Category Archives: Instant Gratification

Instant Gratification: “Shadow Dancer” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix

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Pick of the week: “Shadow Dancer”: My full review is here. In this downbeat, unsentimental film that’s like a British miserablist version of a John Le Carre novel, an IRA terrorist (Andrea Riseborough) turns informant for an MI5 agent (Clive Owen). The film, made by “Wisconsin Death Trip” and “Man on Wire” director James Marsh, is short on thrills but long on mood, building an atmosphere of increasing paranoia around Riseborough’s beautifully controlled lead performance.

Documentary of the week: “21 Up”: Actually, every one of Michael Apted’s landmark series, following a group of British folks every seven years of their lives, is up on Netflix from “21” to this year’s “56 Up.”

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Instant Gratification: “The Robber” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix Instant

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Pick of a week: “The Robber” — My full review is here. An Austrian marathon runner finds a new method of pushing his body to the limit — robbing banks in broad daylight and outrunning the cops. This thriller is as lean and mean as its protagonist, with minimal dialogue and stunning foot chase scenes.

Drama of the week: “The Kids Are All Right” — A lesbian family’s life is turned upside down when their children want to contact their biological father. What could be a high-concept premise turns into a comic and dramatic look at family and responsibility, with great performances all around.

Classic of the week: “Giorgio Moroder Presents Metropolis” — Far from the definite restoration of Fritz Lang’s dystopian classic, Moroder (heard on the latest Daft Punk album) added color tinting and an ’80s pop soundtrack.

Comedy of the week: “Love Actually” — Not all of the many, many plotlines work (Colin Firth and the maid?), but there’s enough good stuff, and certainly enough good British actors, to carry this tale of Londoners looking for love.

Foreign film of the week: “Poetry” — My full review is here. In this beautifully sad South Korean drama, a grandmother tries to make sense of her life, including her grandson’s role in a horrific crime, through a poetry class.

Instant Gratification: “To the Wonder” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix Instant

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Pick of the week: “To The Wonder“: Terrence Malick’s latest film (which UW-Cinematheque premiered in Madison) is an ethereal and elliptical take on lost love and found faith that turned off some of Malick’s usual supporters. For me, it is a little overwrought in places, but the visuals and the rapturous tone swept me up.

Woody of the week: “The Purple Rose of Cairo”: A movie hero walks off the screen and into the life of a lonely housewife in Woody Allen’s wistful fantasy, whose last shot is the most devastating take on cinephilia I can remember.

Indie of the week: “The New Year“: Filmmaker Brett Haley brought his lovely slice-of-life indie to the Wisconsin Film Festival a couple of years ago, an insightful tale of recent college graduate slumming it at her family’s bowling alley, waiting for life to begin.

Sci-fi movie of the week: “The Core”: Heaven help me, I really enjoy this 2003 riff on ’50s sci-fi films, in which a team of scientists head down to the center of the earth to jumpstart the earth’s core. Ridiculous, but pretty fun, with a great cast (Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, and a hilarious Stanley Tucci) selling it far more than they needed to.

Comedy of the week: “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka”: I almost hate to recommmend this, since it begat “Scary Movie,” “A Haunted House” and all the other lame movie parodies from the Wayans clan. But Keenan Ivory Wayans loving spoof of blaxploitation movies is a genuine hoot.

Instant Gratification: “Filly Brown” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix Instant

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Pick of the week: “FIlly Brown” — It’s the eternal showbiz cautionary tale, as a female Latino rapper must choose between her art and selling out to be successful. But the music is great, the perspective of a female in hip-hop is fresh, and Gina Rodriguez shines in the title role.

Drama of the week: “There Will Be Blood” — My full review is here. Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic deconstruction of the American myth — the self-made man — is like “Citizen Kane” drenched in blood and oil and left to bake in the California sun. Daniel Day Lewis is mesmerizing as the self-made man who chases financial success and moral ruin.

Documentary of the week: “A Place at the Table” — My full review is here. This thoughtful documentary looks at the state of hunger in America, where 51 people don’t get enough to eat, from the inner city to bucolic small towns and everywhere in between. It could be the start, finally, of an honest conversation of what poverty really looks like.

Comedy of the week: “Zoolander” — Incredibly, Ben Stiller hasn’t directed a film since this 2001 comedy, and his upcoming “Walter Mitty” doesn’t look nearly as funny as this bizarre and riotous send-up of the fashion world. Blue Steel lives.

Sci-fi of the week: “WarGames” — Young hacker Matthew Broderick accidentally tricks a supercomputer into thinking World War III is coming, and must undo the damage in this fun and thoughtful 1983 film.

