Streaming Recommendations (Netflix, HBO, Amazon, etc.)

September 20th, 2020 at 11:41:17 AM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: Evenbob
Netflix has lost 9 billion dollars since they released Cuties.


As a loud backlash against the Netflix release Cuties mounts online, the streaming service has issued a strong defense of its new film.


https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/09/netflix-defends-cuties-backlash
“Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children,” a spokesperson for Netflix said in a statement to media outlets on Thursday. “It’s an award-winning film and a powerful story about the pressure young girls face on social media and from society more generally growing up—and we’d encourage anyone who cares about these important issues to watch the movie.”

Cuties, a coming-of-age drama that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, has been besieged by controversy since last month. That’s when Netflix announced its release plans for the film with a poster showing the young girls who star in Cuties posed provocatively while wearing revealing dance outfits. The film’s description also caused a disturbance. “Amy, 11, becomes fascinated with a twerking dance crew. Hoping to join them, she starts to explore her femininity, defying her family’s traditions,” the original Netflix summary read at the time.
...


Sometimes you wonder how "Lolita" was released in 1962 (Sue Lyon was age 14 when the picture was filmed). However, in some sense it caused less hysteria than it would today.
September 20th, 2020 at 12:10:18 PM permalink
Dalex64
Member since: Mar 8, 2014
Threads: 3
Posts: 3687
Just watched "Maniac" on Netflix. It is about people in a technology-aided drug study. Two of them end up experiencing things together.

Society is a bit retro, a bit futuristic, and a bit dystopian. At times it is quite bizarre.

Liked it.
"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." Daniel Patrick Moynihan
September 21st, 2020 at 2:51:19 AM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: Dalex64
Just watched "Maniac" on Netflix. It is about people in a technology-aided drug study. Two of them end up experiencing things together.


Maniac got very good reviews when it was released two years ago. It's listed as a comedy-drama or "dark comedy" based on a Norwegian television series.

The cast is composed of people who normally are in feature films: Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, Justin Theroux, Sonoya Mizuno, Gabriel Byrne, and Sally Field.

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With Tenet having domestic box office of $36 million and international box office of $203 million, Wonder Woman 1984 has been moved to Christmas. It looks like the feature film business is out of action for a long time. We may even see Chris Nolan releasing on streaming service.

US Covid deaths were going down in June, but since restrictions were lifted the death rate has been going back up.

US COVID deaths per day
109 Mar
1864 Apr
1427 May
721 Jun
864 Jul
1000 Aug
809 Sep

In 1918 October became the deadliest month in American history with death rates between 6000 and 7000 per day.
September 22nd, 2020 at 11:04:04 AM permalink
terapined
Member since: Aug 6, 2014
Threads: 73
Posts: 11786
Quote: Pacomartin
As a loud backlash against the Netflix release Cuties mounts online, the streaming service has issued a strong defense of its new film.

If there is a backlash
Its pretty small
After I sold my house over a month ago, bought 5 shares of netflix at 486.00 a share for a long term hold
Still holding all its value and up a bit :-) Currently 490 a share
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own - Grateful Dead "Eyes of the World"
September 22nd, 2020 at 3:59:44 PM permalink
Gandler
Member since: Aug 15, 2019
Threads: 27
Posts: 4236
I am watching "The Widow" on Amazon Prime right now.

I watched it in 2019 when it was first released, and I remeber liking it (but don't remeber the details so I wanted to watch it again). It's a great show/mini-series, lots of great actors and suspenseful.

I remeber being disappointed in the ending, but maybe I was just expecting something else (perhaps my view will change on the second watching).
September 23rd, 2020 at 4:04:41 PM permalink
aceofspades
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 83
Posts: 2019
Quote: Gandler
I am watching "The Widow" on Amazon Prime right now.

I watched it in 2019 when it was first released, and I remeber liking it (but don't remeber the details so I wanted to watch it again). It's a great show/mini-series, lots of great actors and suspenseful.

I remeber being disappointed in the ending, but maybe I was just expecting something else (perhaps my view will change on the second watching).


