With their deal with Starz expiring soon, Netflix needs a content boost. Today they announced a major deal with the Weinstein Company for a multi-year slate of foreign language and documentary films.

No date yet but The Artist, nominated for ten Academy Awards, will be making its pay TV debut exclusively on instant Netflix. The Best Documentary nominated Undefeated will also make its debut Exclusively on instant Netflix.

The keys to much of the deal are exclusivity (so you won’t be watching these on Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc.) and that films would be viewable within a year of their theatrical release. Other titles included are the French World War II film – Sarah’s Key, the French blockbuster The Intouchables, Madonna’s W.E., the documentary Bully and the Shakespeare adaptation Coriolanus from Ralph Fiennes.

The extra content is nice and classy but Netflix needs a lot more meat and potatoes to replace the Starz content.

My wife and I love the Academy Awards. Unfortunately last year’s ceremonies were just awful. How could you watch and not wonder what James Franco was on? Anne Hathaway is a cute young lady but not really a good host. I’m also having trouble picturing her as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises but I would not have believed that Heath Ledger would have made a better Joker than Jack Nicholson. Still we mostly watch the Oscars for the red carpet and this year is no exception – especially as we’ve seen only a handful of the nominees.

Billy Crystal is a nice safe host and I’m sure this Sunday’s proceedings will go fine. My favorite recent host was Hugh Jackman and I’d really like to see him reprise his role. Barring that I would love to see Neil Patrick Harris suit up as host.

This year Carolina Cinemas is having a wonderful Academy Awards marathon in their cinema lounge – all FREE FREE FREE! My wife has graciously agreed to join me for this butt-numb-a-thon. There is also no need to leave during the day as Carolina Cinemas has a full lineup of sandwiches, pizza, and other munchies as well as beer and wine for those so inclined.

12:30 – Midnight in Paris (nominated for Best Picture, Best Director – Woody Allen, Best Writing – Woody Allen and Best Achievement in Art Direction)

2 – Moneyball (nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor – Brad Pitt, Best Supporting Actor – Jonah Hill, Best Writing, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing

4 – The King’s Speech (last year’s Best Picture winner)

630 – Red Carpet Interviews

7 – The Oscars

I have to confess that it is a good thing that we’ll be seeing Moneyball and Midnight in Paris as I’ve seen almost none of the nominees this year. For that matter I have to confess to not having seen The King’s Speech yet. I did get to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and my wife saw The Help aka Rich White People Solve Racism.

Dragon Tattoo Trilogy Extended Edition (2010) – Not rated

“The Dragon Tattoo Trilogy contains more than two hours of additional footage not seen in the theatrical versions of the original Swedish films.Amassing a total of 9 hours of story content and presented in 6 parts, this complete version of the international hit series restores notable characters and subplots from Stieg Larsson’s best-selling novels.”

For those mystery lovers with a lot of time on their hands, the extended versions of all three of the Stieg Larsson novels are now available on instant Netflix. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie-length versions and I’m not sure when I’ll have time to catch these extended ones. Strong warning on content if you haven’t seen these as there is much disturbing material present.

* Warner has increased their delay on new release titles being available for rental on Netflix to a whopping 56 days.

* Not surprisingly Disney is considering adopting the delay of new releases to Netflix (and presumably Redbox) that Warner, Fox, and Universal have implemented.

* Crackle and CinemaNow are now available on the Xbox 360. Crackle is a FREE movie service – uncut movies with commercials. There have some offerings that Netflix lacks. CinemaNow is another pay for rental ($3-4) or purchase ($16) movie venue. I’m not sure where the appeal is as most movies can be purchased as physical media (i.e. something you actually own as opposed to something you think you own) for far less.

* Amazon, which struggles mightily trying to bridge the gap between a Netflix type service and a pay as you go Blockbuster, is expected to announce a deal with Viacom shortly. They still have a lot of catching up to do content-wise to compete with Netflix. I will admit that Amazon is where I break my “no a la carte” digital rule. I buy every new episode of Walking Dead as it becomes available (since we ditched cable).

* Redbox is teaming up with Verizon to work on a new streaming movie service. I really think that except for niche markets, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have the subscription video sewn up. Redbox also snapped up all those Blockbuster kiosks – 35,000 of them – from NCR so if you thought Redbox was ubiquitous before…

First up: Advance tickets have gone on sale for ActionFest 2012. They are $75.

