Top Ten Netflix Discoveries of 2011
Well it’s that time of year again reader(s). Time to reflect on the year that was and make obligatory lists of the best things that happened to me this year! More so that I can compare and bicker with my friends about which is better! So, I havent really been watching much of “New” TV this year but being the kind of guy that I am, I watched a lot of Netflix this year. So I decided to compile the best things that I have discovered this year thanks to Netflix. Now, these mostly consist of TV shows, but a few movies are sprinkled in there so I had to name it appropriately. (I also will attempt to put the Netflix link in the title and the pic of the show so hopefully that doesn’t crap out.)
10. Downton Abbey - I actually heard about this show being talked about by Paul Scheer of all people saying how awesome it was! Now this being my first real “period piece” that I have seen, I gotta say I really liked it! I understand how most of these stries might turn some of the fellas off: A rich aristocratic family in Britain in the early 1900’s is riddled with drama as finding the heir to the estate. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s the age old formula of characters over plot, but I like this one damn it! I find myself rooting for the characters I want to succeed and against the ones don’t! It’s worth a gander! Caution: Extreme cases of white people problems. (Edit: upon watching the second season, this show is officially awesome!)
9. The Cave of Forgotten Dreams - You have just got to love a film maker like Werner Herzog. I don’t care who you are. There is something about the way that he approches film-makeing that I just respect. Especially when it comes to documentaries. The Cave of Forgotten Dreams might just be one of the most special documentaries I have seen since The Gates of Heaven. Set in the south of France, the discovery of a cave perfectly preserved for thousands of years, provokes excavators and film makers to take a very close look at the precious mysterious of the cave and early man. The film is amazing in itself, but I am going to take a guess as to how Herzog gets the amazing interviews and footage that you just don’t get in most other documentaries: He never turns off the camera. I mean, he just mustn’t. The questions he asks and the people he talks to are usually done after months of research and you can always tell that Herzog will give you a piece of himself in every film he does and this one is no different!
8. Troll Hunter- Honestly, the poster says it all. Pretty god-damned spectacular! If the title of this movie doesn’t get you nerd panties moist then I suggest that you stop reading this and move on to the next post because this movie is nothing short of awesome. Nuff’ said!
7. Terriers - Ignore the “tremors” poster ripoff, please. Regardless of how clever I think it is. This year I could not seem to get enough of detective shows. And Terriers might have been the most pleasant surprise out of all of them. Set in San Diego, recovered alcoholic Hank Dolworth having been fired from the police force starts his own detective agency with his best friend. they are completely unorthodox and solve crimes the most haphazard way imaginable but it’s absolute gold! Bud god damn it, it will now forever remain a canceled jem of the FX family. You know, usually I try do brush off a good show ending before its time by saying something along the lines of “Well at least it never got the chance to get bad” or “if firefly wasn’t canned we wouldn’t have gotten Serenity.” (maybe that last one was a bit too bold) But it is abundantly clear that this show could have been a monster hit but was not given the chance and it just makes me sad for this whole status quo.
6. Luther - Continuing on the detective show stint I discovered Luther and was hooked in the first 10 minutes. I’ll be damned if Idris Elba is not the powerhouse of an emotionally distraught, cold-as-ice detective that you didn’t even know you needed! London detective inspector Jon Luther is being brought back from a suspension and is ready to get back to work, when he finds out that his now separated wife is seeing someone else. What I just can get enough of is how John’s dealing with a case and his personal life work together. Yeah, yeah, I know that how they usually go but this does it with more punch and intensity and you do NOT wanna fuck with Luther!
5. That Mitchell and Webb Look - I have been told that British humor is only meant for people of a different sensibility and its a lot less accessible to Americans. I personally believe that this show is paramount to understanding how ridiculous the previous statement is. David Mitchell and Robbert Webb might be the most proactive comedy writers since the monty python. Ok maybe not that pivotal, but they are damned smart and funny. A simple sketch comedy format of the highest order!
4. Sherlock - For me it has been really hard to find a good adaptation of the great detective Sherlock Holmes in film or TV that is not from anything as old as 1960, and yes I am counting the newest films with Robert Downy Jr. because those are not appealing to me. But this. This is good. This is very, very good! I would expect Stephen Moffat, the captain behind Doctor Who and other hit British television to write a good modern day adaptation of the great detective, but I never expected it to be this awesome! Start with the cast: You have the amazingly talented and impossibly British Benedict Cumberbatch as the title role. And Benedict plays the role like I somehow always wish it would be played. And the impeccable Martin Freeman as veteran doctor John Watson. I don’t think there is a more clever show that is being made today.
3. Avatar: The Last Airbender - I love recommending shows and movies to friends and vice-versa. But The Last Airbender has been the most difficult show to recommend to people that haven’t seen it. And to be fair, I was very hesitant about what it was about on paper. A wold of divided kingdoms of earth, fire, and water discover the chosen warrior of the world (the Avatar) in a young child that has been frozen for a hundred years and is the last of the “air benders”. God god was I wrong to ever doubt this show. For a children’s show, it is just as epic as any classic work such as lord of the rings or even as adventurous as Star Wars, there I said it! It’s that damn good! And if you are past the point of being convinced to even try this show, you are lost to me.
2. Party Down - WHY DID YOU ALL LET THIS SHOW DIE!? Yeah, I’m talking to you, all you people that did’t watch this brilliant show to keep it’s ratings up! This might have been the funniest show since the original UK Office. Party Down in a workplace comedy from the creators of Veronica Mars and hits it out of the park for laughs and a surprisingly compelling love arc for its maincharacter. The show is inhabited by pretty much every guest star that has been in Veronica Mars and amazing cameos and a show that might just be the best atmosphere for laughs. A run of the mill catering company caters to different events that is ripe foe excellent cameos with the likes of Thomas Lennon, J.K. Simmons, and Steve Guttenberg! Seriously, watch this show, laugh, then weep for what could have been!
1. Breaking Bad - This show really deserves a full wright up, and i will make one most likely on the eve of its final season, possibly this year. But all I can say that has not allready been said will be difficult. So I will make it short. Brian Cranston deserves every bit of praise, award, recognition for his acting and then some! It is with out the best written, directed, and probably most important television show since the wire. It’s that god damn good!
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shacknoir said:
Great list! I still need to see Troll Hunter. Really looking forward to seeing it soon…
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