What to Watch this Weekend on Netflix, Hulu Plus and iTunes with your Apple TV (July 19-21)

It’s time once again to hack in, jack in, turn on, tune in and go clickety-click with your Apple pix so let’s get right to this week’s movie selections before the blazing sun melts us into the sidewalk.

Netflix:

• In the mood for twisty thrills to go with your icy chills? Then start the weekend with an offbeat film from South Korean Director Hong-jin Na and hop aboard his 2008 wild carnival ride of a serial killer/thriller, “Chaser”.  This tilt-a-whirl of a movie will alternately make your heart pound, make you erupt in laughter then have you feeling so queasy you’ll want to avert your eyes with all three coming in equal, unexpected and rapid-fire doses.  This “based on a true story” tale of a very reluctantly heroic pimp/ex-cop tracking down a twisted serial killer as he wrestles with the keystone cops of the SK police force is one ticket thriller fans will be glad they clicked.  And also one you’ll be eager to share with fellow SK film aficionados. Enjoy!
• For more straight-up horror fans you may want to review the 2012 cult fave, “V/H/S” before the sequel hits the theaters this weekend.  A “found footage” anthology of 6 creepy/gory/gooey tales of violent payback peppered with jump scares everywhere, this indie flick may not be everyone’s cup of arsenic but the energy, enthusiasm and pure filmmaking joy of the 6 different directors is always evident and often infectious if not always exactly original.
• And now for something completely different…take a laughter break with the Monty Python Crew and their brilliant 1983 meditation, “Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life”.  The gang is all here and that means you just know you’re going learn everything you need to know to keep yourself in stitches at least until winter.
• Alternative Pick of the Week– You probably missed this one way back when but give Academy Award winning Director Kathryn Bigelow’s ahead-of-its-time, Sci-Fi thriller, “Strange Days”, a look for a very wild ride into a then LA future that seems more and more like now. With Ralph Fiennes as the loser/hero, Angela Basset as his unrequited love/heroine, Tom Sizemore as a (what else) crooked cop and a very tasty Juliette Lewis as the Girl-who-got-away.  Put it this way- If you’re not hooked in the first 5 minutes then check your pulse because you may be dead!

Hulu Plus:

• With “Pacific Rim” opening worldwide, monster movie fans may want to go back and check one of Director Guillermo del Toro’s earlier films, the little-seen, underrated, under-your-skin thriller, 1997’s, “Mimic”, with Mira Sorvino and Jeremy Northam.  Don’t want to give anything away but let’s just say that the cockroaches in the NYC subway system are even more resilient than we might have at first suspected.
• TV Pick of the Week– HP has a truckload of rerun TV options to choose from but you can also check their Hulu Plus Exclusive Series (24 episodes of 22 mins each), “East Los High”, to bone up on all the current slang and the latest hijinks of this year’s crop of LA Kidz-in-Da-Hood.
• Alternative Pick of the Week– For Adults Only…click on 2009’s sexual/cultural/comic/dramatic and uniquely Japanese anthology, “Lala Pipo”.  An appealing, revealing slice of the Japanese cultural pie that will have you laughing your adult asses off even as you eagerly plan your Next Tango in Paris.  Great Date Movie for anybody interested in getting some!

iTunes:

• Tired of Monster Movies yet? If your answer is “no” then download one of the recently most intriguing in the genre, 2008’s, “Cloverfield”.  Yet another “found footage” film, this Matt Reeves Directed, J.J. Abrahms production was a viral sensation then stateside box office smash when it opened and still holds up pretty well as a modern take on the classic Godzilla-stomps-through-Tokyo tale.  Now just substitute NYC for Tokyo and you got the idea.
• And it’s here…Get ready to laugh ‘till it hurts with 2004’s, “Anchorman”.  With the sequel coming soon now is the time to look back on the outrageous Will Ferrell, Steve Carrell, and Paul Rudd as those TV news guys that love-to-love you, Baby!  And a very game Christina Applegate too.  Can anyone say “smelly pirate hooker”?
• One for the Family– One of Pixar’s best ever animated stories and one for superhero fans of all ages, 2004’s “The Incredibles” is back and ready to delight you once again.  Family films just don’t get any better than this one with great voice work from Jason Lee as the embittered supervillian and Holly Hunter as a suburban Mom who may be very “flexible” but is definitely large and in charge!
• Free App of the Week– “Yiddio” by Yiddio LLC.  Watch all of the above on your phone for free if you’re one of those people that like watching TV/movies on your phone. If you’re not…well, it’s still free.

That’s all for this week so stay cool and see you at the beach!

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