Thank you for this suggestion - between last night and today, I binged The Widow

I thought it was good, not great

A couple of twists but, on the whole, they were predictable (the lesbian affair outcome)

But, worth a watch
September 23rd, 2020 at 4:05:26 PM permalink
aceofspades
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 83
Posts: 2019
A few of my friends, knowing I am not into the superhero genre, finally convinced me to watch The Boys on Amazon
I made it halfway through the first episode and turned it off, not for me
September 23rd, 2020 at 4:28:03 PM permalink
Dalex64
Member since: Mar 8, 2014
Threads: 3
Posts: 3687
Quote: aceofspades
A few of my friends, knowing I am not into the superhero genre, finally convinced me to watch The Boys on Amazon
I made it halfway through the first episode and turned it off, not for me

I made it to the end of the first episode, and watched no more.
"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." Daniel Patrick Moynihan
September 23rd, 2020 at 6:44:32 PM permalink
Gandler
Member since: Aug 15, 2019
Threads: 27
Posts: 4236
Quote: aceofspades
Thank you for this suggestion - between last night and today, I binged The Widow

I thought it was good, not great

A couple of twists but, on the whole, they were predictable (the lesbian affair outcome)

But, worth a watch


I agree, on my second watching, solid adventure show, but nothing world changing.
It could have been better with some more streamlining and some different twists.

Also, some storytelling segments I would change
for one example, when the blind man gets killed, I think it would have been far better to have the scene end with him hearing the hotel room door open, "Martin you got back from the hospital quick" and then later when Martin returns finding the tape recorder, I think it showed too much, I partially understand it, to show the character development for the assassins, but I think from a story telling standpoint that would have been better.


That is just one example, there are plenty of similar examples of where too much is shown which kills a lot of the suspense and mystery that the show could rely on. I think my main criticism is it tried to show too much of too many characters instead of keeping some mystery.

The lesbian affair is another great example of a surprising twist, but a pretty unnecessary one, did we really need to know why she became jaded with such a long backflash? I think that is another example of overdevelopment, if needed (and I am not sure from a story point that it was), that is something that could have been shown in a couple quick backflashes or alluded to in another scene. Or, she could have just been greedy/corrupt from the beginning, she did not need a bad affair to make her that way. Another example of how we don't need to see the development of every secondary character there is. Martin is a great character because we know who/what he is, but there is never glitzy backflashes of him being a spy or intelligence agent, its just known from how he is and organic conversation. Its like the movies that show everyone on the "bad" side having flashbacks to a bad childhood or getting abused by society or whatever, its not always necessary (especially for secondary characters) to show why they are who they are.

I agree with your analysis, a good show, but not great. I feel that it could have been condensed into maybe five (maybe slightly longer) episodes. I still enjoyed it as a solid adventure series with an interesting premise and great actors, I am glad that you mostly enjoyed it as well.
September 23rd, 2020 at 8:14:57 PM permalink
aceofspades
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 83
Posts: 2019
Quote: Gandler
I agree, on my second watching, solid adventure show, but nothing world changing.
It could have been better with some more streamlining and some different twists.

Also, some storytelling segments I would change
for one example, when the blind man gets killed, I think it would have been far better to have the scene end with him hearing the hotel room door open, "Martin you got back from the hospital quick" and then later when Martin returns finding the tape recorder, I think it showed too much, I partially understand it, to show the character development for the assassins, but I think from a story telling standpoint that would have been better.


That is just one example, there are plenty of similar examples of where too much is shown which kills a lot of the suspense and mystery that the show could rely on. I think my main criticism is it tried to show too much of too many characters instead of keeping some mystery.

The lesbian affair is another great example of a surprising twist, but a pretty unnecessary one, did we really need to know why she became jaded with such a long backflash? I think that is another example of overdevelopment, if needed (and I am not sure from a story point that it was), that is something that could have been shown in a couple quick backflashes or alluded to in another scene. Or, she could have just been greedy/corrupt from the beginning, she did not need a bad affair to make her that way. Another example of how we don't need to see the development of every secondary character there is. Martin is a great character because we know who/what he is, but there is never glitzy backflashes of him being a spy or intelligence agent, its just known from how he is and organic conversation. Its like the movies that show everyone on the "bad" side having flashbacks to a bad childhood or getting abused by society or whatever, its not always necessary (especially for secondary characters) to show why they are who they are.

I agree with your analysis, a good show, but not great. I feel that it could have been condensed into maybe five (maybe slightly longer) episodes. I still enjoyed it as a solid adventure series with an interesting premise and great actors, I am glad that you mostly enjoyed it as well.



Also, the storyline with the missing dog was superfluous