Almost Heroes: Netflix Surprises

Click to watch the movie on Netflix streaming here!

There's not a day goes by that I watch a Chris Farley movie and not wish that he was still around. I was just a child when he passed away, and I can only think of all the amazing movies that he probably would have created if he was given the time and opportunity.

Almost Heroes was one of his last movies, and was actually released to the public after he had died. It's a goofy movie but it stays true to his sense of humor, allowing it to be a rather justifiable final film (although I'm not going to lie, it would have been nice if he would've been able to team up with David Spade again).

Anyway, outside of all this existential framing, the movie is really funny! It's one of my favorite comedies currently available on Netflix streaming, and it's worth watching if you have a good sense of humor.

The movie also stars Matthew Perry, who does the whole "Matthew Perry" thing in this movie, but it's not as obnoxious as I might be making it seem. It's hilarious, and the teaming up of him with Farley is magnificent casting.

The movie is about two men who begin to traverse across the wide west, hoping to be the first two Europeans to do so. The problem is, there are these two other people (Louis and Clark) who are also attempting to get to the Pacific Ocean first.

The whole thing isn't to be taken seriously whatsoever, so it really is something you can watch and not have to think too much. Like I kind of already said, it's really a silly movie, but it's incredibly enjoyable. Watch it and you'll certainly be satisfied.

Rock Star: Netflix Hidden Gem Surprises

Click to watch the movie on Netflix here!

Rock Star is the kind of movie you watch to completely vicariously live through the main character. If you've ever wanted to be a "rock star" this is the kind of movie for you.

This movie is about some dude (played by Mark Wahlberg), who plays in a cover band of a fictional band called Steel Dragon. The Wahlberg character loves the band, and loves it so hard that he goes out of his way to look, act, and sing exactly like the lead singer of the band.

Then one day, Steel Dragon happens to kick out the lead singer of their group, and, whaddayaknow, Marky Mark gets to audition.

You can kind of predict where it goes from here, as Wahlberg's character obviously lands the gig to satisfy the name of the movie.

With becoming a "rock star" comes a lot of backstage drama, and that's what the latter portion of the movie is centered around. Either way, it's a fun time to see what it takes to live the life of a world-renown rock star, and especially to see what it would like to land the part out of no where.

If you've ever dreamed of singing in a band or being on stage, this is exactly the movie for you, as, like I said, it gives you the chance to vicariously become a rock star version of Marky Mark. I don't really know why, but I liked this movie far more than I probably should have, and I think you might too.

Top 10 Kids Movies on Netflix Streaming - March 2011

Here is our list of the Top 10 movies for the kids demographic currently available on Instant Netflix streaming!

10. Muppets from Space

9. First Kid

8. Astro Boy

7. The Karate Kid

6. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

5. Up

4. The Karate Kid

3. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

2. Miracle on 34th Street

1. The Iron Giant

Miramax Movies Coming to Netflix Streaming!

All of us big Netflix fans and users have been a little nervous lately, feeling like it's possible that companies might start to become more fearful of allowing movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, seeing as Netflix could soon become a competitor within other industries.

Well, today there's big news to be heard: Miramax and Netflix are apparently very close to an agreement that would allow a host of Miramax movies to stream on Netflix!

According to The Wall Street Journal:

Miramax, the studio behind some of the most iconic independent movies of recent decades, and Netflix Inc. are finalizing a five-year deal worth more than $100 million to stream its library of more than 700 titles, according to people familiar with the situation.

Obviously, that sounds like a lot of money, but when you take into consideration how much cash Netflix dishes out to send so many dvds through the mail, it's really nothing more than shifting where the money is utilized.

So, instead of mailing out Miramax dvds, Netflix is much more determined to make them streaming, as to save money on mailing and to be able to market and even greater array of streaming movies!

