I have Netflix and I'm not afraid to use it.
 

This thread is all about movie rental recommendations. For those of us with Netflix or Blockbuster subscriptions, renting movies has become a hobby rather than a treat. So, lets put our heads together and recommend movies that people ordinarily wouldn't risk $3.50 to rent (like back in the old day) but are SO worth it.

Here are the rules:
1) You may only recommend 1 movie per post, per day.
2) You must explain what genre the movie is and why you recommend it.
3) You may comment on other recommendations.

I'll start!

Meet The Feebles
Directed by Peter Jackson
For those of you wondering how Peter Jackson jumped out of nowhere and was given the reigns to Lord of the Rings, this movie explains a lot. Or a little, depending on how astonished you are by this movie that you forget to pay attention to the awesome direction. Meet the Feebles is like the Muppet Show meets Trainspotting meets Requiem for a Dream meets Scarface. I have long wished that more people knew about this movie because I love it so dearly.

Sodomy!

Cashback - Short version, an art student and part-time grocery store clerk suddenly gains the ability to pause time for everyone except him. He of course uses this ability to undress all the hot women who come into his store. Lots and lots of hot topless women, great cinemetography, and a good story too. There's a short film available online that has most of the nudity, but I highly recommend the whole thing.

Regarding Cashback .. I rented it before, purely for the nudity. It did not disappoint. Was also a rather good little love story.

Dead and Breakfast - a seemingly low-budget horror fest film that actually turns out to be not half bad. It stars Jeremy Sisko.

I'll add Cashback to my queue.

The Big Sleep with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

The dialogue is sharp and witty, the dark mood of the film is film noir at its best. Though I think it stands up to repeated viewings, there might be some younger people here that won't be able to handle that it's in black and white.


As for Meet the Feebles... excellent choice.

The first thing I thought of was Casablanca. Seriously if you haven't seen this movie, rent it now. There is a reason that it's constantly rated one of the best movies of all time.
It has some of the best written and delivered dialog ever put on screen. The cast is fantastic and the humor still holds up today.
Plus it's Bacall and Bogart, you can't go wrong.

Actually Casablanca stars, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman rather than Bacall.

But it's still one of the greatest movies of all time.

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
It stars Buster Keaton. Uh oh, not only is it black and white, it's also silent.

It's a very funny film, filled with many amazing stunts. In my opinion it's a lot more approachable than other silent films, especially for people unfamiliar with films from that time period.

Death to Smoochy (2002).
Danny DeVito (Dir.), Ed Norton, Robin Williams, Catherine Keener, Jon Stewart

A critical failure; a box-office disaster; a cult classic.

This is a dark comedy that we took a risk on only because we like Ed Norton. We were pleasantly surprised at how funny we found it. We ended up buying it, as it has a high replay value. But be warned: It's not for everyone. If you have an odd sense of humour (and a keen one, at that), you should enjoy it. It pokes fun at showbiz, specifically children's shows. Surprisingly well casted. I honestly don't know why it did so bad; maybe I'm an idiot who likes stupid movies.

Network (1976)
A movie that is really more relevant today than it was 32 years ago. I would call that prophetic. Its about a television network doing anything to get and stay on top of the ratings. The movie leaves you both wishing for that reality and then dreading it the next moment.

I will queue these... in my bittorrent client.

Fido (2006)
A sweet little story of a boy and his zombie. Takes place in a 50's pleasantville-type world after the Zombie Wars. ZombCom Corporation has devised a collar that eliminates a zombie's desire to consume human flesh (as long as it doesn't malfunction), rendering them docile creatures, put to use as domestic workers and factory labor. Features Carrie Ann Moss as "Mom", and Billy Connelly (!!) as "Fido".

How does it compare to The General (Another silent Buster Keaton movie)? We own it, and it's pretty awesome. Best locomotive chase scene *ever*.

I've decided not to count the last one as my suggestion for today, since I was just commenting on sapiens' suggestion. :-)

Today I'll nominate Graveyard of The Fireflies. But only if you're prepared to cry. Saddest movie I have ever seen, with the possible competition of holocaust films like Schindler's List or the Diary of Anne Frank. Also amazingly beautiful and very funny at times.

We haven't rented anything on our Netflix account for several weeks if not months. But the thing I like about Netflix is it suggested some movies we would have not seen otherwise. A good example is Rabbit-Proof Fence. Sadly our teenage son rented a bunch of skateboard movies and rated them like they were Academy Award winners. Since then recommendations have been a bit skewed.

The General is a much bigger budget film with a larger plot. I think that Steamboat Bill, Jr. has more comedic moments and more outrageous stunts by Keaton. The Hurricane scenes are amazing. I like The General, but I think that Steamboat Bill, Jr. is more fun.

The Dreamers (2003) Since we are all fans of films, this film begins with three cinephiles in the 1960's living in France talking or performing some of their favorite scenes in old movies.

And the only way I understood some of the movie references played out by the characters was by renting the films through NetFlix.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (handy link straight to the netflix title ;) )

I hope you've seen this. Even if you have, rent it again. It is awesome.

Wow, that's crazy... I just watched Cashback last night and came in here to recommend it, and I see it's the first movie mentioned. Definitely worth seeing.

Looking back through my Netflix queue real quick, I'll recommend Internal Affairs. It's the original foreign film on which The Departed was based. And in my opinion, it is much better than the American remake.

You mean, InFernal Affairs.... Internal Affairs is a Richard Gere film from 1990.

Infernal Affairs is a good movie, and it's completely different in spirit than The Departed.

I'll add:

Hostage - Bruce Willis is a hostage negotiator...

