Top Five Movies of Kelly Macdonald

I?m not sure about you, but I think there is something to the methods of the madness behind the machinations of Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix. Admittedly, the way he does things is right stupid (I?m easing myself into a poor interpretation of the ol? brogue to prepare for today?s essay on Kelly Macdonald) and some of his views on the end game for his business are bollocks, but he is right on one thing. Netflix?s focus on TV makes a lot of sense. Shows like Kelly?s ?State of Play? from the BBC (not yet available on instant), ?Downton Abbey? and ?Parks and Recreation? make perfect choices to watch for the first time or watch again using Netflix. It?s like syndication on demand. Why look around for a channel showing ?30 Rock? when you can choose the specific episodes you want to watch and in the order you want to watch them? That?s smart business.

The lovely Kelly MacDonald

(Quick digression, let?s get to the discussion of Reed Hastings and his other less than brilliant moves. First, DVDs are not going away for a while. Why mess with that cash cow when you have a virtual monopoly on the market? Yes, some people watch 30 movies a month. Still, with?$0.44 per movie in postage, at most that?s $13.20 a month. That?s only 55% of the 3 DVD per month plan, and that type of user can?t be that common. It?s like Apple saying, the iPhone is so cool, we?re going to stop making Mac computers. Second, transforming your business into a TV channel? Have you seen the fractured audiences? Do you really think ad dollars are going to be better than all of your subscription fees? Can a TV channel of Netflix differentiate itself from AMC, TCM, USA or even The History Channel? Third, getting rid of movies to show ALL television shows is short sighted. Just like sometimes people want a comedy or a drama, sometimes they want a bite-sized TV show, sometimes they want a movie and sometimes they want to watch 8 hours of a TV show straight. Variety is good and I bet there are plenty of cheap movies out there to show considering an almost 100 year history of the art form. Yes, I?m sure internet regulation and price hikes from the studios play a part, but with the market share of Netflix, there are ways to make it work. Just to have an outlet for ?syndication? for one or two seasons worth of TV shows makes sense for production companies looking for revenue streams to offset costs. End of digression.)

Where was I? Oh, right governor, I eventually wanted to talk about Kelly and her part in ?State of Play.? I love ?The Wire? and I think the fifth season only pales when you compare it to the first four seasons of the show. But, if you want a show about the newspaper industry, ?State of Play? is your show and Kelly is a big reason for that. Coming up this Friday, you can see her in ?The Decoy Bride,? but you can also see her in these five pretty wonderful movies as well.

5. Finding Neverland

I hate to put this on Kelly?s list as she just appears as ?Peter Pan,? but I like the movie so much that I have to do it. I also think this movie may mark the last time we get to watch the non-hammy Johnny Depp.

4. Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story

If you liked ?The Trip,? ?Adaptation? or ?Synecdoche, New York,? you?ll like this movie within a movie starring Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan and Kelly. (I?m probably starting something by not saying Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon and Kelly. Goodness knows I should never say Kelly, Gillian Anderson and two guys that do Michael Caine impersonations.)

3. Gosford Park

Robert Altman directed this movie and Kelly stars in it. If you need more, refer back to Emily Watson.

2. No Country for Old Men

I?ll admit this is the best movie of the bunch. Great source material, great actors and the movie looks fantastic. Why is it not #1? Read on and find out.

1. Trainspotting

Beautiful people like Kelly and Ewan McGregor having sex after a night out in the midst of other stories of sex after a night of drinking just makes a fantastic series of memorable scenes. That, and I saw this movie in downtown Dublin and that?s some serious bonus points for setting.

Agree? Disagree? Which movies would make your Kelly Macdonald top five?