The WSJ article gives hints as to what kinds of films we can come to expect once Miramax titles become available on Netflix streaming:

The Miramax library includes scores of well-known titles, including "Shakespeare in Love," "Good Will Hunting," "Pulp Fiction," "Kill Bill," "No Country for Old Men" and "Bridget Jones's Diary." It also includes at least some films from series such as "Scream" and "Scary Movie." Newer installments in some of the studio's franchises have been produced by the Weinstein Co. and are owned by that company.

I'm pretty excited over this, and if you're a Netflix subscriber, you should be too. This should give us a lot more movies to watch!

Ransom: Netflix Surprises

Click to stream the movie on Netflix here!

It's sometimes difficult to muster the courage for some people nowadays to actually admit that Mel Gibson is and was a pretty fine actor. He's been in some phenomenal movies, and one of those movies is called "Ransom."

In Ransom, Gibson plays an extremely wealthy man who owns an airline. He's so wealthy and so well-known that of course, per the title, he has his son kidnapped and the bad guys are demanding a ransom be paid.

This is such a simple type of storyline, but this movie in specific executes so well. It's a thrilling experience that when I think back of "suspenseful" movies that I've ever watched, this probably ranks in my top 10.

Of course with any thriller, there's a lot of mystery and excitement that goes on, of which if I explained much more within this blog post, I might be giving something away. I've always tried to make this Netflix blog a place where people could get suggested movies and not fall prey to having to read a ton of spoilers.

Ransom stands the test of multiple viewings. The character development is great, and you really feel in-tune with the emotions that the family is experiencing. It's getting to be kind of an older movie by now (was 1996 really that long ago?) so hopefully someone will see this, give it a shot, and enjoy it for the first time. I know I wish I could experience it for the first time again.

Unable to Watch Movies Online Yesterday?

I tweeted yesterday about Netflix's issues with streaming, and, awesomely enough, Netflix has decided to give a refund to customers who had troubles!

This is obviously a great way that Netflix is able to brand themselves as a caring company, as it's nice to get a little bit of cash back for time we couldn't spend using the service. It's also nice that Netflix genuinely recognizes that they could have done better at providing their service (at least in this situation).

Granted, 3% isn't going to make or break your bank, but it still shows that Netflix is constantly striving to have the best streaming service possible.

Anybody get an email yet?

New and Coming Soon to Netflix Streaming - April 2011

I forgot to do one of these types of Netflix blog posts last month, but never fear, I remembered to do one for next month!

Here are some movies and TV shows that are going to become available to Netflix streaming next month, April 2011 that we found notable enough to write about here.

I think the biggest thing to note here is that TOY STORY 3 IS GOING TO BE ON NETFLIX STREAMING AS OF NEXT MONTH.

21 Grams

Absolute Power

Ally McBeal (television show)

Blood Work

Cheers (television show)

Conspiracy Theory

Demolition Man

Family Ties (television show)

Father of the Bride

Gone with the Wind

Glee (television show)

Hart's War

Hawaii Five-0 (television show - original)

Hot Tub Time Machine

Hunt for Red October, The

Numb3rs (television show)

Terminator, The

Toy Story 3

Twilight Zone, The (television show)

Showtime Pulling Dexter, Californication off Netflix

That's right, in a strange turn of events this evening we've discovered that Showtime and Netflix have "reworked" their contractual agreement, thereby taking away some of Netflix fans' most beloved shows off the Netflix service.

From Variety.com:

Showtime and Netflix have struck a new deal that won't give the upstart subscription service streaming rights to the CBS Corp.-owned channel's current series.
The shift comes as Showtime focuses on providing content to its newly launched Showtime Anytime authenticated broadband service.

While previous seasons of "Dexter" and "Californication" will disappear from Netflix this summer, Showtime will allow programs no longer active on the network to remain available for streaming via Netflix.

For instance, "The Tudors" will still be streamable on Netflix, and another Showtime series that isn't on the service yet, "Sleeper Cell," will be added in July.

