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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.

Broken Embraces

Tempted by the successful director-muse combination of Almodóvar and Penelope Cruz, I’d added Broken Embraces to my list closely following a viewing of Volver on Blu-Ray.

The missus and I are in the process of discovering Almodovar. She has been wowed first by Volver and then by Broken Embraces (originally titled Los abrazos rotos) for reasons that she is finding it difficult to explain. I’ve offered the reasons to be the women-centric nature of the storylines but this has been dismissed, albeit with less contempt than I originally expected. I’ve suggested that the presence of Penelope Cruz as a possible influence but that seems more me-centric than she-centric. We have agreed to revel in the unique storytelling style of the auteur than analyze it.





Henry Caine, a blind director, his mysterious muse, her controlling much older husband, his flaky son from his first marriage, Henry’s agent and her sensitive son round up the cast of characters. The story is told with a mixture of flashbacks and current day situations. The present day situations center on the director while the flashbacks are there to weave a story on the director’s ill-fated affair with Lena, played by Penelope Cruz. There are two levels of engagement with the story. One is the curiosity as to what happened to Lena and what caused Henry’s blindness. The second is the screenplay itself, which appears whimsical yet coherent.

When in Rome

Quite a few movies require you to "leave your brains at home" and have a good time. When in Rome can easily slip into that category. The problem is that I was already home and most of us are not allowed to leave our brains at work, not to mention bringing them in. So, it was a little difficult not to analyze the goings on in this farcical comedy. The movie has less to do with the “When in Rome” adage than with the unverifiable belief that throwing coins into shallow water bodies has life altering effects.

Let’s start with the male leads. Will Arnett is criminally under used. Josh Duhamel plays within the boundaries of the romantic lead in a slapstick comedy. Danny De Vito’s role is awkward both for him and the general public. Jon Heder and Dax Shepard are more in tune as random eccentric guys inviting a few guffaws. Shepard’s antics get maximum visibility in the trailer as a result. These five are then the suitors for Kristen Bell. All five of them are after her thanks to the plot core involving the fore mentioned shallow water fantasy.

For the best part, the jokes fall flat. Even the forced zaniness with a European car with all the leads riding up an elevator doesn’t rise to the level of a talking point. The movie as a whole somehow works for a stay-in movie watching experience. This is reflected in its subpar $32 million performance at the box office.

Ended up with…

Whilst checking out the above movies, I invariably end up fattening my instant watch queue with some new additions. These go into my “Ended up with…” list and the plan is to watch them during the week ahead. 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.

The Thin Red Line

1942 battle for Guadalcanal through the art of Terrence Malik. Been on my wish list for a long time, The Thin Red Line is finally finding its way up the NetFlix queue. I am planning for an evening of visual splendor even if it is set within the confines of a war.

Leaves of Grass

I have a special place for movies involving dual roles. Edward Norton graduates from his first role where he faked multiple personality disorder to playing dual roles of brothers.

The Nines

Ryan Reynolds makes interesting choices and frequently shifts allegiance between indie and main stream. Van Wilder gets cerebral in a movie that promises multiple threads in story telling.