Netflix/Prime/Hulu/BritBox Binge Watching: Coronavirus Edition

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Jimena

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Liking the new Stranger Things season. Really like the actor who plays Eddie. He reminds me of a young Robert Downey Jr. Similar energy and charisma.
 

Wyliefan

Ubering juniors against my will
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I finally finished "The Good Place". I don't know. I enjoyed the writing and the acting and each episode but I felt like they dragged the whole concept out too long. If I wasn't binge-watching it, I wonder if I would have fallen off at some point.
I've just started bingeing that one. So far so good, but I'm only at the beginning of season 2, so we'll see if I get the same feeling when I'm finished. :)
 

Sparks

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For those who watch Stanger Things season 4, do you recognize the filming location?
 

wickedwitch

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I just began “Under The Banner of Heaven” on HULU and I am all in on this one. Fantastic cast, a true story and a mystery to unravel. And Andrew Garfield…at the moment I’m in the wtf? stage on what on earth happened.
I just watched the finale to Under the Banner of Heaven... it's such a distrutbing story. I would be complaining that it's too far-fetched and unrealistic, but the most disturbing parts are true. It's format is slightly different than most detective shows, but it really worked for me. Overall, I was incredibly engrossed in the whole series and would 100% recommend.
 

Cachoo

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I just watched the finale to Under the Banner of Heaven... it's such a distrutbing story. I would be complaining that it's too far-fetched and unrealistic, but the most disturbing parts are true. It's format is slightly different than most detective shows, but it really worked for me. Overall, I was incredibly engrossed in the whole series and would 100% recommend.
This was such an intelligent series. There is a lot to unpack between the past and the present and the mystery and tension build each episode. I can’t help but wonder what LDS women think if they watch this not only about the fundamentalists but also the moderate leadership in their church. Andrew Garfield shines. And Wyatt Russell too- Goldie and Kurt’s son has a megawatt future. I will be shocked if this doesn’t have an Emmy haul.
 

TanithandBenFan

Author of the Ice and Edge Series
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I was really into the first episode of Under the Banner of Heaven, but it dragged for me after that. I thought there were too many historical flashbacks and the series could have been shortened to a long movie. The acting was fantastic, but I just wanted the storytelling to be tighter.
 

Bunny Hop

Queen of the Workaround
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9,407
I finally slogged my way to the end of Star Trek Discovery season 4, mainly because I didn't want to start Strange New Worlds until I'd done that. I'm not sure I remember much about the season as a whole. Meh.

I did end up enjoying 1883 though, once I got past the first few episodes, but I didn't like the final scene. Should have stopped watching at the old guy on the beach.
When the girl was dying I kept saying 'don't do a voiceover, don't do a voiceover' (because it would be from beyond the grave). And they didn't. But then they tagged on the final scene with the native husband and a voiceover by the dead which spoiled it all.[\spoiler]
 

Jimena

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I finished both Under the Banner of Heaven and Stranger Things.

I liked Stranger Things, and I really loved episode 7. And that's all because of Jessie Campbell Bower. So. Good.

I confess not really liking Millie Bobbie Brown's storyline or performance that much this year. Until episode 7.

I miss Will and Jonathan, though. They were underused. I've been meh on Mike from the beginning and still am. And ditto to whomever said they wanted to feed something to Nancy.

About Under the Banner of Heaven, the ending felt incomplete.
I wanted to know what really happened to Dianna and Matilda. And, though fictional, I wanted to know what happened to Jeb Pyre's questioning the church and his faith. I found that very compelling.
 

Sylvia

TBD
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I really enjoyed the Julia Child documentary that premiered last week on CNN and is being rebroadcast tonight (11pm ET/8pm PT):
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2b-HEtoeVE

ETA that is NOT the same as the HBO Max series:
I started Julia on HBO Max and it’s pleasant enough, but it’s missing something. It has Julia Child, the food, the nice costumes, the great production values…and yet the writing is only ok and doesn’t really quite reach great or even very good. Somethings are played too…cartoonish for me as the characters outside the main ones come off as one-dimensional.

This is less biographical and more turning Julia Child’s life into a workplace drama and also an explanation of how PBS (most notably WGBH in Boston) evolved to what it became in the 20th century to have the impact it did. Because of that however, I think some of things they’re doing to make it artificially more dramatic to make it a work place drama, like having her producer Russell Morash seem too snobby and angry about having to do “cooking show”, is off and seems kind of disrespectful. For example, I searched and searched and couldn’t find anything to show the real Morash thought he was above doing a cooking show or didn’t value what Julia was doing. From the research I gathered, the real life person was a huge part of the show’s success and went on to do more shows with Julia throughout the rest of her life and did his own lifestyle PBS shows. Further, his wife wasn’t just a nobody who cooked the way “Americans” cooked on the show with the tuna casseroles and frozen dinners as she was portrayed on the show, but was a James Beard-winning chef herself who guest starred on Julia’s show. So the real Morash, despite his education and background, wouldn’t seem to be one to thumb his nose at Julia Child’s type of show. It seems like they rewrote him that way to make him the mean white straight man from the 1960s who is Boston educated snobby and devalues women because that’s easy-to-digest these days and people eat those dynamics up even if real life is much more nuanced and complicated than that.

