Kepler's UnclesOur Netflix Queue
February 6, 2012
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James Franco steps into the shoes of famed Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in this star-studded biopic centered around Ginsberg's poem "Howl" -- and the widely publicized obscenity trial that followed its publication in 1957. Documentarians Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (The Times of Harvey Milk) direct, with an A-list ensemble cast that includes Jon Hamm, David Strathairn, Jeff Daniels and Mary-Louise Parker.
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This disc includes episode: "The Great Game."
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When Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz), a big-city art dealer from Chicago, makes a trip to North Carolina with her new husband, George (Alessandro Nivola), he finally allows her to meet his small-town Southern family, which breeds more problems than either of them planned for. Amy Adams earned an Oscar nod -- and critical praise as a breakout star -- for her supporting role as George's sister-in-law, Ashley.
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Edward Norton plays a convicted arsonist who hopes to get out of prison early by putting to work the seductive talents of his beautiful wife, Lucetta. Robert De Niro plays the parole officer who's the target of the couple's cat-and-mouse scheming.
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Zack Snyder directs this faithful adaptation of Frank Miller's (Sin City) graphic novel about the storied Battle of Thermopylae, a conflict that pitted the ancient Greeks against the Persians in 480 B.C. The film, which blends live-action shots with virtual backgrounds to capture Miller's original vision, co-stars Gerard Butler as the Spartan King Leonidas, who leads his small band of 300 soldiers against an army of more than one million.
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During the Spanish Civil War, thousands of Americans fought to end fascism, only to return home and be unfairly blacklisted as communist supporters. Narrated by Studs Terkel, this documentary tells the forgotten stories of these misunderstood heroes. Newsreel footage, archival photographs and interviews with surviving veterans shed new light on these brave civilian soldiers' amazing struggle for democracy.
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Monty Brogan has 24 hours to spend with his two best friends and his girlfriend before he's sent to prison for seven years for dealing drugs. Spike Lee directs this meditative drama set in post-9/11 New York.
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Michael Mann's Oscar-nominated drama centers on the personal and professional lives of boxing legend Muhammad Ali (Will Smith), but brings with it an examination of the social and political issues during the decades in which he ruled the ring. From the early 1960s, through his anti-Vietnam War stance, to his epic title bouts with Liston, Frazier and Foreman, Ali stirred controversy and proved that he is, indeed, The Greatest.
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Campbell Scott directs this coming-of-age dramedy that follows an 11-year-old girl, Bo (Valentina de Angelis), as she spends the summer of 1974 watching her father (Sam Elliott) battle a bout of depression that proves to be crippling. Bo's parents (Joan Allen plays her mother) moved to New Mexico to escape the stresses of the big city and now find they're being investigated by the government for tax evasion.
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This disc includes episodes 1-2.
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Winning seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture), this classic drama follows three World War II veterans -- Homer (Harold Russell), Al (Fredric March) and Fred (Dana Andrews) -- as they return to small-town America and try to come to terms with their experiences. Best Supporting Actor Russell, a real veteran who lost his hands in the war, also won an Honorary Oscar "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans."
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When Catherine discovers her husband is having an affair, she hires stripper Nathalie to seduce him and report back to her about his sexual escapades. But over time, the two women form an unlikely friendship that changes the three of them forever.
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After losing his hearing as a soldier during the Vietnam War, Richard Pimentel (Ron Livingston) returns to America, where he falls in with an unlikely circle of friends and finds a new calling as a spokesman for the disabled. His activist efforts eventually lead to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This inspiring and entertaining true story won the Audience Award at the 2007 AFI Dallas International Film Festival.
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Delve into the career of poet, author, composer and musician Leonard Cohen, who has been called one of the premiere folk singers of the 1960s and '70s. This documentary relies on rare concert footage, archival photos and interviews with music critics to help explain the significance of Cohen's unique art. The film focuses on the five albums he released between 1967 and 1977, including "Death of a Ladies' Man," produced by Phil Spector.
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Drawing on rare performance film, insightful interviews, recording footage and more, this documentary explores an incredibly prolific time period in folk icon Leonard Cohen's remarkable career. Already an influential and successful artist by 1978, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer would not rest on his laurels; instead, he proceeded to create some of his best work with the six studio albums he recorded over the following 20-plus years.
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Carrying the scars of an abusive childhood, Savage siblings Wendy (Laura Linney, in an Oscar-nominated role) and Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman) -- a long-aspiring playwright and a drama professor, respectively -- now face the challenge of caring for their ailing father (Philip Bosco). Written and directed by Tamara Jenkins, this insightful indie drama explores the depth of one family's emotional disconnect.
