[jonbee]

I'm a very long time Netflix subscriber (>25 years) and am dispirited about their diminishing catalog of offerings. Lots of derivative dreck now (how many time travel stories are enough?), and when a creative but challenging show is presented they cancel them right away these days, not allowing an audience time to develop.
There are a few short lived series we like a lot. Kaos, Loudermilk, Queen's Gambit come to mind, but I spend much more time looking elsewhere these days.

[Letitroll98]

I've been thinking the exact same thing, Netflix is looking more like Prime every day   I struggle to find anything good lately.  I recently rewatched The Queen's Gambit for I think the fourth time because there was nothing else worth watching.   I tuned into the world darts championship the other day because nothing else was on, and I don't even know the rules or scoring system for darts   Now darts are listed as my number one option on my home screen.

[WGH]

I can go for months and months without finding anything interesting on Netflix. Luckily there are some free viewing options:

All the shows on PBS stream for free for a couple of months before they are moved to the paid Passport option. A Passport donation is only $5 a month and has excellent dramas like Broadchurch and Sherlock and the award winning The Desert Speaks.
Walking with Dinosaurs is one of the best series to stream on any service. The 6 episode Season 2 is streaming for free now
https://www.pbs.org/show/walking-with-dinosaurs/

The UofA Astronomy program builds mirrors for the largest telescopes in the world and collaborates on space missions. AZPM has an excellent documentary about a recent mission:
OSIRIS-REx: To Bennu and Back - NASA, asteroids, and a lifelong dream (full documentary)
https://youtu.be/Fm9xwoUsuPQ

The YouTube channel DUST has a huge library of science fiction shorts and some are pretty good, worthy of any premium streaming service. All for free.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7sDT8jZ76VLV1u__krUutA

[Letitroll98]

So I just bitched about the lack of options on Netflix and I'm now taking that back, which is the nature of these things.  I watched a great doc on the 7/7 London Bombings and my fave release every year Tour de France Unchained, enjoyed them both, but that's not what I came here to tell you about.  You absolutely must watch Shark Whisperer.  The story of Ocean Ramsey, yes, that's her given name, who free dives with Tiger sharks off Hawaii and traveled to Mexico to dive with Great Whites.  She's not a thrill seeker, she studies shark language, how they interact so she can be at least safer with them.  The footage is stunning, thrilling, heart stopping.  And she openly uses her great beauty and sexuality to promote her cause, which also makes it easy to watch.  You gotta watch it to understand, but a truly compelling work of art.

[WGH]

Out here in the desert we'll watch anything with water.

Titan: The Oceangate Disaster is a passable documentary about the ill fated submersible

[WGH]

The Best TV Shows Coming to Netflix in July


The Old Guard 2
Starts streaming: July 2

The action movie “The Old Guard” became one of Netflix’s most-watched original films when it debuted in 2020 and drew good reviews for its impressive globe-hopping action sequences. Five years later, the sequel brings back the screenwriter Greg Rucka (adapting his own comic book series, in collaboration with the co-writer Sarah L. Walker and the director Victoria Mahoney) along with much of the original cast. Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne and Chiwetel Ejiofor play members of a supersecret mercenary group, mostly made up of immortals. At the end of the first installment, Theron’s character, Andy, lost her rapid-healing superpower. So in “The Old Guard 2” she adjusts to the idea of mortality while also helping her team fight their evil counterparts, led by Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) and Discord (Uma Thurman).


The Sandman Season 2
Starts streaming: July 3

This adaptation of the writer Neil Gaiman’s popular comic book series picks up the pace in its second and final season, skipping past multiple story arcs in order to get to the end of “The Sandman” saga more quickly. In these final episodes, the dream king Lord Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) — an entity who has existed in some form or another since before the dawn of human history — reckons with the many mistakes he has made over millions of years. In Season 2 he attempts to rescue a former lover from Hell and to reconcile with long-lost family members, before facing a reckoning from ancient enemies.


The Gringo Hunters Season 1
Starts streaming: July 9

Most of the news stories and action movies set on the U.S.’s southern border focus on migrants and smugglers who are trying to cross over into America. But this Mexican crime drama — based on the cases of a real-life police unit — is set on the other side of the line, in Tijuana, where U.S. fugitives sometimes try to hide out from justice. Despite the Spanish dialogue, “The Gringo Hunters” resembles an American TV cop show, following a committed band of men and women who chase down dealers, killers and human traffickers. These officers also have some spirited conversations over what they want their Mexico to look like, debating whether cleaning the local neighborhoods up for tourists and real estate developers will make their city unaffordable.


