Topic: Thread of totally awesome Netflix Instant recommendations

War of the Arrows (R) - Korean film set in ancient Korea. After their General father falls to invaders from China, two children flee to the court of their lord. 13 years later, the eldest of the two children has become a master archer, and after the invaders lay waste to his lord's castle & take everyone hostage, he must lead a small band of warriors into enemy territory to rescue his sister & the others. I didn't care for the fact that they had the camera shake during all the action scenes, but otherwise it's a fantastic film, and hey, I've always thought archery was cool (4/5 Stars).

Red Dawn (PG-13) - Yep, this is the new one. I was a bit apprehensive going in, but I ended up liking this one quite a bit. If you can get over the whole North Korea thing (lol), this is actually a pretty intense action war film. Yeah, I'm sure it's not as good as the original (which I admit I haven't fully seen), but if you know what to expect going in, I think you may like it too (4/5 Stars).

Wu Dang (NR) - Set sometime in the first half of the 20th century (I'm guessing somewhere between the 1910's - 1930's), it follows an intellectual who ventures to the holy Wu Dang mountain in order to collect seven legendary artifacts that are said to have mystical properties, but first he has to get past the kung fu skilled Taoist monks who guard them. It's pretty much an Indiana Jones style film infused with a healthy dose of kung fu, and while it's not a masterpiece of film making, it's a fun movie that's worth a look, especially if you're into martial arts or treasure hunting movies (3/5 Stars).

@RR529: The original Red Dawn with Patrick Swayze is also available to stream.

Also originally it was going to be China not North Korea but they changed it at the very last minute by editing the flags and stuff to North Korea so they could market the movie in China.

Yeah, I know it was originally going to be China. Too bad they changed it too, since that would have been the more realistic (in terms of capability) choice.

Good to know the original is on there as well, I may have to check it out one of these days, thanks.

Breaking Bad is a must watch to everyone on here !! Also i am watching Red Dwarf and i have to say I am loving it. Rather old but still amazing!!

My friends and I watched a film called Rubber the other day. The strangest comedy I've seen, but also hilarious I do recommend it.

I recommend "Miss Marple: They Do It With Mirrors" if you are a fan of old British people doing mundane things. It's a bit of a slow burn, by which I mean that it's about as enjoyable as being slowly burned to death. Also, I think there's a murder at some point around the 3 hour mark.

I have high hopes for "Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery".

Oh god, was that the thing with the killer tire? lol, I watched it half way through and meant to come back and finish it later but never did. I should go back and watch that. I was getting pretty fond of that tire

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (R) - From director Takashi Miike (13 Assassins) comes yet another fantastic samurai film. This time, a very sad, emotional drama about how a samurai falls from grace after the disbandment of his lord's house, and how his new life as a ronin effects him & his family, and the desperate situations they'll put themselves through to survive. Although it's much different than the action filled 13 Assassins, it's just as much a must watch (5/5 Stars).

Disney's the Hunchback of Notre Dame (G) - After the dark nature of the previous film I decided to watch something a little more uplifting, and boy did this do the trick. CGI can't ever compare to a well crafted 2D art style, IMO, and this is no different. I was in awe during certain parts, and that's something I can't say any of today's CGI cartoons have ever done to me. I have no nostalgia for this one as this is the first time I've seen it, but it's going to sit right up there with Lion King, Aladdin, Hercules, & Mulan as one of the best cartoon movies I've ever seen (4/5 Stars).

I just saw the documentary about bronies. It's pretty good, so I recommend it.

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (R) - Set in ancient China, it follows the exploits of a band of heroic assassins as they battle the forces of the corrupt Qing government (particularly the battle hardened "West Bureau"), and get caught up in a chase for legendary gold. It's a fairly good movie. The CGI used to set up the grand set pieces & weather effects are amazing (especially the tornado), but unfortunately, the CGI used during the fight scenes not so much. Don't get me wrong, I love the over the top kung fu you see in these kinds of movies, but they unnecessarily relied on loads of cheap looking CGI to achieve it. It's a small nitpick, but it did damper my enjoyment just a tad (as well as the fact they decided to dub it rather than sub it). I still enjoyed it, though (3/5 Stars).

1911 (R) - Directed by and starring Jackie Chan, this is a gripping war film about the struggle of the revolution that eventually brought down the Qing dynasty (and the 2000 year old monarchy in general) in the early 20th century. It's a really great watch, and for those of you worried, it has nothing to do with the Communist revolution, which happened later during the late 40's & 50's (though they did briefly mention it during the end credits). It was surprisingly good (4/5 Stars).

