Restrepo! Cronos!

Once I get into the swing of things here, there will be at least one movie a day here; though as you'll soon see, I am often reminded of related films. We start the blog with an absolutely huge release: Restrepo. This one's so fresh, I haven't even had a chance to stream it yet. Winner of Best Documentary at the 2010 Sundance Festival, it has already made it onto the Academy Awards' shortlist for the 2011 Best Documentary category. Restrepo ended its theatrical run with a whopping 97% on the popular critic aggregator RottenTomatoes. It has been praised for being an intimate account of the modern soldier's life without smothering viewers with the political views that usually turn these films into laborious quagmires.






Other documentaries on the Academy's shortlist (which comprises 15 films in total, soon to be voted down to the top 5) that are currently streaming include The Lottery and William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe. And on 12/14, Oscar front-runner Exit Through The Gift Shop--one of the most entertaining and compelling films I've ever seen--will begin streaming (throw it on the queue now, but don't worry, I'll remind you.)

Guillermo Del Toro's directorial debut, Cronos, is now available. This unique spin on the vampire story is a must for fans of Del Toro's more recent work, films like Pan's Labyrinth. It's here that he first establishes his love of horror, gore and machinery.

Lastly, you can catch up on two movies you'd be embarrassed to admit you haven't seen: Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and Rain Man.

You're welcome!