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Great indie movies, foreign language films, or documentaries to rent?

How long does it take for me to get my first disc in queue from Netflix typically?

If it's a disc that's in high demand and I have say a two week wait, will they just send me the next disc I have in queue? Thanks.
 
The Thin Blue Line was the one that immediately came to mind when I saw your thread title. Definitely worth watching.

Persepolis was a very interesting movie. I'm not sure what I expected, but that wasn't it. Again, definitely worth watching (but not one I would ever want to watch a second time).
 
A fantastic documentary that everyone should see is Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. It came out in 1996, so you might have already seen it, but it is really powerful stuff.
 
I know I'm like a broken record with these two movies, but that's because they're really good:

Oldboy
oldboys.jpg


Thirst
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(Title links are to reviews by Roger Ebert)

They're both South Korean films by director Chan-wook Park. And I know for a fact that both are available via Netflix.

I think OldBoy (2005) especially will be right up your alley from the descriptions you've given of what you're looking for (you'll notice Safetydan recommended this one above, consider this a +1 to that recommendation). It begins with a drunk man being whisked away and locked in a motel room for 15 years. There is a bed, bathroom, and TV, and he is fed regularly, and occasionally knocked out with gas so that he can be cleaned up and given haircuts. While imprisoned, he discovers through TV news reports that his wife has been murdered and his daughter whisked away, and that he has been framed for both. He tries to kill himself twice, and begins filling notebooks with all the wrongs he has done in life, trying to figure out what he has done to deserve such imprisonment. After 15 years, he is let out by his captor, and told that he has 5 days to figure out why he was locked up in the first place.

Thirst (2009) is actually a vampire movie, but a very unconventional one. The main character is a priest who volunteers to be infected with a deadly virus in order to participate in drug trials to develop a cure. The disease progresses quickly and he nearly dies (or perhaps, actually does die), but he is unknowingly given a blood transfusion from a vampire. Unwilling to kill anyone, the priest siphons blood from comatose hospital patients. But the need for blood is not his only problem...

In any case, at least check out OldBoy, and if you like that one, try out Thirst. They're really somethin' else.


KrazeeEyezKilla said:
3-6) Dexter Season One (even though from what I've seen I think it's just okay)
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FWIW, Season 2 is the best one. Been a while since I've seen of it, but I think each season is self-contained enough that you could simply watch season 2 by itself and it should make sense.
 
I concur with Oldboy and Thirst. They are must-see foreign films. If you don't mind a little anime, I'd also recommend some of Hayao Miyazaki's films, such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.

Waltz With Bashir is also very good.
 
AtheistPreacher said:
I know I'm like a broken record with these two movies, but that's because they're really good:

Oldboy
oldboys.jpg


Thirst
thirstl.jpg


(Title links are to reviews by Roger Ebert)

They're both South Korean films by director Chan-wook Park. And I know for a fact that both are available via Netflix.

I think OldBoy (2005) especially will be right up your alley from the descriptions you've given of what you're looking for (you'll notice Safetydan recommended this one above, consider this a +1 to that recommendation). It begins with a drunk man being whisked away and locked in a motel room for 15 years. There is a bed, bathroom, and TV, and he is fed regularly, and occasionally knocked out with gas so that he can be cleaned up and given haircuts. While imprisoned, he discovers through TV news reports that his wife has been murdered and his daughter whisked away, and that he has been framed for both. He tries to kill himself twice, and begins filling notebooks with all the wrongs he has done in life, trying to figure out what he has done to deserve such imprisonment. After 15 years, he is let out by his captor, and told that he has 5 days to figure out why he was locked up in the first place.

Thirst (2009) is actually a vampire movie, but a very unconventional one. The main character is a priest who volunteers to be infected with a deadly virus in order to participate in drug trials to develop a cure. The disease progresses quickly and he nearly dies (or perhaps, actually does die), but he is unknowingly given a blood transfusion from a vampire. Unwilling to kill anyone, the priest siphons blood from comatose hospital patients. But the need for blood is not his only problem...

In any case, at least check out OldBoy, and if you like that one, try out Thirst. They're really somethin' else.



FWIW, Season 2 is the best one. Been a while since I've seen of it, but I think each season is self-contained enough that you could simply watch season 2 by itself and it should make sense.
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Have you had the chance to see Chan-Wook Park's other movies? Nearly every movie I listed there were all his. He has a knack for the unconventional and is a fantastic director on many levels.

Just a note on Korean cinema in general... If you get a chance to see one you won't be disappointed. As far as foreign films go, not many are as polished with high production values. Do yourself a favor and try one out for size.

I'm kind of a homer though so take it with a grain of salt.

shameless plug/
 
KrazeeEyezKilla said:
Just signed up for NF. $8.99/month is cheap. How does it work though? I only get one at a time and as soon as I return it, the next one will come? How many can I put in queue?
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You get one at a time at $8.99. I take out four at a time because I like having some options among my netflix rentals. If you assume you're going to turn each slot once a week (i.e. watch four movies a week) it's very cost-effective; running about $1.50 per rental.

The service is exactly as you guess, when they receive a disc that you mail back they send you the next disc the same day.

I don't know what the queue limit is, but it's well into the triple digits. A list that would take you years to actually watch completely.

KrazeeEyezKilla said:
How long does it take for me to get my first disc in queue from Netflix typically?
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They'll probably ship it to you tomorrow and you'll get it Tuesday.

