Instant Gratification: “The Bay” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix right now

thebay

Here’s five more movies that just hit Netflix Instant in the past couple of weeks, from an eco-horror film that’s unsettlingly perfect for summer viewing to the brilliant original version of a highly-anticipated upcoming remake.

Pick of the week: “The Bay”:  My original review is here. Barry “Diner” Levinson is about the last person I’d expect to make a found-footage horror movie, but his eco-horror film about a seaside town invaded by inch-long parasites brought on by a nasty mix of nuclear and chemical dumping is clever and creepy.

Documentary of the week: “Hot Coffee”: My original review is here. A documentary on tort reform may sound like the dullest thing imaginable, but this engaging 2011 film looks at the real-world costs when juries are prevented from fairly awarding damages to victims of corporate neglect. The film looks at three cases, including the infamous McDonald’s hot-coffee case that received so much derision, and shows you what really happened behind the punchlines.

Action film of the week: “Oldboy”: My full review is here. With the first trailer for Spike Lee’s remake now out, Netflix is releasing the original 2003 film from Park Chan-wook, in which a man seeks revenge against the mysterious kidnappers who held him for 17 years. Spike, you have your work cut out for you.

Sci-fi film of the week: “Strange Days”: Back in 1995, Kathryn Bigelow made a terrific sci-fi/action film starring Ralph Fiennes as a ex-cop who dealt in virtual reality devices that allowed you to experience the world from another person’s perspective. When a murder victim’s “sim” crosses his path, he reluctantly investigates.

Drama of the week: “The Truman Show”: Or maybe it’s a comedy? Either way, Peter Weir’s media satire, in which a man (Jim Carrey) learns that his entire life has been the soundstage for a 24/7 television show, keeps inching closer to reality with each passing year..

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s