There’s not too much on the new release front (I mean, I had to put Transformers in there to have a big studio release), but some interesting stuff elsewhere, from silent Expressionism to Buster Keaton to British spy dramas to Beatles satires.

New Release Picks of the Week

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Slim pickings on the new release front; I guess no one wanted to release their DVDs opposite the robotic juggernaut? About the best I heard of this (from people I trust) is “it wasn’t as bad as all that.” Fair enough.
2011 USA. Director: Michael Bay. Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson.
Amazon DVD | Amazon Blu-ray | Neflix

OTHER NEW RELEASES
Carlos: Criterion Collection (2010 France, dir Olivier Assayas, stars Edgar Ramirez, Alexander Scheer; Blu-ray/Netflix)
Good Neighbors (2010 USA, dir Jacob Tierney, stars Jay Baruchel, Scott Speedman; Netflix)
L’Amour Fou (2011 France, dir Pierre Thoretton, stars Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Berge; Netflix)
The Ledge (2011 USA, dir Matthew Chapman, stars Liv Tyler, Charlie Hunnam; Blu-ray/Netflix)
The Lost Future (2010 USA, dir Mikael Salomon, stars Sean Bean, Sam Claflin; Netflix)
Viva Riva! (2010 Congo, dir Djo Tunda Wa Munga, stars Patsha Bay, Manie Malone; Netflix)
Without Men (2011 USA, dir Gabriela Tagliavini, stars Eva Longoria, Christian Slater; Blu-ray/Netflix)

Classic / Older Picks of the Week

Ben-Hur: 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition
One of the most lasting sword-and-sandal epics (and long-time holder of the record for most Academy Award wins), now in a new DVD and Blu-ray collector’s edition. If you don’t already own it ten times over and want it.
1959 USA. Director: William Wyler. Starring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd.
Amazon DVD | Amazon Blu-ray | Netflix

The Phantom Carriage: Criterion Collection
This is the release that’s most intriguing me this week, an Expressionist film about Death handing over the scythe to the next one to hold his office. Predictably, Netflix doesn’t have it at all, but HuluPlus has it streaming, so I’m including that link below.
1920 Sweden. Director: Victor Sjöström. Starring: Hilda Borgström, Arne Mattsson.
Amazon DVD | Amazon Blu-ray | Netflix | Hulu Plus

Buster Keaton: Go West and Battling Bulter
Two more Keaton films join Kino’s growing exceptional library of DVDs and Blu-rays. I actually haven’t seen either of these, but Keaton never puts a foot wrong.
1925 USA. Director: Buster Keaton. Starring: Buster Keaton, Sally O’Neil.
Amazon DVD | Amazon Blu-ray | Netflix (Go West) / Netflix (Battling Butler)

OTHER CLASSIC / OLDER RELEASES
Cry Terror (1958 USA, dir Andrew L. Stone, stars James Mason, Rod Steiger)
Footloose: Deluxe Edition (1984 USA, dir Herbert Ross, stars Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer; Blu-ray/Netflix)
Julie (1956 USA, dir Andrew L. Stone, stars Doris Day, Louis Jourdan)
Ma & Pa Kettle Complete Comedy Collection (1947-1955 USA, stars Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, etc.)
Treasure Island (1990 USA, dir Fraser Clarke Heston, stars Charlton Heston, Julian Glover; Netflix)

Television Picks of the Week

The Hour
Set behind the scenes of a 1960s British news programme, with espionage and media drama filling the Cold War setting. I heard bits and snippets about this show from my British friends, and it very much sounds like something I want to watch.
2010 UK. Starring: Ben Whishaw, Dominic West, Romola Garai.
Amazon DVD | Amazon Blu-ray | Netflix

The Monkees
Created as a parody Beatles band by soon-to-be-famed New Hollywood producers and directors, The Monkees soon became a cultural force in their own right. I remember the show from reruns as a kid, but I’m curious to see it again now that I know more about its inception.
1966 USA. Creator: Bob Rafelson, Bert Schneider. Starring: Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork.
Season 1 DVD | Season 2 DVD | Netflix