Meh...I might drop Netflix soon as it's just not getting many A-list movies anymore. I'm not a big fan of cheesy B-list movies and those comprise of over 90% of Netflix's streaming videos.

Have you looked into their foreign film catalogue?

That's what I'm doing (along with some big Hollywood stuff I may have missed), and there is some really high quality stuff in there.

• 13 Assassins (Japanese)
• Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (Japanese)
• Painted Skin: the Resurrection (Chinese)
• 1911 (Chinese)
• War of the Arrows (Korean)

Out of all the foreign stuff I've seen so far, all of these are top notch stuff.

Sacrifice (R) - Set in ancient China, a military general has all the members of a rival clan framed & killed, but a lone newborn escapes the slaughter, and now is being raised secretly in plain sight, to exact vengeance. This one is a real slow burner (lots of plotting, tension, etc.), but it's a very good one, and when it does get to the action it's good stuff (4/5 Stars).

Casa de mi Padre (R) - I seen that it was a Will Ferrill movie I haven't seen, so I decided to try it out. A great comedy, this is not. I suppose it had it's moments, and I really liked the props & background that were purposefully so bad they're funny, but I wouldn't classify it as a must watch (and I could have done without seeing his butt, lol). I'll give it a pass, but just because I like Will Ferrill (3/5 Stars).

Here is the list of new stuff coming to Netflix this month

TV Shows

"Bates Motel" Season 1, available Feb. 1

"The Borgias" Seasons 1-3, available Feb. 1

"Queer as Folk" The Complete Series, available Feb. 1

"House of Cards" Season 2, available Feb. 14

"Burn Notice" Season 7, available Feb. 15

"Breaking Bad" Season 5, available Feb. 24

"The Returned" Season 1, available Feb. 24

Movies

"Failure To Launch," available Feb. 1

"Flashdance," available Feb. 1

"Harold and Maude," available Feb. 1

"Mash," available Feb. 1

"Adore," available Feb. 3

"The Fabulous Ice Age," available Feb. 3

"30 for 30: The Price of Gold," available Feb. 6

"Somewhere," available Feb. 16

"Jesus Camp," available Feb. 21

"Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor," available Feb. 24

"Blue Is The Warmest Color," available Feb. 25

I am looking forward to the final season of Burn Notice.

^ Nothing on that list speaks to me, but "My List" is still full though, so I won't run out of stuff to watch for quite a while.

Anyhow, a buddy of mine came over during the weekend, and we kind of went on a Netflix binge:

InAPPropriate Comedy (R) - He told me this was really funny, so we decided to watch it. It lives up to it's name, being possibly the most rude, crass, unapologetically offensive film I've seen, and I still can't decide if this was one of the dumbest things I've seen, or one of the most hilarious (3/5 Stars).

Disney's Hercules (G) - I've already watched this before on Netflix, so I won't write anything deep about it (just watched it because it's been a long time since my friend watched it). Still good (4/5 Stars).

the Expendables 2 (R) - Fun action movie from what I saw of it. Had to miss the second half though, so I'll watch the whole thing later.

Rock-A-Doodle (G) - My friend told me that this was one of the best cartoons he's ever watched, so we decided to watch it. Nostalgia must have clouded his judgement though, as I thought it was pretty generic, and it didn't seem to have much direction (2/5 Stars).

Disney's Mulan (G) - Same as my post on Disney's Hercules (4/5 Stars).

Keep in mind, this was over two nights.

Red Cliff (R) - Utterly fantastic war epic set in ancient China. The ruthless general Cao Cao controls most of China, and he's so dangerous that he's even scared the emporer into being a fugure head. Now it's up to two lords (one who is experienced in battle, but has little resources, and another who has a large army, but is unproven) to team together in a last ditch effort to save China from Cao Cao's rule. The production values in this one are fantastic as well, and it has awe inspiring scale (5/5 Stars).

Paranormal Whacktivity (R) - Raunchy "late-night" comedy that parodies the Paranormal Activity line of films. I'll get this over with quickly: DON'T WATCH!!! It may have a decent moment or two, but that's not nearly enough to save it from being completely un-funny, and downright stupid at many points. Again, DON'T WATCH (1/5 Stars).

