Helping you navigate the sea of available on-demand movie and television content, What's New will help you settle that age-old argument of what to watch. Covering Netflix Watch Instantly, Redbox, and Cable Video-on-Demand services, this weekly Moviefone column does the grunt work so you don't have to. Movie night has officially been simplified.
Netflix Watch Instantly
(Accessed through your XBOX 360, PS3, Wii, personal computer, or Roku box)
Action/Adventure:
'The Buccaneer' -- Cecil B. DeMille's 'The Buccaneer' stars Fredric March, complete with curly hair, pencil mustache and florid "Sacre Bleu!" French accent, as 18th century pirate Jean Lafitte. Play on Netflix.
'Hong Kong' -- This thriller, set in Asia, follows the exciting exploits of a villainous soldier of fortune (Ronald Reagan) who gets involved in shady shenanigans with the communists, getting caught red-handed by the authorities. Play on Netflix.
'Born to Be Wild' --The unbreakable bond forged between a troubled boy and a gorilla forms the basis of this family-oriented children's adventure. Play on Netflix.
'$5 a Day' -- A terminally-ill con man and his estranged son endeavor to live on $5 a day during a cross country drive in this road trip comedy from director Nigel Cole ('Saving Grace', 'Calendar Girls'). Play on Netflix.
'Bill Engvall: Aged and Confused' -- His youngsters having recently flew the coup, Blue Collar comic Bill Engvall finds himself freed up to focus on the microscopic everyday annoyances that make his blood boil. Captured before a live audience at the historic Vic Theater in Chicago. Play on Netflix.
'The Extra Man' -- Follows the misadventures of Louis Ives (Paul Dano), a lonely dreamer who fancies himself the hero of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel and who's taken under the wing of an older man (Kevin Kline) who escorts wealthy widows in New York's Upper East Side. Play on Netflix.
'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead' -- Jake Hoffman, Jeremy Sisto, Devon Aoki and Ralph Macchio star in first-time screenwriter-director Jordan Galland's horror comedy about a Shakespearean actor who agrees to direct a most unusual stage production of Hamlet. Play on Netflix.
Drama/Thrillers:
'44 Inch Chest' -- Ray Winstone, Ian McShane, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson, Stephen Dillane and Joanne Whalley star in first-time feature filmmaker Malcolm Venville's darkly comic tale of a man who rallies his friends in order to seek revenge against the French waiter who recently slept with his wife. Play on Netflix.
'Before I Self Destruct' -- Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson directs and stars in this gritty drama about a man who must become a criminal in order to help support his younger brother. Play on Netflix.
'Disgrace' -- John Malkovich stars in director Steve Jacobs' adaptation of J.M. Coetzee's Booker Prize-winning novel concerning a Cape Town educator whose flight from scandal leads him into a direct confrontation with the lingering demons of apartheid. Play on Netflix.
'Dogfight' -- River Phoenix stars in this period drama about a young man, naive in some ways and worldly in others, who learns an important lesson about the nature of beauty when he competes in a contest to bring the ugliest date to a party. Play on Netflix.
'Legendary' -- His family shattered by the tragedy that took his father, an nonathletic teen from a blue-collar town decides to follow in the family tradition by becoming a high school wrestler in this inspirational family drama from WWE Studios. Play on Netflix.
'The Long Good Friday' -- John Mackenzie's masterfully directed British crime drama features a star-making performance by Bob Hoskins as Harold Shand, a successful London gangster whose world falls apart over the course of one weekend. Play on Netflix.
'The Mambo Kings' -- New York art dealer Arne Glimcher took his first crack at directing with this florid, high-energy romance about two brothers who flee Cuba in the early 1950s to make it as musicians in the U.S. Play on Netflix.
'Mona Lisa' -- Bob Hoskins plays George, a tough but basically goodhearted British mob flunky, recently released from prison, where he'd served a term to cover up for his gangster boss (Michael Caine). Play on Netflix.
'A Prophet' -- An impressionable and vulnerable Arabic man gets thrust into a hellish prison, and ironically discovers greater opportunities for success than he ever possessed in the outside world. Play on Netflix.
Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy:
'Eyeborgs' -- The need for privacy takes a back seat to survival instincts when terrorists take control of weaponized, highly mobile security cameras and turn them against the American people. Play on Netflix.
'Lady and the Monster' -- The brain of a famous but unscrupulous financier, recently deceased, is kept artificially alive by an overenthusiastic scientist, with the help of lab assistants Vera Ralston (the "lady" of the title) and Richard Arlen. Gradually, the dead financier's brain takes over the mind of Arlen, turning him into the helpless conduit for the financier's evil machinations. Play on Netflix.
Documentary:
'100 Years of Comedy' -- An overview of the evolution of comedy over the last century, featuring clips and footage. Highlights include appearances by many classic Hollywood comedians, including Bud Abbott, Lucille Ball, John Belushi, Jack Benny, John Candy and Jim Carrey. Play on Netflix.
'Darkon' -- As swords are raised and the battlefield air flows thick with tension, the participants in a full-scale role-playing game called Darkon shed their mundane identities to assume the role of warrior knight, mystical wizard or fierce maiden. Play on Netflix.
Television:
'Mystery Science Theater 3000: Bride of the Monster' -- Joel and the Bots hilariously tear into this Ed Wood classic. Play on Netflix.
'Mystery Science Theater 3000: Devil Doll' -- An evil ventriloquist with a sentient, more evil, dummy, stalks an heiress and impotently tries to avoid mockery from Mike and the Bots. Play on Netflix.
'Mystery Science Theater 3000: Devil Fish' -- Mike and the Bots drown this horrendous killer fish movie directed by Mario Bava's son. Play on Netflix.
'Mystery Science Theater 3000: Robot Monster' -- The denizens of the Satellite of Love shred a notoriously awful sci-fi disaster. Play on Netflix.
'Party Down: Season 2' -- The continuing exploits of a group of struggling actors working in the none-too-glamorous world of catering. Play on Netflix.
'SNL: Seasons 21-25' -- The classic, long-running sketch comedy show sails through the '90s. Play on Netflix.
Author's Sleeper Pick:
'Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill' --The accomplished cross-dressing comedian Eddie Izzard showcases his remarkable talent in the made-for-HBO special 'Dress to Kill.' This one man show, Izzard's fifth, is widely considered to be his breakthrough show for American audiences. Play on Netflix.
Cable Video-on-Demand Service (Simply access the VOD menu from your cable box to select from these titles)
'Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole' -- Director Zack Snyder teams with screenwriters John Collee and John Orloff to adapt author Kathryn Lasky's popular series of children's books about a group of kidnapped owlets who take flight to save their kingdom from an ancient evil by locating the legendary Guardians of Ga'Hoole.
'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' -- Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Balthazar can't do it alone, so he recruits Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential, as his reluctant protege.
'A Christmas Carol' -- Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (Gary Oldman) and his cheery nephew (Colin Firth). But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it's too late.
Redbox New Releases as of 12/21
(Look for Redbox kiosks at your local grocery store or McDonald's restaurant. The films can be rented overnight for just $1)
'Salt' -- Angelina Jolie stars as a CIA operative on the run after being accused of being a Russian sleeper agent; directed by Phillip Noyce and written by Kurt Wimmer ('Equilibrium').
'Step Up 3' -- New York's intense street dancing underground comes alive in eye-popping Digital 3D in the third installment of the 'Step Up' franchise.
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