OTHER TELEVISION
Army Wives: Season 5 (2011 USA, creator Katherine Fugate, stars Kim Delaney, Catherine Bell; Netflix)
The Cleveland Show: Season 2 (2010 USA, creator Seth MacFarlane; Netflix)
CSI: Season 11 (2011 USA, creator Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, stars Laurence Fishburne; Netflix)
CSI: Miami: Season 9 (2010 USA, creator Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, stars David Caruso; Netflix)
CSI: NY: Season 7 (2010 USA, creator Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, stars Gary Sinise; Netflix)
Dawson’s Creek: Complete Series (1998-2002 USA, creator Kevin Williamson, stars James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes; Netflix)
How I Met Your Mother: Season 6 (2010 USA, creator Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, stars Josh Radnor, Jason Segel; Netflix)
Hung: Season 2 (2010 USA, creator Dmitry Lipkin, Colette Burson, stars Thomas Jane; Blu-ray/Netflix)
The King of Queens: Complete Series (1998-2006 USA, creator Michael J. Weithorn, David Litt, stars Kevin James, Victor Williams; Netflix)
Kojak: Season 2 (1973 USA, creator Abby Mann, stars Telly Savalas; Netflix)
Law & Order: SVU: Season 12 (2010 USA, creator Dick Wolf, stars Mariska Hargitay; Netflix)
Married…With Children: Complete Series (1987-1996 USA, creator Ron Leavitt, stars Ed O’Neill, Katey Sagal; Netflix)
The Middle: Season 2 (2010 USA, creator Eileen Heisler, DeAnn Heline, stars Patricia Heaton; Netflix)
Queer as Folk: Complete UK Collection (1999 UK, creator Russell T. Davies, stars Craig Kelly; Netflix)

Instant Watch Picks of the Week

Let me quickly explain what seems to be going on lately with Netflix Instant Watch. Aside from the whole Qwikster thing. I mean the upcoming data. I get my data from InstantWatcher.com, which gets their data from Netflix’s API. Netflix’s API is notoriously flaky, which is why I always have that disclaimer at the bottom of these posts. Sometimes they show things as upcoming that never show up, or they show things as expiring that don’t expire, or things show up or expire with no warning whatsoever. Lately, there has been almost no advance warning for things coming onto Instant Watch. By necessity, this section is pretty much now “here’s all the things that came out last week” instead of the things that will come out next week, as I did in the beginning. There will almost certainly be a large number of titles added on October 1st, but the data for what they are isn’t there. Just so you’re not discouraged by the paltry number of additions in relation to the expirations. Well, you can be discouraged by that anyway. I do think it’s disproportionate. But it’s not as disproportionate as it looks.

Ironclad
Giant-armored, long-sworded medieval battle movies seem to be a popular B-movie genre at the moment, and this is the latest in the trend. I’m a fan of the type, and this is one hell of a cast, so I’ll give it a try despite the somewhat silly-looking trailer.
2011 UK, dir Jonathan English, stars James Purefoy, Paul Giamatti, Jason Flemyng, Kate Mara, Brian Cox.

A Bit of Fry and Laurie
This was supposed to expire but didn’t, so I’ll give it a bit of a plug – if you only know Hugh Laurie from House, you don’t know the half of him. Check out his much sillier, much more British sketch show with Stephen Fry.
1989-1995 UK. Created by and starring: Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie.

OTHER INSTANT WATCHES
Beowulf & Grendel (2005 UK, dir Sturla Gunnarsson, stars Gerard Butler)
The Big Bang (2011 USA, dir Tony Krantz, stars Antonio Banderas, Snoop Dogg)
The Catherine Tate Show (2004-2006 UK, creator Derren Litten, Catherine Tate, stars Catherine Tate)
Gavin & Stacey (2007 UK, creator James Corden, Ruth Jones, stars Joanna Page)
Hyperdrive (2006 UK, creator Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley, stars Nick Frost)
Trust (2010 USA, dir David Schwimmer, stars Clive Owen, Catherine Keener)

See all new and upcoming titles.

