Netflix Your Weekend July 5.0 – Redeeming Culture

Five weeks in July means you have now received five weeks worth of recommendations and no excuses to find something good on Netflix! Check out our contributors picks to Netflix your otherwise Netflix-less weekend. Happy weekend movie watching everyone!

[divider top=”no”]

via Mark Wingerter

Dollhouse – This feels like the long lost Joss Whedon TV series. You know, the guy who did Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and these two indie films about a group called the Avengers? Dollhouse unfortunately followed the similar production fate of Firefly- might be cancelled, might not, okay it’s cancelled, so it’s a bit uneven with its continuity in the end.

But make no mistake, this is a supremely entertaining series that isn’t afraid to get ugly when examining a concept that might not be as far from sci fi as we hope it is- people brainwashed into becoming surrogate fantasy dolls. It’s a well executed show and well suited for a binge watching session. Joss’s signature style is all over it, and it’s easy to get sucked into the show’s mythos.

[divider top=”no”]

via The Film Avenger

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance – John Ford is the undisputed king of western directors (Sergio Leone comes close, though). Put him together with the king of the western leading men – John Wayne – and you’ve got the recipe for a great film. This is one of Ford’s more cerebral westerns, with a theme involving the ethics of legend versus truth, and which one should hold more esteem in the culture. Both the Duke and Jimmy Stewart give wonderful performances as two men on different sides of one local legend. Just an excellent film all around.

[divider top=”no”]

via Josh Crabb

The Guest – Normally in a movie when you ask, “What the heck is going on?”, it’s usually not a good thing. In The Guest, every time I uttered this phrase it was a guttural reaction to my mind being kicked in the face! This movie shouldn’t have worked, but everything is stylized craziness that executes wonderfully. Director Adam Wingard has been known for his fast-paced, violent thrill rides, but nothing has stuck the landing quite like this movie from 2014 starring Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, and Sheila Kelley.

Maika Monroe first turned heads in The Bling Ring and in her great role in this movie, before starring in It Follows earlier this year. Stevens, of Downton Abbey fame, is magnetic as dreamy lunatic David. A lot of actors would take the turn-on-a-dime Don Juan to Norman Bates and make it cheesy, but somehow, even when his countenance darkens into lunacy, he’s still got the charm. An amazing and fun movie that you need to see!

[divider top=”no”]