Too Much Season 1
Starts streaming: July 10

Lena Dunham returns to TV writing and directing with this comedy series, which combines the sensibility of her much-discussed 2010s hit “Girls” and the breeziness of British rom-coms. Megan Stalter plays Jessica, who relocates to London for work, hoping to recover from a messy breakup by living like the heroine of a Regency novel. When she meets Felix (Will Sharpe), a sensitive singer-songwriter, Jessica has to figure out whether this marks the beginning of the romance she has always dreamed about or a looming disaster. Created by Dunham and her husband, Luis Felber (a British singer-songwriter), “Too Much” looks at how people’s expectations of love can be shaped by popular culture.


Untamed Season 1
Starts streaming: July 17

Eric Bana stars in this combination neo-western and neo-noir as Kyle Turner, a National Park Service special investigator looking into the mysterious and gruesome death of an unidentified young woman on El Capitan, in Yosemite. Turner is diligent, keen-eyed and willing to take risks his colleagues won’t. He also drinks on the job and does not work well with others, in part because of a tragic past. Created by the screenwriters Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith, “Untamed” is a moody mystery set against a backdrop of majestic mountains and lakes, with a strong cast that includes Rosemarie DeWitt as Turner’s anxious ex-wife, Sam Neill as a veteran Yosemite park ranger who knows Turner better than almost anybody, and Lily Santiago as a former Los Angeles police officer now employed by the N.P.S. — and maybe the only person Turner can trust.


Also arriving:

July 1

“Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers”
“Mom” Seasons 1-8
“Portlandia” Seasons 1-8
“Yellowjackets” Season 2

July 2

“Tour de France: Unchained” Season 3

July 3

“Mr. Robot” Seasons 1-4

July 4

“All the Sharks”

July 5

“The Summer Hikaru Died” Season 1

July 8

“Better Late Than Single” Season 1
“Nate Jackson: Super Funny”
“Quarterback” Season 2

July 9

“Building the Band” Season 1
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“Under a Dark Sun” Season 1
“Ziam”

July 10

“7 Bears”
“Brick”
“Leviathan” Season 1

July 11

“Almost Cops”
“Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Destination Wedding”

July 14

“Apocalypse in the Tropics”

July 16

“Amy Bradley Is Missing”
“Mamma Mia!”

July 17

“Catalog” Season 1
“Community Squad” Season 2

July 18

“I’m Still a Superstar”
“Superstar”
“Vir Das: Fool Volume”
“Wall to Wall”

July 21

“The Hunting Wives” Season 1
“The Steve Harvey Show” Seasons 1-6
“Sunday Best”

July 24

“Hitmakers”
“My Melody & Kuromi” Season 1
“A Normal Woman”

July 25

“Happy Gilmore 2”
“Trigger”

July 28

“The Lazarus Project” Seasons 1-2

July 29

“Dusty Slay: Wet Heat”
“WWE: Unreal” Season 1

July 30

“Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes”
“Unspeakable Sins”

July 31

“Glass Heart” Season 1
“An Honest Life”
“Leanne” Season 1
“Marked” Season 1

[Manolo]

Check the Eternaut, an Argentinian series. You can dial spoken English with English or Spanish subtitles., or watch it in Spanish with English subtitles… Very good and original. Based on an Argentinian comic book series from the 50’s 60’s.. ala Walking Dead
Main actor Ricardo Darín which I a very famous Argentinian actor… for science fiction fans.

[WGH]

Wednesday is entertaining. Season 2 just ended so all 8 episodes can be binged at once now. The acting, set design and special effects are all top notch. Tim Burton directed episodes 1, 4, 7 and 8 and have that little extra Tim Burton quirky horror touch.

The regular cast includes: Jenna Ortega, Luis Guzmán, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Emma Myers with the addition of Steve Buscemi as Principal Dort and Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth - Game of Thrones, Severance, The Sandman).

Guests include Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester Addams, Christopher Lloyd as Professor Orloff, and Lady Gaga as Rosaline Rotwood.

Fun family viewing if your family includes a brain eating zombie.

[WGH]

Coming to Netflix this October courtesy of the NY Times:

Oct. 3 - ‘Steve’

Cillian Murphy reunites with his “Small Things Like These” director, Tim Mielants, for this intense social drama, set over the course of one harrowing day and night at a controversial British reform school. Murphy plays the institution’s headmaster, who believes his troubled boys — and, by extension, society — benefit more from close attention and care than from being thrown into prison with hardened adult criminals. The film takes place on a day when a local news crew is on campus, investigating whether taxpayer money is being wasted on these often angry, often violent teenagers. A strong cast that includes Tracey Ullman and Emily Watson as faculty members — and a handful of talented young actors who will undoubtedly be seen on screens a lot in the coming years — bring a lot of life and energy to some heavy subject matter.



