What to Watch on Netflix : Edition #8

[amazon_link id=”B005NGKKC4″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]– Point Blank (“À bout portant”, French with subtitles, 2010) : A male nurse rescues the wrong guy. His henchmen kidnap the nurse’s wife promising to kill her unless he manages to extricate the criminal from the hospital where he is under police surveillance. A smart, well-paced thriller, this is a very good watch.

– Gosford Park (2001) : A who-dun-it for lovers of historical mysteries. This has a large cast and stars Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas and Bob Balaban among others.

– Half Nelson (2006) : Ryan Gosling stars in this film as an drug-addicted inner-city teacher, coaching the girl’s basketball team and teaching history. While he is a good teacher, his life is disrupted by his drug-habit. He gradually becomes friends with basketball player Drey, after she finds him doing crack in the girl’s restroom at school.

[amazon_link id=”B0031SU2Y2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]– Cinema Paradiso (“Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”, Italian with subtitles, 1988) : A lookback at a film-maker’s life as he remembers his life as a young boy, his love for cinema, and his early lessons from the town’s projectionist. The film feels dated, but is a very pleasant watch.

– Welcome (French with subtitles, 2009) : An absolute gem of a film, this is the story of Bilal, a Kurdish refugee from Iraq, who wants to go to Britain from France where he currently is. The French authorities won’t allow it, and short of illegally trafficking himself into the country, Bilal has only one alternative – to swim the English Channel. And Bilal can’t swim.