Instant Gratification: “This is Martin Bonner” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix Instant

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Every Tuesday, the Instant Gratification column selects five films new to Netflix Instant for your streaming pleasure. If you have a Netflix account, just click on the link to go directly to the movie. If you have any suggestions for titles you think movie fans ought to check out, let me know in comments.

Pick of the week: “This is Martin Bonner“: My full review is here. Chad Hartigan’s gem of an indie drama played at this year’s Wisconsin Film Festival, and if you missed it there you absolutely have to catch up to it on Facebook. The movie charts a tentative friendship between two men, one a reserved Australian in his 50s (Paul Eenhoorn) who works as a counselor for inmates at a Reno correctional facility, the other a former inmate (Richmond Arquette) adjusting uneasily to life on the outside. The movie is patient, empathetic, and unexpectedly lyrical.

Comedy of the week: “Our Idiot Brother“: With Paul Rudd starring in “Prince Avalanche,” playing at the Marquee Theatre this Friday, it’s a good time to check out this shaggy and amiable comedy, in which Rudd plays a good-hearted but somewhat clueless hippie type who unravels the lives of his three sisters (Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks and Zooey Deschanel).

Drama of the week: “Becket“: Peter O’ Toole and Richard Burton are just so good as King Henry II and Thomas of Becket, respectively, in this bravura 1964 drama charting how their friendship is tested and destroyed when Thomas is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.

Thriller of the week: “The Road“: My full review is here. Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel gets an appropriately bleak treatment with Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smith-McPhee wandering a devastated landscape, hope just the faintest glimmer in the corner of the film.

Foreign film of the week: “The Women on the 6th Floor“: My full review is here. A pampered French businessman finds himself drawn to the cause of the Spanish women who work as his maids in the slight but charming class comedy. The social aspects of the tale work better than the rather skeevy subplot about the rich guy romantically pursuing a young maid.

Instant Gratification: “Samsara” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix Instant

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Pick of the week: “Samsara“: My full review is here. This arresting documentary is essentially a wordless flow of arresting images gathered from around the world, from sand dunes shifting in the wind to cityscapes full of bustling lights. The effect is a hypnotic and unsettling journey into life as it is lived around the world, from the most beautiful natural spots to the poorest urban backwaters.

Action movie of the week: “The Rundown“: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s first real outing as an action hero was this surprisingly fun and canny 2003 film, playing a bounty hunter rescuing a rich boy (Seann William Scott) from the Amazon jungle. Features Christopher Walken in Full Walken Mode.

Comedy of the week: “Greenberg“: My full review is here. Generation X is not aging well in Noah Baumbach’s dry and sharp comedy about a middle-aged misanthrope (Ben Stiller) who complicates life for an aimless Angeleno (Greta Gerwig). Gerwig and Baumbach would go on to collaborate in the much more sunny “Frances Ha.”

Drama of the week: “Agora“: My full review is here. Rachel Weisz plays a 5th-century Greek mathematician who finds science under attack from a growing religious sect in this parable about fundamentalism. It’s better in its broad strokes than its characters, who are often mouthpieces for the viewpoints they represent.

Thriller of the week: “Albino Alligator“: Kevin Spacey’s directorial debut was a 1996 crime drama about three criminals who take the denizens of a dive bar hostage after their heist goes wrong. The story’s roots in the theater are obvious, but Spacey fills the film with tension and good actors, including Faye Dunaway, Joe Mantegna and Matt Dillon.

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

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Pick of the week: “Arbitrage” — My full review is here. Richard Gere gives one of the best performances of his career as a crooked hedge fund manager trying to stay one step ahead of his creditors, the police and his own family after scandal threatens his empire.

Totally ’80s film of the week: “The Breakfast Club” — The John Hughes classic puts five high school types in daylong detention to find out they have more in common than they think.

Family movie of the week: “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” — Scripted by Ian Fleming, this is basically the James Bond version of a kids’ movie, as an Englishman travels the globe with the help of his amazing gadgets, beautiful girl on his arm, one step ahead of some grotesque villains. Just more singing in this one.

Drama of the week: “Do the Right Thing” — On public radio last week I listed this Spike Lee film as an unlikely candidate for best “summer movie,” as the sweltering heat of a New York summer causes racial tensions on a city block to come to a boil.

