What's playing?

As I previously mentioned, I have a Netflix addiction. The fourth year of medical school is loaded with free time. No tests, scheduled time off, it's the calm before the storm that is residency. Since I had all this built in time I decided to purchase a Netflix subscription. This was kind of a big deal for me, I don't buy things especially not subscriptions. If I had to guess, I'd say 90% of my discretionary spending is on food and drink and I probably go to a movie theatre twice a year. So as I said, this was quite a big deal for me.

Season 7... maybe the best season

I started off clicking the number of stars I gave to movies and shows, and finally got to the point where I had to watch something. "Hmm," I thought, "MI-5... I've heard good things about that..." What happened next was a fateful moment and would change the course of my life... at least for the next 2-3 weeks; I clicked 'play'. EIGHTY episodes later (of what, was a very good show... perhaps not a full-time job level of show but a good show), I was sleep deprived and without purpose. So I decided to start watching another show! Brilliant idea, truly... Thankfully Netflix had a suggestion for me based on the last 80 things I had watched.

Carry on,
nothing to see here

Who doesn't love a meth making
HS science teacher?

Robin Hood. It wasn't that good but I was still addicted to this Netflix thing. If was going to pay for it, I might as well use it! Thank God there were only 3 seasons, I was really starting to get irritated with it. Around the same time a friend also suggested Breaking Bad. AND IT WAS AWESOME! I finally came to the realization that maybe I should stay away from TV shows. This sounded like a good idea at the time but was I ever wrong about that. Many, if not most, of the movies on instant are total crap. I mean they are so bad I can't believe they even got made into movies in the first place. So I started watching hours of shit that was so unmemorable that I couldn't tell you what I watched... I think one movie had Bruce Willis. Although this was less life consuming, I felt cheated.

I've become more discerning with time and more selective with what I watch. The best films, however, are the ones that you can only get on disc. From what I've seen on DVD, I will recommend 2 films.

The first is a French comedy that probably falls into the slapstick category. It's called 'The Dinner Game' (Le diner de cons). Oh my goodness, I almost died of laughter at points. If you are looking for a good laugh and can tolerate reading subtitles this should definitely make your list. There was an American remake of this: Do not watch that one.

The second is an Argentine film called 'Nine Queens' (Nueve reinas). A story of two con artists collaborating for one big score, this one is going to keep you guessing until the very end. It's in Spanish, so once again subtitles. Even if you speak Spanish, you may want subtitles; Argentine accents are strange and their slang is unique. (Che, que boludos son los puerteños.)

Next time, I'll recommend stuff that is in English, but these two are definitely worth watching!