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Top 5 Netflix (Jul-Dec 06)

Sun, 03/04/2007 - 18:17 in

What with the football and our trip, we didn't run through all that many movies in the second half of last year. (Oh, and I know that this post is about a month behind, so lets not talk about that any more.)

And what movies we did see, not that much thrilled me. But a Top 5 is a top 5, so lets pick

  1. Elizabeth I: Disc 1 (2-Disc Series) - Easily the best rental over the last half of aught-six. Helen Mirren is amazing, the production values are high, and the plot is (for the most part) historically accurate. Recommended.
  2. Cronos - Another film by Guillermo del Toro (he's the Pan's Labyrinth director). Seems we've taken a liking to his stuff. This film is like a cross between the werewolf myth (an unfortunate accident that afflicts even the pure of heart) and the vampire myth (need blood to live, not keen on sunlight). The film doesn't quite hang together in the end, but it's diverting enough and a clever take on the monster genre.
  3. An Inconvenient Truth - Yes, it is a PowerPoint presentation. (Actually a way cooler Keynote presentation, Apple, donchaknow.) And yes it's Al Gore. But it's well done and interestingly paced. Oh, then there's that part of it that's true.
  4. Night of the Living Dead - It's just kinda weird that every zombie movie is just a remake of the first one. And they are never about the zombies, always about the group of people trying to survive. No distractions from the action -- efficient and unrelenting.
  5. The Wicker Man - Didn't see the remake, but this original 60's Hammer film has got weird in spades. Not your usual Hammer production -- what with the musical numbers and the psychological plotting. They don't quite pull it off at the end, but they were aiming high. Worth a late-night viewing.

Other decent flix:

  • Syriana - Even now it's kind of a blur, but a good kind of blur. Pair it with An Inconvenient Truth for an evening of paranoid conspiracy theorizing.
  • The Matador - Worth it to see Pierce Brosnan play totally against type.

Full listing below the fold.

Full Netflix Rentals: Jul-Dec 06