which is saying something when it's Nic Cage I suppose. Fantastic.
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Feb 22, 2012 09:02
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Christoff posted:I've seen it mentioned to skip the 2nd season. I don't know who said it but I'm loving it. The fist episode of the 2nd season had me on the floor. I don't know why anyone would say that. The second season is great. I can't imagine someone seeing the Guttenburg episode and telling everyone not to watch.
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Feb 22, 2012 09:07
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How much is Downton Abbey about British people of the past being specifically British? As in, how much Britishness is really in it?
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Feb 22, 2012 11:48
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Several good movies: Orson Welles on Netflix You can't claim there's "no good movies on Netflix" when you have The Trial, The Third Man, and The Stranger. I've heard Catch-22 is a good adaptation but I haven't seen it. Also, it's odd that The Stranger is part of the Starz package, but they have another, non-Starz version up as well. And I'd recommend In the Mood For Love before Starz goes away.
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Feb 22, 2012 18:25
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cheerfullydrab posted:How much is Downton Abbey about British people of the past being specifically British? As in, how much Britishness is really in it? It takes place in America, actually; the wife is a born American, pretty much everyone else isn't. It's not so much about British people being British so much as being about that period of time where a bunch of British people were becoming American. Except Maggie Smith and the mom from Shaun of the Dead, who are basically two awesome bickering British ladies who hate the poo poo out of each other in total British fashion.
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Feb 22, 2012 18:30
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Crappy Jack posted:It takes place in America, actually; uh, what? wikipedia posted:The series is set on the fictional estate of Downton Abbey in the North Riding of Yorkshire
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Feb 22, 2012 18:43
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You know what, yeah, I got thrown off because I was thinking of, you know, that boat thing that happens in the first episode.
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Feb 22, 2012 18:45
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Since we're having Downtonchat, I'll put in my two cents. Its a fun show, but it seems like more of a novelty than anything else. I have a friend on facebook that absolutely HATES the second season (which I haven't seen) and posted a hilarious alternate history of the twentieth century based off of what happens in season 2. I'll try and post the whole rant later as I think it really sums up some of the show's most glaring problems.
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Feb 22, 2012 18:53
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SunshineDanceParty posted:I don't know why anyone would say that. The second season is great. I can't imagine someone seeing the Guttenburg episode and telling everyone not to watch. The final line, I loving hate Steve Guttenberg after all that happened during the episode was just icing on the cake. I laughed really, really hard at that.
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Feb 22, 2012 18:59
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n0n0 posted:Downton Abbey is so good that, frankly, I'm surprised that it doesn't have its own thread. I was so hesitant to start it, but my wife made me. The first season is great, and most of the second is pretty good. But some of the writing really starts to get... I dont know, day time soap-opera-ey. I still have to finish the second season though, so maybe it pulls itself back together a bit.
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Feb 22, 2012 19:59
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Christoff posted:I've seen it mentioned to skip the 2nd season. I don't know who said it but I'm loving it. The fist episode of the 2nd season had me on the floor. Who has been lying to you? The 2nd season is fantastic, even if Jane Lynch isn't around.
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Feb 22, 2012 20:15
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