Netflix sure does make a whole lot of original movies, and a whole lot of them sure do…likely never show up in your recommendations at all. In some cases, that’s for the best, because they’re awful (a’la The Incredible Jessica James, a bad movie starring a really great actress). In other cases, you end up … Continue reading
I’m interested in seeing how The Break with Michelle Wolf picks up in quality, but really, I’m interested in learning how many people actually tune in to watch it. It’s a good show; maybe I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, but the first two episodes (FYI: It’s a weekly joint, rather than a … Continue reading
There are times, many in fact, when I sit back, look at what I’ve accomplished in my years coming up in the culture writing biz, and think to myself, “Yeah. That’s pretty good.” (Okay: “Many” is putting it strongly. I do not routinely bask in my own output. It happens only as often as Donald … Continue reading
In its own modest, tasteful way, Olivia Newman’s First Match is a harsh watch, a movie loaded with social and political (and sociopolitical) messages that shouldn’t feel modern but do anyways. That’s 2018 for you. We’re still that country. The film leaves no trace of whiteness and makes no mention of whiteness (at least that I recall), … Continue reading
Remember back in 2015, when I reviewed every single dang episode of the first season of Jessica Jones? A couple years later, here I am up at The ARTery, compromising by reviewing just the first five episodes of the series’ new season, which is available for streaming on Netflix now. Bad news: It’s not as good as the … Continue reading
It’s been a week since my last blog post, and I bet you’re all jonesing for another update. Good news! I have one. Bad news! I sort of wiggled my way out of dealing with a contentious subject in my review of Altered Carbon. Good news! I’m thinking up a long form piece about the subject … Continue reading
Just in the nick of time: Here’s my review of Black Mirror‘s fourth season. In a word, it’s superb. In more words, well, hey now – you’re not getting my thoughts out of me that easily. In the real world, don’t have the kind of technology that lets you do that. If we lived in the Black Mirror-verse, maybe … Continue reading
Put me in the stocks and excoriate me in town square, because I am not a fan of The Handmaid’s Tale. But maybe don’t put me in the stocks, because a) we’re a somewhat civilized people in 2017, and also b) I loved Alias Grace, the other major slash high-profile Margaret Atwood television adaptation released this year. I am … Continue reading
Maybe I’m the wrong person to write about superhero stuff in 2017. Guys, really: I just can’t watch superhero things without finding big philosophical flaws in their makeup and intent. I’m afraid to sit through the second season of Jessica Jones when it airs next year, even, though then again, Jessica is the best thing about The Defenders, … Continue reading
Hey, uh, Jessica Williams: On the off chance you read my review of your new movie, The Incredible Jessica James, don’t take it personally. I liked you fine! I just didn’t like anything else about the movie! Except maybe Chris O’Dowd! And Noël Wells! Okay, mostly I just didn’t like the direction, because I think James … Continue reading
I know it is unfashionable for men to talk about sex and arousal in context with pop culture, but I’m a big dummy who doesn’t know what’s good for him, so I went ahead and did exactly that for The Playlist’s Bingeworthy Breakdown feature, in which I say a bunch of smart stuff, and smartass … Continue reading
Tramps, to me, represents the double-edged sword of Netflix; with it, filmmakers like Adam Leon get to work, but they also don’t get to show their movies in actual theaters. I don’t know how I feel about that. (Wait: Yes I do! Bad. I feel bad about that.) If that’s the trade-off for Leon making … Continue reading
I must confess that I found the utter dearth of really great Western films available for streaming on ye olde Netflix not only perplexing, but disturbing. You’re telling me that Netflix can’t manage to put twenty great Western films up on its site, and instead can only manage to put a much smaller number than that, plus … Continue reading
I can’t stop reviewing The Get Down! Actually, no: That’s a lie. I can. And I have. Sad face. Well, c’mon, you didn’t think the show would go on forever, did you? Granted, Netflix split the first season into two halves, which kinda gave the show a sense of unnatural longevity, but we all knew it … Continue reading
I’ll admit it: I have a hard time writing about The Get Down, not for lack of things to say, but because there’s so much that can be said and should be said about it, and so much that needs to be said to satisfy the purpose of a recap. This is what I get for knocking … Continue reading
Joe Swanberg did a thing, and I liked the thing that Joe Swanberg did. This is not unusual. I have liked Joe Swanberg things in the past. I have also not liked Joe Swanberg things in the past, because improvisational filmmaking has its ups as well as its downs, the former being the life that … Continue reading
It’s back! The Get Down is back! Sure, we had to wait for the length of one human reproductive cycle for that to happen, but boy, it’s worth it; episodes seven and eight of season one* are stellar, and let me tell you in advance that they generally get better from here (if a bit messier). The best … Continue reading
I really liked Charlie McDowell’s The One I Love, so imagine my disappointment when I watched The Discovery and found that it’s a pile of reluctant, hedging, self-doubting faux-spiritual feel-good nonsense. (“Feel-good” might be a stretch, but boy, the movie bends over backwards to get in as many cheap hugs as possible.) I didn’t hate it, but … Continue reading
I wrote a thing! I wrote another thing! This time I wrote a thing for a list, in which the best romantic movies available for streaming on Netflix are delineated; I only wrote one thing for this list, but it’s a good thing (of course) for a good movie, L’auberge Espagnole, a movie I haven’t thought … Continue reading
Netflix is the business these days, isn’t it? Look at me, for instance, all covering a pair of new Netflix releases earlier this month, all getting ready to cover a couple more in April; over the last handful of years the streaming giant has gone from being little more than a digital library for forgotten, … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 