[Weekly Netflix Fix] You Have to Watch Blue Ruin, BoJack Horseman
With August coming to an end, Netflix ramped up their new Netflix Instant titles with some truly amazing films. For '90s kids, there's a trio of 3 Ninjas films to reminisce and feel nostalgic over the cheese that was karate-themed '90s films. If you like your action a bit more serious, there's Tony Jaa's The Protector 2. If you're in the mood for a good laugh, Ice Cube has your back with Barbershop 2: Back in Business. If you're looking for your new favorite animated series, there's the Netflix-exclusive BoJack Horseman, which I can't recommend enough. However, my big recommendation for this week comes in the form of the independent revenge thriller, Blue Ruin. I caught it at last year's Chicago International Film Festival and instantly falling in love, writing about the film and its director, Jeremy Saulnier:
Revenge thrillers are usually about the fulfillment of revenge and the journey the character takes to accomplish it. Blue Ruin, however, takes it to the next level with moments of character introspection balancing the weight of blood. In just his second feature length film, writer/director Jeremy Saulnier showed how much potential he can bring to the film world; it’s only a matter of time before the film world takes notice.
You can check out the full list of new Netflix Instant additions below.
- 3 Ninjas: High Noon At Mega Mountain
- 3 Ninjas: Kick Back
- 3 Ninjas: Knuckle Up
- The Protector 2
- Barbershop 2: Back in Business
- Blood Glacier
- BoJack Auditions for Frank Underwood
- BoJack Auditions for Horse Beast
- BoJack Auditions for Larry
- Horsin' Around
- The Motel Life
- Young
- Being Mary Jane
- Parenthood: Season 5
- Swan Princess: A Royal Family Tale
- Test
- 30 for 30: Hillsborough
- 30 for 30: White, Blue and White
- Blue Ruin
- The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel
- Foyle's War: Series 7
- BoJack Horseman
- Go for Sisters
[Weekly Netflix Fix] From Dusk Till Dawn TV Series Available
We had another huge addition of titles for the mid-month Netflix update. From my perspective, unless you're really into Criminal Minds, there might not be much here for you. My two recommendations this week are the TV series adaptation of Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn and Teenage, a documentary on a phase of life that didn't even always exist. Alex didn't care for it much in his review of the documentary, but I'm still very curious to see what it's about.
You can check out the full list of additions below.
- Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?
- From Dusk Till Dawn: Season 1
- Criminal Minds: Season 7
- Criminal Minds: Season 8
- Criminal Minds: Season 9
- Serial Killer Culture
- The Unknown Known
- When I Saw You
- Middle of Nowhere
- Thanks for Sharing
- Axel: The Biggest Little Hero
- Dead Silence queue
- Mission Blue
- The Tortured
- Eddie Pepitone: In Ruins
- Great Expectations
- Hamlet and Hutch
- In the Name of the King 3
- The Incredible Dr. Pol: Season 1
- The Incredible Dr. Pol: Season 2
- Kitten Party
- The Next Space Race
- Criminal Minds: Season 1
- Wildest Indochina: Season 1
- Wildest Latin America: Season 1
- Wildest Islands: Season 1
- Criminal Minds: Season 2
- Wildest Islands: Season 2
- Criminal Minds: Season 3
- Criminal Minds: Season 4
- Criminal Minds: Season 5
- Criminal Minds: Season 6
- The Forsyte Saga: Series 1
- Rosemary & Thyme: Series 1
- The Forsyte Saga: Series 2
- Rosemary & Thyme: Series 2
- Rosemary & Thyme: Series 3
- Somebody's Child
- State of Emergency
- Strange Hill High: Season 2
- Teenage
- The Way Back
- Wicked Tuna: Season 1
- Wicked Tuna: Season 2
- Wildest Arctic
- Wildest Arctic
- Wildest India
- Wildest India
- Wildest Indochina
- Wildest Islands
- Wildest Latin America
- Drones
- I Hate Luv Storys
- Raajneeti
- Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Bitty Adventures: Season 2
- Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Bitty Adventures: Season 3
- Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Huge August Update Features Rocky, Mad Max
New month, new stash of Netflix Instant updates. While the initial August 1st offering of films and TV shows wasn't as amazing as July's, it still came loaded with some amazing films. The post-apocalyptic classic Mad Max is one of the highlight of new titles. The entire Rocky series (sans Rocky Balboa) was also added. Hockey fans (yes, this includes you, too, bandwagon fans) have The Mighty Ducks and D2: The Mighty Ducks to look forward to (complete with knuckle pucks!). Auteurs can sit back and watch Robert Downey, Jr. channel Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin. Madonna will make sure you don't cry for her, Argentina, in Evita. And, best of all, Audrey Hepburn graces us with her amazing beauty in Sabrina.
