New on Netflix – July 27th and August 3rd
Sue Millinocket | July 26, 2010
Everything new for you to view!
Well, here we are – summer at its peak, days hot and sticky and a bunch of new movies out on DVD and at Netflix! Let’s see what the next 2 weeks have in store.
July 27th
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (family action, Logan Lerman, Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan) – Netflix DVD and Blu-Ray release (delayed from purchase release of June 29th)
Hot Tub Time Machine (comedy, John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry) – Netflix DVD and Blu-Ray release (delayed from purchase release of June 29th)
Crush (thriller, Christopher Egan, Emma Lung) – Netflix DVD release (delayed from purchase release of July 13th)
Operation: Endgame (action, Joe Anderson, Zach Galifianakis, Rob Corddry, Emilie de Ravin) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray
The Art of the Steal (documentary, Albert Barnes) Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Netflix Instant Streaming
Vincere (foreign, drama, thriller, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Filippo Timi) - Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Netflix Instant Streaming
Acceptance (comedy, Mae Whitman, Joan Cusack) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD
Clash of the Titans (action, Sam Worthington, Alexa Davalos, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes) – purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray, delayed Netflix release
Repo Men (sci-fi, Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Liev Schreiber, Alice Braga) – purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray, delayed Netflix release
Batman: Under the Red Hood (animated, action, Jason Isaacs, Jensen Ackles, Bruce Greenwood, Neil Patrick Harris) – purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray, delayed Netflix release
August 3rd
Kick-Ass (action, Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Blu-ray
A Prophet (foreign thriller, Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Blu-ray
The Ghost Writer (thriller, Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray
After.Life (thriller, Liam Neeson, Christina Ricci, Justin Long) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray
Happiness Runs (indie drama, Adam Sherman, Hanna R. Hall) Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Netflix Instant Streaming
Open House (horror, Anna Paquin, Rachel Blanchard, Stephen Moyer) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (family, Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn) – purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray, delayed Netflix release
Well, that’s a pretty good load of new movies. A couple of big release delays for Netflix subscribers, but hey – you can finally rent Hot Tub Time Machine! Ahhhh, summer.
3 Movies to Watch This Week
Sue Millinocket | July 25, 2010
A few tidbits for your viewing pleasure
So, are you sick of summer blockbusters? Seen ‘em all? Hate summer blockbusters? Maybe it’s time to try something that just may have passed under your radar its first time around. There’s a world of fun, light movies out there, perfect for summer nights, in which few if any items actually blow up.
Most of the film world is made up of small movies with small budgets that few people ever see. They’re the building bricks upon which blockbusters are born – every actor and director starts out somewhere. Here are three of those to try out as we approach the dog days of summer.
Waitress (2007)
Keri Russell of Felicity fame stars as Jenna, a young woman stuck in a loveless marriage and an unwanted pregnancy. She gets through the day by dreaming of bigger things while practicing her art – the art of making the perfect pie. She works at a pie diner and much of the movie is framed by her marvelous creations, often with very un-dessert like names reflecting her inner conflicts.
What makes Waitress special is the performance of the entire cast as well as the unconventional fairy-tale type structure of the narrative. Terrific turns by Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Adrienne Shelley and Andy Griffith (yep, one and the same) pull together the strings of the sweet, funny and poignant film. Tragically, director Adrienne Shelley will not be making more movies, as she was murdered before she could see the beauty she created in Waitress. All the more reason to eat up this one.
Once (2006)
Hate musicals? Me too. But I love Once. This little film from director John Carney garnered an Oscar for Best Original Song and makes all the Disney pabulum of the past years look like schmaltz in comparison.
The story is very simple – two people meet by chance and connect through music. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova play the street musician with higher aspirations and the truly gifted pianist struggling as a single parent in a new country.
What makes Once special is the fantastic music by Hansard and Irglova, the lack of pretense of the entire production and the genuineness of all involved, looking to make a movie with little money and great dreams and succeeding wildly.
Happy, Texas (1999)
Okay, now one that is just plain silly. Steve Zahn (who I love) and Jeremy Northam are escaped convicts that just happen to wind up being mistaken for a gay couple coming to a small Texas town to coordinate a little girls beauty pageant. I know, it’s a ridiculously stupid premise. But it’s handled with just the right touch. It doesn’t pretend to be realistic, it just has a good time with its own farcical antics.
What makes Happy, Texas special are fine performances by Zahn as he gets into his role as pageant director and William H. Macy as the town sheriff. Formulaic and predictable, it’s also silly and fun and light – never taking itself too seriously.