“Priority entry to ActionFest screenings, panels, and parties, as well as the Awards Ceremony and the Stunt Show. Admission is on a first come, first serve basis until venue reaches full capacity. Badge holders will be seated before single ticket holders.”

ActionFest 2012 will be held April 12-15 at Carolina Cinemas. None of the films have been announced yet. The fabulous Gina (Haywire, American Gladiator) Carano will be receiving an award for Best Female Action Star.

The Thursday Horror Picture Show continues going strong in the Carolina Cinemas lounge. It is FREE and the main feature starts at 8 with a serial starting at 730. This week starts episode 1 of The Lost City (1935). Arrive early for good seating but not too early as I’m particular about where I sit.

2/16 – Mr. Vampire (1985) – I have never even heard of this film by Ricku Lau but judging from the year and that it is from Hong Kong, my guess is that it will be a mix of martial arts, slapstick, and general weirdness.

2/23 – The Invisible Man Returns (1940) – Definitely not one of his best films but I’m always down for watching Vincent Price (or in this case listening to him).

3/1 – Dracula’s Daughter (1936)

3/8 – The Last Circus (2011)

3/15 – Bride of Chucky (1998)

3/22 – Q, The Winged Serpent (1982)

3/29 – The Cat and the Canary (1927)

The Asheville Film Society shows FREE films every Tuesday night in the Carolina Cinemas lounge.

2/21 – The Seventh Seal (1957)

2/28 – The Docks of New York (1928)

3/6 – Hair (1979)

3/13 – The Good Fairy (1935)

3/20 – The Boys in the Band (1970)

3/27 – Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936)

The Asheville Film Society is also putting on a showing of Academy Award nominee Bullhead on 2/22 at 730. This showing is FREE for members and membership is only $10 for a year. Membership gets you FREE popcorn refills at Carolina Cinemas, special showings like this one and a dollar off ticket prices at Carolina Cinemas.

Apparently Netflix made some kind of deal to get Roger Corman movies because a slew of them became available today. I look forward to some schlocky drive-in goodness soon.

Humanoids from the Deep (1980) – Rated R

“From schlockmeister Roger Corman comes this creepy chiller about some mutant fish monsters who bring mayhem to a sleepy oceanside community as they kidnap — and mate with — the town’s nubile teenage girls.”

Grand Theft Auto (1977) – Rated PG

“When Sam and his wealthy girlfriend decide to run off to Las Vegas and get hitched, they steal a Rolls-Royce from the girl’s father and head for Sin City as their angry parents, a private eye and a gang of mobsters all give chase.”

Women in Cages (1971) – Rated R

“Gerardo de Leon directs a chick flick of a different sort. When sadistic women’s prison warden Alabama isn’t harassing her female inmates in her torture chamber, she’s maniacally seducing them, forcing them to bend to her every sexual whim.”

Caged Heat (1974) – Rated R

“A new inmate at a women’s prison falls in with a tough band of sex-starved chicks. When they incur the wrath of the prison’s sadistic warden, the girls are tortured with electroshock therapy. Now, the only thing they want is revenge.”

Crazy Mama (1975) – Rated PG

“In this joyous, unrelentlessly kitschy celebration of 1950s America, three outlaw ladies head back to their hometown to take over a family farm that was lost during the Great Depression. Along the way, the ladies pick up some strange men.”

Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979) – Rated PG

“This musical comedy cult classic follows Vince Lombardi High School’s fervent love of rock ‘n’ roll — particularly The Ramones — and the students’ quest to party. After a few principals have gone nuts and quit, the latest one tries to end the fun.”

The Big Bird Cage (1972) – Rated R

“The girlfriend of a radical guerilla leader named Django, buxom bad girl Blossom and her man devise a plan to liberate the inmates of a local women’s prison when Django’s mercenary friends itch for some female companionship.”

Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) – Rated PG

“With the peaceful planet of Akir in peril, seven mercenaries join forces to protect it from the plottings of an intergalactic megalomaniac in this Roger Corman-produced sci-fi fantasy inspired by The Seven Samurai.”

I am so sorry for the hiatus but will return to writing as soon as I am able. I thank my wonderful family and friends without whom I would not have been able to get through this. Until then I leave you with:

Marathon Man (1976) – Rated R

“When his CIA agent brother (Roy Scheider) is killed, graduate student Babe Levy (Dustin Hoffman) finds himself trapped in a deadly game with a Nazi fugitive (Laurence Olivier), a sadist who uses dental instruments as tools of torture in this Oscar-nominated film based on William Goldman’s novel. As Levy turns from pacifist to street-smart cynic, director John Schlesinger’s thriller barrels toward its fever-pitched conclusion.”

