Netflix. It's on the 360, it's on PS3, it's on the Wii, it's $8 a month, it doesn't require a disc, and it's now even in Canada (with a severely reduced selection). So. Unless you're really poor, a picky Canadian, a hater of the 7th art, or European, there's no excuse for not having it!

What movies has the streaming service allowed you to discover?

Because of the limited selection here in Canada, which denies us access to some of the more recent and popular movies on the service, I've been using Netflix to watch 2 different kinds of movies: terrible crap that I'd never make any effort or pay anything to see (The Happening, Teen Wolf Too), and highly respected and acclaimed foreign movies that for some reason I always put back on the shelf without renting when I'm at the video store.

So here's a recommendation for you:

Amores Perros - This movie received much acclaim, won many prizes, and I'm probably one of the last chumps to see it. But hey, maybe you haven't seen it either, so at least I'm better than you. From looking at the title, you may recognize the word "amores" (love) and get totally the wrong idea about the movie. You may also recognize "perros" (dog) and be completely befuddled. Basically, the movie contains three vignettes in which cruelty and, yes, love, are central themes.

For one third of the movie, you follow the story of a kid using his dog to participate in dog fights and win money so he can elope with his brother's wife. For the second part, you follow a couple's crumbling relationship and oh god you're getting totally the wrong idea again. Don't worry, it's totally interesting and plays out a bit like a thriller. Actually, watching it I felt like I was reading an Edgar Allan Poe short story, but maybe it's just because it features... sounds... coming out of the floorboard. The third story is about this vagrant who abandoned his family to become a guerillero, went to prison, and now takes on hitman jobs from the corrupt cop who arrested him.

The characters cross each others' paths a couple of time, so you could say it's a bit like Pulp Fiction in that way, except I found the stories and characters in this film infinitely more interesting. Heh.

I don't know what your experience with foreign movies is or what you think of them, all I can say is that this movie is absolutely not boring. From the first scene to the last, I was hooked.

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I'm currently making through season 2 of X-Men, the Animated Series (from the 90s). Some things stand out as not holding up that well, but on the whole, I still feel like the show holds up a lot better than stuff that's on today. It is surprisingly close to the comic book source material.

Hey, I was happy to see that Hottub Time Machine is available for streaming. If you guys haven't seen it, you're doing yourselves a disservice.

@PogueSquadron
It's close, but ugh.

I liked Evolution better. Haven't seen the one after that.

@Anand aw come on its awesome. I couldn't stand Evolution. They just never felt like the same XMen that I always knew. Hated that whole thing with Nightcrawler and his watch that let him look normal.

Whaaaat? But he HAD that in the comics! Or something with the same functionality. Wolverine used to insult him for using it. And then berate him for looking like an elf. Or threaten to stab him.

'90s X-Men was definitely more faithful, but it was just too cheesy for me. I even prefer the X-Men from their appearance in Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (which is way better than '90s Spider-Man), with the Aussie Wolverine.

You know which '90s Marvel show was actually really good? The Incredible Hulk. Of course, it was canceled the fastest.

@Anand

Nothing tops the Spiderman show from the 60s, which is now available on Netflix streaming.

Earendil, I don't know how I missed your post on IT Crowd, but I must say, that show is *British accent* BRILL-I-ANT!! */British accent*


As for the X-men debate, Evolution doesn't even exist as far as I'm concerned. The original series is and will always be a masterpiece, cheesy dialogue and all.

Now, as far as the Star Trek shows go, The Next Generation is fucking untouchable. One of the greatest T.V. shows of all time!! Despite what Pandareus says about Star Trek in general, I'm positive even he would like this series.

I sorta mentioned it in my only post on this but really, you guys should check out Psych if you haven't. James Roday and Dule Hill are really good as a duo and the supporting cast is great. Also really funny.

I am currently addicted to Damages (first season), and I don't know why. I don't particularly like the characters and I'm not finding the "white collar crime" plot to be that compelling, and yet I keep watching.

@chrisbg99

Oh, Chris, I would follow your suggestion if I could, but alas, blame Canada. Heard tons of good things about that show. It's similar to The Mentalist, except good, right?

@Anand

X-Men Evolution was awesome! Never did see all the episodes, but I did manage to see it on Netflix and saw the final two. Will now go back and watch what I missed.

A little sad, angry, disappointed, and ultimately emotionally raped that they removed Dexter and Californication from the Streaming service. Unless I'm just not seeing them, and Netflix's search isn't either, then it's a sad day.