Obviously, this blows for people who haven't had the chance to watch Dexter or Californication yet, as they're both absolutely phenomenal shows. At the same time, there's still plenty of time to watch, as it appears they'll begin disappearing this summer. They're both some of the best written material playing on television today, and I know I wouldn't have watched either if they hadn't been available on Netflix streaming.

Hopefully, this is all part of the reoccurring "ebb and flow" that Netflix is always describing of content being released and then brought back, but I can only assume that as Netflix becomes more and more competitive in the television realm of media, other companies are going to be scared of giving them any advantage.

If you haven't started either of these television series yet on Netflix, you have been warned! You now have a finite of time before they're gone...

Dumb and Dumber on Netflix Streaming: Unrated?

Dumb and Dumber has recently become available on Netflix streaming, but for some reason it's an "Unrated" version, not released in theaters.

Some people have been wondering what this whole "unrated" thing is about, so I've gone to the great almighty Wikipedia to see what the differences are in this version. Those differences are:

Added/removed scenes

• In the unrated version, when Harry and Lloyd are in the truckstop diner, Harry complains to the waitress that his drink is no longer fizzy. The waitress deals with this by rudely grabbing the glass and blowing bubbles through the straw.
• In the original version, "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" by XTC (covered by Crash Test Dummies for the film) plays during the scene where Harry, Lloyd, and Mental are in the restaurant. This song is absent in the unrated version, possibly due to copyright issues.
• After the gas station scene, a new scene occurs while driving where Harry makes fun of Lloyd about being in a bathroom with a 6'4" man with his pants down.

Differences

• In the original version, when Mental tears Petey's (Harry's parakeet) head off, it cuts after he says "I Tawt I Taw a Putty Tat!." In the unrated version, it shows him violently squeezing Petey's head with his fists.
• In the original version, Sea Bass is about to spit on Harry's burger, but the camera cuts to Lloyd, while the spitting sound is still heard. In the unrated version, it shows the spit coming out of his mouth onto the burger.
• The unrated version features an extended dialogue scene between Lloyd and Harry in the honeymoon motel.
• In the unrated version, when Mental and Shay are waiting by the side of the road for Harry and Lloyd to drive by, Shay says to Joe: "Keep your shirt on, I gotta squeeze a lemon" and crouches down.
• In the unrated version, when Sea Bass finds Lloyd in the bathroom, Lloyd keeps repeating "Find a happy place" to which Sea Bass replies, "I'll show you a happy place!" before dropping his own pants and grabbing his crotch.
• In the unrated version, it features an extra scene prior to Harry's departure to the slopes with Mary, in which Lloyd comments on Harry's "revealing" ski suit.
• In the original version, when Harry is attempting to fix Mary's toilet, he shouts out that he's shaving, and we see Mary standing at the door. The unrated version shows Harry lifting the toilet to the window and dumping its contents out.
• In the original version, it is only implied that Sea Bass was trying to rape Lloyd however in the unrated he states that he is

So, there you go. I don't know how many of you have actually been curious about this, but it's kind of interesting to see the little differences between the different films. As you should know by now, Dumb and Dumber is a phenomenally great comedy, and if for some strange reason you haven't seen it by now, what in the world are you waiting for? Go add it to your Netflix queue this Instant! (Do you see what I did there?)

Rugrats Pilot Episode Online

Everyone knows Rugrats was awesome, but have you ever seen the pilot episode? I bet you haven't, because it didn't air on television. I just now came across it and thought it was fun, so here it is, have a look!

Of course the show ran for a long time and many of us remember it from our childhood, but if you're in the mood to relax and get a little nostalgic over some old-school Nickelodeon, Netflix has the original "Rugrats" available for streaming!

Click to stream the first season of the television show here!

Netflix Login: Movies Online with Other Profiles

I, like many others, share my Netflix account with other family members. It's very nice when someone else in my family wants to watch something on the Wii while I want to watch stream Netflix on Xbox 360.

