A Netflix Film Festival

Contra the words of the Preacher, there is not a time for everything. Take movies, for instance. I keep track of movies that come out, and I take note of the ones I want to see; when Netflix makes them available for streaming, I add them to my My List. And there they sit until I watch them, or until Netflix bids them adieu.
Netflix is kind enough to post a seven-day warning when a movie is about to become unavailable. I check my My List every few days to see what's expiring; usually I get an all-clear, or maybe one or two titles are flagged as departing soon. That's when I must decide: Do I really want to watch this film? Do I really have time to watch this film? (Sorry, Turin Horse, I don't have 146 minutes to spare in the next few days; but I watched all of Sátántangó a few years ago, so I feel no guilt.)

And then there was Thursday, September 24, 2015: Sixteen items on my My List suddenly had the expiration date of doom. (I found out later this was part of an Epix decision to move a bunch of films from Netflix to Hulu.) Which ones would I watch? Time to pop the popcorn and hunker down.

Thursday

You're Next. I decided to start with this wide-release horror film favored by the critics. I liked the interplay of the family members, and there was a bit of cleverness in the murder plot. But there was a lot of stupidity too, which ultimately put me off the film.

Friday

The Sun. This narrative film depicts Hirohito at the end of World War Two. Austere, but I liked it. I posted a few scribbles about the film on Second-Chance Cinema, my blog about movies that didn't get a commercial run in my town of Houston, Texas.

Jim Norton: Contextually Inadequate. An entertaining stand-up show, maybe leaning a little heavily on self-deprecating humor. (I criticize to prove I saw it.)

Saturday

The Last Mogul and Great Directors. Two documentaries on moviemaking, both enjoyed. A few notes here.

A Most Wanted Man. Meh. Weighted down by the routine cynicism I've come to expect from a John le Carré adaptation.

Labor Day. This is a ridiculous story about a convict, a single mom, and her son. I did not expect to like it, but by the end of the film Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet had won me over, somehow.

Sunday

Rapture-Palooza. My third-favorite of this run of movies; I slobber over Craig Robinson's brilliant performance here.

Gloria. My favorite: An over-40 Chilean woman hits the clubs and finds romance (for a while). The super-obvious, on-the-nose disco number at the end is totally earned.

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete. That title wins points all by itself, and the film, about a couple of inner-city boys left to survive on their wits, doesn't disappoint.

Russell Brand: Messiah Complex. My second-favorite. Brand is brilliant, quick-witted, and very funny.

Monday

Hours. A modest thriller, which Paul Walker makes worth watching, as I note here.

Tuesday

Renoir. I watched the first half of this quiet, gorgeous film on Monday, then picked up the rest on Tuesday without much harm. Apparently there a number of people who hiss and cough up hairballs if they hear “Pierre-Auguste Renoir” and “artist” in the same sentence. They should not watch this movie. For the rest of us, it depends on how much patience we have with art-house film. I'm good.

Bella. This was a festival favorite several years ago. I disliked it, and I have erased most of it from my memory; all that's left is something along the lines of, Passive woman, I rescue you, because I am Noble Man Who Rescues, and this is Rescue Story That Makes Everyone Feel Good and Noble.

Wednesday

Going Places. I had read a Pauline Kael article about Bertrand Blier and this film in particular, and I think Kael helped me appreciate, helped me enjoy Gérard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere's spree of larceny and thoroughly incorrect behavior toward women. This is a fun trip.

That left one expiring film Wednesday night, and … I gave it a pass. I've never seen Mommie Dearest, and I'll just have to catch it another time–maybe at camp camp.