10 Movies on Netflix You Haven't Seen but Should

1) Monsters - Don't mistake Monsters for a bad sci-fi monster movie. Instead, think of it as a road trip movie with the presence of giant monsters serving as a brilliant backdrop. The monsters remain largely off-screen, but when they are fully revealed, they are more beautiful than terrifying. This is a movie about survival, self discovery, and finding love in the most dire of circumstances. Monsters is beautifully shot, original, and worth the watch.

2) Winter's Bone - I cannot recommend this movie enough. Despite a limited release, Winter's Bone went on to receive Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Actor. Filmed on location in some of the poorest counties in Missouri, Winter's Bone tells the story of Ree Dolly, who is forced to locate her meth-cooking father, dead or alive, in order to save her family's house. A rural Gothic tale, centered on incredible performances by Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes, Winter's Bone proves the power of realism and setting in creating an excellent story. This is a must see.

3) Trust - Despite its R rating, many a young teenager would benefit from seeing Trust. The film's main character, Annie, is an intelligent high school student who grows close to who see thinks is a young man her age on the Internet. The two agree to meet, but the boy Annie thinks she is meeting is not what she expected. The remainder of Trust focuses on Annie's downward spiral following the encounter and her father's obsession with locating the man who assaulted her. A heartbreaking and cautionary tale, Trust is carried exceptionally well by veteran actors Clive Owen, Viola Davis, Catherine Keener, and Liana Liberato as Annie.

4) Goon - Goon will bring back memories of one of the greatest sports movies of all time - Slap Shot. Just as goofy but with more heart, Goon tells the story of Doug Glatt ( played by Sean William Scott), a small town bouncer whose vicious punch contrasts with his shy and kind personality. After knocking out a hockey player who climbs into the stands to attack Doug's friend, the coach of the home team recruits him to be the team's enforcer. Doug makes up for his lack of hockey prowess with his skills as a fighter. Complete with a potential romance and veteran enforcer Ross Rhea, played memorably by Liev Schreiber, Goon is a feel-good movie with plenty of laughs and more than enough good fight scenes.

5) Cold Weather - You have to be a very patient person to make it through Cold Weather, but if you don't require constant action and a traditional movie formula, you will be rewarded. This film is slow-paced and takes a while to get going, which has more to do with the use of realistic characters who will surely remind you of people you know. Cold Weather focuses on Doug and Gail, a brother and sister living in Portland, Oregon. Doug studied forensics for a time in college but dropped out due to reasons that are never really specified. He now lives with his sister and works a minimum wage job in an ice factory, where he becomes friends with the equally aimless Carlos. The movie gains momentum when Doug's old girlfriend, Rachel, visits from out of town and promptly disappears. What follows is a mystery that grips your attention and is magnified by the mysticism that seems inherent in the Pacific Northwest. The ending leaves something to be desired, but the ride is worth it.

6) The Innkeepers - This is the kind of horror movie I love. Though not filmed in the handheld style made popular by The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, The Innkeepers similarly employs the theory that hearing things go bump in the night is much scarier than a special effects show, blaring music, and hyper-stylized gore. This is a good old fashioned ghost story with several chilling moments and a terrifying climax interspersed with several humorous scenes.

7) Enter the Void - You've never seen a movie remotely like Enter the Void, a nearly three hour acid trip from Argentinian filmmaker Gaspar Noe. Shot almost entirely from the point of view of a hovering spirit and set in Tokyo, Noe takes advantage of the bright and colorful neon lights that pervade the city to create one of the most visually stunning films I have ever seen. If you want a truly unique movie-viewing experience, you can't go wrong with Enter the Void. Be sure to watch the trailer.

8) Fish Tank - On occasion, an actor or actress comes out of nowhere to deliver a powerhouse performance. Such is the case with Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank, a British film from director Andrea Arnold. Arnold discovered Jarvis after seeing her in a shouting match with her boyfriend at a train station, and Jarvis seems to have an endless amount of anger to draw on for her role as Mia, who lives in a housing project in Essex with her young, vulgar, inattentive mother and little sister. When Mia's mother begins dating Connor, played by Michael Fassbender (Magneto in X-Men: First Class), Mia finds herself very attracted to him. Connor doesn't do much to discourage Mia's advances, and I'll leave it to you to see where the tension between the two leads. Fish Tank is a grim and gritty film, and Jarvis carries it effortlessly.

9) Trucker - Michelle Monaghan is a star in the making, and her role in Trucker solidifies this notion. Playing Diane Ford, a single woman who spends her days driving a truck and avoiding any complications or relationships outside of one night stands in cheap motel rooms. Her listless existence is threatened when Peter, the 11-year old son she abandoned years ago, is thrust into her care when his father is hospitalized with a serious illness. The plot may not sound original, but the writer and director do a fantastic job of avoiding cliches. The young boy is filled with anger at his mother, and she shows little interest in abandoning her lifestyle in order to take care of him. Trucker is worth seeing for Monaghan's performance alone.