I remember liking the animation behind Evolution, but not as much the teen-ness of the characters. I remember really liking what I saw of Wolverine and the X-Men (despite how Wolverine centric it was). Maybe my memory is just foggy. I'd like to go back and check it out. I think when this show was on, I was just at an age where I was really cynical about certain things.

It DID have a great voice actor on Wolverine...that guy who did the original Piccolo on DBZ.

@missypissy

Shows and movies come and go on Netflix. They'll probably come back at some point. The agreements Netflix got with studios aren't permanent ones.

I'm trying to get into X-Men Evolution now, but I'm having a hard time getting into it. I think it's just the younger nature of the characters and the tone of the show in general. That, and some changes to the original story that never gelled well with me (particularly that the show takes place with them in the high school and Mystique is like their principal). From what I remember, I liked Wolverine and the X-Men better. It had nice animation, and I think I just preferred that the X-Men were already established.

I dunno, something about Evolution just seems kind of goofy to me. I'll have to watch it a little more to see if I change my mind.

I see people have already recommended X-Men, Spider-Man, and all Star Trek shows (except DS9 for some reason). Well if you're interested in Japanse Horror, Ju-on White Ghost/Black Ghost is out. I think I'll watch it tomorrow.

@Guillaume

Well I haven't seen The Mentalist but Psych from what I understand they are similar though Psych came first. I can't account for others taste but I really enjoy how they mix the humor with the serious stuff.

PogueSquadron said:

and I think I just preferred that the X-Men were already established.

This was the biggest thing for me when I was watching Evolution. It was also these episodes that were the hardest for me to get through on a rewatch. (Yes, I ended up loving the show enough to watch it all the way through more than once.) It doesn't become really awesome until the Season 1 finale (and it doesn't get consistently awesome until a little ways into Season 2), but it's a great show once it picks up (if you can let go of the mythology alterations). And since the first season is only 13 episodes (with the finale starting on episode 12), it really doesn't take that long to get to the show's good parts.

As for Psych, I LOVED the pilot episode. It was absolutely brilliant. Everyone should watch that episode at least once. After that though? Eh. It's still a good show, but it often feels like it's using the same bag of tricks over and over again, and for a while one of the two main characters was becoming less likable to me every episode as the other main character who already wasn't that likable remained the same. It's gotten better since then, but I kind of unofficially gave up on the show just before Season 1's halfway point. At that point it felt like a good waste-of-time show, and I didn't have the time to waste.

I watched Camelot yesterday. I always wanted to check it out ever since I saw a ad for it a few months ago. I don't have starz so I missed out on it until now. I have to say I love it. The woman who played Guinevere is gorgeous and Igraine is a MILF. I was sad to learn that the producers didn't renew for a second season.

I went back and watched the UK version of The Office and I have to say that it is COMPLETE SHIT when compared against the US version. The boss completely creeps me out with his humor...it's actually kinda sad and scary to think there may be someone in the real world that really acts like that.

The US writers have done an INCREDIBLE job with turning their source material into a successful show. Kudos to them, for sure.

I hated the first season of the US The Office, but I couldn't even get past the first episode of the UK The Office. And I love The IT Crowd and Monty Python, so I know it's not "British humor" that keeps me from liking the UK version. (Granted, I do have a bit of a bias against Ricky Gervais, but when he's genuinely funny, I'll certainly admit to it. He just didn't have that in the pilot.) It also probably didn't help that the US's pilot of the show was almost a word-for-word reshoot of the UK's pilot, and I already didn't like that portion of the US show...

In other Netflix news, I watched the 13 episode Harper's Island about a month or two ago and thought it was pretty good. Anyone who's a fan of the horror/murder mystery genre should get a good bit of entertainment out of it (provided the viewer's expectations aren't raised too high and he's able to overlook a dose of the cliche easily enough). I definitely enjoyed it. Surprising number of familiar faces in the show too.

And I just started watching 24 as well. I'm about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through the first season and moving kind of slowly. It's a fun show, but it's not so gripping that I find myself rushing to watch the next episode. In fact, I think I'm probably going to give up on the show after this first season even though I've fairly thoroughly enjoyed it. I just don't see myself being able to continue enjoying it if they repeat this formula 7 more times.

And I'm sad that Pushing Daisies has been taken off of Instant. One of my favorite shows, and I was in the middle of a rewatch...

The first season of 24 is hardly the best. In fact, I'd say that seasons 2, 5, and 8 are the best, with 1 and 6 being the worst. The thing about 24 is that each season is a slow-burner, with the first halves setting up the plot, and the second-halves serving as one long climax filled with twists and turns (I feel that season 8 does this the best, but you have to watch the previous seasons to really feel the emotional impact). Really, it's one of the best shows of its ilk, in my mind.