Friends,
Here is the Friday newsletter in its full format.
In the coming days you will get a family edition, for things to watch with the little ones stuck indoors, and a best-of-2020 for Amazon Prime.
THE TOP TV SHOW OF THE WEEK
Feel Good
Added to Netflix today.
Lisa Kudrow and many other recognizable faces star in this sweet British comedy that feels like a Fleabag take on LGBTQ+ love.
Mae (played by Canadian comedian Mae Martin) is a stand-up comic in London who starts dating a fan, George (Charlotte Ritchie). Martin also co-wrote and co-created the show, with Skins’ Joe Hampson, making Feel Good a semi-autobiographical show.
Mae the character is self-destructive, but also funny and sharp. Following her as she navigates her new relationship and all the cultural obstacles that come with it is both easy and interesting, giving Feel Good a Catastrophe appeal.
📰 The Guardian: “It's not only an immaculately written and paced piece of work and a properly funny comedy, it is also has created a delicately and intricately constructed, deeply humane world where people make mistakes but are not damned.”
📺 on Netflix everywhere; 🍅 rating: 100%
THE TOP MOVIE OF THE WEEK
Becoming Astrid
Now on Amazon Prime. In Swedish and Danish.
This Swedish movie is the story of Astrid Lindgren, one of the most translated children book writers of all time. Her work of over 100 books includes Pippi Longstocking and The Brothers Lionheart.
Away from the quiet existence of the characters she would later create, Astrid had a turbulent life. Her troubles start when she falls for the editor of the paper she worked at when she was young, a man 30 years her senior. This results in an unwanted pregnancy and Astrid is pushed to immigrate.
📰 The Washington Post: “Pippi Longstocking has sometimes been called an icon of feminist girl-power. If Becoming Astrid makes anything clear, it's that the character's creator was something of one herself.”
📺 on Amazon Prime U.S.; 🍅 rating: 96%
Readers’ top picks
Dolemite Is My Name on Netflix is once more our readers’ favorite movie. It tells the true story of comedian Rudy Ray Moore, played by Eddie Murphy
Last Tango in Halifax, a cute BBC drama also on Netflix, is our readers’ favorite TV show this week. It’s about a couple who rekindle 60 years later through Facebook.
New titles worth your time
The Oscar-winning rom-com Silver Linings Playbook was added to Netflix earlier this week. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Robert De Niro in a story that’s great to watch but also great to re-watch.
A new Amazon movie called Blow the Man Down premiered today to wide critical acclaim but little viewer appreciation. It’s a comedy about two sisters who cover up a murder in a Maine fishing village. Watch it if you like neo-noirs and skip it if you hate them.
Great titles that will soon expire
Today is the last day to watch Fire at Sea on Netflix, a documentary about the Italian island of Lampedusa during the European migrant crisis.
No noteworthy titles are leaving Amazon Prime this week.
The Newsflash: Switching Netflix to Standard Definition
The surge in streaming from home is threatening the internet infrastructure, this is why the European Union asked Netflix to switch off HD earlier this week. Today Netflix complied, reducing its streaming quality in Europe for 30 days.
However, if you live outside of Europe, you can take this simple gesture on your own:
Go to your settings (netflix.com/YourAccount), click on Playback Settings and switch the “data usage per screen” to Medium (or low).
This is something that won’t make much of a difference to your viewing experience but might prevent outages and free bandwidth and for those who really need it: people working from home, people getting in touch with their families, medical staff communications, etc.
An hour of streaming in HD requires three times as much bandwidth as an hour in SD, meaning one home streaming in HD takes up as much bandwidth as three households streaming in SD.
That’s it for today, I hope there is something in there for you.
The next edition will be in your inbox on Friday, March 27th.
Until then,
Bilal Zou, founder [bilal@agoodmovietowatch.com]
Carried with the support of the Creative Europe Program – MEDIA.
Your lists are always the best
Watched "Blow the Man Down" not knowing what to expect. So many themes within the story, still has me thinking about the lives of sex workers and how women can be driven to complicity. (Wish the actress who played Dana Brody in Homeland could find a role where she's not irritating.)