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THE BEST STREAMING FILMS TO WATCH: Part 2....plus some good news at the end of this posting

The crucial, existential question of the day for Hawaii is.....DID HURRICANE NOLO MAKE THAT EXPECTED 90 DEGREE LEFT TURN TO THE WEST EARLY THIS MORNING?

  • Well, the local Star Advertiser early this morning did not say yes.

Hurricane Nolo was parked south of South Point this morning with its outer bands of rain continuing to hit parts of Hawaii island but forecasters expect it to start moving west soon, avoiding a direct landfall.

As of 5 a.m., Nolo was a strong Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and was stationary, centered 145 miles south of South Point and 345 miles south-southeast of Honolulu, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Nolo is a relatively compact cyclone with hurricane-force winds of 74 mph or more extending up to 45 miles from the center and tropical storm-force winds of 39 mph or more extending up to 140 miles.

  • So we will not know for sure until later this morning.  Here is the expected path of the eye.
  • According to Google AI:

As of September 26, 2026, the eye of Hurricane Nolo (often referred to as Nola) is meandering roughly 145 miles south of South Point on the Big Island of Hawaii. The storm is currently a Category 2 system with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. [1, 2, 3]
According to the latest National Hurricane Center Public Advisory, the core of the storm will remain well south and southwest of the main Hawaiian Islands, sparing the state from a direct landfall. [1, 2]
    • Saturday, Sept 26: The eye is nearly stationary but is expected to take a sharp westward turn and accelerate later today. It will strengthen into a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) by tonight. [1, 2, 3, 4]
    • Sunday, Sept 27: The storm will continue its westward acceleration, likely peaking in intensity by late Sunday while moving further out into the open Pacific. [1, 2]
    • Monday, Sept 28: A turn toward the northwest and north-northwest is projected as it begins to weaken.[1, 2]
  • To summarize:
    • Hurricane Nolo, now at Category 2 strength, has stopped moving north.
    • The expectation is this left turn to the west later today and increase in strength to a Category 3.
    • Nolo is expected to get even stronger Sunday into a Category 4
    • If this hurricane does not make a premature right turn to the north, Hawaii should be fine,
    • But if there is this Hurricane Iniki movement north before Monday....well, this shouldn't happen according to computer models.  These have improved since 1992 when Iniki devastated Kauai.
  • Here is a video showing all the possible tracks of Hurricane Nolo.
























So on to my posting of the day.  100 Best Netflix movies right now.
  • Mind you, the ONLY 100-rated film at #1 is Wallace & Gromit:  Vengeance Most Fowl (2024).  Audiences gave it a 90.
    • Yes, directed by 4-time Academy Award winner Nick Park.
    • But I don't watch animated productions.

  • #2    99 /98       Godzilla Minus One (2023).
    • Can you image a Godzilla film at #2?
    • With engaging human stories anchoring the action, Godzilla Minus One is one kaiju movie that remains truly compelling between the scenes of mass destruction.
  • #3    99/70        Under the Shadow (2016)
    • A Persian film.
    • After Shideh's building is hit by a missile during the Iran-Iraq War, a superstitious neighbor suggests that the missile was cursed and might be carrying malevolent Middle-Eastern spirits. She becomes convinced a supernatural force within the building is attempting to possess her daughter Dorsa, and she has no choice but to confront these forces if she is to save her daughter and herself.
  • #4    98/80  The Perfect Neighbor (2025):  
    • A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida's "stand your ground" laws.
    • Is a documentary, and was nominated at the 98th Academy Awards for Best Documentary.
    • #5    97/98  Jaws (1975)
      • This is that famous film directed by Steven Spielberg, with Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss. 
      • Won Oscar for Best Original Score.
      • There were four franchise films.  Got worse and worse.  How's this for regression:  97..57...10....0 to 3.
  • #6      97/72  Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)
    • Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman.  He died in later that year at the age of 43.
    • Tensions and temperatures rise at a Chicago music studio in 1927 when fiery, fearless blues singer Ma Rainey joins her band for a recording session.
    • Saw this film.  Did not like it.  72 is about right.

    • #10    97/93  Spider-Man:  Into the Spider-Verse (2018)     
    • #30    93/94   Aliens (1986)
    • #100  100/70  Resident Evil:  Damnation (2012)
      • Why is this 100-rated and #100?
      • This is a Japanese film.
      • Leon S. Kennedy (Matthew Mercer) sneaks into a former Soviet state to investigate rumors that bio-organic weapons are being used in their civil war. He is immediately ordered to evacuate, but he ignores the order to stop the weapons from being used.