Instant Watch Expiring Picks

BloodRayne (2006 USA, dir Uwe Boll, stars Ben Kingsley, Kristanna Loken) [9/28]
Inspector Gadget (1983 USA, creator Bruno Bianchi, stars Don Adams) [9/28]
MST3K: Eegah! [9/28]
MST3K: The Killer Shrews [9/28]
MST3K: The Phantom Planet [9/28]
MST3K: The Wild World of Batwoman [9/28]
Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (2005 USA, dir Liam Lynch, stars Sarah Silverman) [9/28]
Shadowboxer (2005 USA, dir Lee Daniels, stars Stephen Dorff, Helen Mirren) [9/28]
MST3K: First Spaceship on Venus [9/29]
MST3K: Future War [9/29]
MST3K: Laserblast [9/29]
MST3K: Racket Girls [9/29]
MST3K: The Girl in Lovers’ Lane [9/29]
MST3K: The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy [9/29]
MST3K: Werewolf [9/29]
MST3K: Zombie Nightmare [9/29]
The Naked Civil Servant (1975 UK, dir Jack Gold, stars John Hurt, Quentin Crisp) [9/29]
Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon (2003 USA, dir Matthew Longfellow, stars Pink Floyd) [9/29]
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989 Japan, dir Shinya Tsukamoto, stars Tomorowo Taguchi) [9/29]
The Basketball Diaries (1995 USA, dir Scott Kalvert, stars Leonardo DiCaprio) [9/30]
The Broken (2008 USA, dir Sean Ellis, stars Lena Headey, Richard Jenkins) [9/30]
The Detective (1968 USA, dir Gordon Douglas, stars Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick) [9/30]
Dragnet (1954 USA, dir Jack Webb, stars Jack Webb, Ben Alexander) [9/30]
Halls of Montezuma (1950 USA, dir Lewis Milestone, stars Richard Widmark) [9/30]
In Like Flint (1967 USA, dir Gordon Douglas, stars James Coburn, Lee J. Cobb) [9/30]
Roxie Hart (1942 USA, dir William A. Wellman, stars Ginger Rogers) [9/30]
Yellow Sky (1948 USA, dir William A. Wellman, stars Gregory Peck, Anne Baxter) [9/30]
1984 (1984 UK, dir Michael Radford, stars Richard Burton, John Hurt) [10/1]
Anna and the King (1999 USA, dir Andy Tennant, stars Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat) [10/1]
Blade 2 (2002 USA, dir Guillermo del Toro, stars Wesley Snipes, Ron Perlman) [10/1]
Cecil B. Demented (2000 USA, dir John Waters, stars Stephen Dorff, Melanie Griffith) [10/1]
Center Stage (1999 USA, dir Nicholas Hytner, stars Amanda Schull, Zoe Saldana) [10/1]
De-Lovely (2004 USA, dir Irwin Winkler, stars Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd) [10/1]
Dead Alive (1992 New Zealand, dir Peter Jackson, stars Timothy Balme) [10/1]
Diamonds are Forever (1971 UK, dir Guy Hamilton, stars Sean Connery, Jill St. John) [10/1]
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002 USA, dir Callie Khouri, stars Sandra Bullock) [10/1]
Dr. No (1962 UK, dir Terence Young, stars Sean Connery, Ursula Andress) [10/1]
Dreamcatcher (2003 USA, dir Lawrence Kasdan, stars Morgan Freeman) [10/1]
Fantastic Voyage (1966 USA, dir Richard Fleischer, stars Stephen Boyd) [10/1]
For Your Eyes Only (1981 UK, dir John Glen, stars Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet) [10/1]
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994 UK, dir Mike Newell, stars Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell) [10/1]
From Russia With Love (1963 UK, dir Terence Young, stars Sean Connery) [10/1]
The Funeral (1996 USA, dir Abel Ferrara, stars Christopher Walken, Chris Penn) [10/1]
Ghostbusters 2 (1989 USA, dir Ivan Reitman, stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd) [10/1]
Goldfinger (1964 UK, dir Guy Hamilton, stars Sean Connery, Honor Blackman) [10/1]
Great Balls of Fire (1989 USA, dir Jim McBride, stars Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder) [10/1]
Hounddog (2007 USA, dir Deborah Kampmeier, stars Dakota Fanning, David Morse) [10/1]
Hudson Hawk (1991 USA, dir Michael Lehmann, stars Bruce Willis, Richard E. Grant) [10/1]
The Hunt for Red October (1990 USA, dir John McTiernan, stars Sean Connery) [10/1]
Imitation of Life (1959 USA, dir Douglas Sirk, stars Lana Turner, ???) [10/1]
Jakob the Liar (1999 USA, dir Peter Kassovitz, stars Robin Williams, Liev Schreiber) [10/1]
Julia (1977 USA, dir Fred Zinnemann, stars Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards) [10/1]
Licence to Kill (1989 UK, dir John Glen, stars Timothy Dalton, Robert Davi) [10/1]
Live and Let Die (1973 UK, dir Guy Hamilton, stars Roger Moore, Jane Seymour) [10/1]
The Living Daylights (1987 UK, dir John Glen, stars Timothy Dalton, Maryam d’Abo) [10/1]