Now, I can understand the limitations set to make it so there are only a couple streams being able to be simultaneously played on the same paid account, but the limitation of being able to see actually what is streaming on secondary accounts is frustrating.

If you're sharing the same paid/primary account, obviously everyone shares the same Netflix queue for streaming movies (as well as mail-in, etc). If you have separate secondary account profiles, each person on the paid account then has the ability to rate movies so that Netflix can hone in on their specific preferences.

But the problem here is that, on those secondary accounts, you cannot see what's available for streaming. You can rate an infinite amount of movies, but the preferences for movies that Netflix suggests become meaningless if you can't utilize them to stream movies.

Basically, what ends up happening is that someone on one of the secondary profiles on our account gets so frustrated having to switch back and forth between the primary and secondary profiles to see if something is streaming that they just give up trying to have their own profile altogether, and instead choose to deal with the primary account's preferences. This way, they're able to glance at the selection of Netflix streaming movies with ease.

I know there are lots of different third party tools that help people be able to see what's streaming (and even third party tools that help suggest movies on Netflix), but this simply seems like an easy fix for Netflix to make. I'm not even asking that Netflix make those movies available to stream on the secondary accounts, but simply just tell the user that it's available.

This seems like a small issue but it really would be nice to have different Netflix preferences per different profiles on the same account. I know other family members would get more out of their Netflix experience if this was the case.

The League: Netflix Hidden Gem Surprises (televison)

Click to watch this TV show on Netflix streaming here!

With the dawn of the Internet age, Fantasy Football has been able to become and everyday hobby for just about everyone. Before the Internet, there was a host of complications that awaited even simple lineup adjustments, with lots of calling and calling to try to get a hold of your commissioner.

Not anymore, with today's technology, everything in Fantasy Football is a cinch, and adjustments can be done seamlessly. This has opened the world of Fantasy Football to not only the esteemed football experts of the world, but to the average fans as well. (Although very often those people suck, because they join your league only to draft and then lose a game and never pay attention to their roster).

Anyway, it seems every year, Fantasy Football somehow manages to become even more popular, and with that growing popularity comes a niche market.

The League centers around a group of friends who, of course, have their own Fantasy Football league. They, like most Americans, are overzealous in their competitiveness, and most of the driving conflict of the show spawns from it. The characters in the show are basically soulless in their attempts at winning, as they're out to win at any cost. This allots to a lot of silly situations.

I watch and like this TV show because I'm in a league of my own, and it's so funny to me to hear jokes that only a Fantasy player would get. There are certain players who people trade, only to become huge busts, there are players that go undrafted that everyone swarms over, and so on.

It sounds like you wouldn't enjoy this show if you're not into Fantasy, but that's not the case. Its center storyline might have to do with "the league," but it's still pushed around by lots of different situational comedy scenarios, and it's fun to see lots of different celebrities make cameos as well.

Oh! And Jon Lajoie is in it, and he's awesome!

Xbox 360 Netflix and Netflix PlayStation 3 Temporarily Down

If you're like me, you're like one of the millions of people out there who are trying to get onto Netflix in America right now to no avail. It seems like Netflix is getting bombarded a lot more than usual, and as a result, are having issues. I came to post this here because I'm continuing to try over and over again to enter Netflix before I finish typing this post (that's the goal).

Either way this post can be a reminder to people, who I know want to do nothing but clutter Twitter full of complaints, DON'T PANIC.

@NetflixHelps, Netflix's assistance twitter feed has posted the following Tweet:

If you're having trouble connecting to Netflix - we are aware of the issue and are working on getting it fixed as quickly as we can. Thanks!

So there you have it folks, don't worry. This will only be a problem if Netflix never comes back.

Just kidding, that wouldn't happen. I'm just genuinely bored right now and am trying to elongate this blog post as long as I cam ramble in order to see if Netflix is back up by the time I'm finished.

But apparently, it's still down as I'm currently typing this, so oh well. Looks like I'll have to post this after all.

Netflix Queue to View Movies Online: A Curse?

