Emily and I have found ourselves plowing through several Netflix Watch Instant features in this season. As I burn through my queue, I'm always needing recommendations for new stuff - so it's been great for us to be able to offer each other suggestions to keep things fresh and entertaining. Perhaps you also enjoy some good movie watching recommendations? Perhaps you have some I should add to my list? Let's compare notes. Here are some of my recent faves:
Series:
I find a good series quite comforting. I have an addictive personality, and this is one of the healthier addictions I indulge in. The familiar characters I can come back to when I feel stressed out seem to help dissipate the anxieties of new challenges.
My friend Emily [not of this blog] from grad school bugged me a million times to watch this show. She is this crazy cool goddess-like creature, but I thought this was her secret dorky-side coming out ["Beets. Bears. Battlestar Galactica."], so I smiled and nodded and resisted for a good long while. Maybe it was her dorky side, but oh wow did I get sucked in! I started seeing everything in life according to Battlestar Galactica themes, but I just couldn't stop until I had seen every.single.episode. Thanks Em!
Something about having my own daughter is making me curious about what my parents were like at this stage in their lives. One thing I vividly remember is sneaking upstairs to the den and peaking around the wall to watch Thirtysomethings over their shoulders until they caught me and sent me back to bed. Watching it now as an adult and parent is really tripping me out because I think they spied into the future into my mind to depict a lot of the things I'm going through lately. Also, the 80's were a funny time!
Just watch it now.
I love good stories. And while a good fairy tale can be great to revisit, it's amazing to hear some old ones for the first time. Super short episodes masterfully wisk you away to far away lands. Good work Jim Henson!
Documentaries:
I may be a little bit addicted to being in school. So when I have no classes to attend and need that intellectual-stimulation-fix, a good documentary can often do the trick. Even if I don't agree with the message of the film, I love having food for thought.
Philosopher Kings
Janitors at universities and colleges tell their stories and impart their wisdom. Surprisingly amazing, touching, inspiring. Really worthwhile one hour and nine minutes!!
God in America (6 episode series)
Holy cow [;)] This was an amazing and thought provoking series that had Manny and I jabbering at each other for days as we unpacked all our reactions and emotions. We attended a christian college and decided this series should have been a required part of the curriculum for all students. While I don't hold the same perspective as the film makers, I really appreciated the way they helped me to be humbled, challenged, and even inspired. Really worth watching!
Soundtrack for a Revolution
I love music and I have a shamefully inadequate knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement - so this won on two counts. It is inspiring, emotional, difficult, uplifting. It really caught me off guard how much I enjoyed this film!!
Movies:
Timer
My mother-in-law tipped me off to this one. Honestly, I started watching it just to be able to tell her I did. But was great. It considers what life would be like if we could know when we would meet "The One."
Arranged
Two women, one othodox Jew, one Muslim, are both entering arranged marriages and teaching in New York a public school. They navigate the challenges of living between their own culture and American culture together. Really endearing and an atypical approach to a familiar theme.
Penelope
Young princess is cursed with a pig nose and seeking a husband to break the spell. Delightfully charming.
. This show used to annoy me when I was younger for some reason. Now I think it's hilarious. I wonder what's up with that.
. Seriously. Watch it now.
. Occasionally cheesy. Often melodramatic. Always entertaining. Plus it stars Shiri Appleby from Roswell
and Kerr Smith from Dawson's Creek
and Britt Robertson from Dan in Real Life
. That's a lot of awesome. Also, I'm developing a mild crush on the other male lead. He might replace whoever I had as my number 5 celebrity I'm allowed to kiss. I'll keep you posted, Jeff.
. Also cheesy, melodramatic, and entertaining. But also gives some realistic insight into deaf culture, which I find fascinating.
. Tina Fey. Obvs.
and The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story
. It's inspirational and interesting stuff, especially if you love Disney films.
. See my recommendation here.
. This was a surprisingly touching, well made film based on a book by Noel Streatfeild. I watched it because Meg Ryan mentions the book series in You've Got Mail and because the film stars Emma Watson, which are terrible reasons to randomly watch a film, so I was pleased to truly enjoy it. It reminded me of The Little Princess, in that the little girls in the film are essentially orphaned and rise above poverty in a fairy tale kind of story.
for the same reason, but it ended up just being plain old terrible. My sister and I could barely mock it properly.) 