Netflix Recommendations Thread 3.0

peteeeed

After Life: Season 2 – 24th April
Set in the small fictitious town of Tambury, Ricky Gervais’ comedy-drama follows Tony (Gervais), a writer for the local newspaper whose life is upended after his wife dies from cancer. Life goes on in Season 2, which sees Tony try to become a better friend to those around him – each grappling with their own problems and only to be intensified by the looming threat of the local newspaper being shut down.

Extraction – 24th April
Chris Hemsworth stars in this new thriller produced the Russo brothers as Tyler Rake, a fearless black market mercenary with nothing left to lose. Tyler’s skills are solicited to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord, but in the murky underworld of weapons dealers and drug traffickers, an already deadly mission approaches the impossible, forever altering the lives of Rake and the boy.

Hello Ninja season 2

Love 101 season 1
While trying to make their teacher fall for a basketball coach, four misfits and a model student find friendship, love and the courage to be themselves.

added

s7ryf3925pivug

Man Vs ManUre wrote: »

Peaky Blinders season 5 is absolute muck. Worst season ever.
Just watched gangs of London episode 1 on now tv. It’s batsh1t crazy, like a mix of PB, Snatch and The Raid. Looks promising.

I liked it apart from the lack of a conclusion.
I find the development of fascism an interesting subject. I thought the way the unionist gang would emerge from the mist and surround their victims was well done in a dramatic sense

I agree that the first two seasons were the best though.

El Duda

Lucky enough to have been very busy with work so not posted any reviews for a while. I've watched quite a few.

The best of the ones I've seen that are available on Netflix - Part 1:

Princess Mononoke – 7.5/10

This is rated as top tier Ghibli, and whilst I can completely see why, I was slightly disappointed with it. The imagination on show and the beauty of the animation goes without saying, I just found the script to be a bit convoluted. It’s a very ambitious plot, with a whole host of different factions and groups who all have their own agenda. It does a really good job of introducing these characters and giving them their own distinct individual identities.

My problem comes with the fact that the exposition is relentless. If you’re going to set up such complex dynamics with such a plethora of characters, it needs to get to a point where the setup is complete, and it starts to just run riot. So you can sit back and immerse yourself in a spectacular finale. Instead, the dialogue continues to be over complicated and overwritten to the point where it becomes a bit of an onslaught.

Spirited Away remains the one to be beaten on my Ghibli list.


The Visit – 6/10

This doesn’t really have a lot more to offer than “creepy old couple” but I enjoyed it none-the-less. It’s all very tongue in cheek and B-movieish and the twist isn’t much of a surprise. It gets a decent balance between horror and comedy but doesn’t push either element far enough.

I feel like I deserve a medal for sitting through the 'rapping'. M. Knight really does put some weird sh*t in his films.


Childs Play (2019) – 6.5/10

A lot better than I had hoped, but still an empty and forgettable remake. The horror movie equivalent of junk food; you will get no nourishment from it but at least it tastes good for a while.

There a lots of plot contrivances and underdeveloped characters, but luckily it is completely self-aware. It never tries to be anything more than an absurd horror films that plays out its kills for laughs.

The change in Chucky’s origin story, whilst admirable and fairly well done, causes a slight issue for me. In the original 88 version, we get a huge contrast between Chucky acting as a creepy doll and Chucky as foul-mouthed Charles Lee Ray. The original voodoo plot allowed Brad Dourif to jump through the gears and amp up his performance to different levels. Here, Mark Hamill only gets to play a toy gone wrong, and the lack of voodoo magic means that we never get to see him explode into obscenities. This is Mark Hamill voice acting with the handbrake on, which is a huge shame.


Misery – 8.5/10

I’d not seen this since the 90’s so was half expecting it be boring and dated by now. I’m glad to report that it hasn’t aged a day. Rob Reiner’s direction is timeless. The iconic Kathy Bates performance hasn’t lost anything; The way she switches gears is still hair-raising and terrifying.
There is a lot of subtlety to James Caan’s performance that I never picked up on first time round and I had completely forgot that there is a Sheriff character played by the late-great Richard Farnsworth.

The story has a lot of parallels with another Stephen King adaptation ‘Gerald’s Game’, which also centres around a bed-ridden protagonist.

If you want a film that portrays isolation and hopelessness, this is one of the best. It is a flawless example of how to build tension through editing.

munster87

Rjd2 wrote: »

Its unwatchable now which is a shame as the first two seasons are fantastic.