Right now I came to the conclusion that the Instant Netflix Queue, at least for me, seems to be more of a curse than anything.

Like everyone, as soon as I come across a movie that I'm interested in, I sling it to the bottom of my Netflix Queue, and lo and behold, it probably never gets watched (or at least, doesn't get watched for a very long time).

My instant queue is absolutely packed with movies, but so often, the list of movies becomes so large that it almost becomes intimidating. I've found that I'm much more apt to watch a movie if I watch it right away, rather than adding it to my queue to watch later.

For me at least, adding anything to my Instant Queue is condemning it to not be watched for at least a week or two. I know this is all mindless rambling, but it's something I really just figured I needed to write down.

If nothing else, this blog post can be my attempt to try to motivate myself to be a little more diligent in cleaning up my queue. But maybe I'll do it later...

Defending Your Life: Netflix Hidden Gem Surprises

Click to watch this movie on Netflix streaming here!

Defending Your Life is really the definition of hidden gem to me. I first watched this movie a couple years ago, and found it simply by scrolling through huge lists on Rotten Tomatoes to try to find high scoring films I hadn't seen.

I came across this one, and hadn't heard of it whatsoever, so it was strange seeing that it had such a high RT rating.

I gave it a shot and really enjoyed it. It's a witty comedy regarding a pretty crazy take on the after-life. It's written and directed by Albert Brooks, and it really showcases his sense of humor.

Albert Brooks stars as the main character, and abruptly dies in a car accident very early on in the movie. He's then transported to "Judgment City," which is just what it sounds like: a place where you're expected to defend your actions that you took in life. If you succeed at "defending your life," then you're able to go to Heaven. But it's kind of a long and complicated process...

It's a thoughtful and touching story, and if you give it a shot, I think you'll be very surprised that this movie hasn't garnered more attention over the past decade or two. If you plan on queuing this on Netflix, do it quick, because it appears to be expiring from Netflix streaming on March 25th.

Netflix Original Series, a Fincher and Spacey Political Thriller?

That's right, it appears as though Netflix is in talks to acquire its first ever original series! And, to top it all off, it's created by David Fincher and Kevin Spacey!

As deadline.com explains:

In what is probably the biggest gamble in its 14-year history, I hear Netflix has outbid several major cable networks, including HBO and AMC, for Media Rights Capital's drama series House of Cards, executive produced and directed by David Fincher and exec produced by and starring Kevin Spacey.

It appears that we're about to see the very beginnings of what could be a major shift in the way we view "television networks" in the entertainment industry. It looks as though Netflix is committing over $100 million to this project, with a two season investment.

Here's the description of the show, again from deadline.com:

The political-thriller novel House of Cards, written by Michael Dobbs, a former Conservative Party chief of staff, is set at the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as prime minister and follows a British politician with his eye on the top job.

Granted, many people would probably think this kind of a show doesn't sound very exciting, but I bet those same people thought that a movie about the founding of Facebook wouldn't be that exciting (look how that turned out).

This is a very exciting time, because we're living through a vast evolution in the way television programs will likely be produced in the future. Instead of being fixated on the idea that TV shows are distributed through the TV (or something like Hulu) at scheduled times, this might be the first step in programs being relegated to the realm of being on when we want them to be.

Top 10 Thrillers on Netflix Streaming - March 2011

One of the reasons why I've hesitated in making a list of my Top 10 thrillers on Netflix for awhile is the fact that, it's pretty hard to differentiate what a "thriller" is.

I guess I've kind of defined "thriller" here as something that I watched with bated breath, wherein there's some sort of mystery needing to be resolved, which in turn, is the core of the story. I've tried to avoid listing movies that are more action-oriented or dramatic at their core.

So, I've listed below what I consider to be the Top 10 thrillers available on Netflix streaming, and, as always, I've only listed the available movies that I have seen. I know you're angry that I didn't list something, so tell me what it is, and maybe I can give it a try.

