Each week within this column we strive to pair the latest in theatrical releases to the worthwhile titles currently available on Netflix Instant Watch.
It’s an invasion! This week in theaters, aliens ride into the Old West and crash South London while a pack of little blue men take New York City by storm! If you can’t get enough of western genre-blending, villainous aliens and ’80s nostalgia, we’ve got a selection of streaming features destined to entertain you through the heatwave!
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Cowboys & Aliens
When space invaders roll into a settlement in 1873 Arizona, two wily cowboys (Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford) are all that stands between mankind and world domination! Olivia Wilde co-stars; Jon Favreau directs.
Firefly: The Complete Series (2002) Combining sci-fi and western elements may not be new, but it was rarely as much fun as seen in Joss Whedon’s short-lived but fan-adored adventures series Firefly. Set in a distant future where Earthlings wander the stars in a new brand of Manifest Destiny, Nathan Fillion stars as the noble captain Mal, who heads a motley crew of outcasts and castaways that include an enigmatic and dangerous girl (Summer Glau) desperately sought by the shady Alliance.
Torchwood (2006) This Doctor Who spin-off stars another dashing captain, the omnisexual and timeless Captain Jack Harkness (played with unmatched bravado by John Barrowman). In this sci-fi procedural, he and his tightly knit crew tackle extraterrestrial and supernatural threats in all their weirdest forms. The genre style shifts from episode to episode, but so far the strongest section of Torchwood is the horrifying mini-series-styled third season “Children of Earth,” which centers on an alien invasion and hostage situation unlike the world has ever seen. The fourth season is currently on Starz.
The Good, the Bad, the Weird [Joheun-nom, Nabbeun-nom, Isanghan-nom] (2008) Ji-woon Kim blends East and West(ern) in this kinetic action-adventure that centers on three men (noble bounty hunter Woo-sung Jung, debonair baddie Byung-hun Lee, and goofy train-robber Kang-ho Song) and their bullet-strewn quest to track down the elusive treasure on an ancient map. Full of unhinged action and quirky camerawork, Kim’s wild Western won him a wider fanbase worldwide – and deservedly so!
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Attack the Block
When a pack of snarling intergalactic creatures descend upon the denizens of a rough South London neighbor, a local crew of latchkey teens take them on to protect their turf the best way they know how. Nick Frost co-stars; Joe Cornish directs.
Skyline (2010) Once alien ships abruptly attack Los Angeles, abducting and slaughtering the masses, a small group of survivors in a deluxe apartment complex struggle to make sense of the carnage and figure out how to make it through the day. Directed by Greg and Colin Strause (who helped create the acclaimed visual effects in Avatar and 300) fill their sci-fi adventure with zombie-flick structural elements and striking visual effects to create something otherworldly.
The Thing (1982) With the prequel set to hit theaters this October, now is the perfect time to revisit John Carpenter’s creepy creature-feature, which centers on a small band of scientists embedded in an isolated Antarctic camp, who turn on each other when a shape-shifting space alien infiltrates their ranks. Kurt Russell stars.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) In this deeply strange B-movie, alien invaders that resemble monstrous clowns touch down in a small-town to snatch the locals, and cocoon them in cotton candy to be devoured. Disguised as circus performers, they are largely ignored by the unwitting townspeople – but lucky for them to street-smart teens (Grant Cramer and Suzanne Snyder) are onto these klowns, and are gearing up to take them down!
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The Smurfs
The verbally-stunted but ever-cheerful Smurfs from Saturday morning television are making the leap onto the big-screen, where they get the CGI update so popular to cartoon adaptations nowadays. When Gargamel (a live-action but cartoonish Hank Azaria) chases the Smurfs from their quaint mushroom-capped village, they end up in New York City, where they soon befriend twee couple Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays. Katy Perry and George Lopez lend their voices.
Embrace your childhood by revisiting these ’80s gems:
The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986) The Care Bears were arguably the ubiquitous toy of the ’80s. With their bright colors and telling tummies, they urged kids to be kind and generous, even when they were feeling grumpy. In this whimsical adventure, the Bears team with their other animal cousins to save a children’s summer camp from the gloomy mechanizations of the transforming villain Dark Heart.
Fraggle Rock (1983) “Dance your cares away! Worry’s for another day; let the music play down at Fraggle Rock!” The music-fueled adventure of Jim Henson’s subterranean radish-eating frolickers are as bright and chipper as ever – and most of the five-season run is currently streaming. So revisit Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober, Red as well as the work-obsessed Doozers, the materialist Gorgs, the wise Trash Heap, Sprocket and Doc!
Inspector Gadget (1983) “Go Gadget, Go!” Inspector Gadget is a device-loaded detective in a never-ending battle with the cat and catastrophe-loving Dr. Claw. But despite all his many mechanisms, Gadget would be utterly lost without his precocious niece Penny and her aptly-named dog, Brain, who slyly aid Gadget in all his misadventures. Don Adams of Get Smart lends his voice to the goofy gumshoe.
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Wild Card Pick
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Dirty Dancing (1987) “I had the time of my life…” In a summer full of nostalgia, I recommend reveling in this ’80s romance, which indulges in ’60s-style nostalgia with a ‘cross-the-tracks tale of lust and love. Jennifer Grey stars as Frances “Baby” Houseman, a bookish teen girl on the verge of womanhood who experiences her sexual awakening one summer while visiting a Catskills resort. There, she meets the dirty dancing dynamo (and part-time gigolo) Johnny Castle, played with unbridled charisma by Patrick Swayze. A small-budget feature that evolved into an international smash hit, Dirty Dancing has proved an iconic piece of American filmmaking, from its sensual soundtrack to its breathtaking dance sequences and its defiant declaration, “Nobody puts Baby in the corner!” Whether you’re a girl who credits Swayze as her first onscreen crush (who could resist that hip swivel!) or a guy looking for a great date movie, you’d be hard-pressed to do better than this scintillating story of first love.