Season 3 tried something different but didn't quite work, Brody made season 4 unbearable and those twists,,,I never seen them coming.:mad:

Season 5 the worst though,,,and a special "shout out" to Brian Gleeson who just isn't very good at this acting lark.

That accent was completely embarrassing

stesaurus

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

Not sure if it's been mentioned much here but I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson is maybe the funniest thing I've ever seen. A 6 episode sketch comedy show, can watch the whole thing in 2 hours, I've watched it countless times and am still left in tears during nearly every scene.

Wait, what? Comedy is subjective but that was some terrible mud pie. I couldn't even get through the 2nd episode.
Americans can't do sketch. That was Saturday Night Live bad.

razorblunt

munster87 wrote: »

That accent was completely embarrassing

Crazy to think of all the Scottish actors they went for a dub with a dodgy accent.
5 is a mess, the scene on the bridge at the house was awful. Could call it a mile off.

Extraction is worth a watch, I expected little but it wasn’t bad at all.

cdgalwegian

stesaurus wrote: »

Wait, what? Comedy is subjective but that was some terrible mud pie. I couldn't even get through the 2nd episode.
Americans can't do sketch. That was Saturday Night Live bad.

Just gave it a go there; same. Very first sketch was funny, but it flattered to deceive. Muck.

Hercule Poirot

Just watched Coffee and Kareem, it's actually not bad, a few laughs in it - the kid is way OTT and kind of spoils it a little, if they had toned him down a bit it would have been much better

joeguevara

Apologies that it’s not Netflix, but I just figured out how to access Box Sets on Sky tonight. Currently watching Curb Your Enthusiasm. I forgot how amazing it is.

Watched the documentary on the Fyre festival. I would really recommend it. It is very well done with real life footage and interviews. The organiser Billy Mc Farland was certifiably insane. One great point was made though that Woodstock had all the same issues with regards food, accommodation etc but was a once in a lifetime experience and no one cared about the other stuff. But i suppose there is a huge difference between Jimi Hendrix and Blink 182.

The darkness of Tim Robbins, for me, was not standup. It was as unfunny as anything could be. To me it was the exact same as someone bending your ear at a party about how bad their break up was and you can’t wait to bolt. I had to turn it off after 30 minutes as the guy just came across as unlikeable.

Rewatched Michael Bolton’s Halloween special and still makes me crack up. If there ever was as unbelievable a format as can be, this is it, but it had me in stitches from start to finish.

Watched the new Bert Kreischer comedy special Big Boy. He is fast becoming one of my favourite comedians and although it didn’t reach the hilarity of The Machine or Secret Time, it was close.

Tip of the day though is go onto YouTube and search for Jim Bowen Irish bullseye contestant funny story. Without doubt it is the funniest thing I have ever seen (if you remember Bullseye).

peteeeed

Erased season 1
Satoru Fujinuma can travel back in time to save others' lives. When he wakes up 18 years in the past, he has a chance to save his murdered classmates.

The Martian
Abandoned on the surface of Mars, an astronaut presumed dead after a dust storm struggles to survive on the hostile planet and send a message home

Added

Lisha

I watched Spotless on Netflix over last few days. I enjoyed it. Bit graphic at times.but it was unusual and full of twists. It’s a crime/police drama from an usususl view point.

mikhail

peteeeed wrote: »

The Martian
Abandoned on the surface of Mars, an astronaut presumed dead after a dust storm struggles to survive on the hostile planet and send a message home

As an engineer, the problem-based storytelling of the Martian scratches an itch I didn't know I had. The music is fun if cheesy, and it looks great. It's a great example of what Ridley Scott can do with the right script.

silverharp

New on Netflix , review below pretty much spoiler free, conclusion was might not have been great if spending your hard earned in the cinema but good enough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6P3nI6VnlY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEox_9LUnow

Theres an outstanding car chase in Extraction the best recent one I can remember. Was gonna say worth the admission fee alone, but....

pixelburp

mikhail wrote: »

As an engineer, the problem-based storytelling of the Martian scratches an itch I didn't know I had. The music is fun if cheesy, and it looks great. It's a great example of what Ridley Scott can do with the right script.

It's one of the reasons I enjoyed the Lost in Space reboot: the drama came from problem solving the latest mechanical / natural disaster than befell the characters. Very little contrived "character secret" drama or schlock like that.

santana75

Watched Extraction last night and I have to say I loved it. Even though all of this has been done before I still think it was really enjoyable and never boring. Hemsworth is very good but the kid he starred alongside is brilliant. As is the lady who plays Hemsworth's contact throughout the story. The body count is off the scale though, Its like a video game by the end.