Other streaming channels:

From Google AI

  • Pinocchio (1940) – 100% Tomatometer score, the classic animated masterpiece.  Of course, you must remember the Academy Award Song:  When You Wish Upon A Star.  Sung by Cliff Edwards, voicing Jiminy Cricket.
  • Music by John Williams (2024) – 100% Tomatometer score, a warm retrospective documentary on the legendary composer.
  • Zootopia (2016) – 98% Tomatometer score, the modern animated hit.
  • 101 Dalmatians (1961) – 98% Tomatometer score, the beloved hand-animated classic.
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
    (1937) – 97% Tomatometer score, Disney's foundational feature film.  Heigh-Ho
    might have won an Oscar too....except that category had not yet been invented.
  • Aladdin (1992) – 96% Tomatometer score, a musical jewel of the Disney Renaissance.
  • Beauty and the Beast (1991) – 95% Tomatometer score, the landmark Best Picture nominee.
  • Fantasia (1940) – 95% Tomatometer score, the ambitious classical music animation fusion.
  • Toy Story (1995) – 100% Tomatometer score across historical consensus (Pixar catalog on the platform). [1, 2]
  • Well, armed with the above info, I this week saw five highly rated films.

    • Checked with Google AI, and it said that Don't Say Good Luck debuted with a rare 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
      • Released in 2026.
      • Main actress is Sunny Sandler.  In the middle below with mom and dad.
      • Her father Adam was one of the producers.
    • I just was so bored with what I was looking at, and about 30 minutes into this 95-minute movie, left.  Why?  Just was not worth my time.  Seemed shallow.
    • Turns out that the first reviewers gave the film a 100 rating, but September inputs dropped this film to 93/80, still excellent.
    • While Ordinary Angels only got an 84 rating from critics, the audience gave it a 99.  So I watched this 2024 film  on Netflix, which starred Hilary Swank.
      • Based on true events.
      • A feel good story.  But I cried, three times.
      • Don't need to say much more.  Go see it.

    • I somehow stumbled across Black Narcissus, a film made in 1947, rated 100/87.
      • Starred Deborah Kerr, Sabu, David Farrar and Jean Simmons.
      • Kerr was only in her mid-20s and Simmons maybe 17.  King and I came nine years later.
      • About a group of Anglican nuns led by Sister Clodagh (Kerr) sent to an odd old palace high up in the Himalayas.  They have a tough time.
      • I stopped watching about halfway through this 100 minute film.  Too many stresses.
      • Checked later, and the ending saw the nuns abandoning their mission.
    In Tuner, Academy Award-winning director Daniel Roher's first narrative feature, Leo Woodall stars as a gifted young piano tuner whose heightened sense of hearing draws the attention of criminals, who see his talents as useful for opening safes as well as for tuning Steinways. With his once-promising musical career over, he works across New York with his mentor Harry Horowitz (Academy Award-winner Dustin Hoffman), encountering a range of characters, including composition student Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), with whom he forges an unexpected connection. Niki's safecracking work threatens his budding romance with Ruthie and pulls him into increasingly dangerous territory.
    • The fifth was a series on Hulu.  Furious got 99/89 scores.
      • Released this year.
      • Starred Emmy Rossum and Lola Petticrew.
      • Well-written and well-acted.
      • Gripping.  Sordid.  A lot deaths.
      • Eight episodes. about an hour long each. 
      • I have  only watched 3 so far.
    • I rarely abandon films, so for me to leave two in a week, all highly rated, was most unusual.

    More to come in the fuure.

    Sent to  me by friends for your enjoyment:  Laughter is good medicine.....

    A penny saved is obviously the result of a government oversight.

    ***********

    The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

    ***********
    The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.

    ***********
    The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a new replacement for it.

    ***********
    He who hesitates is probably doing the right thing.

    ***********
    Did you ever notice: The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are ' XL.'

    ***********
    If you think there is some good in everybody, you obviously haven't met 'everybody'.
     

    ***********
    The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so that he can tell when he's 'really' in trouble.

    ***********

    Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words 'The' and 'IRS' together it spells 'Theirs.'

    ***********
    Aging: Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

    ***********
    The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

    ***********

    When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.

    ***********
    You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

    ***********

    Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

    ***********

    Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today, it's called golf


    But at 9:03AM Hawaii time, the local Star Advertiser sent me this bit of news.


    Hurricane Nolo begins turn to the west, avoiding direct hit on Hawaii island


    We are safe from this hurricane!  However, Hurricane Iwa, the second worst hurricane to hit Hawaii, came in November, causing damages of more than $300 million.  The hurricane season is not yet over.

    -

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