“Is it safe?”

A decent thriller with a nice cast. This movie has the most horrifying dental scene in movie history.

Final Destination 2 (2003) – Rated R

“On a road trip with friends to Daytona Beach, Kimberly (A.J. Cook) has a premonition that saves everyone from a freak car accident. But that’s just the beginning; visions of the crash of Flight 180 haunt her, and she must seek the counsel of a survivor (Ali Larter) for help. It seems a wave of death has been unleashed, and disaster is chasing each of her pals. Can Kimberly stop the horror, or has their fate already been determined?”

I love the Final Destination series even if there was nothing to say after the first two. The Rube Goldberg style deaths are very entertaining in a sick way. This one has a terrifying, albeit absurd scene in a dentist’s office but Marathon Man is way scarier.

The Dentist (1996) – Rated R

“When neurotic Beverly Hills dentist Dr. Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen) learns that his wife (Linda Hoffman) is cheating on him with the pool boy (Michael Stadvec), he exacts his revenge by “accidentally” performing oral surgery on her during a routine cleaning. Not content to stop there, the doc proceeds to murder the pool boy and take out his frustration on his unsuspecting patients — including an IRS agent (Earl Boen) with blackmail on the brain.”

I have not seen this one but I can only imagine it has some horrifying dental scenes.

Shame (2011) – Rated NC-17

“Thirtysomething New Yorker Brandon is outwardly reserved, but inside is seething with an overwhelming sexual addiction. When his tempestuous and much-loved younger sister invades his life, Brandon struggles to escape his self-destructive behavior.”

I thought I’d end the week with some streaming Fassbender recommendations.

Centurion (2010) – Rated R

“In 2nd-century Britain, Roman fighter Quintas Dias (Michael Fassbender) is the lone survivor of a Pictish attack on a Roman frontier post. Eager for revenge, he joins the Ninth Legion — under General Virilus (Dominic West) — and journeys north on a mission to destroy the Picts. Writer-director Neil Marshall’s rousing sword-and-sandals adventure also stars Olga Kurylenko as the beautiful Pict warrior Etain.”

I discussed this film at length after the first ActionFest but the gist is that this is a fun action film. Fassbender is the star but Dominic West steals every scene he is in. It does suffer from a few flaws but the cinematography and location shots are wonderful, the violence is brutal, and villains lie on both sides.

Hunger (2008) – Not rated

“Acclaimed visual artist Steve McQueen makes his feature film debut with this gripping drama (and Independent Spirit Award Best Foreign Film contender) that depicts the events surrounding a hunger strike staged by a group of IRA prisoners during their 1981 incarceration in Britain’s Prison Maze. Led by IRA volunteer-poet Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender), the strikers waged their six-week-long protest in an attempt to be acknowledged as political prisoners and to improve the prison’s conditions.”

This is a very powerful film (regardless of your politics) with perhaps Michael Fassbender’s best performance. That said this is by no means a fun film. This is a very dark, depressing film – both tonally and thematically. If you want enjoyable – stick with Centurion.

Blood Creek (2009) – Rated R

“When a family agrees to host an occult-obsessed Nazi scholar in their West Virginia farmhouse prior to World War II, they’re transformed into his undead slaves and must kidnap local victims to feed his bloodlust. Years later, an abducted war hero (Dominic Purcell) breaks free from the zombie family’s clutches, rounds up his brother (Henry Cavill) and returns to the wilderness for payback. Joel Schumacher directs this supernatural horror flick.”

I wanted to like this movie. I love the idea of horror movies with Nazis. Dead Snow is absolutely hilarious, Shock Waves is a wonderful slice of 70s cheese, The Keep was wonderfully atmospheric even if it made no sense whatsoever. Combine the kooky premise with a decent cast (Michael Fassbender, Dominic Purcell, and Henry Cavill – the new Superman) and it should have been a cakewalk. Sadly it is only okay.

Fassbender is also in Fish Tank, Angel, and A Bear Named Winnie but I have not had time to watch those.

Haywire (2011) – Rated R for some violence.

“A last-minute mission in Dublin turns deadly for stunning secret operative Mallory Kane when she realizes she’s been betrayed — and that her own life is no longer safe. Now, to outwit her enemies, she’ll simply have to outlast them.”