You can find the full list of offerings below.
- Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses
- Justin Bieber's Believe
- Psycho-Pass
- The Spoils of Babylon: Season 1
- Bicycling with Molière
- Alien Abduction
- Immigration Tango
- Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
- Zach Galifianakis: Live
- 10 Rules for Sleeping Around
- The Cold Lands
- Ed's Next Move
- Lavell Crawford: Can a Brother Get Some...
- So Much, So Fast
- Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern
- Wave Twisters
- Air Bud
- Air Bud: Golden Receiver
- Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold
- American Experience: The Amish: Shunned
- Amish: Out of Order: Season 1
- Art Machine
- Bad Boys
- The Barbarian Invasions
- Billy & Buddy
- The Birdcage
- Blown Away
- Bug Off!
- The Cable Guy
- Cane Toads:
- Caveman
- Chaplin: The Movie
- Chasing Shackleton
- The Conqueror Worm
- D2: The Mighty Ducks
- Dark Tourist
- Day of the Siege
- Day Watch
- The Devil's Bible
- The Dogs of War
- Eddie Griffin: You Can Tell 'Em I Said It
- Ella Enchanted
- Evita
- F**k for Forest
- Face/Off
- Fall Time
- The Five Heartbeats
- Foyle's War
- Freaky Friday
- The Gabby Douglas Story
- Goodbye World
- Harlock: Space Pirate
- Hawking
- He Said, She Said
- Hitler and the Occult
- Hitler's G.I Death Camp
- Hunt for the Abominable Snowman
- Hunter X Hunter (2011)
- Inside Fendi
- Katt Williams: It's Pimpin' Pimpin'
- King Solomon's Mines
- Kinky Boots
- Lassie
- The Last Days of Osama Bin Laden
- Lewis Black: Old Yeller: Live at the...
- The Longest Day
- Mad Max
- Make Believe
- Maya & Miguel
- Mean Creek
- The Mighty Ducks
- Mike Epps: Under Rated & Never Faded
- Mysteries of the Bible: Season 1
- The Natural History of the Chicken
- The Newton Boys
- Not Waving But Drowning
- Orca: The Killer Whale
- Original Gangstas
- Playing by Heart
- Postcards from Buster
- Prefontaine 1997
- Pumping Iron
- Red Dawn
- Rocket City Rednecks: Season 1
- Rocket City Rednecks: Season 2
- Rocky
- Rocky II
- Rocky III
- Rocky IV
- Rocky V
- Rounders
- Sabrina (1954)
- Sabrina (1995)
- Saints and Soldiers
- Hunter X Hunter (2011): Season 1
- Maya & Miguel: Season 1
- Postcards from Buster: Season 1
- Chasing Shackleton: Season 1
- Hunter X Hunter (2011): Season 2
- The Mind of a Chef: Season 2
- FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman: Season 2
- Hunter X Hunter (2011): Season 3
- FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman: Season 3
- Hunter X Hunter (2011): Season 4
- The Killing: Season 4
- Hunter X Hunter (2011): Season 5
- Second Chances
- Secrets and Lies: Season 1
- Secrets of the Freemasons
- Shooter
- Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
- Southie
- Spark: A Burning Man Story
- Spice World
- Spies of Mississippi 2014 NR 2.6 new Aug 1 HD 1:00 | play queue
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
- The Substitute 2: School's Out
- The Substitute 4: Failure Is Not an Option
- The Substitute
- Switchfoot: Fading West
- Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid Film
- Trees Lounge
- Turner and Hooch
- Vigilante Force
- Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
- Where the Red Fern Grows
[Weekly Netflix Fix] End of the Month Dump
One thing I've realized since I started compiling these Netflix updates is how imbalanced the updates are. At the beginning of the month, Netflix comes correct with a large number of quality titles; however, as the month goes on, each subsequent update contains less and less titles of good quality. For the final July update, Netflix has left us with not much of anything worth noting. I'm singling out Lizzie Borden Took an Ax simply because it stars Christina Ricci. The Lifetime TV film is a biopic of Lizzie Borden's life, a suspected murderer acquitted of killing her father and stepmother in 1892.