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Single mother Samantha Prescott is already preoccupied with raising her son, who's become sullen -- and curious about his missing father -- when her wayward brother appears on the scene to borrow money ... and instantly bonds with the boy.
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&NFb;&NFb_;Based on Sherman Alexie's book of poetry of the same name, The Business of Fancydancing reunites best friends Aristotle Joseph (Gene Tagaban) and Seymour Polatkin (Evan Adams) -- two Native American men who grew up together on the Spokane Reservation. Sixteen years after their high school graduation, Seymour, now a successful gay poet living in Seattle, confronts his past when he returns to the reservation to attend a friend's funeral.
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Combining a fearless dedication to experimentation and a fresh emphasis on visual presentation, the San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet has emerged as a leading voice for new music, earning five Grammy Awards. This dynamic recording includes George Crumb's musical response to the Vietnam War, "Black Angels," and Tan Dun's "Ghost Opera," featuring a blend of sophisticated techniques and folk traditions. An electrifying theatrical experience!
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Director-producer Ron Maxwell mines America's history in this epic movie chronicling the Civil War's beginnings in 1861 to the tragic Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863 and the heroes who defended their honor on both fronts. Robert Duvall is Gen. Robert E. Lee, who leads the Confederates; Jeff Daniels is Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a Bowdoin College professor who fights for the Union army, and Stephen Lang portrays Gen. Stonewall Jackson.
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Robert Altman's mosaic masterpiece, based on Raymond Carver's short stories, presents a variety of characters -- including a baker, a phone-sex provider and a clown -- whose stale lives intersect and are forever altered through simple twists of fate. Tim Robbins, Robert Downey Jr., Madeleine Stowe, Matthew Modine, Lily Tomlin, Andie MacDowell, Jack Lemmon and Anne Archer are just a few of the big names among this moving tale's all-star cast.
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In this drama from Robert Altman, a young dancer (Neve Campbell) is focused on becoming a principal dancer with her ballet company, but finds it progressively more difficult to stick to the demanding schedule that's required. As the pressure mounts, she grows more preoccupied with other interests and with her boyfriend (James Franco), who vies for her time. The story is based on Campbell's own experiences at the National Ballet School of Canada.
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This disc includes episodes 1-3.
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Vera Drake spends her days doting on her working-class family in 1950s England. But Vera also has a secret side: She visits women and helps them induce miscarriages. When the authorities get wind of her activities, Vera's world quickly falls apart.
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This disc includes "Episode I."
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This disc includes "Episode II."
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Shunned by a husband who's more interested in his scientific research than his marriage, Kitty Fane embarks on a quest for fulfillment, igniting a passionate affair with dashing womanizer Charles Townsend.
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When a successful playwright and his actress companion become subjects of the Stasi's secret surveillance program in 1980s East Berlin, their friends, family -- and even those doing the watching -- find their lives forever changed.
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Inspired by the album of the same name, director Alan Parker's revolutionary rock opera traces the troubled past of Pink (Bob Geldof), a depressed rock star at the end of his rope. With the wall as a metaphor for self-inflicted isolation, Pink is lost in despair, feeling trapped and desperately searching for a way out. The Wall's stylized blend of drama, music and Gerald Scarfe's brilliant animation earned the film instant cult status.
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Humbert Humbert (Jeremy Irons) is a remarkable man with a poisonous wound: the indelible memory of a fated childhood love and a haunting urge to rediscover its lost passion through an obsession with a teenage girl named Lolita (Dominique Swain). Melanie Griffith co-stars as the girl's mother, a voluptuous widow with romantic plans of her own, in this faithful screen adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's classic novel.
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Buoyed by the news that they are expecting their first baby, Burt and Verona embark on a journey to locate the perfect place on the planet to raise their child. But their quest inevitably yields many unexpected surprises.
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Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick sets out to expose the hypocrisy of gay politicians who passionately criticize the LGBT community in public while concealing their own sexual orientation. In addition to exposing the secret lives of powerful policymakers -- and the damage they've inflicted on LGBT Americans -- this documentary also takes a critical look at the media's involvement in keeping homophobic politicians closeted.
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This awe-inspiring biopic about Mahatma Gandhi (Ben Kingsley) -- the diminutive lawyer who stood up against British rule in India and became an international symbol of nonviolence and understanding -- brilliantly underscores the difference one person can make. Epic and unforgettable, the film swept the 1983 Oscars, winning eight awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Kingsley), Best Screenplay and Best Director (Richard Attenborough).