Okay ignore my title. Michael Fassbender is in this which allowed me to segue from yesterday’s A Dangerous Method but he is only briefly in this so it is a little misleading.

Do not go into Haywire thinking that this is a Steven Soderbergh film. Soderbergh did direct this film as he did last year’s delightfully scary Contagion but Haywire does not feel like a Soderbergh film. Apparently Soderbergh saw star Gina Carano fight and built a movie around her talents.

Haywire has a fairly large cast but except for star Gina Carano, no one has much screen time. Presumably because of both this reason and Soderbergh as director, some fairly big names appear in Haywire in small parts. I actually didn’t recognize Antonio Banderas the first time he appeared (that ended once he used his wonderful voice). Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, the aforementioned Michael Fassbender, Bill “Game Over, Man” Paxtion, and Channing Tatum round out the cast.

So aside from the minor distraction of those names, the weight of the film falls on Gina Carano. How does she handle it? Well she won’t be winning an Academy Award anytime soon. While she doesn’t mumble, much of her delivery is flat. On the other hand she really kicks butt. She beats up nearly everyone in the film and you really buy that she could.

I do not understand why Soderbergh did not have a better story crafted for Carano. The spy story in this is so trite and cliched that it borders on parody. The only refreshing aspect is that it is about private contractors but Ronin covered this to a certain extent last century.

This brings us to the action. The action is well staged and thankfully Soderbergh disdains the use of shaky-cam. This allows us to revel in the many beatdowns Gina Carano issues. If you view this more as a martial arts film than a spy film then I think it really succeeds. The fight scenes are visceral, brutal and realistic. I especially loved Carano’s scene with Fassbender.

So to sum up, Haywire is a very enjoyable film if you like fight scenes. If you don’t then there isn’t enough here to recommend it. I would really like to see Carano become an action star (in much the same way that Liam Neeson releases one every year at this time) because she really sells the physicality.

A Dangerous Method (2011) – Rated R for sexual content and brief language. Strangely even though Keira Kightley is nude in it, nudity isn’t part of the rating.

In this David Cronenberg-helmed biopic, Viggo Mortensen stars as Sigmund Freud, whose relationship with fellow psychology luminary Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) is tested when Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), one of the first female psychoanalysts, enters their lives. This World War I-set drama also stars Vincent Cassel as Otto Gross, a disciple of Freud, and Sarah Gadon, who plays Jung’s psychoanalyst wife.

David Cronenberg is one of my favorite directors. I loved his visceral horror movies, often focused on issues of body modification and identity. They were always intelligent and original. Even his remake of The Fly was original and reinvented the story in much the same way John Carpenter did with The Thing. Unfortunately for me, he is now an important director so horror has gone by the wayside.

Michael Fassbender is the star of A Dangerous Method and he does quite well as Carl Jung. He is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actors. He had wonderful supporting roles in Inglourious Basterds, 300 and Band of Brothers. He followed this up with proof that he can carry a movie in Centurion and was, forgive me, simply magnetic in X-Men First Class. Next up for Fassbender is the Ridley Scott science fiction opus Prometheus.

Cronenberg’s go-to actor appears to be Viggo Mortensen. Viggo was fantastic in Cronenberg’s last two films – A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. He is quite good in A Dangerous Method as Sigmund Freud but not quite as good as the two previous films. Still he instills a fair amount of gravitas as a father figure.

Keira Knightley is actually the astonishing one. Her portrayal of Sabina Spielrein requires a great deal of range and Keira gives quite freely of herself in this role. Vincent Cassel has a delightful time chewing up the scenery as the aptly named Dr. Gross. Sarah Gadon is just fine as Jung’s long-suffering wife but does not have as much to do as you might think.

The movie is a filmed version of a play and, in spite of the gorgeous locations used, seems like one. In spite of the cast listing there are really only five roles in the movie. The biggest flaw of the movie seems to be that of its subject matter. The movie comes across as very analytical and is of course combined with brief overviews of the works of Freud and Jung (although many of the latter’s more out there philosophies are only approached tangentially).

A Dangerous Method has very little action in it and is quite talky, albeit intelligently so. The parts of the film showing the disintegration of a professional relationship are riveting because Cronenberg and the actors make them so nuanced.

WARNING: A Dangerous Method is a very good film but it is not always an entertaining one. The first half in particular delves into a number of issues of sexual abuse/dysfunction and can be a little difficult to watch. It is not what I would call a “date film”.

Wonderfully Netflix streaming has both the iconic 1969 True Grit and the sardonic 2010 True Grit. How do they measure up against each other?

