Each week within this column we strive to pair the latest in theatrical releases to the worthwhile titles currently available on Netflix Instant Watch.
This week Cars 2 gives sequels a bad name, and Bad Teacher attempts to cash in on the R-rated comedy wave, while limited release offers A Better Life and discovers Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop. Now, if these features can’t fulfill your need for animated tales of triumph, rotten role models, immigrant-centered drama and sidesplitting tour docs, don’t fret. We’ve got a line up that’s sure keep you on the edge of your seat as you kick back in your AC!
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Cars 2
Larry the Cable Guy returns to voice the buck-toothed pick-up truck Mater, who falls into a world of international espionage as his buddy Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) spins his wheels abroad. Michael Caine, John Turturro and Eddie Izzard join the free-wheelin’ cast.
The Pixar Story (2007) If you’d like to know more about the inner workings of your favorite Pixar tales, check out this bubbly doc that charts the company’s overnight success — that was a decade in the making. John Lasseter, Steve Jobs, Brad Bird, Michael Eisner and George Lucas all serve as eager talking heads.
Toy Story 3 (2010) Pair Pixar’s latest sequel with one of their best. Years have passed since we last saw Woody and the gang, and now li’l Andy is all grown up and headed for college!…which means his toys are heading to the local daycare. Pixar plays with escape movie conventions to weave a tale that’s darkly entertaining yet still full of whimsy. While there’s a bevy of curious characters added to the mix, the clear standout is Michael Keaton as fashion doll Ken! Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty and Don Rickles co-star.
Wallace & Gromit: Three Amazing Adventures (2001) Long before Lightning and Mater, there was the animated, three-dimensional comedy duo Wallace and Gromit, an oafish man and his best-friend, a extraordinarily smart dog. Instead of computer-generated dimensions, Nick Park sculpts his quirky leads out of clay to craft their wild adventures. Included in this batch is the Oscar-nominated short A Grand Day Out and two Oscar-winning shorts: A Close Shave and The Wrong Trousers.
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Bad Teacher
Cameron Diaz plays an indolent school teacher with a dirty mouth that has got her eyes on a handsome young heir, who she hopes will be her ticket out of the classroom. Justin Timberlake, Jason Segal and Lucy Punch co-star.
You like your role models bad to the bone? Try these malcontent mentors:
Pretty Persuasion (2005) In this dark comedy, a school girl-ogling English teacher (Ron Livingston) is accused of (ahem) inappropriate behavior by a fame-seeking teenager played by Evan Rachel Wood. Jane Krakowski co-stars as a morally bankrupt (and absolutely hilarious) news reporter.
Bad News Bears (2005) In this remake, Billy Bob Thorton aims to follow in Walter Matthau‘s lumbering footsteps, playing a curmudgeonly drunk who is forced to coach a local little league team fully stocked with misfits and miscreants. They don’t know how to play, and he doesn’t know how to coach. What’s the solution? Calling in a couple of ringers, duh. Richard Linklater directs.
Hank and Mike (2008) Typically grown-ups dressed as fluffy animals are restricted to the realm of amusement parks or seasonally at shopping malls, and they are a joy to all the children that flock to have their photos snapped with them. Hank and Mike, who are always dressed like bright pink Easter bunnies, are not that kind of costumed character. After being canned from their cushy jobs, they desperately try to find new employment – without ever removing their ears. It’s a deeply odd and undeniably hysterical dark comedy. In the words of Hank, “We’re pink! We stink and we’re here to drink!” Thomas Michael and Paolo Mancini co-star.
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Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop
After leaving The Tonight Show, newly minted folk hero Conan O’Brien took to the road on his Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour. Documentarian Rodman Flender follows O’Brien as he races around the nation, and unveils a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It’s a striking revelation that is both humorous and heart-wrenching. Andy Richter, Jimmy Vivino and Richie ‘ La Bamba’ Rosenberg appear along with a long list of comedian cameos.
For more tales of the trials of being on tour, check out this trio of travelogues:
The Comedians of Comedy: The Movie (2005) If you’re a member of Team Coco, it’s likely you’ll appreciate the offbeat comedy stylings on display in this doc, which follows stand-ups Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn, Maria Bamford and Patton Oswalt as they try out new material in some less than conventional venues. Behind the scenes footage is intermingled with snippets of each comic’s evolving routine.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008) In the 1970s, it seemed the heavy metal band Anvil was destined for greatness, but while the band, which was fronted by two unhinged 14-year-olds, influenced acts like Metallica and Anthrax, they never achieved the rarified status of rock stardom. Now, Sacha Gervasi, a devoted fan, catches up with the middle-aged members, and follows them on an attempted comeback tour.
This Is Spinal Tap (1984) You like your comedy vérité? Then check out what’s arguably the best known mockumentary ever made, Rob Reiner centers his comedy on the tour of a fictional heavy metal band known for such anthems as “Big Bottom” and “Sex Farm.” Reiner and his co-writers Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer co-star.
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A Better Life
In this gritty modern reinvention of the iconic neorealist drama The Bicycle Thief, an immigrant gardener struggles to cobble together a better life for his son, who is steadily being pulled into East L.A.’s world of violence and gangs. Chris Weitz directs.
Three dramas that show the dark turns people ma take pursuing the American Dream.
Sangre de Mi Sangre (2007) A sweet Mexican boy named Pedro sneaks across to the border to find the father he’s never known. But once his papers are stolen by a duplicitous young thug named Juan, Pedro will discover the dark underbelly of New York City, while Juan discovers a deep bond with the closest thing he’s ever had to a father. This gritty thriller won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2007.
Entre Nos (2009) When Columbian-born immigrant Mariana is curtly abandoned by her husband, she’s left alone to forge a better life for their two children on the mean streets of New York City. Paola Mendoza directs and stars.
Man Push Cart (2005) Non-actor Ahmad Razvi made his brilliant debut in this compelling low-budget drama. (His performance earned him a Spirit Award-nomination for Best Male Lead alongside Aaron Eckhart, Ed Norton, Forest Whitaker and Ryan Gosling, who won for Half Nelson, which should indicate just how poignant and affecting the first-timer’s performance was.) Razvi plays a Pakistani immigrant who scrapes by through selling coffee and bagels out of a boxy pushcart that he’s forced to drag through the traffic-strewn streets of Manhattan.
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Wild Card Pick
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Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) I am especially thrilled by this week’s wild card pick because it was my introduction into the macabre world of Alfred Hitchcock – all thanks to reruns on the demented late night schedule of Nick at Nite! (You know, back before they went all family friendly.) The deeply creepy series ran from 1955 to 1962, and featured a long list of noteworthy guest stars, among them: Dick Van Dyke, Walter Matthau, Bette Davis, Cloris Leachman, Peter Lorre, Vincent Price, William Shatner, Burt Reynolds, and Fay Wray. Each week Hitch would bookend a twisted tale with his often condescending and always biting sense of humor. For example, in the first episode he leisurely explains his part in the proceedings, “I should not act in these stories but would only make appearances – something in the nature of an accessory before and after the fact, to give the title to those of you who can’t read and to tidy up afterwards for those who don’t understand the endings.” Despite my long-held affections, I was nervous to revisit AHP, for fear that the tales of suspense and slaughter would feel dull and dated by the barrage of far more graphic films I have since been witness to. But, I’m happy to report, there’s still something undeniably chilling lurking within these vicious vignettes. And each time the theme music plays, my heart still quickens in fearful anticipation!
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Can you think of a connection/suggestion we missed? Share them in comments.