Streaming recommendations (including Netflix)

Someone mentioned Unorthodox a couple of pages back. We watched this a few weeks ago and thought it was very good, with a stand out performance from Shira Haas who plays the lead character.

On the back of that, we’ve also been watching Shtisel, also on Netflix and also about an ultra-orthodox Jewish community. Each episode is a very calming 45 minute watch in these troubled times.

Like Money Heist though, we watch with the original language and read the subtitles. Dubbing is the work of the devil.

Just finished the Outsider.

This is on HBO currently. So you have to pay on Prime. But I thoroughly recommend it.

It’s a pretty good King conversion to screen.

Go in blind if you can. Eerie as hell.

Great cast too.

Just finished After Life, season 2. Its utterly brilliant! Better than the first imo. More laughs, and Gervais does that whole comedy switch to tradegy thing so well. Paul Kayes character and performance is the funniest thing ive seen for a while, quite refreshing to know we can still have comedy like that in these ultra pc times.

Paul Kayes character was the worst thing in it tbh, but I’m sure it was written like that, so goal acheived.

Gervais is a fabulous actor.

I watched their new Miniseries ‘Hollywood’ over the last two nights.

It looks amazing, and I rarely care too much about the whole technology side of things, but it does look great in 4k / HDR, okay it’s not ‘Once upon a time in Hollywood’ levels of visuals, but it’s set 20 years or so before so it’s not so much faded end of the Golden Era, but fresh faced start of it.

It’s starts off quite funny and easy going, but that fades away and it doesn’t end as well as it’s starts.

I suppose the worst thing about it, is it’s VERY Netflix, it’s set in the late 1940s, or maybe early 1950s and some of the characters are real people, the others are a composite of real people, but it’s sort of a alternative reality set with 2000s/2010s societal norms. It’s hard to explain without coming across as some kind of Gammon, but plot revolves around the characters working together to achieve something (I won’t give it away) but really that’s just a plot device to allow them challenge pretty much every type of prejudice you can think of. The ending is sickly sweet, they don’t try to hide it, the episode is called ‘The Hollywood Ending’ which is a sort of in-joke I guess. Oddly, one character a sexual predator who would be Harvey Weinstein to shame, get an easy redemption, he just says sorry to one of his victims and he’s born again. Probably because he’s the best character in it.

Paul Kayes character was the worst thing in it tbh

How so?

Finished S3 of Ozark last night. In fact we blitzed the whole season over the weekend.

The last 2 episodes might be the best 2 episodes of any tv show ever. The 2nd last in particular. The performance from Laura Linney deserves every award possible this year. She was amazing. The brother was also perfect as well.

Ozark is definitely up there with the best stuff of all time – The Wire, Sopranos, Breaking Bad etc

How so?

It was the same shit every scene. I played amateur football for years, I know guys like that, maybe you found it funny cos it’s new to you.

Gervais is a fabulous actor.

If his particular schtick is one that hits the spot for you. If he doesn’t he’s perhaps the most irritating thing since medics discovered UTIs.

I thought Gervais was excellent in The Office and Extras, but he’s basically an annoying dick. I tried watching After Life, but couldn’t stand it, mostly because of him.

It was the same shit every scene. I played amateur football for years, I know guys like that, maybe you found it funny cos it’s new to you.

No, I found it funny because its the exact opposite of what a therapist should be.

Ozark is definitely up there with the best stuff of all time

You are having a bloody laugh! Not only the far-fetched stupidity of the plot, but the acting just doesn’t compare to any of the stuff you mentioned. Um, the um er paus-es in erm every sentence, that just er, became unwatchable for um me after a a a a ….

The last 2 episodes might be the best 2 episodes of any tv show ever. The 2nd last in particular. The performance from Laura Linney deserves every award possible this year. She was amazing. The brother was also perfect as well.

The last 10 seconds were quite something, too.

But yes, the episode with Laura Linney and Tom Pelphrey was a standout. I found the first half of series one a bit of a struggle, which may be what saw off DezB above. Yes, the plot is fairly far-fetched, but then, on the face of it, a mild-mannered teacher turning within a year into a brutal drug kingpin also requires some suspension of disbelief.

Ozark season 3 was an improvement. Julia Garner is excellent, so was Tom Pelphrey. Laura Linney was decent. The story has always been implausible and a bit lame. I give it a solid B grade. Watchable, but not going to be remembered as great.

Ok. Out on a limb here.

Never have I ever…

A teen angst drama with an ethnic twist. Move quickly on right?

Well, if you liked Sex Education, and I know a few on here did, them I think this will work for you too.

It is brilliant.

The clichés are there. But I suppose they are only clichés because they are relatable. So it drags you in.

But for me, the absolute masterstroke is the narrator. It’s only JOHN MCENROE.

Actual, tennis legend, enfant terrible, guitar hero and commentary superstar JOHN MCENROE.

His self-reverential and at the same time self deprecating style is genius.

It adds another level to the show and just works.

Really, really funny. I was completely sucked in and may have been in a very dusty room during the last episode.

Completely compelling and entertaining.

Way, way better than I was expecting.

Give it a chance.

Lots Girls on Netflix. Pretty decent mystery thriller.

Doesn’t offer too much progress in terms of plot but as a story about a driven mother searching for her missing daughter (Amy Ryan) it takes some beating.

I’m joining with Ozark is the best thing on TV this year. Of course it’s silly and pulpy but it’s successfully created its own universe full of shocks and knife edge scenarios and inhabited it with memorable characters. Great black humour from all the characters.

Dark brooding cinematography is the icing on the cake too.

Breaking Bad was just as implausible! It doesn’t matter you just have to accept its own world.

I’m joining with Ozark is the best thing on TV this year…. Breaking Bad was just as implausible!

