Not the most exciting week on Netflix, but November 1 has a few titles worth highlighting. Those looking to recover from all the horror this Halloween (and prepare for “Dumb and Dumber To”) can sit down with the Farrelly Brothers’ best film, “Kingpin,” which features winning performances by Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, and a ridiculous toupee and combover-wearing Bill Murray, not to mention the Farrelly’s funniest lowbrow gags (see: Harrelson learning that the cow he just milked was a bull). Those looking for a different kind of grossness can check out Paul Verhoeven’s terrific sci-fi action flick “Total Recall,” a film that openly recognizes the absurdity of Arnold Schwarzenegger fitting into a normal society by suggesting that his character must be some sort of a spy, one who fights for mutants and chops off bad guys’ arms in an elevator.
Other films possibly worth checking out on Netflix this week include “Flashdance,” the Adrian Lyne film that established what the Jerry Bruckheimer-Don Simpson producing team was about; “Fading Gigolo” (available November 5), John Turturro’s film featuring a rare performance from Woody Allen outside of one of his own films (and as a pimp, no less!); Don Siegel’s World War II film “Hell Is for Heroes,” starring Steve McQueen and Bobby Darin; new seasons of “Portlandia” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia;” and, for those who can’t wait until December to get the Christmas season started, the holiday specials “Babes in Toyland” and “The Legend of Frosty the Snowman.”
New titles on VOD this week, all arriving November 4, include Disney’s”Maleficent,” which boasts a terrific performance from Angelina Jolie and a strong, revisionist feminist concept that it can’t quite do justice. Less high profile but probably more wholly successful is the documentary “Rich Hill,” which chronicles three young men growing up in a rural American town amidst economic hardship. Fans of “Community” might want to check out the documentary “Harmontown,” about its idiosyncratic creator Dan Harmon on a cross-country tour for his podcast of the same name. Those eagerly awaiting “Planes: Fire & Rescue” to hit VOD, the wait has ended.
More thoughts from the Criticwire Network:
“Fading Gigolo”
Criticwire Average: B-
Mike D’Angelo, The Dissolve
“Harmontown”
Criticwire Average: B
Bill Graham, The Film Stage
“Maleficent”
Criticwire Average: C+
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, The A.V. Club
“Planes: Fire & Rescue”
Criticwire Average: C+
Claudia Puig, USA Today
“Rich Hill”
Criticwire Average: A-
Eric Kohn, Indiewire
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