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Browsing through NetFlix’s online streaming collection is not unlike those late Friday nights spent browsing through the movie maze in your local video store. The search for that perfect movie is often tricky. Sometimes you have to deal with a fuming partner and/or a melting tub of ice-cream in the car. The pressure is compounded by a listless, unhelpful store clerk in some cases. This column aims to be that clerk for NetFlix Instant Watch – maybe just a little less listless and little more helpful. This is what I waded through recently – at NetFlix.

Went Looking For…

Believe it or not, I sometimes do have a predetermined playlist while browsing for movie titles. This week, I was keen on substantiating a belief that the Bollywood movie, Chak De! India was inspired from Hollywood’s A League Of Their Own. Further on, I wanted to check out the neo film noir, The Missing Person and the single character narrative Moon.


Chak De! India and A League of Their Own

I have to admit that I was not entirely right when I assumed that the writer for Chak De! India, Jaideep Sahni, had generously lifted the plot of A League of Their Own. They are both based on an all-woman sports team fighting against the odds and a male coach seeking a second chance at the same sport. The storyline and the treatment are entirely different. ALOTO is basically a story of sibling rivalry with a generous dose of nostalgia thrown in. CDI is more of a contemporary tale; a tale of redemption for the coach character. Good ensemble movies both.

The Missing Person

The missing person started off promising a lot but underwhelmed towards the end. The cell phones and talks of Google in the middle of a film noir style of narration are rather unsettling. They felt the same as Mike Meyers in the middle of Inglourious Basterds – although they did not upset the storyline, they were a tad distracting. Michael Shannon is convincing as the private eye with a streak of self destruction. Despite the fact that he is sloshed for a major portion of the movie, you get to expect that he has much more to offer than the slurry dialogues. He does, sort of. The femme fatale character is a little out of synch from the clichéd expectation. The motivation behind the main characters’ actions is explained by one common tragedy, but up until that point, the narrative gets listless.

Moon

Sam Rockwell is a home office worker who has, among other worries, a growing distrust of his employer. All his business is through telecommuting. No water-cooler talk. The fact that he is an astronaut stationed in our only natural satellite is only coincidental. This movie is an ode to work from home warriors. Maybe not. It is a great screenplay involving for most part only one character. Kevin Spacey’s voice for the mechanical fiend/friend is inspirational. He offers the velvety baritones that provide fodder for suspense.

Ended up with…

Whilst checking out the above movies, I invariably end up fattening my Instant Watch queue with some new additions. NetFlix keeps tempting me to move each one of them to the top of the queue, but I resist. These are movies that I plan to check out in the days ahead.

District 9

This is very much a movie of this age – the Internet age. The one that prompted the song, “The Internet killed the Video star”. No, not really. Still, the origin of this movie is a popular made-for-YouTube short film. The man with big ideas, Peter Jackson, championed Neill Blomkamp’s foray into the big screen version. My usual partner in sci-fi escapades abandoned me to sneak into the theatrical version of what turned out to be the rare critical+populist success. With this online viewing, revenge is mine.

G-Force

BOP will probably categorize this under "Guilty Pleasures." I slot this under research. NetFlix’s common sense rating is "OK for Kids 6+." The note further adds:

“Parents need to know that this 3-D adventure is sure to attract kids who can't resist talking animals, high-stakes action, and a hefty dose of silly gags and potty humor (especially a constantly farting guinea pig). Expect lots of action and some peril; the villain turns home appliances into killer robots, and there's a disturbing/sad reference to a character who might have been killed by a garbage truck (but it's not confirmed). Language includes mild insults like 'stupid' and 'dumb' and comments about how 'hot' the female guinea pig is.”

I want to check out each one of those points to make sure they are indeed valid ones. In fact, I can identify with the concept that home appliances are killer robots in disguise. There is some merit to that.

Gorillas in the Mist

It is a moment of personal failure when someone else recommends a movie I haven’t watched and it turns out that I am the only in a select group that hasn’t. The discussion thread originated from Avatar to Sigourney Weaver to Gorillas In The Mist to shame. This needs to be corrected. Also, I want to return to the Gorilla genre. It has been a while after the double whammy of Congo and King Kong.

The Third Man

I just want to have a counter effect to the G-Force viewing and establish my creds as a guy with a funny approach to serious movies. Something like that. Besides, having an Orson Welles movie on your to-do list looks regal.