Succession is a far better show, so is Better Call Saul.

Breaking Bad showed people making bad choices and getting sucked into evil. At the beginning, Walter was a sympathetic loser and Hank was a loud-mouthed dick. Walter turned into a monster who teamed up with Nazis and murdered children. Hank was a very flawed character, but when Nazis put a gun to his head, he told them to go **** themselves while Walter sat there blubbering like a child and then betrayed Jessie and handed him over to the Nazis to be enslaved and tortured. Ozark is shallow in comparison. On top of that, Breaking Bad did it first, it was original. Ozark lacks originality and is predictable, despite a generally excellent cast.

Ozark is great entertainment – well directed and shot.

Yes I love BCS and BB.

They are different enough for me; particular the characters , landscape and mood to all have their place.

Easy to miss, but I enjoyed the Spanish crime movie ‘the silence of the marsh’.
Slick and well-paced.

My only gripe with Netflix is the use of coloured filters on the cameras for some series.

Ozark: dark green filter. Is the sun ever allowed to shine up there?

Breaking bad/ better call Saul: yellow filter whenever they head south of the Mexican border. Never been, but is that what Cancun really looks like?

Sons of anarchy: a dark green filter in their sojourn to northern Ireland. Thats taking the ’emerald isle’ thing a but far.

Is the use of these filters nothing more than a visual clue that they have left mainstream/ orthodox USA?

Rant over 😊

https://www.ibtimes.com/breaking-bad-color-theory-subtle-symbolism-meanings-behind-colors-amcs-hit-series-1411632

https://www.buzzfeed.com/robinedds/one-thing-you-probably-didnt-notice-in-better-call-saul

My only gripe with Netflix is the use of coloured filters on the cameras for some series.

Ozark: dark green filter. Is the sun ever allowed to shine up there

Is very unlikely they are using coloured filters on the cameras. Shot in raw with meta+data to tweak the look in post.

I love the bright clean look of of BCS. And equally the blue shift of Ozark. It’s a DP decision to give it a tone otherwise it wouldn’t have a consistent mood.

Ozark is shot with minimal lights and looks fantastic.

There is an industry joke about having a colour tweak of orange/yellow for Mexican cartel films.

Just watched adult life skills. Really good film, quirky, sad and funny.

Whiteline’s – jeez what an absolute pile of shit. Avoid.
Cant be bothered writing any more detail than that its annoyed me that much.

I watched Series 1 of Ragnorock in one sitting, brilliant apart from being a bit too teen drama at times . Anything else similar?

Forcing myself to watch the final 2 episodes of The Rain tonight.

Series 1 was ok.
Series 2 just goes of the rails and the amount of teenage angst is a little annoying. Any semblance of story telling disappears too. I’m pretty tolerant of plot holes, particularly in SF stuff but it gets pretty shocking in series 2.

Basically, bleh.

Dead To Me (1 and 2)

Really fun watch. Contrasting characters.

(Will) Ferrel’s producer’s hand (?) possibly dropping in a few clumsy 3rd-wall-prodding puns, but that’s me being picky. A good binge-watch with the other-half.

Christina Applegate’s acting/character is inspired. (Prob not safe for work):

^^ I’ll add that to the list, looks good!

Has anyone seen “into the night”?
Pretty enjoyabke and fast paced if you like that sort of thing.
Ok it’s not going to trouble the Oscars but it’s worth a go.

It has some funny lines in it too!

Whiteline’s – jeez what an absolute pile of shit. Avoid.

Agree!
I managed to watch 2 episodes .. it’s total shyte!!

We quite enjoyed Babylon Berlin series 1&2 .. just finished 3rd series and it’s gone a bit too weird; still worth a watch though.

Really enjoying season 4 of Last Kingdom. You can tell they’ve definitely spent more money on it than when the BBC had it 😂

Series 4 of The Last Kingdom has deffo improved over previous. Better writing and obviously more money. The GoT influence showing a bit more now too, and that’s a good thing – lots of properly ‘grey’ character driven stuff in between the set pieces.

A bit late to the party but 3 episodes in to Ash vs The Evil Dead now. It’s EXACTLY what I expected it to be. This is a VERY good thing.

Anyone watching Eric Cantona in Inhuman Resources? Not quite sure what to make of it. Few episodes in and good performance from him.

Just about to watch The Unthinkable. I love a good apocalypse/ alien micron flick.

I’m not keen on dubbed movies (sorry) but the actual movie gets good ratings so I’ll give it a go.

Ok, The Unthinkable.

I would definitely recommend it. Not what I was expecting, in a good way. Very grounded especially given the subject matter.

Takes a while to get going but it makes later events all the more intense because of it.

Be sure to watch the start of the end credits for a little “resolution”.

If you like a cheesy horror film “The Girl on the Third Floor” is pretty entertaining.

Giri/Haji – Crime/mafia series, set in Japan and London. Made by BBC, stars Kelly Macdonald.

Very enjoyable

If you like a cheesy horror film “The Girl on the Third Floor” is pretty entertaining.

Netflix Fans Disgusted By ‘Girl On The Third Floor’ And Call It The Most ‘Disturbing Horror Going’

Sounds less predictable than Last House On The Left, I watched last night.

https://www.thehooksite.com/netflix-fans-disgusted-by-girl-on-the-third-floor-and-call-it-the-most-disturbing-horror-going/

Not read that, well because its a load of bollocks basically. Sod all particularly disturbing about that film. I quote from Empire mag: “a traditional spook story”
“Netflix fans”, whatever they may be, obviously haven’t seen many horror films in their strange little lives 😂

Lasted about 30 mins, before succumbing to the lexicological delight of Moria Rose in schitt’s creek season 6. Today’s new word is grinagog.

Just finished watching ‘Waco’….not sure how much of that is truth versus entertainment…