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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. Generally, there is a week between my adding them to the playlist and actually watching them. The movies under “Went Looking For…” are typically the movies that I had slotted as “Ended up with…” the previous week.

The Love Guru

Mike Myers lets us and himself down with The Love Guru. Myers, famous for creating caricatures, is woefully out of form with Guru Pitka. In his past successes, Meyers has often been assisted by other comedians in addition to taking multiple roles himself. In TLG, he has neither of those luxuries. The supporting cast is a mixture of high profile actors not necessarily known for their comedic prowess. This includes Ben Kinglsey, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Alba. He takes it upon himself to be in every frame as Guru Pitka with some good jokes and many others that don’t work at any level. The sad part is that even the good ones get repeated often enough to become stale within the space of 90 minutes. By helping an ice-hockey star regain his mojo, (a term made famous by Myers’ Austin Powers), Guru Pitka hopes to gain the affections of the team’s owner (Alba) and also gain a spot on Oprah.





The plot of having a fake guru expounding advice to the western world can really work as a satire. Unfortunately, Myers’ brand of comedy does not gel well to carry the right tone. I would recommend the more aptly titled and lesser seen movie The Guru (2002) starring Jimi Mistry in the title role and assisted by Heather Graham and Marisa Tomei.

You might find it strange but I had this strong notion that the rest of the paying public missed something about The Love Guru that I would discover and find entertaining. I was wrong. TLG is a study in self-indulgence for Mike Myers. At the box office, The Love Guru had a dismal $13 million opening en route to a forgettable $30 million gross.

G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, has two things going for it – no pretense of serious cinema and the CIS VFX group’s visual effects wizardry. It is a thrill ride that relies on kinetic energy to propel the story forward and not some flimsy details such as character development and logical progression. The need for actors of the caliber of Dennis Quaid, Jonathan Pryce and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in this ensemble is lost on me, as is the presence of Brendan Fraser in a blink and you will miss him role. It is possible that they have roles to play in sequels. If not, they appear to be tokens of credibility in the effects laden world of the Joes.

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