Each of these small movies is easily available for rent and could be just the right thing for a summer evening when you aren’t in the mood for 3-D or big screens. Or, for that matter, spending uber-bucks at the theater. I highly suggest consuming these treats with a nice slice of Jenna’s Kick in the Pants Pie.
Dumbass of the Week – Mel Gibson
Sue Millinocket | July 15, 2010
So wrong in so many ways…
It’s been quite a while since a truly worthy candidate appeared for Dumbass of the Week. Let’s face it, Jesse James is a hard act to follow in terms of utterly stupid self destruction and general smarminess. But Mel Gibson – with an already tarnished record a mile and a half long – has outdone the ex-Mr. Bullock by a country mile. Gibson makes James look like a choir boy. Fine, a choir boy that’s a big fat creep, but still.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, Mel Gibson has gone off the deep end. After his 2006 arrest during which he disparaged Jews, women and nearly flushed his career down the crapper, he checked himself into alcohol rehab (nice ploy, Mel – the public loooooves rehab). This, combined with an apology (that wasn’t really an apology – more like a denial) and the critical success of Apocalypto, saved his sorry butt from the fiery furnace of public scorn.
Jump to 2009. Mel divorces his wife of many years (and many children) and takes up with pianist Oksana Grigorieva, with whom he has yet another child (for the record, that makes 8).
Jump to this week, when Mel dives head first into the insanity pool in recorded conversations with the now estranged Grigorieva. He’s not just angry, he’s raving. He’s tossing out racial slurs, threats of violence, massive blasts of general misogyny and other little tidbits for the consumption of the masses.
First a disclaimer. I don’t think this is a pure, one sided story with Gibson as devil and Grigorieva as angel. It was she, after all, who made the tapes without his knowledge. I do not believe that if we heard tapes of other conversations between the dueling duo that she would seem quite so calm and rational. She wanted him to blow up so she could get a restraining order – fair enough. But exactly how did those tapes make their way onto the internet? The entire internet? Right, I don’t think she’s quite as much of a fair damsel as she might like us to think.
On the other hand, Gibson is a raving lunatic. He’s huffing and puffing and ranting and nearly incoherent in his vast, seemingly bottomless hatred. Who is it that Mel hates? Let’s take a look. Mel Gibson probably hates you if:
- you are homosexual
- you are female
- you are African-American
- you are Hispanic
- you are Jewish
- you are the mother of any of his tribe of children
- you are not Mel Gibson
Yes, I think that just about covers it. Chances are pretty much 100% that Mel Gibson hates you. And me.
Think about it – this man was adored by women the world over from the time he made Galipoli in 1981. At 54, he could be aging into a successful directing career (don’t forget, he owns an Oscar for Braveheart) as well as cherry picking plum acting roles. But that isn’t how it is in MelWorld.
In MelWorld it’s impossible to cork it about your unpopular, bigoted and violent beliefs and just do your damn job. In my perfect world I wouldn’t know word one about Mel Gibson’s religion, prejudices or bad habits. Sure, being in the spotlight opens actors up to scrutiny and that sometimes sucks. But Gibson has never failed to parade his weirdness as if it were a badge of courage and honor rather than a sign of mental illness. That he can’t tell the difference is probably the most frightening thing of all.
Nice going, Mel. Between the bottle, your warped psyche and your intense hatred for everyone who is not you, you’ve managed to alienate the world. Rehab isn’t going to cut it this time. At least for this movie-goer, you’re toast on a stick and your career is over. Hopefully you’ll go to jail for beating your girlfriend (which you admitted) and save us all from having to see you or worse, hear you speak. You are my Movie Rewind Dumbass of the Week, eclipsing any who have come before you with the sheer magnitude of your vile insanity. Now, please, for the sake of everyone – shut the hell up!
New on Netflix – July 13th and July 20th
Sue Millinocket | July 12, 2010
It’s hot outside, and there are mosquitoes. Lots and lots of mosquitoes. So what are we to do in the evening? Watch movies, of course! Let’s see what’s new on Netflix and the wider DVD world for the next two weeks.