People... watch My Name is Earl. Everything about it is amazing.

the Guillotines (R) - Set during the start of the Qing dynasty, it centers around an elite assassin force (I bet you can guess their name) that serves the imperial court by fighting the "Herders", the last group opposing Qing rule. It's a pretty decent action flick, but it never truly gripped me, possibly because it seemingly changed direction partway through. It started out being a bit more of a campy action flick, featuring cool impossible weapons & somewhat superhuman abilities, then after the first few confrontations, that got all toned down & it took on a more gritty, realistic approach to the action. It does both well, but it's never amazing (3/5 Stars).

the Marine 2 (R) - Just your average run of the mill shoot 'em up, blow 'em up film. It's not a cinema masterpiece, but if you're in the right mood for this sort of thing, this'll do fine (3/5 Stars).

Time for an update of what I've watched this past week or so:

Disney's House of Villains (TV-Y7) - I watched this on a whim since I used to watch Disney's House of Mouse as a kid, and it was a nice nostalgia trip. You'll see shorts featuring Mickey, Donald, & Goofy (both classic and new alike), framed in a setting as if various Disney characters are gathering together to watch them in a theater (with the plot here being that Jafar is trying to steal the show, literally). Just keep in mind, that as a television special, it won't look nearly as stunning as Disney films look, and I think you'll like it (3/5 Stars).

MILF (UR) - If you can't guess by the name, this is a late night raunchy comedy (and it more than earns it's "unrated" status, so keep that in mind). It's story isn't very good, it wasn't really funny in any instances, and the guy with the glasses was trying WAY to hard (I almost couldn't stand him, as he crossed the line from raunchy to being disgusting & crass very often), BUT with all that said, they know why you're watching it, so they never let up on the stuff you're watching it for, and they somehow manage to avoid using jokes based on racial stereotypes (which earns it major props as far as I'm concerned), so I'll give it a passing grade, albiet barely (3/5 Stars).

Legendary Amazons (NR) - Set in ancient China, a group of widows must band together and join the frontlines of battle after their husbands die in war, in order to protect both the family honor, and the last male heir to the bloodline, whom is heading the army. Typical fantastical martial arts fare here. It does it good, if not exceptional, so if you're already a fan of this stuff you'll like it, and if not it won't change your mind (3/5 Stars).

the Adventures of Tintin (PG) - WOW! This is by far the best CGI animated film I've ever seen, and I'd go as far as to say the best animated film overall since 90's Disney. There is lots of crazy adventure action, quite a few laughs, and absolutely STUNNING animation. It has enough perilous moments where I wouldn't say it's for very young children, but for older children who can handle the darker Disney stuff like Disney's the Hunchback of Notre Dame, I'd say it's a must watch (4/5 Stars).

Time for another update:

Movies:

Solomon Kane (R) - Dark fantasy about the murderous pirate Solomon Kane, who goes on a quest to redeem his soul by battling the forces of darkness, after the reaper comes for him. It's very dark, a little too dark for me personally in some parts, but other than that it's a very well made film, and fans of fantasy films should give it a look (4/5 Stars).

Mr. Bean's Holiday (G) - I was a big fan of Mr. Bean as a kid, and since I haven't seen this, I figured it'd be good for a nostalgia trip of sorts. It's obviously no masterpiece, but I thought it was pretty funny, and fans of Rowan Atkinson should check it out (3/5 Stars).

Marvel's the Avengers (PG-13) - No explanation needed here. This is my favorite superhero movie of all time, and it always brings a smile to my face no matter how many times I see it (5/5 Stars).

Ip Man - True story about a famous martial artist living in Fo Shan, China during WWII, who gives the degraded Chinese people a morale boost during this trying times, and fights against an occupying Japanese general who is out to proove Japanese martial arts are superior. It was a really well made film (4/5 Stars).

Walt Disney's Robin Hood (G) - This one was pretty fun, it's not up there with the best Disney stuff (and the whole southern country vibe didn't make a whole lot of sense), but it's worth a watch for those interested in Disney stuff (3/5 Stars).

TV Shows:

History's Greatest Tank Battles - Bugs VS Tanks has gotten me in a tank mood, so I decided to watch the first episode of this. Pretty interesting stuff, and a much better alternative to all that "reality TV" drek if you want something real.

Best of Raw & Smackdown 2012 - My friend came over the other night, and since we used to watch wrestling together as kids, we watched the first part of this for a bit of a nostalgia vibe. It was a fun time.

The Walking Dead - My friend wanted to try this out since he heard it was good, so we watched the first two episodes. My friend absolutely loved it. As for me, I'll admit it's a very well made show & I'll probably continue watching it with him when he comes over, but it's just a bit too gory for my tastes (and I've never been too hot on zombies). Well made, though.