Netflix Instant: Cool TV and Movie Picks

 Jonesy here. Hope everyone had a fun holiday and survived the first week of the new year. Here is my first fabulous list of Netflix Instant picks to help tide over the lull before awards season.

TRUE GRIT

The remake of the John Wayne classic, this Coen Brothers film made me have a new appreciation of Western movies. One of my favorite films last year, and a great introduction to Hailee Steinfeld.

INSIDIOUS

A horror movie that got a bit lost in the shuffle this past movie season. Made for under a million dollars, which is quite a feat nowadays, this movie reminded me of the creepiness of THE RING. Now, even though you cannot recreate sitting in a packed theatre, watch this movie with the lights off and the sound off. 

BILLY ELLIOT

A sweet film about a young boy who decides to take ballet lessons instead of boxing lessons against his father's wishes. If the premise sounds a tad cheesy, don't let that fool you. The movie has so much substance. It was one of my first experiences I remember of enjoying a "foreign" movie. (I say foreign...it's from England, but to a 14 year old, that's a foreign movie).

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For Funsies: Michael Caine Does Michael Caine

Javi here. This is just another fun video, but for those that don't know, Michale Caine has one of the most imitated voices in movies. The movie THE TRIP even has the two lead actors trying to do their best Micahel Caine impersonation. For some good laughs though, check out the video below.



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The Man With The Most British Name Ever, Benedict Cumberbatch, Will Play A Villain in STAR TREK 2

Javi here. The WDYMS duo is a big fan of Benedict Cumberbatch; both for his awesome name, and the fact that he is a damn good actor. For those that don't know him, and there are plenty of you, he has played Sherlock Holmes in the Steven Moffat BBC version of SHERLOCK along with new hobbit, Martin Freeman. He has had roles in TINKER TAYLOR SOLDIER SPY and WAR HORSE most recently this year, and he was both Dr. Frankenstein and his monster in Danny Boyle's stage production of FRANKENSTEIN.

Now Variety reports that he will be playing the villain role in J.J. Abrams up coming STAR TREK sequel. Very much like every other Abrams movie, there is very little that's actually known about the movie except that he is actually shooting the movie and it will come out supposedly on May 13, 2013. This is exciting news as this is an actor much like Michael Fassbender and Tom Hiddleston that deserves more exposure. We'll keep you up to date when more information becomes available.

UPDATE (7/9/12) Jonesy has now posted more information about what Cumberbatch's role might be. Go here for the new article.
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For Funsies: THE LION KING RISES

Javi here. Just watch this awesome video!


Credit: Pajiba

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JUAN OF THE DEAD (JUAN DE LOS MUERTOS) Now Has US Distribution, Which Means You Need To See This When It Comes Out

Javi here. So, this is very good news indeed. 2011 will be the year where I had a big interest in Spanish movies. Director Alejandro Brugue's politically relevant zombie comedy, JUAN OF THE DEAD, is much more than a "Spanish SHAUN OF THE DEAD." Where SHAUN was poking fun at the genre, JUAN pokes fun at the Cuban culture and politics through a zombie apocalypse. Variety now reports that the movie has gained a US distributor through Focus World, which is a digital/VOD distribution arm of Focus Features.

The details of the distribution appear to be exclusive to digital and VOD, so you can see it from the cable box top, iTunes, Amazon and all of the other digital services. Then after April, it might be getting a separate theatrical run from a different distributor. There's no set release date, but you bet I'll let you guys know when it comes out. Read my review here.

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Javi's Top Ten Movies of 2011

Javi here. So here are the big movies that I really liked this last year. Much like last year, I have some specific movies that really spoke to me or affected me in a way that a movie should. This year was a little tougher because while there were some expectational movies out there, there were also a lot of movies that were just borderline awesome, but with little things here and there bothered me. The way that I like to do my top tens is I will list all nine movies that were my favorites, but since they're all so vastly different, I cannot rank them. I only have my absolute favorite movie distinguished from the rest.

Are you curious now? Hit the jump to find out all of my favorites in no particular order!

Jonesy's Top Ten Movies of 2011

Jonesy here. This year I saw about 180 movies (including movies seen before, new to me, and 2011 releases) between the theatre and TV. There were some fabulous trends I noticed from the releases from this year such as character films making a big impact and smart family-friendly films not made my Pixar. All of my films on this list are from my gut. Some of them have many problems, but I still enjoyed them. These are the movies I either have recommended multiple times to people, or I couldn't stop discussing it.

So for better or worse, here are my favorites (in no particular order):