Most of the movies and TV series I watch come from my Netflix Instant Queue. It has been my go to for over five years now. I like to use it to find hidden gems, but not everyone wants to commit two hours of their free time to a decent looking movie poster. I’ve watched a ton of garbage over the years, but have missed even more, so there’s always something I want to watch, whether it’s revisiting an old favorite, or finally catching something I missed over the years. Instant Cinefessions will list some weekly recommendations based on what’s new on the Netflix service. It will also include my “Pull List”, which are films I’m interested in watching in the coming weeks. Look for reviews of the movies in my pull list in future columns. Also featured are brief reviews of films I’ve watched off the Pull List.
New Films added to Netflix as of 06/17/2015
3 Nights in the Desert (2014)
Antarctica: A Year on Ice (2013)
Austin to Boston (2014)
Avengers Grimm (2015)
B.B. King: The Life of Riley (2012)
Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of (2015)
Bite Size (2014)
Champs (2015)
Curious George (2006)
Eastern Boys (2013)
Gukjeshijang (2014)
Hawaizaada (2015)
High Fidelity (2000)
If I Had Wings (2013)
Know How (2015)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Leprechaun: Origins (2014)
Life of Crime (2013)
Little White Lie (2014)
Monster (2014)
My 5 Wives (2000)
Nightcrawler (2014)
Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer (2013)
Rodney Carrington: Laughter’s Good (2014)
Rosewater (2014)
Snap (2013)
The Cobbler (2014)
The Dramatics: A Comedy (2015)
The Legend (1993)
The Legend 2 (1993)
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Vengeance of an Assassin (2014)
Venus Talk (2014)
When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism (2013)
Ashe’s Seal of Approval
These are the films or series that are on Netflix that get my seal of approval. In lieu of something not showing up that I’ve seen with recent additions to Netflix, which is a good problem to have if you’re looking for something new, I’ll recommend something that I’ve seen recently or that I know will be on the service for a while.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Season 2 (2014)
I really loved the first season of the show but it had some bumps. Tying into the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large is both a blessing and a curse for the show, as the films don’t acknowledge the show and the show’s over-arcing plots are tied, for better or worse, to the main films. Considering the bomb the MCU dropped on the show with Winter Soldier, I’m looking forward to see how Coulson picks up the pieces.
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014, dir. Michael Bay)
While you can read my review for the overall film here, the short version for Transformers film fans goes something like this. As humanity picks up the pieces from the previous film, Autobots and Decepticons have all but vanished. A group of powerful, ingenious businessman and scientists attempt to learn from past Transformer incursions and push the boundaries of technology beyond what they can control – all while an ancient, powerful Transformer menace sets Earth in his crosshairs. Is this an amazing film? No. Visually, it’s fantastic, and it’s full of action, and great one liners, making it a fun popcorn flick. I will have to say I liked Optimus having a realistic take on everything and playing the weary soldier who’s seen way too many friends die for the people who’ve turned on him and his crew. If you don’t like what Michael Bay has done with the Transformers, you’re not going to like this film. I will say this is more a Michael Bay film than the others. Dialogue and situations are much rougher and we see a lot of people actually bite it in the combat scenes. Very surprised this managed a PG-13 to be honest.
High Fidelity (2000, dir. Stephen Frears)
When record store owner Rob Gordon gets dumped by his girlfriend, Laura, because he hasn’t changed since they met, he revisits his top five breakups of all time in an attempt to figure out what went wrong. As Rob seeks out his former lovers to find out why they left, he keeps up his efforts to win Laura back. While I like Gross Pointe Blank more than this film, Cusack still gives a great performance in this dark romantic comedy. Throw in a really good performance from Jack Black and it becomes really easy to recommend this one to watch.
Ashe’s Pull List
The Pull List is a list of films I’m interested in but haven’t seen that have been added to Netflix since the beginning of the year. These listed below are the films that have been added to the Pull List since last issue. Look for reviews of some of these in future issues of Instant Cinefessions. Don’t be surprised if I don’t end up clearing out this entire list either. Even I can be picky sometimes.
Nightcrawler (2014)
Rosewater (2014)
The Dramatics: A Comedy (2015)
Champs (2015)
When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism (2013)
Avengers Grimm (2015)
Snap (2013)
Vengeance of an Assassin (2014)
Antarctica: A Year on Ice (2013)
Monster (2014)
Hawaizaada (2015)
Rodney Carrington: Laughter’s Good (2014)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Ashe’s Pull List Picks of the Week
So what did I watch off my Netflix Pull List for this week? With Cinefessions Summer Screams Challenge 4 in full effect I have to be a bit pickier than my normal whims when it comes to my Netflix and film choices. In it to win it and all that. I did manage one film off my list, although next week may be even worse what with Space Opera week and me not really seeing those popping up on any of my pull lists. We shall see. So what have I got for you this week?
Zombeavers (2014, dir. Jordan Rubin)
A group of randy college kids partying in a woodland cabin gets a nasty surprise when a horde of ferocious zombie beavers attacks. I don’t know whether this is one of those terrible films that I’ll love or if it’s just awful. It is funny, and the effects fall more in the funny end of things than the gruesome. They pay homage/rip-off a number of great horror shots. More the homage, I think, than blatant rip off. This is one of those films you go in expecting absolute insanity and are rewarded for it.
Make sure to check back here on the site for more reviews and recommendations from the Netflix Instant Queue in Issue 22 of Instant Cinefessions!
Source: Whats on Netflix and Netflix
Born the same year as Star Wars, it seems Ashe was destined to be into films with big impacts, explosions, and laser swords. With a love for sci-fi and horror, Ashe has a thing for games of both the tabletop and video variety. He is living a charmed, married life of sixteen years, along with several cats, a dog, and a bearded dragon. Ashe currently writes for Diehard Gamefan, covering video and tabletop games since 2008. Starting with Cinefessions just a few years ago, he has decided to tackle one of his original passions: film.
