#FIRSTLOOK: KEVIN SPACEY DELICIOUSLY EVIL IN NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES “HOUSE OF CARDS”

The face of Television is changing and also how we consume it.  As a Kid I remember my Mom driving us to the few Chinese Shopping Malls that existed in Scarborough and she`d rent the latest TV Series from Hong Kong by-the-block.  Basically, with the exception of stopping to eat Dinner in the Kitchen, we`d spend weekends zipping through the VHS Tapes in a mad rush to get them back to the Rental Shop by Monday to avoid late fees. Trust me, we were a Family of six on a budget. Every dollar counted. What Netflix has done here not only is assume the role of Rental Shop, but they`ve also replaced by Mom`s Chrysler Plymouth by bringing the Series right into our homes and at once play the role of  the Television Network on which the Series aired.

I was one of the few lucky members of the Media who got invited to a Private Screening in the basement of a posh Hotel in Toronto, wooed with Cocktails, Appetizers and Candy in hopes possibly of helping create a bit of buzz for Netflix`s latest original Series, House of Cards.  The fact of the matter though is that the Series not only is groundbreaking from a business model standpoint, but legitimately it is Awards-worthy good.  It has been confirmed that the Series would be eligible to compete for an EMMY, but the Golden Globes still are a bit of a gray area.  Will the Hollywood Foreign Press Association incorporate Internet-based Television into their voting criteria? We`ll soon see.  Regardless, House of Cards is a Game Changer and times are a changing indeed.

Oscar-winning  Kevin Spacey teams once again with Visionary Director David Fincher after some outstanding results with 2011`s The Social Network. The former serves as both Actor and Executive Producer, while the latter of course helms this Adaptation of the British Series of the same name. Spacey is deliciously bad as Congressman Frank Underwood, with an insatiable desire to take-down the President after he is passed for the position of Secretary of State.  One by one, this House of Cards crumbles as he beguiles  his way up, revealing his inner most secret thoughts and desires in a Shakespearean-like (often funny) Soliloquies.  Equally ferocious is the chilly Robin Wright as Frank`s Wife Claire –  meticulous and manipulative.   Kate Mara (Sister of Rooney) is a true revelation after showing flashes of promise in American Horror Story, playing a young Reporter for a top Washington Newspaper who aggressively pushes  her way to Frank, gaining unparalleled access to information which of course drives her more tenured Colleagues crazy.  Theatre Star Corey Stoll also is unconventionally hot as a corrupt Congressman on the edge of downfall with several of his  shocking vices.

Netflix Canada releases the complete first Season of House of Cards on Friday, February 1, 2013.  Yes, the entire Season in one shot.

Click here for more details and to watch the Trailer.

Enter to win a free six-month Membership to Netflix Canada right here!

(Photo credit: Netflix)