Netflix Watch Instantly Pick of the Week - 2/20/12

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 sets itself apart from other documentaries and films about the black power and civil rights movement by the simple fact that it was filmed and presented by a group of Swedish journalists. During those years reflected in the title of the film, these inquisitive Swedes went to America to learn about the civil rights movement, filming it all and speaking with people ranging from Stokely Carmichael to the average dude living in the ghetto. Split into nine chapters, one for each year, this is not a definitive or complete look at the civil rights movement, but instead is very much like a mixtape, giving you a select group of choice, hand picked tracks to give a strong impact and overall feel of the time period. This is an interesting look at a very tumultuous time of our country's history from a very outsider-ish perspective, and it makes for a very well done and interesting documentary film.

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Netflix Watch Instantly Pick of the Week - 2/13/12

When We Were Kings

Winner of the Best Documentary Feature at the 1996 Academy Awards, When We Were Kings is a film about the great 1974 Rumble in the Jungle, in which young boxer and world heavyweight champion George Foreman took on an aging former champ in the form of Muhammad Ali. The documentary is comprised mostly of footage from the days leading up to the fight, followed by the fight itself, as the cameras followed around both Ali and Foreman. With the fight taking place in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), the politics and landscape of that country are brought into focus through the prism of this fight, along with the Civil Rights struggle in our own country from that time and what Ali and Foreman meant to the people en masse. Fascinating, well made and above all else entertaining, When We Were Kings is a great way to spend 90 minutes on the Netflix Watch Instantly service.

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Netflix Watch Instantly Pick of the Week - 2/6/12

Detroit 9000

From 1973, this blaxploitation classic features a pair of interracial cops investigating an armed heist that turns out to be far trickier than they initially thought, sending them on a wild path through both Detroit's criminal underground and political scenes alike, with everything in between. What makes Detroit 9000 special is that it manages to transcend its genre and works simply as a great film and not just as a piece of exploitation cinema. Great music, good acting, interesting characters, good writing, Detroit 9000 has it all, with plenty of 70's style to spare.

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Netflix Watch Instantly Pick of the Week - 1/30/12

Videodrome

In 1983, this insane masterpiece of horror cinema was unleashed upon the world. Speaking volumes about sex and violence in entertainment and art and how it is taken in and changes the viewer, Videodrome is the story of a sleazy cable-tv programmer (James Woods) looking for the next big sensationalistic thing to put his little station on the map. So when he is handed a piece of apparent snuff film, he sets out to find out more about the creators. The effects of this film and his search go places where you would never expect. It's a tense, gory, philosophical and well-made movie, from the mind of David Cronenberg (The Fly, Dead Ringers, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises).

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Netflix Watch Instantly Pick of the Week - 1/23/12

Timecrimes

Released in Spain as Los Cronocrímenes, Timecrimes is a super tight, low budget sci-fi movie about what happens when a guy accidentally travels back in time and the repurcussions this one event has on his life and the lives of those he knows. The story is presented so that the plotting and logic of the film slowly come into focus and it all makes for an expertly written time travel story, something that is actually pretty tough to do. Written and directed by Spanish filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo, for whom this is his first feature length film, and who also appears in the film as the scientist working on the time machine, Timecrimes is a pretty incredible first film, and as it is slated to go through the Hollywood remake treatment soon, it would do you good to just use your Netflix subscription to check this movie out here and now. Salud.

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Netflix Watch Instantly Pick of the Week - 1/16/12

The Host

From 2006, this South Korean flick mashes family drama and comedy with big monster horror and the result is a wild ride of a film. The Host starts with a giant amphibious creature of some sort coming out of the Han River to attack the people chilling in the park and to take people back to its lair. Unfortunately for the creature, it decides to take a young girl back for a late night snack, which results in the girl's eclectic family members setting out on a mission to get her back. Extremely well made and full of great moments, The Host is one of the best monster movies ever made.

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Netflix Watch Instantly Pick of the Week - 1/9/12

Bronson

From the director of Drive and starring up and coming actor Tom Hardy (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Warrior) comes a movie about Britain's most expensive and most violent prisoner Charles Bronson (he changed his name to that, thank you very much). This is a wild and intense movie, with a good portion of it set up like a performance art piece, with Hardy as Bronson donning crazy make up and giving insane monologues to the camera as he reflects on his life. Equal parts celebrity, artist and psychopath, Bronson is a fascinating and incredible film about a stunningly violent and fascinating man.

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