What to Watch this Month on Netflix?

New month, new movies! I always look forward to the beginning of each new month, since it means I get a whole new slate of options for my viewing pleasure on Netflix. This month is no different. To find out what’s playing, I never use Netflix’s recommendations. They always seem crummy to me. Instead, I turn to instantwatcher.com, which shows me the new offering all at once, each day. It also includes rottentomatoes’ ratings and other metrics for me to know how good the film or show might be. Love love love that site.

But I’m here to save you from even having to do that. I’ve picked through the new movies, and I’m here with my personal choices and recommendations. Ready? Here we go:

  • 2001–I’m assuming you’ve seen this one already, but if you haven’t, you really ought to. Great science fiction, even if it gets pretty trippy at the end . . . Nominated for 4 Oscars, including Best Director for Stanley Kubrik, and Best Original Screenplay
  • The Agony and the Ecstasy–5 Oscar nominations for this movie about painting the Sistene Chapel. Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison. Classic cinema, folks.
  • Animaniacs–Are you pondering what I’m pondering? 4 volumes of awesomeness for you. I loved this show growing up. Cartoon bliss.
  • Best in Show–Classic mockumentary about a dog show competition, in the vein of Waiting for Guffman.
  • Bowfinger–Steve Martin is a hack movie director who’s got an idea for a new film. He wants Eddie Murphy to star in it, but doesn’t know how to make that happen. (And he can’t afford him.) So he hatches a plan to stalk Murphy and film him in secret. Hilarity ensues.
  • Cutthroat Kitchen–2 new seasons of the show are out now. My family and I love watching the kitchen hijinks, with Alton Brown as ringleader. 4 chefs enter, and they’re asked to make basic dishes. The twist is that there are sabotages they have to deal with, all of them crazy and hilarious. This is a show that gets better the more practice they have running it.
  • E.T.–Do I really need to spell it out for you? E.T.!
  • Erin Brockovich–5 Oscar nominations, including a win for Julia Roberts.
  • Good Eats–Has a third collection out today. Classic food science fun. Love this show. And I’m friends with Alton Brown. (on Facebook . . .)
  • Grease: Live–I blogged about this a bit ago. A very fine production of the musical. Check it out!
  • The Land Before Time–The cartoon movie with like 1,000 sequels. But the original is a fair bit of fun.
  • The Money Pit–Far from Tom Hanks’ best movie, still fun to watch if you’re in the middle of a home renovation.
  • Mystic River–Not to be confused with Mystic Pizza. 6 Oscar nominations, including wins for Sean Penn and Tim Robbins in acting. Childhood friends are reunited through a murder investigation.
  • The Princess Bride–Seriously. Why are you even still reading this. You should be watching this movie already. Have fun storming the castle!
  • The Right Stuff–8 Oscar nominations for this movie depicting the early days of the Space Race. Love it.
  • The Shawshank Redemption–7 Oscar noms but tragically no wins. This is one of the best movies ever. Prison flick with Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, based on a story by Stephen King (but not horror at all).

If there’s not something in there to keep you occupied, then I don’t know what to do for you. Enjoy watching!

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