inside LOVEFiLM

It’s finally upon us: A gem of a long weekend in honour of the Queen’s diamond jubilee. Four happy and glorious days of leisure time in which to wave the flag and toast Her Maj, perhaps partake in a bunting-clad street party, that kind of thing. The best thing about the double-whammy bank holiday is that it also gives you ample opportunity to catch up on some me-time, to get a bit of R&R when otherwise you’d be slaving away at work. Here are some of the fantastic films and TV shows for you to veg out in front of over the coming days, all available to stream instantly as part of your package.

We’ve just added a huge selection of titles that cover all tastes and styles. For the action junkie we’ve got the crazy sword-swinging romp Highlander – Endgame, Christian Bale in futuristic Equilibrium and Jackie Chan’s classic Rumble in the Bronx. If you prefer your action with a comic book flavour we’ve got the brilliant Sin City, and Tarantino’s epic Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2. And speaking of Tarantino, we’ve also got the excellent but often overlooked Jackie Brown.

If it’s horror you’re after, we have Scream, Scream 2 and Scream 3, and the spoof Scary Movie 1, 2 and 3. There’s also Hellraiser – Hellseeker and Hellraiser – Inferno, as well as a selection of Dracula films (Dracula 2001, Dracula II and Dracula III) and a bunch of Halloween movies (Twenty Years Later, The Curse of Michael Myers and Resurrection).

Other, perhaps more sedate highlights include Leonardo DiCaprio and his Spruce Goose in The Aviator; Johnny Depp melting hearts in Chocolat and making believe in Finding Neverland; musical smash hit Chicago; George Clooney’s directorial debut Confessions of a Dangerous Mind; and Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Robin Williams in the fantastic Good Will Hunting.

When it comes to great content that has recently been added to LOVEFiLM Instant, it’s not just well known classics that we’ve got our hands on. We’ve also good some superb new films too. From 2010 we’ve got Emma Thompson and Ralph Fiennes in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang; Jude Law and Forest Whitaker in Repo Men; and far too many A-Listers to mention in Valentine’s Day. From 2011 it’s all about thrills and chills with Hostel 3 and Kill List, two films you may or may not want to watch on your own late at night!

If it’s not newly added stuff you’re after, maybe it’s pin-sharp clarity you want. Well, with our new HD service we’ve got some stunning films available to brighten your bank holiday, including Son of Rambow, RED, Attack the Block, Gnomeo and Juliet, TT – Closer to the Edge, Twilight – Eclipse, In the Loop, Apocalypse Now Redux and loads more. We’ve got HD TV too, with the likes of Ghost Whisperer; Hope and Faith; Brothers and Sisters; Planet Earth… And best of all, we have extended our license of Lost for another six months, and that’s in HD too!

So when it comes to your Jubilee viewing, you’re definitely spoilt for choice. And if you just can’t get enough of the Queen, you could do a lot worse than this!

Here in the LOVEFiLM office, I’m surrounded by extremely fit people. Content Manager Jen Trevorrow ran a half-marathon last weekend. Digital Assistant Rich Turner is doing the London Marathon in April. And Senior Commercial Manager Rob Hanlon has decided it would be fun to cycle from London to Paris. Madness!

So I am embarking on a marathon of my own: a Blackadder marathon!

I know – what AM I thinking?! Can any man really survive 12 gruelling hours of searing put-downs, cunning plans, Melchett BAAAAAs, Queenie beheadings? Why would anyone even attempt such a thing? Well, because they’re there – all four series of Blackadder, plus, as a warmdown, Blackadder’s Christmas Carol, are available on LOVEFiLM Instant right now.

These running types will tell you marathons are infectious, addictive even. Which apparently explains why some crazy individuals can’t leave it at just 26 miles. They do it again and again. And then up the ante with a coast-to-coast, or the full length of the Ridgeway in 24 hours, or the Thames path from source to barrier in a week.

