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Netflix Nuggets: Who’s Up For a Miramax Marathon? – We Are Movie Geeks

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Netflix Nuggets: Who’s Up For a Miramax Marathon?

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Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.

Sorry, folks… there are simply too many great films streaming this week to post an image for them all, but that’s a good thing, eh? You’ve got your movie watching work cut out for you, due in great part to Miramax releasing damn near their entire catalog of films on one day!

  • B. MONKEY (1999)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Michael Radford
    Synopsis: Good-hearted schoolteacher Alan Furnace (Jared Harris) desperately wants some excitement in his life — and he may just get some. One lonely night at a London bar, Alan spies the raven-haired beauty Beatrice (Asia Argento) arguing with two friends, Paul (Rupert Everett) and Bruno (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Beatrice quickly befriends Alan and leads him through all kinds of new, interesting and dark situations.
  • VELVET GOLDMINE (1998)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Todd Haynes
    Synopsis: A decade after British glam-rocker Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) fakes his assassination on stage and disappears from view, tabloid journalist Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) is dispatched to deconstruct the legend of the bisexual pop star. In the process of interviewing Slade’s cohorts and colleagues, Stuart gradually strips away the veneer of makeup and glitz, revealing the empty core of both the man and his music.
  • THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (1971)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Robert Wise
    Synopsis: A satellite crashes in New Mexico, prompting scientists to race against the clock to stop a deadly virus from spreading in this Oscar-nominated sci-fi classic based on Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name. The alien illness that sprang from the probe has already killed most of those living near the crash site, and now it’s up to a team of scientists to stop it. Note: Contains graphic scenes that may be unsuitable for young children.
  • CONAN THE DESTROYER (1984)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Richard Fleischer
    Synopsis: While on a quest to retrieve a magical gem, muscleman Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) vanquishes mortal and supernatural adversaries with help from his ham-fisted sidekick (Tracey Walter), a wacky wizard (Mako), a fierce woman warrior (Grace Jones) and a gigantic bodyguard (Wilt Chamberlain). But unbeknownst to Conan, there’s a traitor among the ranks. Sarah Douglas, Olivia d’Abo and Jeff Corey also star in this rousing, fast-paced sequel.
  • THE CROW (1994)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Alex Proyas
    Synopsis: Exactly one year after young rock guitarist Eric Draven (Brandon Lee, son of martial arts icon Bruce Lee) and his fiancée are brutally killed by a ruthless gang of criminals, Draven — watched over by a hypnotic crow — returns from the grave to exact revenge. Based on a graphic novel of the same name, this Gothic action thriller features Lee’s last performance before his untimely death. Ernie Hudson and Ling Bai co-star.
  • BRASSED OFF (1995)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Mark Harmon
    Synopsis: A big energy company threatens to move in and close the coal mine in the town of Grimley, but the miners’ brass band conductor refuses to hang up his baton. With one last chance to shine, Danny (Pete Postlethwaite) perfects his band for a national competition. Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) tries to perform flawless flugelhorn as she wrestles resentment for her part in the mine’s closure and falls for Andy (Ewan McGregor).
  • DON’T BE A MENACE TO S. CENTRAL WHILE DRINKING YOUR JUICE IN THE HOOD (1996)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Paris Barclay
    Synopsis: In this goofy send-up of the gritty urban movies of the early 1990s, Ashtray (Shawn Wayans) moves to South Central Los Angeles to live with his father (who appears to be no older than he) and dope-smoking grandmother. He falls in with his gang-banging cousin Loc Dog (Marlon Wayans), who counts a thermonuclear warhead in his arsenal of weapons. Will Ashtray keep living the straight life, or will he join up with Loc Dog’s gangsta homeboys?
  • THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Anthony Minghella
    Synopsis: Adapted from Michael Ondaatje’s acclaimed novel set against the backdrop of World War II, Anthony Mingehlla’s Oscar-winning drama stars Ralph Fiennes as a horribly burned pilot who recounts a tale of doomed romance to the nurse tending him (Juliette Binoche). As his story is revealed via flashback, so too are secrets about his identity and the depth of his passion for the woman he loved (Kristin Scott Thomas). Willem Dafoe co-stars.
  • EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU (1996)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Woody Allen
    Synopsis: In director Woody Allen’s Golden Globe-nominated musical comedy of intertwining stories, Steffi (Goldie Hawn) marries Bob (Alan Alda) after her divorce from Joe (Woody Allen), whose attempt to win the heart of Von (Julia Roberts) takes him to Europe. This is all told through the eyes of narrator DJ (Natasha Lyonne), Joe and Steffi’s daughter, who’s dealing with her own family issues as new stepsister Skylar’s (Drew Barrymore) wedding is postponed.
  • OPERATION CONDOR (1991)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Jackie Chan
    Synopsis: In what many consider to be one of Jackie Chan’s best roles, he plays a secret agent embarking on his biggest mission yet: To find the fortune in gold that the Nazis buried in the Sahara Desert during World War II. This recut American version of Chan’s 1991 hit (also known as Armour of God II) features stunning locations from Spain, Morocco and the Philippines as well as some of Chan’s greatest set pieces, including the famous wind tunnel climax.
  • FLIRTING WITH DISASTER (1996)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: David O. Russell
    Synopsis: Impending fatherhood sends once-adopted Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller) on a quest to find his birth parents. With his exasperated wife, Nancy (Patricia Arquette), and screwy, seductive social worker Tina (Tea Leoni) in tow, Mel’s cross-country expedition isn’t about to go smoothly. Still, between false starts, risky flirting and the FBI, Mel just may find what he’s looking for… at the risk of losing his marbles!
  • FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1996)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Robert Rodriguez
    Synopsis: Robbers-on-the-lam Seth (George Clooney) and Richard Gecko (Quentin Tarantino) take an ex-preacher (Harvey Keitel) and his kids hostage. On a race to the Mexican border, they rendezvous at a cantina, not knowing the owners and clientele are bloodthirsty vampires. That’s when director Robert Rodriguez (Desperado) abruptly switches from hostage drama to tongue-in-cheek, vampiric melee, creating a blood-stained ode to 1960s Mexican horror movies.
  • THE GOLDEN CHILD (1986)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Michael Ritchie
    Synopsis: L.A. social worker Chandler Jarrell (Eddie Murphy) has a knack for finding lost children. That’s why the beautiful priestess Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis) turns to Jarrell when a child with mystical powers (J.L. Reate) is kidnapped from Tibet and brought to Los Angeles. Now, Jarrell’s mission is to find the boy and bring peace to the world. Along the way, he fights his way through a series of traps and terrors in this comic adventure.
  • THE GRIFTERS (1990)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Stephen Frears
    Synopsis: Roy Dillon’s (John Cusack) life is turned upside down when a con job goes bad. His estranged mother, Lilly (Anjelica Huston), who happens to be on the lam, reunites with her son to oversee his health care, only to be faced by Roy’s headstrong, competitive, con-artist girlfriend Myra Langtry (Annette Bening). Myra does her best to win over her man in Stephen Frears’s darkly funny and intricately layered look at life’s seedy side.
  • KALIFORNIA (1993)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Dominic Sena
    Synopsis: While researching a book on serial killings, writer Brian Kessler (David Duchovny) and his girlfriend, Carrie Laughlin (Michelle Forbes), travel cross-country to the murder sites and unwittingly stumble upon strangers who know the subject firsthand. A pair of hitchhikers (Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis) offer to share expenses for the trip, but Kessler doesn’t realize just how close he is to his subject — even as bodies pile up behind them.
  • LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (1992)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Alfonso Arau
    Synopsis: Passionate Tita (Lumi Cavazos) is in love with Pedro (Marco Leonardi), but her controlling mother (Regina Torné) forbids her from marrying him. So when Pedro marries her sister, Tita throws herself into her cooking — and discovers she can transfer her emotions through the food she prepares. A feast for the senses, this magical romance from director Alfonso Arau was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and a Golden Globe.
  • PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: John Carpenter
    Synopsis: A cylinder of mysterious, green liquid is found in an abandoned church. It may contain the ultimate evil: an ancient iniquity that longs to escape. Several physicists try to comprehend what’s happening and race to save the world, even as they’re being turned into zombies one by one. Director John Carpenter fills Prince of Darkness with his trademark mix of horror and humor.
  • PULP FICTION (1994)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Quentin Tarantino
    Synopsis: A burger-loving hit man (John Travolta), his philosophical partner (Samuel L. Jackson), a drug-addled gangster’s moll (Uma Thurman) and a washed-up boxer (Bruce Willis) converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper fueled by director and co-writer Quentin Tarantino’s whip-smart dialogue. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time, resulting in one of the most audacious and imitated films of the 1990s.
