Most of the movies and TV series I watch come from my Netflix Instant Queue. It has been my go to for over five years now. I like to use it to find hidden gems, but not everyone wants to commit two hours of their free time to a decent looking movie poster. I’ve watched a ton of garbage over the years, but have missed even more, so there’s always something I want to watch, whether it’s revisiting an old favorite, or finally catching something I missed over the years. Instant Cinefessions will list some weekly recommendations based on what’s new on the Netflix service. It will also include my “Pull List”, which are films I’m interested in watching in the coming weeks. Look for reviews of the movies in my pull list in future columns. Also featured are brief reviews of films I’ve watched off the Pull List.
New Films added to Netflix as of 07/15/2015
A Doll’s House (1973)
A Gesar Bard’s Tale (2014)
Adventures of Pepper and Paula (2015)
Alien Outpost (2014)
Ararat (2002)
Archipelago (2010)
Baby Boom (1987)
Burning Secret (1988)
Chris Tucker: Live (2015)
Creep (2014)
Dark Summer (2015)
Days and Nights (2014)
Deep in the Darkness (2014)
Faults (2014)
Genocide (1981)
Gerontophilia (2013)
Goodbye to All That (2014)
Hard Drive (2014)
I Have Never Forgotten You (2006)
Jail Caesar (2012)
Keys to Freedom (1988)
Lady in a Corner (1989)
Loitering with Intent (2014)
Man Up (2015)
Monster High: Scaris, City of Frights (2013)
Monsters: Dark Continent (2014)
Opposite Field (2012)
Pancho Villa, Aqui y Alli (2008)
Priest of Love (1981)
Rob Roy (1995)
Serena (2014)
Superfast! (2015)
The Expendables 3 (2014)
The Getting of Wisdom (1978)
The Last Unicorn (1982)
The Long Way Home (1997)
The Mystic Masseur (2001)
The Pact 2 (2014)
The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers (2013)
The Search for General Tso (2014)
The Shaolin Temple (1982)
These Final Hours (2014)
Underwater Dreams (2014)
Wild Canaries (2014)
Winston Churchill: Walking with Destiny (2010)
WWII From Space (2012)
You Got Served (2004)
Ashe’s Seal of Approval
These are the films or television series that are on Netflix that get my seal of approval. In lieu of something not showing up that I’ve seen with recent additions to Netflix, which is a good problem to have if you’re looking for something new, I’ll recommend something that I’ve seen recently or that I know will be on the service for a while.
Baby Boom (1987, dir. Charles Shyer)
The life of super-yuppie J.C. is thrown into turmoil when she inherits a baby from a distant relative. I do find this film kind of amusing. It has some decent moments, but I’m also not the target audience for this at all. It’s been a while since I saw it, but I do have to say that my wife loves this one.
Rob Roy (1995, dir. Michael Caton-Jones)
In the highlands of Scotland in the 1700s, Rob Roy tries to lead his small town to a better future, by borrowing money from the local nobility to buy cattle to herd to market. When the money is stolen, Rob is forced into a Robin Hood lifestyle to defend his family and honour. Fair warning, I saw this film once when I rented it back in the 90s. I enjoyed it mainly because of Liam Neeson and don’t remember much about it. You’ve been warned.
Knights of Sidonia – Season 2 (2015)
An anime that looks to still be exclusive to Netflix. Sci-fi space combat and survival coupled with mech battles, some kind of dark enemy and the last few humans fighting to survive and find a home. I’m glad this got a second season and I look forward to watching it.
Bitten – Season 2 (2015)
I wsa surprised how much I liked Bitten’s first season. A TV series following a clan of werewolves, this is actually a pretty decent show with a good cast and lots of good drama in the background to ive the fights between the werewolf clans some meat. Looking forward to a second season of this as well.
The Last Unicorn (1982, dir. Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin, Jr.)
From a riddle-speaking butterfly, a unicorn learns that she is supposedly the last of her kind, all the others having been herded away by the Red Bull. The unicorn sets out to discover the truth behind the butterfly’s words. She is eventually joined on her quest by Schmendrick, a second-rate magician, and Molly Grue, a now middle-aged woman who dreamed all her life of seeing a unicorn. Their journey leads them far from home, all the way to the castle of King Haggard and the Red Bull’s lair. This is still an amazing film and one I’ve owned since I first saw it back in the early 80s. I can quote most of it from heart even now, and while some of the singing is cringe-worthy this is a really well done and amazing animated film.
Ashe’s Pull List
The Pull List is a list of films I’m interested in but haven’t seen that have been added to Netflix since the beginning of the year. These listed below are the films that have been added to the Pull List since last issue. Look for reviews of some of these in future issues of Instant Cinefessions. Don’t be surprised if I don’t end up clearing out this entire list either. Even I can be picky sometimes.
You Got Served (2004)
The Shaolin Temple (1982)
Archipelago (2010)
Keys to Freedom (1988)
Priest of Love (1981)
Days and Nights (2014)
Superfast! (2015)
Dark Summer (2015)
The Pact 2 (2014)
Alien Outpost (2014)
Man Up (2015)
Monsters: Dark Continent (2014)
Deep in the Darkness (2014)
Serena (2014)
The Expendables 3 (2014)
These Final Hours (2014)
Creep (2014)
WWII From Space (2012)
Ashe’s Pull List Picks of the Week
So what did I watch off my Netflix Pull List for this week? It has been a few weeks and I have to admit I haven’t been very productive. My wife had emergency surgery and I’ve been taking care of her so we’ve been watching a lot of M*A*S*H while she recovers. So what have I got for you this week? A film I added to my Pull List at the beginning of the month.
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004, dir. Dwight H. Little)
Led by a two-fisted soldier of fortune, a scientific expedition is sent deep into the jungles of Borneo to locate and bring back samples of the legendary blood orchid. Battling their way upriver, the explorers brave poisonous insects, ferocious crocodiles and savage headhunters, unaware they’re being stalked by an even greater danger: a nest of giant anacondas, voracious, fifty-foot-long flesh-eaters who’ll stop at nothing to protect their breeding ground, the blood orchid’s home. There were actually a few characters I cared about in this, which surprised me from how jerk like most of them were at the start. The effects aren’t great, the story is ok, and the acting is kind of all over the place. It was a fun watch, but not sure it’s worth more than just a one time viewing off Netflix.
Make sure to check back here on the site for more reviews and recommendations from the Netflix Instant Queue in Issue 25 of Instant Cinefessions!
Source: Whats on Netflix and Netflix
Born the same year as Star Wars, it seems Ashe was destined to be into films with big impacts, explosions, and laser swords. With a love for sci-fi and horror, Ashe has a thing for games of both the tabletop and video variety. He is living a charmed, married life of sixteen years, along with several cats, a dog, and a bearded dragon. Ashe currently writes for Diehard Gamefan, covering video and tabletop games since 2008. Starting with Cinefessions just a few years ago, he has decided to tackle one of his original passions: film.
