Isolation Media 101: Netflix Originals Edition
At first, I couldn’t even bring myself to think of tackling Netflix as a quarantine media deep dive. There’s just so much - how can you even begin to narrow it down? But content just created by Netflix, now that is infinitely more manageable. Between a bunch of shows that can be easily completed in a day, some decent original movies and a lot of really fantastic documentaries, I had a great combination of things to watch.
Never Have I Ever
Well, the four people who told me within 24 hours to watch this weren’t wrong. Seeing a different culture in a high school show so matter-of-factly was wonderful. It wasn’t a plot point. It was just the story. And we could always use more of it. It’s well-written, only about five or so hours long and is filled with charming, granted sometimes embarrassment-inducing high schoolers. It’s easy to devour this show all at once.
The Verdict: 4/5
Too Hot To Handle: The Reunion
I’ll admit I got sucked into the main show like a lot of people, despite only recently embracing the joy that is trash tv. However, I was super let down by this reunion. It felt like a waste of time and I felt like I didn’t really get anything out of it. Of course that’s partially just due to it all being over video calls, but also I felt like they didn’t ask the cast anything I was actually interested in knowing. Skip this and just rewatch the Love Is Blind reunion.
The Verdict: 2/5
Holiday in the Wild
Yeah, it’s not Christmas, but this was one I had meant to see back in December and just forgot all about it. And honestly…it’s not bad. I’d say well above average for a Hallmark-esque holiday movie. Rob Lowe is charming as always, we get the added bonus of really cute African animals and there’s actually some decent chemistry between the leads. What more can you really ask out of a predictable love story?
The Verdict: 3/5
Dead to Me (season 2)
I really enjoyed this first season and thought it was incredibly creative, so this lost just a few points due to some of it seeming a bit like a re-tread to me. However, I appreciate how we got to learn more about each of the characters - with Jen giving me some serious Lorelai Gilmore vibes in her dialogue. It did set up for a season three, so if something happens and we don’t get that, I’m going to be a teensy bit devastated.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Unorthodox
One thing I love about doing these deep dives is that it almost forces me to watch things I wouldn’t normally put on. This four part series is based on a memoir about a Hasidic Jewish woman who flees an arranged marriage and goes to Berlin, but her husband follows closely behind. It’s a fascinating story and one you can’t play on your phone during - because about half of it is subtitled.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
You Get Me
After Unorthodox, I needed something that felt a bit frivolous, so a high school version of Fatal Attraction starring Bella Thorne seemed like the perfect chaser. And it was fine enough. It wasn’t a waste of time, but ‘teen Fatal Attraction’ is literally all you need to know. Since it doesn’t cost anything to watch if you have Netflix, I say go for it, but keep your expectations low.
The Verdict: 2.5/5
Becoming
After reading Michelle Obama’s book of the same name, i was really excited to see this on Netflix. I was hoping to learn a bit more about her life and maybe put some photos and videos to the stories, but it was a bit more about her book tour than I would have hoped. That is my own wishes clouding things, though, and I still really enjoyed the glimpse into this extremely interesting, intelligent woman’s lfie.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Knock Down the House
Since I was on a roll learning about inspiration women, I decided to go right on to this documentary. It’s all about the elections where some relative newcomers challenged a lot of career politicians and upset the political landscape. I loved seeing highlights about these fresh faces and their big dreams, whether they were able to win their race or not.
The Verdict: 4/5
Time to Eat
If you’re a fan of Great British Bake Off, you have to watch this. My only complaint is that there are less than ten episodes of it right now. Nadiya, a star of her season, shares some easy-to-make recipes that almost look too good to eat. She’s charming, clearly a talented cook and eager to learn. It’s the perfect visual comfort food for everything in 2020 being a dumpster fire.
The Verdict: 4/5
13th
I can’t say this is a fun watch. It’s devastating and disheartening to hear about the history of enslavement turning into imprisonment in the United States. However, it’s full of things that I needed to hear, things I never would have learned about since I was lucky enough to be born middle class and white. This documentary is extremely well made and well worth a watch, just maybe have something light for afterwards.
The Verdict: 4/5
A Secret Love
I decided to continue my documentary run and check this one out that I believe was pretty recently added. It tells the story of two women who concealed their love story for more than six decades but never faltered in being together. One of them was even a professional baseball player - which I was utterly delighted by. This movie is both devastating and heartwarming as you learn about all their ups and downs.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
The Half of It
It’s been hours since I finished this movie and I don’t know if I liked it or not. It somehow felt like a movie I’ve seen before but then twisted in ways I didn’t completely see coming. Even so, it falls into weird cliches and even seemingly repeated a plot point that I swear had already happened. Also, haven’t we gotten to a point where someone can be a nerd without wearing ill-fitting clothes and giant glasses? Just saying.
The Verdict: 2.5/5
Outer Banks
I will watch any teen drama, especially if it only requires a handful of hours to watch in its entirety. And at first, I was totally on board. I was slightly annoyed that they had to call the main character John B when there was not another John to confuse him with, but other than that, I loved the first 2/3 of this show. And then it just got ridiculous, and I was more eye-rolling than enthralled.
The Verdict: 2.5/5
Hollywood
I’m not the biggest Ryan Murphy fan since the sheer idea of American Horror Story almost induces nightmares, but I loved this show so much. I’m glad it was less than ten episodes so I could watch in one day because there was no way I was turning it off until it was done. It’s visually stunning and accomplishes something very difficult: making me care about brand new characters very quickly.
The Verdict: 4/5
Trial By Media
I would love more documentary mini-series like this. I will warn you though - there are a few episodes that were extremely difficult to get through. The second to last episode about a rape case made me truly nauseated - so think about any triggers before diving in. The episodes called “King Richard” about a corporate fraud case and “Blago!” about Rod Blagojevich were definitely my favorites.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
The Big Flower Fight
So many new reality competition shows seem to mimic the kinder atmosphere of Great British Bake Off and I’m definitely here for it. This show fell a bit flat for me, however, since I didn’t feel like I could tell much about the contestants’ personalities so I didn’t have any investment about who won. Despite the flower sculptures being gorgeous, I wasn’t fully glued to the screen during the creation process.
The Verdict: 2.5/5
Outlaw King
Man, old school Scotland was a mess. Literally and figuratively. This movie does not over-glamorize a single thing, and I could be wrong, but it felt pretty accurate. I love how I keep finding Florence Pugh in random movies lately, and her plus Chris Pine was a great combination. The movie is a bit long, but other than that, I was extremely impressed.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
All the Bright Places
This movie is very good but I feel like I should warn - the description of this movie does not even remotely indicate just how heart wrenching it is. It’s very well acted, a really beautiful story and extremely, extremely devastating. It is definitely worth a watch, especially if you enjoy movies to err on the side of drama over comedy, but I felt no one should get ‘tricked’ like I was into thinking this would be an upper.
The Verdict: 3/5
Making my list for this project made me realize just how many things Netflix has created. I had no idea how much original stuff they had, and my watch list definitely has more on it than I could have fit in a week.
Going to take the rest of the month off from some deep dives and just enjoy some trash reality tv, books and podcasts. If you have any suggestions for streaming services I haven’t done for June, let me know in the comments!