  • REALITY BITES (1994)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Ben Stiller
    Synopsis: In this irreverent romantic comedy from first-time director Ben Stiller, a small circle of friends (Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo and Steve Zahn) suffering from post-collegiate blues must confront the hard truth about life, love and the pursuit of gainful employment. As they struggle to map out survival guides for the future, the Gen-X quartet soon begins to realize that reality isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
  • CELEBRITY (1998)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Woody Allen
    Synopsis: Woody Allen turns his caustic wit on the nature of celebrity with this trenchant look at people who’ll do anything to get — or stay — famous. Kenneth Branagh stars as a version of Allen himself: a neurotic writer desperate for entrée into the world of celebrities. But the cast also teems with other stars who are playing awfully close versions of themselves. The highlight is Leonardo DiCaprio as a hotel-trashing actor.
  • SCREAM (1996)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Wes Craven
    Synopsis: Horror maven Wes Craven — paying homage to teen horror classics such as Halloween and Prom Night — turns the genre on its head with this tale of a murderer who terrorizes hapless high schooler Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) by offing everyone she knows. Not your average slasher flick, Scream distinguishes itself with a self-parodying sense of humor. Courteney Cox and David Arquette co-star as a local news reporter and a small-town deputy.
  • SCREAM 2 (1997)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Wes Craven
    Synopsis: In the two years that have passed since the fateful events in Woodsboro, newswoman Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) has written a best-seller, which has been turned into a film starring Tori Spelling as Sidney (Neve Campbell). As the movie premiere looms closer, the cycle of mysterious deaths begins again. Dewey Riley (David Arquette) heads straight to Sidney’s college in an attempt to protect her from impending doom.
  • HUMAN TRAFFIC (1999)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Justin Kerrigan
    Synopsis: A quintet of British teens attempts to leave behind the malaise of their 9-to-5 lives with weekend escapes into the drug-fueled club culture. Come Friday night, ringleader Jip and his pals — best friend Koop, burger-flipping Nina, man-hating Lulu and jobless Moff — light out for 48 hours of ephemeral revelry. Though each suffers from a raft of personal problems, they’re easily swept away by drinking, designer drugs and dancing the nights away.
  • HAMLET (2000)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Michael Almereyda
    Synopsis: The President of the Denmark Corporation has recently been found dead, and his wife has re-married the man suspected of the murder. Nobody is suffering more than her son Hamlet — who is not only determined to avenge his father’s murder but is also in love with the enchanting but forbidden Ophelia. Ethan Hawke stars.
  • BUTTERFLY (1999)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Jose Luis Cuerda
    Synopsis: At the onset of the Spanish Civil War, a sheltered boy (Manuel Lozano) in rural northern Spain forms an indelible bond with his kindly leftist teacher (Fernando Fernán Gómez), who imparts his love for nature to the young student. Director Jose Luis Cuerda gentle and nostalgic drama, based on the short stories of Manuel Rivas, was nominated for 13 Goya Awards (the Spanish Oscar), winning for Best Adapted Screenplay.
  • HOLY SMOKE (2000)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Jane Campion
    Synopsis: Returning to Australia from India after living in a cult, Ruth Barron (Kate Winslet) is enraged to learn she was tricked into coming back by PJ Waters (Harvey Keitel), a hotshot deprogramming guru. Waters believes he can return Ruth to normalcy with little effort, but quickly learns otherwise when Ruth turns the tables on him. Before long, Waters needs a strong dose of his own medicine!
  • LES BONNES FEMMES (1960)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Claude Chabrol
    Synopsis: French director Claude Chabrol chronicles three days in the lives of a quartet of Parisian shopgirls: aspiring chanteuse Ginette (Stéphane Audran), party girl Jane (Bernadette Lafont), mousy Rita (Lucile Saint-Simon) and die-hard romantic Jacqueline (Clotilde Joano). Looking to escape their monotonous existence, the women soon discover they live in a cruel world that scorns them, exploits them and exposes their dreams as hopeless fantasies.
  • HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Hal Ashby
    Synopsis: Death-obsessed teen Harold Chasen (Bud Cort) is being hassled by his domineering mother (Vivian Pickles) to play the dating game, but he’d much rather attend funerals, which is where he meets the feisty Maude (Ruth Gordon), a geriatric widow who’s high on life. The seemingly mismatched pair forms a bond that turns into a highly unconventional — but ultimately satisfying – romance in this comical cult favorite from director Hal Ashby.
  • DEAD MAN (1995)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Jim Jarmusch
    Synopsis: Only Jim Jarmusch could direct a Western like this: a poetry-loving American Indian mistakes accountant William Blake (Johnny Depp) for the English writer by the same name, while bounty hunters take Blake for a murderer. Jarmusch packs his independent-minded film with an unlikely collection of castmates, including Iggy Pop, Gabriel Byrne, John Hurt — and Robert Mitchum, in one of his final big-screen roles.
  • EAST IS EAST (1999)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Damien O’Donnell
    Synopsis: In 1970s England, the Khan children are caught between their strictly traditional Pakistani father (Om Puri) and their more laid-back British mother (Linda Bassett). Stranded somewhere between disco nights and arranged marriages, the young Khans just want to be modern Brits, and their quest leads them to cleverly and humorously avoid their father’s restrictions at every turn in director Damien O’Donnell’s award-winning comedy.
  • CHOCOLAT (2000)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Lasse Hallstrom
    Synopsis: Blown in by the north wind, an iconoclastic single mother (Oscar nominee Juliette Binoche) and her young daughter move into a peaceful French village and open an uncommon chocolate shop during the height of Lent — directly across the street from a church. At first, the shop’s rich, sensuous desserts scandalize the town. But the villagers (including Judi Dench, Lena Olin and Johnny Depp) soon learn to savor the sweetness.
  • THE LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER (1994)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Jackie Chan, Chia-Liang Liu
    Synopsis: Jackie Chan returns in the sequel to the film that made him famous (Drunken Master). Wong Fei-Hung (Chan) is a dutiful son who must do battle with thieves trying to smuggle priceless artifacts out of China. Fei-Hung uses his patented “Drunken Boxing” fighting style in which a swig of alcohol empowers him to kick some baddie butt. The final no-holds-barred fisticuffs in an old steel mill are mind-blowing.
  • VATEL (2000)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Roland Joffe
    Synopsis: An upcoming visit from Louis XIV (Julian Sands) could bring great political and financial reward to a poor, gout-stricken prince, who entrusts his meticulous and versatile steward, Vatel (Gérard Depardieu), to plan three days of festivities for the king’s stay. Co-starring Uma Thurman as the king’s mistress, this period drama features Oscar-nominated art direction, witty dialogue from Tom Stoppard and a sumptuous score from Ennio Morricone.
  • JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK (2001)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Kevin Smith
    Synopsis: When Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) learn that their comic-book alter egos, Bluntman and Chronic, have been sold to Hollywood as part of a big-screen movie that leaves them out of any royalties, the pair travels to Tinseltown to sabotage the production. Smith also writes and directs this comic farce that gives free reign to the drug-dealing stoners who’ve made cameo appearances in a clutch of his other films.
  • GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Howard Hawkes
    Synopsis: Two American showgirls in the mood for love board a luxury liner to Paris. Engaged to be married, fair-haired Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) is unknowingly tracked by a private investigator who was hired by her future father-in-law. But the detective only has eyes for her brunette friend, Dorothy (Jane Russell). Based on the Broadway musical starring Carol Channing, the film features the memorable tune “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”
  • ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM (1946)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: John Cromwell
    Synopsis: Based on the true story of an English governess who takes a position teaching the King of Siam’s children, John Cromwell’s lavish production stars Rex Harrison in his screen debut. Recently widowed Anna (Irene Dunne) leaves England for the palace of King Mongkut (Harrison). She clashes with the king despite his instruction to teach the children Western ways, but the two slowly gain a respect for each other that transcends cultural differences.
  • CHILDREN OF HEAVEN (1997)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Majid Majidi
    Synopsis: In this Oscar-nominated Iranian drama from filmmaker Majid Majidi, a young boy (Amir Farrokh Hashemian) accidentally loses his sister’s (Bahare Seddiqi) shoes and must share his own sneakers with her in a sort of relay while each attends school at different times during the day. The boy ultimately enters a much-publicized foot race in hopes of placing third and taking home the prize: a new pair of sneakers.
