Firefly

Firefly - the best short-lived space western in the 'verse. Pretty much Han Solo the TV show, with a family of well-drawn characters, snappy dialogue, and great suspense and action sequences. The movie that tried to wrap up the series' storyline, Serenity, is also available on instant watch.

Louie and Larry

Louie - this show stars Louis CK as himself (sort of) as he gets into some wacky shenanigans, with a liberal sprinkling of his hilarious stand up routines. Not afraid to dive into the dramatic and the absurd, this is a very original show, and I was glad to see it picked up for another season. The first season is available on instant watch.

The Larry Sanders Show - I'd forgotten how funny this show is and started rewatching the first season (four seasons are currently on instant watch.)  Garry Shandling, Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor star as the host, co-host and producer of a nightly talk show.  Great cast - including Janeane Garofalo and Jeremy Piven - and lots of star cameos.

The Last Exorcism

This movie was like an old E.C. Horror comic done in the guise of a documentary. It provides some really good scares and maintains a pretty consistent level of dread throughout. A preacher, whose level of actual faith is wanting, travels to a small town to perform an exorcism, bringing along a camera crew to film the proceedings.  

This movie is currently available for a streaming rental on Vudu.

Detroit 187

I haven't watched a police procedural in awhile, but this one is pretty good.  Great characters (w/ some exceptions, but they definitely focus on the more interesting ones) and dialogue, not your usual cop-show storylines and a great soundtrack (I really want to find a listing of the songs used in this show.)  Michael Imperioli (Christopher from the Sopranos) heads an excellent ensemble cast.

The first season, still in progress, is streaming on Hulu. 

Haneke

Some films by German director Michael Haneke

The White Ribbon - 2010 nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. The metaphorical stuff involved was way over my head, but I found this movie interesting anyway.

Funny Games - this is intense, disturbing stuff - apparently intended by the director to be some sort of cinematic endurance test. He also directed the American remake.

Code Unknown - a drama involving several converging storylines, starring Juliette Binoche.

Claymation Shorts

Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death - The dynamic duo's latest adventure, as Wallace is tempted by yet another strumpet!

Peter and the Wolf - a remake of old classic, set to original 1936 score. Winner of 2008 Oscar for Best Animated Short.

Mary and Max - Not necessarily for kids, this features the voices of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette and Eric Bana.

Sleepers worth staying up for

Some movies most people might have missed, but that I think are worth a second look.

Fandango - starring young soon-to-be-better-known types such as Kevin Costner and Judd Nelson, this is a funny road-buddy-coming-of-age movie (my favorite part is the skydiving class!)

Bob Roberts - Tim Robbins stars, writes, directs, plays music - probably made sandwiches for the crew too - in this mockumentary about a folk-singing right-winger on his way up the political ladder. Great supporting cast: Alan Rickman, Ray Wise, Giancarlo Esposito, Jack Black.

Network

Network - winner of four academy awards (Actor, Actress, Supporting Actress and Screenplay) and more nominees than I have space for, this classic looks even more worthy of accolades now that we've become used to 57 channels of 24 hour news.  Starring Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty - do I have to go on?!

Recently Decently Thrilling

Moon - Directed by David Bowie's son and starring Sam Rockwell, this is the rare sci-fi thriller that doesn't rely on lazer pistols and battle droids.  Rockwell plays the lone employee working on a lunar mining outpost.

The Crazies (2010) - a remake of George Romero film from the 70s, this is a scary, suspenseful thriller set in a small farm town that was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Legion - the wife and I may have been the only people on earth to enjoy this movie. Don't take it too seriously, it's big, dumb and campy, a supernatural thriller that will meet low expectations.