If it's a disc that's in high demand and I have say a two week wait, will they just send me the next disc I have in queue?
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Yes. Usually waits only occur on brand new releases that are in high demand or on films that have been recently released in new editions that get a high amount of interest for some reason.

KrazeeEyezKilla said:
Kicky, I may go in for Sunset Boulevard, Duck Soup and a few others you seem to always mention around here.
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Sunset Boulevard is almost universally considered to be one of the greatest noirs ever made.

My general spiel about classic comedies generally adapted slightly for the Marx Brothers specifically:

At this point in time older comedies have a specific feel that doesn't hit modern ears particularly well sometimes. Colton and I, for example, both like screwball comedies from the 30s and 40s, but those films have a patter and rhythm that wouldn't play today. Older comedies, particularly in the Marx Brothers vein, are firmly rooted in a vaudeville tradition and that's what you're going to get. There will be a lot of puns, double entendres, musical numbers that seem out of place and unrelated to the plot, and a lot of goofy physical comedy. It is not for everybody, but it's an integral piece of comedy and film history that I in particular really enjoy. You may not feel the same way because it's a throwback to a form of entertainment that is essentially extinct today.
 
Serp,

Try these as well...

Gangster No. 1
The Krays

Great, violent English films.
 
Safetydan said:
Have you had the chance to see Chan-Wook Park's other movies? Nearly every movie I listed there were all his. He has a knack for the unconventional and is a fantastic director on many levels.
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I've seen the other two films in the Vengeance Trilogy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, as well as I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay. Cyborg meandered a bit too much for my taste. The Vengeance movies were both good, but neither was on the level of OldBoy or Thirst (Thirst itself suffered from being a bit too long). I kind of want to see Three Extremes, where he directed one of the three segments, along with Fruit Chan and Takashi Miike. I'm also somewhat interested to see Joint Security Area.

If you don't mind bloody romps, Tokyo Gore Police and Battle Royale are a couple of violent Japanese films that actually have some good substance to them amongst their insanity.

JJ Rage said:
I concur with Oldboy and Thirst. They are must-see foreign films. If you don't mind a little anime, I'd also recommend some of Hayao Miyazaki's films, such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.
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I won't even mention any anime other than to concur that Miyazaki is the best Japanese animation director out there, hard to go wrong with his movies. But you don't want me to get into anime recommendations anyway, I've seen so much it would just be a mess.



EDIT: Wow, I almost forgot about a Swedish movie I just saw a few weeks ago, and it's even a smart crime/mystery flick: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (review). Good stuff... kinda brutal... but good. It's about an investigative journalist who's recently been convicted of libel against a business tycoon. Sentenced to three months in prison, he leaves his position at the magazine he works for and is offered a freelance assignment prior to his sentence -- an assignment to solve a 40-year-old murder case. He's helped by the film's leading lady, a young girl in her 20s by the name of Lisbeth, an extremely antisocial girl who nonetheless is a wizard at information gathering and computers. It's going to be remade in America with Daniel Craig playing the male lead and directed by David Fincher... but I can't imagine any remake being better than this version.
 
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Thanks guys. This should keep me busy for a while. The only one I've seen put up on page two here is Man On Wire which was fantastic. I'll post my reviews, albeit short and mediocre ones, upon each viewing.
 
Three Additions to this List:

LET THE RIGHT ONES IN: Swedish, one of the best vampires movies I've ever seen. More of a drama than genre, the main characters are 10 year olds, and it's absolutely the best child acting I've ever seen. The Anti-TWILIGHT. Whatever you do, don't see the horrific American remake coming out soon first.

THE LIVES OF OTHERS: I think it won best Foreign Film a few years back, but I'm not sure. Fantastic drama/thriller set in the old East Berlin before the Wall came down. It literally made me tear up.

STANDER: Technically it's English with no subtitles, but it's set in South Africa. If you liked LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, you will love this. It's great as a stand alone genre bank robber tale, but with a little more dramatic subtext.
 
Another Korean movie that I recently saw that you might be interested in.

It's called "Chingu" 진구(Friend)

Friends%20-%20Chin%20Gu.jpg


It's about four friends who grow up and grow apart, two of which become high ranking members of competing mafia.

It held the korean box office record from 2001 to 2003
 
Safetydan said:
Another Korean movie that I recently saw that you might be interested in.

It's called "Chingu" 진구(Friend)

Friends%20-%20Chin%20Gu.jpg

It's about four friends who grow up and grow apart, two of which become high ranking members of competing mafia.

It held the korean box office record from 2001 to 2003
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Found this entire movie online through Google Video (bad quality, but oh well):

https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4913780544539724741#

Watched the first 15 minutes, looked pretty good, so I've ordered the DVD. I'll be interested to watch it.




JJ Rage said:
Primer - link

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Just watched this. Meh. I wasn't thrilled with it. Interesting concept though, great reveals towards the end.
 
Safetydan said:
Another Korean movie that I recently saw that you might be interested in.

It's called "Chingu" 진구(Friend)

Friends%20-%20Chin%20Gu.jpg


It's about four friends who grow up and grow apart, two of which become high ranking members of competing mafia.

It held the korean box office record from 2001 to 2003
Click to expand...
Just watched it.

Didn't thrill me, but it held my attention. 3/4 stars-ish.
 
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