QUEUE THIS!

I'm back with another round of five movie suggestions for your Netflix queue.  No real theme this week, just some good films, and a tv series, that I think are worth checking out.  Let's get queueing!

Top of the Lake (dir Jane Campion, 2013)  Netflix says: "When pregnant, 12-year-old Tui tries to kill herself in a freezing New Zealand lake, Detective Robin Griffin has plenty of questions for the girl. But when Tui suddenly disappears, Griffin finds herself knee-deep in small-town secrets. With Elisabeth Moss and Holly Hunter."  I was really surprised to see this premium series from The Sundance Channel on Netflix so quickly (I hope that's a new trend!).  The great Jane Campion together with the great Elisabeth Moss and Holly Hunter-- I cannot wait to start watching this!

Friends with Kids (dir Jennifer Westfeldt, 2011)  Netflix says: "Best friends Jason (Adam Scott) and Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) decide that the way to have kids without sacrificing their social lives or careers is to raise a child together platonically. But romance and other complications interfere with their perfect plan. With Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Kristen Wiig, Jon Hamm, Megan Fox and Edward Burns."  I love this cast!  And I liked this movie because it stayed clear of most of the over-the-top RomCom tropes that have ruined this genre for me over the last several years.  It's not perfect, but I appreciate that it takes a more realistic approach that I can actually relate to...and it has my dream cast.  Did I mention how great the cast is? 

Tiny Furniture (dir Lena Dunham, 2010)  Netflix says: "When twentysomething Aura returns home after college to live with her artist mother in TriBeCa, she confronts a long list of personal and professional failures and wonders whether her dismal past will become her future."  In case you've been living under a rock and you're still unclear about how Lena Dunham came to be, I highly recommend watching the film that catapulted her to creator/writer/director/star of the HBO series "Girls." 

The Dish & the Spoon (dir Alison Bagnall, 2011)  Netflix says: "Reeling with rage after learning of her husband's infidelity, Rose (Greta Gerwig) departs for Delaware to find the other woman. But once she arrives, she shifts her focus to an unexpected romance with a teenage boy."  Alison just completed a successful Kickstarter campaign for her new film FUNNY BUNNY, so it might be a good idea to check out this sweet indie dramedy of hers before that one's done.

Monsoon Wedding (dir Mira Nair, 2001)  Netflix says: "As the monsoon rains loom in this romantic drama, Lalit Verma (Naseeruddin Shah) and his extended family reunite for the last-minute arranged marriage of his daughter Aiditi (Vasundhara Das) in New Delhi. But long-guarded secrets threaten to tear the family apart. As wedding preparations proceed, five stories intersect, highlighting different aspects of love and crossing boundaries of class and continent."  Ms. Nair's new film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, hits theaters soon, so why not familiarize yourself with this lively early film by the famed director.  Great music and dancing!

QUEUE THIS! is a weekly post by Destri Martino that appears on the Broad Humor Blog every Thursday morning.  The goal of the post is to get more women-directed films in Netflix queues in order to make a sizable impact on Netflix analytics and buying patterns; thus, getting more films by women directors distributed and seen, and generally heightening awareness about this often overlooked pool of talent.  View the past two QUEUE THIS! posts here and here.