House Of Cards: Season One
Netflix
Directed by David Fincher, James Foley, Joel Schumacher, Charles McDougall, Carl Franklin, Carl Franklin
Starring Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Corey Stoll, Michael Kelly, Sakina Jaffrey, Kristen Connolly, Michael Gill, Soledad O’Brien
Netflix
Originally Released: February 1, 2013

Although Netflix had already taken a step into original series with Lilyhammer, it is with House of Cards that they have positioned a deep (though safe, in my mind) gamble in the belief that streaming is not just the way of the future, that it is already here. And that their customer base is already aware of this. And who among our audience doesn’t agree with this?

I dare you to defy my call on this, because seriously – I’ve lost count of the amount of conversations with fellow geeks that have spoken of the hours of sleepless nights they’ve self-induced to finish a season of Doctor Who or Star Trek or The Office or The IT Crowd, or a franchise of movies. Netflix knows that their fans and followers soak up an entire season in a day or maybe two. Who the hell needs sleep anyway?

Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One
Netflix | Amazon | YouTube
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Jean-François Richet
Starring Vincent Cassel, Ludivine Sagnier, Mathieu Amalric, Gérard Lanvin, Samuel Le Bihan, Olivier Gourmet, Fanny Sidney
Pathé
Originally Released: November 19, 2008

In some ways, the timing of my selection for reviewing the Mesrine duology for our streaming feature is a little poignant. I am writing this the day after the Dorner standoff at the cabin in San Bernardino County; and I cannot help but find and mark some striking similarities between the two cases. The two fugitives both have devotees that view their cases with empathy, and both met (allegedly) similar ends at the hands of an overeager group of law enforcement officials. Except in this case, there’s no crispy result for old Jacques Mesrine.

This may sound like a spoiler for Mesrine Part Two: Public Enemy Number One, but I promise you, it is not. Mesrine’s history is quite well known internationally, and the very ending of his story is of no consequence to the two films – what is more important is the man’s journey to that end. I’m certain there’s some quaint and cliché saying about that sentiment that Aerosmith once put in their songs.

Mesrine: Killer Instinct
Netflix | Instant Watch | YouTube
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Jean-François Richet
Starring Vincent Cassel, Ludivine Sagnier, Cécile De France, Gérard Depardieu, Gilles Lellouche, Elena Anaya
Pathé
Originally Released: October 22, 2008

Jacques Mesrine is not a very nice man. He is aggressive, murderous, and determined, which, in turn, makes him one of the most interesting figures in history. One of the most infamous criminals in France, the biopic focusing on his escapades was so epic and badass that they had no choice but split them into two films – kind of like Kill Bill, and just as good (if not better). Gritty, suppurating, and uncompromising, coupled with a phenomenal performance from Vincent Cassel, Killer Instinct is a movie not to be ignored.

I’ve aspired to see these movies for some time now. From what I had previously read, many reviewers seem to make a terrible and erroneous comparison with Scarface. The truth is that Killer Instinct is far more callous and realistic than the Al Pacino snowfest that glorified those boring coke heads. If comparisons be made, the film has more in common with titles like Chopper, The Postcard Bandit, Prison Break, or Goodfellas – with a metric fuck ton of violence alongside the very strong cultural essence of France as well.

House of Cards
Created by David Fincher
Starring Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright
Available exclusively on Netflix

Netflix shook the world of traditional TV up with their original programming announcements in a similar way to the way iTunes first shook up the music industry with its new paradigm for enjoying our favorite tunes. Of several projects announced by the streaming movie/TV rental company, the most high profile was House of Cards, a series headlined by Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright and produced/directed by David Fincher.

The series is based on a novel and a British miniseries of the same name. Season one of the show launched on Netflix last week, giving us our first real look (other than Lillyhammer, which was a much smaller project) at the new way we can expect to consume long form scripted media.

The Babymakers
Netflix | Instant Video | Blu-ray | DVD
Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar
Written by Peter Gaulke and Gerry Swallow
Starring Olivia Munn, Paul Schneider, Kevin Heffernan, Nat Faxon, Aisha Tyler, Jay Chandrasekhar
Duck Attack Films
Rated R | 95 Minutes
Release Date: August 3, 2012

After being without the internet for about a month, perhaps longer, I was finally able to surf the interwebs at home. And so I had to get all caught up on what I had missed out on, then it was time to fire up the ole PS3 and see what was on Netflix Watch Instant. I know the whole Disney library was added and a bunch more, but I figured the easiest way to get caught up, just go through the recently added ones. Well as you can see, The Babymakers was the first one that I came across that I was somewhat interested in watching.

I was a big fan of Olivia Munn when she was on Attack of the Show, and wished her all the best when she left. It seemed that most of the movies she was involved with ended up being straight to DVD releases, which is never a good sign. But luckily for her, she had a great 2012, with being on The Newsroom and Magic Mike, so hopefully that luck will continue in 2013. I remember seeing Super Troopers and thought it was okay, and not amazing like most people did. And I remember Paul Schneider from Lars and the Real Girl, a great movie you should check out. It’s got Ryan Gosling in it, so that should be enough for most people.