A warm welcome to what might well be the best week we’ve yet had here at This Week On Demand. Where usually the latest crop of new streaming releases represents something of a mixed blessing, offering a large field of bad movies among which the vague hopes of hidden greatness may lie, this week has a startling ratio of masterpieces standing out, no fewer than one in three titles below deserving of that prestigious title. With one of those four thus far only having accumulated 9 votes on IMDb, it’s fair to say we have on our hands a vastly underseen gem, as well as a perfect blend of varying styles for all sorts of film fans; with animation, documentary world cinema, and American independent all represented with some of the finest offerings available to them, this is as good a selection as we’re ever likely to get.

As ever, the aftermath of the monthly barrage leaves us with a shorter stock of new arrivals, though this time among them many gems lie. It’s the usual crop of independent titles and foreign imports, with a nice focus on newer releases, most of which saw the light of day for the first time only this year. It’s a week in which romances rule the roost, so prepare to lay your sensitive side bare and embrace the love.

Carrying on from yesterday’s half of this week’s coverage, today’s 18 titles comprise perhaps an even finer selection of cinematic treats, with further classics from the Roger Corman stable, a one-two punch of Bruce Willis sci-fi, moving dramatic documentaries, more ventures into the wild world of Woody Allen, and classic genre outings aplenty. If none of that suits your tastes… well there might just be no hope for you.

Where last week’s lacklustre assortment of cheap horrors, disposable dramas, and facile comedies left me struggling to decide on a film of the week I could even imagine ever watching again, this week sees us flooded with a sea of quality, a vast ocean of cinematic excellence to dive into. Don’t get me wrong: herein you’ll find a few clunkers, but for the most part this week’s crop is great news for Netflix subscribers. It’s hardly surprising that there should be so many good things to check out though; with in excess of 150 titles released over the last seven days, there’s sure to be a plentiful supply of good viewing material. As ever the need to eat and sleep has stood in the way of full coverage, but I’ve managed to work my way through 35 of the latest titles, 17 of which are presented below for your pleasure. Expect the remaining 18 tomorrow, I’m sure you won’t have run out before then.

Once again we find ourselves at the mercy of Netflix’s problems with pacing themselves. Next week sees a massive amount of titles hitting our virtual shelves, including plenty I’ll be sure to gush praise over with excited aplomb. This week, however, we’re served a bland dish of cinematic gruel with only the slightest touches of flavour. Even my choice for film of the week is one you could live without seeing, unfortunately, making this week—and thus this article, and all the precious time that went into it—utterly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. If only I’d known that seven days ago. See you next week.

An unusually high quality week supplies us with only one real clunker, everything else interesting…

One of the great things about the vast melange of cinema that each new week…

A good week for documentaries and foreign cinema brings a broad mixture of genres for all tastes, everything from horror to romance, comedy to drama contained herewith. It’s also a week particularly friendly to old Oscar, counting a grand total of three Best Picture nominees and a handful of other wins and nominations. With titles ranging from 1940 to 2012, it’s nice to see such a wide selection added to our virtual shelves; I’m sure you’ll find something to suit you whatever mood you find yourself in.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. It was sure to happen at some point that This Week on Demand would find itself lost for something great to recommend, but did it have to happen so soon? A notably dull seven days offers us now precious little in the way of quality cinema, the majority of titles below listed at best dull, at worst brain-numbingly awful. Of course, you can always take a trip back to previous instalments to catch up on whatever you might have missed should you be as underwhelmed as I by the dirge of mediocrity this week has feebly proffered. There are some redeeming entrants though, as ever, this week’s two distinct highlights documentaries focusing on the world of art. Trust Martin Scorsese to rescue us in our time of need, eh?