10. Insomnia (read the Netflix blog post here)

9. Outbreak

8. The X-Files: Fight the Future (read the Netflix streaming blog post here)

7. Shutter Island (see the Netflix blog post here)

6. District 9

5. Ransom

4. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (read the Netflix blog post here)

3. Exam (check out the Netflix streaming blog post here)

2. The Thing

1. Aliens

Making this list was hard.

Archer: Netflix Surprises

Click to watch this streaming TV show on Netflix here!

I'd heard a lot of rumblings about some new TV show on cable/satellite called "Archer" that was new this past year. The animation looked meh, but a lot of people were saying it was pretty funny.

I saw that it was available on Netflix a couple months ago, but I was deep in another TV series at the time, so I didn't have time to watch. It recently became available again, and I have to say, I'm really surprised at how much I enjoy this show!

Archer is about the international world of espionage. The main character, Archer, is a dimwitted buffoon, but always seems to be able to play every situation perfectly. Though, he very often gets his "coworkers" in very testy situations (aka killed) by drunkenly doing something incredibly stupid.

The story works, and once I started watching the pilot, I knew I had to finish the entire series. It's very rare that I can find a comedy that legitimately and literally makes me laugh, and this is one that does so.

I'd recommend starting from the pilot and going forward from there, because the inside jokes become that much better if you fully understand the source. But the show's not entirely based on inside jokes, as it's absolutely full of one-liners that I've already started repeating outside of watching the show.

Click to add it to your Netflix Instant queue if you're in the mood for an adult-oriented cartoon that's quirky, funny, and stars Chris Parnell's voice.

Restrepo: Netflix Surprises

Click to watch this documentary on Netflix streaming here!

It's very easy to sometimes forget the hardships that those who volunteer to go to war are really getting themselves into. It's hard to continuously remind ourselves that they're constantly in harm's way, and that at any point in time, they're putting their life on the line.

I gave Restrepo a chance because I saw it had been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary. I was amazed at the amount of footage that the cameramen were able to get, and wasn't too surprised it was nominated after watching.

The film follows a platoon of soldiers as they work over a year in one of the most dangerous parts of the entire operation in the Middle East. You're able to see what the soldiers see, from their point of view.

It's shocking, but truthful, and that's why I liked it. I appreciate it when documentaries like this can give the public a true vision of the lifestyle of a people far away. It gives the ability to learn how others deal and cope with the struggles they're put to task with, and especially in cases like this, it's important to see what the current version of battle is.

The film doesn't get too much into the politics of war, but rather showcases the true emotions felt by these young men. Obviously, the hardships take their toll, as each struggles throughout the film to describe the entire fiasco. Nonetheless, it's also obvious that each finds it important to document what happened, and to especially dedicate it to their friend Restrepo.

Add it to your queue if you're in the mood to watch a very REAL documentary regarding the current state of war.

Fox Shows Expiring Soon

It has been brought to my attention that there are a few Fox shows that are expected to be expiring soon. Each of the following titles is set to expire from availability from Netflix streaming Instant Watch as of April 1st:

24

Angel

Arrested Development

Better Off Ted

Bones

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Dollhouse

Firefly

King of the Hill

Lie to Me

My Name is Earl

Prison Break

Riches, The

Roswell

X-Files, The

If for some reason you've never gotten around to starting or finishing one of these series, I'd recommend doing so now, just in case they aren't renewed. Granted, many of these series are very well known (as well as take up a great load of the current content available on Netflix streaming) so the hope is obviously that they'll be renewed quickly. You never know, though, especially with shows like Firefly soon to be available on cable channels.

The Nines: Netflix Surprises

Click to stream this hidden gem on Netflix streaming here!

The Nines was one of those movies I gave a chance to a few years back, even despite the fact that I was never really a fan of Ryan Reynolds (I've discussed this before).

Nonetheless, it's another example of the fact that my predisposition on Reynold's acting doesn't always translate to the end result. This was the case when I watched The Nines, and even before Netflix streaming existed, I've been hoping it would be available to watch (and so that I may also recommend!).

