Welcome to another episode of What to Watch Right Now on the Official Zito Media Blog! We’re currently NOT counting down the 12 movies of Christmas, so if you’re looking for overexposed Christmas movies to watch… look elsewhere. Over here, we’re recommending some of the most fun and intriguing movies and TV shows available on the Netflix Instant Stream.
IN BRUGES – Dir. Martin McDonagh (2008) IMDB
Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) flee London after a hit gone wrong, only to await orders in the most boring place Ray could ever imagine, Bruges. Where is Bruges? Well, it’s in Belgium. What is there to do in Bruges? Apparently not very much, aside from sightseeing. However, what follows makes for one of the most hilarious, heart wrenching, and exciting hitman films of the last decade.
The synopsis of IN BRUGES certainly doesn’t sound like the typical hitman movie; All these hitman have to do is lie low for two weeks in Bruges, waiting for their boss to give them further instructions. That being said, In Bruges is not a typical hitman movie. In fact, there really isn’t whole lot of action before the last 30 minutes or so. This doesn’t hinder the film in any way, it actually makes it so much more intriguing. We grow to understand these characters as we learn why they had to flee their homeland and soon grow to sympathize with them and care for them. Sure, they might kill people for a living, but deep down, they have feelings just like non-murdering professionals. Even in such a boring place, they find themselves in bizarre situations, attempting to outrun the guilt of their chosen life paths. To reiterate, even though an absurd comedy about two hitmen in a small Belgium town doesn’t sound like a very good watch… It is. There’s not much more to say than it’s a diamond in the rough. A true hidden gem.
THE X-FILES – Nine Seasons (1993-2002) IMDB
But you know what’s not a hidden a gem? THE X-FILES. It’s simply a gem. One of the most popular TV shows of the 90s, that acquired a massive cult following and spawned two movies and a second run coming out next year, isn’t to be ignored. To be honest, I had never even considered watching The X-Files until last Friday when I was so bored I thought my head was going to explode. Needless to say, I’ve finally jumped on the UFO theorist bandwagon.
FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully team up to crack the X-Files, the FBI’s most secret and unexplained cases. While Mulder is a firm believer in the paranormal, Scully is a little more difficult to convince. Together, they travel the country encountering strange phenomena that could put their careers and their lives at risk. I haven’t even gotten too far into season one and I’m already hooked. I’ve always been a fan of UFO and paranormal TV shows, but The X-Files clearly transcends the stereotypical conspiracy genre. It seems to be a lot like TWIN PEAKS (featured here in Ep. 8), which also features David Duchovny, so if you’re not into strange, you probably won’t like The X-Files. However, it doesn’t hurt to familiarize yourself with the characters and the world they inhabit, because The X-Files is making its triumphant comeback thirteen years after the original run in 2016.
