Netflix Fix: Best of Watch Instantly 8/21-8/28

By
ChiaLynn
 – August 28, 2010Posted in: Etc..., Features, Netflix Fix
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Cutting through the crud to the fun. The best of Netflix streaming for this week:

Documentary

The Botany of Desire: Michael Pollan explores the way plants manipulate human behavior, forcing us to spread their genes worldwide. Who knew apples, tulips, potatoes and pot were such evil masterminds?

F for Fake: Part documentary, part essay, Orson Welles’ last completed directorial effort is a story of art, forgery and the construction of narrative.

Musical

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The musical numbers, frankly, aren’t much (though Rosalind Russell covering “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” as Marilyn Monroe is fantastic, and the bondage-bordello-pink-tulle stage set on which Monroe performs that song herself is well worth seeing), but tucked in amongst the nonsensical storyline and mid-century misogyny are some clever observations on human behavior, male-female relationships, and what really matters in life. Plus, the costumes are gorgeous.

Action

Drunken Master: A very young Bolo Yeung flexes his pecs; a very young Jackie Chan vomits noodles and sashays around a field in imitation of a drunken goddess; a not-so-very-old Siu Tien Yuen trembles and staggers and generally kicks ass. This is a Hong Kong classic for good reason.

The Man from Snowy River: Action! Horses! Romance! Horses! Kirk Douglas playing his own brother! Did I mention horses? Because this film features one of the most breathtaking horse stunts in all of cinematic history – and every second of it’s real.

Muppets

The Muppets Take Manhattan: Before there was Mad Men, there was Kermit AS a Mad Man. If you’ve never seen the film (or if, like me, you haven’t seen it since it hit the big screen), you’ll have to watch to find out how that happened – and how Miss Piggy saved him from a gray flannel life.

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About the Author

Chia is a freelance writer and occasional attorney who lives in a tiny apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She blogs semi-irregularly at Art of the Odd, and is a contributor to Environmental Graffiti. She can most often be found on Twitter, under the clever pseudonym ChiaLynn.