Is it me or is Netflix getting better?

[TheRealKimmySchmidt63]

I was really struggling to find something esp films to watch with 4/5 stars before Christmas, but I've gone on tonight and found a number of good films am currently watching a film called Unthinkable which seems pretty good

I agree.

DH and I were discussing this recently. Agree.

The Big Short is good. Watched it last night.

There is still a load of old shit on there, mind.

I've found some hidden gems though, that have been poorly rated. Admittedly can't think of any right this second ....The Good Neighbor was good.

I was discussing with a friend recently that a lot of good series are now made by Netflix. They seem to be very canny about making good quality series, which must take a fair bit of investment, none of the ones that I have watched have felt as though they were made on the cheap.

Some of their own films are a bit formulaic. We watched 2 sci-fi films and they were virtually identical with a few details tweaked. One of them was Spectral, can't remember the other. Nicely enough done, but nothing special.

I liked Spectral, I generally prefer watching a tv series to a film though. I like a slower, more convoluted plot development.

Some of the TV series are excellent.
Currently watching these two and enjoying both:
The Expanse
Medici: Masters of Florence

The OA is definetly one to watch!

Dirk Gently! Brilliant!

Keep these lists coming please

I got a free no obligations 1 month trial from the Radio Times to watch The Queen. I was expecting it to be like Now TV, which I subscribed to to for just long enough to watch GOT and then cancelled without a second glance even when they reduced the price to 3.50 a month. But actually it's surprisingly good: we're enjoying SOUE, I adore the Crown, I'm catching up on a bunch of films and DD is loving having all of Doctor Who on tap.

If there are any Scandi fans here, Nobel (Norwegian political/military thriller) is great. Occupied (also Norwegian, similar vein) is worth a look too, perhaps more so now than ever - it explores the covert infiltration and occupation of Norway by Russia to control the Norwegian oil fields.

I watched Barry last night, a Netflix original film about the young Barack Obama. That was quite good!

The ratings are interesting.

Yes.

I read recently that they took a strategic decision to rid themselves of a load of old films and TV repeats and focus specifically on original Netflix content.

I'd say that thinking and investment has paid off.

I also watched the free first episode of The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime because we were big Top Gear fans but we were very underwhelmed, and certainly not tempted to shell out for a proper subscription. In the battle of the big financial gambles I think Netflix's squillions spent on The Crown looks like a better bet than Amazon's 250 MUSD on the Grand Tour.

What I also like about Netflix is that their business model clearly requires them to commission content for other (overseas) markets, so you get foreign language Netflix originals with a different flavour to their US output and some shows like Sens8 have Asian, African and south American charcters. That said, I have no idea whether the 3%, for example, feels like a US show filmed in Portuguese to most Brazilians.

There are still rather a lot of tired, crappy films on Netflix right now. It certainly hasn't been a clean sweep, but there has been significant improvement in the refresh rate.

Just Watched 'No good deed' with Idris what's his name. It was good.

Elba?

That's him. It was good I'd recommend it.

From recommendations on here I have recently watched
Hunt for the Wilderpeople and The Legend of Barney Thomson and enjoyed both. A refreshing change from big budget Hollywood films.

I agree. We are enjoying A series of unfortunate events. So nice to find something that Dd1, 2 and 3 enjoy. Also lately discovered The unstoppable Kimmy Smitz which is weird but fun.

I doing watch many films but I've recently watched
The Crown. Utterly fantastic.
The OA. Utter shite.
Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency. Totally brilliant.
Lemony Snickets Series Of Unfortunate events. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Besides those I can't wait for the return of Stranger Things, OINTNB, Better Call Saul, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Daredevil.

Also.
There's a couple programs out of the norm I would recommend:
Cosmos. A factual program about the universe, this planet, our existence. Neil Degrass Tyson is an amazing presenter who knows his stuff.

Beat Bugs. A kids cartoon about a gang of bugs. Each episode is based on a song from The Beatles. Its really well animated and the stories are really good.