Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Good Viewing

We have joined the happy millions who subscribe to Netflix. Since we have no TV on the island, and not much in the way of movie theaters, etc., it is especially appreciated on these long evenings. Here are a few of the things I've been watching and loving:
Reckless - a 4 part series from England, that was on Masterpiece Theater several years ago. It is smart, sexy, funny, surprising, passionate, and beautifully acted. It's about a love triangle, it's contemporary, and it knocked my sox off!Painted Lady - part of my Helen Mirren immersion. This was also a British film, a murder mystery, and yet another way to showcase the brilliance of Helen Mirren who plays an aging hippy folk-singer. Awesome!Prime Suspect - This series was also from BBC, and began showing in the early 1990's. Helen Mirren (again) plays the role of Detective Inspector Jane Tennison in an ongoing series of murder investigations around England. Once again, a stellar cast, smart and sparkling scripts, and edge-of-your-chair suspense. Highly recommended.
Second Sight - One more series about detectives. This time, the hero loses his sight in the first episode, but with the sharpening of the rest of his senses, he continues his career as a detective. I haven't finished watching this series yet, but it promises to be another winner.

What prompted much of this was recently seeing a list of PBS TV's lists of most popular programs. I've always been a fan of Masterpiece Theater, but haven't always gotten to watch it. So now I'm catching up on some I've missed.

Do you have any suggestions for our future evenings' entertainment?? (DVD rentals that is...;-)

8 comments:

robin andrea said...

We rely on you for our list of future Netflix rentals! Thanks for this wonderful list. Wish I could return the favor. I did see that the documentary Ralph Nader: An Unreasonable Man was set to release on 6/12. We have that in our queue.

Taradharma said...

yes, we love netflix, too. Gosh, so many movies, so little time. I'll go browse my netflix list and send you recommendations. Uh. Maybe next week. Just saw a fairly new version of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" and thought it was well done.

I LOVE Helen M. - and have not seen this movie in which she plays a hippie chick musician - I'm on it - thanks!

Taradharma said...

yes, we love netflix, too. Gosh, so many movies, so little time. I'll go browse my netflix list and send you recommendations. Uh. Maybe next week. Just saw a fairly new version of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" and thought it was well done.

I LOVE Helen M. - and have not seen this movie in which she plays a hippie chick musician - I'm on it - thanks!

Lulu Maude said...

Did you see Since Otar Left? It's a Georgian movie, and we thought it was exquisite!

Kim Tyler said...

Thanks for the great suggestions! I'll log onto Netflix now and make a few more requests - what an entertaining summer!

Tree said...

I followed the link from TaraDharma's blog and I'm so glad I did; I really like your blog.
Netflix has an amazing collection, make sure to check out the art section under the Special Interests category. Also, have you seen the movie Russian Ark? Amazing film.
Unfortunately, I've had to return lots of damaged DVDs that won't play.

Lulu Maude said...

Hello again, Sigrid. You've been tagged. Please see my blog for details.

firefly said...

"Foyle's War" is another PBS Mystery! series that is quite good. It's set in Britain during World War II and concerns a detective played by Michael Kitchen (I believe he was also in Reckless) who solves mysteries that are woven into the theme of Britain at war, and not with an eye to glorifying militarism either. The historical aspect is almost more interesting than the detective story, at least to me.

The discs on Netflix are 100 minutes, so if you rent these you'll see them uncut as they were broadcast on ITV. PBS cut them down to 90 minutes for Mystery! and there are sometimes little holes in the story in the US broadcasts as a result.