Giant Fire Breathing Robot

Streaming Sunday (3/3/2013)

Welcome to GFBRobot’s Streaming Sunday, where you’ll normally find a selection of movies and TV shows recently added to streaming services that we here at GFBR think you’ll love. This week there were no titles new to streaming that I would feel good about recommending to you. Why let that get us down, though? In this installment of Streaming Sunday I will make it up to you by sharing two random picks from my queue as well as a suggestion of a movie I love that has been available for a while.

 

Take This Waltz (2011)

Netflix Instant

 

Description: “Filmed in Toronto, this intimate, unflashy romantic drama portrays a happily married woman who experiences a sudden and strong desire for another man. Further complicating the situation, the object of her desire resides just across the street.”–Netflix

Reason to Watch: There are films that you love right out of the gate and then there are films that grow on you. Walking out of the theater after seeing Take This Waltz last year I liked there film, but I wasn’t very excited to revisit it, or even implore people to view it themselves. It didn’t take long for me to begin to change my mind, however, as the film’s subject matter stuck with me and rolled around a little in my mind. Of the numerous reasons I could give to see the film, I think that it’s ability to provoke thought months after viewing is the most important. If you’ll indulge me for a minute or two, I’ll outline a few more reasons. Michelle Williams is one of my favorite working actresses, and I think that this film gives her a chance to play a character with some emotional breadth and depth for her to explore. Seth Rogan is given a chance to expand a bitin this film and take a step back from his comedic sensibilities to play an every-man about ready to have his life shaken up. Lastly, the above image comes from a very special scene in the film. Even if I would have walked out hating this movie, I am certain that this scene would have been one of my favorites of the year.

 

Out of Sight (1998)

Netflix Instant

 

Description: “Bank robber Jack plays a genteel game of cat-and-mouse with Karen, the stunning federal marshal he meets in the trunk of a getaway car.”–Netflix

Reason to Watch: This is a movie that I ashamed to have to have not seen yet. To be fair, when the movie came out I was only 11 and not likely to get permission to see an R-Rated film. Now though, the fault is all mine. Most of you that know me, read the blog, or have heard me on the podcast know that I’m a huge fan of Steven Soderbergh. This is yet another picture that find him working with George Clooney, and to top it off it is based on a novel by Elmore Leonard. A problem that I seem to have is that with so many films I want to watch, it is difficult to get to any individual one of them. I’ll be fixing that issue with Out of Sight shortly.

 

Shotgun Stories (2007)

Netflix Instant

 

Description: “Set in southeast Arkansas, this cautionary indie tale from director Jeff Nichols tracks a blood feud that erupts when two sets of half-brothers come to blows at their father’s funeral. The first-born siblings dubbed Boy, Son, and Kid — impersonal monikers that embody their father’s indifference toward them — explode in anger upon meeting their counterparts, who have real names and reaped the rewards of their father’s later success.”

Reason to Watch: Every once in a while a name will come up in the entertainment industry that you feel like you should know. Jeff Nichols is one of those names for me. 2011 saw the release of Nichols sophomore effort, Take Shelter, a film that had a number of high profile champions in the critical community. This year Nichols is releasing Mud, starring Matthew McConaughey, which is already being discussed as a must-see movie. Shotgun Stories is where it all began. The film is small in scope but it found a large amount of praise in the film festival circuit. It is also an introduction to the director’s relationship with the fantastic actor Michael Shannon, who has been in all three of Nichols films and will be seen soon as General Zod in the forthcoming Man of Steel. In addition to being a worthwhile watch on its own merits, the film will also act as an introduction to a number of artistic voices that will soon be household names.