"Mad Men" coming to Netflix Instant

This is some big news. The first four seasons of the hit Golden Globe-winning AMC series "Mad Men" is coming to the Netflix Instant Queue.

"Mad Men" is one of my favorite shows, and this was only solidified by season four being possibly the best season of a TV series I've ever seen. It's been awful that AMC is holding back the release of season five until 2012, but this will hopefully hold me over until then.

For those unfamiliar with the show, it centers around a 1960's advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City and gives insight into how things were run at that time through various social constructs such as gender, racial and marital roles.

Through characters such as Donald Draper (Jon Hamm), Roger Sterling (John Slattery) and Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), we see this "old boys club" broken down and forcefully evolved by strong female characters such as up and comer Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) and Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks).

The unique thing about "Mad Men" is the way the show is more about character development than it is about any kind of ongoing plot (don't worry there is a plot though). But to see the way these beautifully played characters change and grow right in front of the audience is masterful and really shouldn't be missed.

So check out "Mad Men" on Netflix starting July 27 and catch up before the next historical season comes out in 2012, or to just relive one of probably the most important television shows in recent history. The only drawback is you may become so obsessed, every advertisement you see will make you think, "Would Don Draper like this?"

Mahalo

Movie Night Pick of the Week: "The Big Lebowski"

For three years I worked at Blockbuster Video. It wasn't a great job, but it provided me many opportunities to watch great films, which I love to do.

The best part of my job though was giving movie recommendations to customers when they were looking for the right feature for their movie night. It was great to spread my love of movies and recommend little-known, but great films and then have the person come back praising my choice.

It is with this in mind that I decided to post a weekly "Movie Night Pick" of an old gem that many may have not seen, but should. So here goes.

Sometimes there's a man that's just right for his time and place. And that man is The Dude.

"The Big Lebowski" is the cult classic from the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, and is their take on the detective noir genre, albeit with a slacker instead of a suave detective.

Rife with comedy genius, "The Big Lebowski" puts The Dude, played perfectly by Jeff Bridges, and his friend Walter, a never better John Goodman, on a hunt to find the kidnappers of young trophy wife, married to a man with the same name as The Dude.

It is for all intents and purposes a mystery comedy, so I won't unravel any more of the plot. But if tonight you're trying to figure out what to watch, enjoy great directing, acting, a killer soundtrack featuring CCR, Bob Dylan and many more, then you must immediately rent, buy or steal "The Big Lebowski". It will really tie your evening together.

Mahalo