Recommendations from Netflix Streaming
One challenge in dealing with Netflix is finding what's worth watching from its vast library of available titles. Some small number get a lot of buzz, but those are not usually what I like the best. Here's a list of titles which are available for streaming right now (22 February 2023), don't appear to be heavily promoted, and I think highly of.
After Life. This Ricky Gervais vehicle about a man mourning his deceased wife has a lot of sweetness. At times, it made me laugh, and at other times, I cried.
Black Mirror. Imagine if Twilight Zone were still in production and updated to deal with the current age. It is composed of excellent, thoughtful stories often featuring a twist.
Borgen. According to Wikipedia, "Borgen" is a slang term for Christiansborg Palace, a building in Copenhagen which houses all three of Denmark's branches of government. You might like this if you liked West Wing. Think of this series as West Wing with a Nordic slant.
Cunk on Earth. Diane Morgan is excellent as the clueless Philomena Cunk in this mockumentary. I'm amazed and amused as the real-life experts she interviews are patient and polite enough to endure her stupid questions. This actress also played a minor character in After Life.
Inside Man. Here we have mystery with a famous detective. That might sound like pretty well-explored territory, but here's a twist: the detective is a convicted murderer who must solve the mysteries working from prison. It's very funny in an edgy way, and it explores humankind's capacity to do the wrong thing. Performances by David Tennant and Stanley Tucci are especially memorable and entertaining.
The IT Crowd. Even though each character is a stereotype from the world of corporate IT, this is funny. We have clueless bosses, a genius man-child, a misogynist, and a goth. Of course their department is housed in the basement.
Love, Death, and Robots. An animated science fiction anthology with episodes ranging in length from about five to twenty minutes. There's a variety of animation styles and story themes. If you like Black Mirror, you will probably like this. Currently, there are 35 episodes. I hope they create and release another season.
Margin Call. A fictional drama showing how the economic contagion that became the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009 might have begun.
Molly's Game. This based on a true story drama shows how a former Olympic-level skier runs a high stakes poker game. Aaron Sorkin's clever dialog makes the characters spark. I especially liked the performances of Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, and Chris O'Dowd (who played the misogynist in The IT Crowd).
2 westerns that break the mold. From the twisted minds of the Coen Brothers comes several vignettes of the American west in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. And Godless shows a distaff western in which a small Colorado town populated by women faces a cold-blooded outlaw and his gang.
