Streaming movies and series I've enjoyed recently

Watching entertaining television is as important to my mental health as is my evening dose of relaxing marijuana in a hot bath, both of which I enjoy every day. 

Though we have ten zillion channels (more or less) on our DirecTV subscription, I rarely watch any of them other than for sports and news. Streaming services via our AppleTV device is how my wife and I entertain ourselves, sometimes together, sometimes on separate televisions.

Here's some of what I've enjoyed recently.

Rye Lane on Hulu was highly enjoyable. My wife and I watched this movie together, since we're both fans of romantic comedies. I loved the film's overall vibe. Great dialogue, engaging characters, lots of humor, happy ending (guess that's the case with all romantic comedies). And even though the movie is set in south London, I could understand most of what was said without subtitles. A feel-good film. If you want proof that opposites attract, while also repelling temporarily, Rye Lane provides the evidence.

Extraction 2 on Netflix was a movie that I watched on my own, since I have a much greater attraction to lengthy violent fight scenes and stuff being blown up that my wife does. I wisely preceded my viewing of this film by watching Extraction, since it just made sense to see the sequel after the original. Rest assured that the basic plot is much the same in both movies. Virtually unstoppable guy skilled in hand-to-hand combat and firearms of all types is paid to extract an innocent victim from a nasty situation. Non-spoiler alert: Chris Hemsworth survived Extraction to make Extraction 2, and it sure looks like Extraction 3 is in the works also.

Beef on Netflix appealed to me a lot. Well, aside from the ending of the final episode. That was a letdown, though it didn't take away from the enjoyable drama of watching two Asian-Americans go after each other in marvelously creative and increasingly dire ways after a road rage incident between them escalates into an intense feud. They have to deal with Asian-American stereotypes, such as the high achieving mother who is always in control and never loses her temper. Not happening in Beef, for sure.

Rabbit Hole on Paramount+ provided me a Kiefer Sutherland fix after enjoying him so much in 24, where he played a character vaguely similar to who he is in Rabbit Hole, though also quite different. I enjoyed the twists and turns in this thriller, where you're never quite sure what is real and what isn't, the problem faced by Sutherland and his co-stars also. My main gripe with the series was that it often seemed like it was filmed with a dark filter over the camera. I guess the difficult-to-discern scenes were intended to reflect the shadowy nature of the plot machinations, but I got tired of not being able to tell what was going on. 

Ted Lasso on AppleTV+ deserves a big shoutout since my wife and I watched the final episode of the last season with a bittersweet feeling. Bitter, because a show we liked so much was ending. Sweet, because Ted Lasso gave us so many enjoyable moments over the years. It took us a while to begin watching the series, since we couldn't believe that an American heading to England to coach a soccer team even though he knew next to nothing about soccer could be entertaining. Wow, we were so wrong. The positivity and endearing corniness of Ted Lasso, a truly unforgettable TV character, hooked us on the show instantly. You'll be missed, Ted. (We really did feel like we were losing a friend as the final credits appeared on the screen.)

Comments

[William C. Fouste]

Thanks, Brian, for helping keep DirecTV alive!

My wife loves DirecTV while I hardly use it (I prefer movies on disc). I had to smile at your comment on your usage!.We don't use it for sports or news. My wife watches all the Hallmark channels and the movie channels. I love the "reality shows" and sometimes a movie. The reality shows I watch are not the ubiquitous ones. Currently, I am watching old Inside The Factory episodes from The Smithsonian channel and I love watching Journeys In Japan from OPB. My Netflix DVD is disappearing and I assume it won't be long before DirecTV disappears. I am sure glad I am an avid reader and love listening to music (under the influence, thanks for the PAX recommendation).

I dislike streaming as I prefer the controls of the DirecTV DVR and my BluRay player.