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Netflix Nuggets: The Silent, The Sexy, The Weird & The True
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.
HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER (2010)
Streaming Available: 05/10/2011
Synopsis: At an isolated science station in the Arctic, meteorologist Sergei and young intern Pavel face the impending closure of the now-irrelevant base. While Sergei eagerly anticipates returning to his family, Pavel still hopes for a grand adventure. Average Netflix rating: 3.5
BLUE VELVET (1986)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: An innocent man gets mixed up in a small-town murder mystery involving a kinky nightclub chanteuse and a kidnapper with a penchant for snorting helium in this moodily surreal mystery from writer-director David Lynch. Average Netflix rating: 3.4
DON JUAN DEMARCO (1994)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: Marlon Brando stars as a psychiatrist assigned to diagnose a mysterious man who’s convinced that he’s legendary lover and swashbuckler Don Juan De Marco. Yet delving into Don Juan’s past revitalizes the doctor’s own relationship with his wife. Average Netflix rating: 3.5
GO WEST (1925)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: In this classic silent film, a downtrodden chap known as “Friendless”, having no luck in the big city, heads west, determined to succeed. His odyssey takes him to a ranch, where he builds a relationship with a neglected cow dubbed Brown Eyes. Average Netflix rating: 3.5
THE NAVIGATOR (1924)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: Millionaire Rollo Treadway sets off on a cruise to mend his broken heart after his beloved, Betsy, rejects his marriage proposal. Naturally, Rollo ends up at the wrong pier and boards a dilapidated boat, which (as it happens) Betsy has also boarded. Average Netflix rating: 3.3
SEVEN CHANCES (1925)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: This silent classic stars Buster Keaton as a young man who stands to inherit $7 million — if he can find a wife by his 27th birthday. When appeals to the longtime object of his affection fail, a news story brings out hundreds of potential brides. Average Netflix rating: 3.6
THE LAST LAUGH (1924)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: One of German director F.W. Murnau’s most brilliant silent films, this 1924 classic uses a constantly moving and subjective camera to capture the emotional anguish of a man whose life is suddenly devoid of meaning. Average Netflix rating: 3.8
FAUST (1926)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: German director F.W. Murnau cast the inimitable Emil Jannings as Mephisto, to whom the aging Faust sells his soul for renewed youth, wealth and power. Channeling Goethe, Murnau creates a phantasmagoric vision of the struggle between good and evil. Average Netflix rating: 3.8
FOLLOW MY VOICE (2006)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: This moving documentary explores the experiences of four teenagers attending New York’s landmark Harvey Milk High School for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender kids, weaving their stories with scenes of musicians recording a fund-raising album. Average Netflix rating: 3.2
THE GYMNAST (2006)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: When an injury ends her career as a gymnast, Jane falls back into lackluster job and a passionless marriage. That is, until she begins work on an aerial act with another beautiful gymnast and feels the stirrings of unexpected love. Average Netflix rating: 3.3
FLOW: FOR LOVE OF WATER (2008)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: From both local and global perspectives, this documentary examines the harsh realities behind the mounting water crisis. Learn how politics, pollution and human rights are intertwined in this important issue that affects every being on Earth. Average Netflix rating: 3.8
THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN (2005)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: After sightings of an infamous spirit are reported at a hospital, a young couple’s passionate tryst in one of the rooms is interrupted by the horrific apparition. But when the young woman turns up dead in the couple’s home, the real horror begins. Average Netflix rating: 2.5
FOR THE LOVE OF DOLLY (2006)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: Following five of Dolly Parton’s most avid devotees, filmmaker Tai Uhlmann explores the qualities of the country artist that draw such loyalty and the extreme measures the fans take to get close to their idol. Average Netflix rating: 3
WHIRLWIND (2007)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: After his boyfriend dumps him, handsome Drake takes out his pain on a close-knit group of gay men by leading each man down a different path of temptation, starting with the group’s sole couple Bobby and Sean. Average Netflix rating: 2.9
GHOST BIRD (2009)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: In 2004, a kayaker reported seeing a mysterious black-and-white bird in an Arkansas swamp. This alleged sighting of the ivory-billed woodpecker, thought to have been extinct for decades, sparked an explosion of interest in the elusive bird. Average Netflix rating: 3.1
TRAINING RULES (2009)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: This documentary explores the case of Jen Harris, a gifted college basketball player who was drummed out of Penn State’s basketball program by Coach Rene Portland for her perceived sexual orientation. Average Netflix rating: 3.1
HOWL (2010)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: James Franco steps into the shoes of famed Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in this star-studded biopic centered around Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” — and the widely publicized obscenity trial that followed its publication in 1957. Average Netflix rating: 3.2
THE BLUE ANGEL – German Version (1930)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: This finely crafted drama of despair from legendary filmmaker Josef von Sternberg follows brusque professor Rath, who’s determined to stop his pupils’ visits to hear speakeasy singer Lola. Average Netflix rating: 3.6
PLAN B (2009)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: After his girlfriend, Laura, dumps him and takes up with handsome charmer Pablo, Bruno plots revenge: He tries to come between the new lovers. But his plan — which entails a growing friendship with Pablo — soon takes an unexpected turn. Average Netflix rating: 3.2
THE FOUR-FACED LIAR (2010)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: Four twentysomethings struggling to find direction and meaning in their lives meet by chance in a New York City Irish tavern and after bonding over drinks, they proceed to put one another through an emotional wringer. Average Netflix rating: 2.9
LITTLE MAN (2005)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: Turning the camera lens on her own life, lesbian filmmaker Nicole Conn captures the heart-wrenching process of having a surrogate child with her life partner, political activist Gwen Baba, only to have the baby be born 100 days too early. Average Netflix rating: 3.4
ELENA UNDONE (2010)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: When openly gay writer Peyton and love-starved pastor’s wife Elena meet, they immediately form a strong bond. But the warmth of friendship soon erupts into a sizzling affair, forcing both women to confront their unexpected yet intense feelings. Average Netflix rating: 3.7
A MARINE STORY (2010)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: A decorated officer from a military family, Alex is unexpectedly discharged from duty. When she returns to her conservative hometown, the Marine struggles to readjust to civilian life, but agrees to mentor Saffron, a troubled teen who’s enlisting. Average Netflix rating: 3.2
ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS (2011)
Streaming Available: 05/15/2011
Synopsis: Spotlighting the all-black Harlem Renaissance basketball squad — aka the Harlem Rens — this film documents the segregated world of pro hoops during the 1930s and follows the Rens on their way to becoming pro basketball’s first world champions. Average Netflix rating: 3.8
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