Rubin Recommends

(Part of the weekly Instant Gratification feature)

Sweet relief! Thanks to the new and mighty Netflix app for iPhone (and iPod touch), I can look forward to avoiding human interaction throughout my entire day (coverage restrictions apply)! You heard it right, the day has finally come. A new dawn. There’s a new sheriff in town. It’s a whole new…you get the point. The app is particularly helpful for you, dear reader, because you can browse, add to, and watch anything from your instant queue, wherever you have WiFi and 3G access. Yes, even over 3G.

So, you didn’t get grandfathered into the unlimited iPhone data plan? Well, odds are, watching those X-Files episodes in the stall of your work’s bathroom (completely hypothetical situation) can probably add up. No worries. You’re worth it, bro!

Nothing is perfect, and this app is no exception. When using 3G in a weaker signal area (“on AT&T?! I’m incensed!”), such as, say, a bathroom, you may experience a “buffer issue.” It’s annoying, no doubt, but the future isn’t easy. Now, on WiFi, we’re talking serious, pro-level shit here; movies and shows queue up quickly, no buffering, and the iPhone 4’s display is really put to work in a nice way.

If you haven’t downloaded it yet, do so now! It’s free. Get it here.

(Part of the weekly Instant Gratification feature)

Broken Embraces
Run time: 127 min | Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Netflix categorization: Foreign Steamy Romance
Watch Instantly

Mind the gap. It’s been a few weeks, and I’d venture to say: most of you are probably out enjoying the beautiful summer weather and not indoors, nailed to your Rokus and Playstations and internets. No worries, it’s only now beginning to feel like summer in the Bay Area (even if it’s only 2 days worth). But let’s face it, you’re ultimately a recluse (if you bother to read this, I hope), and you probably just prefer to draw the curtains and watch a good movie.

Well, there is nothing better to soothe the summer sweat like an Almodóvar film (or heat you back up). If you weren’t lucky enough to catch Broken Embraces in the theater, it has arrived on Watch Instantly! Hooray. As usual, Pedro (yeah, we’re tight like that) called upon his muse, Penelope Cruz, to deliver a riveting performance around a complex love…square? It wouldn’t be Almodóvar without a thorough examination of the tenuous and dangerous nature of love, sex, and trust.

More…

View the work of photographer Lukasz Wierzbowski. Check out his website and Flickr.

View the work of Austin, TX based photographer Randy Martin.

(Part of the weekly Instant Gratification feature)

Viva La Vacación!

Instant Gratification is on summer vacation in Mexico this week. So, instead of going out to the beach and enjoying life, you should sit indoors with the blinds pulled and watch these Mexican-inspired Watch Instantly treats!

Be back next week.

Duck, You Sucker!
Sergio Leone’s ridiculous heist film involves an IRA demolitions expert hiding out in Mexico (sounds like an A-Team episode) who synchs up with a wily thief in order to rob banks. According to Netflix, this movie is gritty. Indeed!

El Mariachi
Whether you love or hate his films, there is no disputing that El Mariachi, in all of its violent, bloody glory, was a crowning masterpiece (and major influence) that put Robert Rodriguez on the map. If you haven’t seen it yet, you have some serious explaining to do!

Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann edition)
Okay, so this isn’t set in Mexico, but believe it or not, most of the fake town of “Verona Beach” (How did we not think that was incredibly corny 15 years ago?!) was mostly shot in Mexico City. There is really nothing not to love about this movie (Oh, Leo), and it has a killer soundtrack, to boot (not to mention Jamie Kennedy and Paul Rudd!!!).

If they have a STAR by them, it means I’ve heard it and I like it. Album title links go to Amazon and sometimes iTunes. If I miss any good releases, please add them in the comments.)

For all your MP3 needs – you can purchase from iTunes or Amazonusing these links! (please and thank you)

Arcade Fire: The Suburbs [mp3] [vinyl] *
Autolux: Transit Transit [mp3] *
Candy Claws: Hidden Lands [mp3] *
Dash Rip Rock: Call of the Wild
Dax Riggs: Say Goodnight to the World [mp3]
El Ten Eleven: El Ten Eleven [vinyl & mp3]
El-P: Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixxx3 [mp3]
Ferraby Lionheart: The Jack of Hearts [mp3]
Gov’t Mule: Mulennium (remastered) [mp3]
JJ: JJ No. 2 (reissue) [mp3] *
The Magic Numbers: The Runaway [2-CD edition]
Metallica: Re-Load [4-LP vinyl] [2-LP vinyl]
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band: Where The Messengers Meet [mp3] [vinyl]
Poison Arrows: Newfound Resolutions [mp3]
Queens Of The Stone Age: Rated R – Deluxe Edition [mp3]
Shapes and Sizes: Candle to Your Eyes [mp3]
Versus: On the Ones and Threes [mp3] [2-LP vinyl]
Vic Chesnutt: About to Choke [vinyl reissue]
Wavves: King of the Beach [mp3] [vinyl]

(Part of the weekly Instant Gratification feature)

Benny’s Video

Run time: 105 mins | Director: Michael Haneke
Netflix Categorization: Scary, Dark
Watch Now

“My films are intended as polemical statements against the American ‘barrel down’ cinema and its dis-empowerment of the spectator” – Michael Haneke

There aren’t better words to describe Haneke’s films, especially those of the more violent nature like Funny Games and Benny’s Video. While some may chide him for being overly violent just for the sake of it (Funny Games), it would be more important to look at the psychological underpinnings that drive us toward violent or horrific movies. I think Benny, the character, does exactly that.

Benny, a spoiled and seemingly ignored upper class Viennese teenager, is obsessed with watching violent videos. He spends countless hours in his room (which is probably decked out with more video equipment than an editing room at VH1) watching and re-watching videos like that of a brutal slaughter of a pig on his family’s farm. Beyond the videos, his other activities seem to revolve around trying to master a pyramid scheme his sister enacted, barely speaking, watching war footage, and listening to really shitty metal. Typical teenage shit?

After his parents go away for the weekend, Benny visits his local video store and encounters a teenage girl (their interaction has no audio). After returning with her to his crib, she examines his bizarre video setup (he has two video cameras recording both outside his window and a corner of his bedroom, respectively) and the two engage in a little “foreplay.” And by foreplay, I mean, Benny pulls out the bolt-action mechanism that slaughtered the pig in his favorite video and holds it to his body. The video footage toggles to Benny’s recording and the mood grows tense. Benny urges the girl to pull the trigger, but she won’t (how’s that for a first date). Watching via Benny’s video (get it?) makes the scene somehow distant, but not at all far away. “Feigling!” he cries (Coward!) and he points it at her. Benny hesitates and won’t pull the trigger, but this time, she calls him the coward.

More…