True Grit (1969) – Rated G

“John Wayne landed one of his last great screen roles as crusty lawman Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn, who reluctantly helps teenager Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) pursue her father’s killer. True Grit is more a character study than many of Wayne’s formulaic Westerns. The rousing final showdown between Wayne and the villains adds to the Duke’s long list of outstanding movie moments.”

True Grit (2010) – Rated PG-13

“After drifter Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) murders her father, 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires alcoholic U.S. Marshal Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to help her exact revenge. The disreputable lawman still has grit, though, and mounts an epic search. Joining the duo on their quest is a Texas Ranger (Matt Damon) who’s also hunting for Chaney in this updated Western that received multiple Oscar nods, including Best Picture.”

Academy Awards:

1969: John Wayne won his only Oscar for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn. The 1969 version was also nominated for Best Music, Original Song but lost to Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head from Butch Cassidy.

2010: Nominated for a whopping 10 Oscars, it lost every single one: Best Actor (Jeff Bridges), Best Supporting Actress (Hailee Steinfeld), Best Picture, Writing, Directing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Cinematography, Costume Design and Art Direction.

10 is a lot of Oscars to be nominated for but history only remembers the winners so point goes to True Grit 1969.

Rooster Cogburn – The Duke and The Dude: In spite of this being Wayne’s Oscar-winning performance, it is not his best work. He is having too much fun and there is little nuance to his portrayal. His performances in The Shootist, The Searchers, and The Man who Shot Liberty Valance are better. This is also not Jeff Bridges’ best performance but it is one of his better performances and is quite a bit more nuanced.

Mattie Ross: The part of the precocious yet pugnacious 14-year-old is played in 1969 by a 22-year-old Kim Darby and in 2010 by 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld. Not just for the appropriate age but also for the intensity of the performance, this point easily goes to True Grit 2010. John Wayne himself said Kim Darby was the lousiest actress he ever worked with. Of course that may have been sour grapes as he wanted his daughter Aissa to play Mattie and after she was rejected, he wanted Karen Carpenter for the role. Kim Darby really isn’t that bad – for bad we have to go to our next category.

La Boeuf: The dandy Texas Ranger is played by singer Glen Campbell in True Grit 1969 and by Oscar-winner Matt Damon in 2010. Need you ask? Point: True Grit 2010. Glen Campbell is just awful.

Villains: Jeff Corey vs. Josh Brolin, Robert Duvall vs. Barry Pepper, a very young Dennis Hopper vs. Domhnall Gleeson. I have to give the edge to True Grit 1969.

Sequels: Yes I used the plural! You probably know that John Wayne got to reprise his role of Rooster Cogburn in Rooster Cogburn, starring opposite a wonderful Katherine Hepburn. While a very entertaining film, it was obvious that it owed a lot to The African Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. In fact Hepburn’s character in Rooster Cogburn is not terribly different from her character in African Queen.

The part I bet you didn’t know was that there was a TV movie True Grit in 1978. It was a failed pilot starring Warren Oates as Rooster Cogburn. Neither Rooster Cogburn nor the TV True Grit are available on instant Netflix. Since Rooster Cogburn is an entertaining sequel, this point goes to True Grit 1969.

Bottom Line: You can’t really go wrong with either version of True Grit. The 1969 version is a pretty straightforward western adventure with an iconic performance by the Duke and a rousing finale. Strangely even though the 1969 version is listed as having a “G” rating, it contains plenty of gun violence, a triple hanging, a man getting his fingers cut off, a man getting stabbed, a man getting bludgeoned, alcohol use and abuse, and a fair amount of profanity. Supposedly it was an edited version that received the ‘G’ rating but I wonder how much was cut. It isn’t overly graphic but I sure can’t imagine it getting a ‘G’ rating today.

The 2010 version is better in most regards. It is however quite a bit darker even though it covers much of the same territory. While much of the dialogue is the same, Joel and Ethan Coen have given the script a verbal polishing. Much of the best dialogue is still from the original and I will say that the climactic line of “fill your hands, you son of a bitch!” packs more punch from the Duke. Cinematography is good in the 1969 version but better in the 2010 version.

People Watch: In the 1969 version, Jay “Tonto” Silverheels plays one of the condemned men at the hanging. Wilford Brimley makes his film debut there too (though that’s just from imdb – I couldn’t spot him). In the 2010 version listen for J.K. Simmons as the voice of J. Noble Daggett