  • ENCHANTED APRIL (1992)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Mike Newell
    Synopsis: Stifled British wives Lottie (Josie Lawrence) and Rose (Miranda Richardson) rent an Italian villa for a husbandless vacation. Sharing the retreat are acerbic widow Mrs. Fisher (Oscar nominee Joan Plowright) and socialite Caroline (Polly Walker). The four spend a month savoring newfound freedom and the opportunity for self-discovery. Alfred Molina co-stars in this tale of 1920s English manners, based on Elizabeth von Arnim’s novel.
  • TOM & VIV (1994)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Brian Gilbert
    Synopsis: Director Brian Gilbert beautifully renders the life of poet T.S. Eliot (Willem Dafoe) and his short-lived marriage to muse Vivienne Haigh-Wood (Miranda Richardson). A gifted writer who encouraged Eliot’s success, Vivienne was plagued with a hormonal imbalance that wreaked havoc on her moods, her talents and her marriage.
  • HEAVEN CAN WAIT (1943)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Ernst Lubitsch
    Synopsis: In this restored digital transfer of Ernst Lubitsch’s witty classic, newly deceased playboy Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche) tries to convince Satan he’s got what it takes to be a citizen of hell. Unsatisfied that Van Cleve’s sins are hell-worthy, the devil listens as the dead man recounts his womanizing ways and the many heartbreaks he’s caused his loving wife (Gene Tierney). Extras include a biography of screenplay writer Samson Raphaelson.
  • THE CLOSET (2000)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Francis Veber
    Synopsis: A milquetoast accountant (Daniel Auteuil) is about to get fired from his job for literally being a bore. But at the last minute, a helpful neighbor (Michel Aumont) concocts a “new life” for him as an out-of-the-closet (read: intriguing) homosexual, and suddenly everything changes. Gérard Depardieu co-stars as a homophobic officemate who might be masking a few feelings of his own in writer-director Francis Veber’s foreign language comedy.
  • THE FURY (1978)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Brian De Palma
    Synopsis: Two years after the debut of Carrie, director Brian De Palma delivers another bloody tale of psychic teenagers. When telekinetic teens Robin (Andrew Stevens, son of Stella) and Gillian (Amy Irving) become the target of a government baddie (John Cassavetes, who wants to exploit their powers for weapons of mass destruction), the boy’s father (Kirk Douglas) is determined to stop him. Watch for Daryl Hannah and Laura Innes in their film debuts.
  • IN THE BEDROOM (2001)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Todd Field
    Synopsis: Set in a tranquil town on the Maine coast, this character-driven drama tells the story of a couple (Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson, in a pair of stunning performances) whose teenage son (Nick Stahl) is involved in a love affair with a single mother (Marisa Tomei). When the relationship comes to a sudden and tragic end, the boy’s parents must face their worst nightmare and embark on a dark and dangerous psychological journey.
  • TIME OF FAVOR (2000)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Joseph Cedar
    Synopsis: Both a politcal-psychological drama and a love story between a passionate woman and two best friends, this profound film which won six Israeli Oscars, including Best Picture, raises important questions about faith, duty and love for oneself. Writer-director Joseph Cedar’s debut feature is a taut thriller that addresses the tense relationship between the orthodox nationalists and the military on Israel’s West Bank.
  • IRIS (2001)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Richard Eyre
    Synopsis: Iris Murdoch (Judi Dench and Kate Winslet, in Oscar-nominated roles) was l’enfant terrible of the literary world in early 1950s Britain — a live wire who thumbed her nose at conformity via a voracious and scandalous sexual appetite. In this snippet of her life, an aging Murdoch (Dench) faces the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and the loss of memories about her younger self (Winslet). Jim Broadbent won the Oscar for his portrayal of her husband.
  • CINEMA PARADISO (1988)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
    Synopsis: Giuseppe Tornatore’s Oscar-winning film follows Salvatore, a Sicilian boy who is mesmerized by the movies shown at the local theater. He befriends projectionist Alfredo, who mentors him and ultimately tells him to leave home to pursue his dreams. Now a famous film director, Salvatore returns home for the first time 30 years later for Alfredo’s funeral and is overcome with warm memories of his childhood even as the town has changed.
