Streaming Movies and Power Rankings: A Reverie on Max's A24 and Netflix's Rebel Ridge

[Snarf Zagyg]

On the topic of A24,
Havent you seen Hereditary or Midsommer, Snarf??? Agree with ya on Civil War on all counts.

Netflix got a small bump for me because they added a lot of AMC content. Although, I still think Netflix originals are garbage, and especially the movies.

HBOMAX was faltering, but damn if they dont have a hit in Penguin on their hands!

I still have zero idea how folks think Peacock and Prime are better than MAX. Though Snarf is spot on about Paramount +

In reverse order-

Remember that the streaming power rankings aren't about the services in terms of content or my love for them. It's about their POWER (business) in terms of how they are doing currently, with thoughts about their future prospects. Personally, I think that Max has some of the best content, but that doesn't mean that they aren't in a seriously bad business situation. I think Peacock is mostly garbage (although I did like the Olympics) but they have Comcast backing and keep making plays.

As for A24- Of course! The festival was films we hadn't (all) seen yet. Love Midsommar so much. Same with Hereditary. They consistently churn out really good movies. Not all of them ... they've had a few clunkers, but they are one of the few "brands" that I check out because of the good track record.

 

[Mannahnin]

6. Love Lies Bleeding. I enjoyed this movie, especially as it started to go off the rails. I would recommend it. I did ... well, I did have questions regarding a certain magical realism element, but I prefer a flawed movie that takes big swings than a "color-by-numbers" bit.

A year later and I just got around to watching this one, with a couple of friends. I imagine you either And I think I know the question and have a suggestion on the answer.

I presume this is about Jackie appearing as a giant at the end. We discussed this, and our theory is that, in addition to the metaphoric/symbolic value, the prosaic explanation is that the cigarette Daisy gave Lou as a birthday present was likely dipped in PCP. Certainly in SOMETHING, or a single cig wouldn't have been a birthday present.

 

[payn]

So, Prime been trying to bust out straight to stream movies and they remind me of the straight to VHS B action flicks back in the 80's-90's. Stuff you watch once and quickly forget.

This weekend I saw Dirty Work with Marky Mark. It appears this is another adaption of the Parker/Porter character from The Hunter novels. An "honest" crook from the gutters of NYC pulling capers for a modest payday. The film is playful and does a good job with its cast as they play off one another. A strength of director Shane Black (Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang) is snappy dialogue and crime noir stories unfolding in unexpected ways. Otherwise, lots of over the top CGI effects and Marvel like scenes where ordinary crooks are pulling off super human feats. A strange element to add to an otherwise regular heist caper story. Marky Mark play the main character Parker who is always cool under pressure and one step ahead of the other one step ahead crooks.

Overall, it was a fun movie al beit with some strange choices. It would seem Marky Mark is incapable of taking roles in which he can truly be a schlep who gets lucky and instead must be the suave smart cool guy at all times. Which is in a direct contrast to the down to Earth and excellent Mel Gibson lead adaption of The Hunter back in '99. Everything is super sized in the Play Dirty version which ends up pushing out a lot of the charm and cleverness of the early adaption for spectacle and cheap laughs. For example, for going a slow and enduring entrance of 70 style film like Payback, Play Dirty has a bond like opening wich isn't revisited for the rest of the film. If I had to pick the fault of PD its clearly an inconsistent style and execution.

This was on my mind this morning and didnt know where else to put this review of a quickly stream movie darling of the week.

 

[Mannahnin]

Overall, it was a fun movie al beit with some strange choices. It would seem Marky Mark is incapable of taking roles in which he can truly be a schlep who gets lucky and instead must be the suave smart cool guy at all times.

Wahlberg is almost always better in funnier/quirkier roles. The Other Guys, The Big Hit, Boogie Nights, I Heart Huckabees. Heck, even Ted. The Departed made good use of him, despite the character being more serious. Same with The Fighter and Three Kings.

Which is in a direct contrast to the down to Earth and excellent Mel Gibson lead adaption of The Hunter back in '99. Everything is super sized in the Play Dirty version which ends up pushing out a lot of the charm and cleverness of the early adaption for spectacle and cheap laughs. For example, for going a slow and enduring entrance of 70 style film like Payback, Play Dirty has a bond like opening wich isn't revisited for the rest of the film. If I had to pick the fault of PD its clearly an inconsistent style and execution.

I enjoyed Payback quite a bit, though bits of it haven't aged great.

 

[payn]

Wahlberg is almost always better in funnier/quirkier roles. The Other Guys, The Big Hit, Boogie Nights, I Heart Huckabees. Heck, even Ted. The Departed made good use of him, despite the character being more serious. Same with The Fighter and Three Kings.

I was thinking the same thing. I like MM a bit better when he is a co-lead or not the leading man himself. While he was fine for this film, I think hes aging but healthy lifestyle is begging him to keep doing these kinds of roles. Uncharted, for example, he rewrote the Sully part to make him seem younger and more able but it dramatically changed the feel of the character, IMO. MM would have been great as Nick's older brother, but MM starting to look a little too old for that kind of thing particularly compared to Tom Holland.

I enjoyed Payback quite a bit, though bits of it haven't aged great.

I think PB was peak Mel. It was an overall well executed contemporary noir film.

 

[Parmandur]

I just don’t get why Netflix continues to be so successful. The utility comparison is probably apt. I pick it up for a month once a year or so and am always surprised by how little the is I like on it. There’s a lot of stuff “adjacent” to things I like. The Algorithm at work, but it’s like a whole lot of crap in styles and genres I like, but not really worth watching versions of that stuff. I never know how to respond to these shows. Do I say I like this show so they make more shows with middle aged British people solving mysteries, or do say I don’t because this one is crap.

Netflix has a large library, growing and changing constantly.

They have K-Pop Demon Hunters and "Is It Cake?" (a show of tremendous genius, by the way), so they have my kids figured out.

 

[Parmandur]

I still have zero idea how folks think Peacock and Prime are better than MAX.

Is Prime a better streamer than Max? No, probavly not.

Is Prime TV a fantastic add-on to my shipping savings subscription that alreadybpasy for itself? Absolutely.

I don't need 3 streaming services, Netflix and Disney+ suffice. But Prime is essentially free (and Peacock is for Comcast customers. I guess?). I'm not paying for Max on top of already having more content than I can watch.

 

[payn]

Is Prime a better streamer than Max? No, probavly not.

Is Prime TV a fantastic add-on to my shipping savings subscription that alreadybpasy for itself? Absolutely.

I don't need 3 streaming services, Netflix and Disney+ suffice. But Prime is essentially free (and Peacock is for Comcast customers. I guess?). I'm not paying for Max on top of already having more content than I can watch.

Well, you've made it pretty clear your interests do really lie in HBO programming anyways.

 

[Parmandur]

Well, you've made it pretty clear your interests do really lie in HBO programming anyways.

HBO proper? No, not really much use for that, not when I could be watching "Is It Cake?" with laughing children. But Warner Bros. back catalog has a lot of cool material, and there is DC to consider particularly now thst itnis getting good again.

But, 2 services plus Prime essentially for free is the limit for me, I can't pile these thugs on when there is already infinite material just with Netflix.

 

[Autumnal]

For various sorts of deep-diving geeks, Tubi is the essential companion to one or more of the major services. It has weirdly deep libraries in a bunch of genres/categories, and seems to handle its ads better than anyone else.