Dear Turner Classic Movies,

How did things get so terrible for the movies?

The era of Spielberg, Coppolla, Lucas, Scorsese, De Palma, Friedkin, and Bogdanovich appears to be reaching its twilight. In their place, there is no glut of movie brats to replace them. Yes, we have P.T. Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Haneke, and David Fincher. I’m not so cyncical to believe that film is dying–it isn’t–but it is clearly in an extremely delicate time of transition, and the auteurs of today are having trouble competing with the cultural force of television and video games.

Hollywood’s rebooting Spider-man and Batman, erasing four or five year-old great movies and turning them into xerox-machine franchises. A difficult economy has rendered Hollywood decision-less, forcing me to sit through nearly ten solid years of nonstop comic book movies. Many of them have been great, but to say the least it’s getting repetitive.

Online streaming has turned movies into tapwater. For $8 a month, I can watch countless films on Netflix, all horridly devalued into bargain bin entertainment. I browse Netflix aimlessly, able to find obscure entertainments from great filmmakers but not feeling led to watch them among the vast quantities of tripe tossed to Netflix consumers like Sweeney Todd’s meat pies. The Criterion Collection has been uploaded to Hulu. Instead of $40 dvds with fantastic packaging and the best box art in the history of movies-in-a-box, we pay $7.99 a month FOR THE ENTIRE CRITERION COLLECTION. Hulu, Amazon, blockbuster, et al are not only making movies affordable… they’re making them cheap.

I’m well aware that streaming video is the wave of the future, and that it is changing fast. In the next year or so, streaming video will turn in to something akin to the cable wars of the eighties and nineties. We’ll ante up and pay much more for Netflix and Hulu, while we gradually cancel our cable subscriptions.

But one question remains: What would it take to add value back to our film viewing experience?

As an aspiring filmmaker, I sat disheartened by this until I saw–on Netflix streaming, oddly enough–a film that finally inspired me again. That film is a TCM staple: Jules Dassin’s “Night and The City.”
After months of aimless searching, the film brought back memories of what made me love film during my adolescent years. There was a sense of true entertainment, of film history, of basking in the work of an auteur. After months of gorging on Netflix movies like they were McDonald’s extra value meals, I’d finally downed a porterhouse steak. As the film ended, and I sat smug and satisfied after a film for the first time in months, I felt like only one thing was missing… Robert Osborne’s epilogue.

TCM was an integral part of my film education. I’d program the family VCR around the TCM schedule (it seemed like all the must-see movies were on at 1 a.m. or later… maybe I’m just eclectic). I still remember the day TCM aired “Apocalypse Now” uncut for the first time. I stayed up until 2 a.m. watching it with my Dad in Webster, South Dakota. I lived in an isolated town, and didn’t have access to films like that… but my sense of film history developed unabaited thanks to Turner Classic Movies. I watched countless essential films for the first time on Turner Classic Movies, from Napoleon to Singin’ in the Rain to The Seven Samurai to Raging Bull.

I’m poor now. $70-$90 a month for cable would be a laughably inappropriate addition to my budget. I am starved for classic film, and for the presentation that TCM is so famous for.

Stream Turner Classic Movies. I don’t know what the rights are, or if you can or not, but please stream Turner Classic Movies. You don’t even need to stream all of it… just put a film or two a week on hulu with an intro and conclusion. As the owners of the best film catalog in the world, TCM has the key to bringing appreciation for classic film to a new generation of cineastes. Navigating this time of change in the entertainment industry, this confusion over streaming video content, is no doubt difficult to strategize.

I, like probably every American, wish I could pay for cable one channel at a time. As Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, etc. make on demand entertainment more available to those without cable, it’s becoming apparent that paying for multi-channel cable packages doesn’t have the value it once did.

I’d pay $10 a month just to have Turner Classic Movies. I think millions would. I’d pay just to see the channel streamed–without on demand. I just miss the time when I enjoyed discovering movies, of
living in a world where the classics are loved and appreciated, of not standing over a volcano of “content” that I couldn’t sort through if my life depended on it.