August will be a better month for Netflix updates, I can guarantee it!
- Detective Dee & Mystery of Phantom Flame
- Lizzie Borden Took an Ax
- A Monster in Paris
- Soda Springs
- Southcliffe
- Airplane vs. Volcano
- Borrowed Time
- Christmas with the Kranks
- Eastern Bandits
- Evacuate Earth
- A Short History of Decay
- Continuum: Season 3
- The Den
- The French Minister
- It Felt Like Love
- Mickey Virus
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Another Filler Week
With July nearing a close, the second-to-last update for the month features a subpar number of worthwhile titles. As a fan of On the Road, my recommendation this week is the documentary Jack Kerouac: King of the Beats. For curiosity's sake, I'm going to watch an episode or two of Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, simply because I had no idea there was even a cartoon series on Pac-Man. If nothing is catching your eye, there's always last week's strong update to double dip in.
- FrackNation
- Hide and Seek
- Papirosen
- All Cheerleaders Die
- My Way to Olympia
- Peace, Love & Misunderstanding
- Redwood Highway
- The Samaritan
- When the Iron Bird Flies
- Weekend of a Champion
- The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack
- Jack Kerouac: King of the Beats
- McCanick
- Hell on Wheels: Season 3
- Bethlehem
- Gun Hill
- Baby Daddy: Season 3
- An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for...
- Authors Anonymous
- Dead in Tombstone
- Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures: Season 1
[Weekly Netflix Fix] The Master Is Now Available
The midway point for the month usually means some quality additions to Netflix Instant, and this week's new additions definitely don't disappoint. Finally, after a two year wait, I'll finally be able to see The Master, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman, a drama that makes very analogous connections to Scientology. The film attained three Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Phoenix), Best Supporting Actor (Hoffman), and Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams), so the performances in the film should be amazing. Also included this week is the hard sci-fi documentary, Particle Fever, which Mackenzie reviewed not too long ago, my personal choice for Best Documentary Feature of 2013 in The Act of Killing: The Director's Cut, and the Netflix-exclusive documentary The Battered Bastards of Baseball about Bing Russell's run as owner of the independently-run Class A baseball team, the Portland Mavericks.
Check out all of this week's new additions below!
- The Act of Killing: The Director's Cut
- Andaz Apna Apna
- Animal ABC's
- Downloaded
- Forensic Files: Collection
- Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs
- Inside: Lego
- The Last Days
- Manhunter
- Particle Fever
- Patrick: Evil Awakens
- Riley Rewind
- Unsealed: Conspiracy Files: Season 1
- Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs: Season 1
- Sounding the Alarm
- Special 26
- TEDTalks: Body By Design
- Unsealed: Conspiracy Files
- War Don Don
- Hitch
- The Immigrant
- The Master
- Special ID
- 13 Sins
- The Battered Bastards of Baseball
- The Secret
- Sleeping Beauty
- The Power of Few
- The Saratov Approach
- Hemlock Grove: Season 2
[Weekly Netflix Fix] New Anime for Anime Fans
Just a quick update this week. There isn't much worth noting about this week's new Netflix additions. I hear Knights of Sidonia, a Netflix-exclusive anime about aliens or something. To be honest, I'm still overloaded on last week's monster-sized update to even be able to properly recommend anything this week. Check out Knights of Sidonia if you're into anime, or just dig into one of the countless new titles that appeared last week. I do hear next week's new Netflix Instant titles are gonna be very worthwhile, though!
- Free Fall
- Maidentrip
- A Map for a Talk
- Max Steel: Season 2
- Becassine: The Wackiest Nanny Ever
- Missing William
- Alone with Her
- Renoir
- Black Rock
- Bottled Up
- Generation War
- Genius on Hold
- Knights of Sidonia: Season 1
- No God, No Master