The Lone Hand (1953 USA, dir George Sherman, stars Joel McCrea, Barbara Hale) [10/1]
Love Field (1991 USA, dir Jonathan Kaplan, stars Michelle Pfeifffer, Dennis Haysbert) [10/1]
The Man with the Golden Gun (1975 UK, dir Guy Hamilton, stars Roger Moore) [10/1]
Married to the Mob (1988 USA, dir Jonathan Demme, stars Michelle Pfeiffer) [10/1]
Mercy: Season 1 (2009 USA, creator Liz Heldens, stars Taylor Schilling) [10/1]
Moonraker (1979 UK, dir Lewis Gilbert, stars Roger Moore, Lois Chiles) [10/1]
Moonstruck (1987 USA, dir Norman Jewison, stars Cher, Nicolas Cage) [10/1]
Mulberry Street (2006 USA, dir Jim Mickle, stars Kim Blair, Bo Corre) [10/1]
Octopussy (1984 UK, dir John Glen, stars Roger Moore, Maud Adams) [10/1]
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969 UK, dir Peter Hunt, stars George Lazenby) [10/1]
Paper Heart (2009 USA, dir Nicholas Jasenovec, stars Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera) [10/1]
Poltergeist (1982 USA, dir Tobe Hooper, stars Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams) [10/1]
Possession (2002 USA, dir Neil LaBute, stars Aaron Eckhart, Jeremy Northam) [10/1]
Proof of Life (2000 USA, dir Taylor Hackford, stars Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe) [10/1]
Rain Man (1988 USA, dir Barry Levinson, stars Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise) [10/1]
Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008 USA, dir Darren Lynn Bousman, stars Anthony Head) [10/1]
River’s Edge (1986 USA, dir Tim Hunter, stars Cripsin Glover, Dennis Hopper) [10/1]
She’s the One (1996 USA, dir Edward Burns, stars Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz) [10/1]
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977 UK, dir Lewis Gilbert, stars Roger Moore) [10/1]
Thunderball (1965 UK, dir Terence Young, stars Sean Connery, ???) [10/1]
A View to a Kill (1985 UK, dir John Glen, stars Roger Moore, Christopher Walken) [10/1]
You Only Live Twice (1967 UK, dir Lewis Gilbert, stars Sean Connery) [10/1]
Bella (2006 USA, dir Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, stars Tammy Blanchard) [10/5]
Gigli (2003 USA, dir Martin Brest, stars Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez) [10/5]
The Animal Kingdom (1932 USA, dir Edward H. Griffith, stars Myrna Loy) [10/6]
Ararat (2002 Canada, dir Atom Egoyan, stars Charles Aznavour) [10/6]
Fierce Creatures (1997 UK, dir Fred Schepisi, Robert Young, stars Kevin Kline) [10/6]
Spartacus (2010 USA, creator Steven S. DeKnight, stars John Hannah) [10/7]
The Designated Mourner (1997 USA, dir Mke Nichols, stars Miranda Richardson) [10/10]
My Date with Drew (2003 USA, dir Jon Gunn, Brian Herzlinger, stars Drew Barrymore) [10/10]
Now That’s Funny (2005 USA, stars Sarah Silverman, Tom Green) [10/10]
Less Than Zero (1987 USA, dir Andrew McCarthy, stars Jami Gertz) [10/11]

See all expiring titles.

Disclaimers

• Amazon links use my affiliate account, and will kick a small percentage of your purchase back to me. You pay the same price you would anyway.
• Not all new releases are available on Netflix immediately. Some studio films have a 30-day release window before Netflix can rent them, and some smaller releases are not picked up by Netflix immediately. Add them to your “saved” queue if you’re interested; that tells Netflix there is demand for the disc.
• Not all new Blu-ray releases are available on Netflix – Netflix usually buys both DVD and Blu-ray editions of new releases, but if a DVD has already been released, they don’t always get the Blu-ray when it comes out later.
• Instant Watch releases are not always 100% accurate – often the data from the API is not fully accurate until the actual day of release. I always check on release day to make sure things actually do hit Instant Watch, but for things that come out later than Tuesday when I publish this post, I won’t be able to tell.
• Instant Watch expirations are not always 100% accurate – sometimes they don’t expire after all, sometimes things expire with little advance warning. I always check to make sure the data is accurate to the best of my knowledge when I publish the post, but things could still change, especially since I’m giving expiration warnings up to two weeks in advance.
• I rely on Box Office Mojo and InstantWatcher for the majority of the data for these posts, so thank you to them for the work they do.