Thank you for changing my life. Turner Classic Movies was easily 75% of my film education. I look forward to Turner Classic Movies bringing film appreciation to the next generation of movie brats.

Sincerely,

John Chiafos
Death to the Movies

I like recommending films to people, especially now that people have so many films that they can Watch Instantly on Netflix. It makes it so much easier. So, with that said, I’m starting this little section that is devoted to film recommendations based off of what is currently available on Netflix Instant. These won’t archive very well as the Netflix films rotate in and out of Instant Watch, but I’ll still keep old posts up in case you decide to add the film to your regular queue.

I am not going to do big write-ups on the films I recommend, just maybe a sentence or two. Preceded by a link and brief synopsis from Netflix. I will list them by categories (and with icons), which you can find below. You can find a brief explanation of each category if you’re a little confused as to why I’m recommending certain films. I’ll probably only recommend a handful of the following categories with each post. I won’t be able to do every category like I am demonstrating here.

Lastly, I will be posting these randomly, I won’t be posting once a week or anything. I’ll try to get a couple up each month. I will number the posts too so that’s easy to keep up with how many there have been. If you watch any of the recommendations please leave a comment letting us know if you liked or disliked the film. Happy movie watching!

CLASSIC (Oldy, but goody. Most likely B&W, and undeniably good.)

RASHOMON Considered one of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s masterpieces, this Oscar-winning crime drama unfolds as four witnesses to a rape and murder report their versions of the attack, leaving the viewer to decide what really happened.

Kurosawa, Mifune, and samurai swords. What more do you need?

DRAAAMA (Heavy-hitting Drama that will drain you emotionally, but a great film nonetheless.)

PARIS, TEXAS Director Wim Wenders is at his offbeat best in this “road movie” about weary drifter Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton). In a quest to rebuild his life and reconnect with his son, Travis — who’s been gone four years — tries to untangle his thorny past with his wife (Nastassja Kinski).

I adore this film. Beautiful cinematography and a wonderful performance from the incomparable Harry Dean Stanton. One of the best films I’ve ever seen on the subject of divorce, and lost love.

WHAT’S ON TV? (TV Shows worth investing in.)

BRICK CITY Mayor Cory Booker, Police Director Garry McCarthy and Central High School Principal Ras Baraka join the citizens of Newark to fight an uphill battle against crime, poverty and corruption in the New Jersey metropolis.

This is a 5 part mini-documentary-series that originally aired on The Sundance Channel. The access that the filmmakers have here is phenomenal. This show is so engaging, it’s some of the best TV programming I’ve seen in a loooong time. You can’t write stuff this good, unless of course you’re a writer for The Wire. Which by the way, if you are a fan of The Wire, this show is an absolute MUST.

JUST MISSED IT (New movies to Netflix Instant that were recently in theaters.)

MOON As he nears the end of a lonely three-year stint on the moon base Sarang, astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) begins to hear and see strange things.

Ok, so it was probably over a year ago that this was in theaters, but that’s ok because I think most people missed it. A great psychological thriller with some sci-fi elements and an amazing performance by the great Sam Rockwell. Worth watching for the Clint Mansell score alone.

WORD OF MOUTH (Smaller Indy films that you might not have heard of, but are definitely worth seeing.)

SHOTGUN STORIES Set in southeast Arkansas, this cautionary indie tale from director Jeff Nichols tracks a blood feud that erupts when two sets of half-brothers come to blows at their father’s funeral.

A powerful, but subtle, revenge film. Doesn’t focus on the violence of revenge but rather the consequences. I loved the fresh take on this genre. I also loved the fact that the feud is between two sets of brothers all with the same father, such great writing.

YOU COULD DO BETTER (You probably could have done a better job making this movie. So bad it’s good.)

CON AIR When the government puts all its rotten criminal eggs in one airborne basket, it’s asking for trouble. Before you can say, “Pass the barf bag,” the crooks control the plane, led by creepy Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom (John Malkovich).

This first 5 minutes of this movie get me every time! So, so, soooo funny! Some of the worst acting you’ll ever see from some of the best actors working today, Cage especially.

