Mid-Summer Viewing Post Although the global theatrical box office fell by 80% in 2020 due to Covid there’s still plenty of screening content being created.   Of course the thing about streaming is that you do have to turn on an electronic device to select from the tens of thousands of hours available on various platforms.   (On the streaming wars see: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/05/streaming-services-compared-revenue-arpu-for-netflix-disney-more.html .)   Netflix alone seems to add a new series almost every day.   There’s now a bunch on medical themes; also one for dog lovers and one for cat lovers; two seasons of one on human babies.   There’s even a new 6-episode series How to Become a Tyrant. [*On the Kanopy platform (free linked to a public library card) one can find the 2018 documentary Active Measures which covers the deep ties between Putin’s corrupt regime as Russian overlord and the deeply corrupt Trump empire and campaign.   Fortunatel...

  Thanks to the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) channel I was finally able to watch the `1930 German classic The Blue Angel directed by Josef von Sternberg and famously starring Marlene Dietrich (he was one of her lovers) in the role of the cabaret singer “Lola Lola”.    She truly commanded the screen.                   The amount of streaming content being added is staggering.    Netflix has become a global production juggernaut offering a proliferation of docuseries.   Among these are: Human: The World Within (6 episodes), the jaunty Australian Ask the Doctor (several seasons, 24 episodes), and The Surgeon’s Cut (4 episodes).     Some are from TV series of past years.   That includes another terrific Australian series Tales by Light , 2015-2018, with three seasons totaling 18 episodes.    Each segment follows photographers on a mission to capture memorable images through the lens of...

Thanks to my friend Vicky Berry for alerting me to the 10-episode comedy series Ted Lasso (A) on Apple TV+.  The hapless mustachioed Ted as played by Jason Sudeikis becomes the clueless coach of AFC Richmond in the English premier soccer league.   A goofy Kansan, Ted keeps up a relentlessly positive good ol’ boy patter while contending with the disrespect of the players and fans. And the fact that he’s actually been hired, by wealthy divorcée Rebecca, to spite her ex-husband and tank the team.  Also on Apple TV+ is a 5-episode docuseries The Me You Can’t See (B) which covers a range of mental health situations and issues.  Notably it includes segments of Orpah Winfrey’s conversation with Prince Harry.  However the analysis doesn’t get much beyond the superficial.  More at: https://readysteadycut.com/2021/05/21/the-me-you-cant-see-apple-tv-plus-review/ .   Also on the Apple TV+ platform, the first season of the excellent The Mosquito Coast (A)...

First, as a follow up to the Oscar best picture win by Nomadland , this may be of interest: https://variety.com/2021/film/directors/chloe-zhao-oscars-nomadland-marvel-eternals-dracula-1234961719/amp/ . Nomadland has become the most awarded feature in modern film history, and Zhao is clearly a director to watch. If you do not have the Disney+ streaming service and have not yet seen Nomadland it would be worth signing up for a free trial period just in order to do so.  I might add that Zhao’s previous film The Rider is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. Also, don’t forget about the number of documentaries (and much else) streaming for free on CBC Gem ( https://gem.cbc.ca/ ).    In particular I can recommend the three-episode series Climate Change: Ade on the Frontlines which explores the effects of climate change around the world and what can be done about it.             The big new release, on May 14 on A...