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Director Robert Altman's wickedly funny masterpiece about a slick Hollywood studio executive named Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) -- a hotshot whose life is falling apart -- is packed with irreverence and myriad star cameos (including appearances from Steve Allen, Cher, John Cusack, Peter Falk and Jeff Goldblum). A rival wants his job, and he's facing a murder rap. But will Griffin face the music or turn his liabilities into assets?
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After cellist Lyla (Keri Russell) and guitarist Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) share an enchanted night together, circumstances rip them apart, and the child (Freddie Highmore) produced by the union is raised by an opportunistic stranger (Robin Williams) who nurtures the boy's musical talent. Determined to find his parents, the boy -- known as August Rush -- relies on music to draw his mother and father to him. Terrence Howard co-stars.
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Set in Cold War Europe, the cinematic saga of Mr. Arkadin, directed by and starring Orson Welles, regards an amnesiac billionaire who hires an American adventurer (Robert Arden) to investigate his mysterious past. Post-production, Welles was banned from the editing room, and thus, at least five known versions of the film exist. This release contains what is known as the comprehensive version, thought to be the cut closest to Welles's original vision.
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While we may be decades away from putting a human on Mars, this engrossing IMAX adventure produced by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Frank Marshall offers a sneak peek at what it will be like when we do. With director George Butler serving as your guide, you'll walk the rugged terrain of the red planet's surface via the panoramic eyes of Spirit and Opportunity, the twin robotic rovers sent into space in 2003.
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This disc includes episodes: "Arrival," "Harmony" and "Anvil."
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This disc includes episodes: "Darling," "Schizoid" and "Checkmate."
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The bonus material for this facinating remake include production diaries, making of featurettes, audio commentary, additional scenes an interview with Ian McKellen and the panel discussion from Comic-Con.
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This intoxicating film from director Richard Linklater stars Ethan Hawke as an American backpacker who strikes up a conversation with a lovely fellow traveler (Julie Delpy) on the train to Vienna and persuades her to spend his last day in Europe with him. Wandering the picturesque streets of the Austrian capital, the two share stories of their pasts and their dreams for the future, ultimately forging a bond that leads to love.
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Meryl Streep gives one of the greatest performances of her career as Susan Traherne, an idealistic young Englishwoman haunted by the memory of her passionate liaison with a young spy (Sam Neill) in occupied France. Over the next 20 years in post-war Britain, Susan's disillusionment and emotional instability create chaos in the lives of those around her. Charles Dance, John Gielgud, Ian McKellen, Tracey Ullman and Sting co-star.
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Admired for expanding the first lady's role in the White House, Eleanor Roosevelt was an early feminist turned contemporary heroine who overcame her share of obstacles -- as evidenced in this installment of "American Experience." With input from biographers Allida Black, Blanche Wiesen Cook and Geoffrey C. Ward -- plus Roosevelt's surviving relatives -- this documentary paints a comprehensive portrait of one of history's most fascinating subjects.
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This disc includes the episodes "The Reluctant Revolutionaries" and "Blows Must Decide."
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This disc includes the episodes "The Times That Try Men's Souls" and "Oh, Fatal Ambition."
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This disc includes the episodes "The World Turned Upside Down" and "Are We to be a Nation?"
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The Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American military airmen, were known for their heroics during World War II. Away from the front, they fought a different battle -- one that was less bombastic but just as insidious: racism. These pioneering soldiers proved to America and the rest of the world that one's race has no bearing on one's ability to protect, serve and defend a nation. This PBS documentary recounts the challenges the men faced.
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Narrated by David Ogden Stiers, this installment of the PBS series "American Experience" focuses on the relationship of John and Abigail Adams, the nation's first power couple, recreating dialogue based on the couple's correspondence. Founding father John was a visionary statesman and an often exasperating man, while Abigail, an astute observer of the political landscape, voiced opinions at a time when women were excluded from affairs of state.
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A little-known chapter of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life -- his last five years, during which he spoke out against the Vietnam War and became an advocate for all of America's have-nots, regardless of race -- is the subject of this documentary. Much is known of his tireless efforts as a civil rights leader, but this film focuses on King's later work -- which actually caused some to accuse him of abandoning his original mission.
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Director Jean Bach constructed a remarkable documentary around a renowned 1958 photograph. Taken for &NFi;Esquire&NFi_; magazine, the photo looked like a class picture featuring 57 jazz legends who have never been together: Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and scads of others. Through interviews and archival footage, Bach recreates the day the photo was snapped and reveals many of the stories it tells.