Notdeco

The Last Kingdom season 4 is being released tomorrow.

if you haven't seen it put it on your list.

I know what I'm binging tomorrow

JoeExotic81

Found the first two episodes of the new season of Afterlife a big disappointment.

Pretty much a carbon copy of season one, but with characters like the postman and the psychiatrist ramping up the ridiculous levels to be almost unwatchable.

I'm no prude but the amount of times people are saying cvnt is bizarre too. That lady in the old folks home they interviewed was so OTT stupid.

Pity, the first season was great. They should have let it be.

joe40

peteeeed wrote: »

Erased season 1
Satoru Fujinuma can travel back in time to save others' lives. When he wakes up 18 years in the past, he has a chance to save his murdered classmates.

The Martian
Abandoned on the surface of Mars, an astronaut presumed dead after a dust storm struggles to survive on the hostile planet and send a message home

Added

The Martian is fantastic, definitely a solid recommendation from me. The problem solving is great and Matt Damon really carries the film.
Well worth a read as well, especially if you're into Science.

ShamoBuc

Notdeco wrote: »

The Last Kingdom season 4 is being released tomorrow.

if you haven't seen it put it on your list.

I know what I'm binging tomorrow

Absolutely. Great show and I enjoyed Each of the previous seasons. Hopefully it stays at a high enough standard.

Fysh

joe40 wrote: »

The Martian is fantastic, definitely a solid recommendation from me. The problem solving is great and Matt Damon really carries the film.
Well worth a read as well, especially if you're into Science.

The film and book are both great - if possible watch the film first then read the book, as the book's approach to the final act is more grounded in its problem-solving than the film was.

Mickeroo

Fysh wrote: »

The film and book are both great - if possible watch the film first then read the book, as the book's approach to the final act is more grounded in its problem-solving than the film was.

The audio book is fantastic too.

Tom Mann Centuria

Mickeroo wrote: »

The audio book is fantastic too.

The Wil Wheaton narrated one or the previous recording? Was going to give it a listen on audible but reviews seem mixed for Wheaton version.

blueskys

Watched a documentary 'last breath' about a commercial diving accident in the north sea last night. It is rivetting and a master lesson in story telling. Highly recommended

Hercule Poirot

JoeExotic81 wrote: »

Found the first two episodes of the new season of Afterlife a big disappointment.

Pretty much a carbon copy of season one, but with characters like the postman and the psychiatrist ramping up the ridiculous levels to be almost unwatchable.

I'm no prude but the amount of times people are saying cvnt is bizarre too. That lady in the old folks home they interviewed was so OTT stupid.

Pity, the first season was great. They should have let it be.

Finished season 2 today and I enjoyed it, felt that it went in the right direction for Tony's character arc

I didn't think the postman was that bad but I agree the psychiatrist was way OTT

The thing about the old lady swearing so much was hilarious, but mainly because she's played by Annette Crosby who is better known as Victor Meldrew's long suffering wife in One Foot in the Grave, was nice to see her playing a cantankerous old biddy

JoeExotic81

Destination wedding is very enjoyable. Keanu reeves and wynonna Ryder are perfect as the two cynical protagonists.

Mad_maxx

santana75 wrote: »

Watched Extraction last night and I have to say I loved it. Even though all of this has been done before I still think it was really enjoyable and never boring. Hemsworth is very good but the kid he starred alongside is brilliant. As is the lady who plays Hemsworth's contact throughout the story. The body count is off the scale though, Its like a video game by the end.

like a cross between jason bourne and john wick at times in terms of the fight scenes and kill count

enjoyable

McGrath5

blueskys wrote: »

Watched a documentary 'last breath' about a commercial diving accident in the north sea last night. It is rivetting and a master lesson in story telling. Highly recommended

Watched it this evening, superb.

Notdeco

ShamoBuc wrote: »

Absolutely. Great show and I enjoyed Each of the previous seasons. Hopefully it stays at a high enough standard.

Agreed,. but with a2 year wait I'm thinking they know what they are doing. Last Kingdom has got a bigger audience
The last season, because of GOT.
And tbh, it's a way better show (so far)
And I can only think the break it has had will only make it an even better show, fingers crossed.

joeguevara

blueskys wrote: »

Watched a documentary 'last breath' about a commercial diving accident in the north sea last night. It is rivetting and a master lesson in story telling. Highly recommended

Definitely going to watch this