Tag Archives: instant gratification

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: “The Interrupters” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix right now

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It’s the beginning of July, and at the start of the month a lot of new movies usually go up on Netflix Instant. This time around it looks like a bonanza of good films from the ’70s and ’80s just became available along with some newer ones.

Pick of the week: “The Interrupters” — This documentary from Steve James (“Hoop Dreams”) was one of my favorite films of 2011, an intimate look inside crime in inner-city Chicago through the eyes of ex-gang members who now work to prevent violence before it starts. It will change the way you look at inner-city crime — how it starts, and how it might be stopped.

Thriller of the week: “The Parallax View” — One of the great conspiracy thrillers of the ’70s stars Warren Beatty as a journalist looking into an assassination, and uncovering a sinister cabal that seems to control all aspects of public life. Highly recommended.

Western of the week: “Breakheart Pass” — I’m a sucker for this 1974 film, as much mystery as Western, as Charles Bronson plays a prisoner on a train heading to a remote outpost and finds few people on the train are really what they say. Including himself.

Drama of the week: “The Boxer” — This film from director Jim Sheridan (“My Left Foot”) has a great performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as a former IRA member trying to go straight and open a gym for Irish youth, but is bedeviled by his past.

Animated film of the week: “Tokyo Godfathers” — In this gorgeous anime remake of the Western “Three Godfathers,” three oddballs find an abandoned baby and try to track down its parents.

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

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Pick of the week: “Super” — My full review is here. With “Man of Steel’ setting records in theaters, it’s a great time to revisit James Gunn’s funny and twisted demolition of the superhero mythos. When his wife (Liv Tyler) leaves him for a drug dealer (Kevin Bacon) Rainn Wilson’s troubled fry cook dons a costume and becomes the Crimson Bolt. Only he’s less masked avenger and more psychotic assaulter, with an even more sociopathic sidekick (Ellen Page) in tow.

Cult hit of the week: “Miami Connection” — The UW-Cinematheque recently featured this cheesy ’80s action film as part of its Marquee Monday series, so you know it’s good. When motorcycle ninjas flood Florida with drugs, it’s up to a martial arts rock band to fight back. Classic so-bad-it’s-great flick.

Comedy of the week: “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” — Back in 1982, Steve Martin and director Carl Reiner made this interesting and clever experiment, a noir parody that intercuts Martin into clips from dozens of classic movies, letting him banter with the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Veronica Lake. The more you know the source material, the funnier it is.

Documentary of the week: “How to Grow a Band” — As a big fan of Nickel Creek, I was fascinated to see this new documentary about mandolin player Chris Thile, and his evolution into his new project The Punch Brothers.

Action movie of the week: “13 Assassins” — My full review is here. — Takashi Miike’s bloody and largely reverent ode to samurai epics tells the tale of a ragtag band of samurai who plot to ambush a psychopathic lord and his 100 soldiers. The end of the film is a bravura 40-minute battle, where swords, arrows and even a stampede of flaming bulls are all employed as weapons.

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

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Sure, I’m watching the new episodes of “Arrested Development” on Netflix like everybody else is. But eventually, we’ll get through them, or at least need a break from binge-watching them. And when that happens, the Instant Gratification column is there!

Pick of the week: “The Intouchables”: My full review is here. Not the Eliot Ness gangster movie “The Untouchables,” but the highest-grossing film in France, a slick and charming comedy-drama about a paralyzed tycoon who hires a street-smart Senegalese man to look after him. It’s high-concept ripe for a Hollywood remake (which is in the works), but it’s a well-acted crowd-pleaser that ultimately earns its emotional payoffs.

Documentary of the week: “Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters” — My full review is here. Cinematheque first screened this documentary in Madison, a fascinating look at a visual artist who creates cinematic tableaux that look like key frames from movies that were never made, equally informed by David Lynch and Douglas Sirk.

Action movie of the week: “Sleepless Night” — My full review is here. This 2012 French action film was a ton of fun at the 2012 Wisconsin Film Festival, all taking place entirely in a labrynthine nightclub as a desperate man tries to rescue his daughter from a crime boss.

Drama of the week: “End of Watch” — A visceral action film starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena as L.A. rookie cops who run afoul of a Mexican drug cartel, David Ayers (“Training Day”) made one of the sleepers of 2012.

Political film of the week: “The Revisionaries” — Teachers, parents and others interested by where Wisconsin’s education system is going might want to check out this 2012 documentary, which looks at the war over textbook standards in Texas between creationists and, you know, science.