Perhaps I’ll begin to feel the same as I go through my training- starting with Wallace and Gromit’s Cracking Contraptions. Surely anyone can breeze through all 10 two minute episodes without breaking a sweat? All being well, it’ll be straight on into the 13 ten minute episodes of The Morph Files.

And then, time to get serious. Ploughing through Derren Brown’s Mind Control and Trick of the Mind episodes should help in hurdling those mental barriers to come. Then, to instil in myself of the power of mankind’s potential, all of Human Planet. If we’ve come this far over thousands of years, that Blackadder marathon is just another step along the way.

But, if the marathoner’s ‘addiction’ does indeed take hold, what then?

Jeeves and Wooster is, in my opinion, TV perfection. Sitting through all 22 episodes on LOVEFiLM Instant will last 18 and a half hours or so.

After that, Inspector Morse. All 33 mysteries, at an hour and a quarter per episode, will take nearly two and a half days. Without wee breaks.

And finally, the do or die challenge. The Everest. The Pole (I am just watching TV and may be some time)… Lost.

121 episodes. At least 40 minutes each. With feature-length specials. That’s about 90 hours. Or nearly four days, non-stop, from start to finish.

I’m going for it. Time to open a JustGiving account…

Rob Holloway, Senior Content Manager – Devices

The end of the Cold War was, by and large, a good thing. Finally, the US and Russia could stop comparing the size of their nuclear warheads, and Europe – stuck in the middle – was able to relax a bit. Countries to the east of München found freedom to grow, trade and host stag weekends. And the Eurovision Song Contest became an annual lesson in European co-operation and/or conflict.

But the fall of the iron curtain was not all positive. Aside from the boost to David Hasselhoff’s music career (which is possibly reason enough to put the wall back up), an entire literary genre lost its home.

I’m sure there are still spies sneaking about all over the world, but they’re not confirming that “in winter, the badger and the mole sleep side by side” in Leningrad, and frankly, it’s just not right. Today’s spy writers have to set their adventures in the Middle East, Africa, China, Mars… anywhere other than Russia or Berlin.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, written in 1974, has no such concerns. Entrenched in the deepest traditions of espionage and the frigid hostilities between East and West, the novel and subsequent BBC mini-series were hugely popular, and the new film, out in cinemas from 16th September, looks set fair too. We certainly loved it and you can read our review here.

What is certain is that Tomas Alfredson put together a stellar cast. It’s a real Who’s Who of British talent, from hot new stars (Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch) through to those in their prime (Colin Firth, Mark Strong) and all-time movie legends (John Hurt and Gary Oldman). With this in mind, here’s a collection of films featuring the Tinker, Tailor cast that you can stream on the LOVEFiLM service.

Gary Oldman plays Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious in punk rock biopic Sid and Nancy, which also features Kathy Burke, while Mark Strong and Simon McBurney star in Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies, a tense thriller also set in the shady world of international intelligence.

Oldman turns up in several other titles in the collection including Air Force One, Track 29, The Backwoods and even as the narrator on the superb Italia ’90 documentary, One Night in Turin. Strong can be seen in Revolver, Flashbacks of a Fool, Sunshine and Jane Austen’s Emma. And Toby Jones appears in The Mist, W., Rembrandt’s J’Accuse and The Painted Veil.

Multiple-award winners John Hurt and Colin Firth feature in titles like A Single Man, The Proposition, The Plague Dogs, The Shout, The Hit, Relative Values… the list goes on and on!

You can find them all in our Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Cast collection. But remember, if you’re caught streaming loads of great films while you should be doing something vital around the house… we never had this conversation. Right?

Rob Holloway, Senior Content Manager – left to his own Devices, he probably would.

