Welcome to The Streaming Report for May 15, 2014. After the long week you deserve a relaxing staycation with a bowl of popcorn, a bucket of ice cream, and only your Netflix queue to judge you. This past week, Netflix Watch Instant has been kind enough to supply us with Much Ado About Nothing, Pain & Gain, Free Birds, TED Talks, and more, which you’ll find out if you should watch ’em after the break.

Much Ado About Nothing (2012) (Joss Whedon) A modern retelling of Shakespeare’s classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words. Starring Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Fran Kranz, Clark Gregg, and Nathan Fillion

Once you get past the jarring Shakespearian speak, Joss Whedon’s adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing is a timeless classic. The fact that he was able to film this in 12 days is astonishing. Credit should be given to the phenomenal cast. This is a fun, light-hearted feature that any follower of Whedon or Shakespeare will enjoy. (Watch it now)

Pain & Gain (Michael Bay) A trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Ed Harris, Tony Shaloub, Rebel Wilson, and Bar Paly

If you missed this intimate Michael Bay gem, now is the best opportunity to take in the madness. Pain & Gain is completely silly, and full of the dumbest, most colorful characters you’ll ever witness. Not saying the actors are dumb, they’re actually really fun to watch; this whole movie focuses on the real life story of three morons who thought they could get away with petty crime. It definitely wasn’t worth your time in theaters, but this is a great, shut off your brain feature for the home. (Watch it now)

Free Birds (Jimmy Hayward) Two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history – and get turkey off the holiday menu for good. Starring Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Dan Fogler, and Amy Poehler

This movie is terrible. I’m only promoting it so you can avoid it… Or you can push play and let your kids brains melt while you do some chores around the house.

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (Daniel Farrands and Andrew Kasch)  Explore the origins of “dream demon” Freddy Krueger in this award-winning documentary that takes you behind the scenes of the most frightening and imaginative horror franchise in motion picture history! Starring Heather Langenkamp, Wes Craven, and Robert Englund

I’m a big fan of the original Elm Street and Dream Warriors, but the rest of them are pretty meh. The remake is a big turd (my review), but this is an interesting documentary to check out for all the horror geeks out there. (Watch it now)

TED Talks (Richard Saul Wurman) TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan “ideas worth spreading”. TED was founded in 1984 as a one-off event. The annual conference began in 1990, in Monterey, California.

I’ve never indulged in TED Talks before. I feel if I do, I would get sucked in and crawl out of my room five years from now. But if you would like to explore the cultural experience that is TED Talks now’s your chance! Here’s a list of the recent uploads:

• TED Talks: Sex, Secrets & Love
• TEDTalks: Ancient Clues
• TEDTalks: Beasts, Bugs & Bio-wilderment
• TEDTalks: Building Wonder
• TEDTalks: Chew On This
• TEDTalks: Global Villages
• TEDTalks: Numbers Speak Louder than Words
• TEDTalks: On Life’s Lessons & Confessions
• TEDTalks: Rad Invention
• TEDTalks: Rebel Design
• TEDTalks: Robotic Machinations
• TEDTalks: Smart Laughs
• TEDTalks: Space Trek
• TEDTalks: The Capitalism Paradox

What will you be watching this weekend?

Look forward to more new titles from The Streaming Report every Thursday on TTRC. We hope you enjoy!

You can follow me on the Twitter @TyRawrrnosaurus

All plot synopses courtesy of IMDb.com