Also, I get erasing a real life female producer and champion of the show, Ruth Lockwood, because just her being a woman producer fighting for position and respect isn’t enough these days, so they replaced her with a black female character. I understand that from a dramaturgical point-of-view in the 2020s that doing so would add new dimensions to the workplace drama they’re creating with this series, but it isn’t done elegantly or sophisticatedly. It seems sort of tacked on and totally inorganic to the point where the character they created is a muddled confused creation by the writers.

And Sarah Lancashire’s Julia Child accent is terrible. Sure she didn’t want to do an impersonation, I get that. But between her and Kidman (in Being the Ricardos) not even trying to be close to the real like famous counterparts they’re portraying, I’m wondering if this is a new and unsuccessful acting style that’s being pushed on us. I hope it never gets normalized. Also, for all the times I heard British folks complain about American actors not knowing all the different types of British accents and being bad at them anyway, I hope they know the converse is true too. If we nitpicked the same way, I’ve heard so many put-upon unnatural and/or unconvincing American accents by non-Americans and Lancashire in this show is one of them. I know Julia Child has a particular way of speaking but Lancashire isn’t really doing her voice and she’s trying to do an American one but a weird almost-Irish one comes out throughout her speaking. Someone who does do a pretty good but clearly trained American accent is Fiona Glascott, who plays Knopf editor and working partner/friend Judith Jones.

But it’s not just Lancashire’s accent that is missing that makes me think gives this show a void. Lancashire’s Julia is missing that charm, warmth, and star power that made Julia so compelling to watch. It makes me appreciate Meryl Streep’s effort much more.

David Hyde Pierce and Bebe Neuwirth are excellent as Paul Child’s and Avis Devoto.

As far as guest stars, James Cromwell is a stand-out as Julia’s father and his scenes with Lancashire give Lancashire her best scenes. Isabella Rossellini has only appeared in two short scenes in this 7-episode out of 8 stretch so far but she’s a scene stealer as a grumpier Simone Beck. Christian Clemenson was delightful and eye-opening as
James Beard!
 

sk9tingfan

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Watching the next to last episode of Gaslit. It has been a really powerful series, but this episode primarily focusing on Martha Mitchell and Gordon Liddy focuses on their respective pathologies. Liddy's was particularly ghastly.
 

Cachoo

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Watching the next to last episode of Gaslit. It has been a really powerful series, but this episode primarily focusing on Martha Mitchell and Gordon Liddy focuses on their respective pathologies. Liddy's was particularly ghastly.
I keep forgetting that Sean Penn is Mitchell. Maureen Dean might be the most admirable character in this show. And they are still married.

I enjoyed a particular line from “The Man Who Fell To Earth” as Faraday (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is communicating his experiences to his partner: “Our children are taught to obey but these children are tiny instruments of chaos.” So true.😃
 
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sk9tingfan

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I started watching CNN's Special Report on "Watergate, a Blueprint for a Scandal" with the main narrator none other than John Dean. It provides an excellent accounting of what went on behind the coverup and the absolute corruptness of Richard Nixon and those who to blindly followed him down that rabbit hole.

The parallels between Watergate and Donald Trump's administration & followers are notable and Michael Cohen points those out succinctly. The problem is, those who revere Donald Trump and the absolute lack of ethics and morality within the Republican party and its voters, will cause them to not turn on their TVs to see it and be educated. They also need to watch the Jan. 6th committee's live hearings starting this week and won't move off of Fox News, who will undoubtedly have their own programming consisting of
"Alternative Facts".. It brings up memories of my watching the Watergate hearings live in the 1970's.

Episodes 1 and 2 aired last evening at 9 PM EST and will continue next Sunday.
 
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slicekw

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I really enjoyed the Julia Child documentary that premiered last week on CNN and is being rebroadcast tonight (11pm ET/8pm PT):
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2b-HEtoeVE

ETA that is NOT the same as the HBO Max series:
Both have been enjoyable. It's good to see the documentary if you like the series, because it's a reminder that there's some fictionalization in the series, no matter how enjoyable it is. Actually also makes you realize how good the actress in the series is!
 

Lemonade20

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In honor of Pride month, I started watching "Pose" on Disney+. It is fantastic, but I'm sad it got canceled. We need more shows like this.
 