007 movie of the week: “DIamonds are Forever” — Since “The Wolverine” cribbed the “I didn’t know there was a pool down there” line from this 1971 film, it’s fitting to go back to Sean Connery’s last outing as Bond (not counting the near-parody “Never Say Never Again.”) He’s bulkier and less graceful than in the early Bonds, but has the grace of an seasoned pro.

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

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Every Tuesday, I pick out five movies that have just become available for streaming on Netflix and recommend them for the Instant Gratification column. The start of a month usually means a whole lot of new movies on Netflix, and the start of August has brought a bevy of strong titles, both relatively recent and classic films.

Pick of the week: “Zodiac” — David Fincher’s exploration of the long, twisty, tortured investigation into the notorious San Francisco killer is a study in obsession, both in the killer’s mania and the dogged determination of detectives and reporters (including a tragic Robert Downey. Jr.) to find him.

Documentary of the week: “Tabloid” — UW grad Errol Morris’ account of a sleazy British tabloid sex scandal involves sadomasochism, kidnapping and cloned puppies. In other words, this isn’t serious “Fog of War” Morris, but a daffy and enjoyable look at some very offbeat characters.

Comedy of the week: “Running Scared” — This 1985 action-comedy gets both half of the hyphen just right, mixing some very funny camaraderie between cops Billy Crystal and the late Gregory Hines with some terrific action scenes, especially a car chase that ends up on the Chicago “L” lines.

Drama of the week: “Flesh and Bone” — This 1993 Texas noir features a fine performance by Dennis Quaid as a man haunted by his serial killer father (a chilling James Caan). The movie also features a breakout performance by a young Gwyneth Paltrow.

007 of the week: “The Living Daylights” — Netflix posted a bunch of Bond movies last week, so after certified classics like “Goldfinger” and “From Russia With Love,” may I suggest Timothy Dalton’s first outing as 007. The 1987 film features great action and a mostly believable plot, and Dalton’s simmering 007 points the way to to wear Daniel Craig would go decades later.

Instant Gratification: “Shut Up and Play the Hits” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix Instant

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“Shut Up and Play the Hits” — My full review is here. This farewell to the dance-rock band LCD Soundsystem is unusually revealing, mixing a concert film of the band’s final Madison Square Garden shows with morning-after footage of frontman James Murphy, whose reasons for ending the band at the cusp of mainstream success seem tortured and self-defeating.

“The Jeffery Dahmer Files” — My full review is here. This experimental documentary from Chris James Robinson, who grew up partly in Madison, mixes interviews with three people involved in Dahmer’s crimes (including detective Pat Kennedy, who died in April) with re-enactment footage of Dahmer walking around Milwaukee, nonchalantly purchasing supplies for his gruesome crimes. It’s the restraint that makes the film so chilling.

“Lore” — My full review is here. With their Nazi parents seized by the Allies, five German siblings go on the run in a strange and haunting film that’s part family drama, part fairy tale, and part psychological study of how evil can be passed down generation to generation, and rejected.

“Intolerable Cruelty” — Unquestionably one of the lesser Coen Brothers movies, but still a lot of fun, as George Clooney plays a hotshot divorce lawyer who meets his match in serial bride Catherine Zeta-Jones.

“The Ice Harvest” — Director Harold Ramis takes a surprising but satisfying detour into noir, as John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton play down-on-their luck guys on the run from the mob. Oliver Platt’s cameo is priceless.

Instant Gratification: “Charles Bradley: Soul of America” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix Instant

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Pick of the week: “Charles Bradley: Soul of America” — A former James Brown impersonator, Bradley has grown into a soul music force of nature in the twilight of his life, and this affecting documentary looks at both his recent success and the long, hard road that led up to it.

Action film of the week: “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame” — My full review is here. Legendary Hong Kong director Tsui Hark mixes martial arts and Sherlock Holmes-style mystery in this lavish tale, as a 7th-century gumshoe looks into a conspiracy to assassinate the Empress.

Sci-fi film of the week: “The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra” — This film is a deliberately bad parody of cheesy ’50s sci-fi movies, as scientists compete with each other for control of a valuable alien substance.

Comedy of the week: “Heaven Can Wait” — Warren Beatty plays an easygoing quarterback who gets zapped into the after life before his time in this witty 1978 comedy, which also includes the invaluable Charles Grodin and Dyan Cannon.

TV show of the week: “Orange is the New Black” — I don’t normally do TV shows on Instant Gratification, but I have to sing the praises of this great Netflix Original series, starring Taylor Schilling as a privileged woman who goes to a federal women’s prison for a year. It’s absolutely nothing like you would think of “women’s prison drama” would be — it’s funny, insightful and often very moving.