(Be
forewarned… this blog post is a link bomb!)
It’s been over three (3) months since the faithful phone call to end one of my longest relationships. It was painful, brutally abrupt and left me feeling kind of disconnected, for about a minute. There were reasons behind the ending of our union: 1) No real communication, 2) Only one of us paid, all the time, 3) Moments were almost always about reruns, non-relevant issues and other people’s dramas. And other small irreconcilable differences.
I had an urge for some Space 1999. Yes, it’s a thing. And damn if I wasn’t successful in finding the complete series, for free, on #YouTube. (Sorry that sounds like a spam comment insert, but it’s the truth. INSERT LINK HERE). I binged on the commercial-free marvel of SCI-FI for two weeks. Most of January and February of 2016 were spent in this manner. Time well spent learning, exploring and almost vomiting in my mouth, all thanks to YouTube.
Then came the awakening of an under-used Netflix account. If anybody was being neglected it would have to be my friends at Netflix . Being one of their original Canadian customers since so long ago, I starting browsing their homepage of (kind of) boundless entertainment offered in T.V. shows and movies.
A big Must Watch is Swelter! My love-lust for Jean Claude Van Damme has been reignited and yes, that man is still relevant and certainly, not ‘faking’ it. The cast is well-rounded, and the story holds up, for me anyway. Danielle Favilli is just fantastic as the psycho half-brother.
Then I spent two days with Jai Courtney smokin’ hot, talented, versatile actor from Down-Under. I binge-watched Spartacus prior to GDTDH, and was already tickled by that man’s physical condition. I had previous watched the first season of this series back in the day. Unfortunately, after the death of their previous leading male actor, Andy Whitfield, I was lacking interest and lost track of the show. (That’s another blog that shall be written someday, in the near future.)
(Quick note: EXCLUSIVE Trailer: ‘Be Here Now (The Andy Whitfield Story)’ Goes Inside the ‘Spartacus’ Actor’s Battle With Cancer. Released April 8, 2016)
Continuing with the Action theme, I was able to view recently uploaded Terminator Genisys and spoiler, he still doesn’t die in this one, either. But the plot twist did catch me by surprise, so I give it a ‘Thumbs Up”. And oh yeah, Jai Courtney is also in this one. Mr. Courtney also stars alongside Bruce Willis in A Good Day to Die Hard 2013. Be your own critic and watch some of these.
Which brings me to the darker side of exploring unseen films. These films are usually independent, scantly censored and either nonsensical, psychologically twisted, or both. And the next mentioned piece cinematic art is all of those and features a mega-superstar Canadian, Ryan Reynolds. The movie that I’m speaking of is – The Voices 2014. The versatility of this extremely gorgeous man is not in question. Ryan Reynolds proves his range of emotion and extreme control, within the role of Jerry. There will be no spoilers for this one. I was creeped out, in awe and almost sorry that the movie ended, really. (Think of it as ‘Taxi Driver’ meets ‘The Truman Show’ with a drop of ‘Hannibal’ for dessert.) Definitively, recommend this at least once. (FYI to anybody inside Netflix, Two Guys, A Girl and A Pizza Place would be a real treat for us, your customers. Trust me on this.) Also note-worthy is that both Ryan Reynolds and Jai Courtney are in the now international blockbuster Deadpool.
Needless to say after experiencing such intensity with The Voices 2014, I was in the mood for short spurts of comedic relief, with a story line if possible. And I’m still pretty much in the midst of an almost perfect summer viewing blitz.
Here’s a short list of some suggested time well-spent and the laughter alone will make your heart, lungs and other organs, get a workout. So don’t say I didn’t warn you.
1.
Grace
and Frankie – Jane
Fonda and Lily Tomlin. These ladies are as ‘relevant’ as they were when they
enacted “9 to 5”. I was so upset to come to the end of the first season. And
it’s at the top of my must-watch list during the summer when season two is
uploaded to Netflix. Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!
2.
The
Ranch – Sam Elliott (enough said)…. Joking aside the cast is loaded and
pretty solid storyline in the first season. This one took me by surprise as I’m
not a country girl by any means and I’ve become immune to Ashton Kutcher. Yet,
I absolutely love, love, love Same Elliott. And he is in this, so watch it.
Really.
3. Spartacus
– Andy Whitfield’s
last know contribution to the entertainment world prior to his untimely
passing. He is still sadly missed. The series continued on, thanks to Netflix
and gave several more seasons of spectacular, historically correct moments in
Roman society and some of the bloodiest scenes I’ve ever enjoyed. Oh and did I
mentioned the copious amounts of bare-breasted women, the unadulterated orgies
and the epic gladiator matches. Obviously, I will never say enough about
something I enjoy so much. I yelled “Spartacus!!!” every chance I got for at
least three weeks. I order you to watch this show during those rainy days.
4.
Marco
Polo – Not particularly standing out for anything but still holding its own
as historically accurate, for the most part and the scenes are breathe-taking.
5.
Flaked
– Will Arnett and some
other underrated, yet very talented actors who portray eccentric people living
in Venice, California, of all places. Will Arnett is dark, yet lovable,
endearing, yet untrustworthy and that’s just the first episode. And yes I
admit, he can almost be very seductive.
And that just the beginning of my adventures in the world of Netflix (Canadian link). And did I mention the crap-load of savings from not paying for cable. (I sure do miss watching Vikings on History Channel.) I just have to make sure that all this new control over my quality of entertainment is going to lead to a more controlled intake of this said entertainment. NOT!!!
If you don’t have an account yet, get one. Start by going here Netflix.ca, or check with your actual Internet provider.
(One last thing: who’s on board to petition Netflix to give us back the reviews and ratings options? I’ve got some feedback that’s dying to get out. Anybody else feeling the same way, too?)
