It is funny how we can sometimes get bored from too much selection in our heavily saturated outlets of entertainment. I sometimes catch myself flipping through the film poster icons of Netflix like I’m looking out of a moving car. All too often I’m only looking for flicks that are newer, well-known, or have an actor in them I like. However, sometimes I realize my trap and just click on something that looks at least remotely interesting or different than what I am used too and get pleasantly surprised and humbled. These are four such films.
Doctor Who
I had watched some older Doctor Who shows when I was kid and thought it was okay. I didn’t think until recently to check out the newer seasons that started (or regenerated) in 2005 on the BBC. The show follows a time traveling alien known simply as “The Doctor,” usually accompanied by a cute and clever human woman, as he travels space and time getting stuck in weird and often dangerous situations on Earth (usually England) and other random planets. The show covers many bases; it has action, drama, comedy, and even romance in either a sci-fi, historic time period, or even horror genre. It also does a good job at creating single Twilight Zone episodes for occasional viewers, but it has many reoccurring story lines and characters (usually villains) that thread in or take center stage.
I Saw the Devil
I make the huge mistake, as many film viewers do, to ignore foreign language films. Probably for the simple fact that I’m allowing myself to be lazy and not read while I watch. Well, apparently I have some catching up to do in South Korean cinema. If you like the cop-tracking-a-killer genre of television and film then don’t miss this one, especially if you are looking for something fresh. This thriller starts with a special agent grieving the death of his wife by the hands of an apparent serial killer. He then begins his own investigation to find the killer. However in his quest for vengeance, he himself becomes a bit twisted, and not only looks to track the killer but to torment him…repeatedly.
Tucker & Dale vs Evil
Horror flicks are in a total slump right now. My favorite genre appears to be the most redundant, with remakes, cliche torturers, or haunted hand held flicks. So I’ve kept my distance while looking for something different. I didn’t expect to find one that is actually a comedy which satires some of these things (and not in the generic “spoof” way either). This film is about two goofy friends that have gotten an old cabin in the country woods and are trying to fix it up. However, from the perspective of a group of cliche modern teenagers passing through on a road trip, the two look like backwoods killers. Henceforth a series of run-ins shown from the passive and confused perspective of the two idiot pals and the terrified and hysterical perspective of the kids (which actually does turn to horrible and yet humorous deaths).
30 for 30: The Two Escobars
I’m not into watching sports, specifically for this article, I’m not into watching pro soccer. So when a friend of mine turned on this ESPN documentary I sort of got bummed. However, 15 minutes later I was hooked on an amazing story of both sports history and history altogether. The film bounces back and forth between telling the biographical stories of Colombian soccer legend Andres Escobar and Cocaine legend Pablo Escobar, as their lives intertwine and both flourish and fall through vibrant and violent decades in Columbia. Aside from the interesting personalities is an interesting history on the intertwining of the game of soccer in the region with the drug trade.
Check out these flicks or at least make time to search for something different yourself.