10) The Last Rites of Joe May - Dennis Farina gives a career performance in The Last Rites of Joe May, the story of an aging man who has spent his whole life looking out for number one. The movie starts with Joe May returning home from a lengthy stay in the hospital only to find a young woman and her son living in his apartment. Because no one knew what happened to Joe, the landlord assumed he had died. Sympathizing with Joe's plight, the young woman, Jenny, allows Joe to move in if he helps pay the rent. Filmed on location in a cold and desolate Chicago, where Farina once served as a police officer, The Last Rites of Joe May is a touching film of a man seeking redemption in the final act of his life.

The Art of the Movie Trailer

I have always been fascinated by movie trailers/previews. Most are generic and do nothing more than sum up the plot of the movie, while others are able to achieve of level of greatness all on their own. I appreciate trailers that aim to elicit the emotions viewers will experience in the full film without giving away too much of the plot. As in film and other forms of media, I love to see a clear expression of creativity and ingenuity. Below are five trailers that grasped my attention the first time I saw them and stuck with me for some time. Enjoy.

1. The Social Network (2010)

My all-time favorite trailer. The haunting cover of Radiohead's Creep fits perfectly with the slideshow of Facebook posts, demonstrating the reliance today's youth has on social media to express themselves. The song is also a reflection of Mark Zuckerberg's desperation in trying to get noticed and prove his genius to the world.

2. Gummo (1997)

Think the trailer is strange? You should see the movie. This little-known indie film, directed by the enigmatic Harmony Korrine, is one of the most fascinating, disturbing, and confusing movies that I have ever seen. There isn't much of a plot to speak of, but rather a series of scenes capturing various people's aimless lives in the aftermath of a deadly tornado. This trailer is just as mad, random, and captivating as the movie it previews. I don't know how, but Madonna's Like a Prayer fits perfectly.

3. Inception (2010)

Christopher Nolan has established himself as one of Hollywood's most innovative director's with such masterpieces as Memento, Insomnia, and the Dark Knight Trilogy. With Inception, Nolan gave us one of the most wildly entertaining and visually stunning films in recent memory. The teaser trailer for the film didn't even hint at the movie's plot. Instead, it featured some of the first-rate special effects and gravity-bending rules found in the film's dream sequences. I was hooked the first time I saw this teaser and couldn't wait to find out more about the movie.

4. Take Shelter (2011)

There's no better way to describe Take Shelter than as ominous, and the same goes for the trailer. Take Shelter focuses on a family man in rural Ohio victimized by visions of an apocalyptic storm, but doubt is cast on the credibility of his visions throughout the film. The trailer for the movie benefits greatly from David Wingo's score, which manages to evoke a peaceful world, or man, destined for doom.

5. Blue Valentine (2010)

The trailer for Blue Valentine uses a scene of Ryan Gosling serenading Michelle Williams with the song You Always Hurt the One You Love. The song sounds sweet and innocent, but if you listen closely, it does an excellent job of previewing the devastating relationship between Gosling's and Williams' characters. A minimalist indie film that had a limited theatrical release, Blue Valentine offers a brutally realistic depiction of the disintegration of a marriage. When you see Gosling singing to Williams, you see a young couple falling innocently in love. Once you see the entire film, you'll understand just how heartbreaking that scene is.

More excellent trailers:

The Dark Knight Rises

Hostel

Saw

The Impossible

Big Fish

The Crazies

Cloverfield
Where the Wild Things Are
The Strangers
Cold Weather
Garden State

Meth and Murder in the Ozarks

Prior to her earning the coveted role of Katniss Everdeen in the blockbuster film adaptation of "The Hunger Games," Jennifer Lawrence turned in an incredible performance in the 2010 indie film "Winter's Bone." Lawrence earned a much deserved Oscar nomination for her work in one of the best movies of the last five years. Directed by Debra Granik and based on the novel of the same name, "Winter's Bone" is a rare cinematic experience that remains in your mind days after viewing.

Lawrence stars as Ree Dolly, a teenage girl looking after her little brother and sister in a shack in the woods. Her mother is present physically but remains in a daze following the disappearance of her husband, Jessup. After Jessup fails to show up for a court date, Ree is informed that her father put up the family's house to cover his bail. Unless he turns up in a week, the house is gone. This, of course, is a big problem, all the more so because Ree believes her father is dead. The rest of the film is a dark and dreary journey that Ree undertakes to prove her assumption.

It is no secret to Ree that her father is a meth cooker. Just about everyone Ree encounters in her trek is involved in the business of making and selling, and in some cases using, meth. Family plays a significant role in the film, as everyone in this region seems to be related in some way. But when the threat of the law is always nearby, family ties take a back seat to staying alive and out of prison.

Along the way, Ree comes across a gamut of frightening characters, none more so than her uncle, Teardrop. Played with a fierce intensity by the underrated John Hawkes, who also received an Oscar nomination, Teardrop advises Ree to not question her father's whereabouts. Despite his emaciated appearance, Teardrop is still an imposing figure who is more than willing to use violence when he deems it necessary. When he enters a room, people take notice. Once Teardrop's curiosity about what happened to his brother rises, he joins Ree on her quest. Together, Ree and Teardrop find more questions than answers, but despite several setbacks and one severe beating, Ree never falters.

Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone"

Set in the backwoods of the Ozarks, "Winter's Bone" is a triumph of atmosphere and mood. The movie was shot on location in some of the poorest counties in Missouri, and the supporting characters appear  just as authentic as the gritty locale. What I love about movies like this is the feeling of authenticity. The  use of real locales and a mix of professional and amateur locals create an undeniable sense of realism, and every step of the way, we are aware of the dangers surrounding Ree. Still she forges on, and we wonder how in the hell she does it.

Rating (four star scale): ****
Available on Netflix Instant Streaming

Don't Call it a Swan Song

On the surface, “Small Town Murder Songs” is a police procedural involving the death of a young woman. What makes the film so engaging is that the murder serves as a backdrop to one man’s efforts at a small measure of redemption.

The story is set in a cold, desolate Mennonite town in northern Ontario. The characters seem rooted in place, and indeed the town seems to keep even those with reasons to leave from even making an attempt to escape.

The film’s protagonist is Walter, the town’s sheriff. Walter is attempting to put his violent past and short temper behind him. However, the townspeople seem unwilling to forgive him. Walter is constantly met with nervous glances and disapproval, and even he seems unsure about whether his efforts are sincere. He finds hope in the Catholic Church and a woman who is aware of his questionable past but who appears to have also been through some hard times.

Walter’s plan for redemption is to surround himself with anything and anyone he can to keep his anger at bay, but the discovery of the dead woman sets into motion a series of events that threaten to bring Walter’s recovery to a screeching halt. Walter suspects from the outset that his past lover’s creepy boyfriend was involved in the killing, and there is quite a bit of evidence to support his case. The ex is played by Jill Hennessey with a combination of fear and anger towards Walter. It becomes evident early on that a violent incident occurred between the two, raising doubt about the validity of Walter’s suspicion of his ex’s boyfriend.

The murder investigation is fairly straightforward and presents few twists, but the movie doesn’t have to rely on it for suspense. The tension comes from Walter’s character, and Peter Stormare does an excellent job of making us feel sorry for Walter when he may not deserve our sympathy. By the end of the film, the new life Walter has attempted to build for himself is about to come crashing down.

“Small Town Murder Songs” is not without its flaws. Despite its 75-minute running time, some scenes tend to drag, and the end is not what many viewers would have hoped for. There really isn’t a happy ending to be written for a small town murder song.

*Available at Redbox and Netflix Instant Streaming

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB22oo_f8g0

Take Shelter

A Storm on the Horizon

“Take Shelter” begins with a storm. Curtis LaForche stands in his driveway and looks up at ominous clouds just as it begins to rain, the drops brown and oily. This will be the first of many visions Curtis has throughout the duration of “Take Shelter,” and they grow increasingly violent and disturbing. He also begins to suffer from vivid nightmares. In one, the peaceful family dog attacks him, and Curtis feels the pain in his arm the following day. As his nightmares begin to involve those closest to him, he grows more suspicious and unstable.

This is a brilliant piece of filmmaking by Jeff Nichols, due in large part to the Academy Award-worthy performance by Michael Shannon as Curtis. Shannon and Nichols previously collaborated on the 2007 film “Shotgun Stories,” which centered on a blood feud between two sets of brothers in Arkansas. “Take Shelter” has much in common with that film but is much more visceral and intense.  

Set in present-day rural Ohio, Curtis has what his best friend Dewart calls a good life. His situation is certainly admirable, as he has a loving wife, played by the dependable Jessica Chastain, and a beautiful young daughter. The family is not without its problems. The couple’s daughter is deaf, but a surgical procedure offers hope for her. This puts a strain on the family’s finances, which are the product of Curtis’s construction job and his wife’s handmade quilts.

As Curtis’s nightmares and apocalyptic visions intensify, he becomes more of a threat to himself and his family. It is revealed midway through the film that Curtis’s mother was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when she was around his age. He suspects that he may be suffering from mental illness, and his low income and rural surroundings don’t give him much of an opportunity to seek professional help.

Despite his visiting a doctor and sessions with a cheap therapist, Curtis becomes increasingly obsessed with the storm he sees coming. He begins to expand on the storm shelter in his back yard, borrowing his employer’s equipment and spending large amounts of money on making sure the shelter is well stocked and equipped for a disaster. People in town, including his wife and Dewart, begin to question his sanity, yet his wife does her best to support with him through the ordeal. In one of the film’s best scenes, Curtis explodes in a shocking act of anger and paranoia at a community dinner.

Some may find “Take Shelter” to be a bit slow, but if you appreciate great acting, cinematography, and storytelling, then it’s a must-see. “Take Shelter” is unsettling, eerie, and will stick with you days after viewing. It is certainly worth checking out.

Available at Redbox

Take Shelter Official Trailer