July 13th
Saint John of Las Vegas (indie comedy, Steve Buscemi, Romany Malco) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD
The Greatest (indie drama, Susan Sarandon, Pierce Brosnan, Carey Mulligan, Michael Shannon, Aaron Johnson) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD, Blu-Ray and Netflix Instant Streaming
8: The Mormon Proposition (documentary) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD
The Bounty Hunter (action comedy, Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray
Chloe (thriller, Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray
Terribly Happy (foreign thriller, Jakob Cedergren) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Netflix Instant Streaming
The Book of Eli (action, Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis) – delayed Netflix release, DVD and Blu-Ray (original purchase release date June 15, 2010)
Airline Disaster (action, Meredith Baxter, Lindsey McKeon) delayed Netflix release, DVD (original purchase release June 29, 2010)
Formosa Betrayed (thriller, James Van Der Beek, John Heard, Leslie Hope) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD
How to Make Love to a Woman (romantic comedy, Krysten Ritter, Josh Myers, Ian Somerhalder) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD, Blu-ray and Netflix Instant Streaming
Crush (paranormal thriller, Christopher Egan, Emma Lung) – purchase release, DVD, delayed Netflix release
Caught in the Crossfire (thriller, 50 cent, Chris Klein, Adam Rodriguez) – purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray, delayed Netflix release, probably mid-August
Greenberg (comedy, Ben Stiller, Rhys Ifans) – purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray, delayed Netflix release (scheduled for August 10th)
July 20th
Mother (foreign thriller, Bin Won, Hye-ja Kim) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray
A Town Called Panic (animated foreign family) purchase and Netflix release, DVD and Netflix Instant Streaming
Green Zone (action, Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear) – delayed Netflix release, DVD and Blu-Ray (original purchase release June 22nd)
The Runaways (drama, Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray
Ninja’s Creed (action, Alexander Wraith, Pat Morita, Eric Roberts) – Netflix and purchase release, DVD
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (documentary) – purchase and Netflix release, DVD, Blu-Ray and Netflix Instant Streaming
Cop Out (action comedy, Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan) – purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray, delayed Netflix release
Our Family Wedding (romantic comedy, Forest Whitaker, Carlos Mencia, America Ferrara) – purchase release, DVD - delayed Netflix release, look for it mid-August
The Losers (action, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans) – purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray, delayed Netflix release
Just Another Day (drama, Wood Hector, Jamie Hector, Ja Rule) – purchase release, DVD and Blu-Ray, delayed Netflix release
Not a bad selection for the middle of the summer. This week we should definitely have ice cream. Who’s buying?
Cry Me a River, Lindsay Lohan is Going to Jail
Sue Millinocket | July 7, 2010
Actress gets exactly what she deserves
In the latest installment of Hollywood Eats Its Young, Lindsay Lohan is headed to the clink. Her crime? Ignoring the terms of her probation on a litany of drug and alcohol related offenses. 90 days in the slammer followed by mandatory inpatient rehab. Sweet.
The court refused to address her real crime, which is appearing in public repeatedly and purposely looking like an unwashed, dead-eyed, strung-out junkie in spandex leggings from 1984. But since that’s more a crime of fashion, I understand that it’s more appropriately dealt with by peer pressure. Oh wait – Lindsay has no peers, only subordinates.
So why is this even news? We all know Lohan is a train wreck. Her blubbering of excess make-up all over her attorney’s sweater doesn’t make me any more likely to want her set free than does her overly collagen-injected pout. She did the crime – repeatedly, and refused to follow even the ridiculously lenient probation terms – she can do the time.
But there’s something else here – the real reason she deserves this sentence. Once she’s in jail, she’ll get better treatment than she’s received in her entire life. She won’t be catered to, she won’t be coddled, she won’t have a mother who thinks having an alcoholic teenager is just dandy, she won’t have a jailed father trying to weasel his way into her fortune. She might actually have a little discipline, some guidance and some real life, grown-up advice on how to get her shit together before it kills her.
God knows she needs it. Lohan is a 24-year-old infant, without the slightest ability to care for herself or make appropriate, reasonable adult decisions. She has never been expected to do so, why should she learn? What, do we really think responsibility just blossoms out of teenage pores when they hit the age of majority? Newsflash – child stars are screwed up because the adults around them fail them miserably.
Some get through it. Robert Downey Jr. and Britney Spears both look to be on the upswing (especially RDJ). But none of that happened before they paid a heavy price for their infantile behavior. Downey did jail time and Spears not only did some inpatient time, but also lost custody of her kids.
Those who never pay a big, head slapping price for their actions (the actions set in motion by the adults meant to care for them) do not fare as well. Michael Jackson, Corey Haim, Dana Plato, River Phoenix. All dead. Why? Because they never became adults and never had to answer for their juvenile foolishness in any meaningful way. They got their way until their way killed them.
So count your blessings, Ms. Lohan. Cry until you have no more tears to shed. But that judge probably just saved your sorry ass. Oh, and your life. Pull yourself together and stop acting like a baby. Maybe then you can count yourself as a child star survivor instead of just another child star tragedy.