  • CITIZEN RUTH (1996)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Alexander Payne
    Synopsis: In this satirical look at a controversial issue, unfit mother of four Ruth Stoops (Laura Dern) discovers while in jail that she’s pregnant again. The judge charges her with endangering the fetus, but tells her he’ll reduce the charges if she has an abortion. When word of this gets out, Ruth’s caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between anti-abortion and abortion rights activists who want to use Ruth to get their messages across.
  • JANE EYRE (1996)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Franco Zeffirelli
    Synopsis: Director Franco Zeffirelli cemented his reputation as a faithful custodian of the classics with this adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s masterpiece Jane Eyre, the story of an orphan (Anna Paquin) forced to endure life at a harsh boarding school. As Jane grows into an independent, strong-willed woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg), she takes a governess job at Thornton Hall and falls in love with the estate’s brooding owner, Mr. Rochester (William Hurt).
  • THE TRUCE (1996)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Francesco Rosi
    Synopsis: Primo Levi’s bittersweet memoir (The Reawakening) of his Herculean trek home to Italy after being liberated from Auschwitz by the Russian Army gets a respectful mounting. Levi (John Turturro), along with survivors of various nationalities, is taken to a transition camp run by Soviet medical personnel. Here, the survivors recover from their ordeal, rebuilding their strength for the long picaresque journey home.
  • THE BIG ONE (1998)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Michael Moore
    Synopsis: Another subversive journey from documentarian/provocateur Michael Moore poses this question: At a time when corporations are posting record profits, why are so many Americans still in danger of losing their jobs? Armed with only a camera, tons of sarcasm and a heartfelt sympathy for the American worker, Moore searches America’s heartland and embarks on a one-man campaign to persuade Fortune 500 companies to reconsider their downsizing decisions.
  • MY LEFT FOOT (1989)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Jim Sheridan
    Synopsis: Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar for his emotionally and physically complex portrayal of Irish writer Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy and misdiagnosed as mentally disabled for the first 10 years of his life. The story unfolds in a series of flashbacks with Hugh O’Conor starring as the young Christy, who eventually learned to write using the only body part he could control: his left foot.
  • THE SCARLET AND THE BLACK (1983)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Jerry London
    Synopsis: This riveting drama is based on the true-life story of Vatican priest Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty (Gregory Peck), who helped allied P.O.W.s escape from Nazi-occupied Rome. O’Flaherty challenged Nazi officers and his Vatican superiors to save the lives of Jews during World War II. With German soldiers controlling Rome, O’Flaherty made a determined effort to hide and shuttle to safety as many Jews from the city as possible.
  • TRAINSPOTTING (1996)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Danny Boyle
    Synopsis: Danny Boyle’s explosive 1996 film tracks the misadventures of young men (played by a cast that includes Ewan MacGregor, Robert Carlyle and Jon Lee Miller) trying to find their way out of joblessness, aimless relationships and drug addiction. Some are successful, while others are hopelessly not. Based on Irvine Walsh’s novel, Trainspotting melds grit with poetry, resulting in a film of harsh truths and stunning grace.
  • ILLUSION (2004)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Michael A. Goorjian
    Synopsis: With his deceased former editor as his projectionist, dying filmmaker Donald Baines (Kirk Douglas) spends a fantastical night watching movies that depict various stages in his estranged son’s life. Haunted by his father’s abandonment, Donald’s son Christopher (Michael A. Goorjian) goes through life crippled with self-doubt. Can the ailing director work movie magic to make things right and give Christopher the happy ending he deserves?
  • THE INVISIBLE MAN: Special Edition (1933)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: James Whale
    Synopsis: Scientist Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) terrorizes the British village of Ipping in this classic horror film. After a drug experiment gone awry, Griffin becomes invisible and must hide out in the local inn, his face completely bandaged. By the time Griffin confides in friends Dr. Kemp (William Harrigan) and Flora (Gloria Stuart), it’s too late — the drug has turned him into a homicidal maniac who must be hunted down.
  • THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS (2008)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Mark Herman
    Synopsis: When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno (Asa Butterfield) befriends Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a boy who lives on the other side of the fence, where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel’s fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp’s walls.
  • THE VANISHING (1993)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: George Sluizer
    Synopsis: Barney (Jeff Bridges) is a deranged man who plans to abduct a woman, but despite his careful design and numerous run-throughs, things never go quite right. He’s finally successful when Diane (Sandra Bullock) makes herself an obvious target after a fight with her boyfriend, Jeff (Kiefer Sutherland). Jeff spends years trying to figure out what happened to Diane, almost destroying his own life. Director George Sluizer remakes his own 1988 film.
  • THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK (1971)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Jerry Schatzberg
    Synopsis: Al Pacino plays Bobby, a young heroin addict who introduces his drug-free girlfriend (Kitty Winn) to New York’s “Needle Park.” But in this sordid world peopled with addicts who lie, cheat and steal their way to their next fix, will Bobby feel any guilt for corrupting a pure soul? With its gritty documentary style, Jerry Schatzberg’s drama proved a star-making turn for a young Pacino, who went on to earn an Oscar nomination for The Godfather.
  • AT THE DEATH HOUSE DOOR (2008)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Peter Gilbert, Steve James
    Synopsis: Peter Gilbert and Steve James examine the state of the death penalty in Texas in this thought-provoking documentary filmed from the perspective of a Hunstville “death house” chaplain who witnessed nearly 100 executions over the course of his career. The film also dissects the controversial execution of Hunstville inmate Carlos De Luna, who died by lethal injection in 1989 despite evidence that suggested his innocence.
  • UNDER OUR SKIN (2008)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Andy Abrahams Wilson
    Synopsis: n the 1970s, a mysterious and deadly illness began infecting children in a small town in Connecticut. Today it’s a global epidemic. A real-life thriller, this shocking festival hit exposes the controversy surrounding chronic Lyme disease. Following the stories of individuals fighting for their lives, director Andy Abrahams Wilson reveals with beauty and horror a natural world out of balance and a human nature all too willing to put profits before patients.
  • DIARY OF A LOST GIRL (1929)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst
    Synopsis: In the wake of a violent rape at the hands of her father’s assistant (Fritz Rasp), young Thymiane Henning (Louise Brooks) is left pregnant and emotionally drained. But when she refuses to marry her attacker, she’s sent away to a woman’s reformatory. With an unfair act deciding her fate, is respectability still within her reach — or is she destined to live on the fringe? German filmmaker G.W. Pabst directs this black-and-white silent classic.
  • SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR (1973)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Ivan Dixon
    Synopsis: After spending several years in Washington as the CIA’s token black agent, Dan Freeman (Lawrence Cook) quietly returns to Chicago to launch a potent political revolution made up of leftist radicals and black nationalists. The goal of his well-trained guerilla army? To launch an all-out offensive against the nation’s white-dominated power structure. Ivan Dixon, best known for his role as Sgt. “Kinch” Kinchloe on “Hogan’s Heroes,” directs.
  • SIN CITY (2005)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez
    Synopsis: Ex-con Marv (Mickey Rourke) avenges a hooker’s (Jaime King) death, Detective Dwight (Clive Owen) gets involved with hazardous vixens and a rogue cop (Bruce Willis) becomes hell-bent on saving a stripper (Jessica Alba) from a rapist (Nick Stahl) in interlaced stories adapted from Frank Miller’s graphic novels. Director Robert Rodriguez’s fantasy-infused, gritty film noir also stars Elijah Wood, Benicio Del Toro and Rosario Dawson.
  • GROWING OP (2008)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Michael Melski
    Synopsis: After years of being home-schooled by his earnest, post-hippie, pot-growing parents, Quinn (Steven Yaffee) decides to jump from the nest and give himself a normal high school experience. He quickly learns, however, that there’s nothing normal about high school. When the teen falls for a beautiful blonde neighbor (Rachel Blanchard), he realizes he’ll have to make some compromises to get what he wants — once he’s sure what that is.
  • SEQUESTRO EXPRESS (2004)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Jonathan Jakubowicz
    Synopsis: After a night of dancing in Caracas, Venezuela, Carla (Mia Maestro) and Martin (Jean Paul Leroux) are swept off their feet by a trio of kidnappers (Carlos Julio Molina, Pedro Perez and Carlos Madera) in search of a hefty ransom from Carla’s wealthy father (Ruben Blades). As they wait out their imprisonment, the young couple undergoes a terrifying journey through the city, all the while at the mercy of their captors.
  • TOTSI (2005)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Gavin Hood
    Synopsis: After shooting a woman (Nambitha Mpumlwana) and driving off in her car, a ruthless thug (Presley Chweneyagae) is surprised to discover he isn’t alone, kept company by a crying infant in the backseat. But through his efforts to care for the baby, he slowly rediscovers his capacity to love. Writer-director Gavin Hood helms this Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, based on the novel by Athol Fugard.
  • TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1983)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Alan Johnson
    Synopsis: Mel Brooks and his real-life spouse, Anne Bancroft, star as impresarios of a Polish acting troupe circa 1939. When the Nazis invade Warsaw, the ensemble gets enmeshed in a subterfuge to prevent the Germans from finding a list of underground fighters. Bancroft scored an Oscar nomination, as did Charles Durning for his supporting performance as a befuddled Nazi colonel in this zesty remake of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1942 classic.
  • THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN (2006)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: John Peterson
    Synopsis: Filmmaker Taggart Siegel paints a fascinating portrait of a man who refused to yield. By transforming his farm into an experimental haven in the late 1960s, John Peterson attracted hundreds of artists, hippies and other political radicals. But when the agriculture crisis of the late 1980s led to the farm’s eventual collapse — and his neighbors publicly branded him a devil worshipper — most locals thought he’d call it quits. They were wrong.
  • GONE BABY GONE (2007)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Ben Affleck
    Synopsis: When a 4-year-old girl goes missing in one of Boston’s toughest neighborhoods, private investigators Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angela Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) reluctantly agree to take the case. But the investigation proves more complex than they ever could have imagined. Amy Ryan earned an Oscar nod for her portrayal of the missing child’s mother in Ben Affleck’s directorial debut, adapted from the Dennis Lehane novel.
  • SWINGERS (1996)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Doug Liman
    Synopsis: Director Doug Liman’s career-making look into the psyche of 20-something males stars Jon Favreau as struggling comedian Mike, whose pathetic love life prompts his Hollywood wannabe pals to pump up his nightlife and immerse him in cocktail culture. Vince Vaughn turns in a scene-stealing performance as Mike’s smooth-talking friend Trent, a would-be actor who purports to be an expert in all matters of the opposite sex. Heather Graham co-stars.
  • CHASING AMY (1997)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Kevin Smith
    Synopsis: After comic book artist Holden (Ben Affleck) falls in love with the perfect woman, Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams), he discovers she is a lesbian in this comedy from writer-director Kevin Smith. With no help from his friend, Banky (Jason Lee), Holden tries to make a relationship with Alyssa work. Although Holden knows Alyssa cares deeply about him, her homosexual past may conspire to come between them and ruin everything.
  • WARRIORS OF VIRTUE (1997)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Ronny Yu
    Synopsis: In an effort to fit in with his classmates, Ryan Jeffers (Mario Yedidia) accepts a dare from the class bully. But the dare goes horribly wrong, and Ryan is soon pulled into the netherworld of Tao — where he’s met by the evil Lord Komodo (Angus MacFadyen). A group of kangaroo-like warriors who protect the land of Tao decide to help the boy, who’s now in possession of a powerful book that Komodo could use to destroy the Earth.
  • MRS. BROWN (1997)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: John Madden
    Synopsis: Grieving widow Queen Victoria (Oscar nominee Judi Dench) withdraws into sadness for years until plainspoken manservant John Brown (Billy Connolly) disrupts her mourning. But as their friendship grows, it results in personal and political ramifications for both of them. Exquisitely filmed and fueled by sparkling performances, director John Madden’s period drama brilliantly portrays the woman behind an empire and the man who helped her live again.
  • MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE (1991)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Alek Kershishian
    Synopsis: Madonna offers a no-holds-barred look at her life, taking viewers behind the scenes at her “Blond Ambition” tour. From the dressing room to the bedroom, the outrageous and always entertaining singer exposes her every secret — from her waning relationship with actor Warren Beatty to her friendship with Sandra Bernhard and her crush on future Evita co-star Antonio Banderas. Alek Keshishian directs this revealing and raucous rock documentary.
  • MIMIC (1997)
    Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
    Director: Guillermo del Toro
    Synopsis: In this cinematic kissing cousin to the giant-radioactive-ant flick Them, etymologist Mira Sorvino eradicates disease-carrying cockroaches only to create a new breed of lethal, man-sized insect in the sewer systems of New York City. Co-starring Charles S. Dutton, Jeremy Northam and a nest of creepy, computer-generated bugs, Mimic will send you running for the Raid.

Hopeless film enthusiast; reborn comic book geek; artist; collector; cookie connoisseur; curious to no end