Netflix Picks – 30th January 2015

Another weekend approaching, another case of bad weather. Whether you are snowed in, snowed under, or just want a lazy weekend, we are here for you! We have searched through the expanse that is the Netflix catalogue to pick some gems for your viewing pleasure.

New to Netflix – Priscilla Queen of the Desert

A road trip film with a fabulous flair. Two drag queens and a transsexual travel across the Australian desert from Sydney to Alice Springs in order to play a drag show. There are excellent performances from the three leads Guy Pearce, Hugo Weaving, and Terence Stamp here, and although it follows familiar road trip territory, it manages to feel fresh and funny. The film also looks very good, with the character’s colourful and extravagant costumes in stark contrast to the bare desert. A camp classic.

New to Netflix (from Sunday 1st February) – Community Seasons 1 – 5

Community is an American TV series that has gained rather a cult following, and rightly so. Essentially it is about a group of six students, of various ages and backgrounds, who are attending a community college. The first season loosely focuses on disgraced lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) who was practising Law without a Law degree, whereas the latter seasons concentrate on the group as a whole. Jeff is quite literally too cool for school, and the writers have a lot of fun with McHale‘s naturally sarcastic delivery. In every breath of Community lies a pop culture or film reference, and some of the episodes (including the highly rated paintball episodes from seasons 1 and 2) are purely film based. Community is a must see for anyone who knows their Breakfast Club from their Pretty in Pink, and their Goodfellas from their Godfather.

Classic – The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 

For those of you that are only familiar with the John Travolta remake of this, I heartily encourage you to watch the far superior, original version. The film revolves around the hijacking of a train by a group of bad-guys, who hold the engers hostage until they receive one million dollars. The hijackers communicate with the chief controller to make sure their demands are met, whilst he tries to second guess their strategies. The film is full of fantastic performances, notably Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw. A  smart thriller set on the New York underground, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is suspenseful, funny, and incredibly entertaining.

Indie Gem – Short Term 12

In Short Term 12 Grace (Brie Larson) is a supervisor at a home for at-risk teens, and dedicates her days to helping the teens survive in the system. She identifies with a new ission, who she has more in common with than she realises. Short Term 12 is a powerful film, that shows the comion and warmth under extreme pressure that everyday people can have. The film is at times heartbreaking, and it will certainly hit hard at specific points, but it also has a lot of laughter and lightness to it, the combination of which makes it an enthralling watch.