You might say I’m a Netflix junkie. However, I would just say that I’m catching up on stuff I’ve never seen (or catching up on TV shows I missed or re-watching movies I haven’t seen in awhile). I get three out at a time and I try to finish all three each weekend. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. Suffice it to say, I use Netflix heavily (including watching shows and movies online). In addition, Sunday is movie day for my friends, so I also tend to see a new movie each Sunday.

So, what I’m intending to do is this: Each Monday, I will post a capsulized recap of all that I’ve seen over the weekend. While I may not get my full reviews out right away, this will at least give you an idea of how things are going.

This weekend, we did not get to the movies (though Knight and Day would have been an obvious choice over Grown Ups). However, I did manage to catch up on three films (two I’d never seen before and one I hadn’t seen in some time) and watch a few more episodes of a 4-season series that I never got to see straight through when I was younger. So, here is what I’ve seen this weekend:

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Elizabeth Taylor has never been an actress whose films I’ve actively sought. So, the few experiences I’ve had with her haven’t been great. But this film changes my perspective of her abilities entirely. She gives a powerful performance here, probably one of the best I’ve ever seen. She’s ably supported by Richard Burton (whose aging makeup makes him look a little like modern Albert Finney) and George Segal and especially Sandy Dennis. Not only is it a well acted piece, it’s an incredible examination of the little lies we tell to bolster our own appearance, whether it’s creating false identities or telling outlandish stories. Through the application of various party “games”, George and Martha manage to elicit strange details of their guest’s lives while slowly revealing their own as they bitterly attempt to show up the other.

Most stage-to-screen adaptations feel a bit stage-bound and while this one has a few of those moments, most of it felt right at home in the various settings. And these places, along with the film’s cinematography, helped keep the film feeling claustrophobic and inescapable, just like the interaction between the film’s four characters.

Hannah and Her Sisters

I’ll start by saying that I’m not a Woody Allen partisan nor a detractor. I’ve seen films of his that haven’t been that great, but I’ve also seen some classic films I adore. So, going into Hannah and Her Sisters, I had no preconceived notions of what to expect. Even if Woody weren’t in it, you can’t mistake this for another director’s work. The obsessive verbal dance the characters engage in both strengthens and hinders the work. Perhaps in New York City intellectuals talk like this, but I have never met people quite this verbose.

It’s not just how much they talk, but how overly observed their speech is. These are very much characters of higher mental capacity than their real world counterparts typically are. Even during the flashback scenes with Holly (Dianne Wiest) at the alternative bar, the conversation is more heightened than reality might dictate. But still, the story is a charming one, not focusing on one specific plot line, but an examination of the interactivity and social awkwardness of the characters in the film as they mix lives and dance in and out of love with one another.

The performances are all wonderful (excepting Mia Farrow who’s merely passable) with Wiest and Hershey the standouts.

The English Patient

I had not seen this film since 1996 when it was released. I loved the film at the time and was pleased that, among the other competition that year, that it won Best Picture. But, as time has passed, my memory of the film faded and I couldn’t remember what about the film I loved so much. So, I revisited the film to see how well it held up these 14 years later.

It stands up amazingly well. While a movie like Out of Africa can feel a teensy bit dated, The English Patient still feels fresh. Although I’m not as in love with Ralph Fiennes’ performance as I once was, he still does a fairly good job in the film. On the other hand, I had completely dismissed Juliette Binoche’s performance at the time and was stymied by her Oscar victory. Yet, now looking back at the film, I can completely understand why. She is the emotional core of the film. From her desperate rush towards the mined jeep to her morphine-pushing final sequence, she shows what a world class actress can do. I haven’t seen every film she’s ever made, but with this, Blue and Summer Hours, I can’t help but feel she is one of the finest working today.

Some of the things that strike me most now that didn’t then was the way the film is cut. While I always appreciated the ability to move from one scene in the past to the present and along several liens of though, there are transitions in the film that I completely missed. So, watching the film a second time gave me a greater appreciation for it and the work the late Anthony Minghella did on the film.

Soap

I have been slowly making my way through this show. I saw it originally on Nick-at-Night back in the ’90s, but never really got the full story. So, after thinking how much I enjoyed the show then, I started watching it again. The first few episodes of Season 1 were a bit slow, but as the series pressed on, it got more and more funny. It’s an exceptional show built on the outlandish plot lines that used to grace daytime television, but in 22-minute comic chunks in prime time. Katharine Helmond’s work is sublime and how she never won an Emmy for her daffy portrait of a wealthy dingbat is astonishing to me.

I am currently about 9 episodes into Season 2 and it’s still funny as ever. If you have an opportunity to catch up with this show (most of the episodes are available to watch online), I highly recommend it.