OK, so technically it’s Spring, which means the weather is getting warmer and you should theoretically be, like, going outside, barbecuing, and seeing nature and stuff. That’s all well and good, but as of April 1 there’s also a ton of great stuff coming to Netflix that you should prioritize watching before going out into the sunshine. What? UV light can be dangerous. Here’s what you should watch while you’re preserving your precious skin.
Chances are you don’t have a TV large enough to do Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece justice, but you should watch this anyway. Hailed as the one of the best, if not the best, science fiction films of all time, 2001 goes deep into space—and the human psyche. It’s also a good primer on why artificial intelligence is freaking terrifying. This movie might be almost 50 years old, but it's still looking ahead farther than we can know.
MOAR KUBRICK. There isn’t a better double bill out there than 2001 and A Clockwork Orange—especially if you want to feel terrible about the world. The adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel presents future dystopia in a way that hadn’t been done before, and hasn’t been done since. If nothing else, you probably haven’t watched this since high school and you could stand to brush up on your droog-speak, real horror-show-like.
Writer-director Christopher Guest rarely misses, but when we look back on his cinematic contributions, Best in Show might just stand out as his best work. A mockumentary about the unintentionally funny (and slightly troubled) people whose dogs compete in national dog shows, this movie has one of Jane Lynch’s career-defining early performances—and by far the best freak-out over a “busy bee” dog toy in the history of cinema.
Back when Marky Mark was trying to get people to call him Mark Wahlberg, he starred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s bleak tale of California porn life in the 1970s and ‘80s. It worked. Wahlberg gave a great performance (as did whoever designed his prosthetic schlong), and he gave it next to standout turns from Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and even Burt Reynolds.
In the 1980s Joe Dante was the master of populist sci-fi for kids. (OK, the king was probably Steven Spielberg, but Dante was up there.) Explorers, his follow-up to Gremlins, was one of his greatest, if less appreciated, achievements. Three boys—a young Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix among them—build a spaceship based on one kid’s recurring dream. Will it take them to outer space? Watch and find out.
Do you really need an excuse to re-watch The Princess Bride? Probably not. But now that it’s freely streaming on Netflix, you might as well press play on it for the umpteenth time. If nothing else, the appearance of Robin Wright will psych you up for another episode of House of Cards.
This new show from That ‘70s Show co-stars Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson is being billed as the show that will “disrupt” the sitcom. That seems unlikely, but it still looks pretty funny, especially since Kutcher is playing a former high school football hero still trying to give it a shot in his 30s while living on his family’s ranch. “Friday Night Lights but later in life… and with laughs” doesn’t sound like an instant winner, but it’s worth giving a shot.
Time hasn’t been extremely kind to V for Vendetta, but this adaptation of Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s classic graphic novel is worth revisiting. Remember the time before Guy Fawkes masks meant “Anonymous”? This movie does. It also has non-faked footage of Natalie Portman getting her head shaved.
This rock-fueled flick, which won Felix van Groningen best director honors in the World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance, was acquired by Netflix just before the Berlin International Film Festival. *Belgica’*s central drama revolves around two brothers who go into business running a very popular nightclub in Belgium, but the real heart of the picture lies in the soundtrack, which comes courtesy of electronic/rock outfit Soulwax. Turn this on, then turn it up.
Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) is back and more unbreakable than ever! Also back is Titus (Tituss Burgess) and—wonderfully—Jaqueline Voorhees (Jane Krakowski). Will Kimmy learn to be the best elf she can be? Will she learn to get the digits? Who cares? The show's hilarious either way.