I think that you mean Infernal Affairs (Infernal rather than Internal). I liked the original and the remake.

EDIT: Cynthetiq beat me to it.

In the same vein, I recommend In the Mood for Love. It's a drama/romance directed by Wong Kar Wai (or Kar Wai Wong). Like Infernal Affairs, it stars Tony Leung. I like Tony Leung movies. I also really like Wong Kar Wai movies. Plus, it's nice to get some exposure to Hong Kong films that aren't action/Kung Fu.

I haven't seen this movie but it sounds a lot like a book I read about 10 years ago called "The Fermata". In the book the guy had the ability to freeze time and used it to undress and sometimes have sex with various women. As I recall one of the problems he had is that when time was frozen he aged while everyone else stayed the same.

Wow, how did I never notice that before? Thanks for the correction. :)

Today, I think I'm going to go with an Alfred Hitchcock film... Rear Window. Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly are both fantastic in this, and it is my favorite Hitchcock film because it tells such a dramatic and tense story with very little dialogue. Truly masterful.

Oh, I need to see that movie again. SOOO GOOD. Too bad Netflix doesn't ship to Iceland... sigh.

However, I did just buy a DVD copy of Börn Nátúrunnar here in Iceland, which I am thrilled about. Is that available on Netflix? If so, I recommend that you all watch it. The English title is "Children of Nature," if you can't find (or type) the Icelandic one. Excellent little film, very Icelandic.

Today, I recommend Rules of the Game directed by Jean Renoir in 1939. It's a very entertaining French comedy/drama about the rich and their servants at the onset of WWII. Gosford Park took a lot from this movie.

never heard of it... the only one that comes to mind is:

101 Reykjavik

guy who whacks off to porn, lives with mom sleeps with her hot friend (Victoria Abril), all set in Iceland.

Wait, do you mean to say that this is the only Icelandic film you've seen? My friend, you need to watch some movies next time to come to this island!!!

no, we watch them pretty regularly... as far as availble via Netflix that's the only one I could find.

we saw Kalda Ljos recently. Scandinavian Center has Icelandic Films throughout the year. Please be on the lookout for Ikíngut as a DVD... we need it for our collection.

in my very biased opinion a great majority of the better films out there are B&W and/or silent.

and for a recommendation - The Inspector General (the original B&W not the colorised print). Excellent comedy with Danny Kaye and Alan Hale Sr.

Session 9

One of maybe three horror films to scare me. It's about this asbestos cleaning crew working over an abandoned asylum. Great... everything. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Ah, okay... whew.

Scandinavian Center... do you mean the American-Scandinavian Foundation in NYC? They funded most of my graduate research, including the current project... pretty cool center.

I mentioned this film as a must see in another thread a few weeks ago: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419294/. It is directed by and stars Tommy Lee Jones. The story is set in West Texas and Mexico and it has the same feel to it as No Country for Old Men, but it is a much better movie-- not as violent nor as nihilistic. This is not to say it doesn't have violence. It does. It examines the banality of evil and the possibility of forgiveness and redemption.

The Music Man

You know the "76 trombones and a marching band" I don't usually like musicals but this on is an exception. It's about a con man selling musical instruments back in the day. A true classic.

I really like this thread. So, another bump:

Today, I recommend Bringing Up Baby (1938) directed by Billy Wilder and starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. It's a screwball comedy about a socialite (Hepburn) who teases/messes with a paleontologist (Grant). The dialogue is very quick and crisp. They are both (Grant and Hepburn) hilarious.

The Last Seduction

When someone says, Fuck You to Linda Fiorentino, she says, No, Fuck you, and you, and you, and you.

I'll second this one. It's a good film.

F**k

A documentary on the word Fuck. Interviews with comedians, actors, writers, congressman, porn star, singers and citizens about the word and why or how it is used and its origin.

D'oh. Don't post when stupid tired. That should be my new rule.

Phantom of the Paradise

This baby has quite the catchy soundtrack and a fun script and actors, it's too bad that it's overshadowed by the equally budget-less '70s musical Rocky Horror Picture Show, which manages to only be slightly better.

Dark City

It's a sci-fi/mystery directed by Alex Proyas who directed The Crow.

I really don't want to say to much for fear of giving away stuff but this movie is visually stunning and a well worth a watch.

Since I was sick today, I did 4 instant watch movies. Out of the 4, my recommendation is...

Stupid Teenagers Must Die!

Genre: horror spoof.

Plot synopsis: All the stereotypical characters (blonde, jock, nerd, and the 2 girls who can't stop making out with each other) of horror films show up at a haunted house to do a seance.

Recommended for its humor and B-movie gore. It was not as stupid as the majority of these movies since it actually had a plot other than just being a spoof.

I've been wanting to see Fido, but keep putting it off. I'll have to add that to our queue.

damn !, great thread. and Halx, tha's really funny you'd kick it off with that movie. I first rented that as a japanese copy when it first came out.

damn that was a funny movie!

I'll go with....
Thundercrack

Genre....horror/spoof/sex/just plane wierdness

From the unique genius team of director Curt McDowell and screenwriter George Kuchar (yeah c/p from google)

plot: the old car breaks down on a rainy night near a strange house (like rocky horror)

this movie is low buget, grany scratchy b&w. features actual sex but not enough to make it a porn movie. it's highly entertaining in terms of plot and acting. I'm not saying it's all good but you'll definatly know you saw a wierd movie.

I don't really want to go into it further due to spoiler factor.

it occurs to me writing this Netflix probably dosn't have it..no way would BBuster. sorry :paranoid:

got another one in mind to post...can I post after midnight ??:)