What to Watch this Weekend on Netflix, Hulu Plus and iTunes with your Apple TV (Sept. 20 – 22)

by William Bernal • September 20, 2013 September 20, 2013 in Popular

This week let’s cut straight to the chase and jump right into the tasty tips and tarty treats for your weekend snuggle time.

Ready for some weekend whackness on a world class scale? Then try 1998’s, Terry Gilliam directed, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, with Johnny Depp as fearless journalist Hunter Thompson and Benicio Del Toro as his dangerously loyal and desperately out-of-control legal advisor. Depp channels Thompson’s madness as Gilliam visually explores some of the themes of cultural disconnection and the chasms inside the American Dream that Thompson railed at in his brilliant work. AND WATCH OUT FOR THE LIZARD PEOPLE!

Speaking of disconnection, Director Christopher Nolan’s spellbinding take on the noir thriller, 2000’s, “Memento”, is also available this week. This Rubik’s cube of a film features Guy Pearce as a dangerously disconnected, man-on-a-mission to find his wife’s murderer. Only problem? He suffers from severe short term memory loss and so almost instantly forgets anything and everything he’s learned/known. To top it off, Nolan whip cracks the tricky tale at you in reverse as the both you and Pearce try desperately to “remember” what is real, where you’re going and where you’ve been. With Carrie-Ann Moss as La Femme and Joe Pantoliano as just one of the shady characters in this jumbled backwards world. If you’re a Nolan fan then stay sharp and enjoy this mind melting meditation on the fluidity of time, memory and reality.

Feeling Disco? Well, we are and what better film to get your groove on then the brilliant original that kicked off the late 70’s craze, “Saturday Night Fever”. Sure, you’ll come for the funky Bee Gee’s soundtrack and the even funkier fashion but what you may not remember is just how powerful a coming-of-age film this John Badham directed 1977 classic really is. With John Travolta in his first starring role as Brooklyn loser Tony Manero, a not-too-bright thug who only comes to life on the dance floor, this surprisingly gritty tale will touch any poor boy from nowhere who yearns to get out even if he doesn’t have a clue how to grow up. AND WE DARE YOU TO JUST TRY AND STAY IN YOUR SEATS WHEN TONY DOES HIS THING!

One For the Kids– Disney’s 2002 animated hit comedy, “Lilo & Stitch”, is new this week and sure to please the shorties with its charming tale about a kinda cute, misfit girl who finds a kinda cute, misfit dog (she thinks) and the lessons they both learn along the way to a happy, Disney ending.

Ready for a deeply freaky tale of a hapless, neglected nebbish passively crumbling into the arms of madness? Then check 2011’s Shion Sono Directed, “Cold Fish”. With Mitsuru Fukikoshi and Megumi Kagurazaka as a staid, middle class married couple whose rebellious teenage daughter gets caught shoplifting at a grocery store, causing them to be forced to fetch her and then face public humiliation. A jolly, charismatic, successful samaritan, Denden in a searing performance, appears from nowhere to help the couple out of their social jam then rapidly ingratiates himself and proceeds to inject a little high life excitement into their otherwise humdrum lives. And that’s when the trouble starts…WARNING- EXTREME GRAPHIC VIOLENCE INTENDED FOR MATURE VIEWERS ONLY! Prepare to be unsettled.

And now for a little breather. 1994’s breakthrough comedy, “Clerks”, is available this week so why not watch it one more time. Yes, the film that broke the indie mold and popped Director/Co-star Kevin Smith’s cinematic cherry is here and is still as hilariously irreverent, uproariously off-color and likably low-budget as it always was. And with Jay and Silent Bob around as the hilarious Greek chorus this film just never gets old.

Call the ex-Mrs. Ritchie what you want (and we can think of more than a few choice names for her) but don’t call her boring and here’s just one of the reasons why. From way back in 1991, “Madonna: Truth or Dare”, is now available for download and we think it might be time to recall the “Material Girl” when she was at her most relevant. Tracking her “Blonde Ambition” Tour, Lady Gaga fans may want to pay special attention to this one as Madge goes all out to monopolize as much camera as she can possibly get, even if it’s not quite as much as she needs. An always entertaining peek inside the dreamy reality of a superstar.

Single of the Week– “Blurred Lines” (Deluxe Version) by Robin Thicke is available for download. C’mon…you know you love it!

Now how about some mindless, wall-to-wall action, loud revving engines, squealing smoking rubber and hot girls in sizzling short skirts? We thought so! That’s right, 2011’s fifth installment of the F & F franchise, creatively titled, “Fast Five” (extended Version), is available with Vin Diesel, Pretty Boy Paul Walker, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and just about everybody from the first four around to rev their engines, slam down the pedal and peel out! No need to make sense of anything here, just turn your thinking caps off and enjoy!

One of the best efforts ever (and that is saying something) from the genius’ at Pixar Animation, 2012’s, “Up”, is available for download and we can’t recommend this one more strongly for each and every member of your family! A delightful, imaginative, inspiring and truly moving tale of adventure and acceptance, this film is an experience you’ll come back to no matter how long you live. And don’t miss the tenderly heartbreaking brilliance of the opening montage.