Cachoo

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Well Wyatt Russell blew me away with his performance in "Under the Banner of Heaven" so I decided to try "Lodge 49" which is streaming on HULU. I don't know how to classify this series and that is part of what I like about it: It is quirky, unpredictable and a bit whimsical too. And Russell drives a Thing in this series which I like as well. And it is nice to see a character so different from his turn as a fundamentalist.
 

clairecloutier

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We finished the current part available of Season 4 of Stranger Things. I must say that my take on the season didn’t change as it went on. The only part I really enjoyed was the last half of episode 7, as finally something positive happened with Hopper’s storyline, and it was interesting learning about the origin of the main monster. I had liked the previous seasons of the show, but not this one. I’m trying to figure out why. I think maybe it’s because I’m actually not into horror movies, but the first few seasons, I got pulled in by the kids, the 80s humor, and the Joyce/Hopper storyline. Now the kids are grown up and not as cute, the humor is not as much, and Joyce/Hopper were apart and out of the main action this season. Meanwhile, the torture, horror, and gore seemed to be amplified. ETA: I think the longer episodes may contribute to my perception that there’s more gore.

My husband liked the season more than I did, but he was turned off by the violence of the main monster’s attacks on the kids.
 
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jamesy

delightful
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Overall I enjoyed the season and am eager for the next part, but I don't disagree with your assessments @clairecloutier . Obviously it was part of a planned story and filmed long before real world events, but having Russians be one of the antagonists made that storyline much more tedious for me.
 

LeafOnTheWind

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I re-watched the Obi-Wan episodes that have been released to clarify why I'm disliking Lei so much. They have her obeying Ben or disobeying him just to drive the storyline and don't really have her defined as a consistent character. Her parents are clearly already training her to be a senator which means they are teaching her things normal kids wouldn't be aware of. She's surrounded by pro-Empire people at functions so she would know that you don't openly declare yourself pro-Jedi. But they have her screaming in public to Ben to make her float and use the Force which is stupid. Then they have her being smart enough to come up with a cover story about visiting where her parents met for the storm troopers. It just bugs me.

I think writers get stuck in a corner and frequently use a kid to drive the storyline instead of the character's behavior driving how they act or react.
 
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clairecloutier

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I'm so excited that season 3 of For All Mankind has started. But I'm determined not to watch until all the episodes are out. Can I stay unspoiled for 2 months??? It's gonna be tough. :lol:

ETA: In the meantime, we started into season 2 of Tehran. and I must say, there is a lot of eye candy in this show. Hee. :D
 

MacMadame

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If you haven't watched Ms. Marvel yet GO DO IT RIGHT NOW!

I love this show so much. I really enjoy watching the interplay between the parents the Kamala and her trying to find her place in the world. I also love the visuals. They intersperse her drawings without the show and give it kind of a comic-book feel and it's very well integrated with the real-life scenes, not jarring at all.
 

LeafOnTheWind

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I also love the visuals. They intersperse her drawings without the show and give it kind of a comic-book feel and it's very well integrated with the real-life scenes, not jarring at all.

My favorite moment

Her fantasy version of how she would sneak out and go to the Marvel costume contest vs the reality of her sneaking out and going to the Marvel costume contest.

:lol:
 

LeafOnTheWind

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I do not know what weird algorithm I'm in or movies I'm watching on Amazon Prime that gives me recommendations like Santa Jaws.

A young Aspiring comic book artist is gifted a mysterious pen that brings his drawing to life. Now his creation, Santa Jaws, begins to devour his friends and family.

There is nothing like this in my watch history or anything to indicate I would like this movie. :lol:
 

TanithandBenFan

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I finally got around to watching White Lotus. I thought it was just alright. I found Jennifer Coolidge’s character highly annoying even though she was supposed to be the funny one.
 

Japanfan

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I'm almost done with the final season of "Ozark". Wow, just wow. Such amazing acting from everyone. Such a dark but wonderful show.

I enjoyed 'Ozark', and am a huge Laura Linney fan.

But coming right off the completion of 'This is Us', I found the show paled somewhat in comparison.
 

Bunny Hop

Queen of the Workaround
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Finally started Strange New Worlds. Best new Star Trek series since The Orville. :lol: (my mother asked me if I'd seen the new Star Trek series and I wasn't sure what she was talking about as they only have an ordinary digital TV and definitely no streaming. Finally figured out she'd seen ads for The Orville, which is shown on one of the free-to-air channels here).
 

peibeck

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It was filmed in Albuquerque. I don't watch the show but my sister alerted me to it, and I have a friend who worked on the project.

Is that where the desert locations were this season? I just saw a "making of" video on Twitter and CA and GA were the only two mentioned locations.
 
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