FOR THE FAM (Bust out the popcorn, a movie the whole family can enjoy!)

3 NINJAS A neat twist on The Karate Kid finds three youngsters — Samuel, Jeffrey and Michael — aiding their grandfather (Victor Wong III) in his fight against an old “friend” named Snyder, who turns out to be a corrupt FBI officer.

“We should run, we should hide, we should kick their butts!” With the new Karate Kid coming out, this is a good warm up. If you’re afraid this is just a movie for the boys, and the girls in the family won’t enjoy it, boy are you ever wrong! There’s a girl in it… somewhere. Anyway, also make sure to take note of the basketball scene, not since White Men Can’t Jump have I seen such moves put on screen.

PAY TO SEE (May not be the best thing you’ve ever seen, but entertaining and worth the price of admission.)

SINGLES Generation X neighbors share their bittersweet, intertwined stories of the single life in director Cameron Crowe’s quirky relationship comedy set against the backdrop of Seattle’s grunge music scene in the 1990s.

For the ladies, this is basically the original Sex and the City. Definitely dated, and not that great, but fun to look back on. Grunge is actually back in style, so the ripped jeans and flannel shirts won’t look too unfamiliar. Full of Cameron Crowe’s (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) sappy dialogue.

I LIKE AVATAR (If you like Avatar, and Jason Statham is your favorite actor, this is for you.  Light on story and heavy on blowing crap up!)

THE ROCK When a disgruntled ex-Marine (Ed Harris) seizes Alcatraz prison, taking hostages and threatening to blanket San Francisco with nerve gas, the feds send in a strike force led by a chemical-weapons expert (Nicolas Cage) and an ex-con (Sean Connery) who broke out of “the Rock” years earlier.

Pure action awesomeness.

REEL LIFE (Documentary recommendation.)

THE YES MEN This humorous documentary monitors the exploits of a group of jokester liberals who make names for themselves as they mimic members of the World Trade Organization at various venues across the globe.

Funny, entertaining, informative, and educational. The perfect ingredients for a great documentary. Watch it for 10 minutes and I bet you won’t be able to turn it off.

FILM BUFF (For the elite. The smug, film nerds that are willing to sit through a 3 1/2 hour B&W foreign film.)

FUNNY GAMES An affluent German family is settling into their lakeside vacation home when a young man named Peter (Frank Giering) comes to the door asking to borrow eggs. Anna (Susanne Lothar) is alone in the house while her husband (Ulrich Muhe) and son (Stefan Clapczynski) are off swimming.

This is the original one, I haven’t seen the remake yet. When I first saw this film it haunted me long after and I immediately wanted to track down everything by Michael Haneke. I was hooked from the moment that classical music turned to death metal in the opening title sequence. This film meets the insatiable appetite we Americans seem to have for violence in cinema. It pries our mouths open and forces it down our throats with a shovel.

OLD SCHOOL (Old enough to be on VHS, but not quite old enough to be a classic. Or good enough.)

THE PISTOL: THE BIRTH OF A LEGEND “Pistol” Pete Maravich (Adam Guier) pushes himself to the limit in this stirring biopic recounting the National Basketball Association all-star’s adolescence and first year on his high school’s varsity squad.

I used to watch this film religiously as a kid. It’s the story of Pete Maravich and how he learned the game of basketball. If you’re not into basketball then you could still watch the film and make a drinking game out of it. Take a shot every time there is a montage and you’ll probably blackout in the first 45 minutes.

Which brings me to our last category…

HAVE A DRINK (These ones will probably be best after you’ve had a few drinks)

THE OCTAGON A group of terrorist ninjas have been wreaking havoc on the life of a wealthy woman named Justine (Karen Carlson), so she hires former karate champion Scott James (Chuck Norris) to be her bodyguard.

Ok, I know the whole Chuck Norris thing is way played out, but this film is golden. This is the type of film that made Chuck Norris what he is today. You have to watch at least 15 minutes of it just to hear the hilarious, whispering voice-over that Norris does throughout the film.

be sure to check back on our Instant Pix section for more recommendations