Behold future man, your chariot of entertainment awaits. Where you once were told to buy and rent physical media, now you can download and stream content. And in this economy, sometimes it’s hard to be lazy and save money while doing so. Luckily for all those who don’t like to collect and spend a fortune on movies, Netflix Instant Watch makes it easy, fun, and frugal. Here’s a look at my top pick of stuff to watch that you either don’t own or are just too lazy to pop into the DVD player. Don’t be shy. Sometimes we’re all lazy enough to grab the remote but not walk to the movie cabinet.

Movies

Probably the only movie I've seen what's her name in.

Planet Terror

The better of the Grindhouse duo if only because it doesn’t show us a bar for fifty minutes. Easily one of if not my favorite horror movie of all time. It conveys that old 80′s style without losing any of the modern Hollywood magic that we expect from regular cinema. What it lacks in depth, realism and plot it more than makes up for in nostalgia, pure gore and style. Next to Sin City it’s my favorite Rodriguez flick.

Young Mel Gibson, back when he had a lot of Passion.

The Road Warrior

Probably one of my favorite straight up action flicks. I don’t even think I’ve seen the original Mad Max but this doesn’t require you to. Just know that this guy used to be a cop, but then the world went to hell and now he’s looking for gas. Sound a little familiar? This could be anybody in a few years, or less…Either way good movie and made even better at the click of a button. Just because these guys don’t even remember what the word “comfort” means doesn’t mean you don’t.

Not as good as the first, but - I didn't say stop.

Batman Returns

When I was younger I always watched this movie more than the first just because there were two villains and not one. Danny Devito and Michelle Pfeiffer couldn’t replace Jack Nicholson as I soon realized when I was older. Although I think this film had more Tim Burton qualities than the first. He pretty much set the entire tone of the franchise with the first film, but this one he seemed to let more of his personal quirks surface in the production. Penguins with barbershop stripes on their backs? Tim Burton all the way.

It's Fronkensteen!

Young Frankenstein

There are a lot of Mel Brooks movies I like. In fact, I like all of them I think. But this one is one of my favorites. Is it funny that most of these films are films that I like a lot? No? Maybe because it’s my TOP list? Or maybe I came back in time and setup Netflix for myself. I’m a genius. But I’m no “Frankenstein.” This movie was crazy. They shot it in black and white, a pretty ballsy move when everyone was still going goo goo over color. But you really had to to deliver this kind of nostalgia and faithfulness to the genre and franchise. It’s a timeless parody and a good way to wind down without fishing for a flick.

Who you gonna call?

Ghostbusters

The movie that taught an entire generation that we didn’t have to be afraid of ghosts. We all know them, we all love them, but why buy the Blu-ray when you can just have regular Ray…and Egon, and Winston, and Peter. Quality isn’t bad at all, and for older movies sometimes having “high def” doesn’t really mesh with your memories of a film. Not saying it’s bad but – okay I’m just rationalizing my cheap assery. Still an awesome movie that you can watch with minimal effort on your part. It’s a hauntingly good deal.

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I know I’ve listed a lot of classic movies, but they have a lot of new and modern films as well. Just nothing that’s managed to wow me as much as these in the watchability department. Normally I’ll watch a few and then you’re out the queue for good. Okay, no, I’ll admit I’m too lazy to delete them once I’ve added them. Hence I have 109 items in my instant queue. Your cheapest Netflix plan runs for around $8 a month and includes unlimited streaming and one DVD rental at a time. There’s only one downside. Some movies are only available for a period of a few months so you better watch them while you can. Still a great deal for the price. You can watch these films on a PC, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 (with certain software). Not bad. Not bad at all.

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