World's Greatest Dad (2009, R)

This stars Robin Williams (Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting) as a high school English teacher, aspiring author, and single father of a complete and utter douchebag son.  The son (among his numerous issues) is into auto-erotic asphyxiation, which means that he likes to choke himself (with a belt in this case) while he masturbates.  Now, I try not to be judgemental, but I don't like the kid to begin with, and he didn't take basic safety precautions (here's my public service announcement: if you're going to choke your neck while you choke your chicken, you should always do it with someone there to assist if you're in danger of actual death... kind of like a spotter for when you're lifting weights).  The son accidentally dies while doing this and the father makes it look like a suicide (rearranges the body, writes a note) to spare... well... everyone: the son, the father, and the community.  Then we get to see how this impacts the father, the school and the community/society.  It's actually pretty poignant, if difficult to watch.

Out Of Sight (1998, R)

This fun caper flick stars George Clooney (Ocean's Eleven, ER tv series) and Jennifer Lopez (The Cell, Maid In Manhattan... c'mon, JLo the signer, you know who she is), supported by Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible, Striptease), Don Cheadle (Iron Man 2, Hotel Rwanda), and Dennis Farina (Snatch, Get Shorty).  Clooney plays a career bank robber who has spent a good chunk of his life behind bars (as have his criminal associates Rhames and Cheadle, friend and less-so respectively) and JLo plays a federal marshal (presumably her father, played by Farina, is a veteran himself) who meets him under strange circumstances.  While the lead actors have disappointed me in the past (Lopez in Gili, Clooney in Batman And Robin), they did great jobs here.  Lopez was far more believable as a tough girl in here than in Gili, though my favorite film of hers (despite her) is The Cell which I absolutely loved largely for the costumes, set design and special effects.  Bit of a tangent there, sorry.  I don't think I've ever been disappointed by the supporting actors though: Rhames was the best part of Striptease, which was itself better than I expected it to be; Farina is one of the (many, now that I think about it) most memorable characters in Snatch; Cheadle (like everyone else in the film), acted his ass of in Crash.

Galaxy Of Terror (1981, R)

At the time of this writing, Galaxy Of Terror is not available on Netflix Instant, but I liked it so much I want to put it out there anyway.  In several ways, it's a combination of Alien and Hellraiser (two franchises that I get a real kick out of).  It's a future sci-fi/horror tale about a rescue team that is trying to see if there are any survivors at this one outpost with which the Imperial central has lost contact.  We know from the opening sequence that the original crew was killed off by some weird-looking creatures.  The rescue crew has several faces you might recognize from other films or shows: Ray Walston (My Favorite Martian tv series, Fast Times At Ridgemont High), Erin Moran (Happy Days, Joanie Loves Chachi tv series), Robert Englund (Zombie Strippers!, Nightmare On Elm Street [fun fact: it's based on the Elm St in the town in which I grew up]), Sid Haig (House Of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects), Grace Zabriskie (Twin Peaks tv series). 

Zabriskie plays a reckless hotshot pilot, a role almost necessary for any good pulpy space-jocky story, but this time the role is filled by a middling-age woman for a change of pace.  I liked that the dialogue gives insight that this story takes place in a greater universe (Haig's character uses some crystal glaives and indicates that they are a tied to his culture; the field commander indicates that there is an ongoing power struggle with another crew member).