More November Expirations (2013)

It doesn't look like I'll have a chance to write a proper post extolling the virtues of the titles expiring before month's end, but be sure to take a look at the list at the top of the page to see what's on the cutting block. Most notable is The Dick Van Dyke Show, which, despite being over 50 years old and in black-and-white, achieved a humor and freshness that keep it virtually ageless. Creator Carl Reiner made a point of not referencing the era's events or pop culture, and that�along with believable, archetypal characters, solid writing, and funny, grounded performances�make this series as entertaining today as it was in the early 1960s. All five seasons of the show expire at 12:01am on 11/29 [Update: since renewed]. If you're one of the few who have never seen it, and you enjoy traditional sitcoms, you should definitely check out a few episodes before they're gone.

Also of note: two '70s classics�Carrie and Saturday Night Fever�both of which have been mentioned here before and both featuring John Travolta�along with the tense, borderline exploitative Larry Clark thriller, Bully, which is based on a true story and, despite its tossed-off, documentary feel and casual, underage violence and sexuality, sneaks up on you by building some genuine, nail-biting tension by the time it's over.

That's all for now. Other titles worth a look can be found on the Expiring Soon list. Here's wishing you a happy, movie-filled Thanksgiving!

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New April Titles, pt. 2

Continuing this month's rundown of notable flicks now available for streaming:

King of the Hill (1993)

(FYI, no relation to the Mike Judge cartoon series)

Following the success of sex, lies and videotape and the mess that was Kafka, Steven Soderbergh's third film received glowing reviews (it was nominated for the Palm d'Or at Cannes) but almost no audience. Based on a memoir by A.E. Hotchner, this coming of age tale set in the Great Depression follows a 12-year-old boy (played by a young Jesse Bradford) who has to fend for himself in a seedy St. Louis hotel after his mother ends up in the hospital and his salesman father has to hit the road to make ends meet.

Jesse (Taylor) Bradford

Granted, it sounds depressing, but it's enlightened by Bradford's spirited, fast-talking performance (think Christian Bale in Empire of the Sun, only less wide-eyed) plus a fine role call of supporting players including Spalding Gray, Adrien Brody, Elizabeth McGovern, and Karen Allen. As always, writer/director/editor Soderbergh knows how to keep things moving, but there's also that warmth and passion he's been accused of lacking in some of his more recent work. For some reason this title has never been available on DVD in the U.S., so this is a great chance to see a movie for which the words "criminally underseen" were invented.

Pi (1998)

And the magic number is...

Before he became known for directing Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, and Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky concocted this no-budget black-and-white yarn of paranoia, mathematics, supercomputers, Hassidic conspiracies, Wall Street and...well, I'm not really sure what else, even though I've seen the movie twice. I know it's intense and visceral and the very definition of old-school indie filmmaking. Shot guerilla-style on black-and-white 16mm film, it uses inventive camerawork and quick cutting to turn New York's Lower East Side into its own Kafkaesque playground. Reminiscent of an amped up, stripped down Cronenberg film by way of Jim Jarmusch, Pi is not for everyone. But if you like your movies fast, weird, dark, and borderline incomprehensible, you'll get a kick out of this. I'm hoping by the third viewing to actually figure out what it means.

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