The Nines is extremely difficult to describe without giving too much of the plot away. If you want to go into it without really knowing anything about it, I'd stop reading here.

Ryan Reynolds is obviously the primary actor of the movie, and, withing the film, he acts as several different roles in several different stories. The actual film is split up into three major segments, each delegating Reynolds to be the main protagonist in each of them.

This is as much as I want to say about the film, because it's fun to see how it all comes together. When watching, you might get confused as to what the heck you're watching (really, the three segments of the movie seem weirdly disconnected) but once you're through, it all makes sense.

This movie is probably not one I'd recommend to the impatient or the under-analytical readers of this Netflix blog. It's really more of a "thinking" type movie, and if that's not your cup of tea, I'd probably say you should avoid it. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though, and believe it to be a hidden gem that you should add to your Netflix Instant queue.

Monsters: Netflix Surprises

Watch this hidden gem on Netflix streaming online here!

I heard vague mumblings about this movie awhile ago, and what I heard got me excited to watch it. Unbeknown to me until a couple days ago, it went to Netflix streaming, and I was able to watch without having to have a dvd sent home (I'm still on a 1-dvd plan, even with all the Netflix streaming I watch.).

Monsters is a very low budget film, but you'd never assume that from watching. When I first heard about this film, the way it was described sounded a lot like Alien in Mexico, but this isn't really much the way I'd describe it.

Aliens have, though, "invaded" earth, and they're stuck in Mexico. Humans have walled them into a contained area in northern Mexico; an area described as nothing much other than "contaminated."

Our two protagonists in the movie happen to be in this area, and due to some unforeseen circumstances, they're forced to handle more than they expected if they want to get back to the United States.

If you're expecting a really violent alien movie, that's not what you're going to get. It's very much a character-driven storyline, and much more about the idea of surviving than it is anything action-based.

That's not to say the movie is boring at all. I loved it. I thought the plot was set at a great pace, and, despite the exciting tone set by the first couple minutes of the movie, its slight-slowness allowed the perfect amount of tension.

If I was to quickly describe this movie as a mathematical equation, it would probably be something like this:

(War of the Worlds + District 9) - Alien = Monsters

If you've seen the movie, tell me if you think that equation makes any sense to you. If you haven't seen the movie, add it to your Instant queue and begin watching! It's a great hidden gem!

Daybreakers: Netflix Surprises

Click to watch the movie on Netflix streaming here!

I generally try to completely steer free of any movie involving the concept of vampires. It's become a redundant inclusion within the current trend of film, and usually the movies coughTwilightcough are utterly melodramatic and aimed at 13 year olds.

But every so often a vampire movie intrigues me enough to give it a chance, and that was the case with Daybreakers.

Now, undoubtedly, this movie has some pitfalls, but overall, it's a fun story. The film involves the notion that vampires have completely overrun the human race, and the last few remaining humans are constantly on the run. The vampire society has run their blood resources dry, and it's becoming abundantly clear that they need to do something about it. That's the basic plot conflict.

What I like about this movie is the fact that it is a genuine attempt at taking a new turn with the entire vampire genre. With a reversal-of-roles story like this, it opens the door to actually having extended metaphors that mean something.

It's not the cream of the crop for dramatic horror-themed movies, but it's worth giving a shot at adding to your Netflix Instant queue if you're interested in seeing a "new take" on the genre. Also, Ethan Hawke is legit.

Top 10 Scifi Movies Streaming on Netflix - March 2011

Listed here are what we consider to be the Top Ten currently available streaming movies that are science-fiction oriented on Netflix. Each of these Netflix streaming movies is great in its own regard, so check them out!

10. Sphere

9. The Fountain

8. Starship Troopers

7. Serenity

6. The X-Files: Fight the Future

5. District 9

4. Star Trek

3. Aliens

2. Moon

1. Contact