Oct. 9 - ‘Boots’

One of the last TV series worked on by the venerable writer-producer Norman Lear, this military dramedy series is based on Greg Cope White’s memoir “The Pink Marine,” which was about how he made it through Marine boot camp in the 1990s, at a time when everything about him — his scrawniness, his anxiety, his homosexuality — should have made him a terrible recruit. Miles Heizer plays Cameron Cope, who discovers that while basic training lives up to its reputation for being physically and mentally grueling, the Corps is also full of misfits who soon become his brothers. More “An Officer and a Gentleman” than “Full Metal Jacket,” “Boots” details the hardships and the rewards that come with committing to a cause.



Oct. 10 - ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’

Based on a Ruth Ware novel, this paranoid thriller pays homage to all those old Agatha Christie novels that featured a group of eclectic characters, a remote location and a murder. Keira Knightley plays Lo Blacklock, an investigative journalist who is invited to recover from her more traumatic recent assignments by filing a soft piece about a philanthropic billionaire’s new luxury yacht. But when Lo sees a passenger get tossed overboard and can’t get anyone to admit that the victim ever existed, she feels her sanity slipping. Directed by Simon Stone (best-known for the fine historical drama “The Dig”), the movie sets its twisty story mostly in a boat far from shore. The isolation and confined space only exacerbates the hero’s frazzled state, as she scrambles to find anyone aboard who will believe her.



Oct. 23 - ‘Nobody Wants This’ Season 2

Season 1 of this romantic comedy series earned multiple Emmy nominations and became a big hit, thanks in large part to the winning chemistry of its two leads. Kristen Bell plays Joanne, a funny and outspoken podcaster who in Season 1 fell in love with Noah (Adam Brody), a charming rabbi whose family and congregation were not super happy with his new gentile girlfriend. After persistent struggles and a big breakup, the couple reconnected in the finale. In Season 2, they soon discover that not all of their friends, colleagues and loved ones are ready to give them their blessing. The central appeal of this show is Joanne and Noah’s easygoing rapport and affection, but as this bond is tested again, they are forced to consider what their relationship could cost them.



Oct. 24 - ‘A House of Dynamite’

The Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker,” “Zero Dark Thirty”) returns to the political thriller genre for a “what if” story with a terrifying premise. What if the U.S. military’s radar suddenly picked up an incoming nuclear missile, fired from an unknown location and only about 20 minutes away from hitting an American city? Idris Elba plays the President of the United States (with Renée Elise Goldsberry as his first lady), while Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Jason Clarke and Rebecca Ferguson play some of the people who have to figure out quickly what is happening and how to respond. These kinds of doomsday movies were fairly common in the Cold War era, but with “A House of Dynamite,” Bigelow and the screenwriter Noah Oppenheim have updated the scenario for today, reminding audiences that the threat of nuclear Armageddon remains very real.


Also arriving:

Oct. 1
“Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery”
“Beverly Hills Cop”
“Blue Crush”
“Dirty Dancing”
“The Goonies”
“Halo” Seasons 1-2
“The Hurt Locker”
“Love Is Blind” Season 9
“The Mask”
“Molly’s Game”
“Riv4lries” Season 1
“Scarface”
“Sister Act”
“Taxi Driver”
“Training Day”
“The Way Home” Seasons 1-2

Oct. 2
“Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”
“Dudes” Season 1
“The Game: You Never Play Alone” Season 1
“The Martian”

Oct. 3
“Monster: The Ed Gein Story”
“The New Force” Season 1
“Old Dog, New Tricks” Season 1

Oct. 3
“Ip Man”

Oct. 4
“Ranma 1/2” Season 2

Oct. 6
“Dr. Seuss’s Horton!” Season 1

Oct. 7
“Nurse Jackie” Seasons 1-7
“True Haunting” Season 1

Oct. 8
“Caramelo”
“Is It Cake? Halloween”

Oct. 9
“The Maze Runner”
“The Resurrected” Season 1
“Victoria Beckham”

Oct. 10
“My Father, the BTK Killer”
“Swim to Me”

Oct. 14
“Everybody Loves Me When I’m Dead”
“Splinter Cell: Deathwatch” Season 1

Oct. 15
“Six Kings Slam 2025”

Oct. 16
“The Diplomat” Season 3
“Romantics Anonymous” Season 1
“Starting 5” Season 2

Oct. 17
“Good News”
“The Perfect Neighbor”
“She Walks in Darkness”
“Turn of the Tide” Season 2
“The Twits”

Oct. 21
“Michelle Wolf: The Well”
“Who Killed the Montreal Expos?”

Oct. 22
“Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia”
“The Monster of Florence”

Oct. 23
“The Elixir”

Oct. 28
“Mo Amer: Wild World”
“Nightmares of Nature: Lost in the Jungle”

Oct. 29
“Ballad of a Small Player”
“NOS4A2” Seasons 1-2
“Selling Sunset” Season 9

Oct. 30
“Juan Gabriel: I Must, I Can, I Will”
“The Witcher” Season 4

Oct. 31
“Breathless” Season 2