Back when I was a lad (and all this was just fields, etc etc), the summer holidays seemed to last for ever. It never rained, nor did I ever get bored. We’d while away those lazy days building tree houses, fishing for sticklebacks, befriending dolphins, that kind of thing. Ah, the memories…

Of course, the reality doesn’t quite match up to the kind of rose-tinted fabrication I’ll gleefully bore my grandkids with one day. Pretty much all I can recall of those days is collapsing out of bed after my parents had gone to work and spending hours watching the likes of Inspector Gadget, He-Man, and – of course – Why Don’t You? on TV.

I’m sure things are much the same for today’s youth, perhaps with more gangsta rap and less Roland Rat. But while we had to make do with the BBC and ITV’s meagre offerings, nowadays kids are spoilt for choice, and the LOVEFiLM streaming service has plenty to offer.

For little ‘uns (and perhaps some nostalgic parents too), we’ve got truckloads of Thomas and Friends, a positive plethora of Pingu, a barrelful of Bob the Builder and Barney, plus a fair few Fireman Sam episodes. In addition to that, we have all ten episodes of the wonderful Wallace and Gromit’s Cracking Contraptions.

We’ve got some excellent animated films to amuse and excite the whole family including Hoodwinked and Arthur and the Invisibles (both of which boast all-star ensembles providing the voices), an alternative take on a fairytale classic in The Ugly Duckling and Me, and the surreal genius that is The Spongebob Squarepants Movie.

The adventures don’t end there. Older children – as well as adults of all ages – are spoilt for choice. We’ve got all three classic Neverending Story movies, adrenalin-fuelled action in Speed Racer, plus Nancy Drew, March of the Penguins, 80s sci-fi comedy Innerspace… the list just goes on and on!

Actually, come to think of it, forget plonking the kids down in front of you PS3™ or internet-connected Sony or Samsung TV, push them out the front door and force them to get some fresh air. It’s not healthy for them to be cooped up inside all day. Not when there’s so much quality family viewing for the grown-ups to enjoy!

Rob Holloway, Senior Content Manager – Devices

It’s comforting to know that life tends to find its own natural equilibrium.  I’ve spent the last few weekends meeting, first of all, a couple of eight-week-old kittens, and then seven days later, a baby less than a fortnight into his new life outside the womb.

All this cooing and tickling and cuddling and playing isn’t good for a man. So it was with some relief that a few days ago I got to see the new zombie/vampire crossover Stake Land which is out in cinemas now (and you can read our review here). The words “cute”, “sweet” and “fluffy” are most definitely not part of this movie’s vocabulary. If you liked 28 Days Later you’ll love Stake Land, and even if blood and the undead aren’t your usual cup of tea, there’s much to admire, particularly how they’ve managed to squeeze so much movie out of such a small budget.

In honour of Stake Land, I’ve pulled together a selection of the great zombie movies available to stream on your PS3™ or internet-connected Sony or Samsung TV.  The Zombie Invasion collection is full of classics (The Evil Dead, Braindead, Night of the Living Dead, other titles with the word “dead”), plus some films you might not have heard of.  Bolt your front door, close your curtains tight and get some gore!  And, in the spirit of balance and equilibrium, we’ll have a vampires collection for you very soon too.

Also new on the streaming devices this week is our Best Bollywood collection. It’s well known that Indian cinema is a thriving business, but if you’re unfamiliar with the product of all this effort and talent, we’ve picked out the best that Bollywood has to offer – ranging from gritty thrillers and comedy to the more traditional romantic musicals.

And we’ve added some top titles this week, all available as part of your package (if you’re on at least a £5.99 subscription).  Denzel Washington struts his stuff in the hugely popular Training Day, and things get steamy in the kitchen for Catherine Zeta Jones in No Reservations.  If classic comedy is more your thing,Emilio Estevez and Samuel L. Jackson spoof it up in National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon, while – in the aftermath of Rory McIlroy’s triumph in the US Open – you can see how Kevin Costner got on in Tin Cup. And finally, if ever there was a movie to see before you die, The Bucket List starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman is surely it.

Rob Holloway, Senior Content Manager – Devices