MEN IN BLACK 3

Barry Sonnenfeld started his career as a director with the early 90's nostalgia fest adaptation of The Addams Family, which was much better than anyone expected, turning what could have been a enjoyably nutty one-off into a mini-franchise.  Any other quirky, kooky, one-offs he directed that accidentally turned into franchises?  Well...  it depends whether or not you count Get Shorty.   But more obviously, I'm talking about Men In Black, the 1997 film adaptation of an obscure (and mostly different) comic that spawned four years of an animated series, a sequel that almost killed the franchise, three video games, two rap singles, and a theme park ride.  And now another sequel with 3-D and time travel!  Nod ya head!

SPECIAL WHEN LIT: A PINBALL DOCUMENTARY (2009)

This is a documentary about an innovation whose birth and death occurred within the same century, so that the same people who enjoyed it as a rising fad can defend its relevancy later in life.  Yes, that means most people they talk to are super old (like old enough to remember putting dimes not quarters into the machines) and yes, unfortunately most of them can't come up with any more complex than "I like pinball, it used to be popular, now it is not, I don't like that."  But there it still a lot of interesting stuff about pinball to learn, and they also interview a charming (and ancient) Frenchman who says "I like girls and pinball... but girls is finis... so pinball."

THE INNKEEPERS (2011)

This film is writer-director Ti West's followup to The House of the Devil and faithfully follows the same formula of steadily mounting tension and slow-cooked creepiness but this time on a slightly larger scale.  Not just a house but a whole hotel.  Not just one night but a whole weekend.  Not one protagonist but two, a man and a woman.  Instead of a handful of supporting characters, there are uh two handfuls.  This film might also seem deliberately retrograde but it is not set in the past or made to look like it was produced in the past like THOTD.  And of course the biggest difference is g-g-g-g-ghosts!

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2009)

This film belongs to a peculiar and diverse sub-genre of films that adopt the cinematic limitations/conventions of the period in which they are set which includes the likes of The Aviator and recent Oscar darling The Artist.  This film is set during the eighties, so you can expect grainy 16mm film stock, simple zooms in place of complex dolly shots, and of course no modern impurities to the form like shaky camera editing or bogus CGI.  Writer-Director Ti West also goes one bonus step further, and has its subject matter deeply rooted in the past, fashioning a tale of devil worship that would have felt right at home during the height of the satanic panic of the 1980’s.  Devil’s gonna getcha!

JUICE (1992)

This movie might be best known for Dave Chapelle's impression of Samuel L. Jackson screaming about it but it deserves another look on its own merits.  I think Netflix occasionally recommends things based on current events and with all the hub bub over the holographic Tupac performance at Coachella recently I'm sure the great Netflix Recommendation Computer assumed that lots of people would be interested in this 1992 juvenile crime story starring a certain Tupac Shakur.  It might not be as famous as a west coast counterpart like Boyz N The Hood but since it's on Instant and it has flesh and blood Tupac, it deserves a watch.

THE AVENGERS

This film combines all current Marvel Studios film franchises into one super film written and directed by Joss Whedon, creator of cult successes like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Dollhouse, and now shepherd of an enormous popular success.  This is a culmination of years of effort, which is true of almost all films, but in this case, it is the culmination of five distinct films that all took years to make: 2008's Iron Man, 2009's The Incredible Hulk, 2010's Iron Man 2, and 2011's Thor and Captain America.  It was amazing enough that all those films turned out successful, but its incredibly amazing that the risky gambit of mashing them together pays off with a solidly entertaining film that might not draw casual fans for repeat views but will definitely leave the majority of the multiplex satisfied.