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NETFLIX, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO AND MORE

Georgia is doing it again to Trump and his cronies, for Rudy Giuliani was hit with a $148 million verdict for defaming two election workers.  From America's mayor to Trump loser, and Rudy still has the more serious criminal trial for trying to overturn the election.

I still don't go to films in theaters, which leaves me with news/sports/etc on TV, plus Netflix and Amazon Prime.  Rotten Tomatoes rates their top 96 Prime series:

#1  100%  Fleabag (2016):  I started watching several years ago, and never went back.  Perhaps I now will.

#2  100%  The Legend of Vox Machina (2022):  I don't watch animated anything.

#3-#10  All are at 100%, except for The Devil's Hour (2022).

#36  Transparent (2014):  all the entries up to #36 are 91% or higher.

#96  40%  The Terminal List (2022).

Interesting that the first 3 mentioned of 50 Best TV Shows on Amazon Prime Video Right Now (3 days ago) from Collider were:

97%  Undone (2019): psychological comedy drama.  But is animated.

87%  Billions (2016):  Paul Giamatti, dark comedy, 7 seasons.  Will add to my list.

86%  Tales from the Loop (2020):  Science Fiction.  Watched a few episodes.  Okay.

Scroll down further to view the Best Action Movies on Prime.  No Rotten Tomatoes ratings indicated.  Way down on the list is the 1954 Seven Samurai, one of the better films ever released.

Further down are HBO Max's Best Dramas.  Then you need to subscribe to see what else shows up.

The New York Times has their 50 Best TV Shows on Netflix Right Now (a week ago).  Real Simple has 51 Best Shows on Netflix to Watch This December.  To quote:

The streaming service is home to plenty of things to watch—we've got lists of the best horror movies on Netflix if you're craving a good scare, best romantic movies on Netflix if you want to have a good cry, Black history movies on Netflix if you want to educate yourself, plus kids' movies on Netflix for the little ones on break—but movies can only take you so far (and fill so many hours). If you're looking for an hours-long binge-watch opportunity, turn to one of these Netflix TV shows. 

#1  Squid Game:  The Challenge.  This is season 2 (2023) and slightly different, with no deaths.  Rotten Tomatoes gave Season One 95%/84% ratings, but only 44%/81% for The Challenge.  Almost always the audience is right.  I watched a few episodes of Season One.  Good, but too many other things appeared.  Will go back someday to finish, and go on to Season 2.  South Korea has truly addictive productions.

#2  Fall of the House of Usher (2023).  RT 90%/80%.  8 episodes.  Mark Hamill has a role.

#3  Sex Education.  4 seasons of 8 episodes.  All four seasons scored above 90%, with Seasons 2 and 3 getting reviewers' ratings of 98%.

#4  Love is Blind.  5 seasons and 14 episodes in Season 1, but RT 57%/43% overall,  Season 5 got 20% from reviewers.

#5  Virgin River.  5 seasons and 10 episodes in S1  RT: 82%/66% overall, but 100% in S4.

#51 Schitt's Creek.  Started in 2015.  6 seasons.  This #51 rated series has Rotten Tomatoes ratings of 93% from reviewers and 93% from the audience.  I watched a few episodes in S1, but that only got a 68% rating from reviewers.  However, seasons 2, 4, 5 and 6 got 100% scores.  Got to go back someday soon.

I included all the above to lead you into Leave the World Behind, a movie on Netflix I watched the other night.

  • Only got 75%/41% ratings from Rotten Tomatoes.
  • Good actors, with Oscar winners Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali, plus Ethan Hawk and Kevin Bacon, with direction by Sam Esmail.  
  • An ambiguous but apocalyptic thriller which was slow at times, but made you think.
  • Maybe the whole point was like the book...leave the audience mystified.
  • However, with so much material introduced as background, I would not be surprised if a creative ending is found in a sequel, if not two.

At one time as a child I went to those Disney films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  But I grew up and now don't bother with animated movies.  However, there are two new ones I might actually consider.

Yu Yu Hakusho is on Netflix and derives from Japanese manga or anime.  

  • The 2023 production of five one-hour episodes is itself not the standard animation, but a live-action adaptation with a lot of computer-generated assistance.  
  • This manga has 175 chapters about pubescent heroes fighting supernatural monsters.
  • Too early for Rotten Tomatoes reviewers, but audiences gave it an 86 rating.
  • Takumi Kitamura plays the main character, and at 26-years of age, he wasn't yet born when Yoshihiro Togashi's creation first hit the pages.

Finally, a Japanese anime, The Boy and the Heron, was last weekend #1 at the North American box office.  82-year old Hayao Miyazaki also directed Spirited Away, which 20 years ago earned 96/96 ratings from Rotten Tomatoes, and an Academy Award for best animated feature in 2003.  The distributor was Disney and today can be watched on Prime.

Some complained that my Christmas posting was too short.  Well, if you got a couple of hours to spare, here is a compilation of impressionists from America and Britain Got Talent. 

 
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