Hi friends,
It’s official, Netflix is doing the one thing it promised to curb and make obsolete: run ads. The streaming service launched its ad-supported plan today called Netflix Basic, available for $6.99/month, and sure you can still access titles on this tier, but only most of them. And only up to 720p. No downloads. And of course, that’s with ads in between.
Will you be making the switch to Netflix Basic?
As always, I hope you have a nice weekend.
OUR TOP TV SHOW OF THE WEEK
The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself
On Netflix 🍅 rating: 100%
The title is a mouthful, and the lore it’s based on is even headier, but The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself is a lot of fun to watch. The British series is set in a world where good and bad witches are strictly compartmentalized, but when a mixed-blood offspring survives against all odds, questions about the divide between good and evil start to arise.
Because of the narrative parallels and magic at work here, The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself has been dubbed an “X-rated Harry Potter” by the Telegraph. I imagine the X-rated bit comes from the sexual content and cursing, but the series is all the better for its R rating— a YA fantasy series with a much-needed bladed edge.
OUR TOP MOVIE OF THE WEEK
Compartment Number 6
On Amazon Prime Video, available to rent starting at $5.99 🍅 rating: 93%
In Compartment Number 6, two different people strike an unlikely friendship during a train ride from Moscow to Murmansk. One is Laura, a Finnish student looking to observe ancient rock carvings at their destination, and the other is Ljoha, a gruff miner who hopes to secure a job once there. While the pair are initially unable to get on the same page, their friction eventually lends way to curiosity, then empathy, the more they learn about each other and life itself.
It’s a great film to put on if you’re a fan of smart, talky movies like the Before trilogy, and it’s little wonder that it shares the 2021 Grand Prix award with Asghar Farhadi's A Hero.
Top picks outside of Netflix and Amazon Prime
Our first pick outside of Netflix and Amazon Prime is Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, which stars Daniel Radcliffe as the titular musician. The film is silly through and through (I felt like I was watching a parody of a parody) but Radcliffe has a way of grounding the ultra-heightened comedy with his conviction and charm. And as someone who didn’t grow up listening to Yankovic’s sendups, I genuinely enjoyed hearing them for the first time here. Streaming for free on The Roku Channel.
Our second pick is about another singer, although the film takes a more sober approach to her biography. Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, as the title suggests, is a documentary that dives deep into Selena’s mental state as a pop star and as a young person dealing with bipolar disorder. The film is deeply revealing, an important watch if you share her struggles, but just as a warning, there are plenty of discussions about mental health and self-harm, so watch at your own risk. Streaming on Apple TV+.
New titles worth your time
New on Netflix is The Metamorphosis of Birds, a beautiful docudrama about the director’s own family history; Still Alice, a moving portrait of a woman holding on to her memories before they go; and Moneyball, the quick-witted baseball drama starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill. For series fans, new seasons of the Swedish teen drama Young Royals and Finnish crime thriller Deadwind are also new.
Meanwhile, on Amazon Prime, notable new arrivals include the Wes Anderson stop-motion delight Fantastic Mr. Fox, the powerful police brutality feature Fruitvale Station, and the psychological thriller The Machinist.
Great titles that will soon expire
No notable titles are leaving Netflix soon, but over at Amazon Prime, November 7th is your last chance to catch all six seasons of Community before they leave. This is sad news for fans like me who return to the show every now and then for comfort, but on the flip side, a Community movie is finally slated to be released next year on rival streamer Peacock.
That’s all for this week. This edition of the newsletter will be back on Friday, November 11.
Till then,
Renee